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OCSA Awards Party!! |
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Saturday, November 10, 2007 6pm Cocktails ● 7pm
Dinner Dress Casual
ALL SAILORS INVITED Please Reserve by November 6th |
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Beware of
Trees
By Avid Brickman, Jus Fine, #4945
Jus Fine is currently resting, for the winter, in her North Plains mountain retreat. It's been the best sailing summer yet. I averaged two days a week. I'm looking forward to next year's adventures. I plan to do some overnighters. Time to get ready for snowboarding!!!!
...And the rest of the story.
Quite a day! It was the only day and the only time of day my friend Justin could assist me in pulling Jus Fine out. The ramp at Kadow's Marina is narrow. It was almost full on low tide, so we did a trial run down the ramp and into the water with the trailer empty. Fortunately the drop at the end of the ramp was not too deep. We managed to get the trailer far enough out and deep enough to where we felt we could get the boat on. We looked at each other and agreed to go for it. I went to the boat. Motored to about fifteen feet short of the ramp (fortunately not much current) put it in neutral and skulled the last few feet just over the trailer. I lowered myself onto the trailer hanging on to the pulpit and attached the boat to the winch. I managed to guide the boat inline with the trailer all the while Justin is in my 1974 I-H Scout II four wheel drive. He slowly moves up the ramp and everything is going well. The trailer's wheels come to the ramp and we sort of get stuck. I yell for him to put it in 4 wheel low. He gets it in and slowly the rig pulls the boat and trailer over the hump and up the ramp. At this point we are yelling and screaming with joy because there were these small outboards that couldn't launch and yet we managed to pull this C22 out. It was quite an accomplishment.
When
we got the rig up to the parking lot we realized that the bow wasn't
tucked into the slot on the trailer. It was a few inches from
home. We didn't feel comfortable towing without it tucked in
tight so we decided to take it up to the road and to engage in a few
short stops hoping it would snug up. With all the hullabaloo
and excitement of actually getting it up the ramp neither of us
noticed that the mast was headed for an overhanging tree on the way
up to the road. I finally looked up and saw the masthead
already in the tree. I yelled "STOP". Justin stopped
immediately. By this time the mast head was in the branches.
We backed it up and managed to free the mast from the branches with
no obvious damage. We backed up and managed to get around the
trees. As we circled and entered the lot again, we were on a
downhill grade. We stopped and at that point he manned the
trailer winch while I bounced the trailer from the ground. We
managed to get it tight onto the "V". When we were back in the
parking area was when I looked up and noticed the gift from "Mother
Nature". We got lucky and no damage occurred.
| Racing |
SYSCO St. Helens - Race
or Cruise?
By Dale Mack
Fleet
20 has a long history of participation in the SYSCO Race/Cruise to
St. Helens in September. Aside from having an official
starting line just downstream of the mouth of the Willamette River
at daymark "39", and a "make your own finish line" at buoy "4" just
upstream of Warrior Rock, the event is more cruise than race.
Blessed with some of the best wind on the Columbia River, the
journey from the Portland to St. Helens routinely means great
sailing as you pass the cottonwood shaded levees with long flowing
beaches that characterize this stretch of the river.
Fleet 20's history with the event stems from fleet members who join SYSCO to get a break on the entry fees for SYSCO sponsored regattas and series. Typically if you race the Spring and Summer Series, and the SYSCO One-Design, then you get back more than your annual membership fee. Over time Fleet 20 just added the event to its cruising schedule so that fleet members who were not SYSCO members would feel welcomed to attend the cruise.
As the weekend for the cruise drew near, I still hadn't heard back from anyone else. Another email announcement went out, but still no replies, so Don and I nixed the potluck plans and looked forward to dinner at one of the nearby restaurants in St. Helens.
The start was scheduled for 11:15 am on September 8th, so in clear skies, and bright morning sunlight Don and I got underway at 9 am so we could sail to the starting line. The sail to the mouth of the Willamette River was a great shakedown of my recent dockside rig retuning activities.
The purpose for the starting line, is really to just create a
rendezvous point for starting the cruise. With so many cruises
seeming more like motoring affairs instead of sailing, it's nice to
attend a cruise where the intent is to reach the destination by
sail.
As boats prepared for the started, Don and I looked about to see if any other C22's had decided to come out. None were to be seen. Boats coming to the line ranged from the Catalina 38 Fly Bye, skippered by the Columbia River All Catalina Association's Vice Commodore Alden Andre', down to three Catalina 28's. It quickly became apparent that Crocus was the smallest boat out there, with the rest of the flotilla being made up of Ericsons, Newports, and Willards typically thirty feet in length or above. Don and I figured that since we'd eventually get passed by everyone else because of their waterline length and sail area advantage, we'd at least try to have a great start.
The Race Committee boat Mira, skipper by Karen Anderson, anchored one end of the starting line while daymark "39" marked the other. With Don at the helm, we maneuvered Crocus back and forth along the line waiting for the start. The gun sounded and we were off. Our first place position lasted for twenty minutes until we were eventually overtaken by the Cascade 36 Wy East, Catalina 38 Fly Bye, Ericson 35 Balancing Act, and Ericson 32 Cepheron. What we thought was going to be a parade of boats that would have us arriving at St. Helens last never materialized. As we continued to tick off the miles it was becoming clear that in these conditions not only were we holding our own, but we were pulling away from the rest of the fleet. The only time we lost ground was during a twenty minute stretch of sailing where the wind's velocity dropped below ten knots. Once it got back into mid to low teens, we were pulling ahead again.
The final destination was the city docks just below the old
courthouse in St. Helens. As the boats trickled in, the
chairs, tables, and appetizers came out. Stories of the day's
sailing abound as folks shared their experiences. One of the
traits that makes these types of events so much fun is meeting other
people and touring various boats. While my sailing is pretty
much confined to going up and down the river, events like the SYSCO
St. Helens cruise bring you in contact with Portland area sailors
with an incredible amount of offshore racing and cruising
experience.
Although the abundance spread out on the appetizer tables could have easily substituted for dinner, Don and I restrained ourselves. When a work colleague of Don's arrived, the three of us headed ashore for dinner at the Dockside Steak and Pasta restaurant. Seated with a view of the river, the three of us had a nice dinner in quaint surroundings.
Sunday
morning greeted us with another beautiful day. After a brief discussion
about going ashore in search of breakfast versus getting underway to take
advantage of the great wind that was blowing, we opted to get underway.
The spinnaker run all the way back to Portland can best be summed up with the
smile that never left Don's face. It was just incredible.
A weekend to St. Helens and back remains one of the perks of Columbia River sailing on a Catalina 22. Whether you retrace your path and sail back on the river, or choose to circumnavigate Sauvie Island and return to Portland via Multnomah Channel and the Willamette River, St. Helens makes a great weekend boating getaway.
Hope to see you next year on the annual Fleet 20 cruise to St. Helens.
| Cruising |
Sailing the Sea of Cortez in a Catalina 22
Part 2 of 7: The Quest - In Search of Marine
Alcohol
By Don Woodhouse, Togarty, #7260
Hi All,
I am back on land (for the moment). After completing the Sea of Cortez crossing and sailing most of the way to our camp I pulled into the Marina de La Paz and came home to Los Barriles and Debbie for a few days before completing the last 50 mile leg of the boat journey. The crossing was not without a few hitches though. My friend Wayne and I boarded the ferry to the mainland on Monday, January 15th during the leading edge of a big windstorm. The huge ferry pitched and splashed for six hours to make the crossing. People did terrible things in the restrooms of the ferry. I didn't feel sick except when I thought about being in a little 22 ft. sailboat in those conditions. I tried not to think about it and watched subtitled movies in the bar on the ferry. It really is a luxury ride with a restaurant and spacious seating areas. Some folks got cabins but I didn't think it was worth the additional $760 pesos (about $68 us).
When we disembarked at Topolobampo (a fun word to say) we gathered up our luggage and got on the local bus to Los Mochis, a major town about 30 mins. North and then hired a taxi to take us to the Hotel Fenix a budget place with a $380 peso double room. The next morning we had huevos rancheros and took another taxi to the big bus terminal for the ride to Guaymas (about 6 hours). Then it was another local bus and we were at the Marina San Carlos. "Togarty" was there comfortable in her slip. Some of my old dockmates were still there but most had gone. We walked to JC's restaurant , an Internet and eating place popular with the local cruising crowd and had a good meal. We met a drunk lady who said we would probably set our boat on fire with that old alcohol stove. She thought that was pretty funny since we are both firefighters. I politely told her to "piss off" and we walked back to the boat for the evening. The stove was an issue though, because I thought it would be easy to get marine stove alcohol fuel. It was not.
The next day we turned on the VHF radio for the morning cruisers net and announced our intentions to cross to Punta Chivato and asked for any others who were going to contact us after the net. We got two other sailboats who said they would be happy to stay within radio if not visual contact distance if we were willing to wait until Thursday afternoon. One couple , Frank and Diane on "Wizard" offered to drive us into Guaymas to buy provisions on Wednesday. We took them up on the offer and bought lots of cup 'o' soup and oatmeal and stuff like that, but we didn't find any stove fuel. Thursday morning it was looking like Jim on "Anne Marie" wouldn't be ready to go. We checked all of our Internet weather sources and Thursday night looked like the best shot for crossing before a rain storm and higher winds were forecast. Then I began to search in earnest for the alcohol stove fuel. The guy at the mini-mart sold me a pint of what he said was the stuff. Turned out to be isopropyl, wouldn't pass the open cup burn test in the parking lot. Then the guy at the marine store said try the other marine store two miles down the road. We hoofed it and the lady said go to the hardware store. 2 miles back plus a half a mile. The hardware guy said they had it at the paint store. The paint store lady said the definitely had it in Guaymas at this other paint store and drew us a map. We got back on the bus and then walked 12 blocks and the guy there said go to the hardware store at av. Benito Juarez. The taxi took us there and the guy said go to TechnoGas across town. Another taxi ride and we had struck out. I was dejected but not beaten. Across the street was an Auto Parts and I could see all kinds of gas additives on the shelf. I thought maybe one of those might be Ethyl Alcohol and I could mix it with the stove fuel I had as a kind of Stove fuel helper. Maybe that drunken B!##$# in the restaurant was right, maybe I would start another boat fire ( I wonder how she knew about the Cedar Creek incident ?). The guy there at the auto parts was cool and maybe a little drunk. He offered us some of his peanuts and made a phone call. He then said go four blocks down and two blocks over to Leon Leon farmacia they would have what we need. Sure , more rubbing alcohol but what the heck we had all ready invested about 5 hours $200 pesos and eight miles of walking into this quest. The dude in the white smock showed us four different containers of rubbing alcohol then he went into the back room and came out with a fifth of something that said do not dink but he said people pour it over fruit. Ah haw, now were getting somewhere. I gave the lady the money and she smiled and put it in a plain brown bag. We headed for the ally where I found a used yogurt cup. We looked like a couple of crack heads kneeling down behind the pharmacy as I poured a capfull in and sparked my lighter. Clean blue flame , every bit of it consumed by fire , this was the pure stuff, at last. We bought another fifth and jumped the next bus for San Carlos.
Diane and Frank had taken some of our fresh meat to their boat to go in the freezer the day before so it would last longer so I stopped by to pick it up. Frank said since it was a new moon and the tide was going to be so low in the afternoon he would not be leaving until 0300 the next morning. I wasn't about to wait so I said I would see him in Punta Chivato and went to make last minute preparations. I did a stove fuel test with a 50/50 mix of marine alcohol and the everclear product and it worked fine. Then there was nothing to do but fill the gasoline cans and go.
It was overcast and cold as we motored out of the Marina. Wayne was wearing long johns under insulated Carhart jeans, a hooded sweatshirt and two hooded jackets. He added plastic bags inside of the hoods to keep hid head even warmer. The Sea of Cortez looked like a giant calm lake as we motored by a school of yellowtail feeding on the surface. No time to fish now, we had 15 plus hours of time to put in to make the 72 mile crossing sometime around daybreak the next day. We had the Punta Chivato Hotel entered on the GPS, the radio on the emergency channel and a pot of hot water for tea on the stove. The sun was setting beautifully as San Carlos and the Tetas de Cabra (goats tits) mountain shrank behind us.
There was a bit of tension along with the excitement as this was to be my first night crossing and Waynes first time on a sailboat of any kind. As it turned dark I lit the running lights, mast light and a cabin light. About three hours later they all went dim. I couldn't believe it. The boat had been plugged in with the battery charger humming away for a month on the dock. But obviously my five year battery had only made it 18 months. "no problem Wayne" I said that's why we brought a handheld VHF and plenty of batteries for the GPS and headlamps. Wayne said he would try to get some sleep and we could take two hour shifts at the helm. An hour later the wind started to come up but I waited another half an hour to be sure it was going to last before raising sails. I went with a full main and 150% genoa as the winds were light and a bit on the nose. The noise of the big headsail going up stirred Wayne and he came to the cockpit to see what was going on. I killed the motor and we were gliding along with nothing but the hum of the keel cable in the pitch black night. He suggested not using the headlamps so our night vision would improve. Within ten minutes we could see pretty well in front of us and clearly see the glow of the lights in Guaymas behind. The phosphorescence in the wakes cast an eerie blue glow behind and an occasional whitecap danced with the blue glow. I would sail for 40 min on one tack and the 40 min on the other. When I consulted the GPS we had to go 3 miles to get 1/2 mile closer to our destination. This was not going to help our time. Then the sky began to show some stars and a wind shift made it possible to steer our course on a close reach. We were going 4.5 knots right at Punta Chivato but Wayne didn't especially like the way the boat was healed to starboard and gave up on sleeping. The wind increased and with it a small chop developed. The sky cleared and wind and waves increased until it was clear that we would have to reduce sail or be way over powered. Wayne got a quick lesson in how to keep the boat reasonable upright and I headed forward with the 110% working jib. Things come in threes, so as I started to drop the headsail the halyard hung up on something then my headlamp fell off. I dropped to my knees to grab for it and came down smack dab in the middle of the forward hatch cover cracking it down the middle. I grabbed the headlamp, lowered the genoa and just set there for a moment on all fours in the bow pulpit. As I looked down in the water blue "ghosts" were streaking just under the surface back and forth in front of the bow. Then along side, blue phosphorescent masses 4 feet long with a two foot streak of a wavy tail behind.. When they broke the surface I was glad to see they were porpoises and I finished the job of hoisting the jib. Right before daylight I put a reef in the main and we continued on at hull speed with the lights of Guaymas still visible behind but the glow of Santa Rosalia appearing on the Baja side. I would estimate the wind at 25 knots and wave height at 4 ft. But it was not an unpleasant sail. I needed a little rest so Wayne took the helm as I laid in the V-berth. I dropped right off to sleep for what I thought was an half an hour (Wayne said it was only 5 mins). Then I got up and finished the crossing. We dropped anchor behind the hotel at 0930. Making the passage in 15.5 hours and averaging 4.9 knots.
You know there's more
Don
| Technical Tips |
Winterizing
a Catalina 22
A few steps not included in the average book
By Dale Mack
I received a couple of emails asking questions about how to winterize a C22. The basic procedures are no different than other boats or even RV's, and the steps are well documented in a variety of boating books and even in the Catalina 22 Technical Manual CD (available from the Catalina 22 National Sailing Association). The basic approach is to removed all liquids that can freeze, treat with water system safe antifreeze any systems that might still retain some water, retard the growth of mold by removing anything that will retain moisture, and control or prevent the intrusion of water into the boat.
For
those who choose to keep their boats in the water, I recommend
pulling the rudder and storing it inside. I'm not a fan of
leaving the rudder in the water when not using the boat. As
the crew that races with me can attest, I pull the rudder at the end
of the day and store it below. Catalina 22 rudders are cored
with wood. Some are cored with plywood and others are cored
with a piece of solid wood (as shown in the picture). The bolt
holes that are used in attaching the pintles become a pathway for
water to get into the core. Dry rot takes hold and weakens the
structure over time. Eventually when you need the rudder the
most (i.e. in high wind with lots of weather helm) the lower half of
the rudder snaps off. Pulling the rudder reduces the time it
is exposed to the elements. If you want to go one step
further, then over drill the size of the bolt holes, fill them with
epoxy, than once the epoxy is cured, re-drill the bolt holes.
This method seals the wood off from the elements.
Another thing I like to do in the winter is to clean the dirt out of
all the running lines on the boat. In the case of my halyards,
which are now all line, I run a tracer line so the halyard can be
removed from the mast and cleaned. The tracer line is simply
and inexpensive piece of 3/16" line from the hardware store. I
wrap the tracer line around one end of the halyard (3-4 tight wraps
is usually enough) and then cover the wraps with tape. With
the tracer line securely attached to the halyard I pull the shackled
end of the halyard that normally attaches to the sail, and keep
pulling until the halyard is free from the mast and the tracer line
has taken the halyard's place. The purpose of the tracer line
is to ease the process of reinstalling the halyard. Basically,
I just reverse the process to install the halyard.
I clean my lines by tossing them into a mesh laundry bag and washing them in the washing machine with detergent and cold water, followed by line drying. If you have any frayed ends, you'll want to whip them before washing or you end up with even more line frayed. Once the lines are clean and dry, I store them in the boat until Spring commission so they don't pick up any grime over the winter.
If your boat spends the winter on its trailer, consider lightening the weight of the boat by removing excess equipment. Unlike the water that supports the hull in every place that makes contact with the water, your trailer only supports the hull in a few places. Here's a few things to consider removing from the boat:
- All food, especial cans and bottles
- All cushions, bedding, linens, and clothing (helps prevent mold and mildew)
- Empty the port-a-potti
- Empty the water tank(s)
- The battery. Store it in your garage where it is likely to be warmer, and don't forget to keep the battery charged to extend its life.
- Any gear you didn't use during the previous season. Basically just question whether you really need it.
- Empty the fuel tank into you car if the fuel is a match. Fuel gets old, so start next season off with fresh fuel for your outboard.
- The outboard motor if you're one that trailers with the motor in the cabin, cockpit, or (gasp!) on the outboard motor bracket.
A few easy winterizing steps in the Fall will save you a lot of time in the Spring when you're trying to get the boat ready to launch.
| Catalina Newsletters of the Northwest |
Checkout these links to Northwest Catalina newsletters and local racing:
- Columbia River All Catalina Association (CRACA)
- Sail Portland (hosted by Oregon Corinthian Sailing Association, OCSA)
- Small Yacht Sailing Club of Oregon (SYSCO)
- Oregon Women's Sailing Association (OWSA)
- Catalina Association of Tacoma and South South (CATSS)
- Catalina Association of Puget South (CAPS out of Seattle)
| Upcoming Events |
October
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Party: 20, SYSCO Awards Banquet
- Cruise: 20 - 21, CRACA Great Pumpkin, Government Island - East Dock
November
- Party: 10, OCSA Awards Party at Portland Yacht Club, open to all sailors
See the calendar
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The Fleet 20 newsletter is published online once a month. Articles are the opinions of the
authors and don't necessarily
represent the consensus of Fleet 20.