www.c22pdx.org

June 2008
 

From the Captain
By Dale Mack, Catalina 22 Fleet 20 Captain
Crocus, #8244, celtic-myst@comcast.net

May remained wet with temperatures all over the map.  The snow melt has brought raising water levels and swift current.  Based on the delayed warmer weather and the snow pack, we'll probably see high conditions through the month of June.  Be care out there, because there is a lot of floating debris coming down the river, including full size trees.

Racing

Five boats have signed up so far for the SYSCO Summer Series.  The crews are:

  • Togarty, #7260, Don Woodhouse
  • Promiseland, #12982, Scott Ferre
  • Harmony, #14286, Dan Dugan
  • Celeste, #6550, Weston Becker
  • Crocus, #4248, Dale Mack

On Saturday, May 31, I had the opportunity, at the invitation of the Portland Yacht Club, to teach a version of my "How to Start Racing on the Columbia River" clinic to a group of new PYC racers.  The audience asked lots of great questions as I walked them through starts, finishes, postponements, recalls, and a host of other details needed to start racing.

Opening Day - May 3

The local area yacht clubs hold an annual Opening Day celebration on Columbia River on the first Saturday in May.  Shore side morning activities like breakfast, and a flag raising ceremony performed by the Sea Scouts, is followed by a parade of each yacht club passed a group of anchored boats with the event's judges and distinguished guests aboard.  Each club is competing for a variety of awards from best formation and decorating, to largest participation and seamanship.  I've frequently watched the opening day ceremonies under sunny skies from the cockpit of Crocus.  This year's event wasn't blessed with fair weather.  The day was overcast, the temperatures low and shortly after the parade started a squall blew through the fleet.

TBYC Swap Meet - May 17

The Tomahawk Bay Yacht Club Swap Meet has become a fixture of mine and other Fleet 20 member's calendars.  I never go looking for anything in particular, and most of the time I return without anything, but every once in awhile I find a bargain

More important to me than bargain hunting is the chance to run across various sailing acquaintances.  While you could easily walk though everything in twenty minutes, I commonly turn it into a 2-3 hour social event.  Over the course of the morning more stuff keeps arriving so you make another lap.  You see a friend, and the two of you start chatting, and you make another lap (now commenting together on the quality and variety of the flotsam and jetsam folks are selling).

After the swap meet I headed down to Crocus and went out and sailed for a while in the light conditions while watching participants get ready for the start of the Rose City Medium Distance Race upriver.  All in all a fun day.  It was nice meeting some of you at the swap meet.

 

Cruising
 

Land Cruise to Anacortes
By Dale Mack

Laura and I used Trawler Fest over the Memorial Weekend to checkout the ongoing renovations to Cap Sante Boat Haven in Anacortes, Washington.  The new launch facility is great, and it keeps your trailer out of the water.

Since my last report on Cap Sante in 2007, the building that used to house Cap Sante Marine has been razed in anticipation of future onshore expansion by the Port of Anacortes.

Roughly a 4.5 hour drive north from Vancouver (no trailer), Anacortes is indeed the gateway to the San Juan Islands.  While the town serves as a departure point for many, Anacortes is also wonderful destination with its small town feel, and eclectic blend of retail and superb restaurants, particularly in the old town section. 

If you've never taken your boat into the San Juan Islands, but you like to get a feeling for some of the destinations and facilities, I'd recommend a long weekend car trip with an itinerary that looks something like this:

  • Walk aboard the early Saturday morning ferry to Orcas Island  (leave your car at the Anacortes ferry terminal).
  • At Orcas Island check out the waterfront shops while you wait for the inter-island ferry that will take you to Friday Harbor.
  • At Friday Harbor enjoy lunch and explore the harbor and town.
  • In the afternoon catch the ferry returning from Sidney, BC and heading to Anacortes, with a stop in Friday Harbor.
  • Enjoy dinner in Anacortes
  • Sunday morning, check out Cap Sante Boat Haven, explore the town a bit, a then head home.

About trawler Fest.  Way cool, but beyond my pocket book.  The trawlers and shore side exhibits were great.  I'd definitely recommend the event.

 
Racing

SYSCO Spring Series Results
By Dale Mack

The SYSCO Spring Series will be remembered for strong winds (expect for race 3) and even stronger current.  While the races were competitive, they remained friendly and casual (a hallmark of Catalina 22 racing on the Columbia River).

    4-17 4-24 5-1 5-15 5-22 Total
Skipper  Boat 1 2 3* 4 5  
Dale Mack Crocus 1 1 - 1 2 5
Don Woodhouse Togarty 2 2 - 4 1 9
Scott Ferre Promiseland 3 3 - 3 4 13
Weston Becker Celeste 5 DNC 4 - 2 3 14

*Note:  The 5/1 race was abandoned by the race committee due to a lack of wind.

 

Register for the SYSCO Summer Series
By Dale Mack

For those that haven't tried their hand at racing yet I encourage you to come out and have fun just getting your boat around a set course.

SYSCO Summer Series

  1. June 5
  2. June 12
  3. June 19
  4. June 26
  5. July 10

Here is the list of folks signed up so far for the Summer Series:

  1. Weston Becker (Celeste, #6550)
  2. Dan Dugan (Harmony, #14286)
  3. Scott Ferre (Promiseland, #12982)
  4. Don Woodhouse (Togarty, #7260)
  5. Dale Mack (Crocus, #8244)

Fleet 20's racing page has a lot of information on local racing.  Everything from the entry form to the sailing instructions for each race are available.  The material targeted at the race committee is very informative because it explains in simple straight forward language what the race committee is doing to start and finish races.

Please let me know if you are planning to race.

 

Technical Tips

Trailer Guide Posts
By Dale Mack

I've not incorporated guide posts onto my trailer, but there have been situations when loading the boat in adverse current and wind conditions where I wish I had them.  In looking at various C22 trailers that have them, there doesn't seem to be a conscience on which position works best.  I've seen them located at the axle, forward of the axle, and aft of the axle.  Another question to be answered is rolling versus non-rolling.  While I've encountered many welded on guides, I'm starting to see many more bolt-on guide posts.  I suspect this might be due to the DIY aspect of just purchasing an upgrade kit from a firm like West Marine and this do the project yourself.

   

 

Catalina Newsletters of the Northwest

Checkout these links to Northwest Catalina newsletters and local racing:

 

Upcoming Events

June

  • Race:  5, SYSCO Summer #1
    Race:  12, SYSCO Summer #2
    Race:  19, SYSCO Summer #3
    Race:  26, SYSCO Summer #4

July

  • Race:  10, SYSCO Summer #5
  • Race:  24, CYC Summer #1
  • Race:  31, CYC Summer #2

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.