'Working Aloft'
Bob Spencer
Sail #619
Green River Lake, Kentucky
bspen@aye.net
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April 2, 1998
Thu, 2 Apr 00:27:04 -0800 (PST)
Jack Carr
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March 24,
Had a great sail yesterday...
Weather reports for saturday had said it would be a
great day (sunny, 65), but it rained all day and was
generally miserable. The same reports said sunday
would be rainy all day, and the NOAA reports on the
web said to expect small craft advisory conditions
(25K winds). I didn't expect to sail, but I needed to
go check on the boat and bail out any water that
accumulated belowdecks, as well as replace a
burnt-out nav light, etc. But I grabbed some food and
clothes just in case.
It had been raining on and off all day, but had just
finished a quick rain when my wife and I arrived at
the slip on lake washington around 1pm. There was a
bit of blue sky and a great southeasterly breeze, so
we cast off for a quick sail. We only had to motor a
few hundred yards to get out into Yarrow Bay so we
could put up the sails. We hoisted the main then our
lapper and headed generally west towards Union Bay
and Husky Stadium.
The winds were a fairly steady 15K by my estimates,
with frequent gusts that would heel us over 30
degrees or more. If I had a smaller headsail I would
have flown it, but my inventory is a little lower
than I'd like. The seas were only 1-2 feet in these
protected waters. After getting sick of having to
deal with the violent heels, we decided to reef the
main. My wife pulled down the lapper with the
recently-installed downhaul (a first for her). While
I had installed it with singlehanding in mind, she
was quite impressed and grateful to not need to go on
deck.
Once we reefed and got the sails back up, we still
cruised along on a close reach often sustaining a
GPS-reported speed of around 6.5mph, which is just
about the theoretical hull speed of the P19, and I
was pretty impressed that we were pulling that kind
of speed on this point of sail.
We eventually made our way the few miles into Union
Bay, which is the bay you see in the background if
you ever watch the UW Huskies in a home football
game. Union bay is VERY shallow, and even in a
shallow-drafy boat like our potters, if you wander
outside the marked channels, you do so at your own
peril. To the south of the channel is the UW
Arboretum, and many people were exploring the shallow
aquatic passageways along its marshy shore in canoes
rented from the nearby UW Waterfront Activities
Center.
The channel I am referring to is the Montlake Cut,
which is a canal that leads into lake union and
eventually through the chittenden locks to puget
sounds. I've never been through the cut on my potter,
though I have been through it on powerboats. I had to
douse the sails since the wind was not (and rarely
ever is) right for sailing through this east-west
channel. We passed under the Montlake bridge, passng
a large racing sailboat that had to wait for this
bascule drawbridge to open in order to pass. Somehow
that seemed funny to me. The concrete walls on the
side of the cut were painted with various
decorations, expressions, and taunts - I hesitate to
use the word 'graffiti' because these paintings are
usually done by the various rowing crew teams of the
many nearby colleges and universities, who often race
through the cut. The decorations are tolerated by
authorities, are generally in good taste, and add to
the local flavor of the area. There are walkways on
both sides and pedestrians often wait and wave at the
passing boats.
The west side of the cut dumps in Portage Bay on Lake
Union. Portage Bay is a unique mixture of marinas,
boating-related industries, UW research facilities,
and floating homes. The floating homes aren't
houseboats - they typically don't have any motors.
They are just houses built on a floating structure.
The move Sleepless in Seattle featured one such home;
I believe it was on portage bay where most of them
are, but it could have been further into the main
part of Lake Union. Its really quite a fascinating
way to have a house; especially if your sailboat is
tied to your front porch.
Past Portage Bay is a small channel going beneath the
University bridge. We passed yet another boat waiting
for this drawbridge. This one was also a racer, and a
successful one based on the number of 'duck' stamps
on deck, which I believe are given out to the winners
of the weekly (in the summer) Duck Dodge sailboat
races on Lake Union. We passed beneath the I-5 Ship
Canal bridge, but it so high that even the tallest
boats don't worry about clearance (and frankly,
can't, because it is NOT a drawbridge...).
Once you get into lake union proper, the view is
fantastic. Facing south, to the right you can see
various fishing vessls, and Gasworks Park, which is
the site of an old refinery, now a city park. To the
southwest is Queen Anne Hill, south of that is the
Space Needle. Panning across, you see the Naval
Reserve Center, the Center for Wooden Boats, the
downtown skyline, many shops restaurants, etc, most
fishing vessels, a big NOAA ship, the drydocks, more
marinas, and more floating homes. My reaction sailing
through lake union was "wow, I love this city..."
We headed due south for the southern tip of the lake,
hoping to find some transient moorage so we could
grab a bite at one of the many fine retaurants. There
were a dozen or more sailboats out on the lake, and
relatively few powerboats. Our main traffic concern
was the dozens of seaplanes that were taking off and
landing near us. One started south of us, heading
right for us, and a quarter mile or so ahead of us,
it lifted out of the water and flew right above us.
It was very cool...
It took us a while to find the transient moorage
area, but once there we tied up, locked everything
up, and headed into a local establishment for some
nourishment and beer. Our waitress teased us that it
was going to rain, and sure enough, as our food
arrived, there was a downpour. as we finished up
dinner, it was still raining, so I had another beer
to kill some time. As i finished it up, the skies
parted, and the rain stopped. The wind was an
off-shore wind, so we hopped in the boat, flawlessly
sailed away from the dock without benefit of the
motor, which is quite a feat for me. I figured all
the people eating in the restaurant overlooking the
transient dock would jinx me, but I thankfully had no
trouble. We traced our incoming route on the way
back, running downwind back in portage bay, where the
buildings and land masses made for some weird wind so
we motor-sailed back through the cut, then sailed for
a bit more on lake washington back towards our slip
in Yarrow Bay on the east side. Once the sun was
pretty far down we doused the sails and motored the
rest of the way, since I didn't want to be out too
late with my still burnt-out stern light. We pulled
into our slip on the first try (again, quite a feat
for me, but today I could do no wrong), and tied her
up and drove home.
Its going to be a good sailing season this year, I
think. I looked hard for some potters, but among all
the trailerables, all I saw was the usual J22s,
SJ21s, and an assortment of other non-potters. I hope
to see some more of you out there soon...
- ej@blarg.net P19#461 Victoria
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March 22, 1998
Summer Cruise in Gulf Islands
We are starting our planning for Cruise '98. Saffron
(SJ23) and Indy (lancer 25) will be cruising together
again this summer in the San Juan and Gulf Islands.
We want to visit Ganges Harbor and Otter Bay. We
also want to stay in port at either of these places
for an extra nite to R & R and get off the boats for
a while. If you have visited either of these ports
and have information that could help us decide which
port would be best to stay the extra nite in I would
like to hear from you.
Our group consists of 6 adults (age 20 to 47) and two
children (age 4 and 8). We will need to have
activities for all ages if you know of any. We like
to explore, hike, wander through eclectic shops, look
at boats, houses, meet people, eat at different
restaurants, and in general enjoy life while
cruising.
Thanks in advance.
Kevin Hedgepeth
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August 27,
Hi everyone. This year has worked out just great for me in regards to
sailing. I have managed two 10 day trips so far. The first one was in
July and I did the San Juans and down Haro Strait with the orcas (whales).
Execpt for one afternoon of light rain the rest of the time was very
sunny and hot! Wind was laking at times but the 150 helped when wind
was available. Stopped over in Friday Harbor and saw Chucks SJ23(looks
good Chuck!!). Unfortunately, Chuch was out of town that weekend.
The next trip ended just last week and this time I sailed the North Puget
sound to Everett, Coupeville, La Conner (real pretty town), Deception
pass, etc... Only bad weather was on day that I went through deception
pass (full moon/heavy currents/wind/rain...the works...) After making it
through the pass without any difficulties (good old SJ23!!..lots of other
boats were not trying it...now they know what boat to get) hit some rough
weather in Rosario Strait but nothing the SJ23 can't handle and off to a
mooring at Cypress Island. Met Betsy & Dave Schultz who were also moored
with their SJ23 "Low Overhead". Nice people and enjoyed our conversation
and exchange of ideas and how each boat was set up. Too bad I was short
on time due to tide and currents.
I am trying to work some more time off to do another 10 day sail in Sept.
This time i will probably stay closer to home and sail the north of
Rosario strait and go to Blaine, Sucia Island, and other northen San Juan
Islands. I hope the weather will clear by that time and a nice indian
summer is on order. ;)
All for now and I hope you have also had a chance to do some sailing.
I continue to be very happy with my SJ23 "Java" and feel very safe.This
is important for me since I sail single handed.
Cheers and great sailing.
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Log of "De Vliegende Hollander" on Princess Louisa Cruise in August, 1997
7-29-98
7-30-98
7-31-98
8-1-98
8-2-98
8-3-98
8-4-98
8-5-98
8-6-98
8-7- 98
8-8-98
Decided to stay in Nanaimo due to gale force winds predicted in Strait of Georgia. Hardly any boats moved today and a lot more cam running in and had to raft even on the docks. Enjoyed the good fiesta music. A good group of Incas from South America and a R and B singer. Chuck removed bow light after tracing juice to the lights and even into the sockets. He found two single red and green lights for $30.00 at the chandlery by the mall and replaced them. Windy and sunny all day. AM Coffee on the MaryMax in Nanaimo
8-9-98
8-10-98
"San Juan Cruise"
"De Vliegende Hollander"(The Flying Dutchman)
Jack Carr
Hi Bob. Finally getting to reply to all my email. I
went sailing for the past four days and returned this
tuesday. Had great weather the first couple days and
sunday was sunny, warm but little wind. Monday was
the opposite. Rain, wind of 20 MPH with gusts to
30MPH and wind waves up to 4 feet. Boat handled it
well and made for a good sail. Ended up just using
the reefed main to get to my destination. Glad I had
my 8hp honda when i had to motor into the marina over
the sand bars and through the waves. (No wonder my
wife will not come sailing!!) It was nice to go to
the various marine parks and find but a few boats (if
any). Lots of moorings and ample space to anchor.
This will soon change!
Jack
Written by First Mate, Matthew Smart.
Weather sunny with moderate winds.
Attempted to leave Friday Harbor dock and sheared outboard prop pin when putting it in reverse. Matthew went to Kings Marine and bought all the correct size shear pins they had. (12) while Skipper Chuck Van de Wetering replaced the pin. (Honda tuned it up last week and looked for problem but could find nothing wrong.) Sailed most of the day and arrived in Bedwell Harbor around 5:30 PM. Cleared Customs. Located Rod and Maxine Staley anchored out in "MaryMax" and rafted to them. Maxine had dinner prepared for us all. They had sailed from Clark Island where they anchored the night before. Bedwell Harbor, South Pender Island
Left Bedwell Harbor at 7:00AM with cloudy sky and light winds. Canadian weather reports chance of showers (30%). Raised sails and cut motor at 7:30AM and under sail at 2.1 knots as measured by GPS (waypoint to waypoint). Headed to waypoint (95TCCM) middle of Trincomali channel between Salt Spring and Galiano Islands. Temperature fair light breeze, cloudy. Sailed all the way to Dodd Narrows (with a little motor sailing here and there).Passed through Dodd Narrows at 14:30 and arrived in Nanaimo at 16:30. Moored behind Gas Dock downtown . Enjoyed some of fiesta activities that night right above us. Picked up supplies we had forgotten to stow in Friday Harbor. Trincomali Channel
Weather sunny and moderate winds. Left for Pender Harbor at 10:30. Barbara rode on MaryMax. Filled gas tank (four gallons for first two days) then concentrating on avoiding a dinghy sailboat race gramps went on wrong side of buoy and into shallow water! (Gramp’s editorial: First Mates aren’t supposed to cop out on their skippers!)Removed rudder and backed out. No problem with shearing pin when we went into reverse. We used GPS waypoints to stay on west line of Armed Forces Test Range (WG) but Rod and Maxine got warned for intruding by Canadian Coast Guard. Sailed until we hit the line then motor sailed to stay west of restricted range. Sailed east in Georgia Strait, along tips of Lasquetti and Texada and into Malaspina Strait. Entered Pender Harbor in early afternoon. Good sailing wind all the way. Motored where necessary to maintain course. Tied up at government dock (very crowded) and met Bob and Mona Crones who had motored down up from south sound. They moved aboard MaryMax for the trip to Princess Louisa. Georgia Strait,skirting test range
Left Pender Harbor with good weather and wind at 10:00AM. Didn’t try to sail until we entered Agamemnon Channel. Lots of debris at intersection of Malaspina Strait and Agamemnon Channel. Lookout missed a submerged deadhead and we hit it with board and outboard prop. Pin sheared. Called ahead and asked MaryMax to stand by. Put First Mate Matthew in dinghy and he replaced pin in 15 minutes! No other problems. Sailed wherever possible as we passed through Agamemnon Channel to intersection with Jervis Inlet . On to Prince of Wales Reach , Princess Royal Reach, and Queens Reach.. Here we ran into the whole Seattle cruising group and met Bonnie and Tony Hansen on Gecko, who came over to give us an old Seattle San Juan 23 burgee. We didn’t get close enough to the others to talk with them Forgot about using radio. Gecko’s faithful Honda outboard had finally died on the trip and Tony was headed for Pender Harbor to meet a new one being shipped up. It was good to see another SJ 23 had made it up also. We were sorry our late start precluded us spending a night or two with them. Arrived at Malibu Rapids with about 15 minutes left of slack tide. Popped through and on to anchor at Princess Louisa under Chatterbox Falls. Actually, closer to the other side. Very deep. Arrived 20:00 hours. No room on the dock. Had a little trouble getting anchored but rafted and Matthew rowed a second anchor out and tied a shoreline for Rod and Maxine. (editorial from Gramps: What a great grandson and firstmate. He is a very responsible 16 year old and knows his way around a sailboat.) Nearing Malibu Rapids entrance to Princess Louisa
Weather beautiful. Hot sun but moderate breezes. We moved to the dock early in the morning then took a walk to Chatterbox falls. Grandma Barbara likes it much better when we have restrooms available. The porta-potti is not her favorite utility on the San Juan 23, especially with me, her grandson on board! I took naps and read. Grandma cleaned house. Grampa (Chuck) visited. At the hottest part of the day the men, Matthew, Chuck, Rod and Bob took the MaryMax dinghy and explored down to MacDonald Island. On the way back we stopped at a fall and Chuck took a skinny bath in the cold water. It looked awful cold but he got clean and didn’t feel any mosquito bites for a while! Ate together on MarMax and watched movie after a beautiful early sunset due to high canyon walls. Met some people who are going on hike to the top tomorrow. They invited us to join them. Moored below Chatterbox Falls
Gramps and I left with the group and started climbing an old logging trail. It was straight up. We soon left gramps behind because he didn’t want to slow us down. He kept trudging away and without someone who knew the trail he got lost a couple times and lost more time and energy. He finally gave it up about half way up. When we arrived at the old trapper’s cabin which most people stop at, us teenagers kept going to find the lakes above. We never found the lakes, but instead, walked up a large waterfall. We could see almost to the Pacific Ocean. It was the most beautiful hike I have ever been on and Gramps and I have hiked the Sierras out of Lone Pine, California to Muir Lake. We were almost at the ice pack! Arrived back from hike and found gramps kicking back in the shade. I went for a swim and it was marvelous. Cleaned up and when the adults got back from bathing at the falls we had dinner. Princess Louisa Dock
Weather beautiful again. Left on morning slack tide at 0930 headed for Vancouver Bay at the intersection of Prince of Wales Reach and Princess Royal Reach. We later explored the bay but decided to go on to Pender Harbor. Had a great sail and the wind picked up as we got into Agamemnon Channel just past the intersection with Jervis Inlet and Skookumchuck Narrows. When we hit the last turn we had a stiff breeze and very choppy seas. Moored at government dock. Falls we used for bathing in Princess Louisa
Stayed at Pender Harbor and went for a dinghy ride over to the gas docks in Garden Bay and to see the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club moorings where we used to tie up. In the afternoon we took a motor trip over to Skookumchuck in Bob and Mona Crone’s RV. We planned to eat there but the restaurant was so hot we couldn’t stand it and they wouldn’t let me (Matthew) sit on the outside deck because it was technically part of the bar. We came back and reasonable food places were just closed except Fran’s burger joint where we ate a fantastic Francis Burger. I later had another ! She was out of french fries and gave us onion rings instead. Another beautiful sunset and more movies on MaryMax. SJ 23 Internet Fleet Burgee
Weather is threatening for the afternoon but we decided to make a run for Nanaimo. Barbara rode with Rod and Maxine because we plan some fast sailing! She doesn’t like "tipping"! Sailed most of the way with great 10-15 knot winds. Changed to jib from 150% genoa after rounding Texada but then lost good wind. We kept the tip of Texada and Lasquetti Islands on our starboard and tightroped down the WG line until we reached the Ballenas Islands. "Armed Forces equipment tests are frequently conducted in Exercise Area WG as defined in Notice to Mariners No. 35 of each year." The Canadian Coast Guard monitors violations and warns you off on VHF Channel 10. We kept out but several boats we saw cut across. They must have quit for the day due to weather warnings. We saw lighning all over the sky to the south and west and decided to pull down our sails. Just after, we hit a short squall which we could have handled with reefed main) and then as we neared the Ballenas Islands, the sun was back out! We raised sail and sailed all the way into Departure Bay and motored into Nanaimo Harbor where again we stayed on E Dock. Showers felt mighty good! Good wind Texada to Ballenas Islands
Weather very threatening. News says someone was killed by lightning in that storm yesterday. As planned, we rented a car for the day and drove to Victoria, one of our favorite cities. Weather there was sunny and slightly windy. Had a great day in Victoria and towns along the road.
Weather projected to be hot and not very windy. Slack at Dodd Narrows at o737. Passed through with no problem except the stink potters who have to get there in 5 minutes and don’t care how much wake they make for sailors. Reached Ganges Harbor on Salt Springs at 1530 hours. Sailed almost all the way but mostly at 2 or 3 knots downwind. Sailed with Mudge, De Courcy and Ruxton Islands on our left. Then between Porlier Pass and Reid Island down to the Secretaries and Wallace Island. After passing Victoria Rock and Shoal we headed for Peile Pt. On Prevost until we turned west to Ganges Harbour. They had a celebration going on there. We wandered the town and then decided to eat at a great restaurant overlooking the docks. It was a little pricey but they had good looking high school age waitresses! Watched movies again. In fact rented two movies in town. Gramps now has a Ganges Video Rental Members Card! Should use that a lot.The Dynamic Duo South to Ganges
Weather hot and no wind predicted. Left Ganges Harbor at 0715 for Friday Harbor. Maxine and Rod will cut across to Guemes and into Anacortes Marina. (Unfortunately, the MaryMax ran aground off Guemes and had to pay $545 to get off). We hit some wind in Swanson Channel and put up the sails. Immediately the 150 genoa dropped and the halyard stayed at the top of the mast! I rescued the sail and put it below. That was the end of the sailing. We had an uneventful motor trip to Friday Harbor keeping Stuart and Spieden Islands on our starboard and then cutting by Flattop and Jones and into Friday Harbor.
The Garmin 45XL GPS worked perfectly on the trip and sure made it easier to read the charts. Not much chance to disagree about where a feature is with the GPS waypoint telling you. The 5 HP Four stroke Honda outboard is an amazing motor. It pushed us all the way up and back, except for sailing times, with no trouble, averaging 5 knots when motoring and sometimes 6.5 when going with the tide. Jibless in Swanson Channel
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