Winter Carnage

A shot of the Dec. 24th snow storm from the Granville Street Bridge.  Heather Civic Marina is completely obscured.

Winter this year was preceded with near record snow falls in Vancouver.  I got a taste of things to come a few weeks back when I was sailing back from the Sunshine Coast when we encountered the begining of these winter storms.  In typical Vancouver fashion everything ground to a halt.  The city is not prepared for this type, or any, snowfall.  

Being quite paranoid I braved the elements and bad winter drivers and went down to the boat everyday to clear snow off the boat and my dock finger.  I had the heater roasting away down below keeping the interior dry and protecting the water lines from freezing up.  I don't have much of a winterizing program because I am sailing my boat every week.  I just slap a tarp on and turn up the heater.  

Cheryl always thinks me a "touch" obsessive about the boat (the understatement of the year).  So when I was anxious about leaving the boat unattended over Christmas (Dec. 24-27th) she ribbed me mercilessly.  When we returned from Chilliwack on the night of the 27th I talked her into a detour to the boat.  We wanted to get home and she said I could just take a look from the dock.  When I saw the WEASEL, she was covered in thick snow and the tarp was weighed down with a pool of heavy snow.  I figured it could wait until the morning and went home.

A power boat with a collapsed bimini due to accumulations of heavy snow.  Leaving a boat unattended over the winter can cost you.

When I got down to the boat the next afternoon.  I cleared the dock and the deck of the boat with great difficulty.  The snow was laden with rain that had fallen the previous days turning it into heavy slush.  When I was done I opened up the hatch to take some measurements of the ceiling as I planned to do a reheadline-ing and insulation project.  

My heart hit the floor when I looked in and saw the bilge overflowing and three inches of water above that on the cabin floor.  The heater was off and was wet.  I checked the main AC breaker before jumping in.  It was still on so I shut it off and jumped in.  Before doing anything I turned on the DC system and turned on the electric bilge pump.  The electric bilge pump is located in a small bilge under the engine the main bilge is managed by a hand pump.  I quickly knelt down and scooped up some of the water and swished it in my mouth.  To my relief it was fresh water.  That meant one of two things.  It was either snow melt or my freshwater system had leaked.

 

Another shot of this boat just 2 slips away from mine.  The canvas people are going to have a busy spring.

I thought it unlikely that the freshwater system had froze and leaked if the heater was on.  I used the hand pump faucet in the galley and it was sucking water; then tried the electric pump and found everything was normal.  If the system had a leak it should not suck water out of the tank or push it with the pump.  I checked the fresh water line as best I could and found no obvious leaks or pools of water.  The tank was 1/3 full.  

I jumped into the cockpit and busted out the handle for the hand pump.  The water began flowing out.  It was slow going and I decided to switch to a low tech technique and bail by hand.  In case you wanted to know how much water it takes to overfill a CS 27 bilge; the answer is just over 80 litres.  This also answered my question as to where the water came from.  The boat had about half a tank of fresh water onboard (approx. 20 litres) meaning that the water had been show melt.  After about 40 minutes I had the bilge dry and the heater on again.  The fact that there was freshwater under the engine lead me to believe that the water had come from one of the lazerrette hatches in the cockpit where a lot of snow had accumulated.  

Sure enough I found a  trail of wet gear leading from the stern into the rear.  I also found a propane plastic lid cover jamming up the channel that would lead water into the cockpit.  Couple this with the fact that just before leaving I decided to open the engine cover to allow more heat to keep the engine warm (meaning hot air now passed into the lazerrettes meant that the snow cover over the hatches was being warmed from below resulted in this minor disaster.   I am always surprised how problems on boats seem to spring from the smallest most insignificant things.  In the end the WEASEL was no worse for it and learned a few things.

"I thought it was just supposed to rain in Vancouver"

True Polar Bear Racing

SEA WEASEL with a fresh coat of snow.

With Vancouver trapped in the middle of a cold spell sailing is often the last thing people are thinking of.  This Sunday with a predicted high of -4C and 10cm of snow will not scare off team SEA WEASEL.  The team will be heading out to maintain their second place standing in the Vancouver Rowing Club's division 2 Polar Bear series.  However with the snow and the holidays we are looking for any extra hands we can get to come out and brave the cold.  Contact me if you need a ride.

Heather Civic Marina in the middle of the latest cold spell.

The forecast for Sunday at 10am as predicted by www.sailflow.com

Howe Sound Winter Cruise

SEA WEASEL rounding the Northeast corner of Bowen Island. Brrrr!

The idea was innocent enough; go for a quick over-nighter on the boat and work on a few repair projects.  On my way out I got a phone call from David asking if I wanted to do some sailing the next day.  While  I was planning on going back home the next day I agreed.  Dave would take a Water Taxi over the next morning and meet me at Snug Cove and from there we would head over to Gibsons.  

My trip single handing went off without incident and upon reaching Snug Cove settled in for a relaxing night aboard.  The only hitch was when I almost froze to death because I had not turned up the heater to the appropriate level.    

The next morning I enjoyed a pot of coffee and a ichiban and watched a Pile-driver move into place.  The Union Steamship Marina is putting in a new floating office with laundry and the rest of the facilities.  This seams a bit of a odd move considering they already exist a few hundred feet up a ramp at the existing building.  

The new floating marina office at Snug Cove.  Hopefully there will be more showers.

I got a call from David saying that the Water Taxi had left early without them despite him having a reservation.  And they say customer service is dead.  Dave would have to wait 2 hours for the next one.  Not wanting to sit around Granville Island Dave took the bus up to Horseshoe Bay so he could take the Bowen Island Ferry.  When he got there at 1pm he discovered he was going to have to wait until 2:30pm.  This was getting nutty.  I motored over and picked him up.  We then sailed over to Gibsons in bright sunny skies and enjoyed a evening in scenic Gibsons.  

At 10pm we got the great idea to go find a crab pot I had left at Plumper Cove 6 months before and could only be retrieved at low tide.  It was a extremely low tide and a full moon.  Of course it was gone so we returned and settled in to watch Master and Commander.

The next day we awoke to howling winds, freezing rain and snow and dismal forecastes.  We wondered around Gibsons for a bit waiting to see if anything changed.  There was the possibility of leaving the boat there and heading back to Vancouver on the ferry.  In the end we opted to go for it.  The forecast for the Strait of Georgia was a Easterly with 25-35 knots and 5' seas.  It was supposed to switch to a Northwesterly and increase in intensity.  The rest of the weekend looked even worse with the temperature dropping to a high of -1 C!  

We decided that we should take the inside route.  The wind was a about15-20 knots outflowing in Howe Sound.  We set of motoring North and it was miserable the freezing rain and snow was blasting us and it was painful to look into the wind.  Visibility was less than one mile with a low cloud covering everything.  We made decent speed motoring around the North end of Keats Island and midway across the top of Bowen.  The as we got closer to the edge of Bowen it was possible to set sails and reach around the island.  We were in too rough shape to be beating our way under sail.   

Getting out from under the shadow of Gambier the wind hit us at full force.  We bore away under the genoa alone and flew downwind to Point Atkinson in record time.   At the point we were not sure whether we would find the wind still blasting out of the east.  When we got there the Gods smiled on us and it was now a Northwesterly.   We rocketed back to False Creek.  Despite being soaking wet and utterly miserable it was actually kind of fun.  Dave fired up some hot chocolate that soothed my icy hands.

We made the trip home in about 4.5 hours which is not bad for having gone the inside route.  We were sopping wet, freezing cold, and hungry but what an adventure.

Snowboarding goggles were an awesome idea.  Also the foam life jackets provided good insulation.

Dave enjoying the weather.

The Web and Sailing

The Nintendo Generation is not afraid to use technology to enhance sailing.

I grew up as part of the Nintendo Generation.  Born in the late 1970s as a child I cut my teeth on Atari, Intelevision, Coleecovision, and by the time I was seven Ninetendo came out and every kid I knew was hopelessly addicted.  With a background in visually based video gaming we took to computers, especially Windows, with its visually based operating system.  As we figured out computers the web came to life in its primordial but recognizable form in the mid-1990s.  Computers were not merely the world of geeks and social retards but accessible to almost everyone.  For my entire life I have been engaging technology for entertainment, education, work, and socializing.  How does this tie into sailing, a sport that took hold at the turn of the century and who's beginnings date back over 4000 years?

To me the two are inseparable.  In 2001 when I first became introduced to sailing I did all of my research online.  I learned all I could from websites, and forums.  I found my first boat for sale online.  I sold my first boat online (the website is still up: click here).  I found my current Yacht Club online, and I found boats to crew on online.  I even found most of the equipment and crew for my boat online.  I can not imagine my growth as a sailor or enjoyment of sailing without the aid of these technologies.  In the next section I am going to go over some of the technology I employ to enjoy sailing.

Information/Hobby Sites:

Pre-blogs many people out there created simple websites dedicated to there hobbies and sailing was no exception.  They created journals of their cruising or racing exploits, and discussed boat repair and improvements they had made.  There were numerous basic owner's association sites with details on all aspects of popular craft.  These sites provided a ton of information in the early days and have helped me allot.  While these sites still exist they have recently taken on other forms such as blogs, or found user driven sites like facebook and others.  

Here are a few examples:

• Stella Blue - This guy has WAY too much time on his hands.  It is  website dedicated to a man's C&C 38 and the host of modifications and projects he has made.  Worth a look. 
  
•  C&C 27 Owner's Association - A old style owner's association website. 

Tiddly Cove's Website features Tiddly Winks; a blog with a variety of information posted by the club.

Blogs:

Blogs are basically online journals or sites with posts and can be subscribed too by readers.  This site is itself a blog, and the Tiddly Cove Yacht Club's Tiddly Winks are blogs.  Today most people do not build dedicated hobby sites in the same way they used to.  They create online blogs so they can chronicle whatever they wish.  There are often a lot of ways to customize your blog with gadgets, videos, pictures, and many other features.  In the case of sailing there are numerous blogs of individuals sailing journeys, boat repair projects, and any other aspect of sailing. 

Why start a blog?  I use mine to chronicle stories aboard the boat.  I find that it builds a sense of community around the crew, who sail with me.  My family and distant friends can keep in touch.  I also use my blog to post race results, announce events, and highlight boat projects.  

It's funny you think who would read your random ramblings on sailing (obviously if your reading this you are) but people do.  I recently met someone in a Yacht Club bar who started talking to me about my blog and I had not told them about it.  Additionally since I race I am on occasion looking for crew so I direct potential new crew to my blog.  It gives them a chance to know what kind of boat and crew I have thereby increasing the chance of a good fit.

Here are a few examples:

• Tiddly Winks - The collective blog of my Yacht Club; it also serves as our newsletter.
  
• After Blue Sailaway - A cruising journal of a boat based out of Toronto.
  
• Alberg 30 Sailboat Project - A project journal of a sailor rebuilding an Alberg 30.
  
• Sailing Logic - A yacht racing team's blog.
  

Classifieds:

It used to be if you wanted to find a sailboat you went through the newspaper, or boating magazines, or a classifieds paper like the Boat Journal.  Today searching for a new boat or equipment is done almost excursively online.  I can't imagine anyone attempting to buy or sell a boat with any of the low tech options alone.  I for one have equipped my boat with a lot of its gear buy using craigslist, a free online classifieds.  

Here are some online classifieds used by sailors:

• Yacht World - The site to list your boat on.  You have to be a broker to list a boat but this is the first place anyone looking for a used boat in North America goes.  
  
• Craigslist - There 'For Sale' Boating section may not be visually stunning but the deals you can find if you are looking to dig are amazing.  
  
• Boat Journal -  Even the old paper rag now has its postings all online.
  
• eBAy - Has boats and equipment auctioned off on it.  
  

Google Maps is a easy way to scope out your cruising/racing ground.  Google Earth is another option to chart courses.

Sailfow is one of the most accurate weather websites I have used for the Vancouver area.

Weather/Navigation Sites:

While I still go down to the boat and listen to the weather reports over the VHF; this is the last thing I do.  Before sailing I check the weather on the Environment Canada website.  Get a detailed modelling forecast off of a website called sailflow, check out the wind meter at the Jericho Sailing Centre and check the predicted tides.  I am also able to use my iPhone to check this information if I am away from a computer prior to heading down there.  Sites like google maps or its down-loadable program google Earth are great mapping tools that allow you to check out from a satellite's point of view almost anywhere on the globe.  I always take a look to get a rough idea of where I am going when planning a cruise.

Here are some links:

• Environment Canada - EC posts weather forecasts and warnings on their site and updates them throughout the day.
  
• Sailflow - Hands down this is the best weather site for the Vancouver area.  It is hard to believe but their predictions are often right on target.
  
• Xtide - This gives you tide and current predictions for the Vancouver area.
  
• Google Maps - This site gives you a satellite view of any place on the planet.

The facebook TCYC Group.

The famous Sailing Anarchy website combines a blog style front page with a hugely popular forum.

Community Sites:

This is perhaps the most powerful part of the web's impact on sailing.  Community is a tough thing.  Big yacht clubs have seen aging populations and a drop off in club life.  Little or virtual yacht clubs have always struggled with this.  Walking around my marina there is often a lack of activity or life.  However people are finding new ways to get together around sailing online.  

Juggernauts like facebook have huge numbers with numerous sailing groups which allows people network, communicate, and express plan activities.  

In my case our Yacht Club has a facebook group.  We are able to plan events using facebook and invite others to attend.  I often post google earth maps of the location of the meeting and post relevant documents.  We currently have over 80 people belonging to this group.

Forums are simply online areas to discuss any topic you like.  There are a number of sailing forums out there.  I use them for meeting new people or crew, planning events, and even asking technical questions on topics from rigging to diesel mechanics.  The most popular is the Sailing Anarchy forum.  Sailing Anarchy combines a news type blog and a forum.  They have recently tried launching a online virtual yacht club.  Our Yacht Club has recently launched a sailing forum which we hope to be the central area for club interaction and participation when not out on the water.

Here are some forum links:

• Sailing Anarchy - The largest sailing forum out there.
  
• Sailnet - A general sailing forum and a good place to ask technical questions.
  
• TCYC Forum - My yacht club's new forum.
  

Here are some Yacht Club sites (some contain crew pools):

• Tiddly Cove Yacht Club
  
• False Creek Yacht Club
  
• Stamp's Landing Yacht Club
  
• Royal Vancouver Yacht Club
  
• Kitsalano Yacht Club
  
• Vancouver Rowing Club
  
• Burrard Yacht Club
  
• West Vancouver Yacht Club
  
• Eagle Harbour Yacht Club
  

Here are some Yachting event sites:

• English Bay Scramble
  
• Southern Straits
  
• Swiftsure
  
• RIPS
  

Here are some Sailing Association sites:

• Vancouver Area Racing Council
  
• BC Sailing/PHRF BC
  
• Canadian Yachting Association
  
• Council of BC Yacht Clubs
  

General Research:

The web has a disgusting amount of information on it.  I was recently asked how I learned to do all my diesel engine maintenance.  I told them that I had learnt it all online.  When I rewired my shore power completely I did it with online resources to guide me.  When I installed a GPS which I bought off craigslist, I researched it online.  Numerous industry experts or amateurs have posted detailed information on almost any aspect of sailing.  I look online before starting any project and usually get a ton of useful information.

Here are some research links:

• Don Casey's Library - DIY Guide to everything on boats.

While I am certain I have only scratched the surface of what online tools are out there to help sailors I hope this may be helpful to someone.  If nothing else it gives you something else to do on cold rainy winter nights.  

Polar Bear Series Race Three.

Sailflow was showing 4-8 knots of westerly wind for the race.  Most of the crew bailed out except Michelle, who is fairly new to the boat, but I figured since it was light wind everything would be okay.  As I was rigging the boat a fellow sailor walked down the dock and commented on the squall warning out in the Strait of Georgia.  I assumed he meant a gale warning as sailflow had shown some stronger winds developing in the Strait.  I merrily went about things rigging the boat and when Michelle arrived we motored out of False Creek towards the start line.  

It was eerily calm as we motored out.  There was no wind and the sea was completely flat.  There was bright overcast clouds above us and I could see more of the same way off in the distance.  What was unusual though was a band of black low cloud and dark water ahead of us.  We commented on it and I noticed how fast the clouds appeared to be moving.   I noticed the water begin to be tickled by a little breeze and then it hit.  20-25 knots of westerly wind, hail and freezing rain blowing horizontally.

I had never seen anything like this.  The genoa that was loose on deck shot up the forestay.  The boat began to heal over.  I ran up the windward rail and yanked the sail down.  The hail was stinging my face so badly I couldn't look forward.  I went back and looked about.  There was too much wind to have the 140% on so I grabbed the 110%, slapped on some snowboarding goggles and a ski mask and crawled forward.  I threw the sopping genoa into the v-berth through the forward hatch.  The other sail was lashed down and rigged.  I made my way back to the cockpit where Michelle had been helming and minutes later it was over.  The sun came out the black clouds disappeared to the east.  It was surreal.  Now with about 8 knots of wind I went forward again and replaced the 110% with the 140%.  

Despite the earlier dramatics it turned into a great race.  The course for division two was Start - Freighter (dead west off of Stanley Park) - Freighter (close to shore off Spanish Banks, just West of Jericho) - and Finish.  We had a decent start and crossed the line about 40 seconds after the horn, the firs or second in our division.

The first leg was going well as we beat towards the first freighter.  I noticed SHAPAW start to gain on me then pass me by doing maybe a full half a knot faster.  They rate slower than me and in no time they were 10 boat lengths ahead and pointing better.  My jib cars were too far forward and the genoa was too deep.  The car was under too much load so there was nothing I could do.  The main was also a little baggy and needed to be pulled up.  Again it was under too much load to take up so I put on the cunningham which helped.  We rounded the first freighter well behind SHAWPAW with CARLITO's WAY not too far behind and DESIDERATA and KLATAWA far behind.  

Now things were getting tactical.  The options were to head over to the southern shore and work up the second freighter or take a long tack out towards point atkinson and head over to the freighter.  I would have thought to go to the southern shore would have been best but we were going fast and the wind seemed to be a bit better in the North half of the Bay.  We decided to stay to the North.  SHAWPAW went south.  By the time we neared the mark it looked asthough we had beaten SHAWPAW.  

As we rounded we were within a boat length of SHAWPAW and in the increasing breeze we bore away and hoisted the kite.  With just myself and Michelle who was new to the boat and spinnakers we had a shaky start getting it up and the boat settled down.  The fact that the wind was somewhere in the neighbourhood of 15 knots didn't help.  Even SHAWPAW with a full crew was having a tough time.  We flew downwind but needed to gybe to hit the finish line.  this was going to be tricky.  Michelle wasn't tall enough to stratle the tiller and handle the spinnaker sheets.  I cleated them off and went forward.  Getting the pole off was easy  and althought the boat careened from side to side we didn't prematurely gybe or broach.  I took the pole and began to try and catch the other spinnaker line.  The pole caught the shackle and in a split second the spinnaker blew off and was wrapped around the forestay.  Now having had a lot of accidents like this occur on my boat I was prepared I got Michelle to hold her course and keep the speed up.  I went about dousing the spinnaker into the forward hatch.  Returning to the cockpit we gybed over and made for the line.  SHAWPAW was now ahead of us and CARLITO's WAY was making up ground with their kite still flying.  The jib was about to come up when I noticed it was fowled.  Michelle went forward to clear it.  We were doing 7.5 knots of ground speed with just the main.  I would have liked to have the jib up boat as we were rapidly closing on the finish line I let it go.  My only concern was CARLITO's WAY fast gaining on  me with his kite still flying in the strong wind.  He passed me just as we reached the finish line.  Just before crossing he broached to the starboard and lost control.  We passed over the line ahead of him and 3 minutes and 7 seconds behind SHAWPAW, making us second across.  

With the mission accomplished we ran into False Creek under main alone doing between 6-7 knots.  The boat was a bit of a mess but it was the most exciting race of the winter series and I learned that although a newbie Michelle could step up.  She helmed the boat for most of the race and did a great job.  

VRC Polar Bear Series Results:

For details click: HERE

Race Three: December 7th:

Vessel: Corrected Time:

SHAWPAW   0:56:16
CARLITO's WAY 0:59:26

SEA WEASEL 1:00:36 (2nd across the line)

KLATAWA 1:01:57

DESIDERATA 1:07:37

Overall Standings: 

Vessel: Points:

SHAWPAW 3

SEA WEASEL 10

DESIDERATA 11

KLATAWA 12

CARLITO's WAY 15

SARANDIS 15

Tiddly Cove Yacht Club Gets a New Executive

The 2008/9 TCYC Executive: Left to Right, Niko, John, Randy, Ian, Rob, Tyler, Roy, Achilles, Brian, MC, and Trevor.

It is that time a year again when the TCYC has its AGM and selects a new Executive to run the club. Retiring from the position of Rear-Commodore I was looking for a new role within the club. I took up the gauntlet left by Rick F. and became the Fleet Captain, and will be responsible for managing all of the racing the Yacht Club puts on.

My goal this year is to take a good hard look at the racing we do, in particular the under attended races. Our regatta type races, such as the Spring Tune Up and Last Chance have been under attended for years. I would like to concentrate our efforts on building on our more successful races. I am also looking to test out a new and innovative race for the year in addition to continuing with our iconic English Bay Scramble.

To this end I would probably scrap the Spring Tune Up and Last Chance. The New Years race is a great one and I will be trying to promote this one and a raft up to watch the Polar Bear Swim in English Bay. Passage Island is a good race but under attended. This year I want to move it to the week before the big single handed race to Naniamo, and bill it as a warm up single handed race.

In June I am going to push for a new race on the summer solstice. I would like to pursue Niko's idea of a distance double-handed race. 60 nautical miles over night on a full moon night on the longest day of the year. This could be great fun and challenging.

Our summer short series was well run and attended last year and I will endevaour to keep this up. I may look at getting sponsors and working with FCYC to see if we can coordinate our summer programs.

In terms of our most famous race the English Bay Scramble I plan on assisting the chair of the Scramble Committee in building on our successes from last year. This year I hope we can make the following additions/changes:

• Encourage US and Outside of Vancouver boats to attend.
• Hire a chase boat and photographer to document the event.
• Video tape the start.
• Invite a VIP (the mayor) to start the race.
• Invite media participation in the race.
• Improve race result delivery.

2008/9 Executive:

Commodore: Ian

Vice-Commodore: Randy

Rear-Commodore: Rob

Fleet Captain: Tyler

Past-Commodore: John

Social Director: Achilles

Treasurer: Roy

Secretary: MC

Webmaster & EBS Chair: Niko

Officer at Large: Brian

Historian: Trevor

John passes the torch and dorky uniform over to Ian.

Tyler Wins the Log Boom Award

The infamous Log Boom Award.  Each recipient adds a memento to it.

The Log Boom award is a longstanding TCYC tradition dating back to the 1970s when the club was founded.  It is awarded each year to a club member for some form of Jack-Assery or major mishap.  The lucky - or unlucky - individual is selected at each year's Christmas Party by the membership.  There is a open mic and people are encouraged to regale each other with stories of member's embarrassing moments.  

For me there are always lots to choose from in a given year.  This year one stood out, story of the "Keg".  During the Annual Silva bay Hang Over race we had endeavoured to take a keg on the boat.  While this seemed like a good idea at the time it proved to otherwise.  With great power comes great responsibility; and I learned I can not handle it.  Becalmed in the straight on a sunny day we opened up the keg and began to partake of the beer we had on board.  By the time we managed to make it to Silva Bay I had more than my share.  As soon as we tied up I stood up and promptly fell head first off the back of the boat into the water.  After a moments pause I surfaced and was hauled onto the dock, wet and with nothing more than a destroyed cell phone and reputation.  The rest of the night I walked about with a life jacket on.  

This story has plagued me ever since.  I had omitted telling Cheryl this story for obvious reasons when one day she came home and stated that I had something to tell her.  It turns out her Physiotherapist had a friend who went on the race and told her all about this one crew with a keg and how the skipper had fallen off the boat.  So of course when it came to handing out the Log Boom Award this old chestnut was dusted off and repeated anew by Rick our fleet captain to the Club.  

While I am able to produce embarrassing incidents like this with ease I thankfully can only win the award once.

Polar Bear Series Race One Report

The course was Start - Barge Buoy - Freighter - Finish.

Well the day started off cold and miserable.  I climbed into the cabin of the WEASEL and looked outside.  The rain was coming down and False Creek looked dead.  I had been leaving the heater on in the boat now that it was winter time and found it quite cozy.  Putting off getting out into the rain I fired up the stove and brewed a pot of coffee.  

Fatty had already bailed out last night because he had to make wedding invitations (I hope he remembers the Cyanide Pills under his collar).  D-Hog had decided to ride a ATV off of a cliff and was recovering from a torn hamstring.  Despite this I had Curt-Ass, Mike, and Three new crew so I would be okay.  

As I started to get ready Mike texts me and bails, bastard!  Curtis and Michelle, one of the new people that responded to my post on craigslist showed up.  Then we waited.  The other two were no shows.  So with our much reduced crew we set about rigging the boat.  The rain then started to let up.

The start time was delayed as the committee boat was unable to find the proper signals to announce the course.  After some confusion we were off.  For once SEA WEASEL had a great start and made it across the line within seconds of the start horn with only SHAPAW ahead of us.  We made a good run to the first mark, the barge buoy, in 2nd and 3rd place in our division.  

We rounded the mark and took our time putting up the chute to make sure there were no mistakes.  The hoist went well and we headed into shore.  I thought we should follow the faster boats who followed the traditional recommendation to go for the shore.  SARANDIS and SHAPAW headed out  towards the middle of the bay.  KLATAWA and DESIDERATA were both further behind and not making good progress.  It was quickly clear that the wind was favouring the centre of the bay as opposed to being close into shore.  We gybed and headed out for the freighter, the 2nd mark, but any hope of catching the others was gone.  After rounding the freater we set off for the finish with our sails close hauled.  

In the end we finished in 3rd place behind SHAPAW and SARANDIS,  and beating  KLATAWA and DESIDERATA.

Series Results So Far:

SHAWPA (1)

SARANDIS (2)

SEA WEASEL  (3)

DESIDERATA (4)

KLATAWA (5)

Final Repairs and Preperation Done for Winter Racing

Okay I know what your saying: "Didn't you just do this?"  Well I did; then I went down to the boat and broke a ton of stuff.  I was going for a short over nighter to Bowen Island and got down to the boat around 11:30am to discover the batteries were completely dead.  I was able after much swearing able to get the engine going.  I motored over to Bowen to play it safe and the next day when I went to leave I encountered the same problem.  When I returned to Vancouver I did some troubleshooting and determined that the 4.5 year old deep cycle batteries in the boat were indeed dead and in need of replacing.  

Additionally in the process of troubleshooting the batteries I also broke the latch on the companionway.  The metal pins that hold the engine cover on and a few other things.  Enough was enough and I started unscrewing all the little crap I had broken off of the boat and took it all to the pieces down to the marine hardware store and replaced them.  

While at Bowen Island I managed to fall pretty hard against one of my new stanchions and sheered off the new base I had just put on.  Luckily I had prepared for this when I ordered them last time and have a spare one.  Still it was a frustrating experience.

So now with new batteries, stanchion bases and a sack of boat hardware I am prepared to go down to the boat and put the final touches to the WEASEL before the VRC Polar Bear series.  

Reminder on the Polar Bear Series Dates for 2008/9:

1. November 9th
   
2. November 23rd
   
3. December 7th
   
4. December 21st
   
5. January 4th
   
6. January 18th
   
7. February 1st
   
8. February 15th
   
9. March 1st
   
10. March 15th
    

Links:

• For more information on the Polar Bear Series.
  
• For more information on Marine Batteries.
  
• For more information on CS Parts.
  

Upgrade Work to the Weasel

SEA WEASEL with all new lifelines.  mmm-shiny.

To save money I reused my old pelican gates.  This saved approx. $150.

The Port Side attachments had to be replaced.

These stoppers should stop the life lines slackening too much when the gate is opened.  They are better designed for coated cable so I used some rigging tape.  We will see...

To have more control over tension I used Amsteel lashing to attach the lifelines to the pulpit.  This stuff is stronger than the steal but breaks down in UV so it will have to be replaced in 3 years.

For the sake of the meat I added pipe insulation to the toe rail so it will dig in less when hiking out.  This stuff will suffer abrasion and UV damage but at $0.74 for 6'  I can afford to replace it each year compared with stronger sunbrella alternatives.  Zap Straps held it down.

I attached Harken sail chafe rollers to the top life lines.  I am going to add another pair 4 feet back from these ones.  In this shot you can also see my one new stanchion that replaces the one I lost.

Additional Recent Upgrades:

• Bungee system added to winter tarp
• CO2 Detector installed near furnace
• 2x Stanchion bases
• Lowered rear lower life line to accommodate the winches

"It's only Curtis." - SEA WEASEL Gets A Safety Upgrade

When asked about my rusty chafing life lines and the broken stanchions I always used to reply: "It's only Curtis up there."   And this was true it was only Curtis (our foredeck), I mean it was not like someone important was going to fall off the boat and freeze to death; but it got me thinking.  What if someone did go over the side?  Someone important like Fatty?  This was too much to bare so I began to look into getting them replaced; after all who can put a price on human life?

-I can-

Do you know how much new life lines cost.  You have to have the rigger come down to the boat measure it all up and make them.  Well crew be damned I thought; I was at least safe back in the cockpit.  Later while monkeying around with the lifelines I discovered that they could be taken off without cutting them up.  This would save me having to have a rigger come down to the boat and do all the work.  I would also be able to reuse some of the fittings.  But this was still to expensive for Curtis.  Then I realized it would make the boat look a lot better and how can you put a price on that?  

I took them down to the rigger's shop (Protech) and had them done up in 2 days.  After going on a never ending journey to Ontario I found the only shop that carries old CS 27 stuff and ordered a new stanchion and two new bases to fix up everything.  D-Hog even joined me one messy afternoon to rebed the bases.  So after 2 broken drill bits and about $10 worth of hard ware falling into the ocean I can now say I have safe new life lines and boy do they look great! 

Southern Straits Crew Gear Required

With more than 5 months from the start of the Southern Straits Race I wanted to give any prospective crew a heads up on the required safety gear for the race.

• Foul Weather Gear
  
• Non-Slip Waterproof Boots
  
• Life Jacket*
  
• Safety Whistle
• Safety Light
  
• Harness
  
• Tether
  
• Sailing Gloves
  
• Warm Hat
  
• Base Layers
  
• Socks and Undergarments

*Provided if required.

Southern Straits Dates Announced

This year the West Vancouver Yacht Club (WVYC) will be holding their 41st annual Southern Straights Classic April 10th-12th.  This is the most gruelling and difficult race in the Vancouver Area.  This year will be the first year Team SEA WEASEL will be competing.  

Their are three courses, Short, Medium, and Long, of course SEA WEASEL will be doing the short course but at 65 Nautical Miles it could hardly be called short.  The plan is to build up our skills over the winter by competing in the VRC Polar Bear Race.  The boat will be hauled and painted in March prior to the race.  

2009 Short Course

We will be looking for crew that will be up for a potentially 24 hour race.  I would like to have 6 people on board to do the race so we can break into two shifts.  This is a serious race that will involve being on the water for a long time so make sure that you are mentally and physically up for the challenge.  If you are interested please register your interest by emailing me.

For additional details on this race please follow this link: www.southerstraits.ca

Polar Bear Coming Up 2008/2009

Time to bust out the long underwear; the Vancouver Rowing Club is setting up its annual winter series. The SEA WEASEL has a real shot this year at carrying away Div 2. The only question who is in to crew her. Of course her skipper, Curt-Ass and D-Hog are in but this year a full crew would be the way to ensure victory. So if any of the others or have friends are interested let me know and we will ge them aboard. I will be setting up a few trial races soon to build up our skills.

Guy Cruise 2008: After Action Report

SEA WEASEL's course.

Guy Cruise 2008 got off to a late start Friday afternoon when Mike, Dave, and Tyler finally left the dock at approximately 6:30pm with the boat fully stocked for a long weekend adventure.  We all decided to bring hot dogs so this was going to be more of a sausage fest than we imagined.  Our initial plan was to sail over to Gibsons the first night and then on to the Northern Gulf Islands.  As we motored out into English Bay I began to have my doubts.  The wind was coming right out of the west at about 15+ knots.  We rigged the 140% genoa and got started beating out to the west.  

At about 10:00pm we were off the South Eastern tip of Bowen Island in 25+ knots of wind and 2 meter sees.  We were taking allot of water over the deck and the three of us were soaked; well except for mike who had rain pants on.  After Dave began purging over the side we decided Gibsons be dammed and turned for Snug Cove on Bowen.  

It was a long weekend and the Union Steam Ship Marina was supposed to be full.  We broad reached under jib alone into Snug Cove before firing up the engine and hoping to find a slip to tie up to.  As usual half of the small boat transient slips where empty.

We tied up to the first one we came across; and after almost being mauled by a giant Doberman Pincer on the boat next to us we set about the important work.  The boat was a mess down below: bilge water slopped around the cabin, our gear was all over the place, Mike had busted a light off the bulkhead trying to use the head.  We had had to cut one of the jib sheets off when it had become fowled in a block and rope bits were everywhere.  We decided to tackle the most pressing issue first and went to the bar.  

At 11pm on a Friday night there is only one place in town to go and that is the pub up the road.  If you don't know which one I am talking about you have never been to Bowen.  Calling it the cultural hub of the island would not be an understatement.  There we encountered the "townies" as we called them.  There were actually a ton of people and a live band there.  The music was a mix of AC/DC and other stuff and the crowd half dirty hippy and half red neck.  After several hours and corresponding pints we decided to turn in.  

In the morning we staggered out of the boat in search of food at the local cafe.

Recovering from the night before with breakfast.

Following breakfast and a ill-fated shopping trip we decided to head out on the next leg of our adventure.  We inflated SPARKLES and chucked her in the water only to discover bubbles pouring out of her.  She had 3 minor but constant leaks.  We hauled her out and patched her up.  While waiting for the patches to set Mike tried his hand at catching little dock fish to use as bait.  We did catch one and left it in a beer can filled with water.  Then it was time to head to our next destination Port Graves.

Inflating SPARKLES turned out to be more of an adventure than originally planned.

Mike hunts for bait fish with the other three year old kids.

SPARKLES begins to take on water as we sail fast over to Port Graves.

The trip over to PG was one of the most pleasant of the voyage with a stiff following breeze we made excellent time.  Even when we reached the end of Bowen and had to head up wind we found that with a few tacks we were in PG with only one hitch on the way.  SPARKLES being pulled along with no weight in her rear had nose plowed into a few waves and taken on water.  We had her line out either too far or not far enough.  Despite that it was a great sail.

At PG we spent the afternoon crabbing and fishing.  We had no luck with the rods except for some freaky blob thing I dragged up but did manage to catch two medium sized Dungness crabs.  After night fall we took on a covert op but I am sworn to secrecy on this one.  

What the fuck is this thing!?

The following morning we headed out for Gibsons getting caught on a crab pot.  "Damn you O'Donnell! Heading to Gibsons we were informed that they were full so we diverted to Plumper Cove on Keats Island.  We were in a pickle however as many vital supplies had been exhausted and we were going to have to make it over to Gibsons.  We anchoured at Plumper Cove and with a strong inflow and flooding tide we opted to rig the outboard on SPARKLES and motor over.  

About half way across the engine made a funny noise and a loud bang.  The engine had just blown up.  Dave having had the good fortune to be sitting in the rowers seat began to row us towards Gibsons.  As the tide and wind began to take control we moved further and further down the shore line away from Gibsons.  After over 2+ hours we finally made it ashore on a muddy beach near only beach houses.  

At this point a older man approached us and said that he had noticed our problem and wanted to know if we wanted a tow to Gibsons.  While inside my head I was screaming "Why the hell didn't you offer us this when you first saw us out there!?!"  I took the tow from his adult son over to Gibsons.  It was super nice of them and we really appreciated.  After a overpriced and mediocre lunch Mike was sent out to get the vital supplies we had risked our  lives for; beer and steak, and Dave and I headed back to get the WEASEL.   This time the wind and tide where in our favour and the row took about 40 minutes and was quite pleasurable.  

Back at the SEA WEASEL I climbed aboard and tied the dinghy off.  Dave began to get up and when the dinghy lurched he preformed a backwards somersault into the ocean.  With one of the crew thrown overboard I lept into action.  They are my responsibility when at see after all.  I managed to get the camera and photograph him as he climbed up the side soaking wet.

Adrift at see we contemplate the inevitable.

My rescuer tows SPARKLES over to Gibsons.

Dave crawls aboard the boat after a swim.

After Dave's swim we pulled up anchour and motored over to Gibsons where we recovered Mike and prepared a feast of steak and crab.  

How to kill a crab.

After a rather rough night's sleep we awoke and had breakfast at the famous Molly's Reach. Following that we cleaned up the boat and set out for home. With the wind now a South Easterly we beat all the way back to Vancouver. Guy Cruise 2008 had been eventful the absence of Curt-ASS and D-Hog was the only low point.

The boys enjoying a big warm one at Molly's.

SEA WEASEL Prepares for Guy Cruise 2008

Raising money for GC08



Well it is that time of year again. Time for that semi annual tradition: Guy Cruise 2008. This year the boys are getting ready; packing their togas, and sheep lubricant. Now all there is to do is decide where to go. Bellow are listed several options:



Choices, choices, choices.....

Green:
This is the easiest and most straightforward course. Basically it is a tour of most of the notable spots in Howe Sound with access to the bustling metropolis of Gibsons.
Blue:
This is the attempted course for the first 2007 Guy Cruise. Basically it is a sort of pub crawl stopping at the ever popular Silva Bay Marina, Thetis, and Montague. All spots with lots of people and fun.
Red:
This is for those with balls that want to go their own way. Heading North we abandon the crowds and ending in Naniamo.
Yellow:
This goes for the gut of the Gulf Islands hitting some of the best anchorages.

SEA WEASEL Encounters Storm Off Point Atkinson

Cheryl and I had planned for a simple over night sail for a quite evening in Snug Cove with our dog Kingsley. We had no idea what we were in for.

The weather was beautiful with 6-8 knots of breeze. We sailed lazily for Point Atkinson where the wind shut off and we motored. Then things started to go side way. On the way to Bowen I fell through the companion way bruising my arm and pride.


Ouch!
When we got to the marina we found that Bowen Island was in the middle of Bowfest, the local Island pride day. It actually was pretty fun with tons of people having a good time. The music however began to grate on the nerves at about 9pm. Luckily they turned it off at 10pm. If only the boat next to us did!

Typical Wet Coast Weather
We awoke to heavy rain. It made SEA WEASEL feel nice and cozy and we spent a lazy morning getting breakfast and provisions for our return lunch. With no signs of the rain letting up we prepared to leave. As we tided up a man in a 26 foot sailboat with a full family and grandfather aboard approached us and asked us about the wind. He was nervous about the conditions and wanted to know what we were going to do. He told me that the wind was suppose to be blowing over 30 knots at Point Atkinson. I told him we had been through rough weather and were going for it. To be honest I didn't believe him as I had checked http://www.sailflow.com/ which showed light winds.

We motored out into How Sound where it was more or less windless and we continued along towards the Point where we could see wind. As we approached we encountered rapidly increasing wind and current. The boat took on 10 degrees of heel with a bare pole and we found it difficult motoring into the wind and current which was flooding. With our lack of progress frustrating us in heavy winds we decided to hoist our jib and power through the rough seas. This worked beautifully and we were soon making 5.5-6 knots instead of 2 knots.

We arrived home exhausted and wet. Kingsley managed to survive the affair hiding in his pen we made with the lee cloth. All in all a fun trip!

Motoring towards Point Atkinson in 30 knots.


Motoring towards Point Atkinson in 30 knots.

Sailing towards Spainish Banks in lessening wind.

iPhone and Boating

A gps track from a iPhone application.

Okay I am a PC guy. I do not dribble at the site of mac computers but even so I was of course impressed with the iPods that they launched years ago. Now with the release of the iPhone in Canada on Roger's network I had the opportunity to pick one up. This is a cool gadget. While it is basically a mini-pc with a phone attached I saw the potential for sailing.

Curt-ASS used a GPS tracking application and tracked our progress on on the English Bay Scamble; see above. After that we both started looking at various applications for sailing. There is a full marine navigation package for the iPhone with charts, tide applications, and various weather and timer apps that could all be useful. While I am a novice with this device I will post more specifics as I learn them but so far this little gadget looks like it will be a usefull addition to the boat (just don't drop it overboard $$$).

English Bay Scramble Race Report

Team SEA WEASEL at the start.

It was the biggest race of the year in English Bay with 62 boats showing up; and owing to my having to take the dog to 'Puppy School' we were almost late for the start. Crewing we had the Rookie, D-Hog, and Curt-ASS and with a steady 8-10 knots it was looking like it was going to be a great race.

A low res picture from Kitsalano of the start. Man that is a ton of boats!

A shot from the RC boat of the start.

As you know the EBS has 4 marks with two start lines; you have to cross the start line after round one or two of your first marks and other than that it is a free-for-all. We had planned to do the Point Grey Bell Buoy - Passage Island - Start line - West Vancouver - Barge Buoy and then the Finish. This would allow us to take advantage of the massive flood that was coming in during the early afternoon.

This plan was working beautifully as we passed many of our division 7 competitors on our way out to the Bell Buoy and on to Passage Island. What we weren't prepared for was the wind hole like I have never experienced. Just to the west of Passage Island we could see a parking lot of sail boats. There were at least 20 boats bobbing in the water making absolutely no head way. We followed the lead of some of the other boats and stuck to the shoreline. We drifted along for 2 hours around the island passing many of our competitors who in some cases were just meters away from us but not benefiting from the current in close to the island.

Rounding the North end of the Island we all the sudden were pulled in closer to the shore by the same current that had slowly pulled us around. Now we were heading for a exposed rock just off shore from the island with no steerage at all. Desperately we tried to scull around and bare away but it was painstaking. I took the helm from Curt-ASS who then tried to help the others change our sail plan when the fluky wind snapped the boom back braining him and sending him to the cockpit seat dazed.

We finally were able to turn the boat slightly away from the rock inward to shore but we noticed MYSTIC bearing down on us. He was in the same boat as us. As we spun around we had to fend MYSTIC off our stern. They were now in worse trouble than us and as they attempted to follow us around they gently grounded on the rock. We were now drifting into more danger and had no ability to claw off. I quickly fired up the engine and we motored for about 30-60 seconds out of danger. MYSTIC took a little longer to get their engine going but was able to motor off with no serious damage.

Our course around to Passage Island that lead to us almost running around.

I now, mistakenly, believed we were disqualified but we continued on after already investing so much time. It was frustrating as we watched boats a short distance away finally catch wind and make it into English Bay. Our chance finally came and we through up the chute and had a decent run into the bay when again seemingly only for us the wind shut off. Now believing I was out of the race I gave up and retired. Again this proved to me that I should never, never, never retire from a race.

In the end we were burned, dehydrated, and exhausted but we had had some good sailing that we could hold onto; and with a great bunch of guys on the boat it made passing the time easier. I am sure that if we had not given up we could have completed the first two marks and picked up the barge buoy. Oh well.

Our course for the scramble.

Following the race we made our way to the after party at the Maritime Museum put on by my yacht club. It was great; about 200 sailors showed up and the food and entertainment was excellent. I closed out the party and helped with the clean up. All in all I still think this is one of the best races in BC and will definitely be out there next year.

While the lead singer's ad-libbing was a little odd; the music was good.

Div 7 results.