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.

Team SEA WEASEL Gears Up for a Weekend of Hot Sailing Action!

The team is gearing up this week for two exciting racing events. Another Thursday night series hosted by the False Creek Yacht Club is starting this week and this Saturday is the English Bay Scramble. We are excited to be taking part in both events. See below for more information. Team SEA WEASEL is expecting to best all of its previous performances.

English Bay Scramble:

EBS Website:
http://www.englishbayscramble.com/
2007 EBS Results:
http://www.tiddlycove.bc.ca/Racing/EnglishBayScramble/2007/results.cfm
2007 EBS Photos:
http://www.tiddlycove.bc.ca/Racing/EnglishBayScramble/2007/photos/

FCYC Thursday Night Racing Continues with the Fall Series (Aug-Sept):

Previous Summer Thursday night Results:
http://www.fcyc.com/race_results.htm
NOR:
http://www.fcyc.com/thursday_night.htm

Covert Ops

-This Mission Never Occurred; the Events are Purely Fictional-

On a recent weekend cruise with some friends and our dog we happened upon a decommissioned frigate HMS Annapolis. She was moored in Port Graves on Gambier island. We were pretty surprised to see her. It turns out that she is being gutted and sunk to make a diving park in Howe Sound. We motored around her in SPARKLES (our dinghy).

That night we decided to throw caution to the wind and board her under the cover of night fall. It was tough going the vessel was protected by a chain strung from one end of the gang plank to the other. Not since the line up at the bank have I seen this type of security. We found the vessel sealed up tightly and relatively stripped down. We were able to climb all over the exterior including ascending her smoke stacks and scaling the face of the bridge. She had her main armament stripped off and the bridge also appeared to be devoid of anything. After a thorough examination we left the ship undisturbed and returned to SEA WEASEL.

New Crew Member: Kingsley

True its not quite a parrot but our new Boston Terrier puppy is becoming a salty sea dog.

Kingsley has adapted well to life afloat.

The only person in Canada to use there Enviroment cheque as intended.

After talking to my friends it turns out I may have been the only person I know to use their government enviro-bribe for its intended purpose not getting new hood ordiment for their hummer. I decided to retool SEA WEASEL with LED lights. I have started with the interior lighting and replaced all the fixtures. This allows me to reduce my battery draw and now I can have white light and red light for day and night use. They were easy to install and worth every penny.