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