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.

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