From the Commodore
By Bob Gales
After the C30 Nationals in Seattle at the end of June we pretty much just hung out in the San Juans and Canadian Gulf Islands. Our plans to explore north to the Broughton Islands were put on hold as we became extra careful with Imagine. We wanted to keep her in top condition for her new owners, Monte and Julie Orlando! Gail and I had been off and on about selling Imagine and had talked with Monte and Julie a few times over the past year. Over the July 4th weekend we decided to sell, found out they were still interested and made the deal. With the boat six weeks away from Portland we became cautious boat caretakers.
Now we are home and boat-less. Our search is underway for an affordable late model Catalina 36 MKII. Let us know if you run across our next boat!
Rendezvous
The CRACA 2005 Rendezvous is September 17-18 at Sand Island, east docks, St. Helens. Here is a list of needs/activities still searching for a leader. Please let me know if you are willing to lead, facilitate, assist any of these. If you have something you would like to do please let me know.
- Geocache
- Build your own sailboat races (materials provided for this one-design class)
- Horseshoes (Gail is bringing ours)
- Kayak/dinghy tour
- Knot tying (Dale Mack has volunteered the equipment)
- Kite flying (ok, tell me now to go fly mine and get it over with)
- Heaving Line Toss (Dale Mack has volunteered the equipment)
- “Can You Top This?” story telling, probably at dessert. There should be some good summer adventures to share.
- “Match the Story” Can we match the “secret” bit of info to the person?
- “What’s in the Box” Memory test, we who are older could benefit from this!
- Movie, with a sailing theme of course. Who has the power, projector screen?
- Water taxi
- Music, sea shanties, sing-a-longs, performances
- [YOUR IDEA HERE]
CALL NOW, LINES ARE OPEN
HAPPIEST DAY? That’s a myth!
You have all heard the saying “The two happiest days in a boat owners life? The day you buy the boat and the day you sell the boat!” Well, I think that is mostly a myth. I was certainly happy the day we bought our Catalina 22, Imagine. It was our first real sailboat and we could not have been more excited. We really learned to sail and cruise in our little “camper on the water.” While I would not say we were “happy” when we parted company we were looking forward to our new Catalina 30, Imagine (affectionately known as “Big Imagine”.)
Now, six years later Big Imagine is sold. Gone. Another “happiest day”? I don’t think so. As Gail and I watched Monte and Julie motor away from our slip we were both a bit sad. We thought of all the adventures Imagine had safely and comfortably taken us on. We thought of the challenging conditions Imagine met head on without a whimper. We might have whimpered but she did not. Her diesel engine powered on and on and on. When the wind blew we cruised along so quietly and smoothly. When the wind picked up Imagine would heel over and we knew she was happy.
She was (is) a great boat. Gail and I thought of all the work we had done; cleaning and scrubbing, sanding and refinishing teak, painting stripes, sewing canvas, waxing hull and deck. We did many upgrades for safety and comfort. True labors of love.
Happiest Day? We were happy that Imagine had found a new home. We were happy that we were ready for our next boat. We were happy that we would continue to enjoy the boating life. Never were we happy that we had “gotten rid of that boat”.
Rear Commodore's Log
By Dale Mack, C30, Celtic Myst
This month's newsletter is blessed with submissions from seven separate authors. I want to encourage more of you to submit your sailing adventures.I had a great time crewing aboard Terry Annis' C25 Lematike during the SYSCO One-Design Regatta in August. Also, our annual cruise to Beacon Rock State Park in the Columbia River Gorge was wonderful as ever.
I hope you've got the Catalina Rendezvous penciled in on your calendar for this month. The rendezvous is open to ALL owners of boats from Catalina Yachts. Socializing is the objective of the weekend. I'm planning to be there on my Catalina 22 this year. For those seeking more organized fun, I've been recruited along with other to bring the gear for a couple of the activities:
Heaving Line TossWhether you get there Thursday, Friday, or Saturday, please plan to attend. From Portland, the sail to St. Helens can be wonderful, and for those of you whose boats are berthed in St. Helens come share with us stories of what the local sailing is like.
Knot Tying
- Each participant will have three chances to make a successful heave using a regular heaving line (60 feet of line with a one pound monkey's fist on the end). The target will be five to six feet wide at a distance of about 40 feet from the throwing mark. A successful throw is when the end of the line goes over the target and the body of the line rests on or over the target.
- Each participant will have 90 seconds to tie six knots. The knots are: bowline, square knot, sheet bend, clove hitch, two half hitches, and a bowline on a bight.
See you at Sand Island, St. Helens.
Columbia River
2005 Catalina Rendezvous
September 17-18
Sand Island East Docks, St. Helens
FREE to all Catalina Owners
Potluck Happy Hour Saturday afternoon
Dinner on your own
Potluck Dessert Saturday evening
Potluck Sunday breakfast
Lots of Opportunities for fun!
Water Taxi will be provided
Secretary/Treasurer
By Kathleen Lewis, C42, Wind RavenThere are presently 40 member boats. The Ship’s Store items are still available if anyone wants anything. Burgees are also still available for $20.
From the log of Wind Raven
Plans for an extended journey were modified and our first cruise was to the PYC outstation with our 3 and 6 year old grandchildren. After a few days there we went downriver to Cathlamet and were there when the Six Pac boats arrived from Astoria. We did a lot of walking ( 2 dogs and 2 grandchildren)—actually we called it exploring.
After Cathlamet, we returned upriver staying at the Rainier docks. Just happened that the St. Helens sailing club had Rainier as their first stop on their downriver cruise. We let two Catalinas raft to us that night. Berkley and Carol Smith (C36, Hot Spur) and Ron and Mari Howell. Doug and Karen Knight (C320, Voyager) were their cruise leaders.
Smiths are present CRACA members and the Howells and Knights have been members before.
It’s a “small world” on the river and CRACA has given us the opportunity to meet and get to know so many really neat people.
Our next cruise was to Beacon Rock. Upon arriving we were told that they had sighted a mother bear (with a broken leg) and a cub around the park. The park personnel are very friendly and seem to keep tabs on things going on. Just before we left we heard that a bear had been sighted by some of the park visitors. Fortunately, he was walking with two people and was on leash. Needless to say, our Boat Bear became known to many.
We enjoyed the camaraderie of the crews of Kira Lynn, Celtic Myst, Fat Cat, and Sea Flower. Thanks to Laura Mack for supplying a canopy that made the very sunny dock tolerable. There was hiking, kayaking, sharing of appetizers, and just a relaxing time. The crew of Fat Cat had some boating experiences that they should share with all of us.
By land Dave and Helen Peoples, Jim Elieff and Shirley, and Walt and Marilyn Wittke also were a part of our cruise.
If At First You Don't Succeed...
The Adventure of adding a Dodger to our Catalina 30
By Bennie Harrison, C30, Spirit IIDebbie and I started off the project by ordering a mail-order dodger from Sailboatowners.com. I should have figured out that we were doomed when we began running into problems.
The First Attempt. We received the dodger in the mail and tried to install it, only to discover that it just wasn't going to fit properly. I contacted Sailboatowners.com and asked if we could get our money back. They were very accommodating and Bly Berken (she an owner of Sailboatowners.com) arranged a time to meet us at our boat and remove the dodger. I figured there would be at least a 10% restocking fee and we wouldn't get the shipping back, but she gave it all back to us. This whole frustrating deal spanned about three months. I was very happy and told her that she has a committed customer because she really stood behind their customer satisfaction guarantee.
The Second Attempt. Next, I found this guy in Astoria that was a stitchsmith. I had him come to our boat in Cathlamet for an estimate. I was pleasantly shocked to find that he was going to upgrade several features on the dodger and that it would only end up costing about a hundred bucks more than the doomed mail-order dodger. I gave him the go ahead and in two weekends we had a custom built dodger installed on our boat.
I wanted to share this with you for two reasons. One is that I'm very proud of the new dodger, but also to spread this guy's name around and about the follow through of Sailboatowners.com. The stitchsmith's name is Dean Majors, 503-440-1606, dmajor@pacifier.com. He does it all, dodgers, biminis, etc. and at very reasonable prices and he's willing to commute some. He has references and a book of pictures with his work or if anyone is in Cathlamet stop by the marina and look at ours on D-19. Hope someone takes advantage of both of these great companies.
Cruising
Our Family's Downriver Cruise
The pleasures of island time and great sailing
By Gary Jaeckel, C30, Mistress IIMy thanks to Dale Mack for the picture of Mistress II. It is the only picture we have of her under sail. We had just spent three days in Astoria when we crossed paths with Dale who was heading to Astoria as part of the Six Pac.
A note about the West Mooring Basin. We entered on a minus tide and found only 6.8' when we went in. At least one other sailboat came in after us and grounded as they attempted to enter a slip. They were about six slips in from the end.
We departed the marina while the ebb was still on so we would have plenty of water under our keel. I wanted an early start and did not want to wait for the flood. This may have been a miscalculation because we spent about 30 minutes watching the same buoy off of our port. We had a nice sail all the way into Cathlamet after we passed Dale just east of the Astoria-Megler Bridge.
We left Cathlamet for Walker Island the next day with hopes of another great sail but it was just hot and breathless all day.
Leaving Walker Island on Wednesday we motorsailed until we reached Rainier where the wind built and we made 5+ knots under our 135 Genoa. As the day went on we also encountered the high wind Dale encountered during Wednesday's race. With the 135 reefed to about 50% we were surfing down some swells at over 7 knots . We don't have a GPS aboard Mistress II so this was measured from our old Standard knot-log meter but we were moving along at a good clip. A good measure of our speed is indicated by my death grip on the back stay in the attached photo.
It was a great sled ride all the way into Saint Helens. We were going to stay at Sand Island but it was rolling and breaking so much between the island and the gas dock we decided to sail up Multnomah Channel to Coon Island. Even in the channel with our 135 rolled all the way out we were making over 5 knots. We went back to Sand Island the next morning after it calmed down and spent the next four days there on "Island Time". Sand Island is a favorite spot for our 10 year old Tanner.
Gary, Jeanine and Tanner crew of Mistress II
Cruising Notes from the s/v Imagine
By Gail O'Neill, C30, ImagineJuly 26, 2005
Ganges, Salt Spring Island, BC
We've been living on the boat since June 10, over 6 weeks so far, except for five days over July 4th weekend. We returned then to Portland via Amtrak to attend the RCYC 4th of July celebration and take care of business at home. Unfortunately, my seventeen year old cat Ebony's renal disease had deteriorated and I had to make the difficult decision to have her put to sleep. It was tough saying goodbye to my little friend, but tougher still to see her suffering. Bob and I were both relieved to get back to the boat in Anacortes to continue cruising.
Our summer cruise began June 10 waving goodbye to Friday night beer can racers and motoring down river to St. Helen's and Astoria. We motor-sailed the 32 hour leg of the voyage up the Washington coast to Neah Bay with Judi Davis (OWSA Commodore) and Tom Steenson as crew. We had a fun time with them but they had to jump ship at Neah Bay and we continued motorsailing in very light wind, down the Strait of Juan de Fuca enjoying sunny and warm weather to Port Angeles and Port Townsend. We spent several days recovering Bob's tweaked back and my allergies, doing boat maintenance, cleaning, reprovisioning and general R&R in beautiful Port Townsend. We met the Tall Ship SUVA in lovely Port Ludlow, before arriving early in Seattle for the Catalina 30 National Regatta at Shilshole Bay the weekend of June 25-26.
We were joined by our crew Dale Mack, Terry Annis, and OWSA member Carrie Peterson who drove up from Portland. On Saturday we sailed in light wind and sunshine around Shilshole bay with twenty or more other Catalina's waiting for a race start. After four hours the CYC race committee raised the 'abandon race' flag because, in their opinion, the wind wasn't strong enough to carry a race. We were all disappointed, but who can complain about time spent with friends on a great boat (Imagine) sailing or drifting along on such a gorgeous day. That evening the Regatta dinner and raffle at the CYC clubhouse gave us all a chance to win some prizes and meet other Puget Sound sailors.
On Sunday we woke up to moderate wind increasing to 14 knots with gusts to 16-18. It was a superlative day of sailboat racing with consistent Puget Sound wind in the wide open bay, unlike what we experience on the narrow Columbia River. I had the time of my life as helmsperson for all three races.
Dale managed the foredeck with Bob and Terry rotating on sheets, main, and traveler and Carrie backing them up. With such an outstanding crew my job was easy with opportunity to learn new skills and strategies. And incidentally, our boat was well-commodored with CRACA Commodore Bob, CRACA Rear Commodore Dale, SYSCO Vice Commodore Terry, and me, OWSA Vice Commodore!
We didn't win any races that day but we did receive a 3RD PLACE trophy for our handicap cruising class at the awards dinner that night. It mattered not to us that there were just four boats in our class. We're thrilled to have the trophy and to have had such a fantastic day of sailing plus making some new friends with other Catalina owners. The race sponsors, Catalina Association of Puget Sound were quite hospitable honoring us with a second trophy for "SAILING THE LONGEST DISTANCE" to participate.
The C30 races were definitely the high point so far, for this summers cruise though sailing with the complete J pod of Orca whales in Haro Strait is a close second. We saw the largest J pod male, J1 aka Ruffles again, as in years past. Ruffles dorsal fin has a ruffle at the tip, hence his name given by the Friday Harbor Whale Museum scientists who have been observing the whales for over 20 years. The whales whereabouts are monitored daily on VHF Ch. 80 by local whale watch boats.
We've had boat guests from Portland on and off for a few days at a time.
We've explored some new ports and had excellent sailing across the Strait of Georgia from White Rock to South Pender Island. We were in Ganges last week when I ran into Edie Felix and Karen Anderson and crew on MIRA. Had I known they would be cruising in the Gulf Islands I would have given them a heads up about the Salt Spring Harbor government docks which are half the price of Ganges Marina, though power is not available. But, hey, sailboaters don't need power.
We're back in Ganges this week, one of our favorite Canadian ports, enjoying the sunny warm weather and just relaxing, watching the resident eagle pair and the sea-float planes coming in and taking off and contemplating our next cruise destination. If you come to Ganges, come mid-week to avoid the crowds, tie-up at the government docks and enjoy this beautiful little seaside town teeming with artists and galleries, where you can hear live music every night at the quaint Treehouse Cafe, surrounded by gorgeous Gulf Island scenery.
Cheers from Gail and Bob on S/V Imagine
A Lumpy Yacht Delivery
Bringing Imagine Home
By Gary Bruner, C25, Encore!
The Delivery
We motored for five hours from Neah Bay in lumpy stuff, then put up the rags when the wind came up at about 11 am. We sailed FAST down the coast. We used just the reefed main at night, but still were making 5-6 knots much of the time. It slowed a bit about dawn, but we were ahead of schedule so it was okay. It was really hard work though, keeping on a compass course so as not to jibe in those seas.
We hand-steered during the nineteen hours we were under sail. Too much wave action for the autopilot to keep up I think, although we never really tried it under sail. The waves were fairly large at times. The radio would say 5'-6', but some were MUCH larger. I thought I'd cracked a few ribs after being thrown into the opposite seat while trying to sleep in the cockpit. Ouch!
We were on the fifty-fathom line most of the time, to avoid the crab pots. I don't know how far out that was exactly, but I suspect it was 8-10 miles much of the time. Not much coastline to see from that distance. From my previous trips I liked staying in when I skippered down, but at night I would choose to go out to miss the crab pots. I hate the thought of getting fouled in one, especially if the prop got involved!
We tried for two hours on and two hours off watches at night, but I may have done a bit more at night. By Friday morning after light, Bob did all the steering over the bar and in; I was really hurting from my spill that happened late Thursday afternoon.
We took about twenty-five hours to reach the bar from Neah Bay, nineteen hours of it under sail. We fired up the diesel at 6:30 am. We were at green buoy "3" at around 7:30 am (the 25-hour mark) when we realized we couldn't/shouldn't go on in. It was a ROUGH BAR (closed for a time) so we went way out and came in over a smoother bar on the flood. We crossed the bar around 12 pm, I think, finally, making it about thirty hours all total into Astoria. Not too bad, except for the fog, but Imagine has radar. Bob did a GREAT job of navigating and decision making on the bar.
Good experience, but overall it was draining. I only got about maybe two hours sleep total, although I think I catnapped a bit in the cockpit. I did not want to go into the cabin because my foulies were wet and I hurt too much to take them off to get into a bunk. I laid on the cockpit floor and tried to sleep a bit while Bob drove. I got FREEZING COLD out there in the morning fog. The sun didn't really break out until we were inside the jetty. By the way, I saw two humpback whales just a hundred yards away on the trip though....that was cool.
About those Ribs
I hurt so bad I eventually went to the ER when I got home. The X-rays were negative for broken ribs but the doctor said I smashed a lot of cartilage around a number of ribs on my right side, both low and high. The estimate was 6-8 weeks to recover, just as if I had broken bones. I DID break some ribs on Tartan delivery coming down the coast about 10 years ago...nasty jibe and the mainsheet threw me down. It was worse than this, but not by much.
Tartan 30 Comparisons
Having previously owned a Tartan 30 that I sailed up and down the coast, one of the differences I noticed with the Catalina 30 was that the Tartan's skeg hung rudder seem to allow the Tartan to track better. It made the Tartan feel more like a freight train and a bit less "squirrelly". The Tartan also had a bit more ballast, so I could carry more sail longer.
Beacon Rock in Two Stages
By Dale Mack, C30, Celtic MystAugust 18 - 21. Our annual cruise to Beacon Rock State Park, Washington, in the Columbia River gorge was blessed with great weather. Typically a six and a half-hour motor thirty nautical miles upstream from Portland, this year’s journey to the destination was spread over two days.
The first night we spent in Washougal, WA after a three-hour motor. Laura and I enjoyed a wonderful dinner at the Puffin Café, a floating restaurant at the marina while Sean choose to hang out on the boat with his burger and fries.
Early the next morning Sean and I completed the remaining three and a half hours trip to Beacon Rock (Laura had Mary Kay appointments so she rejoined us on Saturday).
While I've done enough motoring now in the San Juan Islands and on the Columbia River to no longer consider six and a half hours undoable, I will say that the stop in Washougal really broke up the trip both mentally and physically. The Puffin Café features cuisine with a Caribbean influence served either indoors or outside.
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| The cliffs near Cape Horn in the Columbia River Gorge. |
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| The 'secret' creek that runs east from the base of Beacon Rock. The flow of the water is east to west, but its almost undetectable. |
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| My niece Emma Hopson during her first kayak ride. |
- C30 Celtic Myst
- C30 Fat Cat
- C30 Sea Flower
- C42 Wind Raven
- C42 Kira Lynn
Three of the boats tied up to the dock in the unusual fashion of having their sterns to the current that runs pass the docks flowing north to south (Beacon Rock out to the river). For Celtic Myst, we flipped her once at the dock. Docking a boat with the current run from your stern to your bow can be very challenging. One advantage with the transoms pointing at Beacon Rock was that you were shielded from the sun.
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| The late afternoon brings shade to the docks as the tall trees ashore begin to filter and then block the direct sunlight. |
Left to Right in the next photo:
- Michael Lewis
- Dave Peoples
- Jess Schefstrom
- Mary Schefstrom
- Chris Sinner
Left to Right in the next photo:
- Jim Turner
- Rhonda Turner
- Walt Wittke
- Marilyn Wittke
Left to Right in the next photo:
- Chris Sinner
- David Sinner
- Rhonda Turner
- Walt Wittke
- Marilyn Wittke
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| Beacon Rock Sunday morning shortly after sunrise. |
The Macks continued our nearly unbroken record of having high winds on the day of our departure for home. We motor out into the current and find ourselves in 24-knot winds on the nose with gusts to 28. The wind has been blowing for some time judging by the size of the swells in the river. Despite going with the current, the GPS shows that our speed over the ground (SOG) drops to 3 knots from time to time. Celtic Myst is catching the crest of each swell about six inches below the deck at the bow. It's like riding a hobby horse. Suddenly our bow strikes a swell below the crest and we have a foot of water rolling over the deck, diminished to six inches now flowing over the cabin top, until it expends its energy on the dodger. The conditions remain challenging for the first hour, and then they ease to 18 knots. By the time we get to Parker's Landing the wind is down to 12 knots and we are doing eight knots SOG.
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| Sean Mack |
2005 Cruising Schedule
| Date | Destination |
| Sept. 17 - 18 | Sand Island, Upper Dock (Catalina Rendezvous) |
| Oct. 22 - 23 | Government Island, East Dock |
Racing
Crewing Aboard the Catalina 25 Lematike
The SYSCO One-Design Regatta
By Dale Mack, C30, Celtic Myst
For those that don't race locally, let me put the typically race season in context. If someone tells you they race, they probably compete in the SYSCO Spring Series (five evening races), the SYSCO Summer Series (five evening races), and one weekend regatta (fives races over two days). That's fifteen races covering twelve days. In comparison, Terry, Mike, and I raced and practiced aboard Lematike fifty times before the first race of the 2004 C25/250 Nationals.
Long before you can worry about racing strategy (your plan) and racing tactics (how you adjust to the situation) you have to have solid boat handling skills. While we had years of experience racing with and against each other in Catalina 22's, that experience was limited to non-spinnaker racing where the downwind legs are sailed wing-and-wing. The C25's would be racing with spinnakers so much of our "fifty" practices was spent teaching ourselves from scratch how to race with a symmetrical spinnaker and its pole. Racing with a spinnaker is very different from sailing with one. When I sail with a spinnaker I choose not to raise or lower it in a crowd of boats. I choose not to round marks where I'm having to transition between the genoa and the spinnaker. Racing, particularly between the top boats is so close, that most races are being decided by who makes the fewest mistakes. Even with our fifty practices, spinnaker hoists and drops still weren't consistent. Sometimes we were incredibly smooth and other times we couldn't seem to avoid fouling everything up. The other thing you practice, is taking what you know and applying in different wind conditions. It's easy to over estimate your skills when you've been sailing in light to moderate conditions, and suddenly find that everything is moving too fast, and the pressure on everything is greater when the wind ratchets up to moderate to heavy.
Although Terry, Mike, and I had been racing C30's, C25's, and C22's all season, we hadn't been racing together much, so the SYSCO One-Design was a challenge as we fought to regain the smoothness we come to take for granted in 2004. What follows are my notes from two days of One-Design racing.
The SYSCO One-Design Regatta tries to fit five races into two days of competition. Three races are typically held on Saturday and two on Sunday.
Following Sunday's racing, a BBQ is held on the lawn at Tomahawk Bay Moorage where crews are offered burgers, hot dogs, and beverages.
I've participated in the One-Design Regatta aboard my Catalina 22, but all my recent experience has been as a crew member aboard Lematike.
Saturday, August 13
It's Saturday morning and five Catalina 25's have registered for the SYSCO One-Design Regatta. All the boats are members of Catalina 25/250 Fleet 94, and all the crews know each friends. The five boats are:
- Lematike
- Encore!
- Buzz
- Plan 'B'
- Courtship
We all eventually determine that the starting order is: Martins, J/24, C25, and then Cal 20. Terry gets a good start and we are first to windward mark. Like everyone else we wrap our spinnaker. It's clear we are all rusty.
It's a slooooooow HOT trip to the downwind mark. Our strategy going in is to stay between our competition and mark and not repeat our mistake made on the last leg of the last race of the Nationals that cost us the regatta. We are sailing well, but we aren't able to pull away from Encore!. The RC shortens the course for starts 3 and 4 but doesn't fly the correct signals. Instead the RC verbally yells that starts 3 and 4 will finish at the windward mark (good luck hearing the RC if you were too far away). We continue our painfully slow crawl to the downwind mark. In the light conditions it's pretty clear that whoever gets there first probably wins the race since the leg to the windward mark will have the assistance of the current.
We get around the mark with a clean drop using the "Stretch and Blow" method where the genoa is raised and the spinnaker is pull aft so it flattens against the genoa (the stretch) and then the halyard is released (the blow). We decide to place a tight cover on Encore!, so as he tacks we tack, always staying between Encore! and the finish line. Lematike finishes first, followed by Encore!, Plan 'B', Buzz, and Courtship.
Race 2. We are starting after 4 pm so its clear that there won't be a third race on Saturday. The RC puts up course #3 again (two laps). We have a very good start in light air. We are away clean and increasing our separation on the fleet. We sail the downwind leg well. In the dying wind we have a very smooth mark rounding with a clean spinnaker drop. We continue to increase our separation but we know it won't last because the fleet will predictably bunch up after rounding the windward mark. Encore! is off our port quarter. The wind is dying fast. We fight for clear air and round the mark first. Encore! turns shaper at the windward mark and carries more momentum upriver even though their spinnaker set is very late. Lematike stalls after rounding the windward mark and fights to regain speed.
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| C25/250 Fleet 94 Potluck Dinner. |
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| Katie Annis, Terry Annis, and Gary Whitney helping with the SYSCO BBQ. |
Sunday, August 14
Sunday arrived cooler with good but not great wind.
Race 3. Encore! is coming in on port tack for the start. Terry nails the start, and Lematike forces Encore! to duck. Lematike is sailing in clear air, but the right side of the course is favored. We are late to cover Encore! and it is already clear that their port starting strategy is paying off. They have recovered from the duck of Lematike's transom and are moving well to weather.
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| The crew of Plan 'B' |
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| Gary Bruner (Encore!) on the right discusses the racing with one of his crew. |
Race 4. It's the final race and Encore! cross the starting line first with Gary's best start. Lematike is late to the line and crosses second. The difference for race is that we will be going around twice. The weather leg is a repeat of the previous race. Since fleets tend to compress on downwind legs, we know all we have to do is stay close. The downwind leg is uneventful with both boats moving well. Terry's wider angles give him more speed, and although Lematike is sailing a longer course Terry is catching Encore!. Plan 'B' has been sailing her own race and continues to threaten if Encore! and Lematike mix it up too much like Saturday where they slowed each other down.
The downwind mark rounding is cleaner than race 3. Encore! remains in the lead, with Plan 'B' in third. The trip to the windward mark is fast with neither Encore! or Lematike gaining an advantage. It clears that in this regatta the passing is going to have to happen downwind because the windward legs are too short and really favor the right side of the course. There just isn't enough tacking to differentiate the windward boat handling skills of the crews.
We approach the windward mark and start debating weather we should do a jibe set or a bear away set. Never listen to the bow regarding tacks. I want to do a jibe set so the genoa can help drive the boat. Instead, I let myself get talked into a bare away set with a spinnaker so badly packed that Mike has pulled most of it out of the bag trying to find the ends. Up goes the spinnaker with a huge wine glass and the wind off the back of the mainsail wraps the spinnaker around the forestay. We take forever cleaning up the mess. Meanwhile Encore! discovers that they haven't repacked their spinnaker for the second downwind run and are forced to reach upstream. While Encore's bowman beats himself up for not repacking the spinnaker, Gary urges patients as he watches Lematike struggle and he welcomes Christmas in August.
By the time Encore! is under spinnaker, Lematike has drawn nearly even and Plan 'B' is close behind and to the south. While Encore! and Plan 'B' sail at the mark, Lematike sails wider angles between the other two boats. Lematike draws even with Encore! but Gary covers forcing Lematike to jibe away. Unlike Saturday, Encore! and Lematike haven't slowed each other down so much as to hand a big advantage over to Plan 'B'. Encore! rounds first with Lematike close behind. We're on our final leg to the finish and there's little chance that Gary doesn't know the course this time because we handed Gary a course chart for the start of the fourth race.
Encore! crosses first with Lematike three boat lengths behind, followed by Plan 'B'.
After the race SYSCO hosted a BBQ up on the lawn for all participates.
Final Standing
Catalina 25 Fleet - Sailed: 4 Discards: 0 Rating: None
Catalina 25 Fleet - Sailed: 4 Discards: 0 Rating: None
| nnn 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ||||||
| 1 | Cat 25 | Encore! | 685 | Bruner | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 7 |
| 2 | Cat 25 | Lematike | 789 | Annis | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 7 |
| 3 | Cat 25 | Plan 'B' | 4294 | Elred | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 10 |
| 4 | Cat 25 | Buzz | 1361 | Cliff | 4 | 4 | DNC | DNC | 20 |
| 5 | Cat 25 | Courtship | 3 | Waldron | 5 | DNF | 4 | DNS | 21 |
Lessens Learned
- After Saturday's third-place finish in a race in which Lematike got passed by both Encore! and Plan 'B' in the downwind leg to the finish, I spent time rereading North Sail's Performance Racing Tactics by Bill Gladstone. Bill stressed the need to sail wider angles downwind in light air just as if you were tacking to windward. Lematike showed her fastest numbers sailing this way, and when we could keep our air clear, we were faster than the other boats to the mark.
- Defend your air. We weren't good at this. Passing downwind is one of the hardest things to do in sailboat racing and yet we got passed on Saturday and went from first to finishing third in the second race. What happened? Once again my answer was in Gladstone's book. In the last leg of the second race Encore! was positioned off Lematike's port quarter. Gary's attempts to overtake and pass on the windward side were shutdown by Terry who would steer to port to stay in clear air. Without superior boat speed Gary had only one option; slow down, duck Lematike's transom while jibing, and then reach off to gain speed, all the while hoping Lematike would be slow to react. Lematike didn't pick up on the signs of the pending jibe and got caught off guard (lesson here, always have your bowman telling you what the other boat is doing). What Lematike should have done was jibed and stayed between Encore! and the finish line. Lematike's slowness allowed Encore! to build speed faster, place her wind shadow on Lematike and pass. Great move!
- Sailing in August is HOT. 100 degrees on Saturday, and 95 on Sunday.
- Round the windward mark more aggressively in light air to carry momentum upstream.
Local Sailing Associations
- SailPDX (hosted by Oregon Corinthian Sailing Association, OCSA)
- Small Yacht Sailing Club of Oregon (SYSCO)
- Oregon Women’s Sailing Association (OWSA)
- Portland Yacht Club (PYC)
- Rose City Yacht Club (RCYC)
The Columbia River All Catalina Association newsletter is published online once a month. Articles are the opinions of the authors and don’t necessarily represent the consensus of the Association.
