Columbia River All Catalina Association: 200708

Vice Commodore

By Alden Andre', C38, Fly Bye

Meetings

I am holding off until after the CRACA Rendezvous in September for more meetings with speakers. I would like some suggestions from our members on what subjects you would like covered.

Cruising

I made it to the July cruise to Government Island but only for Saturday night. It was very fun and we had the most awesome time. The sunset for the evening was awesome red as my wife’s hair. We had a full boat load me my wife and kids and their friends. The kids had a great time exploring Government Island on and off water (thanks Jim Turner for letting the kids use your kayaks). Rick and Cheryl treated us all (every one with a Catalina) to home made blue berry pancakes for breakfast on Sunday morning.

Of course my wife had to talk to Jim Turner (since he had a cute new puppy) and the conversation went to boats and installed equipment on his boat. And she happened to tour every ones boat at the dock. So she asks me as we are sailing back how come I have to go out side and turn on the generator on the boat to get AC? Jim says all we need to do is install an inverter and we can have AC. Doesn’t he race with you she says? Can’t you have him check out boat and see if we can install that thing? Also she says, have him check out our refrigeration system that has failed I don’t like the ice in the ice box. Well my thoughts on these items are I don’t really mind packing the ice it lasts two weeks in the ice box. And what’s so hard about starting a generator. Also if it doesn’t make the boat go faster why spend any money on it. Well I kept those thoughts to my self and shook my head in agreement to her comments. I also had Jim come and take a look at my electrical system and give me some thoughts on what he would do. We found that I have a lot of electrical power and I wasn’t even using the second bank of batteries because I didn’t even have them switched on. So now we are designing a new inverter system so my wife can get up in the morning and plug in the coffee maker. So in my mind I weigh this option, happy wife or new go fast equipment. Wifey wins out, if she’s not happy I won't be happy no matter how fast I'm going. She is usually right anyways. It was her idea for a new bimini and full enclosure I just wanted the bimini but I have to say I like the full enclosure now.

Racing

Well the CYC Summer Series has started off with a bang. We took fourth the first race and was in first place the second race until the end we blew a tack and stalled and got beat by a C&C 38. I had to brag to Eric (our commodore) who was on the committee boat that a Catalina was in first place as we passed them heading to the last mark. I know he held is head in shame when he saw us blow our tack and the C&C went flying past us.

I did the downriver race to St. Helens called the Gold Rush. It was more like the Gold Drift. The race started with an east wind so we all rushed to the start with spinnakers flying. Then when we got around the corner the wind died. The rest of the race was floating sideways, backwards, spinning in circles drifting down the river with the current. We even passed boats with our bow pointed up river. It made for a long day. My friends comment on the boat was who cares at least were not home doing honey dooooos. We finally finished at 9:30 pm the race started at 11:59 am. That was by far the longest it has ever taken me to get to St. Helens. Sunday was a rainy wet motor back to Hayden Bay (thank you WIFEY for suggesting the full enclosure) it kept me dry on the trip back.

Summary

July was a great month and we still have a lot of good weather months left. This summer is going by too fast, I haven’t been able to go out on any long cruises yet but plan on doing some in August. Have a great month and hope to see you on the water.

July 14-15, Government Island East Dock

Onboard the C38 Fly Bye

Carrie Andre' and crew aboard Fly Bye

Rick Ward serving up pancakes

Rick & Cheryl Ward, C36 Cheryl Lynn

Werner & Renate Bittner, C28 Loki

Mary Schefstrom & Jim Elief

July 21-22, Gold Rush Race to St. Helens

C38 Fly Bye

Secretary/Treasurer

By Kathleen Lewis, C42, Wind Raven

Wind Raven enjoyed our downriver cruise. We spent time at PYC’s outstation, Sand Island, Cathlamet, Astoria, and Illwaco.

We have met several CRACA members on our voyage. It’s been fun sharing the boating experiences.

Historian

By Alex Andre', C38, Fly Bye

As the summer progresses, don't forget to take photos of your adventures. Even if it’s just a single photo, send it in with an explanation, and I’ll use it. If you have photographs that aren’t digital, just bring them to a CRACA meeting or event, and I can scan them to a PDF file and give them back. I’ve yet to leave the ground with this project, and in order to do so, I need input from you; the members of CRACA.

Alex Andre'
503-819-9998
alex@teamimpact.org

Safety Focal

By Michael Lewis, C42, Wind Raven

On July 31, the FAA decommissioned WAAS satellites 122 (#35) and 134 (#47), and that at least some marine GPS receivers are not able to recognize the remaining two correction-sending birds, 135 (#48) and the new 138 (#51). I know that my Raymarine 120 does not recognize them. In other words, your GPS may not be showing your position quite as accurately as you’re used to.

Check your WAAS satellite service numbers—the # you should see on your GPS’s status screen—to the “PRN” numbers.

Communications

By Dale Mack, C30, Celtic Myst

What a weird summer weather-wise we are having. Its been hot, cold, dry, wet, dead calm, and blowing over 30 knots. If you had told me at the start of the season I'd be wearing my foul weather gear in July, I've have said you were crazy. Despite the weather I've been out sailing in all of it and having a ball.

Fireworks

After a two year hiatus, Laura and I decided to start the month off by watching the Fort Vancouver Fireworks Show from our boat. We had originally expected to be on our downriver cruise but, Laura came down with a killer of a summer cold, so we nixed the trip.

We were joined later in the day by Laura's sister and family for a BBQ. The marina itself was a hoot. It's amazing how many rundown, dirty, and neglected boats suddenly have crews aboard to watch the show. I can think of cheaper ways to have a reserved seat.

OWSA WNS

What's not to like when you can combine your desire to going sailing with a volunteer activity that provides you crew every Wednesday evening. That essentially is what the Oregon Women's Sailing Association's Wednesday Night Sail program is all about. After expressing my interest in making the boat available, I get an email invitation every Sunday night during the season. I respond back if I'm available, and by Tuesday OWSA has sent me an email identifying who will be crewing for me on Wednesday. During the sail I try to stay in the background. When there are experienced sailors in the crew I let them do the coaching. I also never touch the wheel, including boat handling in and out of the slip, I just coach them through the maneuvers. I personally think an OWSA membership is the best bargain in town. For $25/yr, women have the WNS, their own race series, classes, a newsletter, great coaching, and camaraderie in a supportive environment.

Mary Kay Sailing

New this year has been Laura's use of the boat for rewarding top-performing members of her Mary Kay unit. A couple of these events have coincided with CRACA's Happy Hour at Shenanigan's. Laura and some of her fellow Mary Kay Directors treat the consultants to Happy Hour and then take them out for an evening sail. The evening sailing has actually been more like night sails, with the boat not getting back to the dock until 10:30 pm. On windy evenings we'll sail with just the headsail. My C22 and my C30 sail very nicely with just the headsail, and it makes the boat very comfortable. I find my two boats don't perform very well with just the mainsail up.

Racing

I and my crew of fellow C22 owners are having a blast racing this year. Our performance is all over the map, but the joy and laughter have been wonderful. The Catalina 22's are racing one-design which means that enough of us choose to race this year that we get to race against other Catalina 22's. We are in the same start as the Ranger 20's, so it's always fun to see how many R20's we can beat to the finish line.

The SYSCO Summer Series ended in July and the CYC Summer Series started near the end of July. I've never done the CYC series, but after last year's racing withdrawal I thought I'd give it a try. So far the Catalina 22 fleet is enjoying the series but we are finding the courses a little wacky. Normally race committees try to spread the various fleets out to avoid congestion at the mark roundings. CYC race committees seem to like congestion. A typical CYC downwind mark rounding looks like this to the Catalina 22 fleet:

J/24's from the first start have rounded the downwind mark and are coming straight at you.
Cal 20's from the second start have about half the fleet around the mark heading at you and about half the fleet in the process of rounding the mark.
Catalina 22's and Ranger 20's from the third start are about 100 yards from the mark running a gauntlet of J/24's and Cal 20's.
The Cruising Fleet from the fourth start, made up of twenty-eight foot and above sized boats, have caught up to the Catalina 22's and Ranger 20's and are slowing them down by blanketing much of the wind. The leaders of the Cruising Fleet are starting to sail through the Catalina 22 and Ranger 20 fleets.

Despite the wackiness, the CYC series has been fun. The series runs through the end of August.

The strangest racing experience this year didn't even happen out on the racecourse. I and my partner in Crocus, Don Bateson, were scheduled to race in the Gold Rush to St. Helens. A fellow Catalina 22 owner from St. Helens brought his boat up to race back against us, so we were looking forward to a fun day. I arrived at the boat early and discovered that our Honda 5 hp outboard was gone, stolen, pilfered. I called Don and let him know not to bother coming down to the boat. I later found out that a Honda 8 hp outboard was stolen from a boat two slips away at about the same time. Today, $1,500 later, Crocus has a brand spanking new Tohatsu 8 hp outboard that is lighter than the Honda 7.5 hp outboard I had on my previous Catalina 22 before Crocus.

Cruising

Cruising Chairman

By Jim Elieff, C30, Fortune

Happy Summer fellow CRACA members,

It was a great July, lots of wind during the week to go sailing, and I know a lot of you did. That's part of what summer is about. Some of you are traveling, having Parties with family and friends and doing some boating.

The trip to Government Island's East dock on the 13th to 15th was attended by, The Waverly yacht club Commodore and his wife, Chris and Linda Chilberg, along with the following members from our club:

Dave & Eli Meigs, Le Compromis, C38
Craig Sorenson & Kim, Ivan's Ho, C30
Rick & Cheryl Ward, Cheryl Lynn, C36
Jim & Rhonda Turner, Fat Cat, C30
Jess & Mary Schefstrom, Kira Lynn, C42
Werner & Renate Bittner, Loki, C28
Alden & Carrie Andre', Fly Bye, C38
Jim Elieff , Fortune, C30
Jerry Sampson & Karen Clouse (C27 Sydera) came in for Saturday in their Boston Whaler.

We had great weather and a great time together. There were some fantastic sunsets. Takes your breath away. We all just had a great time.

The August 4-5 cruise to McCuddy's was attended by:

Jim Elieff, Fortune, C30
Craig Sorenson & Kim, Ivan's Ho, C30
Dave & Eli Meigs, Le Compromis, C38
Jim Nocar, C36

Jess & Mary Schefstrom drove in on Saturday and stayed for the Dinner at "Marks" . It was a great weekend to just kick back and relax. There was live music both nights that was enjoyable.

Next week some of us are heading for Beacon Rock on Wednesday and coming back on the following Monday. We always have a great time up there. Looking forward to seeing some of you there.

CRACA Cruising Schedule

August 16 - 19, Beacon Rock
Sept. 15 - 16, Catalina Rendezvous
Sept. 22 - 23, Hadley's Landing
Sept. 23, Sail for the Cure
October 20 - 21, Government Island - East

April 21-22, Government Island, East Dock

May 26-29, Martin Island

June 1, Shenanigan's Happy Hour Catalina Rendezvous

July 14-15, Government Island East Dock

Local Sailing Associations

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.

Columbia River All Catalina Association

Wednesday, August 1, 2007

200708