From the Commodore
By Eric Rouzee, C36, Legacy
It’s been a busy, if not weather-perfect summer here in the Pacific Northwest. Here’s hoping for a nice September, which leads me to my first, and most important subject: the upcoming September Rendezvous.Catalina Rendezvous at St. Helens, September 14 - 16
If you haven’t already, be sure to mark your calendars for the weekend of September 14-16. This year’s Rendezvous takes place at the city docks in St. Helens. Several boats are planning to arrive Friday evening, with the bulk of us showing up Saturday morning. Keep in mind that this is the weekend of the RCYC Long Distance Race, which runs down to St. Helens on Saturday the 15th, and then races back on Sunday the 16th. The more dock space we can secure, the better.
We’ve secured the gazebo at Columbia View Park, just above the city docks. We’re also lining up a program that includes several speakers, plus some fun social events, including potlucks for lunch and dinner on Saturday night, and brunch on Sunday. Another event that we’d like to pull off, if participation and water depths allow, is a casual race around Sand Island. This is tentatively scheduled for Sunday after brunch, which would allow everyone to run the race and then proceed back up the river for home.
Here’s a tentative schedule of events:
Friday, September 14
- During the day/evening: Vessels begin arriving at St. Helens city docks
- 5:00pm - Pre-dinner on-docks hors d’oeuvres
- 7:00pm - Informal dinner aboard boats / in town
- 9:00am – Potluck breakfast on the docks
- Noon – Potluck lunch at St. Helens gazebo
- 2:00pm – Capt. Shane St. Clair, Scovare Expeditions
- 3:00pm – Capt. Bob of West Marine
- 4:00pm – Life raft safety and maintenance, courtesy of Pacific Marine Distributors (Eric Rouzee presenting)
- 4:30pm – Oregon Offshore / Swiftsure slide show, courtesy of Eric Rouzee
- 5:00pm – Informal hors d’oeuvres on dock or at gazebo
- 6:00pm – CRACA-sponsored pizza feed at the Columbia View Park gazebo
- 9:00am – Pancake and sausage feed (provided by CRACA) in Gazebo (potluck)
- 11:00am – Casual race around Sand Island
- 1:00pm – Boats head for home
Beyond working on the CRACA Rendezvous, my time on the water this summer has been spent helping other people get out and sail! Among my other duties, I’m this year’s on-the-water race captain for the Corinthian Yacht Club of Portland. It made for a busy schedule, particularly during the month of August, which is CYC’s Summer Evening Series. For those who haven’t taken part in this event, the Summer Series consists of six weeks of racing, every Tuesday and Thursday, ending the last week of August. This season has been crowded, with 25 boats racing on Tuesday nights, and 48 boats racing on Thursdays. It can be a real challenge to get that many boats out, around the marks and back to the finish before the sun sets and you can’t see the finishers, but so far reports from the participants have been very positive. Everyone seems to be enjoying the event. And it’s great to see so many Catalina sailors out there! We have three Catalina 22’s competing on Thursday nights, including our communications officer, Dale Mack, in Crocus. And in the cruising fleet on Thursdays, vice commodore Alden Andre has been racing on his Catalina 38 Fly By.
Again, I’m looking forward to seeing you all in St. Helens. Have a safe and happy September, and keep sailing!
Secretary/Treasurer
By Kathleen Lewis, C42, Wind Raven
Please welcome our newest members:
Peter Rose and Carolyn Carson of VancouverThe association's burgee is available to members for $20. Inquiries about burgee orders should be addressed to:
- Their 1983 C30 Red Herring is at Kalama
Kathleen Lewis
Secretary/Treasurer
17535 Monnier Road, NE
Hubbard, OR 97032
(503) 981-7467
sewingmaven@msn.com
Historian
By Alex Andre', C38, Fly Bye
Hey everyone, summer’s ending and with it this beautiful weather. I’m sure everyone got out at least once this summer to enjoy the beautiful weather. If you took any pictures, I would appreciate it if you could send them to me at alex@teamimpact.org so that I can compile a summer scrapbook for the CRACA website. Enjoy your Labor Day weekend!
Alex Andre'
503-819-9998
alex@teamimpact.org
Communications
By Dale Mack, C30, Celtic Myst
It's been an odd cruising season from Laura and me. While we've used Celtic Myst more than in past years, less of that use aligned with CRACA's cruising schedule. The club's traditional August cruise to Beacon Rock sounds like it was as wonderful as ever. While I missed being there, Laura and my Beacon Rock cruise in May has us planning to do the same again in 2008.
OWSA WNS
I continued volunteering through the month of August the use of Celtic Myst for the Oregon Women's Sailing Association's Wednesday Night Sail (WNS) program. I have to admit it's been nice having a built-in crew every Wednesday night to go sailing with. The boat has performed well and the regular use helps me find maintenance problems early and correct them.
The first WNS of August was probably the most memorable because of the high winds. It was blowing 25 knots in the marina, which required that I handle the helm for the first time in all my WNS experiences. Because of the way Celtic Myst is moored at Tomahawk Bay Moorage I knew it would be near impossible to get the boat's bow around in the wind. Instead of fighting the elements I used the boat's portside prop walk to back out of the slip and back all the way down the fairway. Once out on the river, it was blowing 30 knots. Not normally the conditions most folks go out pleasure sailing in, it turned out to be awesome. My C30 sails so well with just the headsail out, that once we were out of the marina we pointed the bow upriver, unfurled the sail and enjoyed a speedy trip to the I-205 bridge.
Night Sail
Blame it on our Celtic roots but the pattern developed quite by accident. It began after a couple of Mary Kay sails on the boat didn't get us back to the dock until 10:30 pm. Laura had discovered the pleasures of night sailing. Some of the attractive attributes include fewer boats (read less wakes), typically good breezes, calm water, nice temperatures, and no need for sunscreen.
You know you're a night sailor when you start finding yourself leaving the dock at 9:30 pm to go sailing. I'm sure we'll become less enamored the first time we tangle with a log in the dark.
Night sailing between the airport and the Interstate Bridge is pretty easy with all the light pollution, especially on overcast nights. Knowing the hazards of the river (buoys, daymarks, wing dams, bottom and shoreline features, and other boats) definitely helps. For those with a chartplotter and/or radar, the dark is always a good time to work on your skills with these electronics aids.
Mary Kay Sailing
Jim Elieff's idea of taking advantage of Happy Hour at Shenanigan's (Red Lion Hotel - Jantzen Beach) on Friday nights has been used by Laura and some of her fellow Mary Kay Directors as a reward for consultants who achieved various goals. After happy hour we cast off the lines and sail upriver.
We sail with a lot of non-sailors aboard, and in some cases, it's their first time on any type of boat. To maximize comfort we'll normally only fly the headsail unless the wind is light. Casual chit-chat and expressions of thanks for a night off from the responsibilities of work, watching the kids, or tending to chores at home tends to be the main focus as we progress upriver. It's amusing to watch the ladies snap pictures of each other with cell phones and then send the pictures to family members while we are on the sail. They'll be text messaging with home as they describe how wonderful the experience of sailing is.
Beer Can Races
The local Friday night Beer Can Race Series ran from June 8th through August 24th. Designed to provide a casual platform for acquiring or polishing skills without the intensity of a serious regatta, the Bear Can races have earned a reputation for being fun.
One race is run each night, with the various clubs in the area rotating who conducts the race. For 2007, an after-race social was rotated between several local eating establishments well known to the boating community.
Throughout the season, several Catalina's from CRACA were active in the Beer Can races. For 2008, you ought to think about coming out. There are no fees and you don't have to belong to a club to race.
CYC Summer Series
I oddly don't have many pictures of the CYC Summer Series. The lack of pictures is actually a pretty good sign that I was too busy racing the boat to take any pictures. We had only one Thursday night race failed to get run because of a lack of wind. While most of the other fleets anchored, the Catalina 22's were running outboard motor races up to buoy "14" and back to Crocus which was holding station. Later on I motored about snapping pictures. The Race Committee waited an hour for the wind to arrive before abandoning the race at 7:30 pm. By 7:31 pm the wind was blowing 8-10 knots, go figure.
SYSCO One-Design Regatta
Held in mid-August, the SYSCO One-Design Regatta has traditionally attracted Catalina 22's and Catalina 25's to the starting line and so it did again in 2007. New this year was the one day format of 3-4 races (we got four races in) instead of a two-day format of 5 races. Sadly missing this year was the SYSCO hosted social after the race. After a day of great racing, it was a little anticlimactic to just go home. I really liked the one day format but I may skip the regatta next year if the after race social doesn't return.
The racing itself was wonderful. Great breeze combined with excellent courses by the race committee made for a fine day. Prior to the start of the first racing, SYSCO's mark setting boat Pancho fouled an anchor line in the boat's prop. I happened to be motoring by when Pancho's crew waved me over. As they stepped aboard my yellow-hulled Catalina 22 (Crocus) one of the crew thanks me for the "taxi ride" (their words) to the race committee boat and then with a smile says "...oh and look, it's even yellow...". Later in the day with the motor still out of commission, Pancho got a tow from the Gary Bruner's Catalina 25 Encore! which was being raced by Terry Annis in the regatta.
Government Island Getaway
I don't normally think about leaving the dock at 1 pm on a Sunday to go to Bartlett Landing (Government Island - East Dock). With Sherman perched on the cabin top under the dodger, we headed upriver. Our timing couldn't have been better because when we arrived at 3 pm the docks had just been vacated by a yacht club.
We spent the afternoon walking the beach, reading, and snacking. Sunset signaled our departure as we headed back downriver to civilization, and jobs on Monday. We'd never given Bartlett Landing much thought as a day-use destination, but it worked out wonderfully.
Chainplates Leaking?
It's August, it's raining, and I'm enjoying a weekend on the boat with Laura. We're both reading when my boating magazine suddenly gets streaked with a drop of water. After some investigation, I discover that one of the bolts holding the starboard side stainless steel handrail in place is slowly leaking. I duct tape a Ziploc bag under the bolt to catch the water and then proceed to continue my reading.
Fast forward a couple of weeks. Armed with a tube of 3M's 4000 UV Marine Fast Cure Adhesive/Sealant I set about to re-bed the handrails and the boat's chainplates. On the handrails I get lucky. The portion of the cabin top that the bolts pass through is solid fiberglass, meaning no wood to rot because of leaks. After removing all the old caulking I make pretty short work of the handrails. The chainplates turned out to be a bit more challenging. After removing the four screws from the cover plate, I'm easily able to pry the plate off the deck (not a good sign). To my surprise, Catalina Yachts appears to have bedded my Catalina 30's chainplates in white silicone (ouch!). The silicone removal process takes forever as I remove it from the tread of the deck and from the spaces between the chainplate and the deck. It literally took me more time to remove silicone than it took for the rest of the project.
Cruising
Cruising Chairman
By Jim Elieff, C30, Fortune
Well summer is about half over and it's been great for me and the group that have attended the cruises. I have enjoyed and had great memories with the members that have attended the cruises.Beacon Rock Cruise
The Beacon Rock trip is one of those wonderful memories. In attendance were seven boats and one powerboat. The club boats were:
- Doug & JoNell McClaryon, Onawhim, C250
- Jim Elieff , Fortune, C30
- Jim & Rhonda Turner, Fat Cat, C30
- John & Emily Kerrigan, Magewind, C30
- Rick & Cheryl Ward, Cheryl Lynn, C36 (Also aboard were Betty & Jim La Doucieur)
- Jess & Mary Schefstrom, Kira Lynn, C42
- Michael & Kathleen Lewis, Wind Raven, C42 (Also aboard were their grand kids, Abby, Aidan, and Ann along with with the dogs Bear & Scout.)
Thursday morning about 9:30 am Jim Turner called me and said that I forgot to give him a wake up call. Then he said that they were pulling out of Steamboat Landing. Ha Ha.
It seemed like the way we all were traveling that the rain was either behind us or just in front of us, but when we got to were the rain was it was behind us. We had a dry trip all the way, and the weather just got better every day. Thursday a few more boats came up and after that nobody else came up.
On Friday most of the gang hiked up Beacon Rock while a few of us just enjoyed the quiet time on the dock. We had a great potluck that afternoon and sat around and told stories about the events of the day.
On Saturday Cheryl Ward , Betty and Jim La Doucieur decided to climb the other hill east of Beacon Rock. They got some great pictures. They were a little tired, but glad they did it. Marilyn Nicholson drove up and spent the day with us and Rick and Cheryl invited us for dinner that night. What a fantastic meal that was.
There was a 90% chance of rain on Sunday so when everyone got up to find the docks wet some of the folks decided to take off. After they left the sun came out and it was another great day. Five big yachts from Portland Yacht Club came up and we enjoyed their company. That left only Jess, Mary, and me to come back Monday when there was only a 20% chance of rain. Well it started raining about midnight and didn't stop all the way home and after. It still was a great time with friends and I would do it again!!
Flotsam
The Catalina Rendezvous is coming up on September 15-16 and I hope you are planning to come. The committee has been working hard to make it a memorable weekend. The Sail for the Cure is on September 23rd. That same weekend CRACA has a cruise to Hadley's Landing for those of you that want to come to that. In October is the famous Halloween cruise to Bartlett Landing (Government Island - East Dock) on October 20-21. I'm looking forward to seeing all of you at one or the other.
- Sept. 15 - 16, Catalina Rendezvous
- Sept. 22 - 23, Hadley's Landing
- Sept. 23, Sail for the Cure
- October 20 - 21, Government Island - East
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| Wednesday at Barlett Landing |
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| Hanging out aboard Cheryl Lynn |
Astoria Cruise
By Ralph Ahseln, C27, Oblio
In August, Dana Sewall in Rascal and I in Oblio guided four other boats downriver, none of which had prior experience on the river or the route.
Those of us on the river must pass through the low Burlington Northern Railroad Bridge (charted at MHHW 39 feet)... That means having to call the bridge tender on VHF 13 in order to get him to swing the bridge open. I've waited for over 2 hours to pass through. It's an old bridge that has break downs.
Also.. traveling the river often means heavy commercial traffic, both ocean going and tug and barge. When faced with a possible dangerous situation, it's always prudent to call the Captain or Pilot of the commercial vessel, also on VHF 13, to ask his intentions or indicate yours..!
As an example: One thing I WILL NOT do and I advise others not to do is cross any on coming vessel's bow. The river is just too narrow to risk it (also it's an understood navigation rule). These vessels are REALLY "Constrained" in their maneuvering and CAN'T steer to avoid any small vessels. In several talks by Pilots, they've often said that they just HAVE TO collide with an offending pleasure vessel. They have NO choice. Often while they are concerned about the safety, they never know if they HIT SOMEONE ! So a quick call to their Bridge gets positive feedback and a thank you from those commercial Skippers. Besides the RR Bridge tender calls, I had to do just such Channel 13 calls this trip.
Day One, Walker Island
From the Hayden Bay marina six boats headed out. The first big plus.. The RR Bridge opened up shortly after we approached, only a very short delay.
About 50 miles later, we all tied up at what I call the " Jewel" of the river. A private yacht club in Portland built and maintains a two sided 100 foot dock behind Walker Island at river mile 60. The dock is midway between Portland and Astoria. An interesting fact is that they seldom use it and it's open to anyone. It's in a Park-like location that's protected from most hard winds and waves. A wonderful place to hang out.
Day Two, Cathlamet
A short 20 mile trip to the historic little river city, Cathlamet WA. This section of the river begins the most pretty part. And all the rest of the trip can only be seen from the river. At one point, you pass a land point named "Cape Horn" for a very good reason. The winds can be very strong there. In the days of square riggers, ships may be stuck there for weeks trying to go back down to the ocean. It is one of the two "Cape Horns" on the Columbia River.
The city isn't much anymore but it has a marina that's easy to get into. Modern clean restrooms and showers. Getting to Cathlamet the short way requires some local knowledge navigating the zigzag course through the Cathlamet Channel. But it will save a traveler almost five miles if you go around by the main river channel.
Day Three, Astoria
The short 25 mile trip to Astoria from Cathlamet is , IMHO, the most beautiful, historic and grand. The only thing you MUST do is to leave early. The last ten miles to Astoria is virtually open to the ocean winds, and those miles can be nasty. Short short two or three second chop as high as six feet can make things really miserable. Try to get to Astoria before noon to avoid the worst.
One of our boats collected some weed half way there and overheated. He cleaned it out after a while and we moved on, but we had the experience of getting slammed by the wind and waves.
Astoria is a city that for years didn't know what it was. Kind of a Port Townsend that hated tourists. That's changing. The fisheries and timber have pretty much gone, so the city is waking up to the fact that they have more Victorian homes than Port Townsend and more history, and COULD be a tourist destination. New restaurants and motels are popping up, and the Columbia River Maritime Museum is NOT to miss. The view from the Astoria Column is Breathtaking. A great place to hang out..
The Trip Home
The trip back home was pretty much a copy of the trip down river. Following a nearly 1 knot Flood tide, we skipped Cathlamet and went straight to Walker's Island again.
The next day was a slog up river against a normal one knot out flow current. The last night we tied up at the city docks of St Helens, OR. St. Helens is another little river city that doesn't quite know what it is, or what to do with itself. What could be a charming historical tourist town (at least the Old Town part) has struggled over the years. Sometimes the Old Town is filled with shops and services and at other times it's a Ghost Town. It seems to be in transition now. I hope they figure it out
The last day, Sunday, everyone went their separate ways. Some leaving early, some of us late. By now ,if you've stuck with reading this far, you're probably saying to yourself "...but there's no talk about SAILING !!!". Well, August sailing on the Columbia River is a sometimes thing. Sometimes there's proper winds and sometimes there's Not! This trip was in the "NOT" category. What wind we had either came too late or was on our nose. SHIFT HAPPENS! But I had a good time and I think the rest of the boats had a good time too and many of them learned a lot about the river.
Burlington Northern Railroad Bridge - How to navigate it
If faced with the possibility of a tug and barge passing through at the same time you do, call the tug on channel 13 and advise him that you will go to the Washington side of the swing. The Washington side (North side) has at least 30 feet of water and you can pass safely there. There is a bit more current and hydraulics, but it's easy to do. Be sure to stay on the Washington side until Tug has passed. If you tell them that's your intentions, they will love you and praise you.. LOL.. And the Bridge tender will be happy too. He can close the bridge quicker.
Coming home Sunday, we had a tug tow that thought our two sailboats would be a problem for him. I called to tell him our intentions to pass through the Washington side. We both went through he bridge at the same time. He was relieved and happy.. (score big points for Oblio and Rascal).
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.
