Newsletter	March 2002

Commodore's Deck
By Michael Lewis, C42, Wind Raven

Great February meeting!

Hugh Brock, Professor Emeritus of Marine Diesels, presented a short course on Diesel Engines. Anyone ever hear what the four most important things to keep your engine running?…Diesel…Diesel…Diesel…Diesel!

Product of the day to get rid of Diesel smell, ”OdoKleen.” Get it at pet stores.

He gave a hands-on demonstration of bleeding water from your Racor, bleeding air from your fuel lines and how to diagnose and cure cooling system problems.

I saw Pam Evans digging deep into that diesel engine, look out Don.

Ps Great course starting in April at PCC-Rock Creek.

You should have been there!

Check the great case study out on the Crew Overboard Situation below and sign up right now for the Lifesling Seminar on June 8, 2002. I have Kathleen and myself all signed up! Not that anyone plans on going overboard but I want back on the boat quickly and alive.

Our March Meeting at West Marine will be for the nominations for next year’s officers and great shopping opportunities. Be there! We will have the new Columbia River Yachting Association (CRYA) Cruise Schedules available by that meeting too.

It is almost St. Paddy’s Day and everyone is Irish on that day. Hope many of you can join the intrepid cruisers that weekend at Riverplace. So what new bit of philosophy can the Commodore impart in the Irish spirit:

“May you have food and raiment,
A soft pillow for your head,
May you be forty years in heaven
Before the devil knows you’re dead!”

…May you have fair winds and favorable currents.

Notes from the Secretary/Treasurer
By Kathleen Lewis, C42, Wind Raven

By now all should have received their copy of “Mainsheet”. Being the featured association was special. It feels good to be a part of a group that has grown so quickly. Hopefully, this association will continue to bring Catalina owners in the Columbia River area together to share boating experiences.

Our membership continues at 71 member boats. We recently became an official part of CRYA (Columbia River Yachting Association) which puts us on the “official” cruise schedule.

Invoices for dues for the 2002-2003 year will be coming by the end of the month. The current roster information will be on the invoice and it’s important that you note any changes. Our membership year runs from May 1 through April 30.

A reminder! Burgees are still available at $20 each. All should have membership rosters, but we will be updating and printing a new one after the first of May. “Burgeewear” is available by contacting Marlene Himes. See what’s available at the “store” on the website.

Recruiting New Members
By Dale Mack, C30, Celtic Myst

CRACA draws members from Oregon and Washington.  While many of us sail the Columbia River, we also have members who moor their boats on Puget Sound.  Increasing CRACA membership brings with it the advantage of having a larger base from which to draw volunteers.  Spreading the work of running CRACA, either as an officer or as an event or cruise host helps make sure belonging to CRACA is fun for everyone.

To assist with recruiting, the CRACA brochure describes who we are, what we do, and how others can join us.  The brochure is available online as an Adobe Acrobat PDF file, so it is viewable and printable from most people's web browsers.  Adobe Acrobat Reader can be downloaded for free by clicking here.

You can help by leaving a CRACA brochure (in a Ziploc bag) on every Catalina you see, or by walking up and introducing yourself and CRACA to any Catalina owner you encounter.  Belonging to a network of fellow Catalina owners is the best reason for joining CRACA.  Being able to talk to someone who may have already tackled that project you're contemplating, receiving a helping hand when needed, or just cruising in the company of your buddy boat as you visit new waters  is immensely valuable.

Buddy Boat:  Recommended best practice of pairing up a new sailing family with a more experienced sailing family on cruises.  The experienced buddy boat is usually a family that has attended the cruise once before, so they can answer all those questions about how to prepare, what to bring, and what to do on the cruise.  The two boats will typically sail in the company of each other on the cruise.

Lifesling Seminar -- Revised Date!
By Michael Lewis, C42, Wind Raven

June 8, 2002.  Learn to use the Lifesling Rescue System!

Let me tell you a story I read from U.S. Sailing…

Lois Smith, the individual who rescued her husband Rick Smith, tells this case history.

On February 18, 1995 at about 8:30 AM Rick and Lois Smith set sail for Oak Harbor, WA from Everett, WA. The wind was about 15 knots out of the East, with occasional gusts. They had hoisted the mainsail while motoring out of the river. Once around the piling, Rick installed the Autopilot and went about getting the jib on deck. Lois had just stepped out of the cabin and noticed that the boat was not on course. Rick was in the process of carrying the jib sail bag back to the cockpit, and, before she could grab the tiller, the main gibed. The boom hit Rick in the back throwing him overboard. He attempted to grab the lifeline with his left leg, but his momentum prevented him from hanging on. He yelled for Lois to throw a bumper, but she was unable to get it near him. (They were going 6 knots under main alone.) Lois gibed the boat, but she didn’t feel confident that she could sail the boat up to Rick, so she started the engine, tripped the main halyard, and began feeding the Lifesling and line. Fortunately, Rick was able to grab the Lifesling on the first pass. As soon as Rick was in the Lifesling, Lois put the engine in neutral and began pulling him toward the boat. It took about 8 minutes to get Rick alongside from the time he had gone over. Once at the boat, Lois wrapped the Lifesling around a cleat, grabbed the main halyard and started winching Rick up. Lois got his head and chest out of the water and then could only make a fraction of an inch headway with each stroke of the winch handle. Out of desperation she transferred the line to another winch to get better leverage but again was unable to hoist Rick any higher. All this time Rick was trying to help her by telling her what she should be trying. Lois then put the halyard thorough a fairlead and around a 2 speed primary winch but could only get one wrap. Rick was worried that the Lifesling was cutting off his circulation to his arms and afraid that he might slip through the Lifesling. Lois even tried pulling him onto the boat, but of course that was just wasted effort. Luckily for them, Jim Ross on "Danran" saw their situation and tossed her a block and tackle. Rick was weakening rapidly, but was still able to tell Lois how to rig the block and tackle to the spinnaker pole mast car and fairlead the tackle. Once everything was in place, Lois gave one pull, and to her relief, saw that Rick had actually come up about half way. Lois gave one more pull, which put her on her back on the foredeck, but Rick was on the boat. His skin color was dark and gray and he couldn’t walk. Lois helped him crawl towards the cockpit and cabin. Immediately, she undressed him and covered him with all the sleeping bags on board. At that time, all she wanted to do was get hooked up to shore power and get Rick warm. He was very weak but coherent. Jim followed them back to the marina. It took 20 minutes for Rick to warm up enough to stop shivering and shaking. Once in the river, Lois knew Rick would be fine when he told her to slow down and put out fenders on "Blue J’s" side and not worry about the dock side. Lois managed to dock the boat, and she had never docked the boat without Rick on deck. Lois warmed the boat, got Rick some hot soup to drink and helped him warm up, and then finally stop shaking. It was 10:00 AM. It scares her to think that their carelessness could have resulted in tragedy. They have had Lifeslings on all three of their boats, but they have never participated in a Lifesling Clinic, and they almost never wear life jackets on the boat except in heavy weather, and Lois never took the initiative to learn how to handle the boat in an emergency by herself. Lois would like their experience to motivate others to learn proper safety and emergency techniques. They like everyone else believed that nothing could happen to them: only to others. In Lois’s words: "Well, not always!"

Rick comments further that the Lifesling system saved his life.

Commentary from Lois and Rick Smith, S/V "Pee Wee Magic" dated February 21, 1995, faxed from Charlie Bond at Ralson Cunningham, Bellevue WA.

Every and all sailors must know how to react quickly and effectively in the event of a crew overboard situation.

The Oregon Women’s Sailing Association and the Columbia River All Catalina Association have teamed up to offer a special seminar to teach this valuable skill on all-day seminar Saturday, June 8, 2002.

The Lifesling system is designed so even the smallest person on your boat will be able to rescue and retrieve the largest person. Every participant in the class will receive classroom training and then practice an actual rescue.

We are limited in the number of instructors.

First come, first serve, space is limited, so mail your check now for $25 per person (no discount for providing a boat) including lunch for everyone to:

Columbia River All Catalina Association (CRACA)
Attention: Secretary/Treasurer
17535 Monnier Road NE
Hubbard, OR 97032

Naming Wind Raven
By Michael & Kathleen Lewis, C42, Wind Raven

We think that this should be the start of a series of articles from our members, each of us telling how you named your boat, etc. So here goes the inaugural contribution, which boat is next?

So let me set the scene! Zoom in! We were cruising in Alaska. Searching the scenery, flora and fauna for an inspiration to name our new Catalina. All part of the cost of owning a boat but somebody has to do it. We became aware of the Alaskan natives, the Tlingit (pronounced clink-it). We began to read and hear stories told about Raven.

Raven in the most important creature to the Tlingit. Raven is full of supernatural powers and can transform himself into anything at anytime. He loves to cheat, woo, steal and trick. He is known as a transformer. Raven created the world, put the sun and moon in the sky, dispelled the darkness, put fish in the rivers, changed the tides and gave fur coats to seals.

So why not extend these attributes to the Wind. We were hooked and created our own myth that a “Wind Raven” could trick, cheat, woo and steal the wind for our boat.

March Meeting at West Marine
By Michael Lewis, C42, Wind Raven

March 27, at 7:00 PM
West Marine Store, 1176 N. Hayden Meadows, Portland, Oregon

Come and meet the nominees for next year’s officers for Columbia River All Catalina Association. West Marine hosts this meeting, following the business meeting; we are invited to shop until we drop for those “must have” boat toys.

During “our” night at West Marine, they may have some exciting new products to show us and are offering a 10% discount on all products except electronics which have a 5% discount. If you don’t have a West Marine Credit Card, they offer a one-time additional discount of 10% on your first purchase. This is a 20% or 15%! Good deal!

I am sure no one needs directions!

February 16-17.   

Better weather was promised and received. Sunny weather and a little fog but it only rained after we were back at Tomahawk Bay. The ideal time!

Wind Raven (Michael & Kathleen Lewis with Bear and Finn), Raven’s Dream (Rich, Jenny and Kim Freeman) and unnamed, non-member boat(C27) showed up with several by-land cruisers. We enjoyed the company of Dale Mack, Walt Wittke, and Bill & Marla Simon. Dave & Helen Peoples unfortunately arrived after we left. Sorry we missed you.

Kathleen Lewis and Bear

Bear looked with suspicion at the fishermen but was glad to meet them too. He was overjoyed to see the bunny rabbits at The Quay but I was able to restrain him from “too much joy.” After enjoying the Presidential Snacks, Freemans and I went up to check out the Olympics and Curling at The Quay and returned with hot clam chowder in a bread bowl for the boat/dog sitter, Kathleen.

Strolls into Vancouver to nearby Starbucks on Sunday and on the waterfront past the Charthouse, WhoSongs and Beaches ended a great cruise.

March 16-17.  It’s been a relatively quiet month for CRACA cruises – winter months will do that. I guess If we’d dreamed how the weather was going to be, many of us would have long ago planned our summer vacations differently. Anyhow, just a weekend or two away and the St. Paddy’s weekend will be here.

For those of you who signed up, we’ll be getting final dock assignments from the River Place Harbor Master probably Monday, Mar. 11 and will communicate with each of you at that time. This is one of our more expensive cruises ($25.00/slip-find another water front hotel for that price!) so bring cash or a check and plan on dealing directly with Jerry Olsen once you’re tied up. Be careful – he’s a tough character!

For those of you who didn’t sign up, we propose you’re coming anyway – either by boat or land. If you come in by land, there’s parking in a garage directly above the marina and you can either climb over the fence or call us (503-314-0357) for gate access. Future events will be coming on quickly so start planning your calendars.

Who’s going to be Cruise Officer next year? Our nominating committee has been working furiously to find someone – maybe some of you new guys might step forward and volunteer. Annie and I’ll be able to help as needed and overall, it’s a piece of cake job so we’ll finish off the way we started this position – ask not what your club can do for you, ask what you can do for your club!

Astoria-Warrenton Crab & Seafood Festival

April 26-28.  Ralph Ahseln, C27, Oblio is leading this cruise.  Details are available in the February newsletter.

CRACA is still looking for Cruise Hosts

CRACA still has a couple of cruises looking for cruise hosts.  Contact John Meyer if you are interested in helping out.

Vessel Safety Check Weekend
By Michael Lewis, Safety Focus

April 6-7.  Remember that every member should have a Vessel Safety Check (VSC) Each Year!

This is the weekend to get it done. The U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary and U.S. Power Squadron will be available at Hayden Bay and Tomahawk Bay to do your annual VSC. If these locations won’t work, then call me to arrange an appointment. You might want to visit http://www.safetyseal.net/ for more information and the requirements.

What Happens When a Life Raft Deploys?
By Kathleen Lewis, C42, Wind Raven

Hopefully, this is not something that any of us will have to experience for real. Being prepared is a form of insurance and knowing what happens before the emergency actually occurs seems to decrease some of the anxiety.

Life rafts deploy manually or automatically. Within seconds of the life raft being manually deployed, it is fully inflated and ready for occupancy. If the boat should go down, the water pressure (10-15 feet) causes a hydrostatic valve to release the raft and the raft rises to the surface and inflates.

Bill Simon and guest and “Wind Raven’s” crew (aka Michael and Kathleen Lewis) recently went to the Marine Service Center on Swan Island to see “Wind Raven’s” life raft inflate as it was opened, unpacked and serviced. Life rafts should be serviced every two years. Dated or damaged items will be replaced. Ours was done earlier so that it could be packed into a low profile rigid case and bracketed to the foredeck on “Wind Raven”. This will make it readily available if needed.

This experience gave us all a chance to see what should happen, see and ask questions about the items inside the raft, and discuss merits of various types of life rafts.

None of us hope to have to use the life raft, but seeing it and actually sitting in it removed some of the unknowns and mystique that may surround this type of safety device. We also knew we were in good hands. Ray Wilson, the technical representative at Marine Service Center, has “Baby,” one of Bear’s Newfoundland Sisters (same litter).

See the calendar

The Columbia River All Catalina Association newsletter is published once a month online at ColumbiaRiverCatalina.org. Articles are the opinions of the authors and don't necessarily represent the consensus of the Association.