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| Meeting Notes |
April's
general membership meeting was held at West Marine. Aside from the
discount shopping provided by West Marine, the primary task for the night was
the election of new officers.
With weeks of campaigning behind us we prepared to vote. Ok, it was more like arm twisting than campaigning, but we still had to vote.
One of my objectives for the elections in 2004 is to find someone to be Secretary/Treasurer. While Kathleen was gracious enough to do it again, she only did so because the nominating committee could not find someone to run for the office.
Our officers for the 2003/2004 season are:
| Commodore | Dale Mack |
| Vice Commodore | Todd Bellamy |
| Secretary/Treasurer | Kathleen Lewis (starting 4th year in the office) |
| Cruise Director | Jim Elieff (starting 2nd year in the office) |
| Communications | Dale Mack (starting 4th year in the office) |
| Safety | Dave Thomas (starting 2nd year in the office) |
| Historian | Walt Wittke |
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| What | CRACA General Membership Meeting & BBQ This is a bring your own food and beverages barbeque. RCYC is providing the grills out on the docks just steps away from the floating clubhouse. |
| Where | Rose City Yacht Club www.RoseCityYachtClub.org 3737 NE Marine Drive Portland, OR 97211 503-282-2049 |
| When | Wednesday, May 28 Gate opens at 6 pm BBQ and Social from 6 pm to 7:30 pm General Meeting starts at 7 pm Presentation starts at 7:30 pm |
| Program | Schooner Creek Boat Works will give a presentation on their services. |
| Cruising |
Destination
Blind BayFor those of you heading north to the San Juan's this summer for the first time, or maybe even if you have been there before. You probably have not given Blind Bay much of a look. If you love to catch and eat crabs you have to try this small quiet anchorage. Blind bay is located on the top of Shaw Island just off of the Harney Channel. I can almost guarantee that you will get close to your limit of crabs. Normally crabs feed best on an incoming tide but in Blind bay it doesn't seem to matter. Place your trap or ring either close to the day marker at the entrance or about 2/3 of the way back into the bay. We use turkey legs that we have vacuum packed and frozen. Since they are vacuum packed we have been able to keep the in the fridge for an extended period of time. As you can imagine once you break the vacuum seal they go bad very quickly. They seem to work even better and last longer than dead fish.
Blind
Bay has absolutely nothing to offer except a very quit, laid back hideaway that
has tons of crab. With our 7' draft we enter the bay to the east of Blind Island
and the west of the day marker. We have never tried the buoys but with smaller
boats they would be great. They seem to be a bit close together for my taste.
Once you are in the bay you have great holding with a mud bottom. You can anchor
anywhere. Across the channel is a ferry landing that has a market, liquor store,
cafe, and some other small shops. We made the dingy ride over, but got a little
wet with the afternoon chop on the way home. Shaw Island also has a ferry dock,
but very limited facilities. You can go ashore in the bay and walk the few roads
that Shaw has to offer.
Two other noteworthy anchorage's that also are good crabbing, but have a lot more activity are Deer Harbor on Orcas Island, and Roche Harbor on San Juan Island. Both of these harbors have a lot of action for those who want to do something besides just sitting and enjoying the quiet.
Next month I will write about a couple of other anchorage's that are worth a look.
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May
24-26. Jim Elieff (C30, Fortune), has volunteered to lead the
Martin Island Cruise. If you plan to attend, please contact Jim so he
knows who to expect. He can be reached at
elieffmaan@yahoo.com or 503-254-7758.
Information on how to navigate into the lagoon at Martin Island is available here.
Currently the following crews have indicated they will be attending:
Jim Elieff mentioned that Fortune, and Windswept will be going to the St. Helens' public docks on Friday. His plan is to rendezvous at the Columbia River railroad bridge at 5 pm on Friday and then head downstream. Saturday will start off with breakfast at the St. Helens' cafe, and by noon Jim expects to be anchored in the Martin Island lagoon. Jim will be monitoring VHF channel 68 if anyone wishes to reach him once on the water. As CRACA boats arrive in the lagoon, you should see the raft-up already anchored in place by those who went down on Friday.
For those leaving Portland on Saturday who are located upstream of the Columbia River railroad bridge, plan to rendezvous at 10 am just downstream of the I-5 bridge if you'd like to travel in the company of others.
Since CRACA will be both anchoring and rafting up, please bring sufficient dock lines and fenders for both sides of your boat. If you are bringing a pet, you'll need a dinghy because there are no docks.
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Laura and I were still new to trailerable sailboats and were enjoying many of the Sacramento Catalina 22 club's cruises to Monterey Bay, Lake Tahoe, San Francisco Bay, and the California Delta, when someone suggested we lead the upcoming delta cruise to watch the the Fourth of July fireworks show. We had lots of good reasons for not leading the cruise like we'd never been to the destination, we didn't want to be responsible for other people, and the prospects of doing it made us nervous (OK, made me nervous). Despite overwhelming evidence that there must certainly be others more qualified to lead than us, we said yes.
The first thing I learned was that my role as cruise host was about planning and communication, and not about being an expert on the destination or being responsible for others. I still wasn't sure how I was going to be successful leading a cruise I knew almost nothing about. Fortunately, as in most clubs, there were several people happy to answer all my neophyte questions about the destination and help me understand were my responsibility began and ended. To promote the cruise and encourage participation I had access to the club's monthly newsletter and was given some time at the monthly meeting to discuss preparations for the cruise. The club presented cruising awards to boats at their annual banquet based on the boat having attended a minimum number of days on club cruises, and to receive full credit (points) for the cruise you had register prior to the departure. As a cruise host this process provided the benefit of knowing ahead of time who was coming. Just a side note, Laura and I led last October's Halloween cruise to Coon Island, and most of the boats that attended emailed us their intention to participate.
On Not Being the Expert
In some ways being new and not knowing anything about the destination was probably a good thing. One of the pitfalls organizations sometimes fall into is assuming everyone has attended before. If sailing and gardening magazines took that approach there'd be no need for yet another article on sail trim or another story on how to prune your roses. Magazines figured out along time ago that their readership is constantly being renewed with neophytes and so it is with most clubs like CRACA. Since I knew nothing about the destination other than where it was on the chart, I set about talking to others who had attended before. I wanted to know everything: where to launch, where to store the vehicles, what route to take to the destination, where to anchor, how to anchor, what precautions to take when rafting up, etc. It was a lot of fun sitting down with folks and having them relive their previous experiences on the cruise. I heard about what folks thought worked well and what didn't. From the information I gathered, I constructed an itinerary and wrote an article for the newsletter where I tried to anticipate many of the questions a new person like myself might have about the cruise.
The most important advice I received was that "...the cruise host is not responsible for planning how attendees spend their time on the cruise, nor are they responsible for the safe operation of other boats; that responsibility remains with each boat's skipper." Another piece of advice reinforced the club's philosophy that club cruises should avoid being overly planned events that make demands on folk's leisure time, or put people in the uncomfortable position of feeling like they have to join in everything.
Here are my simple steps for successfully leading a cruise:
The hardest part of being the Cruising Officer for CRACA is finding volunteers to lead cruises. Our Cruise Officer, Jim Elieff, has started calling members as he works to fill the remaining cruise host slots on the schedule. Please consider saying yes when Jim calls if you are planning to attend the cruise. If you are interested in helping out, please contact Jim at elieffmaan@yahoo.com or 503-254-7758.
| Month | Date | Cruise | Cruise Host |
| May | 24 - 26 | Memorial Day Cruise - Martin Island | Jim Elieff |
| June | 21 - 22 | Ackerman Island - Northside | |
| July | 19 - 27 | Delta Cruise
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| August | 16 - 24 | Upriver
Cruise
|
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| September | 12 - 14 | Catalina Rendezvous, McCuddy's Landing - Multnomah Channel | Todd Bellamy |
| 20 | Sail for the Cure | Jenny Freeman | |
| October | 25 - 26 | Halloween Cruise, Coon Island | |
| November | 22 - 23 | Thanksgiving Cruise, Government Island - East Dock |
| Racing |
![]() Bob Gales and crew aboard Imagine |
Bob Gales (C30, Imagine) and I had started talking about racing our Catalina 30's not long after I purchased my boat last year. We'd raced our C22's in the local fleet, and continue to crew aboard Catalina 22's in races today.
Local Catalina 22 racing is very casual with the focus on learning. You don't see the the shouting, intimidation, and the aggressive use of the rules occasionally seen from some of the other fleets on the river. It was our hope that we could recreate the same type of competitive, but Corinthian experience in the C30's we had enjoyed with the C22's.
Bob and I identified the following two regattas we thought would be good events to encourage C30 one design racing in:
Three boats came out to race for the Spring Regatta. They were:
The crews onboard the boats included family, fellow CRACA members (Bill and Marla Simon, and Nate Hanson), college students, sailing friends, and members of local Catalina 22 Fleet 20.
Five races were completed for the regatta. Three on Saturday and two on Sunday. Saturday's weather made you want to stay at home. It was cool, damp, and threatening to rain hard as we headed out on to the race course. Sunday saw lots of blue sky, warmer weather, but light and fluking wind.
![]() Duane Christensen and crew aboard Stormy Weather |
I had arranged with SYSCO ahead of time to have the C30's on a race course
that wouldn't require spinnakers to complete the race in a reasonable time since
the C30's had agreed to race without spinnakers. Since downwind sailing
would be wing-n-wing, we also agreed to restrict the length of extendable
whisker poles to 11' 6" since that is the PHRF allowed length for fixed length
spinnaker poles on Catalina 30's. Bob had the spinnaker pole and I had the
whisker pole that would extend out to eighteen feet. Darn, gave away my
one advantage.
I think
Duane used a boat hook, but heck he had the boat with the tall rig and a bow
sprit, so he was pretty killer Sunday's light air. With his large sail
area in Sunday's conditions, you could watch him slowly close the gap with you
on the downwind legs of the course.
So back to the weather. The local news reported showers that day, but I will tell you we experienced something much more intense. We were heading upstream with the wind coming from the south after rounding the first downriver mark of the course. The sky was filled with dark clouds, and we were watching a squall line heading our way. We'd been sailing in about 13-15 knots of apparent wind, and when the squall line hit the wind was blowing 23-25 knots with a peak gust recorded by my instruments of 31 knots. We rounded up as the boat became overpowered. A quick glance over the boat's starboard quarter verified no one was going to get hit by me nor was I going to get hit by someone else as the crew fought to regain control of the boat. The traveler was quickly moved to the leeward side of the boat as the mainsheet was let out. At the same time, the crew eased the genoa sheet to give me back some sense of control at the helm. While this was happening, torrential rain had the water coming off the sails in sheets. How quickly your crew recovered and got you racing again during the squall had a huge influence on who won that race. The second race was less dramatic, but the three race saw a squall came right through the start. Sunday saw sunny skies, but really fluky winds. The most notable aspect of the day was the need to anchor four times on the way to the upriver mark in the fifth and final race. Funny how you seem to streak ahead when the anchor suddenly stops you from drifting downstream with the rest of the fleet. While the weather on Saturday was less than we had hoped for, all three crews had a lot of fun and are looking forward to the One-Design Regatta in August.
So who won? The idea of winning or losing seems foreign to the whole reason for why Bob and I wanted to go out in the first place. That doesn't mean Bob and I weren't out there competing hard against one another. Believe me, when Bob past me on the final leg of the fourth race and won, I was doing everything I could to beat him, but beating Bob or beating Duane wasn't the point in the bigger scheme of things. Each of us won every time we experienced a smooth tack or gybe or every time we rounded the mark and got the sails reset. I liken it to the feeling of hitting a tennis ball in the sweet spot of a racket. In that one moment, everything comes together just right, and for that moment you, the boat, and the crew are the best.
| Technical Tips |
It
Seemed so HarmlessWhen something undesirable occurs twice during the same sail, that's a sign that things need to change. I and my crew were preparing to race in our first regatta aboard Celtic Myst. We were practicing tacks, and our timing still needed lots of work. We were either releasing the sheets too early or too late. After the completion of one of our tacks, three gals preparing to race a Cal 20 in the same regatta were pointing to Celtic Myst's starboard shrouds. A quick glance forward showed the starboard genoa sheet had become fouled on the shroud cleat used to secure the burgee halyard. I sent a crewmember forward to clear the sheet, and thought to myself "that's never happened before." Not more than fifteen minutes later, it happens again. This time the sheet had entangled early in the maneuver and the genoa couldn't tack and the cockpit had effectively lost control of the sail. I fell off more to port to prevent the sail from back winding, and then quickly headed up to relieve the pressure on the sail as a crewmember prepared to pull the sheet off the cleat. I later wrapped tape around the cleat, and we had no more occurrences of the the sheet fouling in it during the rest of the regatta.
I've since removed the cleat and now secure the burgee halyard to the mast. My biggest reason for removing the cleat was out of concern that the sheet would foul in the cleat during a sudden gust of extreme wind just as we are trying to release the pressure on the sails.
| Safety |
It
Takes an AudienceI'd downloaded and printed off the vessel safety check form and had completed my own self inspection of Celtic Myst, before deciding to take Dave Thomas up on his offer to inspect CRACA boats the first weekend in May. Dave met me at the boat in the morning, and together we went through the checklist with Dave recording each item in compliance while I scurried about the boat pulling out registration, documentation, lifejackets, flares, along with showing him the location of pollution and trash placards, and demonstrating the operation of items like ventilation and navigation lights. Things were going smooth until all but my anchor light came on during the inspection of the navigation lights (these things always happen when someone is watching). No amount of fiddling with the switch was getting it to light. A quick voltmeter check showed the switch was delivering power.
Bummed at the prospects of having to go to the top of the mast to change a bulb, I decided to take the opportunity to verify as many of the electrical connections between the switch and the bulb as I could while waiting for the availability of some dock neighbors to hoist me to the masthead. I learned during an earlier project that I could gain access to the wiring harness near the base of the mast. After fishing out the harness and removing an incredible amount of electrical tape that left behind a black sticky residue, I was able to pull apart the plug for the navigation lights. The voltmeter confirmed there was power, but there was also a lot of salt water corrosion leftover from the boat's years in southern California. Unfortunately it appeared that the rigger the boat yard had used when stepping the mast after I trucked the boat to Oregon, hadn't cleaned any of the contacts before plugging things together and wrapping them with tape. After restoring the contacts to a bright finish, I rewrapped the harness and stuffed everything back into mast.
Up the Mast
A couple of my dock neighbors (Bill Simon, C270, Windswept being one) volunteered to hoist me up to change the bulb. Into my bosun's chair I loaded a selection of tools for checking voltage and cleaning contacts along with two spare bulbs just in case I dropped one. The main halyard was used to hoist me, while I used a second sliding safety line that rode on the second jib halyard which I had brought around to the aft side of the spreaders and attached to the base of the mast and made taunt. Even with the two-speed winch, it was a lot of work for those in the cockpit to hoist me forty-one feet to the masthead. Once there the job went very quickly. I cleaned the contacts, verified the voltage level, and installed a new bulb.
Celtic Myst now has her Vessel Safety Check sticker proudly displayed on the port side of the mast, thanks in part to my neighbors and Dave Thomas. One piece of advice I'd like to offer is that you actually tryout your planned method of going up your mast if you've always assumed that was something you could do. I've helped hoist several folks up their mast's, I've been up my mast several times either with help or with my own one person rig, and I've always found most people find the process much more work than expected.
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Vessel
Safety ChecksAll boats in the Columbia River All Catalina Association are encouraged to have a Vessel Safety Check (www.safetyseal.net).
To make arrangements for a Vessel Safety Check of your vessel contact:
Dave Thomas 503-682-2935 or e-mail at thomasdjthms@aol.com
Michael Lewis 503-981-7467 or e-mail at svwindraven@msn.com
The Vessel Safety Check program is intended to serve as a " prevention through education " activity with the mission of minimizing the loss of life, personal injury, property damage and environmental impact associated with recreational boating. It is a voluntary activity. A Vessel Safety Check is NOT a law enforcement action. No report is made to any law enforcement authority regarding the results of a VSC.
Vessel Safety Check required items include:
| Boat length | No Fixed System | Fixed System |
| Less than 26' | one B-1 | 0 |
| 26' to less than 40' | two B-1 or one B-2 |
one B-1 |
| 40' to 65' | three B-1 or one B-1 & one B-2 |
two B-1 or one B-2 |
In addition to the above required items there are some recommended items that boats should carry such as: Marine Radio, Anchor & Line, First Aid Kit, Charts etc.
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This
type of PFD is designed to be thrown to someone in trouble in the water.
a. Type I
b. Type II
c. Type III
d. Type IV
When boating at night in a powerboat, if you see only a red light:
a. You are approaching a sailboat under sail and you must give-way
b. You are approaching a powerboat and you must give-way
c. You are the stand-on boat
d. All of the above
When anchoring, you should let out about 7 to 10 times as much line as the water depth.
a. True
b. False
Learn more about how to obtain your Oregon Boater Education Card at the Oregon State Marine Board website.
| Upcoming Events |
May
June
July
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.