Newsletter for December 2003 - Columbia River All Catalina Association

One of the email discussions groups from sailnet.com that I participate in is about Northwest sailing. A list member recently asked if anyone on the list would like to meet up at the Portland Boat Show. Odd thing about the responses was no one directly answered yes or no, they just described how the show was really geared toward fisherman and PWC's and lacked much in the way of equipment exhibits and sailboats.

Logically I knew that descriptions of the show were right on, but emotionally I felt different and at first I didn't know why. As I thought about it I realized that since moving to Vancouver, the Portland Boat Show had come to represent the start of the new boating season for me and more importantly, I had always attended the show in the company of sailing friends. The boat show had become an excuse in the middle of winter to spend a day hanging out with friends.

My friends and I would typically start the morning off together eating breakfast at Elmer's, and then move the gathering over to West Marine, before heading over to the Portland Expo Center to catch the opening at 11 am. The sailboat exhibits were usually our first and last stops while at the show. Whether we were running our hands over the polished aluminum hulls of this year's go fast, jet-powered fishing sleds, or admiring the gleaming gel coat of a ski boat, the conversation always drifted back to sailing. Try the boat show in the company of others who like to discuss sailing, it's a totally different experience.

I want to thank everyone that signed up to staff the booth. Bill Simon reports that all the time slots are covered.

Our display this year will be incorporated with the Sailboats of Oregon space. Fellow CRACA member Dave Dudek and owner of Sailboats of Oregon, plans to display a C42, C350, C30, C270, and a C250. CRACA will have a table set back from two six foot tall wire frame towers decorated with photos of CRACA and Catalina 22 Fleet 20. Each tower will also be flying the club's burgee. On the table we'll have the club scrap book, an information request sign-up sheet, and membership brochures for CRACA and Catalina 22 Fleet 20.

Prior to the start of the show, we'll email out how volunteers get their free tickets and ways to promote the advantages of joining the club.

Thanks to several members for volunteering to serve on the nominating committee to identify a slate officers for our annual elections in April 2004. The officer positions we need to fill include:

Holiday Party Held At RCYC
By Dale Mack, C30, Celtic Myst

December 13. The 2003 holiday party returned to the Rose City Yacht Club, on Marine Drive. Nineteen boating families were represented at this year's event which started at 4 pm and ran until 7 pm.

After a day of non-stop rain, it was nice to share some holiday cheer with fellow CRACA members. RCYC's floating clubhouse made a perfect location for the night's festivities.

I want to express my special thanks to Jim Himes (C28, R-Time) for making the arrangements. CRACA has held several of our meetings at RCYC, and it's Jim who makes the arrangements, arrives early to open the gate, and leaves last to close everything up.

Everyone who attended the party dropped off a food bank donation, and several also dropped off unwrapped toys for the local toy drive.

We socialized and grazed on appetizers starting at 4 pm, and by 5 pm the main dishes for the night's potluck dinner were laid out along with a wonderful collection of desserts.

Starting at 6 pm we held a gift exchange. Each boating family received a raffle ticket. Gifts were randomly selected, and then a raffle ticket drawn to find out who the gift was going home with. Each gift recipient opened their gift for all to see. Even without the gift stealing common with a white elephant gift, it still took about forty minutes to distribute and open nineteen gifts.

To our chief plate and glass washer, Jim Himes, I want to thank you from everyone who attended. Jim was amazing in the galley. He had the dishes from nearly forty guests cleaned and squared away before you could offer to help.

Laura and I want to thank everyone for a wonderful night out. We had so much fun, that we didn't want it to end so we drove over to downtown Vancouver afterward and watched Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton in "Somethings Gotta Give". We can highly recommend it. We and the audience were laughing throughout the movie.

Changes in Altitudes
By Larry Brandt, C36, High Flight

S/V High Flight is a Catalina 36 mkII that we purchased new in early 2002. We accepted delivery in Tacoma and promptly moved the boat to Olympia where I could complete the equipping and commissioning. The trip from Tacoma to Olympia was done on engine only - in fact, the sails were below in their original sail bags. As all vessels need to be registered, and because High Flight was a documented vessel, she had to have a name properly visible. Thus the blue 3M masking tape…I leaned over the toe rail and taped her name on as best I could for the trip to Olympia.

Once in Olympia, I had a proper decal made up and, after removing the 3M tape, applied the decal to the hull., thus making her a much more ‘respectable’ lady.

In Olympia, I installed the radar, VHF with ram mic, chartplotter, WAAS GPS, starting battery and the Espar heater, plus finished up all the details getting her ready for service. Lots of drudgery, let me tell you. In a previous life I used to install avionics in airplanes, but a boat is in many ways much tougher. On the one hand, it’s less paperwork, but on the other, there are lots more fiberglass hairs jammed under your fingernails, more cuts and bruises, that sort of thing. But it turned out beautifully. Electronically, she’s wonderfully equipped; and the Espar forced air heater pumps out so much heat that it can drive you out of the boat!

About the name. I am a “clipped wing aviator,” which means that I no longer fly, due to the loss of my flight medical several years ago when I had a bypass operation. It’s not that I couldn’t have gotten the aviation medical back if I had wanted to, but by that time of my life I had discovered sailboats. Sailing gives me much of the satisfaction I used to get from flying: being responsible for the safety of the flight or passage, handling a fine piece of machinery, having to be “360 degrees aware” of what’s happening, being aware of the weather and of its potential impact on you and the journey, and of course, relying on the ‘wing’ that is common to both activities. In early WW II, a RAF pilot named John Gillespie Magee wrote a poem entitled “High Flight”, which begins with the sentence “Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth, and danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings.” In this new nautical phase of my life, dock lines are, to me, “surly bonds of earth.” Thus the name, alluding to the slipping of surly bonds, and hinting at the beauties common to both flying and sailing.

This is (my wife) Daniela at the helm on great day after departing Aleck Bay, on the south end of Lopez Island in the San Juan's. The westerly wind churned up the Strait of Juan de Fuca fairly well, and we had a spectacular ride until rounding the corner heading northbound towards Anacortes.

In this photo, you see our favorite stance for helming, but in the next month or so we’re going to get a helm seat so that we can sit and enjoy the ride and the view.

In the photo to the right, High Flight is anchored in Fossil Bay, at Sucia Island, last April. This was our shakedown cruise for the season, and it was a very pretty location. Sucia Island is easily accessible from Bellingham, and makes a fine first night’s stop.

High Flight is in charter service with San Juan Sailing at Bellingham, WA (sanjuansailing.com). If not the most popular boat in their fleet, it has to be near the top of their list. The charter customers love her, and many have returned in its second season to re-charter her. I hear great comments from the charters. Because of her obvious aviation-oriented name, one satisfied charter guest wrote in the comment book “A great ride for a Cub pilot.”

High Flight is available for bareboat charter through San Juan Sailing, at 360.671.8089. It’s a great way to expand the horizons of a local Columbia River sailor, to enrich their sailing resume, but without the high costs and inconvenience of heading to Florida or wherever. Those thinking of purchasing a Catalina 36 might consider chartering her to find out if this is the boat for them.

Personally, Daniela and I love living in the Portland area (West Linn), but we love sailing on salt water. So it makes good sense for us. I also get lots of Columbia River sailing as I often teach for Island Sailing Club. Questions or comments? Call me at 503.358.5102.

Catalina Newsletters of the Northwest
By Dale Mack (Commodore), C30, Celtic Myst

Plans for January's Meeting

What	CRACA General Membership Meeting
Where	TBD (we'll send out an email)
When	Wednesday, January 28
Program	Reflections on a Cruise North Bob Gales and Gail O'Neill, C30, Imagine, will present a 30 to 45 minute multimedia presentation of their cruise north in the summer of 2003.