ColumbiaRiverCatalina.org		September 2004

From the Commodore
By Dale Mack, C30, Celtic Myst

The last week in July I dropped in on the boat open house being hosted by Bennie & Deborah Harrison at Tomahawk Bay Moorage.  The Harrison's had recently moved up from a C27 to a C30.  The excitement of new boat ownership was in the air, and the table and ice chest where laden with refreshments to welcome all that came down to checkout the boat.  The boat is beautiful and will hopefully provide Bennie & Deborah years of pleasant memories as they caulk up day sails and cruises.  If I recall correctly the boat's new name will become Spirit II, and it will be berthed in Cathlamet.  Congratulates on the Catalina 30.

Sailing this season has been wonderful, and August was no different.  Between racing in the  SYSCO One-Design Regatta as crew aboard a Catalina 25, taking Celtic Myst up to Beacon Rock, and the occasional day sail, I had several opportunities to see many of you out there enjoying your boats.

Bill & Marla Simon, trailered their C270, Windswept, north so they could experience sailing in the San Juan and Gulf Islands.  Bill was fortunate to be able to borrow a trailer from another local C270 owner.  Be sure to ask Bill about the process of getting the boat north, and their adventures once there.  From Bill's telling of the story, they have been having a wonderful time.

Shaping the future CRACA

CRACA's August meeting/social at RCYC was lightly attended, and then mostly by the rendezvous organizing committee.  Our Vice Commodore, Jim Himes, in the July newsletter brought up the topic of reshaping the association's focus by promoting a few key events each year and possibly doing away with monthly meetings, especially during the summer months.

Since CRACA isn't the only club or association several members belong to, Jim's ideas are worth considering in regards to what role CRACA plays in its member's busy schedules.  For example, imagine a CRACA calendar that looked like this:

January	Portland Boat Show Booth
February	Party:  Boat Show Survivors
March	Vessel Safety Checks
April	Catalina Discount Night @ West Marine Cruise:  TBD Vessel Safety Checks
May	Cruise:  Martin Island
June	Cruise:  TBD
July	Cruise:  TBD
August	Cruise:  Beacon Rock
September	Cruise:  Catalina Rendezvous
October	Cruise:  Coon Island or Government Is. East Dock
November	Party:  Season Finale Banquet

In this example there are no monthly meetings, just cruises and parties with an emphasis placed on the Boat Show Survivors Party, the Catalina Rendezvous, and a Season Finale Banquet.  You also might notice that there isn't anything in December.

If you have an opinion on this topic please share them with Jim Himes and myself.

Catalina Rendezvous, September 17-19

Registration for the Catalina Rendezvous at McCuddy's Landing is going very well.  With the event two weeks away we currently have twenty-seven crews coming.  The breakdown looks like this:

This event is open to ALL owners of Catalina Yachts, and not just CRACA members. 

Sail for the Cure, September 25th

If you haven't signed up to participate in the Sail for the Cure there is still time.  Last year's two hour fun sail followed by the picnic dinner and live music at Tomahawk made for a wonderful day.

Laura will be out of town the day of the event so I've been busy recruiting a rookie crew from work, including a novice skipper.  I hear the organizing committee makes up a new on the water game each year, so you never actually know what you'll be doing aboard the boat until you pickup your instructions and t-shirts on the day of the event.

If you haven't done this before, it kind of goes like this:

Vice Commodore's Report
By Jim Himes, C28, R-Time

Well the Catalina Rendezvous is coming up in a few days. We have 27 crews already signed up to attend. Hope to see you there. The October and November meetings will be held at Rose City Yacht Club and the Christmas party also will be held at there.

Last month I mentioned about a boat we have up in Puget Sound. To make it a short story so I don’t bore you to death, here are some details. Those people that know us know we have some property on Anderson Island, which is located in the South Sound. We are both getting close to retiring and building on our lot. Since a house is a full time job to take care of we decided to buy a boat and do some early exploring before we move there.

After a long search and one boat failing survey we finally decided on buying a boat like the one we have here in Portland. No learning curve when you have the same boat. We found a boat at West Yachts in Anacortes WA. (www.yachtworld.com/westyachts). The boat we bought was a 1993 Catalina 28.

The people at West Yachts were the most professional sales people we ran into and did everything to make the buying of this vessel go smooth.

I will do a comparison of the two boats (picture can be viewed at www.r-time.com).

The 1993 was made in February of 93 and the 94 was made in November of 93.

To those of you familiar with Catalina know that they continually upgrade the boat. We found the following things between the two boats.

• The 1993 has no cleat in the anchor locker, while the 94 has a cleat.

• The genoa cars on the 93 are half the size of the 94.

• The 94 has turnbuckles covers the 93 has exposed turnbuckles.

• The 94 has an upgraded engine panel, while the 93 has the old model.

• The cockpit shower on the 93 is located in the starboard locker, while the 94 is located in the port locker. I think this change was made because it can leak and get into the aft cabin via the fuel tank tray.

• The shear stripe on the 93 is gel coat, while the 94 is plastic tape.

We keep the boat at Swantown Marina in Olympia. This has turned out to be a most enjoyable experience. The marina and grounds surrounding the marina are one of the best in the Northwest. The office people have been very nice to deal with. And since it is basically in downtown it is close to everything. The sailing has been great but due to family matters we haven’t ventured out beyond Budd Inlet.

No meetings in September, & December

Catalina 25's in the SYSCO One-Design Regatta
By Gary Bruner, C25/250 Fleet 94 Captain

Terry Annis aboard Lematike, C25 #789

Congratulations to Terry Annis on Lematike, with crew Dale Mack and Doug Dillon (2004 C25 National Champion), who placed first in the SYSCO One Design regatta, August 14-15.  With two firsts and a second place in the last race, Lematike did a great job.

Congratulations are also in order for Bob Waldron on Courtship, who sailed with his family and Bill Sanborn (a former C22 owner and C22 Fleet 20 Captain).  Bob broke the second place tie with Encore! after the first day's races, to do a horizon job on the fleet in the "drifter" on Sunday to win the race and finish second overall.

Other boats competing were: Gary Bruner's Encore!, Ray Clift's Buzz, and Alice Patten's Tybreaker, who swooped in to snatch crewman John Fazio off the deck of Encore! just before Sunday's race, as she was single handing.

Newbie Don Brooks sailed with Ray Clift on Buzz, as did his family.  Gary Bruner had Tony Partain (2004 C250 National Champion) and wife Wendy out on Saturday aboard Encore! and Loren's "notable crewman" Rob June from the C25 Epiphany was on the foredeck on Sunday, as well as wife Kathy. There were some great water fights during the postponements while waiting for wind. I think the C25s had more fun out there than any other fleet!

Alice Patten aboard Tybreaker, C25 #4922.	Ray  Clift aboard Buzz, C25 #1361
Bob Waldron aboard Courtship	Gary Bruner aboard Encore!, C25 #685

SYSCO One-Design - Racing "Catalina Serious" Style
By Dale Mack, crew aboard C25, Lematike

Terry Annis (C25, Lematike) mentioned recently that we had probably sailed together nearly fifty times this year as we practiced for the C25 Nationals, raced in the Spring and Summer Series, competed in the One-Design Regatta, and took part in a few Beer Can Races.  Combined with learning how to fly a symmetrical spinnaker from scratch, improving our tactics, and practicing how to conserve speed through tacks, we had an awful lot of fun.

While we take racing seriously, it has to be described as "Catalina Serious".  What I mean is it doesn't matter whether we're racing my Catalina 30, going against each other in Catalina 22's, or I'm crewing aboard Terry's Catalina 25, our "seriousness" is on a sliding scale based on the experience, knowledge, and demonstrated  performance of the other boats.  For example, when the other boat is a novice we're not likely to push our right away if we think the other boat might be unsure of the rules.  This "Catalina" approach to serious racing is intended to nurture newcomers and foster long term friendships.

This year's One-Design Regatta was met with light winds that allowed only three of the five planned races to get off.  Under the blazing sun the less serious side of Catalina racing exposed itself on Saturday, and reemerged on Sunday with even more boats packing firepower.

On Saturday while most boats sat bobbing anchored under the hot sun waiting for the wind to fill in, thoughts turned to mischief.  Aboard Lematike (not at anchor) two large piston-style squirt guns sat loaded in a bucket of water in the cockpit.  The slow motor past the first victim didn't raise any suspicions until the cockpits drew near and Lematike suddenly raised its armaments and let go a broadside.  Potential targets quickly responded with buckets on future passes.  Lematike wisely avoided mixing it up with the J/24's because of their frequent use of a bucket in place of a porta-potti.

The first salvo on Sunday was unleashed by one J/24 against another.  Piston-style squirt guns were everywhere, and the most prized weapon of all was an outboard with lots of horsepower so you could outrun your attackers (Gary Bruner on Encore! won that category).  Boats were darting in and out of the anchored boats as broadsides were aimed at moving and anchored targets alike.  Lematike, which had started Saturday's melee, remained tied astern of the anchored Buzz, and became a favorite target, leaving her crew thoroughly drenched before the start of the first race on Sunday.

While I'll be returning to Catalina 22 racing next season, I want to thank Gary Bruner and Terry Annis for keeping the Catalina 25 racing this year fun, challenging, and always "Catalina Serious".

Beacon Rock
By Jim Elieff, C30, Fortune (Cruising Officer)

The Beacon Rock trip was a little different than most trips there.  Dale, Laura and Sean came Thursday on their C30, Celtic Myst with two kayaks to play with.  John Meyer came on Shekinah (C34) on Thursday also.  Marilyn and I arrived just before dark on Friday on Fortune (C30) with one kayak to play with.  John's friend Joseph Bruining from work came up Friday in his Catalina 22, Wingman.

On Saturday everybody enjoyed the slightly overcast day but warm weather.   Also on Saturday Mike Moen and Olga Ginez showed up in their C30, Born Free.  A friend of mine, Gary and Jill came up to visit for the afternoon and went home. It was a fun Saturday with people arriving, kayaking, visiting with people on the dock, watching three people from a church get baptized, and John's folks came up for lunch and brought Ann so she could ride back with John.

Sunday the weather turned for the worst and everybody left but Marilyn and I.  We stayed until 10am Tuesday and then started home.

The trip from Beacon Rock to Multnomah Falls was a little windy (28 to 32 knots of wind with 4' swells).  From Multnomah Falls across to the Cape Horn channel the wind was 35 knots with gusts to 45 knots.  We had lots of water over the bow, and our speed went from 6.7 knots to 3.8 knots while running at 2400 rpm.  I didn't think we were ever going to make it across.  From Corbett home it was pretty calm.  When we got back to the dock Marilyn said that the boat sure looked clean.  Yah, with about 1000 gals of water or more pouring over the deck I guess it would be clean.

I'll probably be sailing between the I-5 bridge and I-205 bridge over Labor day, and possibly up to East dock. I hope everybody got to enjoy trips in their boats this summer. See you all soon at the Catalina Rendezvous.

 

The Majesty of Beacon Rock
By Dale Mack, C30, Celtic Myst

Celtic Myst underway for Beacon Rock on Thursday morning. Shekinah, C34, John & Ann Meyer Celtic Myst, C30, Dale, Laura, & Sean Mack Wingman, C22, Joseph Bruining and Molly Fortune, C30, Jim Elieff and Marilyn. Sunday morning clouds and rain. Born Free, C30, Mike Moen & Olga Ginez

Laura and my first cruise to Beacon Rock was in May 2001 aboard our earlier Catalina 22 Harmony.  The estimated time of 6 to 7 hours of motoring to reach the moorage would eclipse our previous longest motor of 4.5 hours from Anacortes to Roche Harbor in the San Juan Islands.  As is my nature, I fretted about how much fuel to carry, how strong the current would be as we neared Bonneville Dam, and whether I had the correct charts for the trip.  I brought 9 gallons of fuel for the outboard split between the 6.3 gallon main cruising tank and a 2.7 gallon Rubbermaid refill fuel can.  I burned a total of 7.5 gallons for the whole trip.  As far as my concerns about the the hour after hour sound of the motor as we spend 6 hours and 22 minutes reaching the destination, it wasn't bad at all, and in light of last year's nine hour motor from Cathlamet to St. Helens, it no longer seems like a big deal, plus the scenery is gorgeous.

Since that first trip, this cruise has become an annual event for our family.  There is just something about waking up to the mist in morning as it clings to the ravines along the Oregon side of the gorge, or watching the cranes fishing in the shallows.

Our trip began is year on a Thursday morning under a thick marine layer.  To the east the sun was starting to come up and casting an orange-pink glow.  Down below, Laura and Sean remained asleep as I pointed Celtic Myst's bow upriver at 6:55 am.

The 6.5 hour trip to Beacon Rock was uneventful.  Except for a couple of places where I was able to unfurl the head sail, the wind remained light.  By 1:30 pm the boat was at the dock.

Friday and Saturday included lots of reading, napping, kayaking, and walking the dog.  I managed to circumnavigate Pierce Island (across from the docks), but breaking free of the current at the east end of the island so I enter the Columbia River was a bugger.  It took me two attempts against the strong inflowing current.  While gliding through the thin water on the north side of Pierce Island, Sean and I were amazed at the number of 18-24 inch fish sunning themselves in the shallows.  We stopped counting after a hundred.  In some places they were so far inshore their fins protruded above the surface of the water.  The kayaks allowed us to quietly glide up to the fish and be nearly on top of them before they darted away.

Over the course of the next two days we were joined by four other boats.  Those attending the cruise include:

• Joseph Bruining and Molly
  C22, Wingman

• Mike Moen & Olga Ginez
  C30, Born Free

• Jim Elieff and Marilyn
  C30, Fortune

• Dale, Laura, & Sean Mack
  C30, Celtic Myst

• John & Ann Meyer
  C34, Shekinah

Joseph Bruining decided to spread the trip over two days and spent his first night at Reed Island (just upriver from Washougal, WA).  This was Joseph's first trip to Beacon Rock by boat, and from his comments, probably not his last.

We had great weather right up to 6:15 pm on Saturday night.  The crews from the five boats had finished sharing potluck appetizers and were sitting around chit-chatting and contemplating dinner when the skies opened up and began a series of thunder showers that would last for the next five days.

Apart from the rain, our trip back on Sunday was the easiest thus far.  We had an apparent head wind of 13-17 knots, but the sea conditions were relatively calm.  Dressed in my foul weather gear, I piloted the boat home from under the dodger with the handheld autopilot remote, while Laura and Sean played cards below.

The crew of the Celtic Myst had an absolutely wonderful four days.  If you haven't been to Beacon Rock yet by boat, I can highly recommend it.

 

SAIL for the CURE September 25, 2004 Organized by the Oregon Woman's Sailing Association About the Event Our common opponents is breast cancer, so Sail for the Cure® was designed as a fun event for the whole family that emphasizes boat-handling skills and cooperation rather than competition. Previous year's events included creative games such as Bingo, Q & A, and Boggle.  This year's event is sure to be just as fun and exciting! After the sailing event, join us for the post-event party with food by Bugatti's Restaurants and live music.  A silent auction (opening at the morning check-in) will be sure to tantalize you with items such as sailing clothing, classes, massages, wine and goodies, and other fun things. Who can Attend? Everyone from non-sailors to novices to expert sailors are invited.  If you would like to participate but don't have a boat, let us know on the registration form.  We'll do our best to match people who need boats with boats that need people.  If you have a boat but need crew (or can take crew), let us know on the form.  A few rules:  each boat does need to have a woman acting as skipper (no necessarily the helmsman), everyone must provide their own lifejacket (boats may have one you can use; check with the skipper) and children must be accompanied by an adult. Registration Fees Early registration, through September 8:  $20 per person (children age 12 and under are $12 and allowed by skipper permission only) and includes a T-shirt. Event Day Registration:  $30 per person (children age 12 and under are $22 and allowed by skipper permission only) and includes a shirt if supply allows (there is no guarantee). Breast cancer survivors will receive a Sail for the Cure baseball cap (additional hats will be for sale) and all net  proceeds will be donated to the local affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Register by Mail Mail registration form and entry fee (please make checks payable to Oregon Women's Sailing Association) to: Oregon Women's Sailing Association Sail for the Cure PO Box 17615 Portland, OR  97217 Deadline to enter: September 8, 2003 Be sure to enter by this date to guarantee your T-shirt and avoid the late fee. For more information, call the Sail for the Cure Hotline at 503-249-2152, send an e-mail to evineyard@peoplepc.com, or visit our Web page at www.owsa.net. Event Day Schedule 10am - 12pm:  Event Check-In.  Pick up your Sail for the Cure packet and T-shirts, check out the silent auction items, and register if you haven't already (no on-the-water registrations will be permitted).  Day-of-Event registrations are $30.*  Tomahawk Bay Moorage Picnic Area, 515 NE Tomahawk Island Drive. The skipper's packet will include instructions on how to do this year's event. 1 - 3pm:  Sail for the Cure.  The Columbia River near navigational buoy #14. 3 - 6pm:  Post-event Party.  Food, music, silent auction and fun prizes!  Tomahawk Bay Moorage Picnic Area. * We cannot guarantee T-shirts will be available for later registrations. Silent Auction Bring your checkbook!  Last year's silent auction included items such as sailing and kayaking classes, clothing, sailing equipment, wine and goodies, massages, haircuts and pedicures, framed photographs, a gas barbecue, gift certificates and more!  At this year's auction, you can expect and even better selection of goodies. The auction will open during the morning check-in at 10am.  A bidding sheet listing fixed amounts will be beside each item.  Write your name beside the amount you want to bid for that item.  Note that there will be a "Buy It Now" price, which means that you are guaranteed to get that item.  Be sure to take a quick look and start your bidding before you head out on the boat.  When you come back for the party, don't forget to check your items! The tables have a range of closing times stating at 5:15pm, so be sure to look for a sign on each of the tables.  When the table closes (a 15-minute warning will be given), go to the cashier who will be set up nearby, and see what you've won.  Once you've made your payment, someone will retrieve your item for you.  Cash or checks only and items must be purchased and picked up by 6:00pm.  Please make arrangements with the cashier if you will be unable to claim your item(s). Donating to the Silent Auction Have something you'd like to donate to the cause?  Maybe a service, gift certificate or theme basket of items? Call 503-287-3161 or send an e-mail to jschu@teleport.com and our donation committee will contact you.  Please make arrangements to donate by September 18.

 

Cruising Schedule

• September 17 - 19, Catalina Rendezvous (Dave & Julie Thomas)
• September 25, Sail for the Cure
• October 23 - 24, Coon Island - East Dock (Dave and Helen Peoples)

Parallel Parking
By Dale Mack, C30, Celtic Myst

We watched the blue forty-six foot steel sloop slowly approach the Beacon Rock dock aiming to occupy a fifty-five foot space we had created between Jim Elieff's C30, Fortune, and a very new looking fifty-plus foot center cockpit fiberglass sloop named Whisper.  The steel sloop was parallel to and about twenty feet off of Whisper's port side (Whisper was pointed south, stern facing the current that typically runs past the dock).  With about fifteen feet of the sloop's bow past the stern of Whisper, the sloop's skipper made the unfortunate choice of starting to point the boat's bow toward the dock.  With the boat's keel and rudder no longer pointed directly into the current, the boat started to move sideways in addition to moving forward.  The twenty feet separating the two boats vanished very quickly.  People started leaping upon Whisper to fend off the steel sloop as its last fifteen feet scraped along the port quarter of Whisper.  Fortunately no one was hurt, but Whisper lost a BBQ into the river, a bent rail, and some scratched paint.  The sad thing is that the conditions for the landing were almost perfect, but the skipper obviously didn't know how to take advantage of them or was totally unaware of the current running past the dock.

The first rule about giving advice about docking is that it condemns you to screwing up your next attempt, and having it occur in front of a large audience, preferably one you've given advice to.  So with a clear understanding of the consequences, let me share some advice on how to parallel park your boat when you have a current running parallel to the dock and your bow pointed into the current.  As illustrated below, you essentially bring your boat alongside the space you are interested, and hover the boat by going in and out of forward gear to maintain position against the current.  The proximity of the other boats will serve as excellent reference points to verify your hover.  When you are ready to move toward the dock, begin a series of small rudder movements toward the dock and then back into the current, all the while remaining mindful of the other boats.  This scalloping action is so slight that to those on the dock the boat will appear to move sideways.  When used in reverse order, this technique will gracefully get you away from the dock when it comes time to depart.

Come in parallel to the dock.

Go into and out of forward gear to hover adjacent to the space you want to occupy.  Now is a good time to verify you fit the space.

A series of small rudder movements toward the dock and then into the current will cause the boat to move sideways toward the dock.

A great place to practice hovering is to go out to buoy "14" and approach it from the downstream side.  Point your bow at the buoy and practice station keeping with the rudder and engine.  Once in the hover, practice sliding sideways left and right.

One word of caution, I recommend you NOT throw your dock lines to someone ashore unless you're sure they won't start pulling your bow toward the dock.  I'd wait until the boat is alongside the dock, and then have your crew step off and secure a forward spring line and a  bow line first and then a stern line.

Catalina Newsletters of the Northwest

Checkout these links to Northwest Catalina newsletters and local racing:

Catalina 22 Fleet 20 of Portland www.C22pdx.org Catalina 25 Fleet 94 of Portland home.comcast.net/~fleet94/ Sail Portland www.sailpdx.com

Catalina Assoc. of Tacoma and South Sound (CATSS) home.earthlink.net/~catss/CATSS Web Page.htm Catalina Association of Puget Sound (CAPS) capsfleet1.com/News Letters.htm Small Yacht Sailing club of Oregon (SYSCO) www.sailpdx.com/sysco.htm

September

• 17-19, Catalina Rendezvous, McCuddy's Landing
• 25, Sail for the Cure
• No Monthly Meeting

October

• 23 - 24, CRACA Cruise:  Coon Island
• 27, Meeting @ Rose City Yacht Club

See the calendar