ColumbiaRiverCatalina.org

June 2006

From the Commodore
By Bob Gales

Ahoy Mates,

I truly hope your Memorial Day weekend went well, whether you were on the water or not. After two rainy and cold days I accompanied Gail on Monday up to Mt. Hood Meadows to clean out our ski locker for the summer. As you may remember, I skied one too many days this year and am now recovering from rotator cuff surgery. It was such a gorgeous day that Gail decided to take a few runs before calling it quits. I loaded my gear into the car and then proceeded to the beer garden on the snow to wait for her.

It struck me then that sailing is much like skiing. The thrill of non-motorized movement out in nature’s finest, challenging the elements. The part that really connected was the anchoring of the chairs in the snow and ordering a cold beer. Soon, just like sailing, more “boats” arrived and rafted up with me. Old friends, their pals and people we have never met all circled up. The warm sun, cool drinks and tall stories made for a fun and relaxing afternoon. As much as I have always loved to feel the boat move under sail the best part for me has always been relaxing at anchor. I guess if you choose a good pastime you will meet and enjoy a variety of good people. Always!

So it seems as if summer is finally poking its way into the northwest. Our boat Soliel is waiting patiently for the long promised rehab. I hope to slowly begin working on her in the next few weeks and have my doc’s permission to do more than just sit by the end of June. By then the current should have died a bit and Gail and I can venture out on the river and begin learning the ins and outs of our new boat.

Eleven CRACA members enjoyed dinner, drinks and drama at the Island Cafe at last month’s general meeting. Even with rain threatening it was a very enjoyable evening. We had a chance to talk about summer plans for local as well as “up north” cruising. Vice Commodore Eric Rouzee had many stories about his recent Oregon Offshore race but I am not sure if he convinced any of us to outfit our boats for next year! Of course we had to walk the docks to see what was for sale in the marina.

Check out Jim Elieff’s cruising report for your next opportunity to get together with this great group of sailors. Remember, nothing beats sailing R and R (rafting up and relaxing).

I hope to see you on the water soon,

 

Vice Commodore
By Eric Rouzee, C36, Legacy

Well, the Oregon Offshore is history, and Legacy, my Catalina 36, had a great run. We started at 1000 on 11 May at buoy two at the mouth of the Columbia. Conditions were light but the entire fleet was able to get a good start. Winds freshened throughout the day, and by Thursday evening, we were off Grays Harbor. The winds were light on the beach, so that night we tacked out about 15 miles and managed to pick up decent winds.

Friday was a real screamer for us all day. We had strong (20-30 knots) winds with gusts to 35 all day and into the night. We again made a long tack offshore, about 20 miles worth, and were rewarded with terrific sailing all night. At daybreak Saturday, we could pick up Cape Flattery in the distance, and everything looked good for an early morning rounding into the Straits of Juan de Fuca. Unfortunately, the southerly current on the coast and a strong ebb tide out of the Straits kept Legacy at bay until late morning, when we were able to round the corner on the flood tide. The weather was sunny and warm however, which was a relief from the cold, wet, windy conditions we’d sailed in for the last 48 hours as we beat to weather. Brrrr!

We were pleased to see several boats around us as we entered the Straits Saturday morning, including at least one behind us that was a faster boat, so our earlier tactics paid handsome dividends. Unfortunately, our downwind performance wasn’t equal to our competitors, and we were passed rather impressively. Ah well, such is life.

We continued on up the Straits in increasingly lighter winds, rounded Race Rocks somewhere around 2200 Saturday night. And then, with a mere five miles to the finish, we were full and totally becalmed, where we spent five hours staring at the lights of Victoria and moving at the whims of the tides and currents.

Around 0400 Sunday morning, we finally got a light breeze, milked our sails for all they were worth, and managed to cross the finish line at 0556. Legacy did well, ended up 4th in her class, a mere six minutes out of 3rd and only two hours out of first. Not bad for a bunch of guys who haven’t raced before! It was a terrific experience for all on board, and I’d highly recommend becoming involved either with your own boat or as a crew member on someone else’s entry.

Now that the race is over, it’s time to focus on some other items. Dale and I are in the planning stages for our September Rendezvous. We’d like to have three volunteers to step up and help with the great event. If you’re interested, you can contact me at (360) 690-0331, or by e-mail at erirou@colmac.com. In the meantime, have a great summer, get involved in the cruises and have fun on the river or wherever your journeys take you.

Eric Rouzee
s/v Legacy
erirou@colmac.com
360-690-0331

 

Rear Commodore's Log
By Dale Mack, C30, Celtic Myst

The Sysco Spring Series is in the books.  Congratulations to the Catalina 22, 25, 28, and 30 crews that competed on Tuesday and Thursday evenings.  I participated on Tuesday evenings with my Catalina 22 Crocus and had a great time racing with the spinnaker.  The whole mark rounding and transition from spinnaker back to upwind sailing is quite a coordination challenge to keep all the sails, pole, and lines from becoming a tangled mess.  I really appreciate the teamwork that goes into making it look so effortless on some of top boats racing out on the river.

Some of the Catalina's racing this year include:

  • C22, Togarty, Don Woodhouse
  • C22, Crocus, Dale Mack
  • C25, Encore!, Gary Burner
  • C25, Lematike, Terry Annis
  • C25, Leucothea, Nate Hanson
  • C25, Plan B, Steve Eldred
  • C28, KA-SL, Gary Whitney
  • C30, Anakele', Alden Andre
  • C36, Legacy, Eric Rouzee (participated in the Oregon Offshore)

Terry Annis and Alice Patten racing the C25 Lematike in the SYSCO Spring Series.

I had the pleasure of crewing aboard Terry Annis' C25 Lematike for the final Tuesday evening race of the Spring Series.  Joining us was Alice Patten skipper of the C25 Tybreaker.  The race was actually the start of three great nights of sailing for me.  Tuesday I crewed on Terry's C25, Wednesday my C30 Celtic Myst hosted women from the Oregon Women's Sailing Association (OWSA) in their weekly Wednesday Night Sail, and Thursday found me racing my C22 in the Spring Series.  Life's good aboard a Catalina.

Crewing for others is always a great way to learn new things.  I've cherished each opportunity I've had.  Whether its racing in a regatta or just going out for a day sail, I can highly recommend letting others know of your interest in crewing if folks are short handed.

Speaking of being short handed, that's why I learned to single hand my C22 and later my C30.  Like many, my interest in getting out on the water exceeds the enthusiasm of my home grown crew.  I still remember practicing my boat handling skills with Celtic Myst at Tomahawk Bay Moorage in the wee morning hours of February and March 2003 as I took advantage of all the empty slips that are common in the winter months.  In the calm mornings with no audience around, I practiced backing in, approaching both port and starboard side docks, and learned how to use the boat's prop walk to my advantage.  Today that learned confidence translates into me rarely handling the helm when I have guests aboard.

The C30 Emmanuel of Scott & Penelope Dwyer.

Wednesday Night Sails

One of the things I've gotten involved in this year out of a desire to sail Celtic Myst more is the OWSA Wednesday Night Sails.  OWSA is typically looking for boats, so I thought what the heck, free crew (Laura's also a member of OWSA).  An email goes out to skippers and OWSA members on Sunday, followed by a boat and crew assignments on Tuesday.  I've participated twice and its been fun.  Here's what rainy May 31st looked like for WNS:

Celtic Myst left the dock at 6:30 pm just in case there were any late arrivals. Ellen Galvin was the only crew that showed out of three that had registered. She was a little unsure we’d actually go out with just her, but I said I was game and that I love to teach.  I coached Ellen as she learned to back the boat out of the slip while counteracting the prop-walk. We motored-sailed upriver and waved to Bill Sanborn (a former C22 owner) and his two OWSA crew on Upstart  (a Kalik 30) as we went up to buoy “14” and started sailing.  With a big smile on his face, Bill questioned whether we were consuming tea and scones in our dry cockpit as we motored passed (a reference to my OWSA Linda Bean Memorial Sail crew from April that decided to postpone sailing until they finished their tea and scones). The rain diminished as the evening wore on. The wind was very light and didn’t support making progress against the current. We were able to sail from bank to bank as we were slowly drawn downriver by the current. We headed in a little past 8:00 pm. Those that sail with me know I don’t use fenders coming back to my slip because I have a large fender attached to the dock that holds the boat off. Under direction, Ellen did a great job coasting the boat into the slip so I could step off and tie up the lines (we didn’t even have to use reverse to slow the boat). While more wind would have been nice, it was still fun getting the boat out.

A couple of Wednesday's earlier I captured some nice photos of the C30 Emmanuel and the Dwyers sailing downstream as I and my OWSA crew headed east.  By the way, if you ever see a picture of your boat in the newsletter or on the website, don't hesitate to ask me to email you a copy (it's free).

Heading to California

I leave in two weeks for the Catalina 22 National Regatta being held on Scotts Flat Lake just outside Nevada City, California, June 19-22.  My crew is coming from central Oregon and central Idaho.  We are all Catalina 22 owners, and we met online.

I don't expect Crocus' rough bottom, tired sails, and unpracticed crew are growing to take home any trophies, but the week of camaraderie, current free lake sailing, and making new friends will be great.

 

Cruising

Changes in Latitudes
By Jim Elieff (Cruising Chairman), C30, Fortune

Hello fellow Catalina members.  I continue to be a little confused why the turnouts at our events haven't been higher. I 'm wondering if I'm doing something wrong, or not doing something enough.  I would like to hear from you on what it would take to make our activities more attractive. The folks that have come to the cruises and the meetings have had a great time, and mention how they much they look forward to the next function.

I really would like more people to volunteer to host one of the cruises.  When the Hunter club posts their cruise schedule in November people are fighting to host a cruise and get upset if they don't get the weekend they want to host.  What is our problem???  Let me know what I can do to help...

At the CRYA meeting they talked about Oregon replacing the east dock at Coon Island this fall (Sept to Dec.).  Sandy Beach at Government Island  (a new planned facility downstream of Bartlett Landing) has a grant of $2,000,000 to do the dock and ramps, and toilets.  CRYA has put up $5,000 for a covered picnic shelter. The money from the sale of CRYA raffle tickets goes to financing projects like this.  I encourage each boat to purchase a $5.00 raffle ticket (available from me) to help with improving or cruising area.  I already have $30 to turn in.

The Oregon State Marine Board wants input regarding putting more docks on the Willamette and Columbia rivers for our good. They said to let them know what your thoughts are.

Camas-Washougal Cruise, June 11-12.  We have a cruise to the Port of Camas-Washougal.  I will be going up to Bartlett Landing (Government Island East Dock) on Friday, and then onto Camas/Washougal on Saturday.  Current plans are to do a group dinner at the Puffin Cafe which is a float restaurant at the marine.  Those who have registered so far for the cruise, and are thus eligible for cruising points include:

  • C42 Kira Lynn, Jess & Mary Schefstrom
  • C30 Fat Cat, Jim & Ronda Turner
  • C30 Fortune, Jim Elieff

The three boats intend to spend Sunday night at Bartlett Landing and stay until Monday afternoon.

Coon Island Cruise, June 24-25.  No one has stepped forward to host this cruise to Coon Island's east dock.  I hoping to attend this one.

I hope everybody is having a great summer and is looking forward to doing some sailing, as am I. See you all soon.

2006 CRACA Cruising Schedule
 Cruising points are only awarded to boats that register in advance for a cruise

Date Destination Cruise Leaders
June 10 - 11

Port of Camas/Washougal

 elieffmaan@yahoo.com
June 24 - 25 Coon Island, East Dock  
July 15 - 16 Government Island, East Dock   
Aug 17 - 20 Beacon Rock Dale & Laura Mack
Sept 16 - 17 Catalina Rendezvous
McCuddy's Landing		 Eric Rouzee &
Dale & Laura Mack
Oct 21 - 22 Government Island, East Dock  

Cruising Bulletin Board
(The cruising plans of members where they are inviting you to tag along.)

Date Destination Cruise Leaders
July 14 - 16 River Place, downtown Portland Gary & Jeanine Jaeckel
July 28 - 30 Sand Island, St. Helens Gary & Jeanine Jaeckel
Aug 9 - 19 Astoria Cruise (click here for itinerary) Gary & Jeanine Jaeckel

 
Scuttlebutt

Catalina Newsletters of the Northwest

Checkout these links to Northwest Catalina newsletters and local racing:

Catalina 22 Fleet 20 of Portland

Sail Portland

Oregon Women's Sailing Association

 		    Catalina Assoc.  of Tacoma and South Sound (CATSS)

Catalina Association of Puget Sound (CAPS)

Small Yacht Sailing club of Oregon (SYSCO)

 

Upcoming Events

June

  • Cruise:  10 - 11, Port of Camas/Washougal
  • Cruise:  24 - 25, Coon Island - East Dock

July

  • Cruise:  15 - 16, Bartlett Landing

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.