Commodore
By Alden Andre', C38, Fly Bye
CRACA NEWS MARCH 2008 AAA
Well, the weather is getting better, I’m getting better (I was out for 3 weeks with fevers). I took my boat to a yard today to have it pulled and bottom painted, some through hulls or holes put in for my st60 package. I am also having them replace my top spreaders and install a window kit I purchased from cruising concepts. The boat work continues and I am running out of time for the Oregon Offshore Regatta. It is getting real stressful whether or not we will make it in the next 90 days. If not, we will be ready for next year. Complying with Cat 1 regulations has been interesting and time consuming. The more I get into my boat the further I feel like I’m falling down a dark shaft that never ends. Hopefully, once this is all done I will feel like I can take my boat safely anywhere in the world.
The cruising season is right around the corner along with the Sysco racing season! I invite any CRACA member who would like to go out racing for an evening, to give me a call or email me. Come and join us for speed & fun on FLYBYE. We don’t guarantee a win, but I do guarantee a good time. (Oh, and a little disclaimer; If you’re a newbie on the boat you have to drive. Sorry, but those are the rules on Flybye!)
Hope to see everybody on the water. I’m so sad that I will be in Hawaii during the St Patty’s days Weekend, but I hope that everybody that goes has a great time. Drink some green beer for me!
Alden Andre
Vice Commodore
By Jim Turner, C30, Fat Cat
Hi Everyone
We have a great meeting scheduled for this month! We will be meeting on Wednesday, March 19th at the Elmer’s Restaurant in Delta Park near West Marine. The address is 9848 N. Whitaker Rd, Portland, OR. We have a private room for the meeting from 6:30 to 9:30 PM.
Our presentation will be by “Captain Lyman Louis and Capt. Deborah Horan, who have owned the Portland area Sea Tow franchise for seven years. Lyman will discuss issues of safety and salvage, while sharing amusing stories and photos from his experiences on the Columbia and Willamette Rivers.”
I look forward to seeing many of you at the meeting and catching up. Been pretty busy of late and sure I'm not the only one! We continue to work on putting together more presentations, and I hope to have more information on them soon.
 In other news, we we're surprised to see Lola's daddy on TV at the 2008 Westminster Kennel Club dog show. What was even more exciting was that he actually won "Best in Breed" for Portuguese Water Dogs! You can check him out at this link, he sure looks great! Or see a video here!
Jim Turner
Secretary/Treasurer
By John Kerrigan, C30, Magewind
<No Submission>
Communications Officer
By Justin Albano, New Catalinas Every Year!
Hello CRACA Members,
I hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful weather! I guess if were going to destroy this planet, we might as well enjoy ourselves. I too have been battling the cold and flu season lately. It seems every time I get over one cold, another one hits. But none of that matters  because I still get to go sailing! The RCS team and I have had some amazing days out on the Columbia, including these beautiful shots during a sunset sail under the 205 bridge with only a spinnaker!
In the last week of February I got my Oregon Boaters Card by taking one of Larry Brandt’s classes. I would highly recommend it to everyone (its required by law by the way). The class was interesting, painless, and with just the right amount of sea going tales and laughter, it was actually quite enjoyable. Even if you have already gotten your card, as I’m sure all of you have, we all know how i mportant it is to continually educate ourselves in the nautical arts. I think the most important lesson that I came away with was this.
4% of accidents are due to equipment failure
33% of accidents are due to mother nature
63% of accidents are due to human error
I look forward to seeing everyone at Elmer’s on the 19th!
-Justin
Safety Focal
By Larry Brandt, C36, High Flight
River Hazards
Annual Spring Runoff season is nearing. That means our expectations of the Pacific Northwest waters include warmer and longer days, an increasing number of flowers blooming, and the soft light-green of trees newly leafing out. Alas, some less-than-enjoyable worries arrive along with every new robin of spring. Here are a few notes to spark up your on-the-water awareness.
High water levels: All that water melting in the mountains (and it has been a great year for snow in the Cascades) means that bridge clearances will be much less for a few months.
 High current: Instead of summer's lazy tidal action on the Columbia River, that allows the river to defy gravity - and actually run uphill - with each tidal flood (so allow me a little artist's license here, won't you?), the high waters of spring will make the current really RIP in places. St Helens comes to mind, waiting to humiliate the distracted boater who has a little trouble separating in his/her mind the currents actually controlling the boat from the visual fixity of the nearby dock.
Debris: The higher waters upstream dislodge stumps, logs, deadheads, plastic trash, errant sheets of plywood, and other debris that has lain dormant and resting for nearly a year. And what the runoff won't free up and send floating down the river, the occasional spring rainstorm will add in a sudden water surge that will do the trick. Occasionally, the flotsam you come across on the river may be interesting and valuablelast year we found two brand new  fenders at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia, a present there, like snow-white Easter eggs, for whomever comes across them. More threatening, and still valuable, we found a beautiful dock line adrift. It could have snagged our propeller, and probably would have snagged that of some other unsuspecting skipper, either sail or power. But we saw it, and we retrieved it as a favor to the environment mostly, and then we liked it so much we are now using it. It's blue and white, so it matches the Bavarian personality of our boat's Admiral.
See you at the next CRACA meeting.
Larry Brandt
Prost!
 Historian
By
Alex Andre', C38, Fly Bye
<No Submission>
 Rear Commodore
By Eric Rouzee, C36, Legacy
Well, the end of winter is on the horizon, and for Legacy, that means getting ready for the 2008 Oregon Offshore. We have a full list of items to take care of prior to the May 8th start at buoy 2, including:
Repack life raft
Add new Man-Overboard Module (MOM-8)
Replace running rigging
Add new mainsail
Replace radar reflector
Clean bottom and apply new bottom paint
Hey, no one ever said that sailing was an inexpensive hobby!
Last year’s Offshore was a true slog through 20-25 knot winds most of the way. I suppose the law of averages says we won’t get weather like that this year, but the Graveyard of the Pacific has an annoying habit of ignoring the law of averages on a regular basis, so we’re planning on another intense run up to the Inner Harbor of Victoria. Nevertheless, it’s a great event, and a great way to get your boat north for the summer cruising season. If you’re interested in learning more about the Oregon Offshore, feel free to contact me at erirou@colmac.com. Incidentally, I was looking at photos from last year’s race, and thought I’d share one of my favorites.
After the Offshore, Legacy will again compete in the Swiftsure International Yacht Race over the Memorial Day weekend, and then it’s a full cruising schedule for the rest of the summer months. Let me know if you’re planning to sail in Puget Sound or the San Juan Islands, as an impromptu CRACA rendezvous in the islands could be fun!
Wherever your sailing adventures take you this season, have fun, be safe and sail fast!
 Cruising
Chairman
By Jim Elieff, C30, Fortune
Well Members,
Spring is just around the corner. Last Sunday I saw about 20 sailboats on the Columbia. so obviously some of you are ready to go. Unfortunately, I'm not there yet because I’m a live-aboard at Salpare Bay Marina. I plan on being ready to go on the first cruise on March 29th thru 30th though!
The Cruise schedule is out and there are a couple more cruises than there have been in the past. This is because many people have family picnics, or vacations , or trips they want to take. Hopefully with more cruises on the calendar, the more opportunities you all will have to come join us, because we all have such a great time when we get together!!
I also changed the date of the rendezvous to August 10th & 11th to be here at Salpare Bay Marina. The weather should be a lot better, at least I am hoping that will be the case. Alden was always complaining about him not being able to make it, so that was the second reason I decided to change the date. Plus I am hoping that we will have a great turnout! (If I'm wrong we can go back to Septembers time)
Hope to see you all at the March meeting. Be glad that we don't live back East, I heard that they had 15" of snow in New York city.
-James M. Elieff C.D.
.
News from Cruisers Abroad 
This month's Cruisers are Dave and Helen Peoples
Getting together with friends- SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2008
Last week we were able to meet our friends Gary and Sandy from Victoria, B.C. down here in Manzanillo. They had a place they had rented with his sister and brother inlaw about 30 minutes south of here. It was a real treat to be able to catch up with people we had shared a very cold and wet experience with, and now be able to share the warmth of Mexico too. As a real treat we were able to stay on land at their home for a very enjoyable and non rocky night. Part of the night was spent at a neighbors house and drinking Margaritas and telling stories and philosophies . Ken and Carol and daughter were gracious hosts. Both homes were beach front homes with large open air living spaces. We also went to lunch on the beach in the nearby local town where I experienced the drink called Coco Loco. This is a fresh green coconut filled with rum, gin, vodka, and tequila. One was enough, but of course we followed it up with other delights.
Overall we had a great two days. It was nice to see how Mexican life onshore isn't a lot different than cruising.
Thanks Gary, Sandy, Larry, Lorraine, Ken, and Carol it was a great time
Don't Step On A Sting Ray- TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2008
My brush with the Animal Kingdom happened just after helping a friend get their dingy through the first set of waves. They had a tough time getting in through the surf and had gotten rather wet so we offered to help get them out. Gene and I were on my way back to the beach in thigh deep water when I stepped on at least one sting ray. It hit my leg so hard I knew exactly what had happened. I made it to shore and rested on a nearby panga. Looking down at my ankle I could see a good amount of blood flowing out a hole just behind my ankle joint. I looked at the hole expecting to see a stinger sticking out, instead I could see about an inch and a half down into the wound. The ray actually hit me three times. Two hit bone and barely penetrated; the third hit gold.
Within minutes the pain was unbearable. Gene from Moody Blues came over to help me and put a very tight bandage over the hole. At that point I could no longer put weight or even touch the foot area because of the extreme pain. I knew we had to get back to our boat and figure out what to do. I only knew that I needed to soak it very hot water, but that wasn't going to happen anytime soon as we were across the bay and the trip over was a 30-45 minute ride. Gene and Susea took our dingy out through the surf. In the mean time I was still on the beach when an older Mexican man came over to see if there was any thing he could do. He even wanted to help carry me out through the surf to the dingy. It was a very nice gesture, but Gene had put his shoulder under mine and was getting me to the dingy on his own. I am not sure what I would have done without his help. Once in the dingy I thought about the 45 minute ride back to our boat. The wind and waves were still coming in fairly strong so we started to pound our way back to our home. Moody Blues stayed with us the whole way back in case help was needed. I tried to rest my leg on the pontoons of the dingy but the pain was too much to let my ankle touch a thing. I held my leg up with my hand and did the best I could. Of course I drove the dingy and kept my focus on the lights coming off our boat just ahead of us.
Moody Blues had sent the dingy from Destiny ahead to get on the VHF net to find out what to do. By the time we arrived at the boat Destiny (Gilly and John)had water boiling and 10 other cruisers standing by to help or just give advise. The net was humming, there were boats as far as 10 mile away in the next anchorage breaking in to give advise and offer help. In less than 5 minutes my ankle had been irrigated, cleaned, and checked for any signs of a broken off stinger or barbs. Everything seem positive so I put my foot in super hot water. Next, Pacific Voyager showed up with Barry and Pat prepared to do whatever needed to be done. I took a couple of pain pills and soon I started to feel some relief. Actually the pain pills barely took the edge off, it was the hot water that helped the most. Within minutes antibiotics were collected from nearby boats and a stinger remover kit was sent over just in case. The last bit of advice came from a cruiser who turned out to be a doctor. He asked if we had any papaya on board. When we said no he asked about Adolph's meat tenderizer. That we had. He said that papaya was the main ingredient and to make a slurry paste and put it on the wound. I tried it and oh boy did that add some new pain. We looked at the bottle and the first ingredient was salt. Ouch. I did it three times for as long as I could stand it, then I put it back into the hot water after each treatment. In about a half hour the pain started to subside. It had been four and a half hours since I had stepped on the ray. By the end of the fifth hour the pain was manageable. I was hoping the venom had run its course. My foot was the size of a football with little toes sticking out of the end. It hurt, but I could finally take it out of the water. I started taking the two sets of antibiotics and tried to go to sleep, it was after midnight. There was no way I could sleep and it made for a very long night.
The next morning a cruiser named Gerry came by to see my wound. Another boat had identified him as the doctor who told me about papaya. We discovered that the Adolph's must have work because most people have pain that lasts up to 12 hours. I couldn't imagine that! Gerry agreed on the antibiotics I was taking and said I needed to keep the wound open and draining for at least 5 days and no going in the water. I followed the doctor's orders (Gerry is an infectious disease doctor who practiced for the past 20 years in the Pacific Islands and coastal areas thanks to the navy) and and he stopped by every day to make sure I was ok.
It has been seven days now and my ankle is still stiff and sore. The wound is trying to close but there is still some weeping. I appear to have no infection and am on my way to recovery. We are not sure why the joint hurts but probably the stinger cut ligaments around the joint. I am sure it will get better and I continually thank all those who were there for me that night. They say the way to avoid a sting is to do the sting ray shuffle while walking on the beach. Ya, like I am going to remember to do that every time I get in the water while pushing my wheels and dinghy through the surf!The truth is it is a very rare thing to happen and go figure it was me. All is on the mend now and we are off to Manzanillo bay for a week or so. Warm winds, warm water, and sunshine---sure don't miss Oregon right now, but we do miss all of you!
For More of the People's Family Adventures click here!
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