Return to the Salish Sea

[David Patterson]

The best laid plans.... Those who actually have sailed their boats in light airs with currents may look at my track on the screenshot here, and chuckle knowingly. The forecast for Force 2 winds, and fair for me, turned out to be overly hopeful. I worked out of the harbor at the end of the ebb, and did not find my expected current either. To go farther out in the channel would have exposed me to the irresistable draw toward Reid Rock. Multiple tacks later, over nearly an hour, the flood began and I was released. Meanwhile I listened to and watched eagles courting on San Juan Island. When I wasn't working the sheets, that is. David Seidman, in his charming and lavishly illustrated book The Complete Sailor: Learning the Art of Sailing, writes of an "old man" whose skills he admired. "The old man said that he first became a sailor for the pleasure it seemed to promise, but soon found it to be work mixed with small doses of fear. He almost gave it up right at the start." He learned to deal with the problems, however, both external and internal. "From then on, he said, the true rewards of sailing--patience, philosophy, self respect, and the mastery of time--became evident." Patience and the mastery of time. How ardently we seek those through mid-life, seemingly. [I encourage you, whatever your skill level, to seek out Seidman's book, originally published as On the Wind: Mastering the Art of Sailing. I can't imagine anyone regretting having his book to enjoy. You will be both entertained and informed.]

[Interested in CD's]

Cruising Impressionism. Alone at 8 AM in a favored San Juan anchorage. 49* and calm. 3/12/15.

I know this anchorage. I was there two years ago and it looks like the same spot you're in. I have the same view at sunset. In either view, it's exquisite

[David Patterson]

Still in the central San Juans as I take care of shore business, receive spares and gear, provision, and most importantly re-inhabit the boat after a three month winter hiatus. I am at least not harbor-bound. I can get away from the noise, exhausts, and activity of the port. Life on the hook means adjusting to the winds, however. I'm getting an adequate array of weather for a refresher course. Here is a sketch from my journal/personal log, representing my preparations for a four or five day blow. From S then W, then S again, it is forecast for Force 7 (22-27 kt), likely to gust to Force 8 (28-33 kt). I'd like to be oriented a bit more to the NNE, to handle wind waves that will curl in around a point about a half mile to the NW, during the highest winds. Sea state concerns me more than the winds themselves, for I am protected by ridges to the W and S. Good solid rock. The wind shadow of an obstruction extends for 7X it's height, I read. Sea state affects my small (slightly more than 3 ton displacement) cruiser more than wind, often. A simple two-anchor mooring would allow me to swing with the wind, which would be preferable, but unless I was set up with a swivel and mooring line to the middle of a chain between the two anchors, I would have the problem of the rodes twisting. Sometimes I do choose the two rodes and just keep un-twisting them by passing one rode, released at the bitter end, around the other at the bow. A bit of work at times and I don't sleep as well. I'll take my current arrangement for this event. That larger float is on a single anchor, with a substantial swing radius. I'm far enough away...unless it breaks loose. Extended cruising requires multiple anchoring options, I find. Another cruiser might use an entirely different set up for this blow, depending on the characteristics and behaviors of her or his own boat, as well as the effectiveness of their ground tackle, of course.

[David Patterson]

The century-old gaff-rigged top-mast schooner ADVENTURESS came in to share the anchorage. She is out in about 10 fathom water. Light rain stipples the surface. I last saw her among 90 or so other boats under sail, her lower sails set, during the sail-by after last September's Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival. She is a sight to gladden the heart. At 115 tons, 133 feet LOA, she draws 12 feet. 21 foot beam, 110 feet to the mast top. Her stats are on Wikipedia. She has been pictured on these pages before, though I don't recall the dates. She is on the national historic register, appropriately.

[David Patterson]

The green and gold of a San Juan morning, first. To Cape Dory and Alberg owners and aficionados: consider attending this rendezvous if you are in the NW, or have a trailerable boat within a reasonable distance. All that is required is interest in Alberg's beautiful classic and functional designs, and a boat to get you to the site. My enjoyment of the rendezvous (I've attended two) has been in the people and in the excellent boats represented. Those, and cruising to the Canada Gulf Islands sites, different each time I have gone. I intend to be there this year, if I don't get delayed farther north. Send me a private message if you want contact info for the person acting as organizer, or just show up. The location is just across Boundary Pass and off Plumper Sound, this year.

[David Patterson]

A glimpse of the Olympic Mountains, a bulwark between the southern parts of the Salish Sea and the vast Pacific Ocean, can be seen in this first photo. I'm about to emerge from the wind shadow of that point, and glad of it. The Force 3 winds I'm after are texturing the waters on the other side of the point. Slack water was my timing, for lively currents are present off that point otherwise, difficult to sail through in light airs. The second photo is of a typical local seaplane, the taxi of many of the islands...if they can be afforded. A pilot said the planes' pilots tend to treat any boats below them as stationary objects, because of their significant difference in relative speeds.

[David Patterson]

Freshly snow-covered Mount Baker has been shining on the eastern horizon. This morning the sun even seems compelled to take a closer look.

[Jim Walsh]

Cool pic of the deHavilland Beaver. I've flown in several on moose and bear hunts. Great northern taxi's and able to take a decent payload.

[David Patterson]

The small cruise ship (only 200' counts as small in her class) AMERICAN SPIRIT searches for enough dock space in the Port of Friday Harbor, not yet busy with summer boats, in the first photo. She ended up on the outer breakwater, a bit far for some of her more elderly passengers to walk. She plies parts of the Salish Sea, and I assume beyond, usually with her capacity of tourists, I suspect. Other local cruise ships, even smaller, are typically festooned with kayaks and other watercraft. However, her 100 passengers, in 51 staterooms with 26 crew, are apparently commited more to comfort and sight-seeing than with active engagement in the setting. There are fortunately many ways to enjoy these waters. The second photo shows the size of this only ten-year-old ship more clearly. Built in Maryland (see Wikipedia) she is larger than some of the state ferries. Her well-designed hull yields surprisingly little wake, at least at 5 knots. Her stern-hung launch would not likely accommodate all on board. No doubt there are inflatable rafts aplenty. With her 20' draft and need for maneuvering room, she cruises out in the center of the waterways. I would love a conversation with her captain or first mate.

[David Patterson]

A few Cape Dorys in port: first, a Cape Dory 30 Mk II, a beamy alteration of an Alberg design, by another designer. Second, a Cape Dory 32 is left center. The larger boat with a sugar scoop stern, aft of her, is a Beneteau. I watched ferry wakes strike the two at the same time. The Cape Dory stayed stable while the Beneteau rolled sickeningly. Very different under bodies. Last is my own 25D anchored next to a mid-60's Pearson Ariel. Her owner is a small boat designer himself, planning to take the Ariel down the coast to California, when the conditions become suitable. Surprisingly, so far from the East Coast, two other CDs are around. One is a CD25, not an Alberg design, while the other is John Vigor's former boat, the CD27 SANGOMA.

[David Patterson]

A closer look at that Pearson Ariel, EREBUS. An earlier Alberg design, she shows her Folkboat heritage. Her stats are comparable to the CD25D: similar length, beam, rig, displacement, draft, headroom, though even more ballast, I think. Her low freeboard and shorter house are notable. Cockpit size is similar, though on this one, anyway, the outboard well takes up space the cabin would benefit from, had the cockpit been moved more aft. I find it interesting to see a 25D and an Ariel side by side, allowing for considerations of design differences, and speculations about what market forces may have shaped them. Cruising standard altered between the '60's and the '80's.The Ariel comes off as more of a sailing craft than a longer-term cruiser, to my eye. They've been taken everywhere, seemingly. Around the Horn? Possible but doubtful. I'd love to sail aboard her to get a sense of differences in sailing characteristics.

[Sea Hunt Video]

Not a Cape Dory but she is pretty I like her colors and the color of her dinghy.

[David Patterson]

Still working through shore business here in Friday Harbor, hoping to be free to catch fair winds into Canada on one of the first few days of May. I don't have much in the way of photos to share recently. Here is one of a locally somewhat rare phenomenon, that of virga (rain that evaporates before getting to the ground). I was taken by the delicacy of the skyscape.

[David Patterson]

One extremely useful stop in Canada's Gulf Islands is Ganges, on Salt Spring Island. While here I'll post a couple of times, the best internet connection being at the public library. First photo is from Jones Island of the San Juans. Second is looking past little treed Gossip Island into New Channel, from near the entrance to Reid Harbor of Stuart Island. Last is the much photographed Turn Point Lighthouse, where Haro Strait meets Boundary Pass, as I cross toward Canada. Amazing tidal currents there.

[David Patterson]

In a companion to the previous post I'm hoping to illustrate a sailing situation. On the chart is my track from Jones Island to Reid Harbor. Next is a page showing a particular hour, in the middle of a strong ebb, from the Current Atlas. Last is an iNavX screen shot of my situation at that hour. I'm in very light airs, contrary to the forecast, near the top of New Channel above Spieden Island. Almost all of my SOG is due to a current nominally represented as 2 knots. I barely had steerage way. The most difficult part was making Reid Harbor under sail, without being washed out into Haro Strait. I did have one enjoyable merry-go-round moment of three complete turns in a whirlpool. Cruising under sail can be an exciting sport.