Beyond My Known 2017

[David Patterson]

A rare sight: on the foredeck of an s/v a traditional anchor is nicely displayed, apparently even set up for use. Probably not particularly practical, what with lifelines in the way, yet evocative of a bye gone era. Out to anchor herself, finally, CLOUD GIRL seems rough but basically ready in the north cove of Friday Harbor for a night. Her trim looks down at the stern with her tanks full. The next day, as I was crossing San Juan Channel to anchor for a SE gale in Parks Bay of Shaw Island, a pod of orcas passed. This tall straight dorsal fin belonged to the largest of the group, back in the Salish Sea for the season, cruising for the Chinook salmon that comprises the bulk of their diet. My most near sighting to date.

[Sea Hunt Video]

Pray tell "Mr. Patterson", what seems "rough" about S/V Cloud Girl in your photo She looks beautiful. Right now I would give a King's ransom to have S/V Bali Ha'i in a similar position. But alas, not for quite a while I fear.

[David Patterson]

Oh, if you looked closely you would see a 3' piece of rubrail missing forward. And her deck's gel coat is badly cracked from her years sitting uncovered at high altitude in CO. Plus, much of her gear is worn from my heavy use of her, and she needs some cleaning. While a good boat, she needs more than I have time to give her, which is one major reason why I'm negotiating for my next boat. In my remaining years afloat, cruising takes precedence over a time-consuming refit. She was worn when I got her, and I'm not a titivater, though I do require functionality. Think of the character Davies in The Riddle of the Sands. Something like that, without the navigation and sailing skill yet. And good luck getting out cruising. I expect you will find it as healthy for you as I find it for myself, life-extending even.

[David Patterson]

A quick haulout. Literally an hour out of the water, but an important one for boat speed. Ablative paints are not used, locally. The "eco-paint" on CLOUDIE's bottom must be pressure-sprayed yearly. After two years, she had a crop of mussels, her prop barnacle-covered. Inspection for damage from bumping a rock last August, in Houston Passage off Wallace Island in Canada, found nothing. Durable keels on Cape Dorys. I can't imagine sailing these waters in a fin keel. The author of the online mag Three Sheets NW wrote of riding over a log and seriously damaging his fin keel. This year, I am freshly determined to take even better account of my leeway when current and wind combine. (It's the current that usually gets me in trouble here.) In the yard I spotted a side-by-side comparison of a long keel and a "cutaway" full keel. Alberg' designs would fit between the two. On display in the office was a bronze steam engine from another age. Notice the open crankshaft. Oiling it must have been a constant task. Which of those props may have been paired with the engine I don't know, but older props were larger and turned much more slowly than are typical now.

[David Patterson]

Part of cruising for me is visiting other boats and harbor towns. Invited aboard for two days on exquisite and regal CD40 MINTAKA, in her slip in Bellingham, I was given a tour of some classic boats docked on the waterfronts. The composite photo is of the historic gaff-rigged schooner ZODIAC (google her). A number of times she has shared an anchorage with little CLOUD GIRL. Only the obligatory deflatable was a jarring note in her appearance. The ketch MISS CRUMPET, with her off-shore cockpit, was a feast for the eyes. Meanwhile, the long sleek racer FAME, from 1910, seemed in motion even while tied at the dock. [The cloudy water was the result of freshwater runoff from recently heavy rains. I was surprised by how much silt was in the seawater.]

[David Patterson]

An old wooden (I think) ship's hull has been transformed into a soil --and maybe rock-- filled breakwater, in the first photo. As a bulwark against NW gales for the small old marina, it apparently works satisfactorally. Many old WWII Liberty ships ended up in that role, as well. The marina entrance is to port of the bow. An inland waterways tug, DIANE of Seattle WA, appears about to begin life as a recreational boat, judging by the activity aboard her. Next to me in my current anchorage, she evokes a life of work and danger in the Salish Sea and its drainage rivers. The tow line post is right behind the cabin, dead-center of the hull. The low work deck kept the tow line from snagging as the tug turned to manage the tow in the strong local currents. Similar tugs still operate in these waters and rivers, moving very long log floats and other loads through passes and salt water rapids, such as Dodd Narrows. The last composite photo is of a Solent stay on an Alberg 37. (She seemed longer than a 35.) Options gained at least include having twins for running downwind and the ability to still fly a jib if one furler fails. Or, perhaps, the owner keeps a large light airs sail furled on one of the stays. Increased flexibility of sail plans is the result of the additional forestay.

[David Patterson]

Random Salish Sea scenery ashore.

[David Patterson]

Tucked away for a moderate blow, one likely to reach Force 7. That is more than enough to need protection, for me. Force 7 (28-33kts) is formally a "near gale," but I go by the notion that Force 6 (22-27kts), a "strong breeze," is a small-boat sailor's gale. I'm happy to be at anchor for even Force 5 (17-21knts). Old Admiral Beaufort's scale (think the Beaufort Sea) is little used among recreational sailors but has real value. Specific wind speeds have less information than "chunking" them, for me. Wind force on boat and sails increases geometrically, while the arithmetic progression of wind speed obscures that somewhat. Sea states associated with the various Forces are very informative, useful to know for making decisions on the water, and telling factual tales later. [Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera, said the King of Siam.] In the photo below, an iNavX screen shot, I motored from my Friday Harbor anchorage in rising SE winds, unwilling to experience even 6-8 hours there of ESE Force 4 gusting Force 5 without protection. The SE ebb flow in San Juan Channel was running at 1.5 knots, though experience reminds that the nominal speed can be notably higher in places. My simple strategy was to follow a counter current I've learned about, north along San Juan Island, before crossing to Parks Bay on Shaw Island for its excellent southerly and easterly protection. (West and north winds funnel in.) Out in the Channel I had a chance to observe and experience a mild version of wind-over-tide, with the resulting sharp-faced waves. Even at only Force 4 winds, bits of spray shot up from the side in the 1.5' waves. Winds gave more leeway than the opposing currents. Our Cape Dorys have relatively high flat sides, with the resulting windage. It's a trade off for interior hull volume, of course. The option, I suppose, is an even deeper keel to get the volume. Anyway, my simple strategy worked out. The real gale is due tomorrow, with Force 7 winds, maybe gusting higher. CLOUDIE, in Parks, will "horse" at her rode some, but I'll be secure, especially from waves.

[David Patterson]

A substantial Pacific low took its time to affect the San Juans, but eventually boosted a near gale into an (at times) Force 10 (48-55kt) storm. I went to two bow anchors for it. The very strong gusts twirled my 25D like a top, apparently, for I ended up taking 8 round turns out of my two twisted rodes afterwards. The anchors, as you might imagine, were very deeply set. Still, it was not the possible 100mph winds of the decayed typhoon of last fall. The first photo shows the pretty well-organized low snugging up against the coast, before reaching me. The richly colored photo is a screen shot from the very informative windytv.com. My anchorage was at the white dot. Forecasts locally, in this March-in-April year, have fairly consistently been mild, then increased in wind speed, but still end up underestimating the eventual actualities. A year ago the CD40 MINTAKA visited CLOUDIE in the same anchorage, sailing nicely in light airs. [Note her hull number.] The third photo is just for pretty, showing a Friday Harbor fall sunrise from 10/02/16, a half year ago.

[David Patterson]

Crossing San Juan Channel under sail, anchor-up to anchor-down, suggests to me that I'm back in general cruising form after the long off-season I had. I prefer to get under weigh with the main up and luffing, then adding jib after I've sheeted in the main. The main already being up lets me return to the cockpit after hauling up the anchor by hand (on my windlass-free 25D), and then get underway with some control. Very useful in a close anchorage. My custom works pretty well for me when singlehanding, which is nearly always. When anchoring under sail, I typically reverse the process, allowing myself the ability to stop abeam or into the wind, then backwind the main while the anchor sets...if there is adequate wind to do so. It's an interesting sensation to move the boat astern under a backwinded main. If not enough wind for that, but still enough to ghost in, I may simply sail in the anchor, easing downwind and letting the rode turn the boat into the wind, setting the anchor. There are other options, of course. Anyway, two photographs looking first NW, and then SE, in San Juan Channel at 8AM on a Friday. CLOUD GIRL and a WA state ferry were the only boats in sight. Winds were only upper Force 2. Nice easy sailing. The last photo is a favorite of mine from Nov 2012, when I was a true novice in these waters. The scene is President Channel, looking SW from Sucia Island. I've been back there a few times, but haven't been able to repeat the scene. That stretch of water is very rarely calm, I've learned. Nor was it when I first crossed it, for sure!

[David Patterson]

Photos just for the beauty, which is a significant if not primary part of cruising for many, including myself. Some cruise to move away from a part of their world; some cruise to move toward a more preferable context. A glorious Easter weekend brought many cruisers out to the San Juans. Here are a few of the sights they may have witnessed. First is the sun rising by Mount Baker, Easter morning. "Kulshan" to the Coast Salish peoples. Within weeks the sun will be rising to the left of the mountain. Next are the extravagant lush flowers and new leaves of the Big Leaf Maple tree. Last is a diminutive island deer, resting by the shore, where he had been browsing the tideline for salty foods. Probably a yearling, he may have gotten himself cornered by the rising tide. I could have rowed closer, but didn't want to stress the little creature.

[David Patterson]

My own cruising year remains on hold, as I move through a meandering process toward a next boat. On last days in port before travel to Canada to survey my, by far, most desired candidate, I of course studied boats and the scene...as usual. The heavy/very-heavy displacement cruiser WALK ON WATER of Trego, MT was in, looking salty. Our Cape Dorys would count as being in the same category, by Ted Brewer's criteria. See http://www.tedbrewer.com/yachtdesign.html, for his various measures, including D/L. The comfort motion index is especially illuminating to me. CLOUD GIRL once shared an anchorage exposed to ferry wakes with a neither-one-nor-the-other MacGregor 26. The owners, struggling with motion aboard their water-ballasted boat, came aboard. They were stunned by the motion difference from a properly ballasted full keel. I declined their invitation to visit their rolling boat, at the time. A far different design is pictured second, in the form of a not-yet-rigged minimalist day racer. The exquisite craft held my attention for quite awhile. Last are a couple of shots of a river otter heading for her den. Fast creatures, whether ashore or swimming. Very streamlined. Rowing rather than motoring my dinghy affords me more wildlife sightings, an enjoyable aspect of cruising for me.

[David Patterson]

Three photos from a boatyard near Sidney BC. Last (sorry, got them out of order) is of a recent Fleming 60 in the slings. HOT RUM is a recreation of a rum runner from prohibition, when BC supplied WA with alcohol. Fortunes were made, the boats very fast. Next is a nautically-themed breakfast/lunch restaurant in nearby Canoe Cove, displaying available wares. First are three now traditional boats on jacks. Left to right they are a Bruce Bingham designed 28 footer, a late '60s folkboat once of the San Francisco fleet, and an Alberg 29 that is to be my next boat. Some can see the way Alberg modeled his '70s designs on the folkboats from the late '40s. I'll take the Albergs, personally.

[David Patterson]

A significant moment in a cruising life, to get a next boat. NAVIGARE is an Alberg 29 from 1983, #147 in a production run numbered from 101 to 180. Unlike bespoke ones, her interior is relatively ordinary. I find a slight but noticeable decrease in the quality of bronze fittings and interior woodwork from my CD25D. She is an upgrade for me in terms of overall size, stowage for provisions, and accommodations, certainly. Importing her from Canada was straightforward, with some guidance from customs officers for their arcane catch-all form 7501, under NAFTA. She will be a pleasure to learn to sail well. Her name is taken from a Latin quote, "navigare necesse est" in part: to sail is necessary. The last photo is of just something I spotted in a Canadian boat yard, on an old wooden motor vessel. One mystery in cruising is just what is below the waterline of the boats we see. [I'm unsure whether I'll continue to post on this good site. I'll no longer have a CD...well, a dink. My material is more suitable for a dedicated cruising site, I realize, or a private blog. To be decided, from among multiple options.] (Photo of port view, credit M Kelsey.)

[Sea Hunt Video]

David:

I, for one, hope you do continue to post on this site.

If you decide to post on another website hopefully you will share with us the address for the new website so those of us who enjoy your posts and your photos can continue to enjoy them.

Have you found a good home for S/V Cloud Girl