Beyond My Known 2017

[Sea Hunt Video]

I echo Tim's comment. That is a beautiful sailboat. The color combinations are perfection. Wide decks port and starboard, what appears to be a reasonably large cabin, beautiful teak care. Impressive

[David Patterson]

Roberto, I took her to be an epitome of a finely crafted and cared for small wooden (mostly) boat. I regretted not having been able to find out more about her, but my heart swelled with pleasure as I studied her. Otherwise, though limited with regard to cruising right now -for a handful of reasons- I've been able to enjoy being anchored out. Away from the tourist scrum and confused waters, never mind the noise and fumes, of being in port during an intense holiday period, my cruising friend and I had a peaceful and pleasant anchorage to ourselves yesterday, to our surprise and satisfaction. Mark, of TARAH' MARA, observed the big crabs in the eel grass beds near shore, from his dinghy. His CD32 glowed in morning sun before a precisely scribed high water line of vegetation. Our two Albergs, his rare and roomy CD32 (11 built) and my slightly more common A29 (80 constructed by Nye Boat Works), graced the quiet waters of Parks Bay of Shaw Island, showing their similarities and differences. A very enjoyable penultimate day of June, the "Mediterranean-like" climate evident in the lavish sun and low 70°s ambient temperature.

[rorik]

David,
I believe that's a Cheoy Lee Offshore 27 or 30.
Glass hull.

[David Patterson]

Thanks, Rorik, makes sense. D

[David Patterson]

Hardly "beyond my known", and in fact very much restricted TO my known, I look back on places I've cruised, in and above the Salish Sea. About 25 months ago, aboard my CD25D, I was leaving spectacular Princess Louisa Inlet, up Jervis Inlet of BC. My engine's water jacket was clogged at the time. Naively unable to solve the problem myself, and very unwilling to not cruise, I bought a small Honda outboard for my dinghy. For the very few situations on the cruise when I needed power, I simply set up the dinghy as a yawl boat (tow on the hip). With practice I became somewhat adept. My cruise was successful and above all compellingly interesting, not to mention enjoyably challenging. (Turned out later that a flush with Rydlime solved the water jacket problem.) These photos show Chatterbox Falls of Princess Louisa Inlet, into which I was (just!) able to enter under sail. Also pictured is a view of Queen's Reach (I think it was) of Jervis Inlet, a deep fjord into the coastal mountains. Maybe Princess Royal Reach. I had a wild and excellent sailing day there on my way in, being nearly blown down to the inhospitable dead end. Last is a track of CLOUD GIRL beating out against Force 3 and 4 "up inlet" headwinds. I count 27 tacks on this 2d day of my return. It took me four days of mostly wind on the nose to return to Pender Harbor from PLI. But then, I was cruising to sail. That particular cruise continues to glow in my memory as I sit at anchor among the holiday goers, in the central San Juans. Satisfying recollections are at least some compensation when life's constrictions apply. [An additional note: notice the depths on that Canadian chart, for they are in meters, making usable anchorages few and far between in the reaches.]

[David Patterson]

Just before dawn some of the 12 s/v and 8 m/v in my anchorage ride placidly under an overcast sky, soon to become fully sunny. A closer look at the older vessel reveals a Kettenburg 40. A few years ago I rowed over for a chat. I recall that the boat was built of wood in San Francisco. Memory, though, is often fallible. Near the mouth of the bay, the 160' LOA 1920s schooner ZODIAC, anchored in 10 fathoms or more, majestically seems to touch the clouds. I've pictured her frequently in my postings. I never tire of looking at her.

[David Patterson]

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[David Patterson]

I'm still reviewing interesting sailing experiences from my time with my nimble CD25D, CLOUD GIRL of Boulder CO. My second year (2013) on the Salish Sea saw me more confident in self and boat, and desiring to stretch beyond my known. Inexperienced as I was, crossing the east end of Juan de Fuca Strait under sail was an accomplishment for me. That first crossing began my introduction to managing the currents in the strait to make tidal changes in Cattle Pass and Admiralty Inlet. I've since been better able. While in the Port Townsend area, I met two interesting (to me) challenges, those of sailing both ways through the Port Townsend Canal, and of sailing both in and out of Kilisut Harbor (some call ithe whole harbor Mystery Bay). The 7x9nm (or so) 1:80k chart section gives the positions. My transit of the canal was upwind in fitful mostly Force 2 headwinds. Not too difficult. My return required more tacks in a bit steadier but Force 3 winds. A headwind, naturally. The canal is about 3/4 mile long, and narrow. Favorable current is essential, I think. The well-buoyed entrance to Kilisut Harbor is nonetheless not easy. Wind direction varied for me on my entrance in helpful ways, turning down harbor at just the right moment. Currents shift about, sometimes strongly. At least the channel hazards are mostly sandy. I confess to having a strong sense of accomplishment once through. My exit was less enlivening to me, but again not easy. Under sail both ways for these challenges each earned me a self-awarded "notch in the tiller," and counted as excellent stimulation.

[David Patterson]

Compensations for coming into a port's noise, activity, and disturbed waters, during a sweet San Juan summer out, for me, include not just provisions, exercise, and mail but the entertainment of observing the variety of s/v and m/v that pass through. Some I haven't seen for a couple of years, like ST. EVAL (no idea about that saint; I'm not much for hagiography). Others I've never seen. Sometimes I'm caught up in details, as with highly raked masts, a cockpit and tiller/rudder setup, or some large winches. As a singlehander I have trouble imagining how to handle some of these craft. My limited experience also limits my imagination, in the usual ways. Last is one of my favorite boats in the Salish Sea, perhaps because I've been crew aboard a couple of times, but mostly because of her uniqueness. RABANNAH was designed, built, and fitted out by her young sailors. They do have a long shaft 2.3 hp Honda as a backup for light airs when near hazards, but they sail her adroitly everywhere, sometimes in almost no wind, sometimes rail under. 30' on deck, about 12k displacement, 5' draft (I think), and only one through hull...for the galley sink. She has an odorless composting head. Exciting to sail on, she too has short tacked through the Port Townsend Canal and the snaky entrance to Kilisut Harbor. Her sprit helps her tack easily. This recent photo was not in port.

[David Patterson]

Uniqueness hardly implies beauty, or elegance. Yet when they join the result can be fine indeed. M/V GINGER, spotted in Friday Harbor, seems to me to succeed at the combination. I'd be surprised if she were not a one-off build, though her narrow hull shape harkens back to designs of the 1920s era. Her registration number is very low. Maybe she is a survivor of another era. She looks like one half of a catamaran, while her sailing dinghy in the foreground seemed as wide to me as her own beam. Not a heavy weather boat, obviously, the glassy cabin is nonetheless attractive. Notice her open anchor locker, her Sampson post, her rails, her solid fuel Charlie Noble. A dockside neighbor offered the information that she had electric propulsion. I don't know if she has an internal combustion auxiliary. I see no obvious solar panels. Probably hybrids are due to appear widely soon for boats, if builders like Volvo are moving to them exclusively for cars. GINGER's hull may very well be glassed-over plywood. Her Oregon registration and her probable vulnerability suggest that she was trailered to these waters, dinghy on her roomy foredeck. I struggle to imagine her coming up the Pacific coast...but maybe. The motor cruiser across the finger dock is also fine. (A Chris-Craft?)

[David Patterson]

Schooners in the tourist trade, nicely maintained, make for fascinating viewing. First is an early Jazz Age schooner, ZODIAC, her masts gilded by morning sun in a frequent anchorage. Next is a compilation of decks and rigging of schooners handy to view from Friday Harbor docks. Last is a Norsea 27, a Lyle Hess design. Reputed to be excellent sea boats, they are nonetheless cramped and dark in the cabin. A Norsea 27 is to a Cape Dory 27 as a quarter berth is to a vee berth, in my observation. But, they are sought after and are widely traveled. (I'm not adequately informed to compare their sailing characteristics. My 25D once handily outsailed a Norsea 27, but that was not in heavy weather.) Still bound to nearness to health care, I've no cruising experiences to share, unfortunately. Clearing a sizable kidney stone recently has me considering cruising medical kit requirements. Of course, in the Salish Sea a cruiser is fairly near medical resources.

[David Patterson]

During a normal cruising year in the NW I would avoid the popular areas in July and August. Not only are there more boats in the channels and the anchorages, but the waters are disturbed for sailing craft by the "condo drivers" in megayachts. This year has been one that has decent winds for sailing, with fewer periods of very light airs...so far. Cruising under sail would be relatively easy, but this has not been a normal year, for me. Next year will eventually come, and this year is not over, yet. For instance, transiting Cattle Pass and crossing the east end of Juan de Fuca Strait is in my plans for early September, always an interesting passage to me and sometimes downright challenging. One year I blew into Admiralty Inlet in a surprise (to me) near gale, winds at Force 6 gusting Force 7, about an hour earlier than my desired flood tide because of a faster-than-expected passage. I was already well past the east side of Smith Island when the winds increased, with the cliffs of Whidby Island's Point Partridge being my lee shore. Lively wind-over-tide conditions near Point Wilson made going forward to reef the main a poor choice, in my judgement, so I proceeded with the boom fully out to port, fighting dramatic weather helm. I gathered a few lessons-learned that day. An inexperienced sailor cannot avoid such lessons. A few photos below. First is of a heavy fog bank in Rosario Strait outside Thatcher Pass, taken from the upper deck of a state ferry, which went from 18.5 knots to 6.5 knots as she entered the fog sounding her deep horn. Next are two cruisers, the blue one a Olson-Pearson 38(?) with nice lines, and a vibrantly red wood folk boat with her mast seeming dis-proportionately tall. Last is my A29 sloop NAVIGARE in a favorite anchorage, seen from the deck of Mark's CD32.

[David Patterson]

Fog seems likely almost any month of the year in the Salish Sea. The differential temperatures of air and water, with the right humidity, yielded fog on this 27th of July. Lacking but a few days of five years of cruising here, I've been in fog at times when I didn't really wish to be. While not Grand Banks-like density, usually, it can get pretty thick. Once early in my time here I emerged from a fog bank in San Juan Channel to find the international hydrojet ferry VICTORIA CLIPPER II idling in front of me, waiting to see what I was doing. That made me much more cautious subsequently. I have been "caught out" in both Juan de Fuca and Rosario Straits, plus Admiralty Inlet. How welcome was the bell buoy off Point Hudson, that last time! No radar on CLOUD GIRL, nor yet on NAVIGARE. When foggy, I stay at anchor if I can. Depends on circumstance and need. Nothing frivolous, certainly. A cruiser who does not have dedicated AIS aboard, like myself, can actually use a cell phone app to monitor AIS-reporting boat positions, and even send his or her own signal. Perhaps that is a decent system backup for anyone, but having something when crossing shipping/traffic lanes sure is relieving, fog or no fog. Freighters and ferries are often moving at 20 knots. Not to mention the enormous cruise ships. A couple of photos show this morning's fog lifting. It will likely "burn off" within a few hours. I'm on no schedule so will not be going out, though in this lifting fog one could.

[David Patterson]

In a central San Juans anchorage, in late July, cruisers were out for the height of the summer. Seemingly more fine s/v were around. In this morning anchorage, dawn began on a collection resting peacefully on calm waters. Among the boats was an excellent 1953 S&S yawl, her mizzen up as a riding sail. Too, a self-designed-and-built cutter rode, my own Alberg 29 in the background. Though still precluded from the cruising beyond my known that I had hoped to be doing, I had no complaints having woken in this anchorage.

[David Patterson]

In port to provision more "deeply," to pick up deliveries, and to just have a change of scene, my entertainment comes in multiple forms. The visual pun of a locker labeled "D. JONES" pleases the more alert among visitors. There are plenty of visitors available in this busiest of San Juan seasons. Still, both town and Harbor manage to absorb them. In one of the port marina areas for dinghy stowage, this aluminum dinghy -modeled on a conventional deflatable- also arrests the eye. It is said that humor is the unexpected copulation of ideas. An aluminum deflatable does it for me. Last, a smoky sunrise yields a red early morning sun. Heat of a locally extraordinary level is building over the mainland, and affecting the Salish Sea islands, including the San Juans.