Salish Sea Cruising 2014

[David Patterson]

Back in the central San Juans after two weeks in the Gulf Islands, I have a better chance to post some photos. A little known (I think) Alberg design is the Sea Sprite 23. This one, ARIEL, was sailed hard, well, and long by the previous owner, a life-long water man. Next are two photos of an interesting gauntlet, of sorts. I left my Telegraph Harbor of Thetis Island anchorage early in the morning, determined to get at least a few minutes of engine-free movement in, since more than forty miles of motor-sailing were ahead of me. However...ghosting out on an ebb tide I drifted in very light airs, ending up entering this narrow alley. Curious to know if I could negotiate it, I pumped the tiller to stay in line and away from the boats, and close to the pilings to allow room for the boom. Soon after solving this gauntlet problem, I fired up the Yanmar and underwent passage of motoring. And, yes, I really do need to do something about the sheets tied at the genoa clew. Embarrassing. I'll post more about the Albergs soon, I hope.

[David Patterson]

Here, you are looking at the CD40 MINTAKA (how many could there be?). A very well-loved and well-utilized craft, she is fascinating, and ever so pleasurable to look at and be aboard. (Getting a boat of such size into a decent dockside photo is difficult. I notice her five port lights support my general rule of estimating cruising sailing vessel length at roughly eight feet per port light. Otherwise I am very inaccurate with my guesses.) The hatch doors are made to slide into the existing side grooves, then open easily. Admirably conceived and crafted hatch doors, now plans are afoot to add stained glass inserts I was told. The wide fore and side decks invite me to imagine working forward with the sails deployed, on a close reach in fresh conditions. Those beautiful oars belong to the owners' slender and glowing CD14, Skrevnål. What exquisitely pleasing cruising vessels Alberg designed and Cape Dory executed!

[David Patterson]

Three photos of the National Historic Landmark B. B. Crowninshield-designed schooner ADVENTURESS. Out of Port Townsend, she is a school ship now, after a storied career as research vessel, and WWII Coast Guard ship in San Francisco Bay. At 101 she is well worth learning about on line. Even better is to go aboard or watch her in the sail by at the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Show. Best would surely be as crew on a teaching cruise. Here she is at anchor in my treasured storm hole, Parks Bay of Shaw Island, in the San Juans. In the first photo she has shipped her anchor light, properly for a ship her size. One of my sailing acquaintances is an astronomer. He prefers the mast head steaming light as an anchor light, but most of us aren't used to holding our head back so far. 100' feet up would certainly not help to make ADVENTURESS safer at anchor in low visibility. The second photo shows a jib having escaped the net. The crew soon had it furled. In the third her 21 foot beam is evident. All are grainy due to the distance from which I took these re-framed phone shots. She is a heart-lifting sight in the anchorage.

[David Patterson]

When I crossed over to Friday Harbor I found ADVENTURESS at the dock, then sailing out. Below are a look at her close up, of her sailing from the dock (if a schooner of 133' can do it, surely I can do it on a 25' pocket cruiser), and a photo of her entering San Juan Channel on a run, under a basic sail plan. In the first photo, yes, the dolphin striker really is bent. A crewman told me, in a sad tone, that they "got on a piling." She is actively sailed, not just gussied up and motored about. She does have a professional crew. The one I interacted with had sailed on tall ships for ten years, and was planning to test for his master's ticket soon. I didn't learn his position aboard.

[Sea Hunt Video]

David:

One of the reasons I enjoy your posts/photos so much is that I frequently learn something educational, in addition to the quality photos.

I had never heard of the term "dolphin striker" before your last post. Thanks

[David Patterson]

Thanks, Robert. I love all of the animal-related sailing and rigging terms. We "mouse" a shackle. There can be a "horse" aboard. We could "cat" an anchor. And so on. Back to that photo, I admired the unique cransiron on the bowsprit. (Or is that a jib boom, on a ship?)

[rorik]

Cranse Iron

[David Patterson]

Another fascinatingly satisfying boat to look over, at the NW Alberg Design Rendezvous in Telegraph Harbor of Thetis Island, was a rare and superior CD14. Below are a couple of views of it. The owner had it very nicely turned out, with a gaff rig and attractive detailing. Note the inlaid compass rose on the rowing thwart, which he did himself, I believe. He wrote to me that he had "a chance to sail Skrevnål in about two feet of chop, 12-15 k. wind on Bellingham Bay, and she behaved splendidly, powering right through it, both fast and dry." Would that I had been aboard. The name means something like a "water writing instrument or pen" in Norwegian, according to the net. It's everyday use may have other connotations. I have no real idea. The name is as exotic as the craft. I recall someone mentioning that the initial run of CD14s were garage-built, and led to the establishment of Cape Dory. I don't know if that is accurate or not. An interesting fact, if so. This CD14 exudes Cape Dory qualities. I love the fine entry and the vertical stem.

[David Patterson]

I'm trying to catch up with sharing some of what I saw at the rendezvous of Alberg designs I was able to attend. Here are photos of, first, one of the 80 (I think it was) Alberg 29s built. (There is a one-page website about them.) NAVIGARE of Victoria is lovingly maintained and used. The owners have added more winches, elegant grey covers and Bimini, and given her many upgrades. On board I was treated to a tour and cruising stories, which included a struggle to replace a seacock and through hull at one point, and information about particular island anchorages, such as those of Jedediah Island in the Strait of Georgia. (Second photo below.) She has no dodger on, but does have a hatch protection cover. I haven't found out about that choice yet. Last is an Alberg 30 (I believe). PHEROUSA (if I read correctly) of Shaw Island is usually moored near reliable Parks Bay. I'll swing by one day for a closer look. I'm glad to have even a few photos of these boats, for my time was taken up in conversation and examination more than with snapshots. I'm certain they aren't shown to best advantage.

[David Patterson]

Some days a morning mist in the anchorage is all a man needs. This posting is just for the photos.

[David Patterson]

A rough sketch of a cruise--the outbound track--from a journal entry. Definitely not to scale, it nonetheless shows a route through much of the Gulf Islands. Entry to Canada was in Bedwell Harbor, where a seasonal customs post is set up for cruiser convenience, a very helpful arrangement. My crew was my 66 yo sister, an excellent international traveler but only second-time cruiser. A couple of days each for Portland Island, for Ganges Harbor, and for Wallace Island preceded several more days in Telegraph Harbor of Thetis Island. We had some very satisfying sailing getting there. On a rising tide we entered Telegraph Harbor through The Cut, which is a drying canal between the two islands opened in 1903. I would recommend allowing about 2.5 feet more than your draft, at least, before entry on a rising tide, as well as estimating the center of the narrow channel carefully. The harbor end is where the rocks are. I've scouted that end by dinghy, and motored through each way once now. I draw 4', loaded as my 25D is for extended cruising. Our return we accomplished in one long motor-sailing passage, Thetis to Friday Harbor. I learned a great deal about finding my way through opposing tides on that passage, motor-sailing against a strong flood for its full run. Still, we averaged about a surprising 4 knots/hour. A favorable current running south along the east side of Stuart Island, during the flood, helped a lot. So did careful avoidance, when I could, of the main adverse current streams in the channels. I'm always very gratefull when a local passage plan works for me. Too often they don't so well. The second photo is the end of day that began with mists, pictured above.

[David Patterson]

One of my continued and inexhaustible cruising pleasures is the observation of great sailing vessels from the past. Here is ODYSSEY, at over 88' the largest wooden yawl I've seen. (Her mizzen is abaft the steering station.) A Sparkman & Stephens design from 1938, built by Henry Nevins Company for the Barklee Henry family, she sailed into my anchorage this afternoon, definitely lighting up my 4th of July weekend. She is now a Sea Scout vessel. I'd love to know how she ended up in the Pacific NW, based in Tacoma. Lucky Sea Scouts! I've included her stats from sssodyssey.org, a site well worth looking at. The other photo is little CLOUD GIRL in the same anchorage. (the red buoy marks a piling she is swinging far enough away from.)

[David Patterson]

More on the beautiful-boats-seen-while-cruising theme. This is ABLE of Friday Harbor, a Scottish built 28' wood boat from the '60s, built by McGruer. Four were built before competition with fiberglass stopped production. The sister ships are not on this side of the Pond, apparently. I love the sheer line, the low freeboard, and the forward slope of the house. Green water aboard would likely not bother her much. The dark dinghy is a Nutshell pram. The owner has her in top drawer condition, and despite being handicapped, sails her well. Several times I have seen ABLE ghosting to and from anchor. Another photo shows ODDYSEY and ABLE both, in the morning light, the northern islands of the San Juans in the distance, the mountains of Salt Spring Island of Canada barely visible. Last is a closer look at ODDYSEY, the black ball of her anchoring day signal hoisted to the port spreader. 4th of July in the anchorage.

[David Patterson]

A board member has asked me some questions about the stern release bow anchor system I successfully use. My response: The diagram, with a little commentary, is on page 5 of Sailing the San Juans Again, of Cruisers Corner, 10/1/13. At least that is where I just found it. That anchor is a 16.5 pound Bruce with 25' of 1/4" chain on it, plus a couple hundred feet of line. I rarely use more than 75 feet of that line. Less chain would be fine, except I use that second bow anchor sometimes for high winds, when I'm on two anchors. I've thought about a larger Bruce, but want it to be easy to manage. The Bruce secures on the stern pulpit well. My best bower is a 25 lb CQR (Sou'wester, actually) with a dozen feet of 5/16 chain, a swivel, then 100' of 3/16 chain, another swivel, and 200' or so of nylon. The lighter chain is strong enough for my needs, usefully heavy, but light enough for me to handle as the human winch. No winch on the bow. I sit with one foot in the anchor locker and the other braced on the bow pulpit to bring the rode in. Works out well because I can lean back into my pull without any back strain, and feed the rode into the locker easily. None of the stooped-over pulling, with all of its possibility for strains. The stern release bow anchor requires some fussing to get the line to run free, after bringing it in, but the re-setup time is very worth it to me. An emergency brake that is good to have. Let me know how you like it after a few uses, please. Good sailing to you.

[David Patterson]

Here is a photo of that anchor, set up for use. This setup will not suit everyone, of course, but can be really valuable for a single-hander at times. Even with a tiller pilot it can be challenging to go forward to let go an anchor. The Bruce sets quickly for me, on the bottoms I'm anchoring on. I'm usually anchoring in 5 fathoms or less. 3:1 is common around here, more if needed of course. Typically good holding. (As you can see, CLOUD GIRL gets used hard. I've been on the hook since 2/1/14 this year.) When I am going to release this little Bruce, I strip off that pipe insulation, set the chain bucket up on the bench, and let go the chain carefully, sometimes even first. I've also flaked it along the toe rail in preparation, if I'm thinking far enough ahead. Gotta be sure everything runs free. If I can I like to use this while I am still moving at a knot or so. As it catches, the rode deploys nicely, the bow turns into the wind, and I can be at the mast for dropping the main into the lazy jacks once I'm headed into the wind. The motion "sails in" the anchor, setting it without having to back it in by motor, usually. About every 10th time it is downright snappy! The others? Not so much.