An Anchoring Sail Added to Whisper's Wardrobe

In preparation for leaving Seattle & Lake Union for the months of June, July & August, I came across an ad in SAIL magazine for a Florida company. One of their products is the FinDelta Anchoring Sail. The use of this type of sail dampens a vessel's natural tendency to "sail" with the apparent wind while at anchor. This can be especially helpful in a tight anchorage where one is unable to utilize the Grande' Stern Reel (more later about that).

Here is Whisper prior to deployment of the FinDelta with it still in its bag. This is the first deployment while at the dock to set the line lengths.
Just before the clouds opened up with rain I was able to retension the lines.

This is my other tool for anchoring with stern-to-shore in the San Juan & Canadian Gulf Islands and Desolation Sound. It is a spool of 400' of poly line with a tensile strength of 900#.

If you are interested in the FinDelta, contact Banner Bay Marine. If, on the other hand, you want information on the Grande' Stern Reel--that would be ME!

Within two weeks you will be able to follow my "Sailing Saga of the Summer of 2009" here in my blog.

See you on the water?

...And Then There Was Bike #3!

I returned from my week in the British Virgin Islands (more about that later) in time to participate in Opening Day of Yachting Season (m.a.t.l.). Having been gone from Wednesday afternoon through Sunday for the Seattle Yacht Club festivities, I returned to my marina home to discover my bike was GONE!

Bike #1, a West Marine Port Runner folding bike, was purchased July 24th of last year prior to my sailing trip to Desolation Sound. It was stolen from in front of the marina on October 27th.

Enter bike #2. Back to West Marine to buy a Montague CX with 26" wheels, 21 speed. That is the bike that disappeared this past weekend.

And now to bike #3. After searching eBay, I made yet another trip to West Marine. Now I temporarily possess a Montague DX, 18 speed folding bike. After two trips to R.E.I. for a lock, lights, rear view mirror, back wheel platform with pannier pack it begins to resemble its predecessor.

With increased security on my part and any luck at all, #3 will remain in my possession for the long term (that means more than 12 months).

Got wheels Grande!

Retrieving Severed Anchor & Splicing Rode

Saturday, March 14th, Whisper went sailing on Lake Washington to meet up with SURT out of Kirkland. With winds gusting to 28 knots, we reached back & forth between Kirkland & Sand Point. SURT was under genoa only, while Whisper was under only a reefed main. We had a good ride.

The plan was to raft up about 4:00PM in Cozy Cove between Hunts & Yarrow Points. Whisper was first so we dropped anchor in 12 feet of water and paid out 90' of rode (30' of 3/8" chain + 60' of 3 strand nylon). After about 30 minutes, M/V Lucky Dog showed up with SURT following in another half hour. M/V Lucky Dog paid out all chain as we settled into our 3 boat raft.

With our anchor lines at a significantly oblique angle, Gary decided to reposition his anchor. Without a lot of detail, suffice it to say that Whisper came away with no anchor and missing 94' of rode. It wasn't lost since I knew right where it was.

Wednesday the salvage crew set out to retrieve Whisper's ground tackle.

Ron Voss crafted a gaff hook with weights to rake the bottom. With a fender to mark the anchor's location, within 90 minutes Ron was successful.

Now the end to end splice (see accompanying slide show)...

Click to view.

Whisper's anchor locker is filled once more.

"Thank you's" to Gary, Ron, Larry & Darilyn, who came along for moral support AND brought banana bread!

"Whisper" Gets a New Bottom

We, Whisper & I, slipped dock lines at 1145 on Wednesday, destination--the back bay at Port Ludlow. We cleared Shilshole channel at 1255; passed Point No Point at 1500 & dropped anchor by 1700 in Port Ludlow. With a following wind in the 20kt range we unfurled the genoa to her reef point and motor sailed north. At the peak, winds gusted to 31.5kts. It was a great ride.

I awoke Thursday at 0430 to find 2" of snow on the deck.

It was light enough by 0630 to safely exit Port Ludlow. Over night the winds clocked around to the NNW and were blowing 15-18kts. Since my anemometer froze up for the day I had to guess at wind strength. It was so strong that boat speed fell from 6kts at 2800RPM down to 3.2kts. We reached the Port Townsend Canal by 0800 to catch the strong ebb current. Boat speed went up to 9.9kts and peaked at 10.1kts under the Indian Island bridge.

We arrived at Point Hudson Marina and tied up to the Sea Marine dock to await our 1100 haul out.

After a short wait, Whisper was airborne.

With the exception of a diver scrub two years ago, it had been 5 years since Whisper was last in the air. When purchased in Dec of 2003, she didn't need bottom paint at the time of her survey. It has been 8 years. I am a firm believer in the less hostile fresh water home for Whisper.

While out of the water her hull was pressure washed, hull was washed, zinc replaced, hull was waxed, bottom was painted and packing gland was refilled with Gortex material.

Once returned to her environment, she actually rides higher in the water without the fresh water scum attached to her hull. You can see her white shear stripe clearly to both port & starboard.

Back in the water on Friday by 1630, following the weekly barbecue at Sea Marine, we laid up at the Sea Marine dock for the night.

0945 Saturday, we left Point Hudson for Seattle. By 1700 we were again docked at Westlake Landing on Lake Union. It was a beneficial trip for both Whisper & her skipper.

Winter Reflections

Okay, okay, so you think June 12th to December 19th is enough time away from blogging? Several friends have chided me about failing to remain current with my blog. Lots has happened since June, obviously!

As I sit at my computer, bundled snugly on a snow shrouded Whisper, it is easy to daydream and reflect on warmer cruising waters.
You can view my Croatia photos on Picasa. June and July included overnights to Lake Washington and Poulsbo with SSYC (Seattle Singles Yacht Club).

The highlight of my year was 5 weeks away from Lake Union. I departed July 25th, spending the night in Oak Harbor on Whidbey Island. The next morning, along with Cupcake (Bonnie Rieser) & Gone With the Wind (Larry Gill), we ran Deception Pass on our way to Fossil Bay on Sucia in the San Juan Islands.
An early start on Sunday had us riding the current across Boundary Pass to clear Canadian Customs in Poet's Cove/Bedwell Harbour on South Pender Island.

While Bonnie & Larry decided to make Ganges their homeport for awhile, I took my leave to spend the night in Annette Inlet. I phoned Alan Vogt on Blue Fin to discover their whereabouts. Wendy & Alan were in Smuggler Cove on the other side of the Strait of Georgia on their way to Princess Louisa Inlet.
I decided to chase them & prepared to cross the Strait the next morning with a good flood running. I spent the next night at anchor in Smuggler Cove, fueled up in Pender Harbour & rafted up to Blue Fin right in front of Chatterbox Falls.
You can pick up the balance of Whisper's first trip to Desolation Sound on my Picasa site. When we returned to Lake Union on Labor Day, it was to a new home. We now reside on the West side of Lake Union at Westlake Landing. My new mailing address is 2132 Westlake Ave N, #103, Seattle 98109-2404.

Merry Christmas!

DAY 1: Kremik to Piskera ACI

Sunday, May 25th, we have spent our first night at the Sunsail dock in Kremik, a small port west of Trogir. I have been pleasantly surprised to find that Lola is BRAND NEW, as in we are the FIRST crew to use her. As a Cyclades, she is without a traveler or a rod boom vang, but she does have a Raymarine C80 chartplotter. The Navionics card is incompatible with the unit, but I can use it with the Raymarine software on my laptop. Another major improvement is that we have a genuine refrigerator that will make ice ALL OF THE TIME!

Bruce, Lynn, Walter & I had our chart briefing Saturday afternoon folllowed by our boat brief, so we are ready to depart for ports heretofore unknown. While briefing, the crew completed phase 3 of provisioning (phase 2 having been the Konzum in Trogir). The 4th & final phase will be in Primosten, "around the corner" to the north from Kremik.

The Croatian pennant bearing crests of the 5 counties. You may continue to see the red & white checks as team Croatia progresses in the World Cup.

Lola's layout with ample room for the 5 of us for our 2 weeks.
The first two thirds of our route to Piskera ACI. "ACI" is an acronym for Adriatic Croatia International Club, a network of marinas with which we became all too familiar. Can you say, "Kuna, kuna, kuna"? That's Croatian for $$$.
Aquafile & Mango Tango ride at anchor as their crews complete phase 4 provisioning.
Good bye Primosten.

Mango Tango underway.

Aquafile underway.

The Lola crew awaits their fish dinner in Piskera.

The Aquafile crew is joined by Kate & Cathy in their search for Walter.

Stern tied to the dock in Piskera.

Tomorrow we will walk the island in the morning & then sail the 8 nm to Telascica...

Croatia 2008--Two weeks from Kremik to Dubrovnik

This is neither a travelog nor a ship's journal--it is simply a daily collection of images and observations from our recent trip to Croatia. Croatia lies on the eastern shore of the Adriatic across from Italy. You will see a strong Venetian influence in the architecture.

Sixteen Seattlites booked three monohulls for a two week bareboat charter through Sunsail out of Clearwater, Florida. You will learn more about skippers Bruce Connel & Lynn Bain on board Mango Tango, a Beneteau 423, Walter Friesen on board Aquafile, a Beneteau 393, and me on board Lola, a Beneteau built Sunsail (Cyclades) 43.

From many routes & itineraries, 15 of us converged on Trogir on the evening of May 23rd. Paul, who was in Sibenik, would meet us on Saturday in Kremik, where we were to board the boats.

You can see from this photo how patiently they were awaiting Cathy's & my arrival in Trogir. By the time we arrived from the Split airport, they had finished dinner and we were on our own. We are such a close knit group.

This is a 180 degree panoramic shot from the lift bridge over the Trogirski Kanal.

The view of old Trogir from Walter's hotel skylight window.

The first of 4 phases of provisioning, this in the Trogir farmers' market.

The centar (Croatian) Cathedral in old Trogir.

Lunch on the lawn in Trogir. Do you see the grocery bags?
Picked up in Trogir, we have loaded all our gear and provisions on the boats and enjoy our evening dinner together in Kremik at the Sunsail base.

Tomorrow, May 25th, our first day on the Adriatic...