fall sailing

OK, more of my ramblings about fall sailing. On Saturday, I was sailing my other boat, the 26' Seafarer. It was a nice sunny day, and those have been rare this month. The NOAA weather forecast was "gusty winds with gusts of 20 mph." They normally don't make such a deal of irregular winds so I took them seriously and reefed the main. My old nemesis is the roller reefing, and sure enough, the main looked quite sad when I hoisted it--lots of vertical wrinkles. But I was single-handing and had raised sail in a dredged navigation channel, so I decided to live with it. When the sail was drawing, it filled out well and looked better. Out in the Bay, I measured average winds of 14 knots and peaks of 18 knots, and the boat sailed along happily under reefed main and jib at speeds in the upper 5 knot range with little heeling. This is a shoal-draft keel-centerboarder, and when she's overpowered, she lets you know. But there was no distress, just easy sailing on a close to broad reach. I sailed out about 8 mi. and the wind was dropping, so after some hesitation I "shook out" (unrolled) the reef. I came about and headed back on a beam reach, doing around 6 knots comfortably. It was a perfect day. The wind direction--mostly west--meant that I could sail in _and_ out of the river, a happy and rare occurrence. As I entered the mouth of the river, I had to pinch up periodically because of fluky winds and a narrow place in the channel where the depth goes to 2 feet abruptly to leeward of me. I'd get headed and then stalled so l was playing with main & jib sheets. All of a sudden there was a serious blast of wind, one that I saw about half a second before it hit, and before I could pop the mainsheet out of the cleat I saw water over the rail...and whoa!!, water over the cockpit coaming!!, and lots of stuff changing sides down below. She was almost on beam ends. I finally wrestled the mainsheet out of the cleat and she popped up and the gust passed and all was normal again. For a couple seconds I thought I was going to find out how quickly the cockpit clears when it's filled, as we have discussed before. (Luckily, this boat has a high bridge deck to keep water in the cockpit). The only casualty of the event was a little bottle where I keep spare varnish for touch-ups. I needed to use it, but after the stuff below all pitched around, it was nowhere to be found. Mystery. Looked everywhere. Otherwise, it was just a lovely day for sailing, a sunny last-gasp day for us. Chris Campbell

I listened to people tell me to get rid of the roller reefing for 10 years before I did it. It has now been 10 years with slab reefing. From that experience I offer this advice: Get rid of the roller reefing. Allen On Mon, Sep 13, 2010 at 9:16 AM, Chris Campbell < cl… [at] charterinternet.com> wrote: > > > OK, more of my ramblings about fall sailing. On Saturday, I was sailing > my other boat, the 26' Seafarer. It was a nice sunny day, and those have > been rare this month. The NOAA weather forecast was "gusty winds with gusts > of 20 mph." They normally don't make such a deal of irregular winds so I > took them seriously and reefed the main. > > My old nemesis is the roller reefing, and sure enough, the main looked > quite sad when I hoisted it--lots of vertical wrinkles. But I was > single-handing and had raised sail in a dredged navigation channel, so I > decided to live with it. When the sail was drawing, it filled out well and > looked better. Out in the Bay, I measured average winds of 14 knots and > peaks of 18 knots, and the boat sailed along happily under reefed main and > jib at speeds in the upper 5 knot range with little heeling. This is a > shoal-draft keel-centerboarder, and when she's overpowered, she lets you > know. But there was no distress, just easy sailing on a close to broad > reach. I sailed out about 8 mi. and the wind was dropping, so after some > hesitation I "shook out" (unrolled) the reef. I came about and headed back > on a beam reach, doing around 6 knots comfortably. It was a perfect day. > > The wind direction--mostly west--meant that I could sail in *and* out of > the river, a happy and rare occurrence. As I entered the mouth of the > river, I had to pinch up periodically because of fluky winds and a narrow > place in the channel where the depth goes to 2 feet abruptly to leeward of > me. I'd get headed and then stalled so l was playing with main & jib > sheets. All of a sudden there was a serious blast of wind, one that I saw > about half a second before it hit, and before I could pop the mainsheet out > of the cleat I saw water over the rail...and whoa!!, water over the cockpit > coaming!!, and lots of stuff changing sides down below. She was almost on > beam ends. I finally wrestled the mainsheet out of the cleat and she popped > up and the gust passed and all was normal again. For a couple seconds I > thought I was going to find out how quickly the cockpit clears when it's > filled, as we have discussed before. (Luckily, this boat has a high bridge > deck to keep water in the cockpit). > > The only casualty of the event was a little bottle where I keep spare > varnish for touch-ups. I needed to use it, but after the stuff below all > pitched around, it was nowhere to be found. Mystery. Looked everywhere. > Otherwise, it was just a lovely day for sailing, a sunny last-gasp day for > us. > > Chris Campbell > >

On 9/13/2010 12:36 PM, Allen Edwards wrote: > > I listened to people tell me to get rid of the roller reefing for 10 > years before I did it. It has now been 10 years with slab reefing. > From that experience I offer this advice: Get rid of the roller reefing. > I know. But that boat has a pretty spruce boom that I hate to screw up with lots of added-on hardware. So I live with the roller reefing and try to get the best possible shape in the sail. I'm thinking about adding reefing cringles to the sail so I could use a tack outhaul and then secure the tack down to the boom with a short length of line--kind of like using a sail tie to secure the tack down on the Cal 20. I have groused about roller reefing forever and was pleasantly surprised at how good the sail shape ended up on Saturday. The major drawback, even if you can get a good shape, is the awkwardness of reefing while underway (almost impossible single-handed, because you're always doing it after it becomes necessary). My good shape happened because I did it in the slip before going out. The other solution is to go out with a crew, but if I waited for crew to be ready & willing, I'd never go sailing. Maybe I need to change my deodorant or toothpaste. Chris Campbell > >

Sounds like it was fun, you'll probably get the willies next time on your way back in at that spot. by the way, look behind the stove if it's gimballed. helen From: Chris Campbell <cl… [at] charterinternet.com> To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Sent: Mon, September 13, 2010 9:16:31 AM Subject: [Cal_Boats] fall sailing OK, more of my ramblings about fall sailing. On Saturday, I was sailing my other boat, the 26' Seafarer. It was a nice sunny day, and those have been rare this month. The NOAA weather forecast was "gusty winds with gusts of 20 mph." They normally don't make such a deal of irregular winds so I took them seriously and reefed the main. My old nemesis is the roller reefing, and sure enough, the main looked quite sad when I hoisted it--lots of vertical wrinkles. But I was single-handing and had raised sail in a dredged navigation channel, so I decided to live with it. When the sail was drawing, it filled out well and looked better. Out in the Bay, I measured average winds of 14 knots and peaks of 18 knots, and the boat sailed along happily under reefed main and jib at speeds in the upper 5 knot range with little heeling. This is a shoal-draft keel-centerboarder, and when she's overpowered, she lets you know. But there was no distress, just easy sailing on a close to broad reach. I sailed out about 8 mi. and the wind was dropping, so after some hesitation I "shook out" (unrolled) the reef. I came about and headed back on a beam reach, doing around 6 knots comfortably. It was a perfect day. The wind direction--mostly west--meant that I could sail in and out of the river, a happy and rare occurrence. As I entered the mouth of the river, I had to pinch up periodically because of fluky winds and a narrow place in the channel where the depth goes to 2 feet abruptly to leeward of me. I'd get headed and then stalled so l was playing with main & jib sheets. All of a sudden there was a serious blast of wind, one that I saw about half a second before it hit, and before I could pop the mainsheet out of the cleat I saw water over the rail...and whoa!!, water over the cockpit coaming!!, and lots of stuff changing sides down below. She was almost on beam ends. I finally wrestled the mainsheet out of the cleat and she popped up and the gust passed and all was normal again. For a couple seconds I thought I was going to find out how quickly the cockpit clears when it's filled, as we have discussed before. (Luckily, this boat has a high bridge deck to keep water in the cockpit). The only casualty of the event was a little bottle where I keep spare varnish for touch-ups. I needed to use it, but after the stuff below all pitched around, it was nowhere to be found. Mystery. Looked everywhere. Otherwise, it was just a lovely day for sailing, a sunny last-gasp day for us. Chris Campbell

On 9/13/2010 1:47 PM, Helen Horn wrote: > Sounds like it was fun, you'll probably get the willies next time on > your way back in at that spot. by the way, look behind the stove if > it's gimballed. helen Stove's not gimballed but _that's where it is!_ Dunno why I didn't look there, where it probably landed when the boat righted herself. Duh. I always get nervous in that spot anyway--it's where there's the danger of running aground and where you get squeezed in with a bunch of powerboats. It's where I ran out of gas once. It's near where I was hit by a squall once. I try to be vigilant there. Chris > >

As a sailor who kept roller reefing on a 7 ton boat. I say NEVER AGAIN!!! Slab reefing makes so much more sense. I concur with Allen. My Best,Mike From: Allen Edwards <al… [at] PaloAltoPhoto.com> To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Sent: Mon, September 13, 2010 9:36:56 AM Subject: Re: [Cal_Boats] fall sailing I listened to people tell me to get rid of the roller reefing for 10 years before I did it. It has now been 10 years with slab reefing. From that experience I offer this advice: Get rid of the roller reefing. Allen On Mon, Sep 13, 2010 at 9:16 AM, Chris Campbell <cl… [at] charterinternet.com> wrote: >OK, more of my ramblings about fall sailing. On Saturday, I was sailing my >other boat, the 26' Seafarer. It was a nice sunny day, and those have been rare >this month. The NOAA weather forecast was "gusty winds with gusts of 20 mph." >They normally don't make such a deal of irregular winds so I took them seriously >and reefed the main. > > >My old nemesis is the roller reefing, and sure enough, the main looked quite sad >when I hoisted it--lots of vertical wrinkles. But I was single-handing and had >raised sail in a dredged navigation channel, so I decided to live with it. When >the sail was drawing, it filled out well and looked better. Out in the Bay, I >measured average winds of 14 knots and peaks of 18 knots, and the boat sailed >along happily under reefed main and jib at speeds in the upper 5 knot range with >little heeling. This is a shoal-draft keel-centerboarder, and when she's >overpowered, she lets you know. But there was no distress, just easy sailing on >a close to broad reach. I sailed out about 8 mi. and the wind was dropping, so >after some hesitation I "shook out" (unrolled) the reef. I came about and >headed back on a beam reach, doing around 6 knots comfortably. It was a perfect >day. > >The wind direction--mostly west--meant that I could sail in and out of the >river, a happy and rare occurrence. As I entered the mouth of the river, I had >to pinch up periodically because of fluky winds and a narrow place in the >channel where the depth goes to 2 feet abruptly to leeward of me. I'd get >headed and then stalled so l was playing with main & jib sheets. All of a >sudden there was a serious blast of wind, one that I saw about half a second >before it hit, and before I could pop the mainsheet out of the cleat I saw water >over the rail...and whoa!!, water over the cockpit coaming!!, and lots of stuff >changing sides down below. She was almost on beam ends. I finally wrestled the >mainsheet out of the cleat and she popped up and the gust passed and all was >normal again. For a couple seconds I thought I was going to find out how >quickly the cockpit clears when it's filled, as we have discussed before. >(Luckily, this boat has a high bridge deck to keep water in the cockpit). > > >The only casualty of the event was a little bottle where I keep spare varnish >for touch-ups. I needed to use it, but after the stuff below all pitched >around, it was nowhere to be found. Mystery. Looked everywhere. Otherwise, >it was just a lovely day for sailing, a sunny last-gasp day for us. > > >Chris Campbell >

My crew liked beer in bottles! I provided beer. I singlehand or sail with my wife (3rd) I don't need to provide. My Best, Mike From: Chris Campbell <cl… [at] charterinternet.com> To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Sent: Mon, September 13, 2010 10:16:35 AM Subject: Re: [Cal_Boats] fall sailing On 9/13/2010 12:36 PM, Allen Edwards wrote: >I listened to people tell me to get rid of the roller reefing for 10 years >before I did it. It has now been 10 years with slab reefing. From that >experience I offer this advice: Get rid of the roller reefing. I know. But that boat has a pretty spruce boom that I hate to screw up with lots of added-on hardware. So I live with the roller reefing and try to get the best possible shape in the sail. I'm thinking about adding reefing cringles to the sail so I could use a tack outhaul and then secure the tack down to the boom with a short length of line--kind of like using a sail tie to secure the tack down on the Cal 20. I have groused about roller reefing forever and was pleasantly surprised at how good the sail shape ended up on Saturday. The major drawback, even if you can get a good shape, is the awkwardness of reefing while underway (almost impossible single-handed, because you're always doing it after it becomes necessary). My good shape happened because I did it in the slip before going out. The other solution is to go out with a crew, but if I waited for crew to be ready & willing, I'd never go sailing. Maybe I need to change my deodorant or toothpaste. Chris Campbell > >

I am the kind of guy who tries every way to do something I can think of until I get something I like. What I have for my reefing I like very much although I almost never reef with my new main, but that is another story. I have a line tied to a cleat on the mast with a hook on the end of it. That is the tack when reefing. Very easy to put in and much easier than having a fixed hook on the boom. I have a padeye just a tad aft of the single reefing cringle. The end of the reef line goes through it and has a figure 8 knot to keep it from going through the eye. That line goes through the cringle and as far aft as I can on the boom to a cheek block. The line runs forward and in my case it goes to a winch on the boom but if I had to do it over again I would not do that but instead would lead it to another winch through a stopper, probably the spinnaker halyard winch. That can be mast mounted, or fed back to the cabin top. Mine is, like I said, on the boom near the mast as I lower my sail and do all the reefing from the mast position. I am told that trying to have one line do everything (tack and clew) only works on paper although I have not tried that one. I know if you change, you will wonder why you didn't do it earlier. On the other hand, you could get a new main with full battons and learn how to spill wind and you won't have to reef. I only reefed once this season. It was blowing 35. Allen On Mon, Sep 13, 2010 at 10:16 AM, Chris Campbell < cl… [at] charterinternet.com> wrote: > > > On 9/13/2010 12:36 PM, Allen Edwards wrote: > > > > I listened to people tell me to get rid of the roller reefing for 10 years > before I did it. It has now been 10 years with slab reefing. From that > experience I offer this advice: Get rid of the roller reefing. > > > I know. But that boat has a pretty spruce boom that I hate to screw up > with lots of added-on hardware. So I live with the roller reefing and try > to get the best possible shape in the sail. I'm thinking about adding > reefing cringles to the sail so I could use a tack outhaul and then secure > the tack down to the boom with a short length of line--kind of like using a > sail tie to secure the tack down on the Cal 20. > > I have groused about roller reefing forever and was pleasantly surprised at > how good the sail shape ended up on Saturday. The major drawback, even if > you can get a good shape, is the awkwardness of reefing while underway > (almost impossible single-handed, because you're always doing it after it > becomes necessary). My good shape happened because I did it in the slip > before going out. > > The other solution is to go out with a crew, but if I waited for crew to be > ready & willing, I'd never go sailing. Maybe I need to change my deodorant > or toothpaste. > > Chris Campbell > > > > > >

On 9/13/2010 9:34 PM, Allen Edwards wrote: > > I am the kind of guy who tries every way to do something I can think > of until I get something I like. What I have for my reefing I like > very much although I almost never reef with my new main, but that is > another story. > Your system is about the same as on my Cal 20, except that I have a fixed hook at the gooseneck for the tack. Reefing tends to be an end-of-season activity here, when the winds pick up. The line running through the clew cringle on my boat tends to stretch out, allowing the clew to rise and go forward, making the sail fuller. The last time I reefed it I ran one of my sail gaskets through the cringle and around the boom to prevent this. It seemed to work fine but it's an extra step. I'll probably buy some new low-stretch line to replace the current one that came with the boat, some sort of single-braid. Chris Campbell

Just got back from sailing just before a storm blew up here on the West Coast. What a blast, literally! We haven't sailed in many strong winds, so this was a learning experience for us. We sailed across a 2 mile channel with a full main and a small triangle of a jib, which was a mistake. We were constantly letting the wind glance off the main. So when we reached Savary Island, we fully reefed the main for the return trip. Lots of control, lots of speed, and lots of fun! On the return I commented to my wife that the wind was so strong, it was causing spray--she said, you mean like a whale?? Sure enough, it was a whale. We headed towards it but lost it in the seas. I posted a video at: http://www.theskeltons.org/chaseme/southeaster.wmv OK, the bumpers went overboard early and my wife was already holding on for dear life trying to get the video and not slip out of the boat. But it gives you an idea of how fast we went! --Jim

On 11/2/2010 2:57 AM, James wrote: > > Just got back from sailing just before a storm blew up here on the > West Coast. What a blast, literally! We haven't sailed in many strong > winds, so this was a learning experience for us. We sailed across a 2 > mile channel with a full main and a small triangle of a jib, which was > a mistake. We were constantly letting the wind glance off the main. So > when we reached Savary Island, we fully reefed the main for the return > trip. > > Lots of control, lots of speed, and lots of fun! On the return I > commented to my wife that the wind was so strong, it was causing > spray--she said, you mean like a whale?? Sure enough, it was a whale. > We headed towards it but lost it in the seas. > The response from at least one Great Lakes sailor is....jealousy. My mooring field had three boats left last weekend, and now is down to zero. Chris Campbell

Chris, we start Frostbite racing in Annapolis this Sunday. Seventeen CAL 25s entered. :- ] Cheers Charlie From: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com [mailto:Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Chris Sent: Tuesday, November 02, 2010 9:03 AM To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [Cal_Boats] Fall Sailing On 11/2/2010 2:57 AM, James wrote: Just got back from sailing just before a storm blew up here on the West Coast. What a blast, literally! We haven't sailed in many strong winds, so this was a learning experience for us. We sailed across a 2 mile channel with a full main and a small triangle of a jib, which was a mistake. We were constantly letting the wind glance off the main. So when we reached Savary Island, we fully reefed the main for the return trip. Lots of control, lots of speed, and lots of fun! On the return I commented to my wife that the wind was so strong, it was causing spray--she said, you mean like a whale?? Sure enough, it was a whale. We headed towards it but lost it in the seas. The response from at least one Great Lakes sailor is....jealousy. My mooring field had three boats left last weekend, and now is down to zero. Chris Campbell

On 11/2/2010 10:57 AM, Husar, Charlie [USA] wrote: > > Chris, we start Frostbite racing in Annapolis this Sunday. Seventeen > CAL 25s entered. :- ] I hope you all get sunburned and dehydrated. Do I sound jealous? But on the happier side of things, I voted this morning and my bicycle was one of three at the polling place. Life is fine when you live in a place where people ride bikes to vote. Problem is, at this time of year the helmet that's designed to funnel air over the head works too well, and my poor bald head gets frozen. The bike shop gets under-helmet caps in soon. Chris >

CAL do-rag! To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com From: cc… [at] lsnm.org Date: Tue, 2 Nov 2010 12:09:51 -0400 Subject: Re: [Cal_Boats] Fall Sailing On 11/2/2010 10:57 AM, Husar, Charlie [USA] wrote: Chris, we start Frostbite racing in Annapolis this Sunday. Seventeen CAL 25s entered. :- ] I hope you all get sunburned and dehydrated. Do I sound jealous? But on the happier side of things, I voted this morning and my bicycle was one of three at the polling place. Life is fine when you live in a place where people ride bikes to vote. Problem is, at this time of year the helmet that's designed to funnel air over the head works too well, and my poor bald head gets frozen. The bike shop gets under-helmet caps in soon. Chris

Chris A nice option and will make you look young is to get a simple ski board helmet. They are inexpensive and solid. Back home all the winter cyclists would switch to them about now with lots of reflective tape front and back. Sailing content.....these are also great if your sailing in colder climates as they tend to keep you head really warm as you loose 80 percent of your body heat at the top, neck up. Best part is when it get cold you tend to move a lot slower and the helmet gives you an advantage on the boom...:) Best regards /ch

On 11/2/2010 2:10 PM, chris123 wrote: > > Chris > > A nice option and will make you look young is to get a simple ski > board helmet. They are inexpensive and solid. Back home all the winter > cyclists would switch to them about now with lots of reflective tape > front and back. > > Sailing content.....these are also great if your sailing in colder > climates as they tend to keep you head really warm as you loose 80 > percent of your body heat at the top, neck up. Best part is when it > get cold you tend to move a lot slower and the helmet gives you an > advantage on the boom...:) > My iceboat helmet is an antique one, don't know what it was really designed for (my father bought it 40 years ago!). It's the same way-- solid and surprisingly warm on the bald head. I tested it once by landing on my head and thumb. Had to have surgery on the thumb. Maybe I'll poke around for the ski board version. Most iceboaters use motorcycle helmets--very large and they look $$$ (but they do have nice face shields to keep the face warm). That would be too heavy and bulky for bicycling. Sadly, by the time it's too cold to sail here without winter garb, the boats are long ashore for the winter. The last holdouts hauled just before the huge storm last week. I had to remove the cover from the Cal 20 on Wednesday to keep it from blowing over on the trailer. It must have been quite a sight with me in my coat & tie in howling winds, using lots of sailor language. When I checked the local NOAA airport weather for the wind speeds, it said 25 mph/ gusts to 40. WTF??? That's nothing! Then somebody gave me a better NOAA site that recorded >70 mph and another that showed about 65 mph. That's closer to what I was feeling as I cut the cover off. Last weekend I put it back on, knowing it's unlikely that we'll see ca. 70 mph again this winter (I hope). Chris

Losing 80% of your body heat thru your head is one of the great urban myths of our time, and completely untrue. The Mythbusters debunked this on in one of there early shows. See also: http://shc.osu.edu/blog/medical-mythbusters-do-you-really-lose-80-of-your-body-heat-from-your-head Regards, Jeff "idisi" - Cal 31 On Nov 2, 2010, at 2:10 PM, chris123 wrote: > Chris > > A nice option and will make you look young is to get a simple ski board helmet. They are inexpensive and solid. Back home all the winter cyclists would switch to them about now with lots of reflective tape front and back. > > Sailing content.....these are also great if your sailing in colder climates as they tend to keep you head really warm as you loose 80 percent of your body heat at the top, neck up. Best part is when it get cold you tend to move a lot slower and the helmet gives you an advantage on the boom...:) > > Best regards > > /ch > > >

On 11/2/2010 4:38 PM, Poersch Jeffrey L. wrote: > > Losing 80% of your body heat thru your head is one of the great urban > myths of our time, and completely untrue. The Mythbusters debunked > this on in one of there early shows. > The % may be wrong, but I can assure you that wearing a modern bicycle helmet, designed to channel air over your head, can be quite uncomfortable in cold weather for us baldies. Frankly, the % doesn't matter. It's a question of comfort. You guys with hair just don't understand. My female boss was complaining that when she's biking her head gets too hot because her hair is so thick. I volunteered to accept a transplant of any follicles she wanted to dispose of. I also explained that she should not complain about that hair trapping sweat--with none, the sweat lands in your eyes. Life is so unfair.... Chris Campbell > >

You will note that she states, "exposed" which is the key word and I'm going to disagree with myth busters on this one even though its one of my favorite shows. Having spend 6 years in the CDN Arctic I can tell ya something about cold. Tools break at -60C and so do your lungs. We stopped work at -50C. In all those years I was never cold when outside except for two body locations as we were always properly dressed: hands and head (from the neck up) as they were most exposed. Hands you wear wool finger gloves inside elbow length mittens with a sheepskin patch on the front, as your nose runs incessantly, and for the head, a balaclava and preferably a Mountie style muskrat hat, as it insulates the top of your head by about three inches, the skin breaths, and the ear flaps come down to the base of your neck. 100 years in the bush and north worked this design out perfectly. The key is not to sweat. If you sweat you die. Simple as that. Well not so dramatic but you immediately would go back to the construction camp and spend the day inside as your body cannot take it. Just for fun I walked outside on the landing of the door at -60C, the station supervisor was on the other side. He counted to 5 then pulled me in. Spend the next three days in bed sound asleep. Never experienced anything like that....beets the crap out of you and your head is ready to explode as well as your lungs. Makes wintering in Rock Hall a very pleasant vacation at a resort. Sailing content: So the short answer is in my outdoor survival kit when at sea or in the bush, I pack three hats for different temperatures. One is always waterproof for when it rains. Best regards. /ch