Cal 30 "Saltaire" completes circumnavigation

Throughout my four-year, seven-month circumnavigation, two-thirds solo, my 1966 Cal 30 Saltaire took care of me a lot better than I took care of her. To my knowledge, she is the only Cal 30 to ever complete a full orbit of the little blue planet. My Filipina fiancée Marilu crossed the Pacific with me from Panama to Darwin, Australia, and she cooked many a meal while we surfed down 12-foot seas in the South Pacific. I don't think I'd attempt the capes with this boat, but that's probably more a matter of my shortcomings, not the Cal 30's. This boat is relatively light (design weight of 8,400 pounds), has a beam of 10 feet and draws 4.5 feet. The only problem is her relatively flat bilges, causing her to slap the waves when sailing to weather, which I did from Sri Lanka west-about all the way to Gibraltar, and then from Costa Rica non-stop back to San Diego. By the way, she also beam reached for four days in 25- to 45-knot winds from Tonga to Fiji and was knocked down 90 degrees in the Red Sea. In January 2005, while crossing the Atlantic from the Canaries to Martinique, she sailed downwind in 40-plus-knot winds, surfing down seas in excess of 20 feet a good third of the way. She thinks she's a fiberglass soccer ball. By the way, she has no radar, no fridge, and no autopilot. She has a Fleming windvane and an old Garmin 128 GPS. Before leaving Los Angeles in October 2000, I installed a brand-new Kubota/Beta Marine 20 hp diesel and went up a size on the standing rigging. I also ordered a new 8-ounce main and, while in Fiji, added an 8-ounce genoa—that's right, an 8-ounce genoa. In Australia I added a 10- ounce trysail and dedicated track, which came in handy while hove-to in the Red Sea. If you're looking for a solid ocean-crosser but don't want to spring for a new boat, the old Cals are a great way to go.

Bill, I read your articles in a couple of magazines. Good job, good writing, great boat. Do you have any photos of Saltaire posted anywhere? MikeRobinson Cal 36 hull #4 Pt. Richmond, CA From: "saltaire12000" <sa… [at] yahoo.com> Reply-To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Subject: [Cal_Boats] Cal 30 "Saltaire" completes circumnavigation Date: Fri, 01 Dec 2006 03:32:59 -0000 Throughout my four-year, seven-month circumnavigation, two-thirds solo, my 1966 Cal 30 Saltaire took care of me a lot better than I took care of her. To my knowledge, she is the only Cal 30 to ever complete a full orbit of the little blue planet. My Filipina fianc�e Marilu crossed the Pacific with me from Panama to Darwin, Australia, and she cooked many a meal while we surfed down 12-foot seas in the South Pacific. I don't think I'd attempt the capes with this boat, but that's probably more a matter of my shortcomings, not the Cal 30's. This boat is relatively light (design weight of 8,400 pounds), has a beam of 10 feet and draws 4.5 feet. The only problem is her relatively flat bilges, causing her to slap the waves when sailing to weather, which I did from Sri Lanka west-about all the way to Gibraltar, and then from Costa Rica non-stop back to San Diego. By the way, she also beam reached for four days in 25- to 45-knot winds from Tonga to Fiji and was knocked down 90 degrees in the Red Sea. In January 2005, while crossing the Atlantic from the Canaries to Martinique, she sailed downwind in 40-plus-knot winds, surfing down seas in excess of 20 feet a good third of the way. She thinks she's a fiberglass soccer ball. By the way, she has no radar, no fridge, and no autopilot. She has a Fleming windvane and an old Garmin 128 GPS. Before leaving Los Angeles in October 2000, I installed a brand-new Kubota/Beta Marine 20 hp diesel and went up a size on the standing rigging. I also ordered a new 8-ounce main and, while in Fiji, added an 8-ounce genoa�that's right, an 8-ounce genoa. In Australia I added a 10- ounce trysail and dedicated track, which came in handy while hove-to in the Red Sea. If you're looking for a solid ocean-crosser but don't want to spring for a new boat, the old Cals are a great way to go. Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Cal_Boats/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Cal_Boats/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com mailto:Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ Stay up-to-date with your friends through the Windows Live Spaces friends list.

Congratulations, I too have read some of your articles. I think the last one I saw was in Ocean Navigator(??). It talked about you being robbed by pirates. Hope you get around and tell more about what is going on out there. Randy CAL 2-29 Out Patient Channel Islands Ca saltaire12000 <sa… [at] yahoo.com> wrote: Throughout my four-year, seven-month circumnavigation, two-thirds solo, my 1966 Cal 30 Saltaire took care of me a lot better than I took care of her. To my knowledge, she is the only Cal 30 to ever complete a full orbit of the little blue planet. My Filipina fiancée Marilu crossed the Pacific with me from Panama to Darwin, Australia, and she cooked many a meal while we surfed down 12-foot seas in the South Pacific. I don't think I'd attempt the capes with this boat, but that's probably more a matter of my shortcomings, not the Cal 30's. This boat is relatively light (design weight of 8,400 pounds), has a beam of 10 feet and draws 4.5 feet. The only problem is her relatively flat bilges, causing her to slap the waves when sailing to weather, which I did from Sri Lanka west-about all the way to Gibraltar, and then from Costa Rica non-stop back to San Diego. By the way, she also beam reached for four days in 25- to 45-knot winds from Tonga to Fiji and was knocked down 90 degrees in the Red Sea. In January 2005, while crossing the Atlantic from the Canaries to Martinique, she sailed downwind in 40-plus-knot winds, surfing down seas in excess of 20 feet a good third of the way. She thinks she's a fiberglass soccer ball. By the way, she has no radar, no fridge, and no autopilot. She has a Fleming windvane and an old Garmin 128 GPS. Before leaving Los Angeles in October 2000, I installed a brand-new Kubota/Beta Marine 20 hp diesel and went up a size on the standing rigging. I also ordered a new 8-ounce main and, while in Fiji, added an 8-ounce genoa—that's right, an 8-ounce genoa. In Australia I added a 10- ounce trysail and dedicated track, which came in handy while hove-to in the Red Sea. If you're looking for a solid ocean-crosser but don't want to spring for a new boat, the old Cals are a great way to go. --------------------------------- Want to start your own business? Learn how on Yahoo! Small Business.