Next year's sailing calendar was released from the Port Townsend Sailing Association's central home office. To download your copy of next year's scheduled fun on the Bay and surrounding waters, click the link below. 2012 PTSA and Regional Sailing Schedule-1.pdf.
Seattle is slowly thawing after the big snow and freeze this past week, and boats are being prepped for move in to the Big Seattle Boat Show, Indoors + Afloat, opening next Friday, January 27 and continuing through Sunday, February 5 at CenturyLink Field and South Lake Union.
Despite the snow and ice around the Pacific Northwest, the Show must go on! With 1,000 boats of all shape, size, type and budget indoors at CenturyLink Field, another 150 world class boats and yachts afloat on South Lake Union, the West Coast’s Largest Boat Show offers something for everyone. For those who wakeboard, waterski, fish, kayak, cruise or race, under power or sail, on boats small or large, or simply want to outfit their boats with new gear or hone their skills at the 200+ boating and fishing seminars, this Show’s for them.
Lifted from WaveTrain, Charles Donne’s very literate sailing/boating blog.
(Photo by Fritz Guerin)
It wasn’t until I first sailed on a boat with an engine that I understood precisely what is most seductive about sailing. Any who have cursed the din of a motor while afloat will know exactly what I mean. We feel it the very instant we switch our engines off, as the awful over-riding sound of internal combustion dies away. I call it the orgasm of silence, that moment in which it seems all of our senses have suddenly been turned on.
Considered purely on an aesthetic basis the sensuality of sailing is hardly unique. Any mode of transportation, particularly when raised to the level of sport, necessarily creates sensory stimuli, and those engaged in it will attune themselves to these. Sailors may argue that stimuli experienced while sailing are inherently more aesthetic–that the caress of the wind and the hiss of a wake must, for example, be more sublime than the roar of an engine and the smell of fuel–but this, I think, is mere prejudice. And, of course, many of the stimuli we enjoy while sailing are also experienced in other modes of boating. A canoeist or kayaker–even that lowest form of mariner, the floating motorist–may share our affinity for wind and wave, and, like us, they are subject to their dictates. But, unlike us, they are not wholly dependent on them. To other boaters wind and wave are most often obstructions; to sailors they are sustenance.
The wind builds into the low 20′s and the big boats fly in day 1 of Quantum Key West Race Week. Video by TP2, thanks Craig Montague for the tip. Always fun to look at the sail shapes and check out some of the jib sheeting angles. Amazing.
MARTHA's in the Boat Haven yard getting a new keel, rudder and foremast.
A lot! But the biggest thing missing is the keel, which was removed early in January. MARTHA is in the Shipwright’s Coop building across from Admiral Marine Supply undergoing restoration, the largest part of which is the rebuilding of a new lead keel. Robert D’Arcy is leading the project with the help of numerous local marine tradesmen and volunteers. Meanwhile, over in the Northwest Maritime Center’s boat shop, a new foremast is being built for MARTHA under the guidance of Steve Chapin. Both the keel and the mast are works of art, combining old world woodworking knowledge with modern CAD design tools and machinery. These are arts that are practiced by very few tradesmen in this day and age. Port Townsend is one of the few locations in the world that can craft these kinds of projects.
If you arfe interested in volunteering time, money, or a few hours of work, contact Holly at 360-385-2150. You can truly say that you were a part of historty by working on this project.
For more information and pictures of the project, go to schoonermartha.org.
We are putting together a list of skippers that need crew occasionally for the PTSA races (well, for any races really.) We hope to have an influx of new crew members, both experienced sailors and new ones, and would like to help them connect with skippers who can utilize them. If you are interested in being on this list, please send your name and phone and e-mail to Kathy Grace at bonz@olympus.net (or 301-4938.) The list will be on the ptsail.org website. If you do not wish the information to be on the website, but still are willing to take on new crew, just designate that when you reply.
We are working on “rewards” for those of you that are so generous with your knowledge and boat. Your willingness to encourage new sailors is appreciated. Stay tuned for more information.
The first event of the year, the Shipwrights Regatta on February 25, 2012, is coming up at a good clip. Time to start thinking about what you need to do on the boat and to get your head back into the very basics of sailing a race on the Bay.
In the video below, Greg Fisher, former North Sails One Design star and now a college coach, goes over the basics. And if your goal is just to get the boat out of the slip a couple times more in 2012, or maybe give racing a try, consider joining the Port Townsend Sailing Association and being part of the fun.
From Ballard Sailor’s report on the 2012 Duamish Head Race on Pressure Drop.
By 2pm the mid raters were crossing the finish line en masse, but amongst them was a little 26 foot boat sailed by one of those old Des Moines Sea Scouts – Mark Harang on his new Evelyn 26 NIMBUS (formerly IMPULSE). Now Harang is no stranger to this race, having won the South Sound Series overall in the Thunderbird 26 Rev back in 2000. But in his first race on his new boat Mark, with Kathryn Burnette and Brad Baker as crew, pushed this little boat hard. Crossing the finish line just in front of a much faster rated J105 and almost 25 minutes in front of the next boat in the large class I, NIMBUS not only won its’ class but corrected over all 79 boats that made it out racing on the Duamish Head to take Overall corrected honors by over 6 minutes over the next boat! “Those Sea Scouts of the South Sound learned a thing or two back in the day,” smiles Stephanie Schwenk, “and old age and treachery have only made them more wily. So, the South Sound heroes are back again and on their very first race ever on the boat they took the overall. They squeaked out a start, from out of nowhere. If it was anyone else, I wouldn’t have believed it. Littlest and leeward boat of the fleet, blanketed by a crowd with an ebb that should push them over the line and into the pin, they jam it through and spin to port, hoist and take off… leaving the rest of us in the dust. Be on the lookout for the Evelyn 26 NIMBUS. Unassuming name, but looks like trouble!”
Quick & Easy Winter Projects To Make Your Boat Safer (And Avoid Big Headaches Later)
Sometimes, it’s the little things that get overlooked; something as minor as a worn impeller or dead battery can ruin a day on the water. Even major things like a dismasting from a cracked fitting or a ruined engine due to clogged manifolds can be prevented by a quick inspection. This winter, devote some time to a few easy inspections or simple projects to make sure next spring your boat is ready for smooth (and safe) sailing.
Change Your Impeller
As the Nike ad used to say, “Just do it.” Unless you changed your impeller within the last two years, go ahead and replace it. Impellers can fail even (and especially) if they’re not used much. Over time, they take a “set” and the vanes become less flexible and less efficient at moving water. Eventually, the vanes crack at the base and break off, finding their way into your engine’s cooling system where they can cause overheating (and are often very difficult to remove). Replacing your impeller is easy and cheap insurance. If your engine’s pump is hard to access, consider installing a product called Speedseal, which is a replacement cover that uses four knurled screws, allowing much easier inspection and replacement of impellers.
The impeller on the left is worn out; the vanes could break off and get stuck in your engine’s cooling system, causing overheating. Now is the time to replace it if you haven’t done it in a couple of years.
Inspect the Other Zincs
Zinc anodes in the engine’s cooling system wear out like any other anode. Forgetting to replace them can lead to corrosion, ruining expensive components.
Many engines, especially smaller diesels and generators, have zinc anodes in the cooling system to prevent corrosion. Most heat exchangers are made of copper and other dissimilar metals, which can corrode if not protected. The anodes (usually pencil anodes) are screwed into the heat exchanger housing and should be inspected at least once a year; if they’re half wasted, replace them. Check your engine manual to find out if your boat has one.
If you have a water heater, you may have a zinc anode in it as well. Those anodes tend to last a long time (decades), but when they’re finally used up, corrosion can occur. Another surprising issue with worn-out water-heater anodes is that they can cause a foul odor in the hot water when the zinc wears off its iron support rod. These anodes are usually attached to the inside of the water heater’s outlet nipple and can be replaced by removing the nipple.
Read the entire article from Boat US’s Seaworthy magazine here
Seattle is slowly thawing after the big snow and freeze this past week, and boats are being prepped for move in to the Big Seattle Boat Show, Indoors + Afloat, opening next Friday, January 27 and continuing through Sunday, February 5 at CenturyLink Field and South Lake Union.
