The Cygnet

Friday March 13, 2009 Day one early arrival:

Weather: Winds from South 3 Knots to gust of 25 Knots, Sunny and warm.

Early arrival Boats and crew:  The Boat, Cygnet.  Mark Welpman. Normal arrival (Saturday) boats: Andiamo II, Gene and Tami Reynolds with crew of Christen and Abby.  Wind Swift Terry and Val.

The Cygnet departed port at 1400.  Weather was sunny and warm and wind was out of the south.  The Cygnet was moving up wind at wind speed, so the cockpit was warm and the sun was hot on my face.  The Cygnet made 6kts good on the motor up to Boston Harbor. When Cygnet arrived at the fuel dock, she had to loiter at the fuel docks for a bit as a big power boat was fueling up.  The power boat pulled out and Cygnet slid into her spot.  The guys at the dock tied her up and 13 gallons of diesel later Cygnet was on her way.  

In Dana passage Cygnet was bucking the currents, so I ran as close to shore as I could.  In short order she was heading up Case Inlet and Cygnet surfing the currents.  The winds picked up, so of course the sails came up too. To my surprise Cygnet was making a solid 7.4 kts.  I think it was the fastest run Cygnet made up Case Inlet.  Nothing like a clean hull to make a boat go fast.  Cygnet made the run up Case Inlet in less than an hour.

Making the turn into Pickering Passage and then wind was on Cygnet’s nose.  So I thought that I might drop the sail and run on the motor the last bit up to Jarrell’s Cove.  That’s when things got interesting.  I put the bow into the wind and started to pull on my furler line.  About half way in the furler jammed and I could not roll the jib.  As I was fighting the furler the port jib sheet came loose and did a knot dance with the starboard jib sheet.  The port sheet was coiled up tighter than an eight day clock around the starboard sheet.  So I had to start the motor and lock the wheel. I went forward and noticed that there was as knot of some sort jamming the furler drum.  So I pulled all the line off the drum and then let it reel itself back in.  No problem after that.  I took me a while to uncoil the sheet lines.  Before long the emergency was over.  Lesson learned, it’s always a good idea to provide a little drag (one wrap around your winch) on the furler line when deploying a furling Jib.  This will not allow the line to back spin one the drum.

The run into the Jarrell’s Cove was uneventful.  Cygnet made a great landing with the wind doing all the work. She was tied up and stowed for port in no time at all.  Cocktail in hand and I enjoyed the evening.

Day 2:  Saturday March 14, 2009.

Weather:  Rain and wind 15 to 25 kts.

Andiamo III arrives at noon.  Crew reports windy conditions and Andiamo sailed the entire trip up from Olympia.  Wind Swift arrives at 1530 and she to sailed most of the way.  Both crews were wet and cold on arrival.  Dinner was at 1800 and included a wonderful sausage vegetable medially, Greek Salad and Spaghetti with gravy (Sauce).  Good friends and conversation were had all around.  By 2030 the dinner party broke up and everyone headed to their boats for a quite evening.   

Day 3:

Wind Swift makes an early departure.  Terry’s crunching footsteps wakes me. I pop open the forward hatch to see four inches of new snow.  Terry explains that he wants to make it through Dana Pass before the tide changes.  He also warns of bad weather coming, winds with gusts up to 50kts.  Wind Swift was off the docks by 0730. 

The reaming two boats had a casual morning.  Breakfast was on Andiamo, with Gene and Tami hosting a wonderful breakfast.  No one left hungry.  After pushing snow off boats, the Cygnet and Andiamo cast off lines at 1130.  The winds were calm running up Pickering Pass.  Rounding Dougall Pt the winds were coming from the south.  Both boats motored south into the wind.  Passing Herron Island Cygnet flies her jib.  Andiamo continues running on her motor.  Due to poor wind direction Cygnet douses her jib and runs on her motor again.  Nearing Fudge Pt the winds becomes favorable and Andiamo flies her head sail.  Cygnet follows suite.  The winds went from as study 10 to 12 kts to gusting 25 kts plus.  All 45,000 pounds of Andiamo was on her rail.  Things got exciting fast on Andiamo.  The head sail came down as fast as it went up. 

Cygnet was struggling to keep up right.  She kept shrinking the jib until there was not much out.  Still rounding the gusts and being pushed over on her rail, the jib was hauled and put away for the rest of the trip.   Entering Dana pass things became very exciting.  Wind gusts up to 45 Kts.  Cygnet ran on the north side of Dana Passage trying to dodge the wind that was nearly on her nose.  Andiamo ran mid channel.  The closer to Boston Harbor the stronger the winds blew.  At one point a squall blew down the passage.  The tops of the waves were blown off the raging white caps.  The water was very mixed up.  Cygnet was making 5 kts good into the melee. As soon as the squall hit, Cygnet speed dropped to 1.5 kts.  It was a struggle for boat boats to buck the wind and tides.

Andiamo now had a considerable lead over Cygnet.  Rounding Dofflemeyer Pt, the sun came out and warmed out wind chilled faces.  Andiamo radioed ahead to Swantown for assistance docking as winds gusted at 35 kts.  As Cygnet pasted the Guest Docks, Andiamo was backing down and lines were across.  Cygnets slip is more or less wind protected but the winds did cause a more difficult landing than normal.  All in all it was a great trip.  Good company, an opportunity to experience every type of weather and feeling like you lived a mini adventure.  Hope to see you all out there next time. 

PS.  We’d like to express our well wishes to Rod Thorpe.  Rod and Susan did not make this trip due to Rod having Knee surgery.  Though he is up and about, the meds he’s on is not conducive to sailing.  We’re sure will see Rod and Susan on Pax soon. 

The Fashion Girl and the boat with no name.

A guide to how “not” to launch your boat for the first time.

Launching  your first boat for the first time is always a pleasurable and memorable moment in every sailors life. This is a recount of the launching of the boat that would become the American Girl. 

The Fashion Girl (April) as a young girl had sailed a few years  on the Puget Sound.  The Captain was of the grumpy sort and thought that children where only things that got under foot.  The inconvenience  mishaps should be either ashore or below decks when sailing.  While she enjoyed sailing, it did not bring fond memories.

My sailing started with my roommate out of high school. He owned a 14ft Sun Fish.  On days when the  wind blew out the waves and we could not surf, we would take the Sun Fish out on Newport Bay (Newport Beach CA) and sail.  Of course we were clueless and received many rebukes from captains of both sail and motor boats. I was in awe of the beautiful sailboats on the bay.  At 20 I met a guy who at the age of 20 had sailed Tran Pac, Newport Beach to Fiji, the Med and Caribbean.   He lived on a 1967 27 foot Viking sloop.  He was a sailing god in my eyes.  A few year later I Join Uncle Sam’s Canoe Club and sailed on four different Submarines.   While in the Navy I crewed on several sailboat. One was a 50ft Kettenburg Sailboat out of Sand Island, Honolulu Hawaii, named the Wind Wagon.

Later in my naval career I became a windsurfing instructor, and eventually as sailing instructor.  Mostly teaching military folks and dependents in San Diego how to sail small boats like Lasers and Lido’s. I had at my disposal twenty some odd other boats to use at anytime.  I told myself I would never own a boat, because one of my duties as an instructor was to maintain our charter fleet. Besides it was free for me to sail.  I did fall in love with our Santa 23.  Eventually I was transfer from my cushy shore duty job and moved away from Sailing job.  Live got busy for me and I ended up taking a 10 year sailing hiatuses. 

After my divorce in 2003 I was going about the business of figuring out who I was and what that looked like.  Unencumbered from tying to please anyone, the sailor in me had re-awakened.  I found a profound urge to get back on the water. I tried to be smart about a boat.  I was well aware of the cost to maintain a boat on the a water.  So I wanted a boat that I could trailer in the winter, but big enough to go on extended trips.  Long story short I found a boat on a trailer in Yelm.    She was an 7.5 meter 1980 American Mariner.  Green and black with mold and moss.  The interior looked like the something the Brady Bunch house threw up.  Gold and Yellow plaid  with gold matted shag carpet.  It was a real love palace.  I hummed and hawed about the boat for a long while.  But the call of the sea won out and I bought her. 

The boat sat in the drive way for several weeks as I pressure washed, scrubbed, waxed, over and over to return the boat to its original color or close to it. I put on a good coat of bottom paint.  It took me a while to clean up the inside. The boat was mechanically sound and all the electronics were in working order with the exception of replacing a few light bulbs.  I kept the interior in its original upholstery for the first season, but replace it in its entirety the following season. Every time I went below I could hear the Brady Bunch song drone in my head.  It had to go! Finally my hard work paid off.  The boat was clean, registered, insured, and ready to launch.

I proudly towed the boat to Swantown to launch.  I had earlier in the week secured a slip at Swantown.  The weather while not perfect for sailing was good enough to put the boat in the water.  Now the original idea was to just put the boat in the water and motor to the new slip. But as I put the mast up, rigged the boom and threaded the mainsail onto the mast, a funny urge came over me.  The boat was using it’s mental telepathy powers saying “Mark... Sail… Me…”  I was powerless to resist.  It took the better part of an hour to prep the boat for water.  Soon I backed her down the ramp and the moment of truth, She did indeed float.  The April tended the boat as I parked the truck and made my way back.  My heart was racing.  I was a excited as a kid on Christmas morning. 

Now pride being what it is, is a terrible thing.  It makes you behave in strange ways. A thing I forgot to point out is that I had not been sailing for nearly a decade.  I was unsure if I could motor without some sort of collision, let alone get away from the pier.  But pride would not let me admit that I was clueless on what I was going to do.  I had to go a long ways back in my memory banks to remember my pre-underway check off list.  I was able to start the motor easily.  So far so good.

I pushed off the bow, stepped in the boat and put the motor in reverse.  The boat just kind of sat there.  I was waiting for something to happen.  Now never having had the boat on the water, I had no idea how she handled.  I did not realize that I needed headway in order for the tiller to respond.  I also did not realize that the motor pivoted and acted like a tiller at low speed.  A very handy feature indeed as I later learned.  In fact I did not know that you could turn with the motor as assumed that it was in a fixed position.   I gave it more throttle and the boat began to move.  Oh ya, also I forgot the tiller moves in the opposite direction you turn.  So the boat was not going the direction I wanted to go.  At that moment I discovered the importance of good bumpers as we bounced down the dock.  I soon remember the tiller thing and we moved away from the dock.  Kind of sort of.

I was trying not  to draw too much attention to myself.  Or maybe I was too scared and ashamed to look up and see if anyone noticed that I was a moving navigational hazard looking for a place to happen.  I cut the throttle to slow down.  I then turned to try and spin the bow around.  Again slow speed rendered the tiller nearly useless and now I was heading for the dock backwards out of control.  Now I was drawing attention to us.  At this point I’m trying to appear that I am in control, but failing miserably.  Of course my first mate April is getting more than a little nervous.   In my frustration, profanities were spewing from my mouth, but under my breath.  Somehow by the grace of God, I miss the other boats at the pier and land against the dock.

April wisely tells me that she would like to leave the boat and that she is not having fun.  I assure her that it was a maneuverability issue and that I now had it under control.  Meanwhile an old timer in a small fishing dory asked me if my motor was stuck.  I looked at him as though he was out of his mind.  He reached over to the handle and gave it a quick turn.  I was shocked.  It was a miracle!, the motor turns.  The old guy said I think you’ll be all right now.  The light bulb went off in my head and I felt like the biggest dork on the planet, well at least on the dock.

I quickly regained my composure, schmooze the April back onto the boat.  We headed away from the dock and actually looked like I knew what I was doing.  I quickly felt like the Captain again.  Now, I was supposed to turn right at the end of the dock and head to the slip and call it a day.  But no, not me.  I said why don’t we take her out for a spin, just to the buoy markers and back.  A not very happy  April begrudgingly agreed as we rounded to seaplane dock.  Would you know?  there was a breeze perfect for putting up the sails.

April  at this point considered herself shanghaied.  I was surprised at how easily I had the sails up and we were sailing. The Fashion Girl actually smiled and looked somewhat at ease.  She reminded me that  we did not have any foul weather gear and weather was not all that great. She suggested that we should get to the slip before we get rained on.  Why do women have to have all the sense?  No sooner did she say that than it began to rain. 

Now  I actually fell right back into my old sailing ways and coached the April on what we needed to do to get the sails down.  I told her that we need to put the bow into the wind.  She nodded as to give me the notion that she understood.  I dropped the motor in the water and started the motor.  I pointed the bow into the wind and handed the tiller to the April.  She took the tiller and I started to go forward to drop the jib.  A important point in communication, just because someone nodes at you does not mean that know what you’re talking about.  As April had sailed in your youth, she has never been allowed on the helm.  She had no idea what I needed her to do.

I went forward to douse the jib.  I was at the mast loosening the jib halyard.  About the time I freed the line the boat made an uncontrolled jibe.  And then another and yet another.  This scared the crap out of me as boom and sails were flying.  I thought that I was going to be thrown from the boat.  I did not know what to say to April, so I blurted out “This is really dangerous”.  I let go of the halyard and dove for the forestay and yanked the jib down.  The jib went over the side and into the water.  Great, we just tea bagged the jib.  By the grace of God we did not run over it.  Once the jib was down the Fashion Girl regained control of the boat.  She later told me that it took all of her control not to laugh at me when I was clutch to the mast for my life.  It’s funny now, but not then.

I was able to get the mainsail down without incident.  We were on the motor and were heading back to Swantown.  I thought to myself,  Murphy’s Law had proved to be true, “Everything that can go wrong will go wrong”.   Everything did go wrong and we survived.  Nothing else could happen, right?  We were getting ready to making our way back down Budd Bay.  A tug towing a large barge of wood chips was bearing down on use.  As I was not familiar with the traffic scheme, I was unaware that if I had kept my course the tug would have past far to starboard of me as he was in the channel.  We were not in his way at all. Not knowing this I goosed the motor to clear his path and he motor stalled. 

Now a nightmare of scenarios ran through my head.  I pulled franticly on the start cord and noting happened. The tug is getting closer, and was looking really big and scary.  I went back to my Navy training and I did a mental check list.  I looked to see if we had gas, Check.  The fuel line did not fall off, Check.  Then I noticed the gas can looked like cheeks sucked in.  The vent cap was tight and the motor drew a vacuum on the gas can. I opened the vent and the can drew a deep breath. (note to self, open the vent on fuel can before leaving the dock)  I had to re-prime the fuel line and pulled the start cable.  The motor started after a few pulls and we were back in business.  The Tug slowed and turns towards West Marina where the log booms are and never came close to us. I felt like such an idiot. 

Now the rain was coming down hard.  The April was below deck warm and dry as I motored in the cold rain.  April took great pleasure in telling me “I told you so” as we motored back.  Wet to the bone and looking like a drowned rat , I motored to the slip without mishaps.  The slip is in a funky spot on the shore side of the docks and was a bit difficult to maneuver into.  I told April to go forward and jump across to the dock as soon as she could.  Having never docked before the boat before, I did not have a feel of how close I needed to be to land.  Being the end of a crazy cruise, my nerves were completely unraveled and I was less than calm. When it looked good to me I yelled for her to jump.  I could not see that she had a good span to the dock.  It looked to me,  I was going to hit the dock.  She made the leap across the span that she knew that she could not make.  She hit the dock and bounced off and went into the water. 

Man Over Board!  I killed the motor and leaped across to the dock and with one hand pulled April form the water.  She kept saying “I have the rope”, over and over.  I could see that she was hurt and I laid her on the dock.  In a flash I had the boat tied up and was attending to April.  She just cried.  I held her for a long while.  I felt racked with guilt for making her jump.  As a result of that jump she spent the remainder of the summer in a boot healing.  I dried her off the best I could with no towels, no change of clothes.  We limped up to the head of the dock and I brought the truck around and helped the April into the tuck.  With the heater blasting, heading home, I ran the day in my head.  In that moment I questioned the wisdom of buying a boat. 

As fate had it, it was the worst day on any boat that I have had.  Every trip after the first days has been fantastic.  How could it not be?  I was humbled on that day.  I have not done anything that foolish since.  Looking back how bad things went and how lucky I was, it’s a miracle that nothing worse happen.  My foolish pride had hurt someone I cared for. 

I know my limits and stay well within them.  I’ve had two man over boards since (Pup overboards) but that is another story for another time.  Take lessons or refresher lessons before operation a boat.  Know you limits and stay within them!..Let this be a lesson of how not to launch a boat. 

May 23, 2008

South Sound Sailing Society Memorial Weekend Cruise:

The Cygnet got underway late due to having a new thermostat installed in the icebox.  Annette backed out the boat for the first time and did a great job. We made our customary stop at the poop dock.  It was busy because of the long weekend. We cleared the poop dock a 13:00.  The weather was gray but mild, wind out of the north at about 5kts.  It was going to be either a very long sail or the iron horse.  We opted for the motor. The motor up was uneventful. 

Long Branch was overflowing with powerboats.  It was amazing how packed in they were.  I found out later that there were three yacht clubs meeting up for their annual Memorial Weekend Cruise.  Pitt Passage posed no problems.  The shallowest we saw was nine feet under the keel. 

Entering Mayo Cove the Sassy was setting anchor.  We ran alongside to if they wanted to raft up, but they seemed a bit nervous at the thought, so we circled back and dropped the hook.  The tide was low and we had 22 feet under the keel when we settled out.  We rigged the Bimini and I had puppy duty, so off to shore I went. By 19:30 we were enjoying cocktails and pupus.  The night was waning and we turned in early.

May 24, 2008

I was up at 0630.  The sun was resting on the water as the morning mist dissipated. Penrose Pt seemed to hover in the sky as the sun reflected off the water. A young eagle sounded his arrival and soon too another.  They perched themselves high in the tree top to spy their breakfast. I took to the task of making coffee.  Annette and the pup were happy to sleep in. 

Around 0930 the sleeping duo poked their heads above deck.  Annette wanted coffee.  The sun was rising the day promised to be hot.  I counted eight boats on hooks or floats.  I rowed the pup in to shore so she could do her business.  Rowing back I swung by Sassy to say hello.  I was invited onboard by Glen the Skipper and was given the grand tour.  He and his wife have a beautiful 34 ft C&C.  After some chit chat, I made my way back to the Cygnet. I cooked up some corn beef hash and eggs. After breakfast we sat up in the cockpit and enjoyed the morning. 

 At noon the Wind Swept arrived.  They dropped anchor a little deep out than Sassy and the Cygnet. Soon Terry and Val arrived to say hello and they made their way over to the Sassy.  By mid afternoon Mayo Cove was filling up fast.  Boats of all description were coming in.  Floats began to build and small cove began to crowd.   It was a sight to see, boats jockeying for position.  Knot Work was trying to make her way through the madness.

At around 1630 the Knot Work was tied up alongside. Best I could tell, Merlot was tied up to another South Sounder, Wind Swept, Pax, Sassy and another boat sat on hooks by themselves, Dawn Trader, Crusoe, Pearl,  two other boats sat on a float, and Knot Work and Cygnet sat on a raft.  1800 we all made our way to the pot luck.  There was plenty of food and libation for everyone.  We rowed back to the Cygnet just after sun set.  After a long warm day we took bird baths and climbed topside.  Gene and Tami joined up with popcorn and champagne. At 2330 we all turned in.

Earlier in the evening the fluky wind starting blowing from the south as a small front blew through.  The change in the weather started with an increase in wind and around midnight came the rain. I have a hard time sleeping when we sit on the anchor when weather picks up.  All night I kept waking up to sound of wind whistling though the halyard and rain on the hull.  I knew we were in pretty good shape, the anchor was set well.  The anchor held well all night.

May 25, 2008.

We arose around 0900.  Going topside to assess the weather, if found gray skies and light wind.  Some rain blue in under the Bimini. Cushions and life jackets were wetted and that was the extent of damage.  I had to make the morning run to shore for the pups sake.  Back onboard we readied the boat to get underway.  Gene the Skipper on Knot Work rowed out on his dinghy and set his anchor.  About a hour later we broke up the raft, pulled anchor and motored out of Mayo Cove.  Pulling the Anchor we had a huge pile of sea weed.  I made quite a mess of topside cleaning off the sea weed. 

Annette piloted the boat through Pitt Passage and around Devils with little help.  Her watch was over and I took the helm the rest of the way to Swantown.  We docked with no problems and cleaned up and head home.  It was a good trip.  We look forward to next year.

May 17, 2008

Friday promised to be a hot day, so I decided that it would be a good day to spend on the boat working.  I spent the day on the Cygnet cleaning and organizing.  Cleaning out the lazerette, I found a like new bimini for the cockpit. The bimini is the type that goes over the boom.  It’s very large.  The rigidity is archived by  three fiberglass rods that are approximately 12 feet long. The rods are threaded through battens at both ends and through the middle of the canvas.  The canvas has a three inch leather reinforced  hole 2/3 the way back in the middle of the bimini to accommodate the topping lift , and zippered from the topping lift hole aft to the backstay. The bimini covers from the backstays/stern pulpit to the middle of the dodger.  It extends over the entire cockpit and out over the gunwales.  Finally the bimini is secured in place by six bungee cords that attach to the life line.  The bimini shades the entire cockpit.  The bimini is high enough that you can walk under it.

Annette and I bought cushions for the cockpit.  We found the quite by accident at Wal-Mart. We only need to attach snaps so they will stay in place underway.

Friday I scrubbed the dodger to rid it of the green growth from the winter.  The boat is finely coming together.  Annette and I spent the evening on the boat and walked to Anthony’s Hearthfire on North Point for dinner. We enjoyed a wonderful sunset with our dinner.  After dinner we walked back to the boat to spend the night.  Annette forgot her contact solution so I ended up spending the night alone on the boat.  I always sleep well on the boat. 

The next morning I woke up, brushed my teeth and put on coffee.  I walked up to the shower and got ready for the day.  The weather promised to be hot with winds 10 to 15kts. The day was warming up fast.  I made the boat ready for sea and at around 10:00 Ben and his dad showed up. Shortly after Annette and the mongrel pup showed up.  By 10:30 we backed out of the slip and were heading out channel.  The winds were picking up from the south about 8 to 10kts.  We cleared Olympia Shoals and cleared the Saturday regatta.  Main and Jib up and the Cygnet was making 4kts good over ground. 

Annette has not been out on the boat for a while. She has been in sailing classes and it shows.  She took the helm and did quite well.  We were chasing the wind across Budd Inlet looking for the best wind to play in.  Our friends on the Knot Work a 27ft Catalina (I think) were heading out to Joemma State Park  to sit on a buoy.  We caught up with each other just east of Olympia Shoals and ran side by side for a short while.  After a quick champagne salute the Knot Work started to run north and we looked of better wind.

About 45 minutes later the wind shifted from the south to the southwest.  For nearly 20 minutes we struggled with the winds as the wind was finding its direction.  As soon as the wind found its course we were on a beam reach and moving at 6kts plus.  We proceeded up Bud Inlet and past Boston Harbor in short order.  Passing Cooper Pt, the winds picked up.  The Cygnet was making 7kts good over ground and was listing 20° to starboard.  We found that the Cygnet sails fastest between 15° and 20°.  Anything more is just spilling air.  At this point I decided that we should try to circumnavigate Squaxin Island via Hope Island. In the bigger air I dropped the centerboard.  We now had 9ft of keel.

We passed Hunter’s Pt in the lee of the point.  As soon as we cleared the point things got interesting.  The wind was funneling through Squaxin Passage.  The cygnet went on the rail in an instant and we jumped from 4knts to 7.5kts.  Chloe (the mongrel pup) slid backwards from the cockpit rail to the toerail.  You could hear her toenails scratching the deck as she tried to make purchase and arrest her slid.  The toerail was the only thing that prevent her from going into the drink.  New rule on the Cygnet. If the boat heals more than 10°, life jackets go on. That’s for the pup too.

This was the first time that Annette and I had the chance to really work as a team.  A thing to point out at this is that Annette has never handled the boat in big wind before.  She was not happy that she had to stay at the helm, but in this wind I needed to work the cockpit. It kind of freaks her out when the boat heals more than 10°.  We made a series of seven tacks to beat up Squaxin Passage.  Each tack was better than the last.  Annette never stalled or over turned.  We never lost speed in the turn.  Our passengers were holding on for dear life as we went from rail to rail.  It was very exciting.  Annette really showed her fortitude.

We rounded Hope Island and wind became fluky again due to the proximity of land.  We worked our way up Pickering Passage.  We tried to say mid channel and closer to Squaxin Island to stay in the wind.  It was a real challenge to keep on any particular course due to the shifting winds.  At one point we made and unintentional jib do to the shift in the wind.  After drifting all over the place we managed to round Salmon Pt and make a down wind run into Peale Passage.   As the channel between Squaxin and Harstine Island is very narrow, the wind was rolling off the tree tops and not directly down the channel.  We tried everything we knew to keep a course.  We tried to wing out, but the wind shifted to much to keep the jib full of air.  It took us a while to clear to narrows and make our way to more open water. 

As Peale Passage opened up we found good air and continued at a good clip down the passage.  As this was a very hot day we passed several boats anchored at the old Squaxin Island State Park.  Near Tucksel Pt. we were having problems trying to figure out what this house boat was doing.  He seemed to me nearly mid channel station keeping.  I keep changing course to pass port or starboard of him, but the house boat would change course, making me change my course.  As we came up on the house boat I realized that she was at anchored and swinging in the wind.  My bad!

Again we found ourselves in the lee of the island and holding course to round the point.  We ran wide to try and get some wind.  This tactic worked and we made our way around Tucksel Pt at the south end of Squaxin Is. The wind picked up and we found ourselves on a screaming reach.  The wind was blowing hard and consistent.  The Cygnet was up on her rail.  I tuned the jib and main the best I could and then Annette handed the helm over to me. We were making a fast run between Tucksel Pt and Dofflemyer Pt.  We crossed Dana Passage in less than 15 minutes.  Wow!  At one point the GPS read 8.5kts. The wind backed off as we entered into Budd Inlet.  We were still making 5.5kts good over ground.   

The rest of the run south was without incidence.  Another sailor was running towards us did a 180° turn of our starboard quarter about 200 yards forward of us.  My completive side took over and we raced back to the 5kts zone.  We beat him by about 10 boat lengths. That was fun and a great way to end a great day of sailing.  We motored into Tug Boat Annie’s for dinner and cocktails.  Heading back to Swantown, God painted us a spectacular sunset.  It was a great day!

Saturday February 23, 2008,

Hey everyone! Been kind of slammed the past two months and been working hard on getting the Cygnet cleaned up.  Since February we have been on two SSSS Cruises.  One to Hope Island and the other  Jarrell’s Cove (Hartstene Island).  Both were overnighters.  Also Steven (Annette’s Dad) and I did an overnighter in McMicken last month.  I take the boat out a couple of time a week. 

The Cygnet is finally starting to shrink on me.  I can single hand her, but Mooring is still a bit nerve racking by myself.  Projects:  Detail hull and deck.  Rebuild all the capstan/winches.  Install a outside shower on the sugar scoop.  Build a shelving unit.  Install the VHF Radio, Repair the wind speed/direction indicator and assorted multitude of small things. Oh ya…  I need to scrub the hull and change the oil.    

I finally waxed the hull and now started to wax topside.  Of course not the non-skid.  We’ve decide to make the port aft cabin into a storage area.  Three cabins are nice but the Cygnet lacks storage since one of the previous owners installed the cabin heaters in the main hanging lockers mid-ship.  While it’s out of sight, it took away a fair amount of storage.  Besides the boat is perfect for four people, though she sleeps 10. 

Lots of trips planned for this season.  May 23-26 SSSS Memorial Day Cruise to Penrose Park/Mayo Cove, Port of Bremerton Grand Reopening May 29-June 1.  SSSS Father’s Day Cruise to Oro By (Anderson Island), Boston Harbor/Tacoma fireworks July 3-6, (Tacoma Tall Ships and Fireworks) July San Juan, Gulf Island and BC Cruise July 10-22. August Up Hammerstein Inlet to Shelton. 

My Uncle Sam is due to return by the end of the month.  Once he gets here I’ll have a on demand crew and will be out on the boat most every day.  I look forward to seeing you all out on the water. Signing off for now!

Mark

Sunday Mach 2, 2008 was a sad day.  The America Girl was sold.  She was sold to a great guy Ron M.  He seems to be as excited as I was when I bought the America Girl.  The boat went to a great home on the Hood Canal.  Ron’s home sits on a bluff (high bank water front) with a ball in front of his home.  So if you sail south of Hood Canal Bridge this summer, you’ll see the American Girl sitting on her own ball.  Annette and I delivered the boat to Ron’s Sunday.  I took me nearly three hours to say good bye.  I felt like a parent saying good bye to a kid going to college.  I will miss her!

Saturday February 23, 2008,

The morning was the bright and beautiful. A light breeze blew form the north as the Mongrel Pup and I climbed aboard the Cygnet. I quickly put to work making preparations to get underway.  I had spent time earlier in the week attempting to repair the cabin heater, so I had tools and parts strewn all over the salon.  I had spent the next half hour stowing the boat for sea.

Ben called down from the dock and I went up the pier to bring him down.  Leading Ben was the snorting pug Pablo.   Pablo made an array snorting sound that ranged between growls, chokes and barks.  If you did not know that he had serious sinus problems, you might think he was going to attack you.  The only thing that Pablo would attack is his kibbles or a treat.   Ben and the pug made their way down to the Cygnet and stowed his personals.  After a short brief we slipped lines and backed out of the slip.

1030, after a short stop at the poop dock we were heading out the channel.  The winds were light and the sun was shining warm on our faces.  As we cleared the no wake markers we deployed the jib to see what she would do.  Winds being light we made 3 kts good.  Several South Sounders motored passed us as we slowly made our way up Budd Bay.  We enjoyed the sun on a fabulous February day with nothing better to do.   The wind died as we passed the Boston Harbor and we doused the jib and fired up the iron horse. 

 We rounded Hunter Pt and approached the south side of Hope Island.  Two South Sounders hung on the west most buoy.  We slid in behind the boats and shouted our Ahoy.  We inquired to the where a bouts of the flotilla.  We were directed to the west side of the island.  As we passed astern of the two boats, a shout called out “We’re more fun”.  We smiled and waved.

All three floats had boats hanging off of the them and the north most ball held three boats.  We motors slowly past all three floats trying to figure out what we wanted to do. Einney Meany might Moe which sail boat next to will I moor. We ended up tying up to the raft of the three boats.

Soon we were tied up next to a Hunter Legend 35.  I rigged the dinghy and took the pups to the island for a much needed bio break.  On the way back not wanting to be rude for snubbing the other boats that I did not tie up to, I rowed over to the Knot Work.  We made small talk and promise to get them to shore to explore the island.  Later we fulfilled our promise. 

The day was gorgeous and in the end nine boats were on the raft.  We had hooks out on three boats on top of hanging off the state park ball.

One of the great things about the SSSS Cruises are the potluck.  This potluck was not disappointment.  There was everything from post roast to rice pudding. I know that everyone had seconds and some more.  Yes I was a little piggy.  Wine, food and friends, I can think of worst ways to spend your weekend.  Ben and I hung around the Dawn Trader with Captain Jim and told old war stories to late in the evening.  Around midnight we made our way back the Cygnet and found our bunks waiting for us.  I was glad the mongrel pup had crawled under the covers and kept me warm all night.   That night the wind blew hard and I was lulled to sleep by the wind singing in the halyards.  

I was up by 0800.  I fired up the heater and the coffee.  I was just sitting down to write in the log book and the mongrel pup started barking and in concert.  Folks were migrating to the Dawn Trader for coffee and breakfast goodies.  A few minutes later the good crew of the Knot Work were aboard to coffee.

Ben needed to be back in time for an early afternoon obligation.  So at 1000 we needed to brake the raft and head out.  The plan was to take the bow line off the Dawn Trader and slip around the Cygnet’s bow and secure it to the Midnight Blue.  The problem was we forgot the spring lines so the departure was not graceful.  We with some hemming and hawing  we finally broke free and were underway.

We were heading south bound down wind.  As we made our west bound turn I unfurled the jib and killed the motor.  We were making three knots good.  Ben took the helm and I started to prepare to set the main.  Ben was concerned about our heading.  I told him to just head towards the red buoy.  Not thinking I went about the business of putting up the main.  After a bit Ben says to me “Mark…….  Buoy!”  I could not see the buoy because of the Jib.  I ducked down and saw the buoy only a few yard to starboard,  the buoy was down wind.  I have no idea what the why he choose to try to go up wind around the buoy.  I took the wheel and tried to make the collision as minimal as possible.  Ben ran forward to fend off the buoy. We took the hit on the forward starboard quarter.  Ben was successful keeping the buoy from hitting the hull.  I turned the boat hard to starboard to try and round the buoy.  Ben walked the buoy off the stern.  No harm no foul.  After a small tangle with the dinghy we cleared the buoy.  I promise not to let Ben forget the buoy incident.  My fault for not telling Ben on how to approach the buoy.  Never, never assume.

The main went up with no problems.  The wind was trying hard to blow.  After a couple of gusts the Cygnet sprang to life.  We were making 6kt good.  The winds backed off.   Before long we lost the wind all together.  Sail down, motor up.  Before long we found ourselves back at Swantown.  The landing was without incident. 

Ben departed the boat as soon as we landed.  Being one of the first semi-warm days of the late winter, it was a great day for cleaning.  I spent the next three hours cleaning the boat knocking off the green.  It was a joy working on the hull.  The dock were alive with others working on their boats.  After a bit it was time to go home.  The saga continues.

South Sound Sailing Society January Cruise:

Weather: Winds from 3 Knots to gust of 25 Knots, Snow, rain showers and Sun.

Boats and crew in attendance:  The Boat, Cygnet.  Mark Welpman Skipper and Crew of Will Delony. All other boats in the flotilla were lost at sea or AWOL.

The Cygnet slipped lines at 1030 hours, after a quick stop at the poop dock we crossed Channel Markers “2” and “3”.  Having only had the Cygnet a few months Will and I decided that we would just fly the jib and see what she could do.  The weather as all you fair weather sailors know called for Wind, Snow and Rain.  Wind was blowing at 10 to 12 knots as we entered Bay.  

The winds were building as we ran down Budd Inlet.  As we neared Olympia shoals the Cygnet was making 6.2 kts by log and 7 kts by GPS.  There was a Catalina 34/36 flying main and jib with a crew of 6.  She was up wind near Boston Harbor beating her way back to Olympia.  As we breasted Gull Harbor we crossed paths.  We swung the Cygnet around as we passed astern of her and gave chase.  Now for the disclaimer, I am NOT a racer, nor do I really want to be.  But it is fun to see if you can chase down a racer.  We made a clean tack and ran about 200 yards astern of the Catalina.  We quickly started to gain and closed within 100 feet when she tacked.  We quickly made preparations to tack.  Our tack was not nearly as clean as his.  We stalled to 1.5 knots.  Okay we stalled. Will said that he was not used to grinding so much.  I told him to quit whining and keep pulling.

The Catalina walked away from us and had a substantial lead.  Will trimmed the sail and the Cygnet started to make gains.  At this point the wind was gusting to 25 knots.  The Catalina kept rounding into the wind with each gust, allowing us to close.  At one point we were make 8 knots by log on just the jib.  I was fighting the gusts to keep from rounding up.  This put the rail in the water.  Yahoo!  No I don’t want to race, just chase. We ran abreast of her and she tacked and we jibed.  We succeeded in catching the Catalina.  She headed home and we turned back to run for Squaxin Island.

Winds blowing from the south, we ran down wind making 6 knots good.  About thirty minutes later we rounded Tucksel Point on the south point on Squaxin Island.  I hailed for South Sounders on VHF Radio.  All I picked up was snow on the Radio.  Speaking of which, it was really snowing and starting to pile up on deck.   Now I remember at the last club meeting that someone said winter cruises were a great opportunity to sail in bad weather and hang out with other boats.  We rounded the point expecting to see a couple of mast at the rendezvous, and to our dismay, not a boat on a hook anywhere.  So much for that! We circled a bit and figured that no one wanted to sail in the weather.  So we wanted to keep sailing.

We decided that we would make for Jarrell’s Cove.  The front had moved through and the winds became light. The sail to Jarrell’s cove was slow and wet.  We arrived at Jarrell’s cove and put down lines at 1630. We settled in for the night and enjoyed a spaghetti dinner. Card games and hot toddies for all was the order of evening.

Day two:

Morning started for me at 0830.  Walking topside the dock was white with frost.  The tide was extremely high.  Coffee, bacon and eggs, the big boat breakfast.  We lounged around to noon not being in a particular hurry. At 1300 we backed away from the dock and headed out.  The winds were light exiting Pickering Passage heading to Case Inlet.  As we rounded Dougall Point the winds were blowing from the south by southwest at about 10kts. We doused the diesel and flew the jib.  We cruised at 6kts.  The Sail home was not notable other then it being a clear sunny winter day.  We felt the warmth of the sun on our faces all the way home.  I believe this is the day we were supposed to have the day before.  It’s too bad the fleet was sunk in the storm; I know they would have loved the sail home on Sunday.  So fair winds and following seas from the Cygnet.