The Cygnet

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.

We started this site to share our sailing experiences with those likeminded folks who love sailing.  We look forward to you blogging with us and we hope that we can meet somewhere out there on the water!