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