Friday, October 1, 2010
Great Sailing Weekend!
Last weekend we had a couple of great day sails with our firends Sandy & Bill from Costa Rica. The conditions were excellent both days with clear skies, warm weather, flat seas, and moderate wind. On Saturday we just did a day sail up and down the coast. We attempted to use our cruising spinnaker for the first time since we had extra crew with our friend Dave. Unfortunatley, the dousing sock got jammed and we were unable to fully raise the spinnaker.
On Sunday we left earlier and headed for Anacapa Island where we planned to anchor for lunch and return in the afternoon. On the way over we saw lots of marine life including a pod of Risso's Dolphins, porpoise, sea lions, etc. Our friends Tom and Dave from D dock met us there on their boats. It was a beautiful afternoon and we had a chance to enjoy our lunch and relax. Our return sail was exciting with good wind and smooth seas.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Light Maintenance
It's been very overcast over the past few weeks so we took the opportunity to give Spray some maintenance and improvements. Mike from Boatyard Electric installed a new Rule automatic 1,100 GPH bilge pump, a new fuel gauge, and replaced the fuel gauge sending unit. Spray didn't have a fuel guage when we acquired her. Now we no longer have to guess how much fuel is in the tank (more than we relly need). Although the original bilge pump worked OK, Charlie wanted a higher volume pump for the extra margin of safety. The original diaphragm pump is still in place to serve as a backup, if needed.Last weekend Charlie replaced the wet exhaust hose clamps in the port stern locker. The original hose clamps had broken free and the hose was moving around a bit while under power.
Charlie took the day off work today and changed the engine oil (~6 quarts of Chevron DELO 400 15W-40), relaced the oil filter (Westerbeke 36918), and replaced the sacraficial pencil zinc (0-A) even though it had minimal wear. At a total of 81.5 hours on the engine, it had been only a little over 40 hours since the last oil and filter change. Charlie mainly wanted to see how much effort it would take to change the oil. He was pleased that the job was rather easy with minimal mess using his maunal oil changer.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Santa Cruz Island Trip - July 2010
This was our first multi-day trip to Santa Cruz Island, CA. Our original plan was to circumnavigate the island clockwise starting from Smugglers Cove on the South East end. Unfortunately, there was an unusual South swell coming from a storm in New Zealand. Consequently, we changed our plan and decided to stay on the North side of the island for the first few days. Monday morning we filled up our fuel tank (15 gallons on 20 hrs) and headed for Prisoners Harbor. The seas were calm and there was little wind so we powered the entire way at 6+ knots. We arrived at Prisoners Harbor a little after 1:00 PM. There was only one other boat in the large anchorage so we set a single anchor in 25 feet of water. We ate lunch, launched the dinghy, and went ashore for a nice hike. We had a great dinner - our new barbecue works excellent, and LeeAnne grilled up some tri-tip and ribs - and we slept well since the anchorage was uncrowded with calm seas and little wind.
Tuesday morning we slept in late, ate breakfast, and headed West to Fry's Anchorage just a few miles up the island. As with Prisoners, there was only one other boat anchored at Fry's when we arrived. We set the bow anchor (a 35# Delta with 100' of 5/8 HT chain) in 25' of water then launched the dinghy to set the stern anchor (a 13# Fortress/Guardian with 12' of 5/8 HT chain) closer to the beach in 15-20'. Both anchors set nicely and kept Spray in place with her bow facing out to the channel. Several other boats arrived in the afternoon but the anchorage never got too crowded. We launched the kayak and explored the caves on both sides. We also took the dinghy ashore to explore the remains of an old structure and hiked up the canyon a bit. Back aborad Spray we spotted a pair of bald eagles perched on the cliffs beside the anchorage. It was a delight to see the Eagles fly around the anchorage and get chased by the seagulls. We had another great dinner (grilled salmon, roasted asparagus and couscous), and slept well again due to the calm seas and wind.
We enjoyed Fry's so much we decided to stay another day. This was a perfectly lazy morning - we slept late, had breakfast, and then had a nap! After our lunch settled, we decided to go SCUBA diving along the West wall of the anchorage. There was plenty of kelp, rock structures, and sea caves with all of the typical So. Cal coastal marine life. We saw some good sized bat rays, kelp bass, tree fish, senoritas, surf perch, sea cucumbers, sea stars, star fish, sea urchins, sole, gobys, lingcod, etc. It was a rather shallow dive mostly in depths of 20-35' with no current and minimal surge. The sea temperature was 61 degrees F and visibility about 15'. Unfortunately, we didn't bring an underwater camera so we don't have any pictures of the dive.
After our surface interval we began our second dive along the same Western anchorage wall. Shortly after we descended, a rater chubby and friendly looking Harbor Seal approached Charlie. They were looking eye to eye one foot apart. The seal touched Charlie a few times and Charlie rubbed the seal's belly. The seal got kind of excited and began swimming around playfully. He then approached and startled LeeAnne a few feet away. The seal came back to Charlie for another belly rub. He then got a bit too friendly and started nudging us with his nose and flippers. We decided to surface since we were in the kelp beds and didn't want to get tangled in all the commotion. Plus, LeeAnne wasn't sure if he was being territorial and agressive, or just overly friendly (and possibly even amorous). We did a surface swim over to the Eastern anchorage wall and then descended. We saw another large bat ray and more of the same marine life. The seal found us again after 10 minutes into our dive. We ended the dive a bit early when the seal got a little too friendly and started nudging and nipping at our gear. It was very exciting to have such close contact with a friendly, but wild animal.
While we didn't have our underwater camera with us, here is a video that shows a similar encounter that happened to a different diver last year, just off the coast of Santa Cruz Island. Note that OUR harbor seal was about twice the size of this one!
The week before our trip Charlie had a new custom shower sump installed. We took our first showers aboard Spray that evening. It was great being able to take warm showers after our dives! Unfortunately, the shower sump pump stopped working after the second shower due to a clogged check valve.
That night was yet another yummy dinner - Caribbean jerk chicken with corn-on-the-cob and salad.
The next morning we raised our anchors after breakfast and headed West to explore the famous Painted Cave. We saw what we thought was a kayak tour boat on the West end and headed towards it assuming that they were at the Painted Cave. Unfortunately, it was a dive boat and they were several miles West of our destination. We turned around and followed our cruising guide to what we thought was the Painted Cave. Charlie explored this 25 years ago and didn't have GPS coordinates... so we relied on the guide's description to locate it. We launched the kayak and LeeAnne explored what we thought was the Painted Cave. It seemed smaller than what Charlie remembered and LeeAnne was only able to enter a little over 100' into the cave, so it clearly wasn't Painted Cave. After we brought the kayak back aboard and headed East, we found the real Painted Cave on the other side of the point. Unfortunately the wind and swells were picking up so we didn't re-launch the kayak, much to LeeAnne's disappointment. We now have the correct GPS coordinates and will visit it on our next trip.
Even though it wasn't the real Painted Cave, it was still exciting to kayak into a sea cave. There was a rocky beach at the end of it that was covered with sea lions - when LeeAnne shone her light on them, they all took off into the water, almost swamping the kayak!
As we powered East, we checked out the various anchorages. Pelican looked like a nice anchorage; however, it was very crowded, so we continued East. We decided to spend Thursday night at Little Scorpion anchorage. We anchored on two hooks with our bow facing the outer most rock in 25'. We used the dinghy to set the second anchor in 20-30 feet. Both anchors set well and held Spray in place all afternoon and through the night. Little Scorpion was a wonderful anchorage with numerous rock structures and caves to explore via kayak. LeeAnne spent over an hour out on the kayak while Charlie napped. We had another wonderful dinner (grilled fillet mignon, sauted potatoes, and grilled veggies) and watched a movie on LeeAnne's PC. Again, it was a calm night so we both slept well.
Friday morning we took it easy and headed around the East end towards Smugglers Cove after breakfast. Although there was still a slight South swell coming into Smugglers, there wasn't much wind and the anchorage looked reasonably calm. We set our bow anchor close to the southern wall in 18'.
After a lazy lunch, we took the dinghy to shore for a hike. We landed the dinghy on the far northern side of the beach since the waves looked smaller there and it had more sand than the rather rocky south side by our boat. The landing was a bit more exciting that we thought and we got a little wet. Fortunately, our dry bag kept our shoes and cameras dry. We had a nice hike up the road to the top of the hill. After an hour or so, we decided to return to Spray.
By the time we got back to the beach, the swells had increased in size. We carefully studied the swell pattern to determine when to attempt our launch through the breaking waves. Although we thought we timed it right, we got swamped on our first attempt. The dinghy filled with water and Charlie got knocked out of it and almost sucked out to sea in a rip current. We pulled the dinghy back on the beach to recover and plan our next move. After studying the swell pattern along the entire beach, we determined that what we thought was the best point for landing our dinghy was probably the worst point for launching it. The breakers seemed to be smaller on the southern end of the beach, and were breaking closer to shore, which might make it easier to paddle past them before being swamped by the next big set. Consequently, we decided to carry the dinghy with motor about a quarter of a mile along the rocky beach to the southern end closer to where Spray was anchored. This was back breaking work and took us over an hour scrambling along the rocks like crabs. We both got a lot of scrapes bruises, and sore muscles doing this. It was also quite scary, as the swells continued to rise and come in closer sets, leaving us wondering if we were going to make it back to our boat at all! We definitely had some frightening visions of being stuck on this deserted beach overnight, soaking wet with no water or food and no way to get back to our boat. Fortunately, our plan worked and we were able to successfully launch the dinghy and paddle past the big breakers. It sure felt wonderful once we got back aboard Spray!
We took quick showers (after some jury-rigging of the shower pump), then LeeAnne cooked up a spicy batch of vegetarian chili and cornbread, and we celebrated our warmth and safety with a good bottle of red wine. We definitely learned a lesson: skip the beach landing if there are waves breaking on the beach.
The swells seemed to get larger and more intense after dinner. Charlie couldn't sleep until the swells settled down after 1:30 AM, so it was a rather restless night. (LeeAnne slept well though!)
We woke up early the next morning, ate a quick breakfast, and headed back home to Channel Islands Harbor. We saw lots of dolphins and sea lions on the way home. LeeAnne spotted a humpback whale sticking his head out of the water. We also saw a good sized Mola Mola basking in the sun at the surface out by oil platform Gina. We got back to our slip shortly after noon and spent the evening unloading Spray and relaxing with our friends on D dock, and sharing our adventures. Turns out we're not the only sailors who've been almost stranded on the beach at Smugglers.
The good friends, food, live music, and drinks were a wonderful way to end our first great island adventure aboard Spray!
PS - Since our refirierator was still not working, we were concerned that we might run out of ice in the ice box. We used six blocks of ice plus a case of frozen water bottles. It turns out that the ice held up great with the blocks at almost their full size. In fact, some of the water bottles were still frozen. We probably could have easily gone another 5 days before the ice melted.
Tuesday morning we slept in late, ate breakfast, and headed West to Fry's Anchorage just a few miles up the island. As with Prisoners, there was only one other boat anchored at Fry's when we arrived. We set the bow anchor (a 35# Delta with 100' of 5/8 HT chain) in 25' of water then launched the dinghy to set the stern anchor (a 13# Fortress/Guardian with 12' of 5/8 HT chain) closer to the beach in 15-20'. Both anchors set nicely and kept Spray in place with her bow facing out to the channel. Several other boats arrived in the afternoon but the anchorage never got too crowded. We launched the kayak and explored the caves on both sides. We also took the dinghy ashore to explore the remains of an old structure and hiked up the canyon a bit. Back aborad Spray we spotted a pair of bald eagles perched on the cliffs beside the anchorage. It was a delight to see the Eagles fly around the anchorage and get chased by the seagulls. We had another great dinner (grilled salmon, roasted asparagus and couscous), and slept well again due to the calm seas and wind.
We enjoyed Fry's so much we decided to stay another day. This was a perfectly lazy morning - we slept late, had breakfast, and then had a nap! After our lunch settled, we decided to go SCUBA diving along the West wall of the anchorage. There was plenty of kelp, rock structures, and sea caves with all of the typical So. Cal coastal marine life. We saw some good sized bat rays, kelp bass, tree fish, senoritas, surf perch, sea cucumbers, sea stars, star fish, sea urchins, sole, gobys, lingcod, etc. It was a rather shallow dive mostly in depths of 20-35' with no current and minimal surge. The sea temperature was 61 degrees F and visibility about 15'. Unfortunately, we didn't bring an underwater camera so we don't have any pictures of the dive.
After our surface interval we began our second dive along the same Western anchorage wall. Shortly after we descended, a rater chubby and friendly looking Harbor Seal approached Charlie. They were looking eye to eye one foot apart. The seal touched Charlie a few times and Charlie rubbed the seal's belly. The seal got kind of excited and began swimming around playfully. He then approached and startled LeeAnne a few feet away. The seal came back to Charlie for another belly rub. He then got a bit too friendly and started nudging us with his nose and flippers. We decided to surface since we were in the kelp beds and didn't want to get tangled in all the commotion. Plus, LeeAnne wasn't sure if he was being territorial and agressive, or just overly friendly (and possibly even amorous). We did a surface swim over to the Eastern anchorage wall and then descended. We saw another large bat ray and more of the same marine life. The seal found us again after 10 minutes into our dive. We ended the dive a bit early when the seal got a little too friendly and started nudging and nipping at our gear. It was very exciting to have such close contact with a friendly, but wild animal.
While we didn't have our underwater camera with us, here is a video that shows a similar encounter that happened to a different diver last year, just off the coast of Santa Cruz Island. Note that OUR harbor seal was about twice the size of this one!
The week before our trip Charlie had a new custom shower sump installed. We took our first showers aboard Spray that evening. It was great being able to take warm showers after our dives! Unfortunately, the shower sump pump stopped working after the second shower due to a clogged check valve.
That night was yet another yummy dinner - Caribbean jerk chicken with corn-on-the-cob and salad.
The next morning we raised our anchors after breakfast and headed West to explore the famous Painted Cave. We saw what we thought was a kayak tour boat on the West end and headed towards it assuming that they were at the Painted Cave. Unfortunately, it was a dive boat and they were several miles West of our destination. We turned around and followed our cruising guide to what we thought was the Painted Cave. Charlie explored this 25 years ago and didn't have GPS coordinates... so we relied on the guide's description to locate it. We launched the kayak and LeeAnne explored what we thought was the Painted Cave. It seemed smaller than what Charlie remembered and LeeAnne was only able to enter a little over 100' into the cave, so it clearly wasn't Painted Cave. After we brought the kayak back aboard and headed East, we found the real Painted Cave on the other side of the point. Unfortunately the wind and swells were picking up so we didn't re-launch the kayak, much to LeeAnne's disappointment. We now have the correct GPS coordinates and will visit it on our next trip.
Even though it wasn't the real Painted Cave, it was still exciting to kayak into a sea cave. There was a rocky beach at the end of it that was covered with sea lions - when LeeAnne shone her light on them, they all took off into the water, almost swamping the kayak!
The fake Painted Cave
The real Painted Cave
As we powered East, we checked out the various anchorages. Pelican looked like a nice anchorage; however, it was very crowded, so we continued East. We decided to spend Thursday night at Little Scorpion anchorage. We anchored on two hooks with our bow facing the outer most rock in 25'. We used the dinghy to set the second anchor in 20-30 feet. Both anchors set well and held Spray in place all afternoon and through the night. Little Scorpion was a wonderful anchorage with numerous rock structures and caves to explore via kayak. LeeAnne spent over an hour out on the kayak while Charlie napped. We had another wonderful dinner (grilled fillet mignon, sauted potatoes, and grilled veggies) and watched a movie on LeeAnne's PC. Again, it was a calm night so we both slept well.
Friday morning we took it easy and headed around the East end towards Smugglers Cove after breakfast. Although there was still a slight South swell coming into Smugglers, there wasn't much wind and the anchorage looked reasonably calm. We set our bow anchor close to the southern wall in 18'.
After a lazy lunch, we took the dinghy to shore for a hike. We landed the dinghy on the far northern side of the beach since the waves looked smaller there and it had more sand than the rather rocky south side by our boat. The landing was a bit more exciting that we thought and we got a little wet. Fortunately, our dry bag kept our shoes and cameras dry. We had a nice hike up the road to the top of the hill. After an hour or so, we decided to return to Spray.
By the time we got back to the beach, the swells had increased in size. We carefully studied the swell pattern to determine when to attempt our launch through the breaking waves. Although we thought we timed it right, we got swamped on our first attempt. The dinghy filled with water and Charlie got knocked out of it and almost sucked out to sea in a rip current. We pulled the dinghy back on the beach to recover and plan our next move. After studying the swell pattern along the entire beach, we determined that what we thought was the best point for landing our dinghy was probably the worst point for launching it. The breakers seemed to be smaller on the southern end of the beach, and were breaking closer to shore, which might make it easier to paddle past them before being swamped by the next big set. Consequently, we decided to carry the dinghy with motor about a quarter of a mile along the rocky beach to the southern end closer to where Spray was anchored. This was back breaking work and took us over an hour scrambling along the rocks like crabs. We both got a lot of scrapes bruises, and sore muscles doing this. It was also quite scary, as the swells continued to rise and come in closer sets, leaving us wondering if we were going to make it back to our boat at all! We definitely had some frightening visions of being stuck on this deserted beach overnight, soaking wet with no water or food and no way to get back to our boat. Fortunately, our plan worked and we were able to successfully launch the dinghy and paddle past the big breakers. It sure felt wonderful once we got back aboard Spray!
We took quick showers (after some jury-rigging of the shower pump), then LeeAnne cooked up a spicy batch of vegetarian chili and cornbread, and we celebrated our warmth and safety with a good bottle of red wine. We definitely learned a lesson: skip the beach landing if there are waves breaking on the beach.
The swells seemed to get larger and more intense after dinner. Charlie couldn't sleep until the swells settled down after 1:30 AM, so it was a rather restless night. (LeeAnne slept well though!)
We woke up early the next morning, ate a quick breakfast, and headed back home to Channel Islands Harbor. We saw lots of dolphins and sea lions on the way home. LeeAnne spotted a humpback whale sticking his head out of the water. We also saw a good sized Mola Mola basking in the sun at the surface out by oil platform Gina. We got back to our slip shortly after noon and spent the evening unloading Spray and relaxing with our friends on D dock, and sharing our adventures. Turns out we're not the only sailors who've been almost stranded on the beach at Smugglers.
The good friends, food, live music, and drinks were a wonderful way to end our first great island adventure aboard Spray!
Mola Mola sunning himself at the surface
PS - Since our refirierator was still not working, we were concerned that we might run out of ice in the ice box. We used six blocks of ice plus a case of frozen water bottles. It turns out that the ice held up great with the blocks at almost their full size. In fact, some of the water bottles were still frozen. We probably could have easily gone another 5 days before the ice melted.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
First Time Anchoring
Yesterday we took Spray over to Frenchy's Cove at Anacapa Island to practice anchoring. Shari, a childhood friend of LeeAnne's, was visiting from out of town and we figured that this would be a nice way to spend the day catching up. On the way over, about 1/4 mile past oil platform Gina, we spotted a couple of very large Mola Mola fish. These are very unusual looking fish and it was a real treat to see them sun bathing at the surface.
Since we got a late start, we powered all the way over to Frenchy's Cove. Although there was only one other boat anchored, there was a lot of activity at Frenchy's since it was being used a a turning mark for a sailboat race. We dropped our anchor in 21' of water and laid out 100' of chain and 20' of rope. The anchor set and held nicely. We watched the racers turn the mark while we ate lunch and enjoyed the beautiful surroundings. So far so good.
Our luck took a turn for the worse when we got ready to leave. First of all, the engine wouldn't start! We couldn't get any juice through the ignition switch and starter. Charlie tried to diagnose the problem but couldn't find the root cause of the short. There was good wind, so we decided to raise the sail, raise the anchor, and sail back to Channel Islands Harbor. While using the windlass to raise the anchor, the chain kept binding as it fell into the anchor locker below the gypsy. Charlie had LeeAnne pull the anchor rode into the anchor locker while he worked the windlass. It was a real hassle and we need to figure out a better way to organize the rode in the lockers below the windlass!
As Charlie stowed the anchor, LeeAnne turned Spray around under the power of the main sail, and headed home. We unfurled the Genoa and had a great sail back at 6.5-7.5 knots. As we approached Channel Islands Harbor, we were faced with a few options. We could request a tow back to our slip from Vessel Assist, attempt to sail back into our slip, or sail back to our marina at an end tie. It had been over 20 years since Charlie sailed a 36' sailboat into a slip without power, and he was a bit nervous about doing it. Consequently, we decided to use the end tie on D dock. We furled the Genoa as we approached the marina. As we neared the dock, Charlie lowered the Main while LeeAnne steered her to the end tie. Fortunately, our buddies from D dock were present and lended a hand for a nice smooth landing! Even better, they had a pot of hot beef stew and refreshing drinks waiting for us. What a great community!
After relaxing a bit, Charlie and Tom attempted to diagnose the problem with the ignition. They determined that the switch was not getting power. They then pulled the floor boards to trace the wires back to the battery and engine. Charlie found a circuit breaker next to the starter solenoid, pressed the re-set button, and restored power to the ignition switch with ran the alarm and fans. The engine started right up and we moved Spray back to her slip. Although we now know how to re-set the circuit breaker, we still need to figure out what caused it to short.
All in all, it turned out to be a wonderful day. We saw some large Mola Mola, practiced anchoring, watched a local race up close at beautiful Frenchy's Cove, exercised our sailing skills to sail back without axillary power, learned more about the engine electronics, and got to spend some quality time with our friends.
Since we got a late start, we powered all the way over to Frenchy's Cove. Although there was only one other boat anchored, there was a lot of activity at Frenchy's since it was being used a a turning mark for a sailboat race. We dropped our anchor in 21' of water and laid out 100' of chain and 20' of rope. The anchor set and held nicely. We watched the racers turn the mark while we ate lunch and enjoyed the beautiful surroundings. So far so good.
Our luck took a turn for the worse when we got ready to leave. First of all, the engine wouldn't start! We couldn't get any juice through the ignition switch and starter. Charlie tried to diagnose the problem but couldn't find the root cause of the short. There was good wind, so we decided to raise the sail, raise the anchor, and sail back to Channel Islands Harbor. While using the windlass to raise the anchor, the chain kept binding as it fell into the anchor locker below the gypsy. Charlie had LeeAnne pull the anchor rode into the anchor locker while he worked the windlass. It was a real hassle and we need to figure out a better way to organize the rode in the lockers below the windlass!
As Charlie stowed the anchor, LeeAnne turned Spray around under the power of the main sail, and headed home. We unfurled the Genoa and had a great sail back at 6.5-7.5 knots. As we approached Channel Islands Harbor, we were faced with a few options. We could request a tow back to our slip from Vessel Assist, attempt to sail back into our slip, or sail back to our marina at an end tie. It had been over 20 years since Charlie sailed a 36' sailboat into a slip without power, and he was a bit nervous about doing it. Consequently, we decided to use the end tie on D dock. We furled the Genoa as we approached the marina. As we neared the dock, Charlie lowered the Main while LeeAnne steered her to the end tie. Fortunately, our buddies from D dock were present and lended a hand for a nice smooth landing! Even better, they had a pot of hot beef stew and refreshing drinks waiting for us. What a great community!
All in all, it turned out to be a wonderful day. We saw some large Mola Mola, practiced anchoring, watched a local race up close at beautiful Frenchy's Cove, exercised our sailing skills to sail back without axillary power, learned more about the engine electronics, and got to spend some quality time with our friends.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Replaced Portlights
This past Memorial Day weekend we were planning to make our first trip to Santa Cruz Island. Unfortunately, the weather was bad and LeeAnne was recovering from a nasty cold. Charlie decided to take the opportunity to complete Spray's portlight replacement project. The six original plastic opening portlights had opaque lenses, cracked frames, broken screens, mismatched hardware, leaked, and had some frozen knobs. We decided to replace them with six new stainless steel 4x14" opening port lights from New Found Metals complete with varnished teak trim rings and stainless steel bug screens. Charlie replace the three on the port side a couple of months ago and finished the starboard side this weekend. They took a lot more time and effort to install than we imagined (~5 hours each), but were well worth it! The port lights open and close easily and can be left cracked open for ventilation. The teak trim rings were varnished and coated with AwlBrite... so they look great and should hold up well.
Original plastic portlights.
Of course, the hardest part of the job was working on the boat while the rest of D dock was partying. The musicians were sounding particularly awesome this weekend. I especially enjoyed the beach beat rendition of Neil Young's "Like a Hurricane" led by the birthday girl Donna.. I was blown away!
We also had Mike from Boatyard Electric replace the underpowered Guest 5/5 amp battery charger with a new Xantrex 40 amp TrueCharge2 charger and separate circuit breakers for overcurrent protection. Mike did a great job with the installation and the new charger will do a better job of maintaining our house and starter batteries..
Original plastic portlights.
Of course, the hardest part of the job was working on the boat while the rest of D dock was partying. The musicians were sounding particularly awesome this weekend. I especially enjoyed the beach beat rendition of Neil Young's "Like a Hurricane" led by the birthday girl Donna.. I was blown away!
Sunday, May 16, 2010
30th Annual Hardway Race: 14-16 May 2010
This was a big weekend for us! It was our first multi-day trip and long distance race aboard Spray. On Friday morning, we left our Channel Islands slip at 6:00 AM, emptied the holding tank, and headed up the coast to Santa Barbara. The seas were calm and there was no wind so we powered the entire way at about 290 degrees according to our compass. Along the way we saw some large schools of dolphins feeding and playing. We also had a small green finch like bird fly along with Spray for over 30 minutes. Spray's virtually new diesel auxiliary engine moved us nicely at about 6.2 knots while turning 2,400 RPM. Charlie spent the entire time at the helm (since Spray's 30 year old Sharp autopilot is broken) while LeeAnne and Dean slept. We arrived in Santa Barbara harbor at about 11:45.
Once in Santa Barbara, we got our slip assignment from the Harbor master and moved Spay to the big boat berth behind S dock. We were the first of the Hardway racers to arrive so we had plenty of room. Our friend Tom arrived shortly after us and we helped him dock his boat on the end tie. We then met up with Tom's wife Kelly and headed to the marina for lunch at Brophy Bros Seafood restaurant overlooking the harbor and bay.
The next morning we got up early for breakfast at Minnows(?) and then visited the boaters swap meet. Charlie picked up a pair of nice Schaefer twin sheet Genoa blocks and a few stainless steel rub strakes. After all, you can never have too many spare boat parts! At 9:30 we attended the skipper's meeting for the Hardway race. The race committee split the non-spinnaker class into two groups. The A group had PHRF ratings <151 and the B group had ratings >=151. With a rating of 180, Spray was in the B group with three other boats, two of which had the same 180 rating! The wind was picking up and it looked like it would be a great day for sailing.
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