So there I am looking at the horizon, left arm wrapped around a Lewmar 44 winch, feet stretched across the cockpit steading me againt the starboard lazarette, having just a grand time!  It is bit cold though...  Sadly I'm not headed anywhere too interesting and if I turn around I can see La Jolla a few miles away, but I'm still having a damn fine time!

Yesterday we wrapped up our ASA-103 class by starting the day with a written test that we all did rather well on.  Then it was time to cast off the dock lines and head out the mouth of the bay again.  Sunday wasn't nearly as rough or windy as Saturday but the wind we had was surely 10 degrees cooler than the day before!  I had all my clothes on, but for rain pants, by the time we were exiting the yacht harbor, as did most every one else.

With the only real hurdle we had left behind us we all just enjoyed a wonderful day on the ocean in a 32 foot sail boat.  Basically day two for us was sailing.  Some tacking, some gybing, some sail trimming, and just a bit of navigation.

After the written test Dennis gave us some basic pointers in navigation and chart reading, again just great info!  The sailing was fun, not too challenging, even if a bit cold.  We cruised down to Point Loma, skirting the kelp beds to the east.  Then we turned north and cruised up past La Jolla before heading back in to Mission Bay. In that time we were able to start to feel how to make the boat work with the swells and the wind.  

As a swell would pass under us the rudder would be pushed this way and that, the bow would swing around and we'd heel and straighten.  You could fight it or you could work with it to keep the boat both on course and trimmed properly to make the most of the wind.  It wasn't easy, certainly not at first, but over time each of us could smoothly rise up and down.  Obviously more practice is needed and we only had swells from a few directions.  Regardless, we began to understand that skippering a sailboat on the ocean is less about compass, knot meter, and tell tales and more about the feel of the boat and the ocean through your feet, hands and butt.

We turned on the knot meter and depth gauge and it was an odd thing, at least for me.  I felt compelled to watch the knot meter and try to make it show me as big a number as I could.  This, then, felt more like driving down the freeway trying to get to where ever I may be headed as soon as possible.  I realized as I was doing this that this was NOT why I came out here to sail.  I want to sail to NOT be in the rat race, to not be in any race other than human.  Sailing is to be my disconnect, so judging myself based on numbers on an LCD display just felt plain wrong.  So I looked away, I looked for sea lions and other animals.  I watched the sails and the horizon and my crewmates as I glanced at the compass to help me stay in the wind.  This felt much more right.  I'll need to remember this lesson in the future.

I now have the ASA-103, Basic Coastal Cruising certification which means I can now leave the bays and head out in the ocean and I can do this on bigger boats, up to 35 feet.  Also If I take a one hour course to get checked out on the 42 footer I can take that boat out as well.  These boats cost more to rent but they can also hold more people comfortably.

I don't have a plan for taking one of these sweet rides out yet, but I'll be working on that over the next few weeks.  My next sail will likely be in San Francisco bay with my father in law.  I'm really looking forward to that sail because I'm betting the conditions will be more challenging than most anything I've sailed in yet.  Now before I get accused of being a dare devil only wanting to sail in tough, read crappy, conditions, understand that I only want to sail in tough conditions to learn and be comfortable in them.  My dream sail is certainly a smooth warm day with 10 to 15 knots of wind.  But I don't want to crawl into the corner and cry if the fan does get hit with something...

With completeing this cert I have taken one more small step towards a bigger goal and taken another step into a bigger world.

Ciao,
Seaman Ray 

This last weekend I took the ASA-103 Coastal Cruising class.  Basically what this means is that now I can do two things.  I can sail boats up to 35 feet and I can leave the shelter of the Bays in San Diego.

The class was out of Mission Bay, where I've never sailed, which has a very short motor to the open ocean.  With the exception of a few hours on a skippered, chartered, boat a few years ago I haven't been in the open ocean in a very long time.  I could tell it's been awhile!

Obviously a boat will move around on the rollers and wind waves but I was surprised at the bobbing nature of the ride.  We had enough wind that we reefed the main and started with a reefed jib for the early part of the day.  With 6-8 foot swells and wind blown white caps it was quite a ride!  But i'm getting a little ahead of myself.

We started the day dockside in a Catalina 320, there were four of us plus the instructor Dennis.  I liked Dennis and my crewmates right away.  Dennis' dry wit matched my own and he is extremely knowledgable on sailing, and other, matters.  We spent an hour and a half going over the boat bow to stern and boom to bilge.  This boat has a Yanmar diesel that we were given a primer on operating and troubleshooting.  While I like the simplicity of diesel engines, I have more to learn before I'll be comfortable in the middle of an ocean with one.  It was good to get information that I'm always interested in but afraid to ask.

[Aside: it turns out that I'm not the only one who wants all kinds of nitty gritty details, that may be superfluous, but was afraid to ask.  My classmates were interested in the very same things...]

So we pulled the speed sensor and saw it's encrustation first hand, we tested the bilge pump, we flushed the toilet, we cleared the raw cooling water strainer, we were given a brief primer on hailing technique, we reviewed the power panels, and even how many of the house acoutrements worked such as tables and berths and hatches.

With a working knowledge of the systems on our boat we headed out.  It became immediately apparent that a 32 foot boat is much bigger than a 22 foot boat!  From Quivira Basin in Mission bay it's a short motor out the harbor and into the channel leaving the bay.  You're soon met with slow rollers coming in the channel from the ocean. :D  We started bobbing...  As I mentioned earlier the swells were substantial and we actually started taking them over the bow with spray all over.  These were the exact conditions I hoped we'd see.

As we made our way out the channel we raised the main and reefed it.  Once out in the open we partially unfurled the jib and killed the engine.  It was such a change in noise and vibration, and oh so pleasant.  But it wasn't a smooth ride by any means...  We learned some interesting techniques for handling the boat like short stopping in a boat length while under sail and under power.  I thought it was pretty amazing that we'd throw the wheel all the way over, control the main, but still try to allow it to luff, and just spinning in a circle for a minute before stopping completely.  Simple as you please and all we needed to do to get into heave to was spin the wheel the other way at the right moment.

The rest of the morning was a pleasant sail with tacking, gybing, furling, unfurling, shaking reefs out and just basically boat handling in the swells.  All these topics were challenging in the conditions we had but they came to all of us in short order.

The afternoon was spent learning anchoring, docking - both forward and backwards - in tight spaces, and a significant amount of time was spent on man over board practice.  We finished up with a short sail back out the channel and back, just killing time till the 5-oclock end of our first day.

When i got home I was surprised at how tired I was.  I also got some grief for being so sunburned...  Put on sunscreen!

This was just a taste of ocean sailing and it was yummy!

Seaman Ray 

It's been a while.  I've been busy...

But yesterday we shook off the sailing cob-webs and got underway once again.  Our excursion was again in a Catalina 250 and this time we added a few adventurers to the fun.  Sam, Mandi, Madison and I were joined by Alec and Sergei, two kids in our neighborhood.  They kept Sam occupied, perhaps a bit too much.

Initially I wanted to get Mandi and Sam some time on Tiller and Sheet, so once I raised the sails Sam got on the tiller, I took the baby, and Mandi hit the sheets, so to speak...

As we approached a lee shore I deemed it time to tack.  Sam called the commands, and Mandi was ready, so Helm to Lee!  But then the sheets were not cooperating on the winches.  The fairleads were too close to the winches which was causing the sheets to ride up on themselves and get wrapped up, jamming the sheet and not allowing the Jib to switch sides.  This happened three times before I had to take the sheets in hand myself and see if I could do any better.  I could not, but at least I was strong enough to pull the sheets out once they'd wrapped.  Of course I didn't diagnose the true problem until much later in the day when we'd already wrapped the sheets around the winches far too many times for a four hour sail.  We moved the fairleads forwards on their tracks a few clicks...  lessons lessons...

All of this was exacerbated by inconsistent shifty winds.  From the moment we left Marriott Yacht Harbor to the point where we were abeam of Shelter Island the winds had shifted a good 140 degrees!  Further challenges lay in the fact that the winds would gust from 0 to 20 knotts and back.  When we finally decided to turn and head back down wind towards San Diego we ended up in a wind hole.  Not sure how else to describe it.  We were becalmed when just minutes before we were heeled nearly 30 degrees.  What I did notice as we bore westward though was that the closer we got to the mouth of the Bay the more consistent the winds became.  Mental notes were taken...

Another factor that was challenging us was the rudder flopping around on very loose or worn pintals.  We could not make minor adjustments in course because the rudder would just flop over a few more degrees than intended and the course would swing MUCH farther than intended.

Okay, I can hear you out there, I know...  We were still enjoying a spectacular day on San Diego Bay!  Truth be told we probably learned more under these conditions than we would have in perfectly steady 10 knot winds on a brand new boat.  At this point in my sailing career that really is the point of most of the these trips.

I did get to practice one more manuever before the day was out.  I successly got the boat into Heave To, albeit probably from the worst point of sail to start from.  We were running, having just passed under the bridge, in a wing and wing configuration.  With the mainsail to starboard and jib to port I probably should have turned to port there-by taking pressure off the main and backing the jib.  Huh?  What?  You mean that would have just put us into Heave To pain free?  Well, yes it would have, had that been what I chose to do...

Of course I'm Monday Morning Skippering here and at the time it seemed the right thing to do was to turn starboard.  I really wish we would have had some video of the events that followed but long story short we did a 270 with the main flailing from full starboard to full port and back again.  Under certain circumstances this really wouldn't have been all that bad because we weren't moving very fast and the wind was in somewhat of a lull.  The problem we encountered was that Sam was straddling the traveler and the main sheet wacked him in the face as it swung to port and back again.  It wasn't enough to hurt him but I'm sure it scared him and made me feel like a total twit!

While I appologized to him profusely I maintained the tiller full starboard with the jib backed on the port side and the main swinging free, as we very slowly drifted leeward.  Yes ladies and gentlelmen, we were hove to!  Nothing about the evolution was graceful but we did end up in the configuration sought.  I continue to be thankful for small successes...

Next weekend I take the ASA 103 class and I hope we have at least as challenging conditions.  I'd really like to see how someone who knows how to sail handles these things.

Until then I remain hove to,
Seaman Ray 

Today was a sailing success!

I got on the water today by calling last night and reserving the Catalina 250.  Further I was able to talk Mandi, Sam and Madison into all going!  We had to disrupt Maddie's nap time but it was worth it.  We woke her up 45 minutes into her normally 2 hour nap and headed down to the bay.  Usually when we sail out of the San Diego location we park at Petco and walk the mile over the convention center.  With Madison we decided to park at Seaport Village and just pay for parking.  It ended up being $8 because they give you two hours free if you buy something.  We bought cookies, another winner!

I'd never sailed the 250 so I was looking for a bit of a primer before we left.  I didn't get too much but I looked around to orient myself and saw all the things I would hope to see. Other than the additional three feet the biggest difference was that the winches were up on top of the cabin.  There are two rail seats on the stern too and they look really comfy!

Satisfied, we stowed our gear and got underway.  I'm sure to the observer it would appear we are getting underway for at least a weekend or more as opposed to our planned 4 hour sail based on the amount of gear we bring aboard.  But with lunch, jackets for everyone, camera, and a full bag of stuff just for the baby we really do only bring the bare necessities.  While stowing stuff I was really impressed with the cabin.  Although sparse in some eyes, it was quite a bit more plush than the Capri 22. There was a standup head, two burner stove, proper table, Ice chest, sink, and two double berths.  I could spend a comfy weekend in this thing if I had to.  And the piece de resistance?  It had a radio inside and speakers in the cockpit!  We were serenaded sailors!

Once out the marina Sam took the helm while I raised the sails and Mandi tended to Madison, who was NOT crying!  The new PFD was another success.  Main up, finished with winch and winch handle this time,  and jib unfurled.  We headed west since Sam and I had such a grand time down there last time out.  We were in a lot more wind today than I've ever been in, though that's not really saying much.  Things were getting bouncy and no doubt the west end of the bay gets most of the traffic.  We were past the Midway and preparing to tack and head towards shelter island when I looked at mama.  We weren't all having as much fun as Ray was...

I asked if perhaps we should find calmer waters and with such an immediate affirmative response I fell off down wind post haste.  As luck would have it the wind was from due west and dead astern if we went wing and wing running to the Coronado Bridge.  However the wind was unsteady at best, this should have been a clue.

One nice thing about the 250 is that the boom is well above the cockpit so that when we did our accidental gybe the only thing in harms way was the mainsheet, and traveler and the boom itself...  It was something of a helpless feeling as I watched the boom swing over from starboard beam to port beam.  My only reaction was to yell watch it!  Nothing broke and no one got bonked so we tried a broad reach and moved ahead...  As we headed toward the bridge we passed close by one of the channel bouys.  On top of it was a sunning Sea Lion.  I tried to start a conversaton but he couldn't be bothered.

We ran under the bridge, which I hadn't actually been under in years, then south past the Navy ships and nearly to South Bay.  It was very comfortable sailing and we were having a grand time.  Madison decided to finish her nap about this time and we reached as far south as I wanted to go.  San Diego Bay gets pretty shallow on the south end, as I found out in my ASA 101 class...  So we turned back west.

Huh... Now who woulda thunk that the same wind that was pushing us leisurely downwind at 5 knots was also making waves and gusting pretty good right in our faces when we turned around...  So we tacked.  Mandi wasn't completely down with burying the rail and I had no capacity to reef the main.  So we ran in a less than efficient configuration and I had to work hard to keep the bow from bearing too far from the wind lest we heel more than the crew preferred.

Getting back under the bridge then became an interesting endeavor.  We stayed on port tack as long as we dared without tempting the Navy Patrol boats to give us a visit, then we tacked.  I thought we might slip between bridge supports 19 and 20 but we were making so much leeway that we shot the bridge between 18 and 19, which was completely fine.  Now it was a matter of easy tacks.

Madison was awake and it seemed like a good opportunity to let Mandi try her hands on the jib sheets.  Sam held Maddie for a bit while Mandi and I sailed the boat.  I could tell instantly that getting Mandi involved improved her outlook on sailing ten fold.  This is something we'll need to work on more.  I could tell she had suddenly relaxed and was enjoying herself and the day.  This was another winner.  We tacked and played a while longer then Maddie started getting restless so mama took her back.

Sam helped me clean up the boat and took the helm while I brought down the sails and got things secured.  Another easy docking with the help of the dock hand and we were almost finished with a near perfect day. We picked up some Stone IPA on the way home and that closed out a damn fine day!

There were a lot of winners this day.
Seaman Ray 

Sometimes it's funny how a seemingly uncorrelated set of circumstances can conspire to dent ones resolve.  And by funny I mean odd, strange, or friggin screwy...

Sam and I were supposed to go sailing on Saturday.  There was a chance that Maddie and Mandi might go but Maddie's nap schedule got in the way.  Sam and I headed down on what appeared to be a perfect sailing day!  It was somewhat cloudy but the when we got downtown, the wind was kickin about 10kts from the west, not too hot or too cold.  When we got to our Sailing Club I asked for a 22' Capri for four hours and was promptly told "Sorry Bro, they're all gone.  I can get you on a 27' or you can try over at Coronado."  Coronado only had 16' and 35'.  I guess no sailing this day, I'm not certified to sail anything larger that 25'.  Yet.  What's worse is that when I sail out of Sea Port Village I park at work and walk a mile over to the marina.  It was a long quiet walk back to the car with Sam.

Then this morning I dropped Sam at school and realized I forgot my work badge.  Headed home for that.  On the way to work, again, I tried to hit the ATM but for some reason all the ATM's were "Out of Order", convenient...  Since I hadn't had breakfast yet I decided to walk over to a local mexican place and get a breakfast burrito, they are so yummy!  For some reason on this day the restaurant wasn't opening till 10am.  I had a conference call with MLB at 10 so that nixed breakfast.

If you know me you know I can get cranky if I miss a feeding.  I wonder how that will play out on a boat...  hmmm...

When I finally went for my lunch walk I was pretty hungry but I wanted to walk while the weather allowed it.  Sometimes I don't feel like walking past the Marina because it feels like a carrot being dangled out in front of me.  Today I went over there anyway.  It's good to clear one's head with some fresh air!  I felt so much better afterwards. I got to daydreaming which is what I usually do when I walk or run or swim.  When I daydream near the ocean well, i'll be daydreaming about crossing that ocean.  It's just my nature.

By the time I'd turned around and headed back I could feel the desire to go over the horizon so bad I could taste it.  Starting to get back to my old self...  I remembered a quote of Abraham Lincoln I read recently:  "...In the end it's not the years in your life that count.  It's the life in your years."  I don't know if I'll ever hear it stated better than that.

Missing a day of sailing, or one meal, or being inconvenienced by ATM failures all really are inconsequential.  A friend of mine from New York described walking in the city there like this:  We just keep moving.  If the light is red, or traffic blocks you, in one direction you turn the corner and go in another direction.  The point is to always keep moving in the direction of your goal.  Seems like that could be a pervasive concept in life.

Yesterday afternoon Maddie, Mandi, and I went down to West Marine to try to find a better fitting PFD for Madison.  Since Mandi agreed to go do this I felt in my mind that it was a tiny moment of validation for my dream.  There is, afterall, only one reason to find a well fitting PFD for Madison.  Then while there I happened by the sailing shoes and pointed out a few to Mandi.  Mandi, like me, is something of a shoe-aholic.  She smilingly tried on a couple pair and then made a comment like: well, if we're really going to do this thing some day then I guess I'll eventually need to get some sailing shoes.  She didn't get any this time but again, a tiny moment of validation...

My dream may never fully come to pass but to paraphrase Abe and my New York buddy - Keep your eye on the prize and fill your years with life.

That's the plan I've got for now.
Seaman Ray 

Sam and I did a four hour sail today out of Sea Port Village.   I think there was both more wind starting further west then Coronado Harbor, but there was also just more wind today.

And what a glorious day it was!   We took off under power, as is required when leaving this location of Seaforth Sailing Club, then turned the corner out into the bay. I was at the helm until we were in the bay then I turned it over to Sam so I could go forward and raise the sails.  I actually hadn't done this before so it was a bit of OJT.  It took a bit to untie/unwrap the main and hoist it.  Then I realized that we didn't have a winch handle.

When we were preparing to leave I'd mentioned to the deck hand that there was no winch handle.  I thought he'd left and brought one back. However when I had the main most of the way up I looked in the handle holder and it was empty.  I couldn't get the main up that last six inches so I chocked it off and left it.  Perhaps not the most efficient rig in the world but we were able to sail.  I can hear Kurt groaning from here...  ;)

The jib, being on a roller furler, was a simple matter of pulling on the sheets to unroll it. 

I got the jib and main sheets tied off then traded positions with Sam.  We headed up wind towards Harbor Island, Shelter Island,  Point Loma and beyond.  We had about 10 knots wind in a close haul and we were moving!  Now I should give a disclaimer here.  "Moving" in a 22' sail boat is about 5 knots.  One of Sam's classmates in middle school could have easily outrun us.   But I digress...

We got down past the Cruise Ship terminals and the Midway and I turned the helm over to Sam.  We did a few tacks and then somebody lost their attention for a few seconds and suddenly we were falling off into a reach and then a broad reach.  I REALLY didn't want to gybe at that moment so Sam and I switched spots and we headed up towards Point Loma again.

Sam got a lot of practice handling the jib sheets.  Here again we lamented the absence of a winch handle as Sam could not take the jib sheets in as tight as we wanted with the 10kts wind.  I had to help him after each tack.  This was okay but he could have handled sheets on his own with proper use of the winch.  Next time we'll know to insist on a winch handle.  As it was Sam got proficient with both line handling and some of the commands used on a sail boat.

Quicker than I expected we were down by Shelter Island and could look west out the entrance of the bay. Wow!  There were a LOT more boats down this way!  I got a lot of practice on my Right Of Way rules and Sam and I would review who was the Stand On vessel with each encounter.  One of the boats out sailing was the America's Cup boat Stars and Stripes.  I was intimidated by her. I knew Dennis Conner probably wasn't aboard but I didn't want to make any mistakes in her presence never the less...  Boy can she move!  Whoever was at the helm was courteous in the extreme and she kept her distance from most vessels, including us.

Never having sailed this far down the bay I wasn't really sure how fast we could get back.  Playing it safe we decided to turn back towards the Cruise ship area.  In a matter of minutes we were staring at the bow of the Midway and we still had two hours of sailing left!  Like two little kids, instead of the dad and kid that we were, we headed west once again, giddy.  We got almost to the Sub base and were in really good wind, just having a grand time.  We were getting hit regularly with good sized wakes and waves as the big motor-yachts would barrel on by and the rollers were coming in the mouth of the bay.  Sam and I were having a blast riding these up and down...

It was finally time to head back in earnest so we configured the sail in a wing and wing.  This was the first time I'd done this on my own and was pretty pleased with myself...  We made good time on the way back and only turned on the motor when I had to furl the jib and lower the main to head back into the Marriott Yacht Harbor.  Sam drove us almost all the way back, even through a HUGE wake that actually came over the stern a little.

Once in the harbor we had to wait a few for another boat docking in front of us then we eased in smooth as you please.  Even getting praise from the deckhand meeting us.  :) 

Here's to another great day on the water!
Seaman Ray 

PS. I wonder if I can get a promotion to Petty Officer Ray yet...