Crew
Will - Main Trim
Amber - Foredeck
John - Headsail Trim
Anne Michelle - Railmeat

I think this series is fascinating - looks like steam is rising off of Hood Canal and into the dark rain squal clouds to the South.  What was amazing is the the low white clouds did not move for the 90 minutes that I could see them.

More pics of the beautiful weather!

Hat Island in the morning from Mukilteo (note the nice cloud above)

Great sunset!

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Saturday morning I checked the NOAA Seattle  to see what weather I'd have for the delivery, race and return on Sunday and found a forecast for 25-35 knots starting from the SW and moving to the NW during the day.  Since I'd have 4-6 hours of miserable, single handed travels in near gale conditions, I started to compose an email to the crew saying that I was cancelling the schedule race due to the weather and suggested that they take some time to go look (and laugh) at the suckers who actually decided to sail in these stormy conditions.  However, before clicking 'Send', I reflected on the many past forecasts (good and bad) that had been substantially different that actual conditions and I decided to wait and see what NOAA had to say late in the day.

Fast forward to Saturday afternoon/evening and the forecast had tempered a bit - 10-20 knots from the North.  This was doable and in fact quite enjoyable - so I made plans to get an early start for the next morning and rig the boat for potentially windy conditions.

The delivery to Everett was great.  The sites and scenery were remarkable.  Things were pretty stormy near Edmonds (15-25 knots with 2-3' waves) but calmed down through Possession Sound (8-12 knots & small waves).  However as I approached Mukilteo the next system started to build gradually wind built from 10 knots to 15 to 20 with gusts to 25-28.   The boat handled it fine, and I was a bit lucky since the waves hadn't yet built up since I was experiencing the beginning of the front.

I docked at the Fuel Dock at filled the tank and then picked up the crew which included a newbie, Anne Michelle, who would be sailing for the first time!  What a day to get started!  While I was docked the weather seemed to ease a bit, but as we left the river and entered the bay - it was clear that it was just a brief respite from the storm to come.

Everyone donned their best waterproof/resistant gear on the way out, while I contemplated the sail selection for the day (just a jib? partial jib & single reef main?  partial jib & double reef?).  I finally decided to put up a double reefed main and see how the boat handled it, though I have to admit when I stepped on the cabin top to help job hoist it the howling of the wind scared me a bit and I was asking John whether he thought we should be doing this... John gave me some encouraging words and we moved ahead.  The boat was quite stable though sluggish with the double reef - which while not being fast was good since this would be our 'safety' configuration if things got out of hand.

Watching the guys on Scotch & Soda (the committee boat for the day) set their anchor in these conditions was amazing.  The guy on the bow working with the anchor and rode was rising and falling 10' or so as the boat would hit waves head on.  Kudos to these guys for getting the job done in some rough conditions.

The course for the days was simple - sail around Hat Island (taking it to Port) then return to the finish line at the clubhouse passing the starting mark (B) on the starboard.

After unfurling the jib, we headed for the start line late and underneath Izara - not an ideal start to say the least but we were going to make up for it.  At this point the wind was blowing about 20-25 steady and we were hauling ass.  We'd tacked behind Mei Li who had a great start and set about trying to catch as pass her.  The boat handled really well with the full 130 and double reef - we were making speeds of over 7 knots and we able to pinch a lot which helped us pass Mei Li to windward after about 10-15 minutes.  Once again, we were exploring the tidal shallows just West of the Jetty where the depth was a very consistent (very nerve racking) 15'.  I kept wondering when we might go aground but I had faith and just kept going.

Mei Li tacked back the island before we did - we waited until we had overshot the layline for the 'dolphin' (the marker that markets the river delta/jetty shallows).  Just before the tack, we started to see wind speeds creep over 30 in the gusts and soon after we completed out tack and were headed for the island these samples of the 30's turned into a 4 course meal when we had about 10-15 minutes of 35 knots sustained wind.  I vaguely remember being asked by Will and Amber if we were alright, but not having the surplus brain power to actually focus on giving them an answer - was too busy making sure we'd be okay.

At first this new wind was really tough on the new tack, because it had us heading at 90' to the waves which made for some pretty spectacular dives, launches and crashes on the bow.  Apparently is was so wet on the rail that Amber's jacket pockets were filled with water!  We worked it out and the wind shifted and we were back in rhythm riding the waves rather than crashing through them.  This new rhythm paid off and we gained big on the entire fleet rounding the west end of the Island and extending a lead of about a 1/2 mile as we began our surfing lessons on the way back to the finish.

As wild as the upwind leg was the downwind perhaps more wild.  The upwind leg was a sustained adrenaline rush the feeling of constantly be on the edge of control - the downwind leg was a mix moments of calm mixed with these intense shots of either joy (surfing off big waves) or fear (broaching).  My most vivid recollections of this leg included hooting and hollering as we broke 11.1 knots surfing (come to find out that we missed seeing the 12.2 knot max speed the GPS confirmed at the end of the day) and broaching a couple times when gusts & waves teamed up to spin us out.

We lost a couple positions on the ride home as we didn't quite have the speed to hold off some of the racier boats nor wanted to take the risks (more sail area, dead downwind sailing) to get the speed.

Perhaps the most exciting/fearful moment of the race for was the river entrance where we got overpower and got pulled way too far into the jetty.  I can remember nearly begging for the traveler to be released the boat steered itself quickly towards very shallow water.  We got things under control just in time for me to see the depth sounder read 9.8' - we draw 7.3' - way too close for comfort.

In the end we finished 3 across the line and probably mid pack on correction.  Results aside this had to have the been the most exciting sailing I've had since the PacCup experience sailing through a 30' knot squall in the complete darkness and a single dim compass to steer by.  It took me a good 90 minutes after finishing to finally calm down and filter the adrenaline out the blood.

Everyone aboard gets major kudos for being serious thrill seekers!  It was an intense day and everyone just rolled with it and had a great time - which is just too cool.  I really can't believe that Anne Michelle wants to come back - it'll be interesting to see her reaction to a becalmed race.

After a great happy hour meal and drinks at Lombardi's with Will, Amber and Anne Michelle (husbandly and fatherly duty called for John) - I headed back in the relatively calmer conditions of the sunset and early evening.  The trip home was great as well.  The sunset was spectacular and watching and listening the professionals (fishers, tugs and ships) was interesting.

In reflecting on the day - I'm simply proud.  I'm proud of the crew who dealt with the conditions like they were old salts.  I'm proud of the boat that handled the conditions well and kept us all safe and having a great time.

Crew
Will - Main Trim
Amber - Foredeck

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Will and Amber joined me on this adventure on a crisp, sunny Autumn day with about 10-15 knots of wind from the North.  We arrived just in time to check the course, set sails and get set for the second (half fast) start.  The fleet was large probably 60-80 boats total and the starting area was pretty congested though orderly.  We took a conservative approach to the start to avoid any close encounters and it paid off - we got a good clean starboard tack start and had great speed toward the windward mark (Meadow Point).  After clearing the boats on our windward hip, we tacked onto port and headed back towards the shore and the mark at Meadow Point.  The rounding was congested but we made it through smoothly holding off several fast boats behind us.

I elected not to fly the chute on the downwind leg due to the higher winds, number of boats and the minimal crew we had aboard.  I'm sure that we could have handled it with two of the three reasons, but trying in spite of the triple combo seemed to tempt fate a bit much (especially for a Duck Dodge). So we did a nice broad reach under main and jib, and actually did quite well.  Will took the helm not long after rounding and kept us in touch with the boats we were chasing.  It was fun to watch Will learn to deal with the constantly shifting downwind conditions and the waves that weren't quite big enough to really surf.

Soon enough we were at the leeward mark (West Point).  Amber took over the helm for the rounding, and we made smooth rounding despite the traffic which had us threading a needle between a windward and leeward boat.  Not long after rounding we tacked back out into the Sound.  Will took over the helm and demonstrated great upwind skill for a new helmsman.  We gained distance on a few boats ahead of us, and by the time we tacked back for the shore we were nearly on the layline for the Meadow Point Buoy (the next windward mark).  The boats that headed toward the shore early seem to gain some distance but not a ton.

Amber took over the helm for the final part of this upwind leg and made another smooth mark rounding.  We then started the drag race for the finish at Port Madison - a long close reach across the sound.  With great speed we held off the boats behind us and passed a couple boats ahead of us for a strong finish.

After the finish, things got interesting... of course we couldn't have a day without drama!  We finished and decided to sail around with the fleet until the raft up got started.  However, as we started to furl the jib we had a problem.  A few moments later we determined that the chaser line for the spare spinnaker halyard had wrapped the forestay and jib.  I tried to unwrap by working with Will and Amber by filling and luffing the sail, while I guided the line around the sail - however this only partly unwrapped the line.  We were still jammed.

The big problem was that we couldn't furl the jib, nor could we douse the jib!  This is a real problem because it means that we couldn't dock without tearing up the sail.  The only solution to this problem without destroying the sail is to ascend the mast and fix the problem.

Will and Amber were serious troopers!  Despite their concern, they never hesitated to do everything they could to get the problem solved.  Within minutes of deciding on the course of action, I was climbing the mast with Will's assistance on the winch and Amber's steady hand on the helm keeping the boat as steady as possible.  Have I mentioned that for a every foot the boat pitches on the deck level it swings the top of the mast several feet?

I made it past the second spreaders when Will took over and used the winch to grind my chubby butt to the top of the mast where I found the real problem - both the chaser line and the jib halyard had wrapped the forestay.  About 20 minutes of bouncing, swinging and bruising fun later - we had the problem fixed and the sail was still in one piece!  Hooray!

Well another fear conquered (ascending the mast at sea) and another adventure for the books!  I really can't compliment Will and Amber enough - they should have been totally freaked out (and perhaps were) but they didn't show it.  They were exactly who I needed and wanted to have aboard!

After our adventure with the jib, we furled sails turned on the engine and headed into Port Madison to raft up with the race fleet.  We found two rafts of 15-20 boats each just off the Seattle Yacht Club's outpost.  We danced a brief ballet with other boats wanting to raft, and successfully found a spot and rafted up next to 'Mata Hari' a Catalina 36.  After a couple hours of enjoying a BBQ lunch, strong Rum Cider drinks (thanks Amber) and meeting a bunch of other sailors - we gracefully pulled out from the raft and enjoyed a sail home to Edmonds.

I crewed for Will and Amber who took turns steering.  We dodged a couple of gill nets (that weren't terribly well marked) which could've added more drama but didn't.  As we arrived at Edmond we got big thumbs up from a couple fishermen as the boat was completely powered up and really looking good.  The final sail home was particularly cool because Will and Amber both did a great job calling sail trim and laylines and such, in addition to steering the boat without much need for feedback.  What an evolution in just a couple months!

Crew
(Top Left to Bottom Right)

Will - Main Trim
Amber - Foredeck
John - Headsail Trim
Sarah D - Railmeat
Adam - Floater
 

Race Course

Sorry no track for the day,
I forgot to bring the notebook.

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Picked up the day's crew at the fuel dock and we headed out the course.  Today we had John, Will, Amber, Sarah D & Adam (her boyfriend).  Sarah and Adam were a pleasant last minute addition to the crew and I was glad to have their hands and energy aboard on such a blustery day.  On the way to the course we hoisted the #3 jib and the main, and had wonderful speed.  We sailed by the committee and got the course M I B (Coast Guard Bouy to Around Hat Island to Finish).

We got a great start at the pin end of the line even though we were about 30 seconds late for the line.  Something happened with Izara on the committee end of the line with them basically standing still forcing a cascade of starboard tack boats to tack away to avoid hitting each other.  We luckily had room to avoid the mess.  After clearing the line and the fleet, we tacked onto port so we could  set ourselves up to come into the mark on the favored starboard tack.  We were doing well... then I slipped - actually I was tackled by the boat - falling directly onto my left shoulder.  After a few stunned moments I was back on my feet and the boat was back under control and we were gaining some distance back.

Our starboard tack approach to the first mark made things much easier, we rounded toward the head of the fleet.  This is where I made my second significant mistake of the day (haven't heard about the first, but we'll get there) - I spent the better part of the morning delivery and early part of the race contemplating whether or not to fly the spinnaker and if we did fly it how to (symmetrical or assymetrical).  After the rounding , I finally decided to fly the spinnaker assymetrically to avoid the complexity of dealing with the pole and to prevent scary broaches.  At first this approach worked well, we had great speed and were catching up with those who rounded in front.

However as we approached Hat Island the wind started to shift and weaken, and things just got funky.  The chute was hard to keep full and was causing us to lose a lot of ground.  I finally decided to get smart and shift to flying the spinnaker with the pole, however during the transition we wrapped the spinnaker in a knot and really slowed down.  After getting this chute down and taking a bit a break and sailing under main and jib alone - we regrouped and Amber rallied the foredeck to rig the boat to fly the other spinnaker.  We hoisted it and were back in the game with good speed again.

This is when we noticed something odd - boats were headed to Camano Head not around Hat Island.  The first significant mistake of the day - I read the course board wrong.  The course board was actually M K B (Coast Guard Bouy to Camano Head to Finish).  I will note that 3 other boats thought the course was MIB, apparently the committee changed the "I" to a "K" because there were no "K's" in the committee bag however this change was best seen when close the the boat.  So we laughed and headed for Camano Head trailing much of the fleet.

The rounding was exciting.  We had some challenges with the take down, but made it happen and after rounding an getting settled I handed off the helm to John (who won the the rock-paper-scissors battle with Will for the helm time) who did an excellent job of sailing upwind.  After a couple of tacks and bringing us back into contention with a couple boats, John handed off to Amber who sailed us home to her hoots and hollers about the rail being buried in the water.  Amber did a great job, once she had faith she wasn't going to sink the boat.  By the finish we had nearly caught three boats that were more than a half mile ahead of us at the mark rounding at Camano Head.

In all it was a great race - plenty of mistakes and a learning experiences, and I don't think anyone went home without a bruise.  But we all had fun and I think everyone would have gone again the next day after a heavy dose of pain killers.

After dropping everyone off, I headed home thinking that the winds were starting to die down - but I was wrong.  After nearly getting run down from behind by a fishing trawler and two tugs with barges leaving Everett, I was greeted by 25+ knots of wind coming out of the South accompanied by 4-6 waves.   Did not make for good conditions under power since the boat was slamming through the wave, so I unfurled the jib and sailed up Possession Sound toward Edmonds.  After several tacks that took me very near each shore, I was at Possession Point.  I'd gone through gusts up to 30 knots and a torrential rain shower and then the wind just quit right after my tack off the shore of Possession Point.  I waited and few minutes to see if was lull, and then turned on the engine and furled the jib.  Literally 30 seconds later a squall of 20+ knots of wind came through and had me unfurling the jib again - but this didn't last more than a few minutes and I was soon under power and autopilot on the rhumb line for Edmonds Marina.

Another great day on the boat!  

Well there's the problem!

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After climbing up to nearly the third spreader, Sarah did a great job in grinding my tired, chubby butt up the rest of the way to the top of mast where it became immediately clear why we've been having issues with spinnaker halyard.  Looks like its been fouled for a while - luckily its was a pretty easy fix.  Though I imagine the wrap stop at the top of the furling unit will always provide a bit more friction than we'd really like.

After taking a few photos of the equipment at the top of the mast, Sarah lowered me to the Bow light and I cleaned up the bulb and terminals and got it working again.  However, in the process I screwed up and broke an electrical connection - which I didn't have the right tools to fix.  So I'll have to go back up again soon to get the light working again.  Damn!

Have I mentioned that I'm not a fan of heights... not really scared, but then again terra firma or boata firm is much better than swinging 50'+ feet in the air.

Track from Race

Crew:

Jamie & Sarah

Will & Amber

The 'Over Early'
 Start Loop

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We loitered around the start area, making time to say hello to friends on Synge and getting hassled for sailing 'furniture' (a race boat owners view of a boat with any cruising amenities).  As the cruising fleet left on the first start at 1000 we started to get geared up for our start 25 minutes later.  The winds were real light and spotty and the committee wisely decided to forgo the traditional long course to Foulweather Bluff in favor of the shorter course to Pilot Point, Scatchett Head and home.

When the start before us was crossing the line, we starting sailing up the starting line heading from towards the pin end where much of our division had bunched up fighting for clean air and the most windward position at the gun.  In a moment of reason, I decided to start in the middle of the line away from the fray choosing clean air over the ideal starting position.  However, accompany this reason was confusion since I was out of the time sequence of the start by a minute which resulted in  us crossing the start line a minute early.  At least we realized this prior to the actual start, and were already headed back to the line when the horn blew. 

We soon cleared the line, regrouped and  focused on finding the best wind and getting back to our fleet which as about 2 minutes ahead of us.  Heading North paid off early, as we gained back a bunch of distance and even passed some of competitors.  While we were North and closer to the first mark, but they were South and closer to the Western shore of Puget Sound - which ended up being the place to be.

Soon enough our wind almost completely shut off - just faint whispers of breeze that barely kept us moving.  Meanwhile the boats closer to shore were steadily inching away from us with slightly more breeze.  As minutes turned into a couple hours, we saw much of the fleet to the South of us sail past and reach the shore and head towards the mark.  We'd since hoisted our spinnaker staysail in a desperate attempt to get all the breeze we could which did help and kept us moving until few knots of Southern breeze filled in and we could hoist the spinnaker!!

In this new breeze (if you can call 2-3 knots breeze) we were accompanied by a OneDesign 35 and a the fleet of Trimarans - all of whom past us since they are much lighter and don't have the 'furniture' we do.  In combination with some retirements other boats behind us, we were now DFL (dead [the word of your choice starting with "F"] last).  Okay ... so we have a new goal: don't finish the race DFL!!!

We had a great sail under spinnaker to Pilot Point making up some distance to the fleet, though as we approached the shore the wind lightened and shifted while the current from the tides increased.  After a nice gybe from port  to starboard tack, we were sailing directly at the mark.  As if to remind us of our DFL position, the committee chase boat for the race circled us about 1/2 mile from the buoy to confirm that we were indeed the final boat to round the temporary buoy they'd anchored at Pilot Point.  After circling us they then took up a position about 50 yards off the mark, and seemed to sit tapping their toes staring at us silently saying 'would you hurry up already so we can pick up this buoy and head back to the bar..."  The rounding of the mark itself was interesting since the strong current that kept wanting to pull us into the mark, but we handled it.  Just moments after rounding the chase boat swooped in, pulled the buoy, and darted off for the club - nothing like being kicked out by the clean up crew!

Once we rounded things really got fun, we were able to head up into a nice reach under spinnaker and saw our best speeds of the day -  5+ knots.  On this leg we gained huge on the tail end of the fleet ahead of us.  After rounding the Scatchet Head buoy we'd passed a couple boats, including a boat that was literally standing still in spite of a full spinnaker and mainsail (welcome to tidal currents).  Our spinnaker douse didn't go so well due to a fouled halyard (see maintenance entry), but we got the kite down and headed towards Edmonds gaining on a couple boats ahead.

As we continued to gain, the South winds started to lighten again and we could see the line of 'glass' on the water moving towards indicating that soon the winds were going to die.  And minutes later they did.  Once again we were drifting ... and with the tides new effect we were actually slowly moving backwards directly towards the Scatchet Head mark we'd just came from.  After about an hour of drifting and running calculations on distance left and time left in the race, we finally abandoned the race when it became evident that it would be impossible to finish.

I'm never happy with a DNF in a race, but this time I was satisfied that we tried to everything we could to finish the race - it just wasn't in the cards.

After having some time to reflect, I'm actually happy with our effort and our strategic choices.  We took risks that didn't pay off which happens.  If they would have paid, we would have likely done very well.  Though I do think in the future, in light winds I'll focus on getting to the other side of the sound before focusing on heading towards the mark.  Seems much safer and more likely to pay.

Crew
(Top Left to Bottom Right)

Will - Main Trim
Amber - Foredeck
Tom - Floater)
John - Headsail Trim
Sarah - The Boss
Steve - Pit
Lisa - Foredeck

Lisa on lookout.

Tom on the foredeck.

Sarah bundled up in her new foulweather gear.

Race Course & Boat Track

John focused on speed, or on speed & focused - I forget which...

Would make you think there's a naked woman hanging from the spinnaker.

Will showing the competition his special trimming techniques.

Happy girls on the bow!

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Also had fun with the autopilot on the delivery - got it to work with both the chartplotter and the SeaClear nav software.  Pretty cool - can steer the boat with a computer!  Sweet.

Arrived in Everett on time at 1030 and picked up John & Tom at the South side guest docks, and then headed to the fuel dock to fuel up and pick up the rest of our day's crew: Steve, Lisa, Will & Amber.  Took on 10 gallons of fuel.

We left for the race course just before 11am and prepped the boat and held spinnaker rigging and setting class.  The race was delayed for awhile due to the lack of wind, but soon enough the wind filled in and the starting sequence began.  The five minute sequence flew by in the light airs, but we got a good start just behind 'Heart of Gold' and soon enough we tacked to the North to try to get the fresh breeze.

Once we got to the breeze we kept pace with Heart of Gold and much of the fleet, but had a hard time pointing as high as many others.  Overall we had a good upwind leg to Hat Island - didn't quite have the boat speed that I'd hoped we would have in the 5-6 knots of wind we had, but good enough for now.  We rounded the buoy at Hat Island in the top five and turned downwind.

The spinnaker set took some time and had a couple little hiccups but these were easily fixed and we kept moving.  Once things were set, we settled for a few moments and then gybed to get back into the fleet.  We'd lost a few spots, but with the spinnaker pulling we were making up some distance.  As we approached the finish line it was clear that we would need to gybe to make the finish line with speed, so we heated up and duck the stern of 'Sorcerer' then soon after gybed and beat them to the finish line.

In all it was a great race - lots of lessons learned and we're getting better.  We can see the potential of those on board and are looking forward to seeing this potential realized in the coming races.  Was also cool to see Sarah's passion for sailing develop (she's asking me to teach me much more about the technical aspects) and her competitive fires come out (she admitted that she want's to get better so we can start winning - what a change from the 'Oh I'm just out for the sailing...' attitude).