downrigging

It was my friend Paul, aka DanceswithSandyBottom, who pointed out the flags on the tall ships are bigger than Spartina.  A lot bigger, as you can see from this photo from the 2011 Downrigging Weekend.

That apparently doesn't matter to the Sultana Project.  They have invited me back for this year's Downrigging Weekend, giving Spartina a very nice slip on the Canon Street pier next to the dinghy dock and not too far from the Smith Island Crab Skiffs.  It is a prime slip if you ask me, close to the Fish Whistle restaurant and easy walking distance to the entertainment stage.

There is a lot of sailing to be done between now and then, but I'll be looking forward to the first weekend in November with the tall ships in Chestertown.

steve

the long and the short of it

UPDATE: I am leaving this post below intact, but need to point that I was incorrect about the shaft length on the outboard.  I have a standard (short) shaft model.  A correction can be found here.

steve

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Please excuse the technically poor photograph.  I use direct flash about once every two or three years, and then only if it can't be avoided.

This is some visual information for Seth, who is building a Pathfinder.  We were discussing in a recent post the shaft length for the outboard.  Seth tells me the plans call for a short - 15" - shaft, and I seem to remember reading that in the Pathfinder plans.  I have always used a long shaft - 20" - because that is what I had from my last sailboat and it seemed to work fine on Spartina.

Tonight I measured and marked the position of the prop.  You can see the top of the blade at the five inch mark on the measuring tape.  Going up five inches from there, to the very top of the tape, it seems that on Spartina the upper portion of the short shaft prop would be to some extent blocked by the hull.  I'm sure the short shaft would work, but I have to wonder if it would lose some efficiency in the "dead" water of the outboard well.

I'm not saying that the long shaft is the way to go, though it does work for me on Spartina.  What I am saying is that it is worth getting some specs from the outboard manufacturer and doing some measurements before placing an order.  Small four-stroke outboards run $900 to $1200, might as well get the right one for the boat.

steve

sailboats, floating and otherwise

A little more information about the boats on the water this past Sunday.  BayDog, also known as Dave, tells me the red hull is a San Juan 21, a very fast boat.  The owner, whose name I do not know, did tell me a little about the boat's new outboard.  It is a propane powered Lehr four stroke.  He says they use small propane canisters which last about an hour and a half running time.  He was clearly a big fan of the outboard and his enthusiasm had me interested too.  I started doing a comparison on cost, fuel capacity, etc, but when I checked their website I could only find a 2.5 hp with a short shaft.  Spartina requires a long shaft.  So I think my next outboard, hopefully before the summer is out, will be a Honda 2.3 four stroke, with a long shaft.

And below is Rich's Sea Sprite, an Alberg design with a full keel.  It's a beautiful boat.  They tie up at the marina on the Portsmouth waterfront - I expect I'll be seeing more of them this summer.

And below is one more boat from, quite literally, the river.  This boat had been anchored in Craford Bay for the last several years.  I may have seen some people row out to her in a canoe a few seasons ago, but I may be confusing her with another boat.  In any case, she was a derelict.  During one of the storms this past winter, maybe Sandy, she went submersible.  Someone had marked her with an orange buoy, but she was still a hazard in the bay.  I was happy to see her being hauled away to the refuse pile.

steve

a lap around the lighthouse

The forecast was pleasingly accurate yesterday: sunny, highs in the mid-80's and a steady wind out of the wsw.  A perfect day to sail a lap around the lighthouse.

Rigged and launched before 7 a.m., we raised full sail off Waterside Marina.  A quick pass through Crawford Bay and then headed down the Elizabeth River on a beam reach.  This was easy sailing, making 5 to 6 knots in the steady breeze.

I tried out my new REI hat, one that I first saw a scientist wearing a couple of weeks ago on a visit to Paradise Creek.  I've tried broad brim hats over the years without much success.  Either they are too stiff to fold up and stuff away, or they are so flimsy that the brim blows back in a breeze and they lose all usefulness.  This one seemed just right.  (And don't I look great?)

It wasn't even 10 a.m. and I was rounding the corner at Craney Island with Middle Ground Lighthouse in sight.  The wind was coming straight down the river so I rounded up and tucked in a reef.  The photograph at the top of this post is sailing at six knots up the James with a reefed main.  It has been awhile since I had spray coming over the bow.  It felt good.

I rounded the lighthouse, which is now privately owned.  That has got to be pretty nice - owning your own lighthouse.  

Then it was a great run back down the James and into the Elizabeth River, dodging some tugs and container ships along the way.  I am finally "learning" the new sails.  They are certainly more powerful than my last set of sails, much more responsive to the wind.  I still have some learning to do.

I tucked in behind the coal pier as the container ship below passed by.  They have to make a hard right turn into the APM terminal, so I gave them plenty of room.

Back down to Norfolk I was very pleased to share the river with some smaller boats.  These two boats, plus a couple of sunfish were out enjoying the day.

I had my gps tracking the day's sail.  Back in at the ramp it showed I sailed 25 nautical miles at an average speed of a little over 4 knots.  Sunshine, wind, great sailing and small boats.  Does it get any better than that?

steve

dinner, confused

Grilled Argentinian cold-water shrimp with rice and roasted corn/roasted peach/homegrown golden cherry tomato/jalapeno and black bean salsa.  If there were any complaints I did not hear them.

Sailing report tomorrow, but it was a great day on the water.

(For those confused as to whether this is a sailing blog or a food blog - well, I'm kinda confused too.  Any guidance would be appreciated.)

steve

Sunday sail

Great day on the water.  More to come.

steve

the shellfish guy

That's Uncle Chuck, the shellfish guy.  He threw me a curve today.  I was headed there to get the Argentinian cold-water shrimp and he starts talking about how he is doing the NY Times dozen ways to cook the perfect scallop, recipe by recipe.  He started with the grilled scallops, peaches (yes, grilled peaches), corn and tomatoes.  Almost had me changing plans.  I fought the urge and stuck with the shrimp.  

But maybe next week.

steve

Happy 4th!

relief, no relief

That is part of the relief crew, most likely sailors who flew home a week earlier from deployment to be on the pier and relieve the rest of the crew as the aircraft carrier - in this case the Eisenhower - comes home.  The sailors were at the far end of the pier and all the hugging and kissing went on closer to shore.  Off the end of the pier, over the James River, you can see some of the unstable weather we have had for a few days now.  Thunderstorms threatened all day, but all we got were a few light showers.

There is no relief is sight as moisture hangs over the mid-Atlantic.  Somebody told me to weather systems were funneling the moist air from the Gulf of Mexico over us.  That seems like it could be true.  I do hope it clears for sailing on Sunday.

steve

fall, corrected - Woody, Groucho and Yogi

I've been sketching out the fall trip, with a couple of options.  The red path is my goal, going counter-clockwise from Elizabeth City to Cape Lookout and then back by way of Ocracoke and Roanoke Island.  The green shortcut is if the weather is not conducive to making the long crossing to Ocracoke.  And yellow is in case the weather doesn't cooperate.  I have yet to measure distances, and for that matter I need to look at the calendar and see how many days I have off.

The photo at the top is from a boat club here in Norfolk.  It is exclusive, only 100 members.  I think somembody needs to die before somebody else can get it.  I don't think I would ever be allowed to join the club, nor could I afford to join.  But I do have a couple of very good friends who are members.  That's about as close as I'll get.

I am reminded of the Woody Allen line:  "I'd never join a club that would allow a person like me to become a member."

CORRECTION:  An email from Webb Chiles tells me that the quote above was from Groucho Marx, which I now believe to be correct.  I think Woody used the line in a film, crediting Groucho at the time.  That's the danger of using quotes, it is sometimes hard to know who said what.  To quote Yogi Berra, "I never said most the things I said."

steve