Buccaneer Days
Posted on 7 October 2009 | No responses
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Beautiful wench Mary |
| This was my first Buccaneer Days. It’s been celebrated for twenty years and draws hundreds, maybe thousands of modern-day “pirates” who demand their ration of grog. Here we find a deckhand who was caught stealing rum. |
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Cap’n Harry sailed our crew to Cat Harbor on Catalina Island on his Beneteau 38, Fusee”. Leaving late on Thursday night, we arrived in the anchorage around 8 a.m. on Friday morning. |
| Doncha think Dave looks like Johnnie Dep? He and his bride, Sandra are regular crew on Fusee. |
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Small part of the crowd. They came in all sizes, colors and shapes. I never saw a thirstier crew. There were some great pirate outfits to look at. Some people went all-out. |
| Couple of buccaneers in full regalia | 
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A tent city sprang up. |
This was supposed to be a four day weekend trip, but due to gnarly seas, we spent an extra day. It was a good call and the return from Catalina to Channel Islands was easy and smooth. One bad thing did happen; we lost our inflatable dinghy during the night on Sat.
Ventura Cup
Posted on 23 September 2009 | No responses
Maine Squeeze sailed in the Ventura Cup again this year. This is a race with very tough competition. We placed 5th in Spinnaker A out of seven boats.
Ventura YC
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Awards party
Prison Break
Posted on 16 September 2009 | No responses
According to legend, a ship was denied entry into port because it was carrying prisoners. The ship sailed to Santa Cruz Island and dumped the prisoners, intending to retrieve them after visiting the port. When the ship returned, the prisoners were gone.
The Ventura Sailing Club sponsored a race/cruise called the Prison Break. Boats sail over to Prisoner’s Harbor on Saturday and have a big party. On Sunday, the boats haul up anchors and sail to the mainland without using motors.
I made the trip over to the island with Bill and Tina on their Catalina 42, Our Porpoise, and raced back on Maine Squeeze. MS got off to a great start, pulling ahead of the fleet in very light air.
As you can see, the party, hosted on Our Porpoise, was a success.
Maine Squeeze sailed to Victory with crew Richard and Paula, me, and Mike and Sherri.
Tequila Derby
Posted on 8 September 2009 | No responses
The Tequila Derby has two parts: a race from Ventura to Santa Barbara on Saturday and another back to Ventura on Monday.
As we motorsailed out of the harbor and headed for the start line, we were faced with choppy seas and about 15 knots of wind. Everyone donned foul weather suits as we took streams of water from the waves. Some in the fleet were feeling queezy. I was hopeful it would be a fast race. After the start, we quickly gained position and became the lead boat. Heading up the coast, we had good speed and were not too far off the rhumb line to the finish. Everything was going fine until we fell into a hole where the wind died. Had we gone offshore another mile or so we would have been in much better position. Live and learn. Everyone peeled out of the foulies as the sun warmed us. Our speed went from 6 knots to 2 knots in the last 6 miles of the course. Upon finishing, we learned that the other boats had gone offshore and beaten us (except for XS, who relied upon a malfunctioning GPS and sailed extra miles).
Anacapa YC sponsored the race and provided lots of food and drink for the crews to enjoy that evening. Doug Dodge was our host and did a great job accommodating the boats/crews. Later that night our crew went to Endless Summer where the drinks were cold and the one-man band was hot.
On Sunday we walked downtown after breakfast at the Breakwater. On the way we looked through the art faire on the beach by the pier. I visited the new Apple store on State Street. We returned after some refreshments and people watching on the busy street. Later that night we returned to Endless Summer where we were amused at the end of the evening by a young woman who was confused about how to behave in public.
The race back to Ventura was slow at first but as we reached out with the spinnaker up, we picked up speed. It was another war and sunny day, perfect for sailing.
Fusee’s crew consisted of Harry, George, Dave, Sandra, Bunni, Nannette, John, Brian and me. This was a great crew to sail with. Sorry, the pic of Nannette and Dave were out of frame.
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Another Fun Race
Posted on 31 August 2009 | No responses
When you combine a whacky race format like the Rotten Ralph Race with a great crew on a fun boat, the only possible result is cheek-itis (a condition caused by grinning too much).
Thanks to Harry, Bunni, Nannette, Dave, Sandra, Brian, George and Kyoko for having me along.
Schock 35 National Regatta
Posted on 26 August 2009 | No responses
First, some quick information.
Highlights: On Friday, we had decent wind. Our goal was to finish in the middle of the fleet. We were racing against boats that were very experienced and capable. After the first race we were encouraged, having finished 7th and beating Veloce and Voodoo Doll. We were a bit disappointed in the second race because we finished last, even though we were sailing very well. Then came race three. Just at the time we were rounding the weather mark there was a 100 degree wind shift. All of the other boats were caught with spinnakers up while we were still sailing our new #1 genoa. We were able to pass four boats and finish 5th.
Saturday brought less wind and our record was 9-8-9. Disappointing because we were sailing so well. Veloce fouled the weather mark in race two and had to untangle the boat from the mark’s lines. MS had to sail around the whole mess. On Saturday night the association held a dinner and awards program for the crews. Mike Taylor received a really nice perpetual trophy for Rookie of the Year. Each boat honored a crew member as Most Valuable and Taylor gave that one to me! Thanks, Mike.
Mako, with whom we shared an end-tie at the club, was very helpful, sharing information gained from years of experience with Schock 35s. Their crew helped MS tune the boat and provided tips on handling and trimming that made a big difference in our performance on Sunday. With changes made, we were able to sail in the middle of the fleet for both races and finish 8-7
Neil Underwood Regatta
Posted on 26 August 2009 | No responses
The conditions were good. The wind came up early and held at 10-13 kts. from NW. Maine Squeeze’s main competition, XS, harassed us before the start of the first race, but our crew was not upset because we were using this race as practice for the nationals in Marina Del Rey next week-end. Crew today included Bill and Tina, Mike Hopper, Bruce, Doug, Chuck, Taylor and me. After three races we had lost to XS, and were undaunted by a broken forehatch (which I jury-rigged with duct tape).
But at the start of race 4 we had a bigger problem, a ripped headsail. As soon as we noticed it (a few seconds after the start) we doused it and reported a DNF to the race committee.
After our return to the dock, a meeting was held to dscuss areas of strength and weakness, during which several good points were made.
Photo by Don at CIYC
Race and Party for Lovers
Posted on 8 August 2009 | No responses
It’s Aug. 8 and time for the Wes Goleman Memorial Race. But the day before the race, I learn that Bruce has married long-time friend/love interest Sharon in a civil ceremony in Ventura.
Did I mention that Maine Squeeze has a new carbon/kevlar #1 headsail that is SWEET.
After visiting her daughter back east, Tina returned in time for the party on H dock for the newlyweds.
Congratulations, lovers!
The Squeeze sailed well with her new genoa and the whole crew was impressed with its performance as we sailed at 7 knots to windward in 7 knots of wind!
Chuck G. replaced Bruce for this race and did a fine job on the pointy end. We always learn something when Chuck sails with us. He’s going to be sailing with us in Marina Del Rey in a couple of weeks.
Results from the race will follow.
UPDATE: We got a third in the Wes Goleman, placing behind Perfect Balance and XS. Complete race results
Fun at the Fair
Posted on 7 August 2009 | No responses
Thanks to Island Packers for the free tickets to the Ventura County Fair. It’s been years since I’ve been to a fair and Leigh and I enjoyed this one. It was a perfect day with great weather and a small crowd. We first hiked through the halls of exhibits; everything from stamps to rocks to cakes and even a pig race!
Some of the booths gave out free samples of locally grown foods. Leigh got a “free sample” massage. Of course there were the rides…a hugh bungie jump (we skipped that one)>
The rides have changed since I was a kid. They appear more substantial and some are designed to make you sick!
The ferris wheel appealed to us so we took a ride. High up in the air, we had a view of the fairgrounds and everything else for miles around.
Leigh ran into an old friend in an exhibit building.
We ate hot dogs and drank beer as we watched and listened to all of this activity, including a dixie jazz band, vocalists with rhythm and horn sections.
All in all a fun day…now for a nap.
Santa Barbara to King Harbor 4
Posted on 3 August 2009 | No responses
I like this race because it is long and there are many boats sailing. The eighty-one mile course takes the fleet around Anacapa Island before turning into Santa Monica Bay and Redondo Beach’s King Harbor.
Bruce and I helped Taylor deliver Maine Squeeze to Santa Barbara under light conditions on Thursday, Aug. 30. After the boat was secure at her berth, we had dinner at Endless Summer. The next day brought the rest of the crew (Bill, Tina, Cherri) as well as the other boats’ crews. Activity picked up sharply between early morning and around 11 a.m. racers were starting to get underway. As we motored out the channel to the start line, we checked in with the race committee boat and hoisted the mainsail. All of the rigging was checked and the number three genoa was made ready to hoist. Earlier, Bruce had gone aloft to make final adjustments, moving the radar reflector and tagging the race burgee.
We had a very good start, charging the line with good speed and clean air. I looked out to the horizon to see most of the 104 boat fleet. Eight classes of boats, including some heavy-duty, pro-crewed yachts that were fun to look at. It was a mild day with little swell, overcast skies. After a little while we set the spinnaker and concentrated on sail trim.
This year there was wind at the start. Good wind that blew us to the West End of Anacapa, around the island and close to Pt. Dume by sunset. The wind slacked, but at least we had wind.
After a few nightime gybes into the Santa Monica Bay, we reached the finish. Dousing the spinnaker, we hoisted the number three for the last, very short windward leg into the harbor to the committee boat. Our crew felt relief and pride as we finished, knowing we had worked well together and made no big mistakes. We finished a half hour after midnight. We had averaged over seven knots, occasionally reaching over ten knots. Race results (PDF)
As well as we sailed, our competition was even faster and we ended up in seventh place (out of eleven).
The next day we delivered Maine Squeeze back to H dock in Channel Islands Harbor. Another easy ride up the coast; the wind was moderate and the swell was small and well spaced. Approaching CI Harbor, we spotted several classic boats heading for the finish line of the McNish Classic Yacht Race. Wood boats: schooners, yawls, ketches cutters and sloops competed in this race which is now in its third decade. Notables included the schooner replica America (Dennis Conor) and The Bill Of Rights; both are 130 footers. Coming into the harbor with these beautiful yachts was a perfect way to end Three Days of Fun!
