Sail Repair

We took our torn mainsail down to the local repair shop.  This place is pretty cool!

My Boat has a Martingale?

You may remember that our boom snapped in two during the Zongo Cup. The wind had shifted after rounding Point Buchon and as I eased out the main sail (let out more line to swing out the main sail) I failed to loosen the boom vang. The boom snapped right at the attachment of the boom vang. The boom had a lot of corrosion around this spot, but not easing the boom vang didn't help matters. So, I decided to do some research on how to properly use a boom vang.

To my surprise, there are various names used for a boom vang. Currently, boom vang is used in the US and kicking strap is used in the UK, but and older term is martingale.  Basically, it is a pulley and/or a piston/rod systems that is used to level the boom and controls twist in the main sail.

Great, but when do you use it?

After searching around a bunch of books and web sites, I found a decent working description on the Sailing USA site:

"If the boom is over the water, one may want to first trim the lower part of the mainsail by using the mainsail's sheet , then loosen the boom vang until the aft (top) portion of the mainsail or telltales start to luff then tighten the boom vang until the luffing stops and the telltales (along the leech or back edge of the sail) are streaming backward." This is for sailing on a reach or down wind. Why do you want the sail twisted? The wind blows at different angles near the water or the bottom of the sail than it does 40 feet off the the water. In order for the whole sail to provide the maximum lift the sail needs to twist to meet the wind at the proper angle. 

If sailing close hauled or into the wind, the main sail doesn't really have twist.  The boom vang is used in strong winds to flatten the sail and reduce the lift force of the sail.  A flat sail can help avoid having to reef the main and will reduce excessive heeling.  

p.s. If we had been smart like those folks on the Bella Star we might have found the corrosion under the boom vang plate and fixed it! 

100th Post

100 Things We Love about Sailing and Blogging

1. The opportunity for fine craftsmanship is never-ending.
2. Ample opportunities for fun entertaining and bbq-ing aboard.
3. Learning a new sport: ocean racing, crewing on other people’s boats, etc.
4. Sailing uses wind power and natural energy, a green activity.
5. Sailing gets us outdoors and off the couch!
6. We can do it together!
7. Great photographic opportunities abound.
8. We meet new people in the local community and online community.
9. Dockmates are the spice of life!
10. Neighbor Wilson is quite the gem!
11. Teak is beautiful wood, very needy and endearing.
12. Galley cooking challenges are fun.
13. All our friends are excited to visit us and get a boat ride.
14. We’ve met new blogging friends on blogspot.
15. Our family knows what paraphernalia to buy us for the next 200 birthdays and Christmases.
16. Being on the water is calming and peaceful.
17. Dinghies are just as fun as sailboats.
18. Learning how to sail our boat, our “pig”, has been comical and satisfying.
19. Working with marine paints and varnishes is pretty intense.
20. Doing something adventurous makes us adventurous people.
21. Sailing is something to do when to surf isn’t up.
22. Learning sailing language: lines, sheets, grog, and halyard!
23. Learning knot tying. There are so many kinds of rope and knots in the nautical world!
24. Taking friends on a water tour of Morro Bay Embarcadero.
25. Buying and reusing boat stuff on craigslist. Recycle. Recycle.
26. Getting away from technology; leaving pagers and computers behind.
27. Happy Hour and ocean racing with the Morro Bay Yacht club.
28. Watching sailing movies and reading sailing books.
29. Watching the Jessica Watson and Abby Sunderland sailing sagas unfold. These young ladies rock!
30. We hear that Sailing is one of the safest sports and the least amount of injuries. Even though it feels dangerous, it is actually very safe.
31. Pennants make me smile.
32. Slapping halyard sounds, screeching seagulls.
33. Blogging has improved our writing skills.
34. It is easier to blog than to become a member of the yacht club.
35. A photography hobby has been born. I can share pictures with others without even buying a photo printer!
36. Interactions with nature, finches, seals, otters, pelicans, cormorants, etc.
37. The smell of fiberglass resin in the morning.
38. It is Simon-free activity for the most part! Ha ha, Simon! You sucker.
39. Another excuse to use power tools around water. I love the added risk of electrocution.
40. Chilling wine on a line in the ocean water.
41. Pirate fantasies. ARgh matie.
42. Travelling without cars and planes. Practicing patience. Nothing moves fast on a boat.
43. Planning future sailing trips.
44. Dreaming about retiring on a 45’ live-aboard in the Caribbean.
45. Dreaming about buying a bigger boat so we can stand up straight in the galley.
46. Blogging has made me a better story-teller.
47. Being a Captain has made me a better husband.
48. Being a First Mate has made me a better wife.
49. Blogging has taught me to be willing to be in the story, even to be unselfconscious as the main character in the story.
50. Sailing has allowed us to get in the Morro Bay game. We are engaging the community with good old fashion fun.
51. Blogging has made me feel more comfortable with my poetic voice and my artistic choices.
52. I’ve learned how to tell a story in a photograph.
53. I’ve learned how to pick the best picture out of hundreds of piss poor ones. A picture is worth a thousand words.
54. Capturing a flattering picture of a friend in a photograph is a gift to the friendship. It puts a smile on our faces and reminds us of the joy in living.
55. I imagine I have a “blog audience”. My blog readers have expectations. I imagine they have hopes to find something memorable here. And I hope to be creating a memorable story. I write the hope that I expect from myself.
56. There are no ropes on a boat, only lines. And sheets are ropes.
57. The First Mate is admittedly obsessed with deck shoes and white Capri pants.
58. The Captain is admittedly obsessed with sanding down the resin mold on the dinghy.
59. We learned that HMS = her majesty’s ship. Can’t use this one, because we don’t have any majesty in the U.S.
60. But, s/v= sailing vessel. Maybe we might use this one.
61. Yet again, s/y= sailing yacht; why do we need this abbreviation?
62. You can get cheap drinks at the Yacht club!
63. There is a $2.50 corking fee at the Yacht club if you bring in your own bottle, which is the cheapest corking fee I’ve ever heard of!
64. The First Mate still wants to eat pate with French bread and a fine Viognier on the boat, watch a sunset, and write amazing poetry. Ahh, Hemingway, I love you.
65. The Captain still wants to sail to Catalina.
66. The First Mate still doesn’t know how sea sick she could be.
67. The Captain still doesn’t know how sea sick he could be.
68. Training Wheels still has no official boat mascot, aka, cat or dog aboard.
69. “Let us imagine care of the soul, then, as an application of poetics to everyday life.” –Thomas Moore
70. Boat maintenance is just as therapeutic as weeding the garden or painting the bedroom or scrubbing the toilet.
71. Floating along in the dinghy is almost as fun as floating along in the sailboat.
72. There is floating along. And then there is being set adrift. The only difference is attitude and motivation. Just floating along is perfectly fine with us.
73. Mutiny on the Bounty is a great book! I never would have read it otherwise!
74. We are 100% satisfied with renting a slip for our boat. We’ve both decided it is money well spent. We couldn’t imagine trying to get all the work done on a mooring or pulling the boat out of the water!
75. After a whole year, the First Mate has decided she is ready for an ocean sail adventure. Watch out Seasickness, here I come!
76. Participating in the Yacht club’s events are so worth it! We’ve learned so much!
77. Otters are the house-cats of the sea; we are really their pets, we just don’t know it.
78. Captain’s secret dream #293: to have a picture of my boat on the wall at the Yacht club.
79. Few things are a picturesque as flying a colorful spinnaker!
80. When we stay on the boat overnight, our cat can’t wake us up at 3:30 in the morning.
81. By the time this list is posted we will be prospective members of the yacht club.
82. By the time this list is posted we will be installing our new boom. Or painting it.
83. The women at the yacht club are readers! Sweet soul sisters for this First Mate! I couldn’t be more blessed by this surprise!
84. There are many “firsts” like breaking my first boom! Another “First”!
85. We’ve met at least three people who have retired by age 50 and live the ‘simple life’ aboard in the Caribbean! We are so jealous! I mean, really, do you think that my retirement money/IRA/Medicare will be worth anything in 25 years?
86. If I were to be even more romantic I would learn to sing and play guitar so that I can live more of the ‘life’!
87. SPF 70 and polarized sun glasses are a godsend!
88. Bloggers write for a season in their lives, like the year of an internship or the year that they searched for optimal health and performance. When their season is over they usually stop writing. I wonder how long our blogging season will be?
89. We have reconsidered our desire for a Rottweiler; they are not very good water dogs. Hmm?
90. Cool iphone apps exist for navigation, sailing, compass, speed, etc!
91. See one, do one, teach one. It is true for almost everything!
92. Smile lines, crow’s feet, sun damage, leather necks… ah, the hazards of facing the elements!
93. We don’t have to do it, but we want to do it.
94. Blogging helps us organize our thoughts and reflections about sailing and what we can possibly improve in the future.
95. We are so blessed to be living this dream!
96. A portable Coleman camping toilet is a perfectly good option. There is no shame in that.
97. What a wonderful life I’ve had! I only wish I’d realized it sooner. –Colette
98. If you have the means, we highly recommend getting a boat and taking up sailing!
99. If the U.S. falls into chaos, we have an exit strategy!
100. We don’t need as much as we have, and less is even more than we think.

Details of Training Wheels' First Ocean Race

The Zongo Cup is the first ocean race that Training Wheels has participated in.  She has sailed out to sea just for fun, but turning back was always a convenient option.  The race was different.  She had to get to the finish line!

I have to say that racing adds a different perspective as compared to the usual cruising we do. I learn a lot more during races. Sailing a preset course requires you to take what wind and swell you have and use it to your best advantage in order to arrive at a specific destination. You also have a measuring stick, being the other boats in the race, to measure your progress by.

The Zongo course never took Training Wheels far from land, but the iphone app turned out to be a wonderful way of keeping track of her speed and direction to the next marker bouy. We have been opposed to tech on the boat wanting to keep things old school, but knowing the boat speed helps in finding the optimal sail trim to hit the top speed. Too bad the top speed for our Coronado 25 was only a whopping 4.8 knots.  We have MotionX GPS lite on the iPhone and it works very well. I will write a little more on this later.

The race started out smoothly with light wind.  Upon rounding Point Buchon, about 4 hours into the race, the wind picked up on a downwind run with gusts to 20 knots.  I guess this was too much for her 40 year old boom because she broke right in half! I must remember to ease the boom vang when running downwind. I am sure this contributed to the boom failure.

The boom flapped around uncontrollably, but luckily no one was hurt.  We stabilized the broken half into the sail and the standing rigging for the next two hours.  hen we got into Avila we were able to take down the sail and boom.  We will have to take the sail to SLO Sails for the repair.  We hope to buy another boom from anyone who has a spare or on craigslist. 

The boom is down, the sail folded, and boat anchored for the night.

My Introduction to the "Whisker Pole"

Downwind sailing is usually a bit of a drag. Flapping sails, a lot slower progress that upwind, and even worse is that not feeling any wind on your face gives the feel that the boat is standing still. Can't do much about apparent wind versus real wind. We don't have a spinnaker, but I found that the best help for gaining speed in a downwind situation is using a whisker pole!

A whisker pole is a light, aluminum pole (ours is stored in the v-berth) that can be attached to the mast and the clew of the headsail (Genoa). The whisker pole allows the sail to keep better shape in light wind usually when running wing and wing (mainsail to one side and Genoa to the other)

A couple tips I got from the Forspar website that I didn't do in my first attempt shown above to help keep the best sail shape: Use a topping lift. Attach a spare halyard to the end of the pole attached to the sail to keep the pole's weight off the sail. Next move the jib sheet block as far forward as possible. If you can get it directly under the clew (bottom corner) of the sail you've gone far enough. Making this line a sharp angle to the bottom of the sail and fairly tight will then stop the sail from "skying" or raising up in puffs of air once again improving sail shape.

The Forspar site made a comment about the position of the whisker pole that isn't possible on my boat.  "The pole should be flown level (Thus the need for mast track and cars!) and at the same relative angle to the wind as the main boom"  Training wheels has a stationary whisker pole attachment so that the pole shouldn't be level.

Any suggestions?

Whichever Way the Wind Blows

“I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.”

Apparent Wind vs. True Wind Direction

During a sailing race last week we made a couple of bad tacks to the first mark that put us back a bit in the pack. After thinking for a bit, the problem was too much steering correction to "apparent" wind changes nstead of sail tension correction. On the 40 ft Choey Lee, we couldn't adjust the sails as constantly as on a 4 meter daysailor, but we were being really lazy sailors and paid for it.

What is true-wind and apparent-wind?


The true-wind is the apparent wind which you feel when you are not moving, for example at anchor.  The apparent-wind is the wind direction and speed which you feel while the boat is moving. As you speed up the wind on your face seems to come more forward on the the boat and this is really true during gusts as the picture below shows. The best overview I have found is a http://www.answers.com/topic/apparent-wind

We were racing in light wind conditions with frequent gusts. During the gusts instead of pulling in the sails we would "fall off" (steer away from the wind). This would put us farther and farther off our desired point of sail (direction we wanted to go). We were basically making 180 degree tacks, resulting in us just going back and forth making minimal forward progress.

Proof once again that being lazy as usual only serves to create more work.

Foggy Weather Sailing Strategy

What if we did go sailing in July Gloom?  The Captain has memorized the path out of the bay so it is possible that we might try to take the boat out.  But, what if we get out there and can't see anything?

Normally, visibility is reported by the weather service and/or NOAA at various weather stations.  They would report at the airport tower visibility is currently 1 mile.  But, what does that have to do with anything?  So, you're out there and you can't see two boat lengths ahead of you, or in all directions for that matter? How do you get home?

Do you blow your fog horn?  In the harbor, there is enough water lapping on hulls and slapping halyards so you're not really going to run into a boat.  It doesn't help you from running aground.  If it was really foggy, you'd call the Harbor Master and they would bring you in.  The Harbor Master is part of the local Harbor Patrol, part of the local police.  The Coast Guard is part of Homeland Security (not a branch of the Navy).  If there was rough conditions or you were farther out in the ocean, then the Coast Guard would come to the rescue with their military stealth GPS that's accurate to within a couple inches.

Now, where does GPS fit in?  Well, we only have iphones with nautical GPS application.  We do not have any chart plotter on the boat.  What is the range of the iphone GPS app?  Hmmm?  Satellite range will cover us all the way out to Catalina! 

Our Old School Foggy Weather Tactical Approach:
1.  Go really slow.  Consider dropping Anchor.
2.  The Captain will steer. 
3.  The First Mate will look out from the bow.

Modern Fog Navigation Strategy:
1.  Use GPS.  Prevents getting lost.
2.  Use Depth Sounder.  Alarms when you get shallow.  Prevents running aground.
3.  Use Marine AIS (automatic identification system).  Tells you where other boats are around you.  Tells other boats that you are there.  Prevents getting run over.

The Million Dollar Question: When do you use a fog horn? 
Fog horns were invented so stationary objects, like lighthouses, could sound their presence.  The low tone travels farther in the fog than a high tone.  Nowadays, these horns are automated.  There is a fog horn on the buoy at the harbor entrance that is turned on for foggy days.  I think I would sound our horn until the can ran out of air!  An air horn is required safety equipment on an ocean going vessel and the Coast Guard probably has some guidelines for using it.  Any suggestions?

New Gear: The Tiller Tamer

After having Training Wheels for almost a year now, I have gotten pretty good at the tiller tag. This game happens anytime I need to go to the bow (front) of the ship while motoring or sailing. It only takes about 60 seconds before the wind, current, or weather-helm (tendency for the boat to turn into wind) moves the boat in a different direction and I am racing back to the tiller to get back on course. Then back up to the job I was doing and back again. You get the picture. I installed a Tiller Tamer on the Training Wheels to allow a larger window of time away from the tiller while moving. It's not really an autopilot but it does the basic part I need and fits in well with my goal to avoid any electronic components.

How it works: a line is secured on both sides of the boat at least 12 inches from the tiller and runs through a tension device mounted on the tiller. Set the tiller on the course desired and tighten the lines to hold the tiller in place. I installed the tension device on the bottom of the tiller because I wanted to mount the cam cleat holds for the line near the bottom of the cockpit.


So far the tiller Tamer has done the job but as I have said it's no autopilot. It only lasts about 3-4 minutes before the boat is off course since constant adjustments are usually required to go straight in a channel.

Memorial Day in Morro Bay

It was a gorgeous weekend for sailing last weekend!  The Bay was full of activity: kayakers, paddle boarders, day sailors, cruisers!  The Yacht club was bustling.

We went out of the bay onto the open ocean.

How Did I Miss This?

I've been reading everything online about sailing and sailboats for the last year.  How did I miss this?

CNN's page MainSail

All things CNN on sailing, sailboats, sailors!
How did I miss this?

Where to get help about your boat . . . ONLINE

This is a short note on a resource that I have found very helpful in learning the ins-n-outs of Training Wheels.  This resource is Yahoo Groups.

I have had specific questions about my boat that needed to be answered. Luckily, I found a Yahoo Group for Coronado 25 sailboat owners and most of the members are even Coronado 25 owners of my exact boat. This has been a treasure trove of good information on specifics like dealing the original seacock valves or changing the drain tube on the ice box. I have rarely seen any topic not get at least 3 good responses for solutions or support.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Coronado25/

I bought this old antique thing....What is Barometric Pressure Anyways?

Isn't it cool!  It is an old anchor!  And a barometer! 

Uhmmm, yeah, and what does it do . . . .  Exactly?
This is an "aneroid" barometer, as opposed to a mercury barometer.  It measures atmospheric pressure.  It did not come with any directions!!!

Ok, I have to admit that this post is mostly lifted from wikipedia, but the drama is to unfold: the needle is supposed to move from 29 up to 30 or down to 28, depending on the weather!
Reader beware: THIS POST IS PLAGERIZED FROM MANY SOURCES!

Average sea-level pressure is 101.325 kPa (1013.25 mbar, or hPa) or 29.921 inches of mercury (inHg) or 760 millimeters (mmHg).  Apparently, I am supposed to call the local radio station or weather station or coast guard and see what the local barometric pressure is, then set my barometer to that reading.  There is a screw on the back in order to do this.

It is all mechanical, so no batteries are needed. If the metal chamber cracks then the barometer will no longer work.  These barometers usually have words such as “Stormy” for low pressures (980 to 1000 hPa) and “Dry” for high pressures (1020 to1030 hPa). These words are at best only a first guide to the weather and date back to Vice-Admiral (Royal Navy) Robert Fitzroy (1805-65) who first visited New Zealand with Charles Darwin on the Beagle in 1835.

Will it rain? Tap the (aneroid) barometer!

It is OK to tap the outer glass of an aneroid barometer (firmly but lightly). By so doing you shift any recent pressure change stored in the mechanical linkage to the measuring needle. The resulting slight movement indicates whether the pressure is rising, steady, or falling. If the measuring needle goes to the left then there has been a drop in pressure recently.

Reflections on Sailing

The March/April 2010 issue of Good Old Boat ended with an interesting article by Matthew Goldman reflecting on his past love affair with the sea as the spring thaw approaches. The article is not generally written in a way that I would normally like, a little "old world" in its phrasing, but it struck a chord none the less. This reminiscing made me dream a little for the day when I am old and can look back over the years thinking fondly of the time I have spent on the water. As I am just starting out at sailing how can I apply this today?

The first thing that comes to mind is that no matter what happens I doubt I will describe in this way:
"And when I'm away upon the wind, don't look for me on your calm fetch of this world. I'll be, perhaps, in the lee of that island, yonder: be perhaps, on the far side of that billow; be, perhaps, behind that faintest of stars that lifts from the sea."

But I also notice that in his romanticized reflecting he didn’t mention about the times when things didn’t go right. Times like when in a stiff wind he couldn’t come about so decided to jibe and ended up the head sail wrapped around itself in knots or the time he ran aground because he was too busy finding the perfect spot to put his beer down. Even the repair job that took much longer than it should and still ended up sloppy looking didn’t get a mention. Why? All it takes is one good day at the tiller with a decent breeze to make any number of unpleasant memories fade away. It is good thing to remember in general that no matter how tough things are now and how much work is yet to be done, in the end we will remember the good times most and it will all be worth it.

A Weekend Out of Town!

Sorry, we have been delinquent bloggers recently.  The Captain ran his first marathon, the Big Sur International Marathon!  It was a well organized event on the Central Coast.  Lots of spectacular vistas and amazing ocean scenery! 

And we went to the marina in Monterey!  Lots to share!  The next couple posts will be about this marina visit.  We saw some pretty funny and interesting harbor and dockside life.  Look and see for yourself.

We walked the board walk and got lunch on the sunny, warm patio.

And we found a potential buyer for our extra outboard motor!  Just Kidding.  But, it was a funny sight:

Happy Sailing, Mizzen!  One day we may meet on the ocean blue! 

I will post more on our Monterey visit.  Stay tuned!