how to ....

... get the bottom scrubbed by "volunteers":

You convince two hard working students that they need a break, wait for sunshine, look for a very low tide in the afternoon, provide the scrubbers, and spread relaxed atmosphere ... voila, the bottom of all three hulls is done in a jiffy.

Location of the crime: in front of Centennial Beach, Twawwassen, B.C., Canada

vendee Saltspring 2012

                
SISC

MBYC


Facts: Saltspring Island Sailing Club, in association with Maple Bay Yacht Club, hosted in 2012 the eighth Single / Double Handed Sailing Race for monohull and multihull (!!!) sailboats around Saltspring Island with an overnight stop at Maple Bay. First day from SISC to MBYC (red trace), second day from MBYC to SISC (blue trace).
Weather: hot, hot, hot, occasionally with a touch of wind.
Participants: 51 boats - with 9 multihulls !!!
Fun factor: 10 out of 10.
Priorities: I. reception with hors d’oeuvres, II. BBQ & dinners, III. breakfast, IV. socializing, V. racing.
Organization: super friendly, smooth, fair, efficient (many helpers on Saltspring and in Maple Bay headed by Roger Kibble, supported by Vincent Argiro and numerous others).
Our F33 “Hi5”’s successes: (a) winner of the toughest PHRF rating with -15, and (b) the heaviest double handed crew (father and son).
Kudos: with sincere thanks to the two yacht clubs, Roger, and all his volunteers.
Recommendation: come and participate in the event next year.
Happy faces in our photo collection - and in a year we'll add more to it.

first sail of the year

It was a mild day, the spinnaker went up, the breeze was steady - a perfect day.
Of course, a perfect day has its little kinks: we ripped the screacher in the head, forgot the fluids that contain spirits, and my shoes were too tight.
The highlight of the day was a good sized hump back whale - or grey whale - that accompanied us for a while. A sleepy sea-otter was not interested in us when suntanning its feet. The bold eagles showed off their young ones. The world seems to be in order?

launching Hi5

Every year it takes us longer: Launching Hi5 in May 2012 - finally. Hi5 got new Lexan Windows, all leaks fixed, anti-fouling paint re-newed, waxed, polished, cleaned ... everything now ship shape.

leaving the Great White North ...

... to experience the "summer" in the Great White South. You may come with us by clicking here.

Hi5 will stay at home, our vicious guard dog Teenie will be on duty!

Something new: Walk around the boat on the trailer.

on raising the mast

This seems to be a matter of great concern to most f-boat sailors - and it should be. However, the risk of any accident or failure during this operation is greatly reduced by simply doing it twice at the same time. One needs to rig two independent sets of lines and blocks and use two winches to lift the mast. I have done this together with a friend as well as alone. Operating two self-tailing winches allows for this operation to be done without blood, sweat, or tears. Have a look at the sequence of events here. We are using inexpensive blocks (no snap-shackles, though) and genoa and spinnaker sheets.

There is no need for analysis of forces in the lines or on the blocks. It has been tried and tested many times. The magic word for success and safety is: redundancy.

waiting to pounce ...

Venanda Marina on Texada Island: resting after a long days sail, now a cool drink, and then up the hill to the terrific pub with marvelous food. Venanda is one of the few marinas on the way up to Desolation Sound. The warfinger and his wife are real originals, you don't want to miss meeting them. We always enjoyed the short trip from Dave Prichards Marina at Pender Habour to the northern Texada. This stretch is often rather windy, however, we were lucky again, as you can see.