Small Reach Regatta Day 2 in Drake Rowboat

I was a little nervous beginning day 2 on a long reach with a potentially gusty offshore breeze that would carry the fleet 8+ miles to the lunch stop. The cracked mast step was only glued back together last night. Would it hold? This was going to be the same tack that I was on when it snapped. I didnt want to ruin this sail!

While the rowboa

ts and sailboats waited for the whole fleet to be launched and hoist sail for the departure, I

lounged on the floorboards enjoying an egg sandwich made by the caterer who cooks for the event. The food is great and the camaraderie while dining is something I enjoy every year. I saved my sandwich for this moment, laying back on the thwarts in the morning sun watching all the sails around me skitter about waiting for the moment when the lead chase boat would say "every body is in, lets go!".

The sail was east to Flanders Bay where we were to lunch at a bar connecting Ash and Sheldrake Islands (family islands that I arranged for us to have as a lunch spot). The fleet sailed on port

tack on a beam reach for all 8 miles to the stop. It was a hoot to say the least. Drake was right up with all the Caledonia Yawls and other larger sail craft. People were quite surprised to see this long, skinny rowboat pass them or hold position next to boats with much larger sail areas. And to my delight the mast step held.

But this morning was proving something that I try to espouse whenever possible: a rowboat with at least some keel to it can sail downwind quite

fast, but not up wind. And you dont need to ruin

the lines of the boat for rowing and you do not need to add the complexity and drag that a centerboard or daggerboard introduces. Lee boards are simply not necessary for off the wind sailing. Drake has enough stability and keel to even sail without any slippage on a bean reach, and this was a revelation this morning on Frenchman Bay.

The lunch was quick as the tide was eating up the bar -- we arrived a little too late. But the scene was quite spectacular with MDI and Tunk mountain and islands all around. I was the first boat to the bar and the 50 or 60 boats sailing into the bar was just a blast to watch.

The return trip was a 8-mile row to windward, through Sorrento Harbor right by Hancock Point and dir

ectly to Lamoine State Park. Drake showed her stuff by being able to row a steady 4+ knots back to the start line and beat most of the sailboats that had to tack many times to get home. This is what she was designed to do: sail smartly off the wind and row efficiently upwind. If this were a real RAID I would have no doubt t

hat we could be very competitive and with a larger boat for two rowers, probably win. But I enjoy the autonomy, privacy, and relaxation that rowing and sailing alone can bring.

Read More..

Banderas Bay Regatta

We joined the crew of Tivoli for the XIX Regata Internacional (Banderas Bay Regatta). Tivoli is a Beneteau 42s7 that embarked from San Francisco Bay late last year on an extended cruise that will take it south to the Panama Canal, across the Caribbean and eventually to Denmark. Loaded down with cruising gear, the boat was quite a bit heavier than its sistership, Cirque, which won class A for the third time running in this event.
The course for race 1, sailed on Thursday, March 10th, started a mile or so off Nuevo Vallarta, and included a 2.5 mile beat to a weather mark, then a long port tack leg out to Punta de Mita followed by a long run back to the finish. There were few opportunities to pass on this race and it was basically all about boatspeed and waterline length. The wind was light and Tivoli was heavy so we never had a chance to make any moves, and Cirque walked away the win. At the end of the day we were 7th out of 9 in class A. It was a good learning experience though and we used the lessons learned to revise our sail trim, move more weight out of the stern and prepare for a better result in race 2.

Unfortunately race 2 was canceled due to the earthquake in Japan and resulting tsunami, which reached Bahia Banderas about 1330 on Friday. Veterans of the tsunami that hit us last year in Long Beach, we decided to ride this one out in deep water. When the first surge arrived we were safely five miles out where the bay is over 250 feet deep. The water level in the bay rose and fell as much as four feet a dozen times or so during the afternoon, knocking out a couple of docks in La Cruz and causing the local authorities to close all the ports in the bay. Throughout this time the Honcho, along with at least 200 other boats rode these surges in perfect safety, never really feeling anything out of the ordinary.

Around 1800 the local port captain in La Cruz declared that the channel entrance was being reopened and boats were free to enter the harbor. By this time the Honcho was anchored outside, prepared to spend the night there, but when the channel was reopened we decided to head into our old slip on gangway 11. Eager to see what was going on in the harbor, we got the anchor up and headed for the entrance only to have another surge roll through, causing the port captain to close the channel once again. So back we went to the anchorage where we spent the night at anchor in the company of at least a hundred other boats. Throughout the night we were turned around now and then by stronger than normal currents as the tides continued to surge.

The next morning the current in the harbor entrance was still running strong, but we were able to get the Honcho secured back in her slip and head back to Nuevo Vallarta and the regatta. Our gangway was without water or power, and as I mentioned, a couple of the docks at the end of the gangway had broken loose and were floating upside down, lashed to the gangway to prevent them from drifting away. But other than that, the harbor survived the tsunami in good shape.

Race two consisted of three laps around windward-leeward buoys, with a wing mark thrown in after the first weather mark. With the wind up to about 15 knots we had reasonably good boatspeed and were able to hang with the bigger boats in our class. Though we were rated the second slowest boat in our class, we sailed a very good race. Expecting the wind to shift right as the day wore on, we got a good start at the committee boat end of the line and were looking to protect our position on the right side of the course. But it didnt take long for the faster boats to start passing us and we had to take a couple of tacks to stay in clear air and found ourselves bounced to the left more than I wanted to be. Fortunately the right shift never appeared and we rounded the weather mark in 5th place and set a spinnaker for the reach to the wing mark. At the wing mark we executed a flawless jibe and passed another boat that didnt. Throughout the race our crew work and boat handling were excellent, and we made up time at every mark.

The wind remained a steady 14-16 knots. We had done well on the left side on the first beat so I took a chance on the left side again and we continued to make up time on the  boats ahead of us. The third leg was a repeat of the second and when the results were tallied, Tivoli came in second, beating all but Cirque. With the regatta shortened to just two races, Cirque won the event and we ended up fourth in class. I was especially pleased because our crew had never sailed together before, and none except the owners had ever raced a 42s7 before. It was a great example of a crew coming together, learning the new boat quickly and recovering well from a tough first day. Im confident that if we had been able to do a third race, we would have had a spot at the trophy table. Anyway, we had a great time and are looking forward to getting together again for Antigua Race Week next year.
For complete results go to: http://www.vallartayachtclub.org/race/bbr2011.html
For photos of all the action: http://www.flickr.com/photos/strangebird/sets/72157626243821784/

Read More..

Small Reach Regatta Finishes in Drake Rowboat

This sail is right off a Shellback dinghy, but a new more efficient downwind rig is in the works when we arent making other peoples rigs!

(photos by Christophe Matson in his Goat Island Skiff)

My wife, Ellie Chase, and I finished up a fabulous 3 days of rowing and sailing in Drake along with almost 40 other boats ranging from 12 foot dinghies to 15 sail and oar boats, to 22 foot daysailers. Drake often got to the lunch stops first because we were able to row upwind and sail downwind. It turned out that most of the time we rowed in tandem.

We love this mode of boating for getting around but you have to like to row and be in a good rowboat. And there is no need to ruin the lines of a rowboat by making it be able to sail, as long as you stick to sailing off the wind. We can sail easily on a beam reach down to a run. In the above we maintained 3.5-4kts in maybe 5-10kts total true wind.

See more at http://www.facebook.com/groups/104933556820/

Read More..

XXIII Banderas Bay Regatta

Not long after we arrived in La Cruz the J/109, Joyride appeared on our gangway and the owners, Jim & Jenn invited us to sail with them in the upcoming Banderas Bay regatta. Joyride came down from San Francisco Bay in the Baja Haha last November and has been cruising along the mainland coast with their two schnauzers, Harvey and Phoebe, for the last few months. The boat is fully outfitted for cruising, including a dodger, bimini, solar panels and a full load of cruising gear, supplies and provisions aboard. To further complicate matters for us, we were given a rating of 73 for this PHRF event and were limited to using the class jib instead of a genoa. Needless to say, the combination of extra weight and small sails made Joyride a sticky boat in the light conditions and chop of Banderas Bay, so we harbored no delusions about where we might place in the regatta. Instead we focused more on enjoying three days of casual racing.

 Our competition consisted of:
Olas Lindas (Varianta 44) PHRF 56
Gypsy (Columbia 52) PHRF 107
Bright Star (Jeanneau Sunfast 40) PHRF 80
Wings (Serendipity 43) PHRF 78
Alarife (Ron Holland 40) PHRF 99

Sistership to Olas Lindas. The Varianta is a Judel/Vrolijk design built by Hanse Yachts.

On the first day of the regatta there is always a parade of the competing boats as we head out to the starting line. This year the theme was Pirates, so our crew, including Harvey and Phoebe, were dressed in pirate scarves and brandished bottles of rum as we made our way past the reviewing stand.

Harvey 

The forecast was for 12-18 knots of wind so we felt okay about the small jib. Jenn was our designated driver and Doug worked the sharp end of the boat while Jim, Lisa and Josette ran the cockpit. Harvey and Phoebe took up stations in the quarterberth as we lined up for the start. Being the smallest boat in our class I positioned us at the committee boat end of the line when the flag dropped. Unfortunately the wind stayed light and we got rolled by the bigger boats. The course was a triangle-sausage and we were the third boat around the weather mark. On the reach out to the wing mark we passed the Jeanneau, with the Varianta well in the lead. We got passed by Wings just before reaching the leeward mark. Then the deck got shuffled. The wind went light and shifty. Wings went right, along with Gypsy and Bright Star. We tacked to starboard and headed out to the left side of the course and managed to find a bit more breeze. We could see Wings in the distance going slow as we ghosted along. Before long we were near the port tack layline and had a quarter mile lead on them as we worked our way out to the last weather mark. But as luck would have it, Wings found a breeze and came barreling at us, making up nearly all the distance we had gained on them. We rounded the weather mark and set the kite a hundred yards ahead of them. As soon as the kite was up and drawing the wind shifted to NE, turning the run into a beat. We quickly doused the chute and unrolled our jib and managed to cross the finish line in second place, about three minutes ahead of Wings and ten minutes behind Olas Lindas. Though we corrected out to 5th, we felt good about our performance.

On day two, we started again in light air a little down the line from the committee boat, seeking a clear air lane. Again, we got rolled by the big boats off the starting line but managed to round the weather mark in third. The next leg of the race took us on a close reach to the sea buoy off Puerto Vallarta. It was all about waterline length and, being the small boat in our class, we got passed by all of our competition and corrected out to 6th.

On the last day of the event we sailed three times around a windward-leeward course. Though the committee boat end of the line was favored, we opted for a clear air start closer to the pin end of the line and crossed it going fast in about 12 knots of wind. We played the left side of the course on the first beat and rounded in second place behind Olas Lindas. With a steady breeze all day, we worked the shifts and were the second boat to finish, about eight minutes behind Olas and 24 seconds ahead of Wings.

Overall, it was really fun sailing the J/109 in spite of our unfavorable rating. The weather was perfect and we were entertained by breaching humpback whales throughout the regatta. Vallarta YC was, as always, a splendid host and brought in Luna Rumba, a Latin/fusion band for the party after the trophy presentation.

With the regatta behind us, we had time for a quick trip to California where we took care of some business and reconnected with friends. Were back in La Cruz now and preparing to head north to Mazatlan and the Sea of Cortez.

While in California I had time to go for a long bike ride and got a nice picture of Newports Back Bay in the late afternoon.

Read More..

Day Three in Drake The final day of the Small Reach Regatta

The final day was going to have big shoes to fill after an incredible reach and row day 2. The rowing group gathered at breakfast to scheme a separate rowing group to explore along MDIs north coast and down to Bar Harbor. We did just that with the generous support of the chase fleet whose member take very seriously there job to watch everyone, help us stay safe, and get us out of trouble when we need it. The sailing fleet (most of the boats) went to Bean Island just east of Hancock Point and the rowing group (5 boats) went south to Bar Island on an absolutely windless morning and a fast outgoing tide. After lunch on Bar, we had a rolicking return as the seabreeze turned on and was blowing a steady 15 kts. Drake shone again as we surfed down the white-capped, following sea. I had left the sailing rig ashore to be a pure rowboat today. The timing was perfect on the way back into Lamoine Harbor area: the entire sailing fleet was also returning. After a little racing in the rowboats, we coalesced into a parade of sails past the state park where onlookers marveled at the sight reminiscent of the age of sail when it was commonplace to see so many sails filling a waterfront view.

Learn more about the Small Reach Regatta

Read More..

Drake in the Small Reach Regatta on the Coast of Maine Day 1

The Small Reach Regatta was the next stop in my busy summer. The SRR is a gathering of 70 sail-and-oar boats, this year, at Lamoine State Park and put on by the Downeast Chapter of the Traditional Small Craft Association. Irowed and sailed (downwind) his rowboat design Drake and consistently finished in the front of the fleet (but of course it wasn’t a race!).

This event is an annual gathering and a wonderful chance to test and showcase the boats CCBB sells and builds to designs from around the world, for example Michael Storer in Australia, Francois Vivier in France, Eric Risch in Maine, Bruce Elfstroms beauties and my own designs. We will be carrying kits and building boats produced by a Finnish builder, Suomen Puuvenepiste. These are unique, semi-exclusive agreements to bring new sailing and rowing boats into the US market as CNC cut kits, bare hulls, and finished boats up to 25 feet. My hope is to bring a demo boat from all these folks to boat shows and events like the SRR. Next year well have a Goat Island Skiff Yawl to show off like this one built by a kit customer in TX for the Texas 200:

The event was three days. Day 1 was a short windy upwind row and downwind return to a classic small Maine coast island. Every day features an interesting lunch stop, a wonderful opportunity to rest and to look at others boats. Moreover, I see it as a learning experience to talk to the builders and owners of the boats. I learn something new from every one of the boats. For me, the SRR is about the finest form of professional development I can get.


On the downwind return to camp, a small squall came through and the force overcame my mast step..."WHAM!"...I heard the snap and the boat lurched and we nearly capsized. The first night was a quick repair with polyurethane glue while the sun set. Day two was to feature a long, fast broad reach to the lunch spot, and there was no way I was going to miss sailing that stretch! I was repairing until I couldnt see anymore boat...will it work?

Read More..