Volume 28, Number 3, August 2010

Home is Where the Heart Is
By Hal Smith, Catalina 36

Our sailing friends understand this. Our family is not so sure. Even though we have spent countless long weekends there flopping about in the harbor for 12 years, it was a new experience to take a relaxed week enjoying the local cruising experiences.

Charleston sits on a low peninsula formed by the Ashley River on its south side and the larger Cooper River on its northeast side. The two rivers converge at the mouth of the harbor to form the Atlantic Ocean (native lore). The harbor is thus a pie shaped sailing area in protected waters that enjoys a predictable daily sea breeze that varies between 10 and 20 kts. For 150 years before England established the colony of Charles Town in 1670, European explorers and settlers had found the natural features of Charleston to be very desirable but were constantly frustrated fighting various American Indian tribes for this beautiful and bountiful land. Even today, wonderful tomatoes come from neighboring Wadmalaw Island, and a Wadmalaw Sweet onion is the best. We keep them a secret and send foreigners over to Vidalia, GA, for onions. As famous as it is for its role in the War Between the States, Charleston was even more prominent in the Revolutionary war. History still lives in Charleston. The natural harbor combined with its rich land resources, made it economically vital then, and the same features that gave it maritime importance years ago remain today to be enjoyed by recreational cruisers...

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Marriage Savers
By Kenneth Juul, Luna Loca, C34, #1090

An article by Tom Neale (s/v Chez Nous) published on the Boat US website is the genesis for this article. With his permission, let me tell you about some:

NEAT THINGS YOU SHOULD HAVE ON YOUR BOAT:

Headphones

The Cruising Solutions website (http://www.cruisingsolutions.com/) calls them Marriage Savers. Maybe or maybe not, but these reasonably priced headphones are a must have. They allow hands free communications between the captain and crew. Unlike walkie-talkies, the headphones are true duplex devices (like a telephone) allowing talking and listening at the same time. Always on, no need to push to talk (just be careful what you say!), your hands are always free. Everything is on your head, no wires to snag, nothing hanging off your belt or stuffed in a pocket. Since the headphones are always on, there are no lost/clipped words, a common problem with voice activated or push to talk microphones. The foam insulation does a good job of keeping the background noise at a reasonable level. The headphones have a high and low power position so they can be used on big and small boats keeping the volume at an acceptable level....

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Cover Story: Celebration of a Common Interest
Rendezvous – British Columbia
By Chris Monson

Western Canada’s Second Annual Catalina 27 Rendezvous took place over Canada’s Victoria Day long weekend, May 22 and 23 at the Thetis Island Marina in British Columbia’s picturesque Gulf Islands.

On Saturday afternoon 20 boats and 57 participants arrived from local ports, including crews from the USA and representative fleets from two co-ops, Barnet Sailing Co-operative and Van-Isle Sailing Co-operative...

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Sailing through the eyes of a younger crew member
By Jennifer Blank, Family Affair, Hull 271

I’ve been sailing ever since I can remember. Here’s my opinion about sailing on a Catalina 350. My favorite part about my family’s boat is all of the different adventures that you can have. One of my favorite adventures is kayaking along the shore.

On a summer evening after we finish dinner, our family will easily climb into the kayak off the swim platform on the stern of the boat. We love walking and finding all kinds of treasures along the shore...

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Novices to Blue Water Sailing
By Jim Price, C34 #1119, Lady Di
and Bruce Whyte, C350 #357, Aussie Mate

The mission was simple should we choose to accept it: help deliver a new Catalina 375 from the Miami Boat Show to the dealership’s home port in St. Simmons Island on the Georgia coast. It looked like a 3-4 day trip straight up the rhomb line to the Island so we blindly accepted the mission.

We, Jim and Bruce, were two blue water novices having not done any serious blue water sailing other than day trips in the British Virgin Islands and certainly had not done overnight sails requiring watches, darkness and personal security. Between us we have a Catalina 34 (#1119) and a 350 (#357) on Lake Lanier, about 40 miles outside of Atlanta. The captain was a very experienced ex-charter captain who we shall call Captain Billy here to protect his reputation and honor (we had nothing to protect at this point)...

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Tricks to Steering Our Boats In Tight Quarters
By John Ebell, C27 Technical Editor

This issue should find everyone in full sailing mode. I hope you all are enjoying sailing this year. There seems to be a few less boats on the water (both power and sail) this year and I guess that’s due to the economy. However, I personally have enjoyed having a little more space and room.

Recently I have been sailing on a number of other boats and I have discovered something which it appears to me a lot of Catalina 27 sailors don’t comprehend or know about. There are several tricks to steering our boats in tight quarters. I know it seems pretty simple, turn the wheel or tiller one way and the boat responds. However, this isn’t necessarily so! While some of you I am sure know this, there are a great many people who don’t, so if you do I apologize in advance...

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Perpetual Summer: Part 2
By Henk & Johanna Grasmeyer

Henk and Johanna traveled in November 2009 from Vancouver to San Diego with their 25 ft trailerable boat “Someday Lady” for a short 6 week stay at Marina Village in Mission Bay San Diego. Here is part two, the destination in our story.

They say that time flies when you are having fun, and so it does - even a week seems like a day. One thing for sure though: if Johanna did not faithfully keep the log we’d have issue remembering one highlight from another. Boat life, especially basking in mid winter balmy sunshine surrounded by conveniences and friendly dock-people makes one content and wish never to leave. However commitments made before we left put the trip on a deadline which is fast approaching. But let’s go sailing one more day and not worry about going back to the cold. Johanna practiced and honed her skills sailing close-hauled, broad-reaching, tacking, jibing and running until nearly sundown. Tired and satisfied we motoring back to the slip for our very last night on the dock. It takes no convincing at all to dine out and celebrate our wonderful stay in San Diego. Tomorrow, after all, is haul-out day...

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