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Cat TalesFebruary 1995 |
On January 7, a planning meeting was held at Paul & Sharon Payne's
home to discuss the activities for 1995. We enjoyed talking with all the folks;
the Mungers, Langs, Savages and Stanburys and all their many ideas. Rick
Quigley and his southern friends from Harrington Harbour made sure we kept the
lower bay in mind as we charted the summer cruises. Since we have had one of
the milder winters in recent times, the cracklin' fireplace was warmer than
needed to keep the good cheer flowing.
When Joan called the meeting to
order she had no idea that we would actually get through the whole year. The
February meeting features Capt. Bob Houle, USCG to discuss the latest info on
GPS (See the February meeting announcement). One of the great events we all
enjoy (?) each spring is getting the boat back in the water. A March session to
hold a maintenance workshop is being considered to help in this very important
chore.
After the winter events and flag raising brunch, we'll be off to
the Solomons and the Little Choptank for some serious cruising through Memorial
Day. We're looking forward to finding our way into Leeds Creek in June and the
big trip to the Choptank over the Fourth. Later in the summer, after the
Crabfeast, we plan to head north to Still Pond for Labor Day, enjoy the
Choptank again for Octoberfest and make our way up the Severn River for
Halloween. The Christmas party is a long way off, but all ideas are welcome.
After lots of discussion and to the surprise of our Commodore, we finally
settled on the schedule on page 5, for 1995.
February's monthly meeting will feature Captain Robert Houle of the U.S. Coast Guard to speak to us about existing and planned navigation aids in the Chesapeake and around the nation. Captain Houle will focus on the questions we all have. How does GPS work? How accurate is GPS? What is Differential GPS? What do experienced sailors use GPS for? How will a GPS system cost me? With a Real-time correctional receiver? Captain Houle knows the kinds of questions we have about navigation, so please come and meet our newest member and let him educate us on this important topic. Bob Houle is also a new CCYC member. Being a Catalina 30 owner, he decided to join our Fleet after attending the January meeting. Welcome Bob!
Darrell Hansen
Now that most boat owners have put their
responsibilities to rest, on land, it might be a good time to go over some of
the things that there is just not time for in the summer. Have you given
thought to the physics that rule our sport. For instance are the leads on your
boat set up to relieve as much stress on the fittings as possible??
One
item that sometimes is overlooked is the effect of using turning blocks to lead
lines to a cleat or, more importantly, to a winch. Let's go back to our high
school physics class for a moment. When you pull, say 1000 pounds, on a line
the pull is the same throughout the length of the line. What happens when you
put a block somewhere along the line say in the middle. As long as the block
just rests on the line the 1000 pound pull is still the same along the
line.
Now though, let's say you put a bend in the line by fastening the
block to the deck. Does that change the pull along the line. Not really but it
does transfer some of the load to the block and that's where we need to pay
attention. If the line is doubled back so that the line leading into the block
and out again is parallel to itself the load on the block is twice the original
load on the line. In the case of this example the load on the block will be
2000 pounds or one ton. The less of a turn in the line the less the total pull
on the block. I don't remember exactly how much load is relaxed by turning the
line 90 degrees instead of 180 but it is close to 1/2 times the load (about
1500 pounds) on the line and so forth.
Look at your jib leads. Do you
run them aft to a turning block and then forward to the jib sheet winch? If so,
you are really stressing the turning block. Some of us in the fleet have
experienced a block exploding under load and remember the ball bearings and
other bits and pieces flying forward in the cockpit. It ain't fun at all.
You're much better off using a lead that will allow the jib sheet to come up to
the winch from as far forward as possible to avoid over stressing your turning
blocks.
Freda and Charles Gandy - LUV-IT
Jan 29,
1995
Dear Friends and Family:
We crossed the Straits of Florida on the
12th of January, leaving Key Largo at midnight to cross the Gulf Stream when it
was supposed to be calm. Well, the weather guessers missed again. We saw ships
that looked like apartment houses, all lit up. They passed miles from us. We
could watch them for an hour or more as our courses were within range. All
night we could look off to starboard and see the red and white lights on
Columbine, the sloop that crossed with us. It was re-assuring to have her
there, and by radio compare conditions and course corrections needed to
counteract the Gulf Stream current.
About 10 A.M. we crossed the reefs
between Gun and Cat Cays, then made way across the Great Banks until late
afternoon, when we dropped hook and slept. The closest land mass to us was 15
miles. The calm night allowed a good rest. The next morning we crossed into the
Northwest Channel and proceeded to Club Cay, where we checked in with customs
and stayed overnight. On to Nassau and a visit to the Straw Market and a wild
bus ride around the city on a commuter bus (glad our insurance was paid up). We
tried wonderful Bahamian dishes here: peas and rice and smothered
chicken.
After two nights in Nassau, it was time to cross the Yellow
Banks to Allan Cay. We dinghied ashore to see the iguanas and a yellow-crested
night heron, picnic on the beach, and find huge queen conch shells. The
achrorage had little protection from the northeast, and Bless Pete if a norther
didn't come through 24 hours earlier than it was predicted to, and pinned us
down. The winds clocked around from the southwest to the northwest, then
northeast before dying down. It wasn't fun to keep a full-time anchor watcher
in the cockpit for the two days it lasted, but was necessary as the winds were
about 25 knots, with gusts higher. It was quite bumpy.
The only charts
available for the Bahamas are often frustrating. To a great extent, they are
from surveys done in the 1920's and 30's. The Global Positioning System can
pinpoint us anywhere on the earth within 100 meters accuracy. What we can't
depend on is the island being where the chart says it is.
Sand bars,
unlike islands, don't stay in the same place with any regularity, and many
coral heads, which have grown where they pleased and are not forgiving if you
run into them, have grown since the charts were mapped. We plan with all our
resources, then can't trust our plans. We depend heavily on keeping a sharp eye
out for color changes in the water. Brown water means coral heads, white water
means a sandy bottom too shallow, blue means great sailing, unless the blue
becomes paler, which leads to white. Black is in some cases OK, because that
means underwater plants, unless of course they are growing in shallow water.
These colors are critical, and can't be seen if there is a great deal of chop
or the sun is at a low angle. So we don't travel before 10 am or after 4 pm.
Now you begin to understand some of the navigation problems.
This place
is spectacular! It is incredibility gorgeous, the people are friendly and
helpful, and the climate delightful. The daytime temperature is in the 70's,
and is usually in the 60's at night. There was serious grousing on the radio
last week when a northern blew through and it was 56 in Nassau. Water
temperature right now is 74, great for swimming. It's hard to believe that
it;'s the end of January. It's hard to believe that all our efforts culminated,
and that we are really here.
Radio is our lifeline. We monitor Channel
16 all day, chat with other boats moving south with us, hear announcements of
local restaurants' menus, whatever. If you want to chat, pick a channel. Any
channel. What's your favorite number! Is it available? Sure. No problem, Mon.
Amateur radios is an incredible boon. We meet the Waterway Net on 7.268 MHZ
most mornings at 7:45, just after participating in the Bahamas Weather Net by
reporting conditions for our location. Sometimes we meet at 7 PM with friends
on 3.832 MHz. It is so special to get to make contacts with our old friends,
and make some new ones. Also, we've been able to receive news from DUET and
TRUE BLEW, the boats we left Annapolis with. They are further north from us, in
the Abacos. We hear that they ar e now on their way to George Town, and will
meet up with us there. We are delighted.
Paul Payne, Sun Dancer
We first bought our
boat in 1988, the door was found lying on the bunk unused. After I re-installed
it, I learned why it was off in the first place. Instead of taking it off and
storing it, like many do, I decided to use a little ingenuity to solve the
problem. By securing one end of a long bungee cord to the lower wall behind the
folded door, routing it up through an "eye" in the wall at the top edge of the
door on the right side, you can keep the folded door pulled against the curtain
when open or rigidly unfolded when closed. You don't even need to lock the door
when closed, it stays closed by itself! The trick is in the location of the
"eye."
As announced at the Christmas Party, CCYC held a contest to name the Newsletter. All nominations were accepted, with the winner to be selected at the Annual Planning Meeting. Well, at the January meeting, the name of "The Cat Tales," submitted by Ron & Phyllis Hill, was selected. For this winning suggestion, the Hill's will receive a Catalina Burgee. Congratulations!
For the first time in recent memory the C30NA Championship Regatta will
be held in Long Island Sound out of Milford (CT) Yacht Club, hosted by Fleet
18, the weekend of July 7/8/9, 1995. All eligible Catalina 30's are invited to
participate. Dust off your Official Certificate of Measurement, check that your
dues are paid up, clean your bottom and come join us!
Contingent plans
are for a preliminary race Friday, before or after visiting the pasta bar, two
or three races Saturday, dinner and camaraderie and one or two races Sunday
followed by an end of race party. We hope for a three class race (2 racing
classes, spinnaker and non spinnaker and cruising class) but that depends upon
entrants. Loan boats will be available - moorage at Milford YC.
Look for
final details in the May Mainsheet! National Race Rules require that copies of
the sailing instructions listing allowable equipment are published prior to the
race. The most up-to-date By-Laws will be the driving force for disseminating
race rules. Meanwhile, plan to visit New England next summer.
Included in this edition of The Cat Tale is a list of CCYC members who
have renewed their membership for 1995. If you do not find your name on the
list, and have already renewed, please contact Diane Lang so that the oversight
can be corrected.
If you have not yet renewed, DO IT NOW! Remember
membership benefits include receipt of the newsletter. Prior to the start of
the sailing season, The Cat Tale mailing list will be limited to those that
have renewed for 1995. Let Diane hear from you soon.