Test Sail

3 JUNE 2010 - FIRST SAIL

Our first sail on Circe came after a generally successful survey at the Marina Village slip in Alameda. We took her for a short run up and down the Oakland Estuary with the Owner and our surveyor on board. Unfortunately there wasn't much of a breeze but we were able to see how she moved in light air and how easily the sails raised and doused, as well as seeing what kind of condition they were in.

Both sails were only a few years old and lightly used. The Main was in excellent shape and the Genoa was also in good condition but the UV cover was frayed about halfway up the leech. It looked like the sail had been sheeted in too hard and had been chafing on the shrouds near the spreaders. The 135 Genoa gives a large overlap and it can be difficult to adjust it for good performance while still keeping it off the shrouds. Sheet lead position can be critical in avoiding the problem, particularly when heading to weather, and the 135 might prove to be a bit too much sail for mid-summer afternoons on S F Bay, we'll see.

The running rigging was all fair to good, except for the Main halyard. It is an original wire-to-rope type and had a couple of good sized 'meat-hooks' on the wire section so it will have to be replaced and maybe converted to all rope.

The boom is a Kenyon section and the mast is from Le Fiell and both are in serious need of an Awlgrip paint job. The Owner reported recent replacement of all the standing rigging, all of which inspected in good shape, but evidently neither spar was painted during that rigging replacement. The damaged UV cover and lack of painting went on the 'negotiation' list!

Checking out the frayed UV cover on Genoa.

Another view of the frayed UV cover. However, despite the damaged leech, the genny still had a nice shape, although the lazy sheet got hung up in this shot.   

                     

The end of the boom showing reefing lines which are good shape having been recently replaced.

The Main is in very good shape but that stack-pack and lazy jacks are another thing. A lot of clutter for a little convenience! We'll see how things go when we are actually living with them on the water.

Taking everything into consideration Circe checked out in good shape. Next stop, the boat yard!

SF Bay Meeting

Due to the crazy El Nino storms and other distractions we hadn't taken Circe out yet in 2016, so when we finally got a few days of stable weather this week we headed out. Being a weekday there were very few boats on the Bay, the usual commercial and ferry traffic, but only a handful of recreational boaters......what a contrast to the typical weekend. The sun was shining and the wind was West with a hint of North at 12-15 kts, perfect for a southerly beam reach to the Bay Bridge. As we approached Treasure Island we saw another yacht heading our way on a reciprocal course. As we closed on the other boat we could see the unmistakable form of another Freeport moving under Genoa alone. 

When we got near we realised it was Love Song out of Brickyard Cove Marina, skippered by Karsten, another FOGger member who we know. We grabbed the camera and started shooting. Here is Love Song sliding by.

Here is Circe as we approached Love Song.

Photo: K Windt

After some frantic cell phone and VHF exchanges we agreed an impromptu photo shoot. We both turned and made a couple of passes on each other, both of us snapping away furiously. Below are some of the results. 

Photo: K Windt

Photo: K Windt

Photo: K Windt

Photo: K Windt

Photo: K Windt

What an amazing day. Great weather and a chance to get some good photos of both boats. We have zillions of interior and exterior pics of Circe taken at the dock and boatyard during our many rehab projects, but we hadn't any good ones showing us under way. Karsten also shot some video clips of us....thanks a million Karsten...... while we also took a few seconds of video, limited by having to use the iPad plus the cameraman falling off the cockpit coaming in mid shot.....Oops!  We played around with some video editing software to add some music and credits. It's a bit rough but we'll do better next time.

Bay Bridge Dismantle - Staysail Trial

August 4, 2014 - Visit SF Bay Bridge Construction.

Recently, the dismantling of the old Eastern Span of the SF Bay Bridge has begun in earnest and, after watching from a distance, we though it would be interesting to make a run and see things up close from the water. Also, because the weather forecast promised good wind in the PM, we thought it would be a good opportunity to exercise the new #3 staysail on the Solent Stay. 

We had a great run out from Richmond to the bridge, with the #3 and a single reefed main in about 15 kts of wind. The new tack line holds the reefing points of the main sail a bit higher than the old gooseneck hooks did and the #3 was tacked on an 18 inch pendant to clear the dinghy on the cabin top, but Circe still balanced out really nice and we were able to run hands off with no autopilot. Sweet.

Even more impressive was the 6.7 knots SOG.....we have no knot meter. There was a little bit of ebb helping us, maybe a half knot, but it was pretty close to slack water. Considering the weight of all the junk we have on the boat it was still pretty impressive running just above a beam reach with such a conservative sail plan. 

Here we are, off the East side of Treasure Island, approaching the bridges from the North. G pier on the right, H on the left.

The Admiral at the helm. 

We were so busy checking out the demolition and taking pics that we strayed into to the safety zone under the G-H piers and......... 

..........got scolded by the CHP.  Yup, CHP in the middle of SF Bay......go figure!

We had seen all the relevent Local Notices from the Coasties but the Skipper got distracted.....my bad.

Plotter/Radar view as we transited. OK, OK we know the Radar is Head Up and the Plotter is North Up......we were playing around with the sync feature and different presentation views.

Here we have just transited the Bridge(s) via the approved alternate channel. 

By this time the wind was easing and clocking around toward the NW so we headed over toward the head of the Oakland Estuary, trying to get a good  tacking angle for the return trip back under the West Span of the Bridge and along the west side of Treasure Island. 

When we finally tacked over the wind was down to less than 8 kts and we ended up motor sailing. 

Here we are going back under the Bridge on the W. side of Yerba Buena Is. We debated shaking out the reef in the main and swapping the staysail for the genoa but decided that we would be into the tail end of the 'Slot' soon enough and surely then we'd pick up some wind?

This is the back end of the famed 'Slot' on SF Bay on a midsummer afternoon. We should be enjoying 20+ kts.... this day we had about 12.....Duh! It was enough to get us moving but it was a real leisurley ride home to Richmond.




A pretty good day in unusual summer conditions.....even a weird wind day is better than nothing though, right? It was good to try the staysail in moderate wind although it would have been nice to have seen how it handles heavier going. Next time! 

Dinghy Debut

Among the many things we inherited with Circe when our adventure began was an almost new Achilles LSR 9 1/2 foot dinghy and an 8hp Nissan outboard with very low hours. After first establishing their condition and functionality they have been largely ignored and neglected for the last three years. While we were up to our ears in re-hab projects, interrupted by occasional day sails, we had no need for either the dinghy or the outboard so they sat......the dinghy in our storage unit and outboard on the stern rail. With most of the big rehab and upgrade projects now completed we are starting to plan some trips a bit further afield and so the need for a tender has become more pressing.  The time finally came to drag them both out of mothballs!

Checking the valves and putting some air in the dinghy.

We also discovered this Colman electric inflator we had forgotten about....neat little gizmo and quite efficient (if there is 110v available). So, we had the dinghy up in less than 10 minutes. We'd forgotten how good it was....it really is new looking. 

We didn't have a towing and lifting bridle so we had to do the lifting from the bow painter....bit of a no no but we'll make a bridle asap. 

Getting ready to drop it over the side.......thanks for the help Todd!

The "Achilles Heel" of the Achilles LSR is its air (soft) keel! It has the advantages of light weight and allowing the dinghy to fold up into a very compact package, while still having a hard floor. Its disadvantages, big ones in our opinion are its vulnerability to grounding damage and the fact that it doesn't plane or track nearly as well as an RIB hull design or a hard dinghy. Another side issue is its poor rowing performance. No inflatable is easy to row but the soft bottom designs are almost impossible. Anyway, bottom line, despite our reservations it is in really great shape so we'll stick with it until it gives us a reason to change or we find an alternative that fits our budget. 

Ready for some horsepower.

We found and downloaded both a User Manual and Parts Catalogue for the NS 8B outboard at Nissan Marine and treated it to a carburettor clean, fuel filter change, water pump impeller replacement, oil change, some grease and two new spark plugs.

Some gas and some crossed fingers, and................ it started on the third pull.

 Off we go!

Winning friends in the 'no wake' neighbourhood ....not!

Ready to rock and roll......literally and metaphorically...plus some new projects; a sling and a hoist on the wind gen pole for the motor and a towing/lifting bridle for the dinghy.

Circuit of the Central Bay

While we have been working on all our upgrade projects we have been unable to sail Circe very much so we have been going out every few weeks on our sailing club boats for a 'fix'.

http://www.tradewindssailing.com/index.shtml

This last trip we took a camera along for a few photos.  We were on a Catalina 42, along with six other club members, for an afternoon romp on The Bay. This particular C42 has in-mast furling for the Main as well as roller furling for the Genoa so it is really easy to tweak the sail plan from the cockpit. The in-mast furling is a nice feature, although we would never want it on Circe as we are terrified of a jam! We have seen it happen a couple of times. Its no fun to have the Main fully deployed and no way to furl or reef it when the wind suddenly  pipes up the way it does when reaching from Angel Island, across The Slot towards the City front! Despite our paranoia, it really is a cool feature, and nice to use too.........as long as it works!

On this sail we made a counterclockwise tour of the Central Bay. We started on a beam reach out from Potrero Channel, headed west towards Tiburon, before turning SW into Raccoon Straight. An upwind slog past Angel Island into the Central Bay. A boistrous beam reach South across The Slot, in front of the Golden Gate Bridge, before falling off to the East along the City waterfront. We had some nice views of the City, Coit Tower, the TransAmerica Pyramid, Ghiradelli Square, Pier 39 and the Maritime Museum before we jibed downwind to port for a leisurely run back to Richmond. A trip of about four and a half hours with a good variety of wind conditions, from 12 to 25 knots. Life is good!

Josh (left) and Brian, visiting from the E. Coast. Ed at the helm.

Old Matelot minding the port sheet winch, waiting impatiently for some helm time. Michelle on the right.

Helen at the wheel.

Nicely trimmed ketch screaming past. Who needs a mizzen with 25 kts on the starboard beam!

Ed kicking back in a very patriotic pose.

The Big House on Alcatraz.

Sally trying to plow a straight furrow.

No matter how often we pass it, the 'Gate' is always a spectacular sight.

And it always makes a perfect backdrop for almost any photo.

The Chevron dock was a very busy spot this day!

Sailboat? What sail boat? Where?

The Admiral taking us through Raccoon Strait!

Yeah.......Finally.
Now, let me show you how it should be done!

The Balclutha, square rigger at the SF Maritime museum.

City-scape with the marine layer hanging over the Trans America pyramid (centre) and Coit Tower (left).

Relaxing downwind run back home, along Potrero Channel behind a container ship.