Thanks for sharing, Kevin. Sounds like you had a good trip, and excellent experience.
Jim Watts Paradigm Shift C&C 35 Mk III Victoria, BC On Tue, 11 Jun 2019 at 11:21, Kevin Driscoll via CnC-List < cnc-list@cnc-list.com> wrote: > C&C Owners, > Below is an email I sent to friends and sailors about my recent single > handed trip from Hood River, Oregon to Olympia, Washington. As the crow > flies it is less than 200 miles, but on the water it is up around 550 > nautical miles. Read below and see the link to my custom lee clothes on the > starboard settee. > Cheers, > Kevin > > Sailors and Friends, > Last week I successfully delivered our boat from Hood River, Oregon to > Olympia, Washington. And as Lisa said, "The only thing that got hurt was > your lip." (It split from sunburn and salt spray.) > The 550 or so single handed miles by myself on 'Osprey' was quite a bit > work, but went very well. The leg from the Columbia Bar to Neah Bay was my > first solo offshore sail and was completed with no drama. Here were the > legs: > > 0. Hood River to Ilwaco, Washington - ~165miles, done Memorial Day Weekend > > > 1. Ilwaco, Wa(Columbia River Bar) to Neah Bay, Wa - 187 nautical miles > / ~36hrs, June 2nd,3rd > 2. Neah Bay to Sequim, Wa - 75 miles / ~11 hrs. June 4th (very quick > with tail wind and flood tide) > 3. Sequim, Wa to Bainbridge/Blake Island - 70 nautical miles / 12hrs > June 5th > 4. Blake Island to Olymipia, Wa - 45 nautical miles, 10hrs June 6th > > > - Bus / Uber to home at 11pm June 6th and at work Friday 6/7. > > > Here's what worked or otherwise: > > - *My wife*- Lisa took care of the boys without complaint during last > weekend and the better part of last week. Getting permission to sail alone, > 15-20 miles offshore into the Pacific, on a small sailboat, for round the > clock sailing for the better part of two days, is not something most people > do every day. She has faith in my skills as a sailor, the safety of our > boat, and a reasonable tolerance for risk. Nothing is possible without her. > - *My project team- *Filled in for me when I was gone for 4 days last > week. Given the stage in construction on our building and project dynamics, > it was important someone or multiple people be on site while I was gone. > Allen and Michael pitched in and it was appreciated. > - *Columbia River Bar -* I crossed at slack tide at the start of an > ebb. I actually began my crossing early so to be sure I was safely over the > bar before the ebb gained momentum. It was a little bumpy, but not > dramatic. > - *Tow Lanes - *A somewhat common strategy, when not racing and > heading up to Cape Flattery, is to take the commercial tow lanes. This in > order to reduce the risk of snagging a crab pot. I followed this strategy > and went out from the bar to the summer tow lanes, ~15 miles offshore. I > saw very few crab pots the whole trip, but did see ~4 and they made me > nervous each time. > - *'Osprey' C&C 30-2 *Though our boat is tender, she has great > qualities otherwise and is an extremely well designed boat. She carries > generous sail for her vintage, is relatively light, and has somewhat > efficient foils. Despite the constant 15-20 knots of wind close hauled, she > does not creak or flex audibly like other boats I have been on. The molded > head liner is silent. Our little Yanmar Diesel operated flawlessly at a > constant 2800 rpms (3400 continuous rated) for days on end. I change fuel > filters, belts, and impellers religiously and that seems to do the trick. > The Yanmar is dead simple and has never let us down. 'Osprey' is an > excellent boat, but a few more feet would add some speed and accommodate > the boys a bit more nicely :) > - *AIS Vesper XB 8000 *- I bought and installed this AIS transceiver > just before heading offshore. Having an AIS transceiver was a game changer > over our previous trip, when we double handed up the coast. In the ~200 > miles up the coast. I did not see anyone that I could not also see on AIS, > including pleasure craft. Also Lisa and Dan were able to track me all the > way up the coast. The AIS repeated seamlessly on the tablet and phone(s) I > use for navigation and redundancy and the unit is hardwired to an alarm > buzzer at the nav station with a mute button. It also sends alarms on my > phone and tablet. The Vesper app works very well, was intuitive, > information rich and overall greatly exceeded my expectations. I would > highly recommend this product and I am extremely happy with the purchase. > (We do have a small Garmin GIS on board, but we do not use it for > navigation specifically. We do not have a hardwired chartplotter or MFD.) > - *Scopolamine Patch - *I can get sea sick if I am not extremely > disciplined about going below decks or in rough seas. Our boat is on the > smaller side and is pretty tender. Furthermore, the wind a steady 15-20 > knts and seas (though not directly on the nose) permitted only close hauled > motor sailing. Predictably this meant a fair amount of slamming, water on > the decks, and spray in the cockpit. Not 'green water', but a very lively > motion for sure. I got sick 3 times, each time when coming back up on deck > from below. Much of the rest of the time I did feel somewhat crummy, but I > have been there before so I was not concerned. > - *Watch Schedule - *The first half day I was getting comfortable with > shipping traffic, my course, sail trim, and confidence in the AIS. I took a > few cat naps in the cockpit late in the day, but eventually gained > confidence to spend 20-30 minutes below at night. I had the AIS traffic and > chartplotter in my hand when below and set up redundant alarms so there was > no way I could sleep through one. This worked well and therefore I was not > completely 'wrecked' when I pulled into Neah Bay. I slept for about 6 hrs > before hitting the Strait of Juan de Fuca. > > All in all, the delivery was an ambitious itinerary and I was happy to > complete it. Going offshore by myself was a bit of a test to see if solo > offshore racing is in my future, and I would definitively say, maybe. I > wanted to see if carrying up the coast single handed was something I could > do and something I wanted to do more of. The first answer is definitely > yes, the second is maybe, trending to probably. > > Thanks to everybody for listening and those who followed along on my way > up the coast. Now our boat is poised for tide pools exploring and a great > summer of family cruising in South Sound on weekends. I am feeling very > fortunate. Here is a link to a few snap shots and my 20 minute / $2.00 lee > cloths which you may appreciate. > https://photos.app.goo.gl/MwD6ppBJZ6sgXz9ZA > > Best, > Kevin > > _______________________________________________ > > Thanks everyone for supporting this list with your contributions. Each > and every one is greatly appreciated. If you want to support the list - > use PayPal to send contribution -- https://www.paypal.me/stumurray > >
_______________________________________________ Thanks everyone for supporting this list with your contributions. Each and every one is greatly appreciated. If you want to support the list - use PayPal to send contribution -- https://www.paypal.me/stumurray
