Nov
17
2007
The final San Juan 21 Fleet 1 Race of the 2007 season was at Coulon Park in Renton WA, on a day which would have made penguins look for a nice dry place to get out of the rain. A hard rain is a rare occurance in Seattle where we prefer our precipitation accumulations to be slowly drawn out over weeks if not months. But for this race the skies opened up and dumped almost ½ inch of rain between 11AM and 2PM. I was soaked by the time I got my mast up, and found myself thinking of Noah… “Hmm I wonder if the Arc had an adjustable backstay?” Six boats were willing to brave the risk of drowning while still sitting in the cockpit: Habagat, Rascal, Compass Rose, Charmed Juan, PGS Juan (sporting a shiny new mast) and of course Limpet. Chris Popich left Wooglin at home but crewed aboard Rascal. On board Limpet I had my Father John along as brave and experienced crew.
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Nov
12
2007
What is wrong with this picture? After Gene found himself dismasted last week I got to thinking about my standing rigging. In particular my spreaders have always been extreemly wobbly whenever I lower the mast. I decided it was time for a closer look.
After some quick measurements and mechnaical review, I realized that my spreaders are 4 inches too long, and that there was nothing holding them on but compression force. Originally SJ21s came with 29 inch spreaders, but latter years the spreaders were cut down to 25 inches (which is the minimum allowed by class rules). This reduction helps pointing ability if you are sailing with the 135% Genoa. I don’t sail with a Genoa but some day I may try so I decided if I was going to replace the bolt which was no longer holding the spreaders on I might as well cut them down to the minimum lenght.
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Nov
03
2007
This weekends San Juan 21 Race in Elliot Bay ended up being more of an obstacle course than a sailboat race, and not all the boats came out unscathed. The course featured a starting line with a heavily favored starboard pin just off the rocks, a weather mark protected by a giant bull Sea Lion, a dead zone ¾ of the way down the down wind run, and an imposing leeward mark surrounded by 3 foot seas and a crazy wind shift. The only thing missing to make the vision of a visit to Camp Pendelton complete was Clint Eastwood firing an AK47 over our heads. If you think I am succumbing to my tendencies for over-embellishment, just look at the photos of PGS Juan demasted while attempting to round the leeward mark on the final race of the day. I am not kidding. . . it was so treacherous that Scout’s crew didn’t even take our their banjos.
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Nov
02
2007
I am not sure about the rest of fleet 1 but I am excited about our next to last race of the season which is taking place tomorrow. I thought I would post some valuable links for the race:
Alki Point Wind Forecast
Seattle Tide Charts
I also want to focus on my starts tomorrow. To that end I would like to know if there are any thoughts from fleet 1 and beyond on the start strategies & skills which have (or have not) worked for you?
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Oct
20
2007
200 years from now scientists will invent a translator capable of speaking with seagulls. Behavioral psychologists will have discovered that seagulls are some of the planets most brilliant creatures with advanced forms of communication, art, and complex socio-political structures. Seagulls (being very benevolent creatures) will be extremely excited to enlighten us on ways to correct our sadistic, malevolent, violant, and generally destructive tendencies. They will send a delegation to open comunication with the scientists. Unfortunately, the seagull delegation will stare at each other with despondent, unbelieving, and unblinking eyes, when the first question from the scientist is “So how many words do you guys have for WIND anyway.” After an awkward silence a seagull will reluctantly step forward and say “ a… well… I guess about 78.” Things will go down hill from there.
Saturdays San Juan 21 race at Magnuson Park would likely have covered at least 42 of those 78.
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Sep
30
2007
| Regatta Summary |
| Name |
Total Points |
| Wooglin |
3.00 |
| Charmed Juan |
8.00 |
| Rascal |
12.00 |
| Two For Juan |
16.00 |
| Limpet |
20.00 |
| Scout |
24.00 |
| PSG Juan |
28.00 |
| Habagat |
32.00 |
Every year the Center for Wooden Boats in Seattle puts on a regatta to honor the great Norm Blanchard. Every year the committee boat endures a series of line starts where the classic wooden boats involved bear away as soon as another boat is within Frisbee distance. I guess if I poured thousands of hours/dollars in to the building, restoration, and or maintenance of a wooden boat I wouldn’t want anyone closer than I could hit with a good sand wedge either. To relieve their boredom and bring some spice to the starting line the Center for Wooden boats each year invites the “Classic Plastic” class, and if you live in Seattle the only real classic plastic is a San Juan from the Clark Boat company of Renton. And if you want the Juans to show up in numbers the only Juan to invite is the San Juan 21.
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Aug
25
2007
While there were only a couple of times where I crossed the line absolutely last, Limpet had never been even remotely close to crossing the line first. That is until today! The wind, water, and fates aligned for Limpet to claim her first victory, then her second, then her third. Basically my friend David Coons and I were a couple poor starts away from putting on a complete clinic. It didn’t hurt that the two fastest boats in the fleet were not in attendance, but I won’t let little things like facts get in the way of my delusions of grandeur. Continue Reading »
Aug
07
2007
My San Juan 21 “Limpet” came with a full compliment of Sails when I bought her in October 2007. Unfortunately all the sails appear to be original 1974 equipment.
They all have the tattered remains of the Clark boat company logo sewn into the foot, and they are all dirtier than a Tijuana politician, and more neglected than a televangelist’s conscience. The San Juan logo and numbers had long ago fallen off, though they did leave a slightly lighter area of dingy grey as a memory of where they had once resided.
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Jul
08
2007
It all started out innocent enough, a sunny day in Seattle just right for a sailing my San Juan 21, Limpet on Elliot
Bay with the Family. Unfortunately, it quickly descended into the great screaming toddler cruise of 2007.
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Jun
25
2007
I just returned from 2 weeks in Norway!!!
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