windwords more experience. more time on the water. more
TRANSCRIPT
Tradewinds Sailing School and Club More Experience. More Time on
the Water. More Fun.
From the Helm
Typically by November we are slowing down a bit and looking for projects to improve our fleet, but this year it seems that everyone wants to keep on sailing! That’s absolutely fine with us, we are keeping up with maintenance and repairs just fine. Keep those boats out on the water where they belong!
We have added two new boats to the Platinum fleet and bumped a couple down to Gold. We also have a new boat coming into the Silver fleet sometime in the next month— keep your eyes open for e-mail announce- ments and checkouts. We don’t plan to stop there, we have a few more fleet surprises in store for this winter to beef up our fleet for the next sailing season. Tell your friends!
The Sail Trim class was completely full and very successful—we plan to run this one again after New Years, so keep your eyes peeled for that. We are also scheduling some other seminar-type classes during the win- ter—Splicing, Sail Repair, and more! Check out Page 2 and make sure you don’t miss any of them.
We have a Food Bank donation barrel in the office, so if you would like to donate some non-perishable food, please bring it with you when you go sailing.
Don’t forget we will be closing the of- fice on Thanksgiving Day and the day after. Go sailing, but keep that emergency number handy in case you need to reach us.
Smooth Sailing,
Contents
Events & Announcements 2 Sailing Classes 3 Checkout Schedule 3 La Paz Adventure 4 Thailand Adventure 5 Finisterre Delivery 8 Sailing the Greek Islands 11 Nautical Terminator 13 Cleat Hitch Article 14
What new adventures do you plan to experience in 2010? Are you ready to go to Baja or Thai- land? Check out our upcoming
trips on pages 5-10
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Nov 7 5pm– 9pm
Sacramento Social - Dave and Teresa Arnold along with Dick and Sylvia Stuart are hosting
a Sacramento Social for Tradewinds Members at their home in Sacramento. This is a way for all the Sacramento members to get to know each other without driving to San Francisco. Of course, members from anywhere are invited! Details are in last month’s newsletter, available on our website.
Nov 14 10am- Noon
Splicing & Knots Seminar - West Marine Rigging Specialists will be holding a splicing and
knots seminar here at our facility. Ever wonder how that rode is attached to the anchor chain? Here’s your chance to learn! $20/members, $30/non-members.
Nov 14 1pm- 3pm
CPA Seminar for boats in Charter companies - This seminar will be held at Passage
Yachts facility in Brickyard Cove Marina. All of the benefits buying a boat to put into charter will be discussed and questions answered. Tradewinds plans to increase the fleet by 3 to 5 boats in 2010!
Nov 21 10am- Noon
Sail Repair and Kits Seminar - Angie Rowland will open up her sail repair kit and give
you a peek! She’ll show you what you should take with you and how to use it to make minor sail repairs underway. She’ll also give some insight into how to tell if sails are nearing the end of their life or if they should be repaired.
Dec 5 6pm- 9pm
Christmas Party - It’s our annual Tradewinds Christmas Party! Always the best social of the
year. Bring your favorite dish and drinks and socialize with Tradewinds members. It's always a good idea to bring some business cards or other contact info as well. Our socials are a great way to meet people to sail with.
Dec 12 6pm- 9pm
Marina Bay Lighted Christmas Parade - If you have the brightest house in the
neighborhood at Xmas and like boats, this event is for you! Watch for an email with all of the details within the next couple of weeks. We expect to let our members check out boats and decorate them to participate in the parade!
More Fun.
Welcome New Members
Ina Stahl Eugene Weiss Jack Smith Pater Swann John Lyons Mike Appleby Ted Olsson Rob Hartley Chuck Kight Rich Lovato Marie Mallannao Shellie Bench Anthony Meixner
New Boat and Fleet Change
New Boat in the Platinum Fleet: Whale Song (Jeanneau 43) - this boat will be active and available for charter mid-November. Watch your calendar for checkouts. If you attended your ACC (ASA 106) class on this boat, call us and we’ll add the certification to your ac- count. Fleet moves: Redeemed (Hunter 35) has now moved to Gold Fleet
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Classes
The following classes currently have at least one opening. Check the web calendar to view all open classes in an easy-to-read format. Call the office if you have any questions or if you are ready to sign up.
Prices are listed as NON-MEMBER/MEMBER
Basic Keelboat ($595/$495) Nov 8,14,15 Nov 14,15,21 Nov 16,17,18 Basic Coastal Cruising ($795/$695) Nov 7,8,14 Nov 15,21,22 Nov 18,19,20
Advanced Anchoring ($195/$175) Nov 21 Radar Course ($295/$275) Nov 21,22 - 6 openings
More Experience.
Boat Checkouts
Remember, checkouts are free and the more boats you are checked out on, the easier it is for you to go sailing on any given day! There are openings in the following checkouts, remember to call the office and schedule it if you can attend.
Date
Time
Nov 1 11am 4202 - True Love (Platinum)
Nov 7 9am 4301— Whale Song (Platinum)
Nov 7 11am 3403 - Na Mara (Gold)
Nov 8 9am 3103 - Clio (Silver)
Nov 8 11am 3801 - Black Pearl (Gold)
Nov 8 1pm 3503 - Redeemed (Gold)
Nov 14 9am 2803 - Toba Leah (Silver)
Nov 14 11am 3401 - Pink Slip (Platinum)
Nov 14 1pm 3503— Redeemed (Gold)
Nov 15 9am 3009 - Risky (Silver)
Nov 15 11am 3402 - Lucy! (Gold)
Nov 15 1pm 4301— Whale Song (Platinum)
Nov 21 9am 3011 - Amazing Grace (Silver)
Nov 21 11am 3603 - Home Free (Platinum)
Nov 21 1pm 3503— Redeemed (Gold)
Nov 22 9am 3104 - Megalina (Gold)
Nov 22 11am 4201 - Galen (Platinum)
Nov 22 1pm 4301— Whale Song (Platinum)
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La Paz/Sea of Cortez July 1st - 9th, 2010
Join Brandy, Matt & Family on this magnificent charter!
Sail through the desert. The stunning contrast of calm blue wa- ter against the arid backdrop of the Baja Peninsula seems surreal at first. Effortlessly you sail past impossibly rugged terrain. Thick forests of cardn cactus cling to the jagged slopes around you. The Sea of Cortez offers easy navigation, sand-bottom anchorages, and a pro- tected cruising area both winter and summer. You are surrounded by deserted islands, quiet beaches, mountains, and magnificent scenery. Hiking, snorkeling, diving, whale watching, fishing, and bird-watching are almost as rewarding as sailing here. You're certain to have plenty of company here - a sea-going escort of thriving wildlife. Visitors are mesmerized by the company of migrating whales, dolphins and majestic manta rays. Expect the rau- cous serenade of sea lions basking on shore. Beyond their echoes are the quiet desert world of craggy mountains and cactus forests. Sail among the uninhabited islands and well protected anchorages combin- ing reddish-gold mountains and sapphire-blue water. Counter this seclusion and tranquility with fine dining, nightlife and shopping in La Paz and you've got one of the most enjoyable and rewarding sailing vacations possi- ble. Cost per cabin is $2600 for Tradewinds Members and $3000 for non-members. This rate includes your cabin, provisions (minus beverages, and the cost of eating at a restaurant on the final evening), and hotel the final night. You may book your own flight or join in our group rate of $675 per person from San Francisco International Airport to La Paz. The initial deposit to reserve a cabin is $400. We expect to fill all of our cabins quick, so don’t delay. The second deposit of an additional
$700 is due by January 1, 2010. The final payment of $1500 for members and $1900 for non-members is due May 1, 2010. You are welcome to book your own flight in order to use airline miles or travel to arrive early or leave late. If you choose to take advantage of our group airfare rate, a deposit of $200 will also be due at time of booking, with the remaining $475 due on May 1, 2010. Please pay close attention to the cancella- tion policy below.
The Fine Print: The price listed includes all taxes and fuel surcharges as of October 1st, 2009. If the airlines add new fuel surcharges or invent new taxes, we may have to pass these on to you. We don’t expect it to get worse, but we have to warn you just in case. Cancellation Policy: 6 months before departure, full refund. 6 months to 90 days, loss of deposits. Less than 90 days before departure, no refund.
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Finisterre’s delivery from Panama to Florida. Being a brief account of the Finisterre’s delivery form Panama to Florida.
Tradewinds instructor Mike Heath needed to bring his sloop, Finisterre, a 44’ Nautic Santionge from Panama to Florida. It was stored on the hard at Shelter Bay Marina Colon, Panama. He asked Bob Kimble, another Tradewinds instructor, John At- taway, a Tradewinds member, and friend Steve Thomas to help with the delivery. In late April 2009, they met in Colon, prepared the well-fitted boat, and were soon off on May 1, beginning with a 4- hour upwind sail to Portobello. The bay of Portobello is beautiful, and the town is built around and over ruins of the colonial period. We were there in the afternoon and enjoyed the town square until the scruffy, if festive locals began focusing heavily on the rum portion of their Friday night celebrations. The next morn- ing we began another upwind sail that
brought us to the San Blas Islands. Another upwind sail with many tacks along the green and rocky coast helped us clean out our systems and gain tolerance for lumpy days to come.
On an earlier visit, Mike and his wife Kay had met a Kuna Indian family on Gunboat Island led by Adelaida and Priciliano. The Heaths had made them colorful “business” cards so we made our way to make delivery. We tried to trade an old sail for one of the molas or bracelets the Kuna women are famous for. We were reminded that there is a definite separation of re- sources between the sexes among the Kuna. Adelaida may have been happy that Priciliano scored a sail, but if we wanted her handiwork, dollars would need to be exchanged. When we finally bid them farewell, Adelaida was a bit richer, Priciliano got his sail and two fine bracelets were aboard Finisterre.
Our next leg was about 40 hours to Isla Providencia, Columbia. We were treated with moderate seas as we close reached into the steady trades that held for the rest of the Caribbean portion of the voyage. Providencia is pleasantly out of the way, but we did encounter 12 cruisers at anchor when we dropped ours near Morgan’s Crack. Most of the population is bilingual (English and Spanish) we happily discovered, and we spent parts of three days, re-provisioning, calling home and enjoying the small town and its friendly people. The Finisterre crew gives big thumbs up to Provi- dencia for those looking for an out of the way Caribbean retreat. The crew spe- cifically recommends the Bamboo Café across the bridge on the small neighbor island of Santa Catalina. The owner shared with us a wealth of island informa- tion, cooked a delightful selection of local seafood, and her mom next-door does boaters’ laundry. On the morning of the 8th we headed toward
the mainland of Central America. There had been hope that we could head more northerly to the Cayman Islands, but the forecast and winds pushed our plans to the west. About 30 hours later we approached Cayo Vivorillo (Vivario Cays) Honduras, which is uninhabited and around 60 miles off a not very developed coast. Both before and after these cays, for an extensive time we were usually in water no more than 50 meters in depth. We anchored in the lee of the reef on the morning of the 9th and made our way ashore by way of a brief visit to our only neighbors on a nearby sloop. Not being sure what their chemical imbalance was, we continued on to the island. It is approxi- mately 2 acres with an abandoned 2-story cement structure, hundreds of Mag- nificent Frigatebirds perched and in flight, wood lobster traps piled high, and blood seeking punkies (no-see-ums). Steve unpacked his Hawaiian sling on our reef adventure the next morning and got a shot off at one of a pair of 8” Caribbean Reef Squid. It escaped.
More Fun.
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On Monday the 11th, we headed for Cabo San Antonio at the west end of Cuba. On Tuesday, what was likely a warbler (bright yellow breast) paid us a half hour visit as it rested on deck aft of the mast. That afternoon, we were also visited by around 25 Spotted Dolphins. A White Tailed Tropicbird briefly fluttered around the mast on Wednesday, otherwise, the western Caribbean seemed pretty empty to us. By the afternoon of the 13th we aimed for the small Marina Gaviota. The way in was marked by a wreck along shore, and because of extensive shal- lows, we watched both depth sounders closely as we finally made it to an anchor- age as light was fading. The following morning, we skiffed in and tried to land on the dock, but were waved off by an official from the Interior Ministry. He wanted our papers and boat documentation and said he would call us on VHF to tell us when we could return and land. Because it was too shallow a channel for Finis- terre to make it in to the dock, and because there was a moderate chop, what fol- lowed was a long morning with Mike shuttling a series of increasingly wet offi- cials and one drug sniffing dog from the
dock to the boat so they could conduct inspections and free us to land. We were delayed here through the next morning, as we waited for a re- lieving official to check us out. The next 30 or so hours became a transition from our tropical tradewinds sail to a more “northerly” experience. The NW coast of Cuba has extensive reef protection which made us head out for deeper water, where unfortunately, a westerly countercurrent lurked. There was light wind, our speed dropped and we resorted to the engine. In the afternoon we approached a squally area. The wind increased and the skipper ordered all sails up. We soon found ourselves between two cells with heavy rain, and lightning. One strike, off
to starboard, which we will all remember for- ever, was just about con- current with a resounding thunderclap. When things finally calmed down a bit, Steve posed the question: “When approaching a storm, aren’t you sup- posed to reduce sail instead of power up?” We decided to go in for the night to Bahia Honda, a large protected bay with nu- merous hulks of ships waiting to be broken down for scrap. We anchored off the civil guard pier, and momentarily spotted a guarda rowing out to us. He was in a rustic rig with rope oarlocks and homemade oars. He informed us that to check out of Cuba we had to proceed to Marina Hemingway (Havana). This was a disap- pointment, as we had wanted to head north from there due to a
forecast of poor weather closing in later in the week. We motored to Havana the next morning and got to spend more time with official Cuba and another drug-sniffing dog before being shown to a side tie on a concrete dock. Marina Hemingway must have been quite the showplace when it opened in 1959, just
before Batista got booted out. By now the elements and dis- use have left it a bit rough with abundant jagged concrete. Be- cause the forecast gave us a short win- dow to make it to Florida, we decided to put off for another time our exploration of old Havana. We followed the recom- mendation from the Marina staff and arrived at immigration by 7:30am. The offi- cials were ready to go home after their all night shift, and processed us relatively quickly. By the way, it appeared to us that Cuba offers cruising grounds aplenty, and visitors may find many anchorages lightly used by other cruisers.
More Experience.
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We motored across the Florida Straits with a backdrop of huge thunderheads lining the Cuban coast, and mostly clear skies ahead. Late morning, a small pod of either False or Pygmy Killer Whales passed by without stopping, and we landed our first Dorado. We approached Marathon around 2am and, just as a deluge hit we lost vision to any lights or landmarks and had to drop the hook on instruments only. We woke to a fine morning with 7-Mile Bridge looping away to the west. Part of the day was spent at anchor, then we were off again for an overnight motor to Miami. Checking back in to the US was illuminating. We were told to take a taxi to the Immigration and Customs office, where, after about 15 minutes, our pass- ports and boat papers were returned and we were sent on our way. There was no inspection of the boat, which had been out of the country for 6 years! The municipal marina was in the center of downtown and we were soon re-saturated with ex-
cessive lifestyle and consumption choices. While there, we met a French two-man crew of a small yellow sloop flying the flag of the Netherlands. Mike asked them about the flag and they said that the boat had been purchased in the Netherlands, and since the flag is similar to the French flag, they had never bothered to change it. Mike was the first person to have spot- ted this in all their travels! Let this be a small illustrative example of the knowledge and pro- fessionalism our skipper brought to this trip. There may have been a couple minor disagree- ments about coffee, but otherwise, we felt completely at ease with his navigation and decision making throughout the voyage.
We next unsuccessfully attempted to beat the lingering thunderstorms that were pep- pering Florida and had to pull back into shelter at Palm Beach that evening. We then utilized the safe and sane Inter Coastal Waterway (ICW) for 40 miles to Fort Pierce. As we headed back out to the Atlantic on Monday the 25th, in a fairly developed area, we spotted what looked like two manatees leisurely rolling and splashing.
For the next two days we mostly motored up the coast. We had glassy seas and passed close to and surprised several resting turtles, which were probably loggerheads, saw hundreds, if not thousands of Golden Eagle Rays, and had another group of Spotted Dolphins briefly join us. During the early morning of the 26th, off shore of Cape Canaveral, Bob and John saw what must have been a submarine launch of a rocket, with bright light, then 1st and 2nd stages and an exhaust plume against a starry backdrop. As we approached the St Mary’s River and the Florida-Georgia border, we dodged shrimp trawlers in the now turbid water coming out from the St. Mary’s drainage. We made it in to an anchorage opposite the friendly and picturesque Fernandina Beach. The next morning, Bob and John arranged to depart while Steve and Mike stayed on to put the boat up at Tiger Point Marina in Fernandina. Would we do it again? At the drop of a hat!
More Fun.
Sailing the Greek Islands:
Things Never to Do
By William McGinnis Mary climbed up to the elevated bridge of our 42-foot Lagoon catamaran, saying, "Watch out. With my luck we'll get doused by a big wave." Emboldened by my having somehow stayed dry for the last 15 minutes, I foolishly said, "Don't worry. I'll protect you with my force field." I had no sooner uttered these imprudent words, which very likely did not please the gods of the Aegean, than a huge wave lifted and inundated the big cat's starboard hull, violently rotating the boat to a 45 degree tilt, simultaneously immersing us with foam, blasting us off the high bridge, and propelling us into free fall to port. Mary slid from view. I plunged backward and downward through the air, with the world flying past my peripheral vision, like falling backwards down a long tunnel of foam. The ship's wheel, instru- ments, winches, chrome bridge railings, a fiberglass stairway and mountains of exploding popcorn spray flew by— until, by some stroke of luck or the grace of some forgiving deity, I landed on my back, stunned, with a huge lump on my head, bruised but OK. Mary had caught belly over the bridge railing, while I had flown past, taking the long trajectory many feet down to the floor of the catamaran's stern dining area. I was very, very lucky not to have bro- ken my neck! This was our biggest wave so far. Everything not tied down throughout the boat had gone flying. Our ship was a royal mess, but everyone was OK. My walnut-sized bump on the head was our worst injury; we had gotten off lightly. Struggling in the 35-plus-knot meltemi gale, with sails 30% reefed, on the 8-hour crossing from the Cyclades Islands to the Peloponnesian peninsula, racing to stay ahead of even worse weather, our catamaran pitched, rolled and yawed like a big, square, buoyant cork. (Give me a mono-hull any day--especially in strong winds!) Looking out across those marching, cresting, relentlessly oncoming rollers stretching to the horizon, with hearts pounding and fear dancing up our spines, we were--amazingly yet undeniably--thrilled to be there, elated to be alive. Ever since I can remember, it has been my dream to sail the Greek Islands in the wake of Odysseus. So, two years ago I set about realizing this dream: Researching Greek history and the Greek Islands; reading/rereading Thucy- dides, Herodotus, Homer and others (my favorites: Charles Rowan Beye's Odysseus: A Life and Steven Press- field's historical novels The Virtue of War and Gates of Fire); learning to speak some Greek; studying Rod Heikell's Greek Waters Pilot; getting bids from Aegean bareboat chartering companies; and rounding up a crew of kindred spirits willing to share the cost and adventure of this plunge into the unknown. One thing I learned early on was that the Greek Coast Guard requires all bareboat skippers--and their first mates-- to be certified for bareboating through a sanctioned organization like the American Sailing Association. I learned to sail at age 12 and have sailed on and off ever since, mostly on San Francisco Bay, where the strong winds, racing tidal currents, frequent fog and constant shipping traffic steaming in and out at 20 knots tend to develop a certain sailing competency. I had raced classic wooden Golden Gates, risked my neck in a tipsy 17-foot sailing canoe (the best boat I had access to at the time), crossed the Gulf Stream to the Bahamas on my friend Bud Robyn's Bruce Farr 72 Dream Voyager, and skippered a bareboat Beneteau 38 for 10 days in the Virgin Islands. I had assumed I'd fly by the seat of my pants as Aegean skipper, figuring it out as I went, but instead I was inspired by this Greek Coast Guard requirement to take, together with my son Will and daughter Aly, the necessary certify- ing classes at Tradewinds Sailing School, which is near where I live in the east bay across from San Francisco. This, it turned out, was one of the best things to come out of the trip. Not only did I learn to sail with more confi- dence, filling in gaps in my sailing know-how that I was previously unaware of, but I--and to some extent my kids-- awakened to the incredible fun of sailing our home waters of San Francisco Bay in the diverse Tradewinds fleet.
More Experience.
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Another hurtle I faced was putting together a two-week crew. If I was going all the way to Greece, I reasoned, it only made sense to sail for at least two weeks. Unfortunately, my potential crew members could get away for only one week. So my solution was to have one crew for the first week, and another the second week. The first week's crew was so big, by the way, that it required a second boat. In as much as this made the trip possible, it was a good idea. But in as much as this led to major logistical headaches, it was not. More on this in a bit.
Let's jump to the trip: Will, Aly and I, who were the only ones on the full two-week itinerary (actually it was three- weeks including our Classic Greece land tour before the sail), flew into El Venizelos Athens airport where we were met by my friend Stephanos Moussouras, the owner of Catamaran Hellas ([email protected]). I had met Stephanos online and in San Francisco a year earlier in the course of researching Greek catamaran charter compa- nies. Even though we were not chartering his boat, Stephanos was an incredible host, playing Athens tour guide, helping us fine tune our two-week sailing itinerary through the Cyclades Islands, and even wining and dining us in fabulous Greek check-grabbing fashion.
It was from Stephanos that I got my first inklings of approaching trouble: His face fell when I told him that we had hired a Greek captain for our second boat, and he said, "Oh no! Greek charter captains are notoriously lazy." And when I told him we had ordered provisions through the charter company, he said, "Oh no! They charge double to triple what you'd pay buying them yourself." Of course, at that point our plans were set, and we were going forward regardless.
Day 1: Just getting to the Alimos/Kalamaki Marina, where our catamarans awaited us, proved to be a wild adven- ture. With the best of intentions the charter company had hired a luxurious air-conditioned bus with Russian driver. Unfortunately, the bus was much too large for the extremely narrow streets of Athens' historic Plaka district sur- rounding the Acropolis, where our group of four families was spread out between two hotels and a rental villa. Plus, the driver spoke limited Greek and no English; had no idea where the hotels, the marina or seemingly any- thing else was located; and throughout our time with him exuded the body language of a person about to explode with rage. What could have been a 30-minute taxi ride turned into half a day of missed connections, countless wrong turns, and hours of inching along crowded ancient marble streets barely wide enough for a small Fiat. At times we literally had to lift parked cars and motorcycles aside to make way for our massively wide bus. At one point, with our driver utterly lost, we were saved when half our group appeared Zeus-like out of nowhere. Bruce Lessels, an intrepid 6-foot-5 former Olympic kayaker and president of Zoar Outdoor in Massachusetts, had some- how ingeniously anticipated the route of our lost and wayward bus, and had walked his contingent from their hotel through the maze-like Plaka district to achieve a deus-ex-machina rendezvous that defied belief. Impressively, our group remained wide-eyed and upbeat, even developing an Achilles-like enthusiasm for muscling and bouncing cars up onto sidewalks.
As for me, I was already feeling border-line overwhelm. I like to prepare my crew for what is to come, ease them into things, teach them ahead of time what they'll need to know. But I myself was diving into an unknown sea, leap- ing into skippering in a part of the world utterly new to me, with new language and customs, new weather and sea conditions, new boats and a whole new universe of rocks, reefs, islands and confusing land masses where even the clever Odysseus, whose idea for the Trojan horse won the Trojan War, wandered lost for ten years. To provide at least a semblance of leadership, and hopefully to reassure my own overwhelmed inner self, during this bus ordeal I gave a sort of orientation talk to my group of novice sailors. I stressed the basics of not falling overboard, respond- ing if someone did go overboard, using plenty of sun screen, staying hydrated and conserving ship's water. I as- signed/reaffirmed key roles of head chef/food managers and water supply monitor teams.
The Alimos/Kalimaki Marina was a mad house pulsating with hustle and bustle. Gorgeous yachts of every descrip- tion extended as far as the eye could see. Every boat seemed to be a beehive of activity, many loading and head- ing out, many apparently going nowhere, just teeming with people partying at the quays. With bags in hand, our motley group of 8 adults and 6 kids followed Circe (pronounced SEAR see), the charter company representative, through the confusion and sweltering 90+ degree heat out along a concrete quay lined with fabulous yachts all med moored, that is, moored stern-to the quay--see side bar below.
This short story is too long for our newsletter! You can find the rest of it on our message board in the “Sea Stories” section.
More Fun.
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The Nautical Terminator Tradewinds Instructor Marianne Wheeler Where does the word, Yacht come from? Yacht (pronounced /jt/, from Dutch jacht meaning hunting or hunt, compare German Jagd) was originally defined as a light, fast sailing vessel used by the Dutch navy to pursue pirates and other transgressors around and into the shallow waters of the Low Countries. They were also used for non-military governmental roles such as customs duties and delivering pilots to waiting ships. The latter use attracted the attention of wealthy Dutch merchants who began to build private yachts so they could be taken out to greet their returning ships. Soon wealthy individuals began to use their 'jachts' for pleasure trips. By the start of the 17th century 'jachts' came in two broad catergories- speel-jachts for sport and oorlog-jachts for naval duties. By the middle of the century large 'jacht' fleets were found around the Dutch coast and the Dutch states organised large 'reviews' of private and war yachts for special occasions, thus putting in place the groundwork for the modern sport of yachting. Jachts of this period varied greatly in size, from around 40ft in length to being equal to the lower classes of the ship of the line. All had a form of fore/aft gaff rig with a flat bottom and lee boards to allow operations in shallow waters. The gaff rig remained the principle rig found on small European yachts for centuries until giving way to the 'Bermudan sloop' rig in the 1960s. Charles II of England spent part of his time in exile during the period of the Commonwealth of England in the Netherlands and became keen on sailing. He returned to England in 1660 aboard a Dutch yacht. During his reign Charles commissioned 24 Royal Yachts on top of the two presented to him by Dutch states on his restoration. As the fashion for yachting spread throughout the English aristocracy yacht races began to become common. Other rich individuals in Europe built yachts as the sport spread. Yachting therefore became a purely recreational form of sailing with no commercial or military function (see, for example, the Cox & King yachts at the beginning of the 20th Century), which still serves a broad definition of both the sport and of the vessel.
Book your travel on our website!
Did you know that you can now book travel through our Tradewinds web site. From our home-page (www.TradewindsSailing.com) just click on the Travel discount link under More Fun! Remember, you can also book your sail boat charters through us for savings on vacations around the world.
More Time on the Water.
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From the Helm
Typically by November we are slowing down a bit and looking for projects to improve our fleet, but this year it seems that everyone wants to keep on sailing! That’s absolutely fine with us, we are keeping up with maintenance and repairs just fine. Keep those boats out on the water where they belong!
We have added two new boats to the Platinum fleet and bumped a couple down to Gold. We also have a new boat coming into the Silver fleet sometime in the next month— keep your eyes open for e-mail announce- ments and checkouts. We don’t plan to stop there, we have a few more fleet surprises in store for this winter to beef up our fleet for the next sailing season. Tell your friends!
The Sail Trim class was completely full and very successful—we plan to run this one again after New Years, so keep your eyes peeled for that. We are also scheduling some other seminar-type classes during the win- ter—Splicing, Sail Repair, and more! Check out Page 2 and make sure you don’t miss any of them.
We have a Food Bank donation barrel in the office, so if you would like to donate some non-perishable food, please bring it with you when you go sailing.
Don’t forget we will be closing the of- fice on Thanksgiving Day and the day after. Go sailing, but keep that emergency number handy in case you need to reach us.
Smooth Sailing,
Contents
Events & Announcements 2 Sailing Classes 3 Checkout Schedule 3 La Paz Adventure 4 Thailand Adventure 5 Finisterre Delivery 8 Sailing the Greek Islands 11 Nautical Terminator 13 Cleat Hitch Article 14
What new adventures do you plan to experience in 2010? Are you ready to go to Baja or Thai- land? Check out our upcoming
trips on pages 5-10
2
Nov 7 5pm– 9pm
Sacramento Social - Dave and Teresa Arnold along with Dick and Sylvia Stuart are hosting
a Sacramento Social for Tradewinds Members at their home in Sacramento. This is a way for all the Sacramento members to get to know each other without driving to San Francisco. Of course, members from anywhere are invited! Details are in last month’s newsletter, available on our website.
Nov 14 10am- Noon
Splicing & Knots Seminar - West Marine Rigging Specialists will be holding a splicing and
knots seminar here at our facility. Ever wonder how that rode is attached to the anchor chain? Here’s your chance to learn! $20/members, $30/non-members.
Nov 14 1pm- 3pm
CPA Seminar for boats in Charter companies - This seminar will be held at Passage
Yachts facility in Brickyard Cove Marina. All of the benefits buying a boat to put into charter will be discussed and questions answered. Tradewinds plans to increase the fleet by 3 to 5 boats in 2010!
Nov 21 10am- Noon
Sail Repair and Kits Seminar - Angie Rowland will open up her sail repair kit and give
you a peek! She’ll show you what you should take with you and how to use it to make minor sail repairs underway. She’ll also give some insight into how to tell if sails are nearing the end of their life or if they should be repaired.
Dec 5 6pm- 9pm
Christmas Party - It’s our annual Tradewinds Christmas Party! Always the best social of the
year. Bring your favorite dish and drinks and socialize with Tradewinds members. It's always a good idea to bring some business cards or other contact info as well. Our socials are a great way to meet people to sail with.
Dec 12 6pm- 9pm
Marina Bay Lighted Christmas Parade - If you have the brightest house in the
neighborhood at Xmas and like boats, this event is for you! Watch for an email with all of the details within the next couple of weeks. We expect to let our members check out boats and decorate them to participate in the parade!
More Fun.
Welcome New Members
Ina Stahl Eugene Weiss Jack Smith Pater Swann John Lyons Mike Appleby Ted Olsson Rob Hartley Chuck Kight Rich Lovato Marie Mallannao Shellie Bench Anthony Meixner
New Boat and Fleet Change
New Boat in the Platinum Fleet: Whale Song (Jeanneau 43) - this boat will be active and available for charter mid-November. Watch your calendar for checkouts. If you attended your ACC (ASA 106) class on this boat, call us and we’ll add the certification to your ac- count. Fleet moves: Redeemed (Hunter 35) has now moved to Gold Fleet
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Classes
The following classes currently have at least one opening. Check the web calendar to view all open classes in an easy-to-read format. Call the office if you have any questions or if you are ready to sign up.
Prices are listed as NON-MEMBER/MEMBER
Basic Keelboat ($595/$495) Nov 8,14,15 Nov 14,15,21 Nov 16,17,18 Basic Coastal Cruising ($795/$695) Nov 7,8,14 Nov 15,21,22 Nov 18,19,20
Advanced Anchoring ($195/$175) Nov 21 Radar Course ($295/$275) Nov 21,22 - 6 openings
More Experience.
Boat Checkouts
Remember, checkouts are free and the more boats you are checked out on, the easier it is for you to go sailing on any given day! There are openings in the following checkouts, remember to call the office and schedule it if you can attend.
Date
Time
Nov 1 11am 4202 - True Love (Platinum)
Nov 7 9am 4301— Whale Song (Platinum)
Nov 7 11am 3403 - Na Mara (Gold)
Nov 8 9am 3103 - Clio (Silver)
Nov 8 11am 3801 - Black Pearl (Gold)
Nov 8 1pm 3503 - Redeemed (Gold)
Nov 14 9am 2803 - Toba Leah (Silver)
Nov 14 11am 3401 - Pink Slip (Platinum)
Nov 14 1pm 3503— Redeemed (Gold)
Nov 15 9am 3009 - Risky (Silver)
Nov 15 11am 3402 - Lucy! (Gold)
Nov 15 1pm 4301— Whale Song (Platinum)
Nov 21 9am 3011 - Amazing Grace (Silver)
Nov 21 11am 3603 - Home Free (Platinum)
Nov 21 1pm 3503— Redeemed (Gold)
Nov 22 9am 3104 - Megalina (Gold)
Nov 22 11am 4201 - Galen (Platinum)
Nov 22 1pm 4301— Whale Song (Platinum)
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La Paz/Sea of Cortez July 1st - 9th, 2010
Join Brandy, Matt & Family on this magnificent charter!
Sail through the desert. The stunning contrast of calm blue wa- ter against the arid backdrop of the Baja Peninsula seems surreal at first. Effortlessly you sail past impossibly rugged terrain. Thick forests of cardn cactus cling to the jagged slopes around you. The Sea of Cortez offers easy navigation, sand-bottom anchorages, and a pro- tected cruising area both winter and summer. You are surrounded by deserted islands, quiet beaches, mountains, and magnificent scenery. Hiking, snorkeling, diving, whale watching, fishing, and bird-watching are almost as rewarding as sailing here. You're certain to have plenty of company here - a sea-going escort of thriving wildlife. Visitors are mesmerized by the company of migrating whales, dolphins and majestic manta rays. Expect the rau- cous serenade of sea lions basking on shore. Beyond their echoes are the quiet desert world of craggy mountains and cactus forests. Sail among the uninhabited islands and well protected anchorages combin- ing reddish-gold mountains and sapphire-blue water. Counter this seclusion and tranquility with fine dining, nightlife and shopping in La Paz and you've got one of the most enjoyable and rewarding sailing vacations possi- ble. Cost per cabin is $2600 for Tradewinds Members and $3000 for non-members. This rate includes your cabin, provisions (minus beverages, and the cost of eating at a restaurant on the final evening), and hotel the final night. You may book your own flight or join in our group rate of $675 per person from San Francisco International Airport to La Paz. The initial deposit to reserve a cabin is $400. We expect to fill all of our cabins quick, so don’t delay. The second deposit of an additional
$700 is due by January 1, 2010. The final payment of $1500 for members and $1900 for non-members is due May 1, 2010. You are welcome to book your own flight in order to use airline miles or travel to arrive early or leave late. If you choose to take advantage of our group airfare rate, a deposit of $200 will also be due at time of booking, with the remaining $475 due on May 1, 2010. Please pay close attention to the cancella- tion policy below.
The Fine Print: The price listed includes all taxes and fuel surcharges as of October 1st, 2009. If the airlines add new fuel surcharges or invent new taxes, we may have to pass these on to you. We don’t expect it to get worse, but we have to warn you just in case. Cancellation Policy: 6 months before departure, full refund. 6 months to 90 days, loss of deposits. Less than 90 days before departure, no refund.
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Finisterre’s delivery from Panama to Florida. Being a brief account of the Finisterre’s delivery form Panama to Florida.
Tradewinds instructor Mike Heath needed to bring his sloop, Finisterre, a 44’ Nautic Santionge from Panama to Florida. It was stored on the hard at Shelter Bay Marina Colon, Panama. He asked Bob Kimble, another Tradewinds instructor, John At- taway, a Tradewinds member, and friend Steve Thomas to help with the delivery. In late April 2009, they met in Colon, prepared the well-fitted boat, and were soon off on May 1, beginning with a 4- hour upwind sail to Portobello. The bay of Portobello is beautiful, and the town is built around and over ruins of the colonial period. We were there in the afternoon and enjoyed the town square until the scruffy, if festive locals began focusing heavily on the rum portion of their Friday night celebrations. The next morn- ing we began another upwind sail that
brought us to the San Blas Islands. Another upwind sail with many tacks along the green and rocky coast helped us clean out our systems and gain tolerance for lumpy days to come.
On an earlier visit, Mike and his wife Kay had met a Kuna Indian family on Gunboat Island led by Adelaida and Priciliano. The Heaths had made them colorful “business” cards so we made our way to make delivery. We tried to trade an old sail for one of the molas or bracelets the Kuna women are famous for. We were reminded that there is a definite separation of re- sources between the sexes among the Kuna. Adelaida may have been happy that Priciliano scored a sail, but if we wanted her handiwork, dollars would need to be exchanged. When we finally bid them farewell, Adelaida was a bit richer, Priciliano got his sail and two fine bracelets were aboard Finisterre.
Our next leg was about 40 hours to Isla Providencia, Columbia. We were treated with moderate seas as we close reached into the steady trades that held for the rest of the Caribbean portion of the voyage. Providencia is pleasantly out of the way, but we did encounter 12 cruisers at anchor when we dropped ours near Morgan’s Crack. Most of the population is bilingual (English and Spanish) we happily discovered, and we spent parts of three days, re-provisioning, calling home and enjoying the small town and its friendly people. The Finisterre crew gives big thumbs up to Provi- dencia for those looking for an out of the way Caribbean retreat. The crew spe- cifically recommends the Bamboo Café across the bridge on the small neighbor island of Santa Catalina. The owner shared with us a wealth of island informa- tion, cooked a delightful selection of local seafood, and her mom next-door does boaters’ laundry. On the morning of the 8th we headed toward
the mainland of Central America. There had been hope that we could head more northerly to the Cayman Islands, but the forecast and winds pushed our plans to the west. About 30 hours later we approached Cayo Vivorillo (Vivario Cays) Honduras, which is uninhabited and around 60 miles off a not very developed coast. Both before and after these cays, for an extensive time we were usually in water no more than 50 meters in depth. We anchored in the lee of the reef on the morning of the 9th and made our way ashore by way of a brief visit to our only neighbors on a nearby sloop. Not being sure what their chemical imbalance was, we continued on to the island. It is approxi- mately 2 acres with an abandoned 2-story cement structure, hundreds of Mag- nificent Frigatebirds perched and in flight, wood lobster traps piled high, and blood seeking punkies (no-see-ums). Steve unpacked his Hawaiian sling on our reef adventure the next morning and got a shot off at one of a pair of 8” Caribbean Reef Squid. It escaped.
More Fun.
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On Monday the 11th, we headed for Cabo San Antonio at the west end of Cuba. On Tuesday, what was likely a warbler (bright yellow breast) paid us a half hour visit as it rested on deck aft of the mast. That afternoon, we were also visited by around 25 Spotted Dolphins. A White Tailed Tropicbird briefly fluttered around the mast on Wednesday, otherwise, the western Caribbean seemed pretty empty to us. By the afternoon of the 13th we aimed for the small Marina Gaviota. The way in was marked by a wreck along shore, and because of extensive shal- lows, we watched both depth sounders closely as we finally made it to an anchor- age as light was fading. The following morning, we skiffed in and tried to land on the dock, but were waved off by an official from the Interior Ministry. He wanted our papers and boat documentation and said he would call us on VHF to tell us when we could return and land. Because it was too shallow a channel for Finis- terre to make it in to the dock, and because there was a moderate chop, what fol- lowed was a long morning with Mike shuttling a series of increasingly wet offi- cials and one drug sniffing dog from the
dock to the boat so they could conduct inspections and free us to land. We were delayed here through the next morning, as we waited for a re- lieving official to check us out. The next 30 or so hours became a transition from our tropical tradewinds sail to a more “northerly” experience. The NW coast of Cuba has extensive reef protection which made us head out for deeper water, where unfortunately, a westerly countercurrent lurked. There was light wind, our speed dropped and we resorted to the engine. In the afternoon we approached a squally area. The wind increased and the skipper ordered all sails up. We soon found ourselves between two cells with heavy rain, and lightning. One strike, off
to starboard, which we will all remember for- ever, was just about con- current with a resounding thunderclap. When things finally calmed down a bit, Steve posed the question: “When approaching a storm, aren’t you sup- posed to reduce sail instead of power up?” We decided to go in for the night to Bahia Honda, a large protected bay with nu- merous hulks of ships waiting to be broken down for scrap. We anchored off the civil guard pier, and momentarily spotted a guarda rowing out to us. He was in a rustic rig with rope oarlocks and homemade oars. He informed us that to check out of Cuba we had to proceed to Marina Hemingway (Havana). This was a disap- pointment, as we had wanted to head north from there due to a
forecast of poor weather closing in later in the week. We motored to Havana the next morning and got to spend more time with official Cuba and another drug-sniffing dog before being shown to a side tie on a concrete dock. Marina Hemingway must have been quite the showplace when it opened in 1959, just
before Batista got booted out. By now the elements and dis- use have left it a bit rough with abundant jagged concrete. Be- cause the forecast gave us a short win- dow to make it to Florida, we decided to put off for another time our exploration of old Havana. We followed the recom- mendation from the Marina staff and arrived at immigration by 7:30am. The offi- cials were ready to go home after their all night shift, and processed us relatively quickly. By the way, it appeared to us that Cuba offers cruising grounds aplenty, and visitors may find many anchorages lightly used by other cruisers.
More Experience.
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We motored across the Florida Straits with a backdrop of huge thunderheads lining the Cuban coast, and mostly clear skies ahead. Late morning, a small pod of either False or Pygmy Killer Whales passed by without stopping, and we landed our first Dorado. We approached Marathon around 2am and, just as a deluge hit we lost vision to any lights or landmarks and had to drop the hook on instruments only. We woke to a fine morning with 7-Mile Bridge looping away to the west. Part of the day was spent at anchor, then we were off again for an overnight motor to Miami. Checking back in to the US was illuminating. We were told to take a taxi to the Immigration and Customs office, where, after about 15 minutes, our pass- ports and boat papers were returned and we were sent on our way. There was no inspection of the boat, which had been out of the country for 6 years! The municipal marina was in the center of downtown and we were soon re-saturated with ex-
cessive lifestyle and consumption choices. While there, we met a French two-man crew of a small yellow sloop flying the flag of the Netherlands. Mike asked them about the flag and they said that the boat had been purchased in the Netherlands, and since the flag is similar to the French flag, they had never bothered to change it. Mike was the first person to have spot- ted this in all their travels! Let this be a small illustrative example of the knowledge and pro- fessionalism our skipper brought to this trip. There may have been a couple minor disagree- ments about coffee, but otherwise, we felt completely at ease with his navigation and decision making throughout the voyage.
We next unsuccessfully attempted to beat the lingering thunderstorms that were pep- pering Florida and had to pull back into shelter at Palm Beach that evening. We then utilized the safe and sane Inter Coastal Waterway (ICW) for 40 miles to Fort Pierce. As we headed back out to the Atlantic on Monday the 25th, in a fairly developed area, we spotted what looked like two manatees leisurely rolling and splashing.
For the next two days we mostly motored up the coast. We had glassy seas and passed close to and surprised several resting turtles, which were probably loggerheads, saw hundreds, if not thousands of Golden Eagle Rays, and had another group of Spotted Dolphins briefly join us. During the early morning of the 26th, off shore of Cape Canaveral, Bob and John saw what must have been a submarine launch of a rocket, with bright light, then 1st and 2nd stages and an exhaust plume against a starry backdrop. As we approached the St Mary’s River and the Florida-Georgia border, we dodged shrimp trawlers in the now turbid water coming out from the St. Mary’s drainage. We made it in to an anchorage opposite the friendly and picturesque Fernandina Beach. The next morning, Bob and John arranged to depart while Steve and Mike stayed on to put the boat up at Tiger Point Marina in Fernandina. Would we do it again? At the drop of a hat!
More Fun.
Sailing the Greek Islands:
Things Never to Do
By William McGinnis Mary climbed up to the elevated bridge of our 42-foot Lagoon catamaran, saying, "Watch out. With my luck we'll get doused by a big wave." Emboldened by my having somehow stayed dry for the last 15 minutes, I foolishly said, "Don't worry. I'll protect you with my force field." I had no sooner uttered these imprudent words, which very likely did not please the gods of the Aegean, than a huge wave lifted and inundated the big cat's starboard hull, violently rotating the boat to a 45 degree tilt, simultaneously immersing us with foam, blasting us off the high bridge, and propelling us into free fall to port. Mary slid from view. I plunged backward and downward through the air, with the world flying past my peripheral vision, like falling backwards down a long tunnel of foam. The ship's wheel, instru- ments, winches, chrome bridge railings, a fiberglass stairway and mountains of exploding popcorn spray flew by— until, by some stroke of luck or the grace of some forgiving deity, I landed on my back, stunned, with a huge lump on my head, bruised but OK. Mary had caught belly over the bridge railing, while I had flown past, taking the long trajectory many feet down to the floor of the catamaran's stern dining area. I was very, very lucky not to have bro- ken my neck! This was our biggest wave so far. Everything not tied down throughout the boat had gone flying. Our ship was a royal mess, but everyone was OK. My walnut-sized bump on the head was our worst injury; we had gotten off lightly. Struggling in the 35-plus-knot meltemi gale, with sails 30% reefed, on the 8-hour crossing from the Cyclades Islands to the Peloponnesian peninsula, racing to stay ahead of even worse weather, our catamaran pitched, rolled and yawed like a big, square, buoyant cork. (Give me a mono-hull any day--especially in strong winds!) Looking out across those marching, cresting, relentlessly oncoming rollers stretching to the horizon, with hearts pounding and fear dancing up our spines, we were--amazingly yet undeniably--thrilled to be there, elated to be alive. Ever since I can remember, it has been my dream to sail the Greek Islands in the wake of Odysseus. So, two years ago I set about realizing this dream: Researching Greek history and the Greek Islands; reading/rereading Thucy- dides, Herodotus, Homer and others (my favorites: Charles Rowan Beye's Odysseus: A Life and Steven Press- field's historical novels The Virtue of War and Gates of Fire); learning to speak some Greek; studying Rod Heikell's Greek Waters Pilot; getting bids from Aegean bareboat chartering companies; and rounding up a crew of kindred spirits willing to share the cost and adventure of this plunge into the unknown. One thing I learned early on was that the Greek Coast Guard requires all bareboat skippers--and their first mates-- to be certified for bareboating through a sanctioned organization like the American Sailing Association. I learned to sail at age 12 and have sailed on and off ever since, mostly on San Francisco Bay, where the strong winds, racing tidal currents, frequent fog and constant shipping traffic steaming in and out at 20 knots tend to develop a certain sailing competency. I had raced classic wooden Golden Gates, risked my neck in a tipsy 17-foot sailing canoe (the best boat I had access to at the time), crossed the Gulf Stream to the Bahamas on my friend Bud Robyn's Bruce Farr 72 Dream Voyager, and skippered a bareboat Beneteau 38 for 10 days in the Virgin Islands. I had assumed I'd fly by the seat of my pants as Aegean skipper, figuring it out as I went, but instead I was inspired by this Greek Coast Guard requirement to take, together with my son Will and daughter Aly, the necessary certify- ing classes at Tradewinds Sailing School, which is near where I live in the east bay across from San Francisco. This, it turned out, was one of the best things to come out of the trip. Not only did I learn to sail with more confi- dence, filling in gaps in my sailing know-how that I was previously unaware of, but I--and to some extent my kids-- awakened to the incredible fun of sailing our home waters of San Francisco Bay in the diverse Tradewinds fleet.
More Experience.
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Another hurtle I faced was putting together a two-week crew. If I was going all the way to Greece, I reasoned, it only made sense to sail for at least two weeks. Unfortunately, my potential crew members could get away for only one week. So my solution was to have one crew for the first week, and another the second week. The first week's crew was so big, by the way, that it required a second boat. In as much as this made the trip possible, it was a good idea. But in as much as this led to major logistical headaches, it was not. More on this in a bit.
Let's jump to the trip: Will, Aly and I, who were the only ones on the full two-week itinerary (actually it was three- weeks including our Classic Greece land tour before the sail), flew into El Venizelos Athens airport where we were met by my friend Stephanos Moussouras, the owner of Catamaran Hellas ([email protected]). I had met Stephanos online and in San Francisco a year earlier in the course of researching Greek catamaran charter compa- nies. Even though we were not chartering his boat, Stephanos was an incredible host, playing Athens tour guide, helping us fine tune our two-week sailing itinerary through the Cyclades Islands, and even wining and dining us in fabulous Greek check-grabbing fashion.
It was from Stephanos that I got my first inklings of approaching trouble: His face fell when I told him that we had hired a Greek captain for our second boat, and he said, "Oh no! Greek charter captains are notoriously lazy." And when I told him we had ordered provisions through the charter company, he said, "Oh no! They charge double to triple what you'd pay buying them yourself." Of course, at that point our plans were set, and we were going forward regardless.
Day 1: Just getting to the Alimos/Kalamaki Marina, where our catamarans awaited us, proved to be a wild adven- ture. With the best of intentions the charter company had hired a luxurious air-conditioned bus with Russian driver. Unfortunately, the bus was much too large for the extremely narrow streets of Athens' historic Plaka district sur- rounding the Acropolis, where our group of four families was spread out between two hotels and a rental villa. Plus, the driver spoke limited Greek and no English; had no idea where the hotels, the marina or seemingly any- thing else was located; and throughout our time with him exuded the body language of a person about to explode with rage. What could have been a 30-minute taxi ride turned into half a day of missed connections, countless wrong turns, and hours of inching along crowded ancient marble streets barely wide enough for a small Fiat. At times we literally had to lift parked cars and motorcycles aside to make way for our massively wide bus. At one point, with our driver utterly lost, we were saved when half our group appeared Zeus-like out of nowhere. Bruce Lessels, an intrepid 6-foot-5 former Olympic kayaker and president of Zoar Outdoor in Massachusetts, had some- how ingeniously anticipated the route of our lost and wayward bus, and had walked his contingent from their hotel through the maze-like Plaka district to achieve a deus-ex-machina rendezvous that defied belief. Impressively, our group remained wide-eyed and upbeat, even developing an Achilles-like enthusiasm for muscling and bouncing cars up onto sidewalks.
As for me, I was already feeling border-line overwhelm. I like to prepare my crew for what is to come, ease them into things, teach them ahead of time what they'll need to know. But I myself was diving into an unknown sea, leap- ing into skippering in a part of the world utterly new to me, with new language and customs, new weather and sea conditions, new boats and a whole new universe of rocks, reefs, islands and confusing land masses where even the clever Odysseus, whose idea for the Trojan horse won the Trojan War, wandered lost for ten years. To provide at least a semblance of leadership, and hopefully to reassure my own overwhelmed inner self, during this bus ordeal I gave a sort of orientation talk to my group of novice sailors. I stressed the basics of not falling overboard, respond- ing if someone did go overboard, using plenty of sun screen, staying hydrated and conserving ship's water. I as- signed/reaffirmed key roles of head chef/food managers and water supply monitor teams.
The Alimos/Kalimaki Marina was a mad house pulsating with hustle and bustle. Gorgeous yachts of every descrip- tion extended as far as the eye could see. Every boat seemed to be a beehive of activity, many loading and head- ing out, many apparently going nowhere, just teeming with people partying at the quays. With bags in hand, our motley group of 8 adults and 6 kids followed Circe (pronounced SEAR see), the charter company representative, through the confusion and sweltering 90+ degree heat out along a concrete quay lined with fabulous yachts all med moored, that is, moored stern-to the quay--see side bar below.
This short story is too long for our newsletter! You can find the rest of it on our message board in the “Sea Stories” section.
More Fun.
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The Nautical Terminator Tradewinds Instructor Marianne Wheeler Where does the word, Yacht come from? Yacht (pronounced /jt/, from Dutch jacht meaning hunting or hunt, compare German Jagd) was originally defined as a light, fast sailing vessel used by the Dutch navy to pursue pirates and other transgressors around and into the shallow waters of the Low Countries. They were also used for non-military governmental roles such as customs duties and delivering pilots to waiting ships. The latter use attracted the attention of wealthy Dutch merchants who began to build private yachts so they could be taken out to greet their returning ships. Soon wealthy individuals began to use their 'jachts' for pleasure trips. By the start of the 17th century 'jachts' came in two broad catergories- speel-jachts for sport and oorlog-jachts for naval duties. By the middle of the century large 'jacht' fleets were found around the Dutch coast and the Dutch states organised large 'reviews' of private and war yachts for special occasions, thus putting in place the groundwork for the modern sport of yachting. Jachts of this period varied greatly in size, from around 40ft in length to being equal to the lower classes of the ship of the line. All had a form of fore/aft gaff rig with a flat bottom and lee boards to allow operations in shallow waters. The gaff rig remained the principle rig found on small European yachts for centuries until giving way to the 'Bermudan sloop' rig in the 1960s. Charles II of England spent part of his time in exile during the period of the Commonwealth of England in the Netherlands and became keen on sailing. He returned to England in 1660 aboard a Dutch yacht. During his reign Charles commissioned 24 Royal Yachts on top of the two presented to him by Dutch states on his restoration. As the fashion for yachting spread throughout the English aristocracy yacht races began to become common. Other rich individuals in Europe built yachts as the sport spread. Yachting therefore became a purely recreational form of sailing with no commercial or military function (see, for example, the Cox & King yachts at the beginning of the 20th Century), which still serves a broad definition of both the sport and of the vessel.
Book your travel on our website!
Did you know that you can now book travel through our Tradewinds web site. From our home-page (www.TradewindsSailing.com) just click on the Travel discount link under More Fun! Remember, you can also book your sail boat charters through us for savings on vacations around the world.
More Time on the Water.
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