Tag: cruising

It’s been a lovely cruise

On By David BranbyIn SplendidoLeave a comment

Well, the big news is that, as of yesterday, our beloved Splendido has a wonderful new owner, and we could not have let her go to a less worthy or deserving person: an outstanding individual from northern California who shares the same passion and sense of wonder at sailing Lake Tahoe as Debbie and I have had all these years. I must say, it has been heartwarming to visit with sailors from far and wide who inquired about Splendido, whether by contacting me through this blog, by phone, text or email, and I am deeply appreciative of everyone who reached out. Debbie and I spent some long afternoons in the boatyard tidying up Splendido and putting on her winter coat so she showed well and was dressed to impress. We did it as much for ourselves as for interested buyers. It’s our way of expressing our gratitude for all of the joy and good times Splendido has brought us over the years.

I have been reflecting lately on my sailing journey and how I went from a shortboard windsurfer at nearby Washoe Lake to a monohull sailor plying the crystal-clear waters of Lake Tahoe for the past 15 years. It all started with an invitation to sail aboard Grand Cru out of Tahoe City with Fred McElroy back in the mid-2000s—an opportunity that I am grateful for to this very day. That first sail was the gateway drug, and shortly afterwards, I enrolled in the American Sailing Association basic keelboat class out of Tahoe Keys, under the tutelage of Captain Dennis Harms, who really drilled into each student the importance of being safe on the water and being able to quickly execute man-overboard maneuvers under sail. I went on to get my bareboat cruising certifications at San Juan Sailing out of Bellingham, Washington—just 17 miles across the Salish Sea from where I went to high school, in Anacortes. The year was 2008, and I was fortunate to live for a week aboard a 38-ft. Jeanneau with three other sailors and an excellent instructor named Mary Ross from gorgeous Lummi Island, just west of Bellingham.

Over the course of our time aboard the Jeanneau, Mary explained not only sailing and docking the boat; she walked us through all of the systems aboard, which later became vital to my understanding of Splendido and our comfort on the water. Mary also instilled in us the importance of keeping things shipshape and Bristol fashion—and how to be conscientious and considerate to fellow skippers when you have the rare and valuable opportunity to sail with them—like showing up with a nice bottle of wine or beers or yummy snacks—and definitely lending a hand when and where you can. As I’ve said many times before, sailing is a ton of work, and you always want to pitch in if you’d like to be invited back in the future.

Before we ride off into the sunset, though, I want to thank everyone who has read and commented on this blog since its inception in 2010. It’s been a privilege to record my thoughts, observations, trials, tribulations and occasional triumphs for the past decade and a half. I also want to thank Splendido for her faithful service, and for all the joy she’s brought to Debbie and me and to all who’ve sailed aboard her over the years. I have been thinking lately that you never really own a good old sailboat; you are merely a caretaker until it’s time to hand her off to the next generation of joyful sailors. I think that’s what we’ve been able to achieve, and my heart is full to overflowing with gratitude for every moment and every memory.

Thank you again, and fair winds and following seas, Splendido! —DB

It’s Been A Lovely Cruise
Written by Jonathan Baham and performed by Jimmy Buffet on his 1977 album Changes In Latitudes, Changes In Attitudes.

Drink it up, this one’s for you
It’s been a lovely cruise
I’m sorry it’s ending, oh it’s sad, but it’s true
Honey, it’s been a lovely cruise

These moments we’re left with, may you always remember
These moments are shared by few
There’s wind in our hair and there’s water in our shoes
Honey, it’s been a lovely cruise

These moments we’re left with, may you always remember
These moments are shared by few
And those harbor lights, Lord, they’re coming into view
We’ll bid our farewells much too soon

So drink it up, this one’s for you
Honey, it’s been a lovely cruise
Yeah baby, it’s been a lovely cruise
Oh darlin’, it’s been a lovely cruise

Splendido, our beloved Catalina 270 LE, is for sale — and ready for new adventures

On By David BranbyIn Keeping Up Appearances, Mechanical Stuff, SplendidoLeave a comment

A lovely woman and blog-reader from the Chesaspeake Bay area reached out to us a few weeks back with an interest in buying our much-adored Splendido. Her story really struck a chord with me: Now in her 70s, she had grown up sailing on Cal 25s and, reminscing on those happy times, had a vision of buying Splendido for herself and her college-age son, who is absolutely wild about sailing on those legendary waters. She had recently bought a second home on the water’s edge, and we had several long and delightful phone calls about the pros and cons of buying this boat for what she and her son were seeking. She had fallen in love with the appearance, upgrades, and care and attention that Debbie and I had put into Splendido over the years. In the end, it turned out that hauling this 27′ sailboat and her 38′ double-axle trailer 2,700 miles across the country would add $7-10K to the cost, and — not suprisingly — that was the deal-breaker. Though disappointed at the missed opportunity to pass along our Splendido to someone who truly appreciated her, Debbie and I loved that she saw in our boat what we see — a refitted, lovely, sea-kindly “good old boat,” which is exactly what we set out to achieve when we bought her.

Splendido - New Interior

I’d like to give credit where credit is due, however: When we bought the boat in 2010, the first thing I had done was an eight-hour-long, comprehensive survey by Vince DiLeo, AMS® of Admiralty Marine Services. Vince provided us with a detailed report of everything that needed to be done to restore Splendido to first-class working order, mechanically, structurally and equipment-wise. We immediately prioritized the list and got after it, and — as I’ve said before — while you can’t make a good old boat “brand new” again, you can make her the best “good old boat” she can be, which I think we’ve achieved.

That said, we’re selling Splendido in the condition you see here (and, though I flatter myself, I doubt one could find a better-documented (the good, the bad, and the hard work involved) sailboat ownership journey anywhere than the 15-year-old blog you’re reading now!), in a package that includes her two-axle trailer, Walker Bay dinghy, Shipshape winter cover and frame, plus four tidy storage bins full of the sailing necessities you rarely think about that makes buying a “pre-loved” boat a bonus over buying new.

Before I sail off into the sunset, I want to give a massive shout-out to my sailor pal, shipwright and mechanical wiz Ancil Sigman of Pleasant Valley, Nevada, who found ways to restore and improve Splendido that I hadn’t even dreamt of. She wouldn’t be half the boat she is with Ancil’s tireless tinkering, expertise, and care. Thanks, Ancil!

Thanks, too, to you, gentle reader, for sharing this news with your personal and professional networks. I’m giving personalized tours beginning this afternoon to interested sailors, though I have to laugh — it’s a different experience showing a boat that’s on the hard, on her trailer, winterized and all packed up for our seven-month “sleep” here in the foothills of the High Sierra, versus having someone climb aboard at Obexer’s or Tahoe City Marina, cast off and head out across Big Blue. I’m getting a little misty-eyed just writing this, so I’ll sign off by saying fair winds, smooth sailing, and here’s my favorite sailing poem to meditate on. Until next time… DB

Sea-Fever

BY JOHN MASEFIELD

I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,

And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by;

And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking,

And a grey mist on the sea’s face, and a grey dawn breaking.

I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide

Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;

And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,

And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,

To the gull’s way and the whale’s way where the wind’s like a whetted knife;

And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,

And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over.

Fall is in the air

On By David BranbyIn Commissioning & De-commissioning, Mechanical Stuff, Splendido2 Comments

Here’s to another summer sailing season at Lake Tahoe in the books! My pal Ancil and I drove up early yesterday morning to haul out Splendido for the winter. We arrived well before any of the staff was up at Obexer’s Marina, so we did our prep work (loosening the shrouds and stays) and were ready to go when Bret and Jessy fired up the Marina Bull to unstep the mast and lift Splendido gently out of the water and place her on her 38′ trailer.

Two days before, I had bade farewell to our lovely mooring at Hurricane Bay and motored down the 2-1/2 miles to Obexer’s, as they gave me permission to take an empty slip in preparation for our haul-out. On the way down, winds were 12 knots out of the east with that long fetch from Cave Rock on the east shore all the way to McKinney Bay on the west, so it was quite the rock ‘n’ rolling ride, with occasional three to 3-1/2 foot swells and water splashing over the side, which made for a lively passage.

Hauling out a 27′ sailboat like Splendido is fairly straightforward, although I’m always a bit “on point” because there’s a lot of moving parts, literally and figuratively. First, we move the boat nose first into the haul-out slip and tie her off with four lines. Then, the forklift comes in and they put a harness around the mast at the balance point near the lower spreaders. We then release the lower shrouds, upper shrouds, forestay and backstays, and they unstep the mast and place it gently on sawhorses. I then tie down all the rigging and remove the wind instruments and put them in their winter storage box. Next, we move the boat out of the slip and back it in so the stern is facing the forklift. They get it balanced on the forks, then gently lift her out and set her on her trailer. Finally, they lift up the mast once again and set it on top of the boat. We lash everything down, put the dinghy on the trailer, go have lunch at The Bridgetender in Tahoe City, and head down to the boatyard.

The ride down the hill from Tahoe (6,230 ft. above sea level) to Splendido’s winter home (4,800 ft. above sea level) was smooth and uneventful — just the way I like it. Over the next week or two, I’ll get her cleaned up and winterized, which means draining the water heater, blowing out the water lines with compressed air so there’s nothing to freeze, changing the oil and filter, topping off the fuel and buttoning her up. Ancil (who cannot help but to make constant improvements on anything that catches his eye) surprised me earlier this summer by mounting an aluminum truck storage box he’d found for free on Craigslist to hold gear, tools, and whatnot on the trailer. It looks and works great. While he was cleaning out his shop recently, he came across some steel bars and decided to fabricate, primer and paint four “mast holder” extensions that will support the mast on the lower right side of the trailer when it’s time to put on the winter cover later this fall. I can’t thank him enough for all he’s done to make sailing Splendido safer, easier, and more convenient. Thanks, Ancil!

As I write this, the aspens are beginning to turn here in the high country; the birds are flying south and the Nevada sky has turned that deep, lustrous blue that means the first blustery winds of the season are not too far around the corner. I am immensely grateful for every moment spent sailing Splendido and working on her to make her the best good old boat she can be.

I look back and recall fondly the four years(!) Debbie and I spent looking on our laptops for a boat that spoke to us and that we could afford. When we happened upon the Catalina 270 — named Boat of the Year by Cruising World Magazine the year it was unveiled — our minds were made up, and we’ve never regretted that decision. Splendido has been yar, which means lovely, balanced and quick. We learned that watching The Philadelphia Story with Katherine Hepburn (Tracy Lord) and Cary Grant (C.K. Dexter Haven) who were reminiscing about their sailboat, The True Love:

Tracy: It was beautiful – and sweet, Dex.
Dexter: Yes, yes. She was quite a boat, the… True Love, wasn’t she?
Tracy: Was, and is.
Dexter: My, she was yar.
Tracy: She was yar alright. 

Fair winds and smooth sailing. DB

Dog days of August at Lake Tahoe

On By David BranbyIn Splendido1 Comment

Debbie and I went up to Tahoe yesterday to re-install the genoa I had re-sewn, then we headed south to Sugar Pine State Park for the first swim of the season. It was an almost windless day, so we had to motor, but the views were spectacular and the lake was pretty quiet, which is the norm mid-week, even in summer. Once we got down to Sugar Pine, we threw down the hook in front of the Boatman’s Cottage in 11 ft. of water and before I knew it, Debbie dove right in to the crystal-clear water, and popped up with quite the surprised look on her face, then let out a whoo! you hear so often at Tahoe. I flopped off the back of the boat to join her, and we both swam around until we got used to the water temp, which I would guess was in the high 60s. Afterwards, we lounged in the shade and relaxed as kayakers and ducks paddled by. Around 5 o’clock a little breeze came up, so we headed back, cruising along the south coast of McKinney Bay, where we saw our pal Mike Levin’s lovely Catalina 28, Sailing on Sunshine on the hook, and then past Chambers Landing, where vacationers were enjoying drinks on the deck. Back on our mooring ball, we buttoned up the boat and drove over to Whitecaps Pizza in Kings Beach for their delicious pesto pizza and beers, listening to the bartender regale a handful of tipsy patrons with tales of the Tahoe ski patroller’s lifestyle. We munched away on our pizza as the gathering of funhogs traded stories about torn menisci, ACL surgeries and stem-cell injections in Ensenada that produced miraculous recoveries. We settled up and then headed off in the pitch darkness up the hill and down into the valley and the pretty city lights of Reno. “Better late than never” was the phrase that kept coming into my mind as I reflected on this unusual sailing season. We’ll be back for more exploring, boat camping, swimming and the sweet smell of the pines as we do our best to wring everything we can out of summer at Lake Tahoe. Until then,

Fair winds and smooth sailing! DB

The peace of mind that comes from sailing safely

On By David BranbyIn Keeping Up Appearances, On The Water, Splendido1 Comment

I went out for a singlehanded sail last Monday; winds were light at 8-17 kts and the temperature was downright balmy. I saw six or seven sailboats out, which made me smile. I’m glad things have settled down a bit after the ups and downs in the weather of the past few weeks. 

I have to admit, I was pretty shook up by the tragic white squall that hit Tahoe on June 21, and it cast quite the pall on sailing for me for a few weeks. So, I turned my shock into action and got busy checking all the safety gear aboard Splendido. I checked the CO2 cartridges in all six of our Type V (inflatable) PFDs, then made sure all of our Type II PFDs (the bulkier orange kind) were in easy reach. I also checked the expiration dates of the flares, checked the air horn, both fire extinguishers, and refreshed my knowledge of using the VHF radio in an emergency. Folks who’ve sailed with me know I ask everyone to wear inflatable PFDs while on board. It’s a habit I’ve had since childhood, when a neighbor down the beach from our home on Fidalgo Island in Washington’s San Juan Islands tragically drowned one morning when he was out checking crab pots just 50 yards off shore. Now, it’s not clear whether the eight folks who drowned at Tahoe on July 21 were wearing PFDs, but we do know the two survivors had PFDs (one was wearing one, the other was clinging to one when rescued). As a skipper, knowing everyone aboard is wearing a PFD gives me one less thing to worry about so I can relax and enjoy the time on the water.

Because we sail Splendido on California waters (Tahoe is about 1/3 in Nevada and 2/3 in California), I’m now required to carry a California Boater Card. It’s a new rule for skippers of any boat with a motor in it as of January 1, 2025. I found a free U.S. Boat course online, and it was a really great refresher on boating safety. I already have my American Sailing Association 101 through 104 certifications, but I was surprised at how much I learned by taking this course. One thing that blew me away was learning that more hunters drown from falling overboard each year than die from getting accidentally shot. The course took me about five hours to complete, but I got my card and I’m legit now. To celebrate, I went out for an afternoon sail and had the whole gorgeous lake to myself.

Splendido at play on McKinney Bay at Lake Tahoe, July 14, 2025.


Back on the hook, I turned my attention to taking care of the interior woodwork, which tends to dry out in our low-humidity, high-altitude sailing area. I think it turned out pretty well. I can’t make our 32-year-old boat new again, but I can make her as beautiful as elbow grease allows. 🙂

A photo of newly-oiled interior woodwork aboard Splendido, a 1993 Catalina 270 that sails at Lake Tahoe.

While the weather was sorting itself out in late June and early July, Debbie and I took the opportunity to do some hiking in the Sierra Nevada. We did some training hikes on the Jones Creek Loop trail south of Reno, then had a picnic hike on Whites Creek – Dry Pond trail, which is just lovely this time of year.

David and Debbie Branby taking a break while hiking the Whites Creek - Dry Pond trail in the Sierra Nevada near Reno.

The forecast is for perfect sailing conditions for the next week after today’s blustery winds settle down, so that’s what we’re aiming for — quality time on the water of our beloved Lake Tahoe.

Fair winds and smooth sailing! DB

Just Add Water

On By David BranbyIn Commissioning & De-commissioning, Keeping Up Appearances, Mechanical Stuff, SplendidoLeave a comment

We launch Splendido in three days, and the past six weeks have been a whirlwind of activity getting her prepped for the Tahoe sailing season. The theme this spring was, “OK, what really needs to be addressed on a well-loved 31-year old sailboat that has seen lots of use? Fortunately, my mechanical-genius pal Ancil Sigman had plenty of suggestions, as you’ll see below.

The things I intended to fix in the off-season:

  • Make a better rope with knots in it to pull up the swim ladder.

The things Ancil heartily encouraged me (and tirelessly helped me) to fix in the off-season:

  • We pulled out every inch of the original (but significantly corroded) battery cables and replaced them with beefier, brand-spankin’ new cabling, all nicely heat-shrinked, from the battery bank to the panel to the engine, inverter, etc.
  • Upgraded the boat trailer with new running lights, from hitch to taillights.
  • Pulled out two bent lifeline stanchions, straightened them, then properly re-bedded and reinstalled them.
  • Replaced all the lifelines on the boat.
  • Removed the cabin windows that were popping up (hey, 31 years is a pretty good run), re-glued them with 3M VHB tape, and scraped/re-caulked all the windows on the boat.
  • Completely rebuilt the Whale Galley Gusher pump with a new service kit (way, way harder and less intuitive than it sounds). First clue: The schematic they provide was way too low-rez to be helpful, and nothing on YouTube™ showed how to do it properly. Even the factory’s customer service lady gave us the wrong instructions. In the end, I had to call on Perplexity.ai to finally spit out the right way to do it.
  • While the icebox pump was out, I sanded, cleaned and re-fiberglassed the area under the stove with a couple layers of cloth. Turned out great. 
  • Also laid in some fiberglass cloth and epoxy on the stern shower fixture door, which had cracked with age. It looks pretty good now with a little gel coat added.
  • Replaced every seacock on the boat with new Forespar® Marelon™ seacocks. This took a ton of work because the handles don’t come off of the new ones, so you have to grind out the cabinetry in the tight spaces so you can screw the new seacocks onto the thru-hulls.
  • Replaced the cheap CDI plastic furling drum cover that broke after only two seasons (are you listenin’, CDI?) with a proper metal replacement drum cover which should have been standard issue to begin with. (Replacing this was a major pain).
  • Since the mast was down on sawhorses, we took the opportunity to service it from tip to base, checking the sheaves, fasteners, spreaders, boots, wiring, lights, etc. Ancil rigged a gypsum-board lifter to help get the 200-lb. mast back up on the boat. Thank you, Ancil!
  • Checked the steering cables looking for fishhooks (there weren’t any — whew!).
  • Tried to remove the pinkish stain around the port-side Splendido logo that happened the winter we kept the boat on the hard up at Obexer’s. Tried four or five coats of oxalic acid, several fiberglass cleaning products, Soft Scrub … nothing worked. At best, I got it to lighten maybe 15% or so. Dang.
  • Applied gel coat to nicks on the transom and elsewhere in the cabin, then wet-sanded it and polished it up.
  • Removed all the original curtains in the boat, soaked them in OxyClean and mild washing soap, re-sewed the hook-and-loop parts that had come undone, and re-attached them. They look great.
  • Removed old epoxy spills in the cabin and on deck.
  • Used 3M 4200 to glue down the bilge pump and float switch in bilge. Also, finally wired the bilge pump properly to the panel so it operates automatically and manually as well.
  • Touched up the bottom paint with blue Total Boat Krypton.
  • Put 4-5 coats of PolyGlo (amazing stuff!) on the hull, and now she looks great.

I never did get around to making a better swim ladder rope.

After some rest, I’m looking forward to a relaxing summer of fair winds and smooth sailing! DB