Category: Splendido

Photos, stories, and interesting things about Splendido, our 1993 Catalina 270, who has lived and sailed her whole life on Lake Tahoe.

Is This The End Of Our Sailing Season?

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

failed-seacockLast Saturday, Debbie and I finished up our long list of chores around the house and snuck up to Tahoe to go for a relaxing sail. While she got out the cockpit cushions and prettied up the topsides, I went below to add water to the Perkins and to open the engine cooling inlet. Snap! The handle sheared off in my hand. It was one of those “Whoa! Can I hit rewind?” moments, as I realized the ramifications: I’d have to haul out the boat ($250), replace the seacock ($45), hope that the existing thru-hull was still viable, and drop the boat back in (would they charge me another $250?), plus $85/hr. for the guy helping with the repairs.

Disappointed, we packed up our gear and rowed the dinghy back to shore. The 40-mile drive  home was a quiet one, to say the least. In the back of my mind, I was thinking about the sailboat trailer welding modifications that I needed to make, and had been saving my pennies for this summer.

The next day, Labor Day, the family came over for BBQ ribs, and we talked about what had happened and what to do. Brother-in-law Tracy (the engineer) wondered aloud whether we could just put a wine cork in the inlet from beneath the boat, swap out the old seacock with a new one, and call it good. I floated this idea by the guys on Yahoo!’s Catalina 270 forum, with pretty much universal condemnation. What if the thru-hull exploded? What if the cork popped out?

Debbie called a guy named Brian at Obexer’s Marina and he suggested a “short haul” where we’d just lift the boat out of the water so the hull was clear, make the seacock swap, and call it good. That is, unless the thru-hull exploded (although I’m not sure why it would), at which point, we’ve have to totally pull the boat out, put it on boat stands, remove the old thru-hull, let the hull dry, re-install the thru-hull, etc. My anxiety level has been rising as I see dollar signs and a limited window of fair winds and smooth sailing for the remainder of the 2013 season.   —DB

Sailing to Support Reno Chamber Orchestra

On By David BranbyIn Food & Drink, On The Water, SplendidoLeave a comment

andy-and-crewMark Miller, Pat Miller and Barbara Hall were our guests yesterday aboard Splendido for an afternoon/sunset sail south to D.L. Bliss State Park, cruising along McKinney Bay, Meeks Bay and Rubicon Bay. I asked fellow sailor Andy Gagnon along to serve as first mate, as we wanted to deliver a “first-cabin” experience for the Millers and their friend Barbara as the winners of the 2013 Reno Chamber Orchestra “Derby Day” silent auction  item of sailing Lake Tahoe. Debbie had a big catered event in Reno that she had to oversee, but she put together individual packages of yumminess for our guests, including a starter of Champagne grapes, French brie and water crackers, three bottles of red and white wines, smoked Turkey foccacia sandwiches with fresh pesto, provolone, and roasted red peppers, rotelle pasta salad, and big fudge brownies for dessert.

Andy and I arrived earlier in the afternoon and spent 90 minutes practicing crew overboard drills–not because we expected anything unfortunate to happen–but just to brush up our boat-handling skills. It was a good thing we did, because about 50 minutes into our cruise, one of Debbie’s favorite red-and-white pillows blew overboard. I glanced at Andy and we went right into drill mode, and the pillow was back on board within a little over a minute.

I was a little concerned that the winds would be a bit light for an exciting sail, but once we rounded Sugar Pine State Park, the winds freshened considerably, and I estimated the gusts ripping across Rubicon Bay to be in the 25 kt. range. mark-pat-barbaraAndy handled the mainsheet like a champ, keeping the boat skipping along without heeling too much, while I manned the helm and chatted up the guests.

We got within about a quarter-mile of D.L. Bliss and were able to see the campers and vacationers enjoying the beach even up to the 7 p.m. hour. We tacked right at the seam of where the blue-black waters started to change to the lighter blue-green of Calawee Cove with its white-sand bottom, and the energetic gusts coming in over Rubicon Bay made for a lively ride across the whitecapping waters.

Heading north, we saw heavy smoke coming into the Tahoe basin from the American Fire in Foresthill, CA. smoky-sunsetFor the past four or five days, the smoke had drifted straight east down I-80 into Reno, so the Biggest Little City has been blanketed while Tahoe stayed relatively smoke-free. Until yesterday. It got so thick that visibility was less than three miles, and I had to pull out the GPS to pinpoint our buoy as the smoke obscured the shoreline. About midway through McKinney Bay, the winds died completely, so we turned on the trusty Perkins Perama diesel and motored back, with Andy driving while I flaked the sail and prettied up the boat. The temperature dropped as the sun dipped behind the mountains, and we made sure the ladies were bundled up for the motor back. blood-red-skyAndy threaded his way through the buoy field and brought the boat in ever-so-gently into the dock. It was a real pleasure having our three guests aboard, and my sincere appreciation to them for supporting the Reno Chamber Orchestra and to Andy Gagnon for all his help in making it a Tahoe sail to remember.

Fair winds and smooth sailing. DB

Cruising Tahoe Wooden Boat Weekend with the Shrivers

On By David BranbyIn Food & Drink, Mechanical Stuff, On The Water, SplendidoLeave a comment

Sailing Tahoe 2012 aboard SplendidoDebbie and I pulled Splendido up to the dock around 3 p.m. yesterday to await the arrival of our guests, Bob and Pam Shriver of Reno. As we gussied up the boat below decks, I was startled to feel a jarring “thunk thunk thunk” as some swells from a passing speedboat caused Splendido to smack her keel against the rocks about a foot below. I quickly “beat feet” above decks and pushed the boat back about 10 feet so there was a little more room beneath her keel. Clearly, the lake level has dropped from where it was just a few weeks ago, and the reminder of my mistake can be seen by the blue bottom paint on the rocks just off the pier. I put on my goggles and jumped overboard, swimming down to inspect the keel on both sides. Nothing major to report–luckily–except a little chipped bottom paint. I ran my hands over the keel bottom and everything seemed OK, then did the same thing along the keel-hull interface. I was a bit rattled by the experience, but that seems to be a weekly occurence when owning a sailboat.

Bob and Pam arrived and we shoved off. Winds were light and very shifty, so we headed north to Dollar Point, hoping to see some of the classic wooden boats celebrating the Lake Tahoe Concours d’Elegance at Sierra Boat Works in Carnelian Bay. We were thrilled to see a number of beautiful woodies, including the famous Thunderbird of Thunderbird Lodge fame.

The winds were so twitchy–swinging wildly from WNW to S–that I decided to tack right off Dollar Point, rather than go deeper into Carnelian Bay with all its boat traffic. It was 5 p.m. at that point, and I figured it would take a couple of hours to get back, tidy up, and get dinner going. The winds picked up considerably on the ride home, so Debbie drove while I manned the mainsheet. My rule of thumb with guests onboard is to keep the boat relatively flat and comfortable, so it was a bit of work to get upwind in the face of some pretty good gusts. We had spray coming over the bow from time to time, but we managed to stay dry and sailed over to  within view of Obexer’s, then tacked back toward home. Because the gusts were getting a bit hairier, I had Debbie fire up the engine and motor into the wind while I did my best to flake the sail over the boom. After finally getting her buttoned up, we tied up to the dock and sat down for some amazing ribs and fresh corn salad, courtesy of Bob and Pam, while Debbie served up a rich, fruity Zinfandel. Afterwards, she broke out a fresh Marionberry pie with a wonderfully flaky crust. I sat back and could’ve fallen asleep in the cockpit, exhausted but fulfilled after a fun afternoon on the water. The winds died down completely; Tahoe’s skies took on their rosy hue, and we bid our guests a safe trip back to Reno. I shooed Debbie off the boat with our bags and baggage, as it was getting dark fast, and I was a bit concerned about finding the buoy without a deck light to guide me (still haven’t replaced that #@&! bulb!). But, I just took it slow and got the line on the first try while Debbie watched from shore. I went through my security checklist one more time (Seacocks closed? Check. Head pumped dry? Check. Boathook put away? Check.), turned out the lights, and rowed the dinghy in the blackness toward shore.

Next weekend, I’m hosting some folks who won the “afternoon sail aboard Splendido” silent auction at Reno Chamber Orchestra’s 2013 Derby Day celebration…which means I’ve got a couple dozen things I need to do to make the boat pretty. Nothing like a hard deadline to inspire massive action!

Fair winds and smooth sailing! DB

Epic Sailing Day With Andy And Lee

On By David BranbyIn SplendidoLeave a comment

I was thinking of that famous line about sailboats from the movie “The Philadelphia Story” when I was sailing yesterday afternoon with Andy Gagnon and Lee Pfalmer. Splendido was simply “yar” all day, sailing fast and wonderfully as we made our way south in strong breezes to D.L. Bliss, hitting our “record” boat speed of 6.9 knots not just once, but twice, along the way.

photo[2]

Gusts were hitting at least 25 knots as we made our way south, and it was awesome having Andy and Lee aboard to help trim the sails and keep the boat flat. Splendido likes to ride a little flatter to reach her best speed, so having a little meat on the rails was a good thing.

photo[3]

Lee Pfalmer is my colleague from work at the University, and we were scouting potential videography footage to show Reno/Tahoe area lifestyle for prospective students. His father was an avid catamaran racer while Lee was growing up, so he was comfortable and happy to be out on the water once again.

photo[4]

Fair winds and smooth sailing. DB

Sailing Tahoe With Phil Campbell

On By David BranbyIn On The Water, Splendido1 Comment

ImageI had a great time sailing last Thursday with Phil Campbell, owner of Lawn Ranger (Legendary Yard Care!). I hadn’t seen Phil in a few months, as he’s super busy during the spring and summer. I met Phil about five years ago when he worked in sales for Integra Telecom. We just kind of hit it off, and it turned out that Phil actually has a very interesting life story. In his early twenties, he ran away and joined the circus—literally! The thing is, Phil is this amazingly gifted musician—he plays trumpet and piano—and he was hired by the Ringling Bros./Barnum & Bailey Circus to play in the band! So, for 10 years, Phil lived on the train with the lions and tigers and bears (oh, my!), chugging from town to town, and organizing a few local musicians at every whistle-stop to play with the circus while it was in town. Phil’s got some great stories from his life as a traveling musician, and I just enjoy being around the guy. Being a bit of an amateur guitar player myself, Phil and I will get together and butcher the best of the Beatles, Dire Straits, Van Morrison, and anything else we can think up and try to play together. Actually, Phil always sounds great—he’s one of those perfect-pitch musical types who can hear a song once and play it note for note. Me, on the other hand, well…let’s just say I’ve got about 10,000 more hours of practice to achieve any level of mastery. But we have fun, and lots of it.

ImageBut back to the sailing. Both Phil and I are 200+ lb. guys, so rowing out to Splendido was a bit of a comedy act in our 8′ Walker Bay dinghy. But, with catlike grace and athleticism, we managed to lumber aboard without getting wet. I walked the dinghy forward and tied it off on the buoy and cast us free, where some gentle afternoon breezes took us easily out over toward Chambers Landing. We gobbled up some Subway sandwiches and talked, talked, talked…and then the wind died. Completely. So, we just sort of bobbed around the bay for an hour or so and talked some more, while the sails hung lank and Tahoe began to take on its telltale pinkish hue as the sun got lower and lower. Finally, I turned on the motor and we started back…and the wind picked up! So we had “bookend” winds on this particular outing. They actually picked up pretty good, to the point where we were getting over 5 knots on the gauge and a bit of a heel, too. I made a complete hash of flaking the sail as we drew near to the buoy, so I had Phil make a big circle, which gave me time to tidy things up a bit and dive below for the boat hook. By this time, Phil was an “old hand” with the wheel and throttle, and we made our approach. Phil steered us perfectly to the buoy, then gently hit reverse to stop the boat. I got the mooring line on the first try. It was awesome. Looking forward to more music and sailing magic with Phil in the future!

Fair winds and smooth sailing. DB

All The Little Things

On By David BranbyIn Keeping Up Appearances, Mechanical Stuff, Splendido1 Comment

Here we are at mid-summer (late July) and we’ve had a lot of fun sailing. Tahoe is warming up (don’t know if that’s good or bad…climate change?) and so we’ve been swimming a lot when the boat’s on the hook, and using the boat as a relaxing platform to hang out, eat, swim, sun, and read when it’s hot in Reno. Having said all that, there are a bunch of niggling little challenges I need to work on.

1. The wind speed indicator isn’t working.

2. The depth meter also called it quits.

3. Then engine is running like a top…but I just found a split in the exhaust hose, which explains why the bilge was constantly wet. (In the video above, you can barely make out some dripping water, but it’s actually spraying a fine stream of water/exhaust against the port wall of the engine compartment.)

4. Little things like the traveler cleats are wearing out and need replacing. Yesterday, one broke while we were sailing and spit out all its tiny plastic ball bearings.

5. The sailboat trailer needs some serious beefing up before fall. (Do I see a welding class in my future?)

6. The stereo speakers in the cockpit are becoming yellowed and brittle from the UV and need replacing.

7. Debbie noticed yesterday that the “skylights” have released from their bedding compound and popped up.

8. The water coming out of the water heater has a serious “rotten eggs”/hydrogen sulfide smell. No idea what’s causing that.

9. Debbie’s also noticed that the porthole lenses are “dogged,” or cracked, from old age. (Add that to the Christmas list.)

10. And those 40 pieces of teak that I took out of the boat last year? They’re still on the floor in my garage, awaiting sanding and varnishing.

wood

Oh, and to add insult to injury (wait for it…), there was a FRESH GRAPE on the floor of the cockpit when we boarded Splendido yesterday! I have no idea where it came from, but Debbie suspected nefarious grape-eaters boarding our boat by the dark of the moon and having wild grape-eating parties, peeling them and wantonly sharing them with each other while lounging (or maybe even dancing!) on the hard plastic of our uncushioned cockpit!

(I’m thinking either one of our gentle sailing guests dropped it from his or her munchies stash and I didn’t notice, or a jokester kayaker launched it while passing by on a morning paddle.)

Moving on from this reverie, I was excited to see blog followers Zack Sisemore and Sara Barnes pass by us in their lovely yacht, the Love Boat, along with a very cute dog in a life vest. Sailors unite! I look forward to seeing them plying Tahoe’s waters and living the sailing life more this summer and beyond!

OK, off to the garage to start on that wood. Fair winds and smooth sailing! DB

Thursday Sail & Dinner With The Waddingtons

On By David BranbyIn SplendidoLeave a comment

girls-docked
We met Matt, Krista, and Rachel Waddington at the boat around 4:30 p.m. on June 19th for an evening sail and dinner aboard Splendido. Winds were steady in the 10-15 kts. range, so the sailing was smooth and Tahoe was in her early summer prime. The temperature was about 77 degrees out on the water, and the water was just warm enough for a few plunges for Matt and me before we set sail. I always tell people who’ve never done it that swimming in Lake Tahoe is like swimming in Champagne…it feels that good. (Debbie would argue with me on this point…she thinks swimming in Tahoe is for polar bears and crazy people.) We sailed down to Ehrman Mansion and turned back, wanting to have enough daylight to cook dinner, clean up, and put Splendido back on the hook for the night. (Plus, we both had to work Friday, so we didn’t want to get back to late.) Debbie made wonderful caprese sandwiches on thick, crusty bread, followed by an orzo pasta salad with chicken. We feasted, then I took a few photos of our crew before packing up for the night.

matt-pier
Fair winds and smooth sailing! DB

A Work Day That Turned Into A Sailing Day

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

Debbie aboard Splendido, her 1993 Catalina 270, at Lake Tahoe.
Saturday morning, Debbie and I got up early and had a bunch of chores to do around the yard, including planting a pine tree, moving several other shrubs and replanting them, watering, and general yard clean-up. The day broke clear and bright, and it didn’t take long to work up a sweat. Around noon, we took a breather and contemplated just staying home and continuing on with our chores, or heading up to do some housekeeping on the boat. (Guess which one appealed more!)

We loaded up the oars, tools, drill, and drinks and headed up the Mount Rose Highway toward Tahoe. We stopped by the 7-Eleven in Carnelian Bay for a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos and a bag of ice. The Cool Ranch Doritos are kind of a summer thing for us…we enjoy them once a year, and they remind of us of the brilliant but brief summer season at Tahoe. We were curious how much traffic we’d find in Tahoe City, as the cars started backing up at about Dollar Point, but things moved smoothly, and before we knew it, we were headed south on 89 to Homewood where Splendido was bobbing peacefully, and where there were a number of good places to park along the beach.

The main thrust of the day’s trip was for Debbie to give Splendido the woman’s touch in the cabin, as I had stowed most of the household goods but was a bit confused as to where everything really belonged (this is true at home as well. Must be a guy thing.) She wanted to get everything squared away because we had invited her sister Krista and brother-in-law Matt out for a sail next Thursday, so time was of the essence. When she finished up with her tidying and stowing, I got busy with the drill and the seat benches. They are held to the hull with stainless-steel screws, but these screws have been in and out so many times, they had worn bigger holes, so there was no “purchase” any longer. I modified some of those drywall plastic expander deals by clipping off the ends and then screwing the screws into them. It was a perfect solution; the screws now hold the boards in rock-solid, the fiberglass is intact and protected from splintering; and God forbid if the boat ever flipped, everything would stay in place.

Debbie got a little woozy working down below because of the all the ski boat chop, so when I came up for air, she was nearly asleep on the pillows in the cockpit, hat pulled low over her eyes. The boat was looking pretty “showroom” at this point, so we agreed that a little sail would provide a nice change from the chop. The forecast was for light winds in the 10-12 kt. range, but the winds freshened a bit when we were out on the water, so I reduced the jib to about 60 percent and pulled the traveler high to the windward side to twist off the not-infrequent gusts. It was a comfortable and fast combination. As we neared Sugar Pine Point, we decided to tack upwind to Obexer’s for a pump-out, as we were getting the occasional earthy wafting from the head. Alas, when we arrived at Obexer’s at about 5:30 p.m., the pump station had been locked up for the night. The young man on the dock advised us to come back in the morning, so we glided on and motored the mile or so up the west shore to our buoy. With our little Perkins Perama gurgling and pushing us along at 4 kts., we were able to relax and enjoy the beautiful scenery along the west shore. We had used a fair amount of electricity with the CD player and the cabin lights and the water pump running, so this gave us a chance to recharge the batteries, too.
David sailing Splendido, the 1993 Catalina 270, at Lake Tahoe, June 22, 2013

Back on the hook, I laid down for a mini-nap in the cockpit while Debbie enjoyed a glass of Chardonnay. The corner of the lake where we find ourselves this year is very peaceful and visually stunning. I was tempted to stay the night aboard, but we felt the pull of our two cats at home, and we wanted to see the Supermoon rise from the Tahoe Meadows on our way back to Reno. I must’ve read the time wrong in the paper, but the giant moon popped up over Slide Mountain as we were enjoying fish tacos at our new favorite casual joint, El Sancho in Tahoe Vista. The perigee moon is apparently 13 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than its counterpart, the apogee moon, and it looked it. It was so bright, in fact, that driving home, I had to avert my eyes to avoid seeing spots. All in all, it was a wonderful though tiring day, and we both slept like rocks. Can’t wait until our next sail this Thursday!
DSC_0157
Fair winds and smooth sailing! DB

Classic Tahoe Sailing With Michael Salley

On By David BranbyIn Food & Drink, On The Water, SplendidoLeave a comment

photo

Last Wednesday afternoon, I had the opportunity to take a half-day off and so invited my dear friend Michael Salley out for a sail on Splendido. We loaded up the gear at 1 p.m. and arrived at the boat at 2 p.m., spending the time in the car catching up. Michael is the CEO of International Lining Technology and was my very first client when I opened my ad agency in 2003. He’s also an enthusiastic waterman and lover of sailing, so it was a pleasure to have him out on the boat. Winds were predicted in the 10-12 kt. range, but we were happily surprised to find them in the 15-20 range all afternoon. Our floatplan took us south of Sugar Pine Point and then north to Tahoe City, where we watched the “big boys” play at racing the Wednesday night beer can races.

The big adventure on this sail was actually getting to the boat. The Walker Bay dinghy is only rated at 360 pounds for two people, or 425 lbs. for passengers, outboard motor and gear. Since it was flat water when we arrived and we both had PFDs on, we distributed our weight and gear and I rowed “backwards” toward Splendido. It took a bit of gymnastics to get from the dinghy to the sailboat, but we managed unscathed and quickly got our gear stowed, the Perkins Perama diesel running, and the sail cover off to start our voyage.

Michael brought along a whole bag of goodies to eat and drink, including cheese and crackers, beef jerky, cow elk smokies, and a huge bag of salt-and-pepper pistachios that I spilled all over the cockpit (but didn’t waste a one!) Washed it down with my classic Old Milwaukee N/A “red beer.” Life is good!

Here’s the video clip:

Fair winds and smooth sailing! DB

Sailing Tahoe – The Sequel

On By David BranbyIn On The Water, SplendidoLeave a comment

A short little video from Saturday, June 15, 2013 showing David and Debbie’s first outing of the season together aboard Splendido, our 1993 Catalina 270 sailboat, along with our sailboat’s new sidekick, Splendi, an 8-ft. Walker Bay dinghy.