A fond look back at a (mostly) serene sailing season at Lake Tahoe

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

It’s funny what you remember when looking back on a sailing season. The thought that most occupied my mind last season was, “OK, are those five new thru-hulls I installed last spring going to stay watertight?” In the end, they worked out just fine, as did the new cutlass bearing (much quieter motoring than in all the previous years we’d owned Splendido) and the “drill-and-fill” repairs to the cabin roof. On the happy side, Debbie and I felt very fortunate that we did not experience the busy fire season locally like much of the rest of North America, so it was a summer of blue skies and ideal wind conditions, which opened up opportunities to explore other parts of Tahoe.

One memorable but somewhat regrettable experience I had was sailing south to Camp Richardson on a busy weekend in August. I hadn’t spent much time at the south end of the lake because I’ve found the winds to be a little flukey down there, and it’s also known for having a quite shallow sandy bottom. Nevertheless, I thought it would be fun to pull into the public dock at Camp Rich and go find a refreshing beverage at The Beacon Bar & Grill, because my sailiing pal Ancil (who keeps his boat down there) had told me what a great place it was. I could see the long pier was bustling with people and boats, so I motored every-so-slowly in and spotted an opening along the pier large enough for our 27-foot Splendido. Right as I started my turn, a small speedboat piloted by two stoned chuckleheads zipped in front of me and poached my spot. I swerved back toward shore to avoid a collision, and instantly felt the keel drag in the sandy bottom. Fortunately, I hit reverse and was able to avoid getting stuck, but that was it for me. I made for open water, set sail and headed north, breathing a sigh of relief at leaving the madding crowds in my wake. Alas, my eagerly anticipated visit to The Beacon would have to wait.

One highlight of the season was trying out a new-to-me pizza joint on the North Shore, Whitecaps Pizza with my buddy Jamie and also with Debbie. I’d heard about Whitecaps from our longtime friend and fellow foodie, Jim “J.B.” Budny of Christy Hill in Tahoe City (more on him below). J.B. had waxed eloquent about the crust of Whitecaps’ pizza. “They do a three-day proof,” he said. “It’s amazing.” J.B. was right. It was remarkable, and sitting at the bar on the deck and gazing out at one of the best views at Tahoe sealed the deal. Whitecaps is my new Tahoe pizza favorite, and I’d drive an hour from Reno for one of their pies.

Speaking of food, at Lake Tahoe, Debbie and I have two places that we love to visit when we go out to eat, and we’ve been fans of both for many, many years.

The first of our Tahoe foodie favorites is Wolfdale’s in Tahoe City. I think we went there on our first date in 1991, and it was — and is — spectacular. Douglas Dale, the founder and chef, has become a friend over the years, as Debbie would occasionally invite him down to Reno to showcase his amazing culinary gifts as featured chef at her place, The Cheese Board & Wine Seller. If you go, do not miss Douglas’ house-made smoked trout with aioli. Better yet, order five of them and make a meal of it. It’s that yummy.

Neck-and-neck with Wolfdale’s is Christy Hill, another longtime staple of the Tahoe City culinary scene. We’ve followed legendary Tahoe waiter and sommelier Jim “J.B.” Budny from Wolfdale’s to Boulevard to Spindleshanks to Christy Hill, where he delivers a masterclass every night in the art and science of service. The views at Christy Hill are to die for, and the nosh is wonderful. J.B. has a gift for pairing wines from all over the world with Christy Hill’s stunning cuisine. Planning a special date night? Make this the place.

We were delighted to welcome some old friends and new ones aboard Splendido this past season. Our friends Mikey and Patty joined us for an afternoon at Sugar Pine as we gently bobbed about, ate, drank and just basked in the bliss of being at Lake Tahoe on a balmy summer afternoon. These opportunities to really unwind are pretty special. Another special guest aboard was my cinematographer colleague and friend, Damian Gordon of Sierra Studio Films, who came up to film Splendido sailing from his drone. Damian is a gifted videographer and editor who’s hired by the likes of the San Francisco Marathon and large corporations to do video work. He’s also the marketing videographer for Nevada’s flagship university, where I’ve worked with him creating student recruiting videos for the past five years. We spent the day sailing the west shore, and I’ll post what we did here once I do the video voiceover that I’ve been putting off now for months. Stay tuned.

You probably noticed one photo in the gallery here showing a vast amount of yellow pine pollen collected along the shore where we launch. Yep, that’s Tahoe in June, and this past year, the pollen was so intense that when a breeze would come up in the pines, it would waft up on a scale that made it look like smoke from a fire. I don’t suffer from pollen allergies myself, but I pity the poor souls who do at that time of year. I think the massive pollen release was a result of the big winter and abundance of water we had over the winter of 2022/23. At the moment, though, the Sierra Nevada snowpack is at 25% of the historical average for January, which is a bit worrying. It looks like a storm is on the way, so fingers crossed for some lake-filling wet weather ahead.

Right now, Splendido is sitting on her trailer in her winter pasture covered with a new-to-me canvas sailboat cover that a fellow Catalina 270 sailor in Seattle gave me, as he found he didn’t need it in the milder Pacific Northwest. My handy pal Ancil is after me to replace Splendido’s battery cables, which we noticed had quite a bit of corrosion at the ends last season. My other projects before launch in a few months include installing brand-new lifelines and a new electric bilge pump, and maybe new portlights, as ours are quite dogged, as they’re now 31 years old. Ah, there’s always plenty of messing about to be done when it comes to boats, but the you realize it’s a privilege to be grateful for, and you just get on with it.

One last thing to note is that today, I’m retiring from the university where I’ve worked for past 11 years to spend more time with my darling bride, Debbie, who sold her business six years ago and has been kinda hanging out waiting for me to get with the program. Our plan is to sail more and stress less, so fingers crossed. I’ll keep you posted. Until next time …

Fair winds and smooth sailing! DB

Looking for love? Tahoe’s own Love Boat is for sale

On By David BranbyIn Friend ShipsLeave a comment

Longtime readers may remember the first of my “Friendships” posts about Love Boat, Zack Sizemore’s great Catalina 22. She’s a sweet Tahoe pocket cruiser that Zack has put heart and soul into restoring over the years, and now she’s up for sale as Zack’s business, Wake Almanor, has taken off.

Zack’s asking $5K for this little beauty, and notes she’s a “1988 Catalina 22 wing keel with a trailer. Honda 8 hp outboard serviced annually. Rolling furler with a fairly new 120% jib, Seoladair boomkicker, BBQ, pop top. Fresh water only. “Tahoe Only” sealed. Comes with lots of extra parts and tools.”  Interested sailors can contact Zack for details and a showing at (530) 409-8700.

Whenever I think of this boat, I can’t help hearing Jack Jones crooning the Love Boat theme from 1977:

Love, exciting and new
Come aboard. We’re expecting you.
And Love, life’s sweetest reward.
Let it flow, it floats back to you.

Love Boat soon will be making another run
The Love Boat promises something for everyone
Set a course for adventure,
Your mind on a new romance.

And Love won’t hurt anymore
It’s an open smile on a friendly shore.
Yes LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE!

Welcome Aboard. It’s LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE!

Fair winds and smooth sailing. DB

Kicking off sailing season with some zing

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

All the hard work this past winter and spring seems to be paying off — we’ve gotten out for five sailing sessions of pure Tahoe perfection. After a wonky June with lots of thunderstorms and winds that were blowing dogs off chains (my pal Ancil said one storm blew 30-40 lawn chairs into the lake at Camp Richardson at the south end of the lake), things settled down and Debbie and I got in some great sailing in 10-12 knot breezes with gusts to 17, which is just about right for our little boat.

I had a little drama with the mooring buoy this spring. I noticed someone had shackled their shiny new wakeboarding boat to the buoy I’d legally leased, which was a little alarming, let me tell you. Evidently, a new homeowner in the area where we rent our buoy felt entitled to take a buoy, leave town for a month and deal with the consequences later. I have a photo showing me pointing out the offending craft (with my middle finger), but I’ll refrain from posting it here. Ancil offered to lend me his auger, but I declined. We have plenty of sharp knives suitable for cutting mooring lines aboard already. 🙂 Fortunately, we have a very cool lease-lord who helped get things squared away, offering us another of his buoys closer in to shore until the switch could be properly made. My favorite part was when the officious blonde lady (let’s call her Karen) with the clipboard in the kayak paddled over and flatly said the situation had changed in this mooring field and I wouldn’t be able to moor there at all next year. After reporting this exchange, my lease-lord texted me: “Don’t you love it when people are confidently wrong?”

This past Saturday, I single-handed up to Sugar Pine State Park and anchored next to Le Crapaud. Debbie had some obligations in town, so I lolled about on the hook and spent a little time enjoying virgin mango coladas (for me) with Ancil and his partner Tina. The moon came up and the lake was like a mill pond. I don’t think I’ve ever slept better aboard. Debbie drove up Sunday morning and I rowed into shore to pick her up. We put up our little boom tent and read books in the shade as the boat bobbed gently — and sometimes not so gently, due to all the speedboats. But, that’s summer at Tahoe and you take it as it comes. Later, I rowed Debbie back to shore and she drove home while I sailed a 17-knot breeze back to Mark Zuckerberg Bay (oops, I meant to say Hurricane Bay). Our pal Mark bought two adjacent properties at the north end of Hurricane last year (reportedly spending $70 million, which I calculate as three days’ wages for him), and we see him out on his eFoil board weaving around our anchorage on flat mornings. But I digress. On my sail back, the wind was right on the nose at 320º (which is my usual head-back heading), so I trimmed up everything tight and really couldn’t “turn the corner” until I was literaly at right angles to our buoy and 1/2 mile off. Magically, the wind veered south at the last moment and I was able to sail right up to the ball. Still shaking my head about that.

We’re headed out this afternoon for a sail and a meetup with fellow sailors where we’ll share our favorite Caribbean Rum Zing recipe and watch the alpenglow paint the Tahoe skies pink and orange. Debbie just pulled out the portable chess set, so I expect she’ll beat me like a red-haired stepchild at that game as the sun sets and the brilliant Milky Way appears.

My next post will likely be a GoPro video I’ve been working on … dang, those things are a lot of work (especially the editing part), so I hope it all comes together.

Until then, fair winds and smooth sailing, and thanks for following along! DB

Swapping out the cutlass bearing (and other joys of spring boat prep)

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

Our good old boat turns 30 this year, so it was no big surprise that spring commissioning would entail a few more tasks than usual to keep her ship-shape. It helped a lot to have fellow sailor Ancil — an incredibly talented, mechanically inclined guy — poke around Splendido when she was on the hard and notice things I hadn’t noticed. One day, he grabbed hold of the prop drive shaft and said, “You need a new cutlass bearing.” Before I knew it, we were working together to remove the old bushing that supports the drive shaft and tapping in a new one, as shown in this video. The untold part of the video above is that we got a little excited and ended up crimping one edge of the new cutlass bearing as we were tapping it in, so I had to buy a new $75 part from Catalina Direct and re-do it. C’est la guerre.

Ancil struck again by noticing that Splendido’s exhaust thru-hull was cracked. That was a bit of a shocker, as I started playing with it and it broke and literally fell out of the boat. Yikes! Many online searches and phone calls later, and I was able to get Catalina Direct to source a serviceable replacement that is now posted on their website. Having that one fail inspired me to replace four more of the thru-hulls in the boat, and I think they turned out pretty well — plus, it gave me an easy opportunity to use Marelube on all of the seacocks, and to improve access to the annoying one under the kitchen sink.

The fairlead tracks were leaking and allowing water into the balsa of the deck, so Debbie and I drilled and filled them with epoxy and installed new stainless fasteners all down the line. I’m still cleaning up the epoxy drips, but the good thing about an older boat with an oxidized fiberglass deck is that they’re a little easier to deal with — a sharp razor-blade and a bit of heat gun action seems to be doing the trick.

We launch next Tuesday, so I’m excited to finally get her back out on Lake Tahoe. Other honey-dos this winter included riveting on a new gooseneck to boom and mast, and doing a quick re-varnish of the cabin lockers, drink holder, and oars. Ah, the aroma of varnish stinking up the garage in the morning. It smells like … sailing season!

This morning, it’s back to the boat yard to caulk the fairlead tracks, clean up epoxy drips, Thixo some aged, cracked plastic pieces, and maybe touch up some paint on boat and trailer. I promise, my next post will be about actually sailing on Lake Tahoe — that is, if Zephyrus grants us the privilege.

Fair winds and smooth sailing. DB

Sleeping Beauty — An Update

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

I just read in the San Francisco Chronicle that we’ve experienced 12 atmospheric rivers this winter, so I was surprised to discover that Splendido was not knee-deep in mud when I went to check on her last week at her winter home. She was only ankle-deep, as the trailer tires had sunk a bit into the pasture. I don’t think it will be a problem.

I’m excited — as always, at this time of year — to get after the spring commissioning and get back out on the water. We were lucky to re-up our buoy by Hurricane Bay, so that’s one thing checked off the list. The big project at the moment is riveting a new gooseneck assembly onto the boom and mast. After that, it’s re-drilling the fairlead track holes, filling them with epoxy again, and drilling once again so they’re sealed and I can re-install the tracks.

Last week, I stripped the boom of the lazy bag and mainsail and brought it home to rivet on the new parts. I have never riveted anything in my life, so I quicky became a YouTube™ Certified Riveter by watching four or five videos, and now I’m ready for the challenge. The only quirk about mast and boom work is, you’ve got to use stainless-steel rivets and a goop called Ultra Tef-Gel to ward off corrosion. That Ultra Tef-Gel crap is spendy — $30 for a little tube. Debbie just shook her head and said, “What are you complaining about? Have you seen the price of lipstick lately?”

I did want to note that I had a bonafide brush with greatness at the end of last season. As regular readers may recall, I went through a real mental health challenge during the pandemic, and one thing that helped me through that period was watching countless episodes of a YouTube™ program called Sailing SV Delos, which chronicles the adventures of Brian and Kazza and, for many of the episodes, Brian’s brother Señor Brady and Brady’s partner, Alex Blue. When I heard that Brady and Blue had moved up to the Tahoe area and started a sailing school, I sent a note of welcome to their website and mentioned we shared the same mooring field. One evening, when I was working belowdecks, I spied a familiar face on an approaching sailboat. It was Señor Brady stopping by to say hello! We had a nice chat, and I told him how his adventures aboard SV Delos inspired me during the real low patch I was going through, and he was so gracious and humble —just a genuinely great human being. It was really a highlight to the 2022 sailing season.

Splendido turns 30 this year, and so my goal is to turn this sleeping beauty into the best version of herself in the next 60 days. Sailing her is the absolute best, but messing about in the boat is a close second for me. Thanks for sailing along, hit that “Like” button if the spirit moves you, and let me know in the “Leave A Comment” section if you have any questions about the care, feeding and sailing of the lovely Catalina 270 sailboat.

Until next time, fair winds and following seas! DB

Why are mooring buoys so expensive at Lake Tahoe?

On By David BranbyIn On The WaterLeave a comment



Just for fun, I — like millions worldwide — decided to try the artificial intelligence tool called ChatGPT to answer a question that’s been bouncing around in my head for years. I had to edit it a bit to make it make sense, but this is the answer it came up with.

Mooring buoys at Lake Tahoe can be expensive due to a variety of factors. Some of the reasons may include:

  1. High demand Lake Tahoe is a popular destination for boating and water sports, which can drive up the demand for mooring buoys.
  2. Limited supply The number of mooring buoys at Lake Tahoe is limited, which can also contribute to the high cost.
  3. Maintenance costs Mooring buoys require regular maintenance to ensure they are safe and functional, which can add to the overall cost.
  4. Government regulations There may be government regulations and permits that need to be obtained in order to install a mooring buoy, which can add to the cost.
  5. Environmental impact Lake Tahoe is a sensitive ecosystem and measures need to be taken to minimize the environmental impact of the mooring buoys, which can also add to the cost.
  6. High land values The Lake Tahoe basin is a high land-value area with high property prices that might reflect on the cost of the buoys.

It’s important to note that prices can vary depending on the location of the buoy, dinghy access and public parking available nearby, so it’s always a good idea to shop around and compare prices before making a decision.

It doesn’t take artificial intelligence to understand what’s on my mind, sitting here with a hot cup of coffee on a very wintery and cold (27º F.) day here in Reno, with my boat under a foot of snow at 5,886 ft. elevation. I’d better get on the horn and get something going to secure a mooring for the coming sailing season. Until next time,

Fair winds and following seas. DB

High and Dry: Diving into Winter Projects

On By David BranbyIn Commissioning & De-commissioning, Keeping Up Appearances, Mechanical Stuff, SplendidoLeave a comment
Photo of SV Splendido, a Catalina 270 sailboat, undergoing winter repairs on the deck.

We pulled Splendido out of the lake a little early this season as Debbie and I were celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary by taking a 10-day road trip down the gorgeous California coast. When we returned, I went to work on some projects that were adding up, including replacing the fasteners for the fairlead tracks, which had been letting condensation through the deck into the cabin, and staining the curtains and ceiling with a “tea” comprised of dirt and maybe rust or corrosion from the so-called stainless steel barrel nuts, some of which had just decomposed and fell out of the ceiling after all these years. Splendido is, after all, now 30 years old, so the working of the boat must’ve done its thing to the hardware.

While winterizing the boat, I noticed (not for the first time, mind you) that the boom gooseneck assembly had really worn down over the years, to the point where my sailing buddy Ancil remarked, “I’m surprised it hasn’t broken off yet.” So, the process of finding a replacement began for venerable Isomat boom parts. At length, I did find a source (and this, after contacting Catalina Yachts’ factory in Florida and another party who evidently purchased all the back stock of parts from Catalina’s factory, both non-responsive to my inquiries) and that was at Rig-Rite, Inc. I found what I was looking for on their website, but as luck would have it, their shopping cart wasn’t working today, so I’ll have to wait until Monday to call and complete the transaction.

I do want to express my thanks to Ancil, who is graciously renting me some space in his pasture once again to store Splendido this winter. I didn’t write about it before, but my experiment of keeping her up at the lake last winter was an unmitigated waste of resources. She got far more beaten up by the storms at elevation — even though she was (expensively) shrink-wrapped — than she ever has wintering on the hard down here in Reno. I was stunned at how the storms up there blew debris up and under the tight “skirt” of the shrink-wrap and so she was just filthy when I went to uncover her last spring. And, the areas that were covered by this “skirt” had a weird pink mold growing, which was a delight to clean off, let me tell you. So, I learned my lesson and she’s staying close to home this winter so I can get some work done. The list, as always, is long, but so is the dark season here, so I’ll just chip away and see that I can do. For now, it’s sealing the fairlead track holes with epoxy and re-drilling them so they’re watertight.

Additional thanks goes to Ancil, who is one of the most mechanically inclined people I’ve ever met. He’s helped me out of half a dozen mechanical fixes already, and for that, I am grateful. It’s a small community of sailors here where I live, but not a bad one in the bunch so far. I’m looking forward to getting back on the water as soon as I can. Until then …

Fair winds and following seas. DB

Escaping the heat

On By David BranbyIn On The Water, Overnighters, Splendido1 Comment

It’s been well over 100º F. at home this week, so we have been taking every opportunity to get out on the water to cool down. Tahoe has been hot as well, recording temps in the high 80s — something I’ve never seen before in our 12 years of sailing here. I brought our old hot tub thermometer with us and recorded a water surface temperature of 72º F. at Sugar Pine State Park. I swam around for hours, snorkeling a bit in the area where we dropped the hook and checking out Splendido’s hull. Even Debbie jumped in and swam around for about 20 minutes without getting chilled, which I believe is a new record for her.

I love it when I have uninterrupted time on the boat, like when we do an overnight stay. Tahoe was like a mill pond all night, so I woke up fresh around 5 a.m. and got the coffee going so we could enjoy the sunrise. Debbie took up her favorite spot on the foredeck and I joined her as we soaked in the silence and serenity of the early hour. I noticed the nylon pins on the hinges to the foreward hatch had worked their way out about an inch and a half on both sides, so I went down and got a screwdriver and an adjustable wrench to gently tap them back into place. Splendido seems pretty dialed in this summer, but I’m always thinking about the next project. Right now, I’m thinking about a fall project to refurbish the sea hood, and another project to repaint and upgrade the trailer before we pull Splendido in October. I saw a funny line on the Catalina 270 forum that said “the only thing guaranteed to work on an older sailboat is the owner,” and I enjoyed a real belly laugh over that. But, as someone who has worked at a desk as a writer for 35 years, I actually relish the chance to do hands-on work and learn a few things. I think that’s what I appreciate most about owning a sailboat: I’ve learned a bit about diesel maintenance, plumbing, electrical, woodworking, gel coat repair, plastic fabrication, and lots more — mostly in a clumsy, oh-ffs-what-have-I-done-now? way. But I digress. For now, I’m just grateful that the fire season hasn’t been too bad, and that our exposure to smoke has been minimal. You can see the start of the smoke that came in from the Oak Fire near Yosemite July 22, and I am happy to say the fire crews really jumped on that one and knocked it down within a week. It looks like there’s a break in the heat dome today, and before we know it, the sky will change mid-August and that first hint of fall will hang in the air.

Fair winds. DB

A recipe for summer sailing at Lake Tahoe

On By David BranbyIn SplendidoLeave a comment

Debbie and I have been getting out on the water this season at every opportunity — almost to the point of exhaustion. (Yes, it’s a tough job, but somebody’s gotta do it.) 🙂 Seriously, though, at our age, you really do notice the physical effort involved with sailing at 6,224 ft. above sea level, so you’ve got to keep your strength up.

To that point, I want to share an amazing recipe for olive oil cake that Debbie makes (with all credit to legendary pastry chef Jennifer Shelbo), which is a perfect snack for munching on when you’ve thrown down the hook and have a chance to rest your hands and eyes in the cool shade of your boom tent to beat the dazzling sunshine and heat that’s now a part of summer sailing at Lake Tahoe.

Olive oil cake — yum!
Debbie’s ready to sail.
First sail of 2022.
Sandy and Ryan, first-time sailors.
Ryan Green hoisting the flag, July 4, 2022.
A toast to Tahoe.
Southbound again.
Shaking the reef.
A singlehander’s snack.
Motoring.
Happy faces after a long winter.
Cruising at 5.5 knots.
We’re flushed with excitement over the new marine head.
Yes, this is my happy place.
Shady characters.
Blackwood Canyon, near our home buoy.
One day we forgot the boat key, so opted for a picnic instead.
That’s our girl.
Chasing faster boats to the north.

Two things come to mind about sailing so far this summer:

  1. The performance of the new standing rigging and CDI furler installed and tuned by Pete Lewis of Tahoe Sailboat Service is amazing. Our previous boatspeed record was 6.4 knots. Yesterday (7/16/22), I hit 6.7 knots while singlehanding in 19-21 knots of breeze. While expensive to do, the upgrade was worth it. Thanks, Pete!
  2. I have yet to meet my sailing heroes Brady Trautman and Alex Blue of SV Delos/Cruisers Academy fame, although their Catalina 22 teaching boats are moored only 100 yards away from Splendido’s buoy. As a total dork fanboy, I wear my SV Delos rash guard shirt on a lot of sunny days.

    Fair winds, DB

Friend Ships: Gary Hamilton’s Catalina 270, “Nothing Like This”

On By David BranbyIn Friend Ships, Keeping Up Appearances, Mechanical Stuff, Splendido2 Comments

If there’s anyone I’ve encountered who embodies the phrase, “Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing – absolutely nothing – half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats,” it would be sailor Gary Hamilton of Wabamun Lake in western Canada. I have followed Gary’s Sailing in western Canada blog for years, and each visit leaves me in bewildered awe at the way Gary has tricked out his lovely Catalina 270, Nothing Like This, with ingenious upgrades and improvements to the already wonderful Gerry Douglas design. He’s also one of the most generous folks out there on the Catalina 270 forums, keeping the conversation going about all things related to sailing the C270. I reached out to Gary for some insights on his philosophy and process, and he was kind enough to share, in words and photos, his passion for making the most of his time on the water.

Q&A with Gary Hamilton, Skipper, Nothing Like This

Q: How did you come about owning Nothing Like This? 

A: I was looking on Yachtworld one day, saw a 270 for sale in Denver and this adventure began. The trailer was home-made, and the border guys wouldn’t let it into Canada, so it went to Seattle, got tossed in the big lake (ed note: the Pacific Ocean), the trailer got hauled across on a flatbed, the boat got motored to Vancouver, reunited and driven home. Take that, border people!

Q: Did you own a sailboat before you bought her? How did you start sailing, and how long ago?

A: I’ve owned boats almost all my life. I had a brand-new MacGregor 26 in 1993, and discovered a tippy, smallish boat with no headroom. But it trailers easily and we went a lot of places with it.

Q: I know you’ve done a bunch of upgrades to your boat and trailer over the years … can you give us a rundown on them?

A: The list is long quite long. A full RayMarine electronics installation with autopilot and tactical. A home-made top down furler with home-made bow sprit for the asymmetrical kite, upgraded virtually every sail-handling system, and added back winches, making it a pleasure to sail. Designed and built a dodger and a Bimini while learning how to sew; bought a TechSew machine that is cheap offshore and finicky as all get out. Solar installation, and pretty much redesigned the trailer from the ground up, lowering the boat over 20” and allowing a trailer launch, with three axles for on the road peace of mind.

Q: Are you an engineer by training? A lot of your projects seem quite involved. Are they projects anyone could do?

A: I am a technical director for an electronics company by trade. I have no issue diving into almost any kind of project; the trick is to do sufficient research, understand, or go find out the issues that exist for what you want to accomplish, have a goal, and be prepared to make and correct mistakes.  The trailer project was way, way out of my league, but the basic shape was already there, and the placement of the new axles was a calculated guess. The boat was close and has had two relatively minor adjustments since.  The dodger was probably an order of magnitude harder; I had literally no idea what I was doing, had really never operated a sewing machine, and I spent a good month building stuff, watching and copying ways of doing stuff. Now I can do a French seam. Is it straight? It’s straight enough for me. 

Q: What do you love most about Nothing Like This and sailing Wabamun Lake?

I’d rather be at the coast. Wabamun Lake is an inland lake that is close to the foothills. It’s shallow, so there isn’t much fetch, there’s no current, the wind shifts can be 180 degrees, which is why there’s a top-down furler for the kite, and when weather rolls in, it sometimes does so with a vengeance. What I love the most is that I can be on the boat in 35 minutes from my house, and the sun doesn’t set till 11 in July.  

Q: What would you change about your boat/what upgrades do you have planned?

A: I’m not happy with the bilge pump arrangement, and will likely yank it all out and do something else. If I were to change anything, I’d make the berth access like that on a 28mkii and get rid of the door. This business of turning sideways and contorting yourself into a hernia to get in there is rather annoying.

Q: What was your most fun or interesting time on Wabamun Lake?

A: I’d have to say exercising the controls on the boat to the fullest and having people try to keep up.  No smugness there — ha ha!

Q: What was your worst experience sailing western Canada?

A: Breaking rudder cables on the MacGregor. There are lots of shallow spots, and you need to know where they are. We hit something in the Catalina 270 last year (that was a first!) and put a little divot in the keel. Yikes!

Q: What would you tell people about sailing western Canada they might be surprised to know?

A: It’s like sailing a mountain lake. Don’t tack on the wind shifts. We had some world class sailors on the MacGregor once, and they didn’t believe it, and we were dead last on the Wednesday night series, where we were usually top five. Go figure.

Q: Any final thoughts?A: I still think that everybody out west should plan a get-together at the coast. Get a mortgage and buy some fuel.  Let’s go!


Thanks so much for the inspiration, Gary. Fair winds and following seas! DB