First Sail for 2014, Single-handed & Serene

On By David BranbyIn On The Water, SplendidoLeave a comment

First Sail 2014 First Sail 2014 photo 1[1]I was as excited as  a kid in a candy store to get up and actually sail this week. So, I worked through lunch on Thursday and left the office at 4 to see if I might catch a ride or two. The sky over Truckee was filled with big thunder-bumpers, so I wasn’t particularly optimistic about sailing. But, when I got to the lake, it was mostly clear, so I set about zip-tying all of the turnbuckles and taking care of the odds and ends that I hadn’t finished on my last visit. A delicate breeze came up around 6 p.m., so I motored out to the wind line and hoisted sail. To my chagrin, I had forgotten to attach the reefing lines, so there were two long ropes hanging off the back end of the boom, and all I could think of was what a mess that would be if it got gusty and I had to take in sail. So, I put her in irons, dropped the sail, and attached everything properly.

About four boats were out, dancing around a bit on the broad sheet of blue between the massive clouds to the north and also to the south of the lake. I decided to head south to visit my new friends at the Big Blue Tahoe Yacht Club, which is comprised mostly of sailors who put in and out at Obexer’s Marina. The wind picked up to where I was heading due south at 5.8 knots, so I just slathered on some sunscreen and enjoyed the relaxing sail. Splendido performed like a champ, and for a while I forgot about the depth meter whose transducer went out and the anemometer whose cups wouldn’t spin. I could tell it was blowing 10-15 mph and I knew the depth was in the hundreds of feet…Tahoe is so clear, you can see rocks way before you’d be on top of them.

I got down within a hundred yards of Cheeseburger in Paradise and Grand Cru, both sitting pretty out in front of Obexer’s, then decided to tack back north, as the sun was about to dip behind the mountains by Homewood.

About half way back, I decided to fire up the Perkins to charge the batteries, as I’d noticed #1 was almost in the yellow zone on the meter. As the boat made its way north, I did a quick check of the bilge, and noticed more water than usual flowing in. I checked the auto bilge pump, and it was working fine; now to source the leak. After poking around a bit, I found it: I hadn’t tighted the hose clamps enough on the 15 feet of new exhaust hose that I’d replaced a couple of weeks ago, and so the water in the hose was leaking out onto the hull and running down into the bilge. A few sweaty turns of the 5/16th socket wrench, and the mini deluge abated. Whew! Nothing gets your attention more than a leak on a boat. Who needs meditation when you’ve got stuff like that going on?

I kept a close eye on things once I was on the hook, leaving the engine on to continue to charge the batteries while I fluffed and buffed the boat and put everything to bed. The leaking seemed to have stopped completely, the batteries were charging, and the Perkins was humming gentlly as I went above decks and began to swing the boat port-to-starboard, to get the water into the bilge and out from under the floorboards (we’re not talking a lot of water here; less than a gallon all told. But still.). Satisfied that everything seemed OK, I buttoned up the cabin and rowed back to the beach, exhilarated after a nice sail and happy that I could find the problem and fix it. (Yay!) My wish is to get everything dialed in and ready so I can do a single-handed circumnavigation of Tahoe in late June or July. Every day on the water is another shot at working out the kinks!

Fair winds and smooth sailing! DB

 

Ready to Sail 2014

On By David BranbyIn Commissioning & De-commissioning, Keeping Up Appearances, On The WaterLeave a comment

Load-in 2014 Load-in 2014 II Fully loaded 2014I woke up at 4:58 a.m. today, excited to hit the road and get Splendido loaded for sailing season. Thirteen hours later, I am back home, bone-weary, and ready to hit the hay. All that’s left to do is install the UV zip-ties on all the turnbuckles and lifelines, and we’re good to go.

The obvious issue this year is how low the water is; I was at the very end of the dock, and I was pretty nervous that I’d be painting the rocks with the keel. Didn’t happen, but I imagine this will be the last time I even get near that particular dock this summer.

Load-in wasn’t that hard; it was just time-consuming. It still needs Debbie’s touch to give it orderliness and style. I was just content to get everything in and stowed quickly, and get back out to the buoy before the waterski boats started creating chop that would surely bang the keel on the rocks below.

At the end of the day, she looks pretty good. Everything works; all the wood is in; and what was really remarkable to me is that the Perkins Perama just fires up nicely every time. Can’t wait to get out and sail…probably next weekend will be the season opener. Until then, fair winds and smooth sailing! DB

Kowabunga: High Winds Make For Winter Surfing At Tahoe

On By David BranbyIn On The Water, SplendidoLeave a comment

kowabunga tahoe winter surfingI’ve often thought about keeping Splendido moored on a buoy all year ’round at Lake Tahoe, but photos like this, courtesy of my friends at BiggestLittleCity.org, remind me that placid Lake Tahoe can get pretty hairball when a cold front moves through. Now, I’m no surfing expert (I did take lessons some years ago in Leucadia, California, but it was pretty mellow (and warm), at least compared to Lake Tahoe standards), but these swells look to me to be in the five-foot range. What caused these rollers? A nice extended period of blasting winds, where the forecast said gusts would reach 100 mph over the ridge tops and where locals clocked the winds at 70 mph in the open areas, such as across the lake. On a related note, we had a pretty significant dry spell at Tahoe up until about a week ago, when we got an “atmospheric river” coming out of the tropics that dumped about 5.5″ inches of rain into the lake. The National Weather Service said that equates to something like 17.2 billion gallons of water addded to the lake, which I can barely comprehend, but it makes me happy. Hopefully we’ll get several more storms to build up the snowpack and get the lake back to “normal” levels.

Fair winds and smooth sailing. DB

Nautical Notoriety: Splendido in the Media

On By David BranbyIn Keeping Up Appearances, Splendido1 Comment

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Good Old Boat Magazine – January/February 2014 Issue

Splendido got her 15 minutes of fame this month, getting a mention in the January/February 2014 issue of Good Old Boat magazine. There, on page 30, is this image from an early-season sail with our good friends Patty Bell and Mike Bryant, with Debbie Branby at the helm. I have had a subscription to Good Old Boat magazine since 2011 and thoroughly enjoy the publication, as it caters to those of us who like to mess about in boats and do a lot of the work ourselves.

It’s also fun to see what others around the country have done with their older boats, and some of the MacGyver-esque fixes and modifications are simply amazing. Plus, as an advertising guy at heart, I just love the small-space ads for unique sailboat products and services in the back of the magazine. I get something useful out of every issue, and eagerly await the next issue (it comes out six times a year). Check it out online at http://www.goodoldboat.com for current news of interest to good old boaters and also to get a subscription or order some of their very fun swag items, too.

Online, I was also thrilled to see Splendido appear as the cover art for the Yahoo! Groups page for Catalina 270 sailboats. This is a handy forum I turn to now and then to get specific answers from fellow Catalina 270 lovers from all over the nation. It’s an honor to be in such auspicious company, and like any doting father, I’m always happy to see photos of our girl, wherever they may appear.

Fair winds and smooth sailing! DB

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Yahoo! Groups – Catalina 270 Group

Midwinter Musings

On By David BranbyIn Keeping Up Appearances, Overnighters, SplendidoLeave a comment

David at the helm 2013This is the time of year where I really start jonesing for a chance to sail. It’s been an extremely dry winter here in the Sierras, and I’m already worried about low water and not being able to use the dock at all this summer. Nevertheless, at 51, I am determined to make sure this year is filled with adventure and fun, so I am going on the record here to say this is the year that I do a three or four day circumnavigation of Lake Tahoe, dropping the hook each night in some protected anchorage and checking out the the local color. Debbie has already announced that she doesn’t want to go, mostly because she doesn’t sleep well on the boat, and well, her idea of camping is slow room service at a nice hotel. So, I may go solo, or I may test a friendship by sharing the voyage with a friend. I’m thinking that it has to be July, when the water warms up a bit and the wind is steady and there’s good sailing to be had. In the run-up to launching in the spring, I have a bunch of chores to do. One thing I’m really glad we did last fall was have the trailer rebuilt, as that thing is bulletproof now. I spent a fair amount of time online today, sourcing things I need to repair or replace. That damn teak wood is still on the sawhorses in my garage, awaiting sanding and varnishing. I could go on and on, but like any INFJ, I have a nice long list of things I need to do.

DSC_0150I am optimistic that this is going to be a great year for sailing at Lake Tahoe. Last summer’s sailing season felt a little “short” because of the smoke from the Rim Fire near Yosemite, which made it just nasty outside for a few weeks. I’m also excited about sharing Splendido with some new friends and with some old friends who were gone for a while but now have come back to the area and rekindled the friendship. An afternoon of sailing on Tahoe is a lot like a nice dinner party (and sometimes, they are one and the same!)…a few delightful hours of conversation, relaxation, good food and wine, and the activity of handling the boat and enjoying the view. What’s not to like?

Still, as a conscientious user of this beautiful treasure called Lake Tahoe, one thing I hope to achieve this year is selling my trusty old 1994 Jeep (she turns 20 this year!) and getting something that’s a little lighter on the environment, like a Prius. Because I work at the University of Nevada, Reno, I get to learn from some amazing researchers, including the folks who study human impacts on the entire Tahoe Basin, the air quality, nearshore ecosystem, and, of course, the clarity issues about which much has been writtten. For a glance at some of the cool science they’re doing, check out this Tahoe Summit_Report.

Obviously, I’m not sailing today, so the photos shown here are from a great sailing day last summer with Debbie. (Midwinter is a great time to reminisce.) The final photo is of this cool “picnic boat” that moored near our buoy on Hurricane Bay last summer. We never saw her used much, but it could just be that her owner was out enjoying her when we were at the office during the week. Anyway, she’s a beauty, and I hope to see her out on the water next year.

More when it happens. In the meantime, fair winds and smooth sailing! DB

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Squeezing Every Last Bit Out Of The Sailing Season At Tahoe

On By David BranbyIn Commissioning & De-commissioning, Keeping Up Appearances, Mechanical Stuff, On The Water, Splendido3 Comments

last-boat-2013The weather in the Sierra Nevada has been absolutely spectacular for the last three weeks or so; high pressure locked in, the leaves on the aspens and cottonwoods ablaze with color, and a breathtaking stillness that makes Tahoe flat as a millpond with virtually no wind. The lake level had dropped significantly over the past month, so my springtime plan to offload the boat using the Skyland pier fell by the wayside, as there was no hope of getting anywhere near it, much less to tie up and unload. I called on Obexer’s to arrange the haul-out, which we scheduled for Tuesday, October 22. I went up on the 20th for a final sail, but there wasn’t much wind and I just made a nice motor-sail day out of it. Mike Bryant came along for company and we spent the balmy afternoon putting up to Tahoe City to take in the fall color.

The next day, I drove up once again to take the boat down to Obexer’s for offloading. The logistics of the offloading were a bit like an athletic event: I had to drive the van up, drop it off at Obexer’s, pull out my bicycle and ride it two miles north to where Splendido was moored, row out with the bicycle in the dinghy, unfasten the mooring line from the buoy itself, tie off the dinghy to the back of Splendido, and then motor down to Obexer’s. It was all a bit of sprint, because I had to get everything done, be back in Reno by 4:30 p.m. for a short nap and then go to my statistics class in the MBA program from 7 p.m. to 9:45 p.m. Fortunately, when I arrived at Obexer’s, they let me pull into a vacant slip, where I proceeded to empty the boat of every last item, from cushions to glassware and sunscreen, and transfer it all into one of Debbie’s catering vans. Luckily, I had borrowed the big Safari van, and filled every inch of it. That made me think that the boat could probably add a knot or two to its top speed if only it wasn’t so laden with creature comforts. But, after thinking about it for a few minutes, I decided that it was all worth it if it kept Debbie happy and sailing with me.

This summer, I paid particular attention to making sure I was staying hydrated, because at 6,239 ft. elevation, it just wicks it out of you. I would find myself dry-eyed and unusually weary and headachy after being out on the water for four or five hours, and I attribute it to dehydration. So, on my offload day, I packed in a cool gallon of spring water and drank from it often and deeply. At about 2 p.m., I had everything off the boat except the sails and boom, so I attacked that chore next and was surprised how quickly I got things bagged and put away. With that, I locked up the cabin, grabbed a delicious pulled pork sandwich at Obexer’s General Store, and headed home.

Tuesday morning, I met my brother-in-law Tracy at his house, and we drove over to Kro-bilt trailer repair in Sparks to pick up the trailer. I haven’t written a lot about that trailer, but one thing we noticed over the years was that it didn’t fit the boat particularly well, and the stress was showing on both the trailer and on the boat. The uprights were holding the boat like tongs hold a thick ribeye steak; “squeezing” the boat rather than supporting it from underneath. This resulted in stress cracks in the uprights (as well as visible signs of them “splaying” outward), and it was putting dimples in the hull of the boat over the winter months. So, I got online and looked at all the latest sailboat trailer sites, and put together a plan to rebuild the whole dang trailer. I ordered six new boat stand and pads from Brownell’s, and had the Kro-bilt crew grind off all the old uprights, moving everything in 6-8 inches and replacing the old uprights with beefy Schedule 80 tubes and square-tubing supports. Now, the thing is sturdy as an aircraft carrier, much to my relief and Tracy’s, too. After all, Tracy is the one guy generous enough to haul the trailer with his huge Ford diesel truck because he takes great joy in anything mechanical–although the janky trailer was causing him a bit of heartburn all the same. At any rate, the Obexer’s crew was ready for us Tuesday morning, and it was a smooth process from unstepping the mast all the way through strapping the boat down and driving away. Of all the many moving parts involved in hauling a sailboat, the one slight mishap was that we left the dinghy in the harbor and didn’t realize it until we parked the trailer down in Reno. A quick phone call to Obexer’s confirmed that they had noticed it and locked it up until next weekend when I could manage to get back up there to retrieve it.

All in all, a pleasant season that ended well. I’ll post again with a photographic recap, but until I do, fair winds and smooth sailing! DB

Big T & Big D 10-21-13

 

 

Fixed Just In Time For Some Cool Autumn Sailing

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

As it turned out, the broken seacock was not the end of our sailing season (although it was something of a comedy of errors trying to get it fixed). In the end, Brian from Tahoe Sailing Supply towed Splendido over to Obexer’s, where the skilled mechanics there lifted her out just above the water, quickly made the swap with a brand-new Marelon® seacock, and dropped her back in. Brian and a helper motored her back to her buoy, and she was good as new. Thank goodness for the good folks at Obexer’s Marina!

The weekend of Sept. 14th, Debbie had a big wedding to cater near Homewood, so I went up for a light-air sail and ghosted around a bit as she and her staff worked their rear-ends off in the heat of the afternoon. About 7:30 p.m., I put the boat back on the hook just in time to receive Debbie’s phone call that she was free. I rowed in and picked her up, and I could tell she was really tired after a long afternoon. I got her onboard Splendido and opened a Robert Parker-rated 90-pt. Garnacha I found at Ben’s Liquors for $9.99, and lo and behold, she liked it! (You never know about these things, especially when your mate’s a professional caterer and chef who’s got a palate like Debbie’s. 🙂 Debbie_Obexer's

I was a bit tuckered out after spending the earlier part of the day taking the GMAT test (four hours of hell), so I made sure she had something to eat and then I hit the hay. I awoke Sunday morning to find her bundled up topsides, sleeping in the cockpit, where she had gone to watch the incredible Milky Way that shines down on Tahoe at night. We did a quick tidy-up and then motored south to Obexer’s for coffee and breakfast burritos (they do a great job with those, by the way) and then motored out for a sail. Silly me, I forgot to listen to the weather radio, and soon we were getting pitched about by crazy gusts. A strong cold front was approaching Tahoe, and so we “beat feet” out of there and did a little motor-assisted sailing back north to our buoy, where we put her on the hook and called it a day.

On Saturday, Sept. 21st, another strong cold front came through, with buckets of rain in the Sierra and a fair amount in Reno, too. Sunday broke brilliantly sunny and clear (though a bit cool), so I called brother-in-law Matt Waddington to see if he would be up for a sail.

He was, so we headed up to Tahoe, cheering on the Tahoe Ironman competitors as we went by. Winds were light with occasional moderate gusts, so we headed toward Tahoe City, then downwind wing-on-wing to Dollar Point, and then tacked back and headed home. It was only 50 degrees out, so we found ourselves bundling up in fleece and gloves. Debbie made some yummy chicken, arugula and heirloom tomato sandwiches on thick, crusty bread, and there was half a bag of stale Cool Ranch Doritos left on board, so we were in hog heaven.

Matt Waddington Sailing Splendido 2013This week, it got quite a bit cooler here in the high country, and so my thoughts turned to pulling the boat within the next three weeks or so. The trailer is down at the welding shop getting rebuilt (turns out it never was a good fit for Splendido, having been made for a different boat altogether), and I am awaiting the arrival of new boatstand pads via UPS, from Brownell’s (www.boatstands.com). I spoke to brother-in-law Tracy today to schedule a pull down from the lake to our lower elevation in Reno (~4,550 ft.), where wind and weather won’t be so tough on Splendido. There’s so much to do, and so many things to work on this winter. Still, it’s been a fun season of sailing, and I’m going to do my best to get a few more days in before Mother Nature sends us packing.

Fair winds and smooth sailing! DB

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

The Catalina 270 Is A Thing Of Beauty

On By David BranbyIn Keeping Up Appearances, On The WaterLeave a comment

IMG_5291I was so thrashed after seven hours on the water Saturday that I slept most of Sunday, so it was quite a surpise when I picked up my mobile phone in the late afternoon and saw a text from an unknown number that said, “Sailing was great…wish you could’ve joined us!’ with the photo shown here. Immediately, my eyes were drawn to the lovely curves of the Catalina 270’s hull and sugar-scoop transom, the beautifully sculpted cabin and fine entry of her bow. I reflected a bit on how Splendido looks a bit like a bright seagull as she sits bobbing on the swells when I first see her as I round the curve near where she’s moored. I’m always struck by how well the “Captain’s Navy” navy-blue canvas looks against the white hull, whether it’s the lifeline pads or the covers for the wheel, the winches, or the mainsail. I still love the Splendido logo I designed, and which was lovingly hand-painted by my friend Lane Walker, a legend among hand-letterers and sign painters in America. I winced when I noticed how I’d dishonored Splendido by leaving her fenders out on the deck and how I neglected to flemish her dock lines, disrespecting this great beauty with my carelessness. Forgive me, dearest Splendido…I’ll make it up to you with a warm-water bath and organic, biodegradeable boat soap, and equally eco-friendly cleaner wax…the equivalent of a mani-pedi for the other woman in my life, my darling Splendido. As for those other girls, the ones on deck? That’s my lovely niece and her friends, who just happened to be boating by and thought they’d take a happy snap to send to us for some summer fun.

Fair winds and smooth sailing. DB