Tag: Good Old Boat

Perfect Sailing & A Swim In Our Own Quiet Cove

On By David BranbyIn On The Water2 Comments

Debbie-Helm-8-2-14

August is here (how did that happen?) and Debbie and I got up early and headed for the lake to play. The water is warm now — 68 to 70 degrees is what I’ve been seeing — and I was jonesing to go for a swim. We brought a picnic of hearty sandwiches, fruit, water, wine and N/A beer, and I reminded myself to stay hydrated, as Tahoe is so high and dry, it just wicks the moisture out of you. For me, that means fatigue and crankiness — something I’ve been working to improve because I’d really like to keep Debbie happily sailing with me.

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Originally, we discussed motoring down to Camp Richardson on the very south shore of Lake Tahoe, but the miles and the time required were just too great to make a one-day trip out of it. There has also been a fair amount of conversation among our fellow yachties in the newly-formed Big Blue Tahoe Yacht Club that the entrance to Emerald Bay is too shallow to navigate with a five-foot draft, which is what we have on Splendido. Instead, we opted to head for a beautiful little spot at the south end of Sugar Pine State Park.

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My friend Fred had told me about this particular spot, south of Ehrmann Mansion and not quite as far as Meeks Bay. The bottom is white sand. The water is Caribbean blue. And the anchoring is great, because there are very few rocks, and you can easily see the ones to avoid. We dropped the hook and immediately dove in for a swim. Afterwards, Debbie made lunch and we set up the beach umbrella, because keeping out of the direct sun has been a goal this year, particularly since I had a small bout with skin cancer earlier this year. (Thank goodness I’ve gotten checked every year since my twenties.) Our little hideaway was “hidden” in plain sight; at one point I counted 24 speedboats plying the waters about 1/2 mile away, but they didn’t really bother us, and, because of the rocks to the south of us, boats of all kinds gave us a wide berth as they zoomed south to D.L Bliss State Park and beyond.

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About four in the afternoon, the winds started kicking up, so we cleaned up and got everything ship shape and motored north until we were out of the crazy vortex of winds that wrap around Sugar Pine. Once the sails were set, we decided to head to Tahoe City for a pump-out. The breezes were wonderful, and Debbie and I worked as a skilled team, averaging a hair under six knots the whole way up to Tahoe City. When we arrived, the gas dock was empty, so we glided in, pumped out, and were on our way in less than 10 minutes. The sail south to our mooring ball was equally fun, and Splendido just danced across the water. I was working on good communication, and Debbie was doing a terrific job working the mainsheet by “feel,” letting a little out when the gusts hit, and tightening up a nice draft on the main when the wind was consistent. Even hooking the mooring ball was easy; we turned off the sound system, reviewed our hand signals, and when I spoke, I made sure not to speak away from her, which I had been doing before, much to my chagrin. Afterwards, we stopped by a little place called El Sancho for street tacos and cold drinks, and then split an ice-cream cone from Mourelato’s Cable Car Ice Cream. The famous pinkish Tahoe glow settled over the High Sierra, and another day of summer fun was complete. I hope to have the chance for many more outings like this, starting this coming Wednesday when I get to take out my nieces, Kallyn and Rachel, and their mom (Debbie’s sister) Krista, for an afternoon sail aboard Splendido!

Fair winds and smooth sailing! DB

More Than A Sailboat; A Friendship

On By David BranbyIn On The Water, Ports Of CallLeave a comment

I got a call from an old friend last week — his granddaugher from North Carolina was coming out to visit and would I mind taking them out for a sail? “I’d love to!” I said.  So, on Saturday, June 29th, around 1 p.m., my friend Michael, his granddaughter Lauren, and her friend Dominique joined me on Splendido for a fun afternoon of sailing with gentle breezes, warm air temps, and a bit of swimming in Tahoe’s 60-degree waters, too. (A wee bit of swimming…that water is cold!)

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We set off southward, heading toward Meeks Bay, where I figured we’d throw down the anchors for a bit and let the girls take a dip in the shallower water near shore, with its white-sand bottom and interesting boulders here and there. On the way down south, the wind gusts were in the 20-knot range, but nothing we couldn’t handle with a little judicious use of the mainsheet. Since it was the first time on a sailboat for both young ladies, I wanted to keep it smooth and not get too heeled over.

girls-dareOnce we had the bow and stern anchors down, we broke out the sandwiches and chips that the girls had made for us the night before. As Michael and I ate, Lauren and Dominique dared each other to be the first in the water. I felt pretty comfortable that they’d be OK, since I discovered that both were competitive high school swimmers, and Dominique spent last summer lifeguarding at her hometown pool. Eventually, they both jumped in — and quickly surfaced, with very surprised expressions and a few choice epithets that can’t be printed here.

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While Michael and I were relaxing on deck, I suddenly heard a very loud hissing sound, and jumped up to see where it was coming from. It took a second to realize that it was Michael’s PFD inflating…while we were sitting on the cabin top, he’d accidentally sat on and pulled the “rip cord” for the waist-worn unit. I was amazed at how quickly (and firmly!) the CO2 cartridge had filled the PFD. By this time, the girls were back on board, so I had them take this shot.

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After their swim, the girls bundled up in towels and warmed up in the brilliant Tahoe sunshine. Michael and I cleaned up the cockpit and put away the food and drink, and got ready to head back north.

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Once we were underway, Lauren and Dominique went below decks to get out of the wind, as their damp suits were a bit chilly, in spite of the 78-degree air temperature. As Michael and I sailed along at a brisk 6.2 knots in freshening breezes, we noticed that the girls had stopped talking. I took a look below to see if everything was OK, and found the girls slumbering soundly as Splendido heeled gently, charging along under full main and the 150 genoa. All in all, it was a thrill to share beautiful Lake Tahoe with two new friends and one old one, and it was a day filled with laughter and memories I’ll cherish for a long, long time.

Fair winds and smooth sailing! DB

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

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

Riding The Storm Out

On By David BranbyIn On The Water, SplendidoLeave a comment

The Gathering Storm at Lake Tahoe, Sept. 24, 2011The first of  autumn’s low-pressure systems came to Lake Tahoe this weekend, so Debbie and I went up to Tahoe City Marina on Saturday morning to get in a quick sail before the stormy weather hit. We sailed down to the area around Sunnyside, enjoying the balmy temperatures and blue skies on the west side of the lake, and keeping a watchful eye on the darkening sky in the southeast. Winds were light and variable with a few gusts to around 25, so we got in some good sailing. After about an hour, and with memories of last fall’s squall, I decided we’d better head back, as the winds were starting to swirl, and the dark clouds were quickly moving north and west. Within minutes of getting back on the buoy, the rain began, and gusty winds that boxed the compass had Splendido spinning around the buoy one way, then back in the opposite direction. We went below and discussed our end-of-season strategy, as the boat needs to come out of the water around October 2. It was actually quite cozy hanging out in the gently rocking boat, so I stretched out on the port cushions and dozed a bit. Debbie was a bit more restless, though she finally crawled into the aft berth to nap for a while. Around 4:30 p.m., we decided it was time to pack up and go. We’re hoping that our Indian Summer will come back and last at least another week so we can get a few more sails in before Splendido needs to be winterized and trailered down to Reno for her long winter’s rest.

Fair winds and smooth sailing! DB

First Sail 2011

On By David BranbyIn On The WaterLeave a comment

First Sail 2011 - David & Tracy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before I took Debbie out on Splendido, I wanted to do a shakedown cruise with Tracy just to make sure we got everything right during commissioning. So, on Wednesday, June 7th, Tracy and my nephew Eric Hieber joined me on our first sail from Tahoe City Marina down towards Sugar Pine Point. Winds were light and variable, but we managed a top boat speed of 6.2 knots under her mainsail and smallest jib. For Eric, an A+ third-year law student at Boyd School of Law in Las Vegas, this was his first time on Splendido, so we let him drive, and he did great. You can see by his smile that he’ll be back for more.First Sail 2011 - Eric and Tracy

Fair winds and smooth sailing! DB