Tag: travel

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

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

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

Splendido - New Interior

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

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

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

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

Sea-Fever

BY JOHN MASEFIELD

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Fall is in the air

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Fair winds and smooth sailing. DB

Stripping the boat for the change in seasons

On By David BranbyIn Commissioning & De-commissioning, On The Water, SplendidoLeave a comment

I went up to the lake yesterday morning to prep Splendido for her haul-out scheduled for next Wednesday morning at Obexer’s. I motored north to Tahoe City Marina to do one final pump-out for the season, then enjoyed the view of the turning aspens intermixed with Tahoe’s gorgeous pines on the way back to our mooring at Skyland. I set a stopwatch and am proud to say that I was able to untape and pull all the cotter rings on the rigging, put the boom and mainsail in the cabin, and drop and bag the 150 genoa in two hours and six minutes — literally singlehandedly, since my left wrist is in a splint from coming off my dirt bike earlier this summer. As I was wrapping up, a solitary efoiler with a visible microphone in his helmet carved lazy S-turns through our mooring field and waved as he passed Splendido, the last boat left on the hook. I can’t help but wonder if it wasn’t Zuckerberg himself. I mean, who else would have a microphone in their helmet? We’ll never know.

The big news of the day, though, is that, with a heavy heart, we have put our lovingly restored Splendido on the market for sale, as we now want to do more land-based travels to national parks and to see parts of this amazing country and the world that we haven’t seen yet. This doesn’t mean it’s the end of our lives as sailors. I’m not sure what the future holds in that regard, but I can imagine finding ways to get back on the water when we’ve had our fill of road trips. I am grateful for everything I’ve learned (and that’s a lot!) and every moment spent getting to know majestic Lake Tahoe over these past 15 seasons — and filled with gratitude for the shared wisdom, support, hard work and goodwill of everyone who’s supported our journey. Until next time,

Fair winds and smooth sailing. DB

Dog days of August at Lake Tahoe

On By David BranbyIn Splendido1 Comment

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

Fair winds and smooth sailing! DB

The peace of mind that comes from sailing safely

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

Fair winds and smooth sailing! DB

Just Add Water

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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