Sailing San Diego

Now that we have returned from our brief trip to San Diego we provide a summary of our adventure that is meant to supplement the daily mobile blogs that we delivered while on the boat. We were at a convention in downtown San Diego and stayed over for an extra few days to sail on a Beneteau 373 rented from Harbor Yacht Clubs, San Diego.

DAY 1: We arrived at 9am on Thursday November 18^th 2010 and after provisioning set sail by 11am. The weather forecast was relatively good for the day worse conditions developing during our stay. We had hoped for better weather and to enjoy San Diego sunshine rather than the developing winter in Boston. We decided that we would sail to the Coronado Islands, Mexico and were promised that we were likely to see some good sea life on the way. Once we exited the slip, we saw our first dolphin and it was an indicator of more to come.

Winds were 5-8kts which wasn’t ideal since we wanted to return to San Diego by about 4pm so that we could get back to the slip prior to dark, and the possibility of fog, which we had been welcomed to for several days. Thus we used a combination of pure sailing and motor sailing to maintain an average of 6kts.  As we left the harbor the fog had already set in, although visibility was still quite good. However, this meant that soon we could neither see San Diego nor the Islands. We were told to maintain a heading of 180 degrees and we would find the islands. After checking charts we maintained the heading and after a couple of hours saw the islands. At this point we started to see a lots of life in the sea: first seals then dolphins. In this movie you can see a sequence of movies that we have stitched together that occurred over about a 20 minute period. None of us had ever seen so much sea life.

Next we passed around the North Coronado Island, but because time was short we decided to head back to San Diego rather than explore other islands. On the return leg we heard a lot of VHF radio traffic from warships providing securite announcements about live fire exercises. As visitors it was a little alarming so we were writing down gps coordinates to make certain we weren’t in their vicinity. It was only a brief concern because we had checked the charts before leaving Boston and had already identified an area associated with an island northwest of San Diego where live fire occurs.

We made our way back to San Diego, arrived in the dark, and docked effortlessly for an evening of dinner and drinks.

DAY 2: Winds were extremely calm at the beginning of the day and Yolande and Dan had to go and get a new coat for Dan so that he could deal with the cold on the sea.  Phil took this as an opportunity to work with Ro and Dustin and close quarter maneuvers, especially reversing, and how to use prop walk to your advantage, and to try to prevent in kicking you when you least expect it. Both Ro and Dustin jumped at the chance which ended with a perfect docking maneuver to collect Dan and Yolande on their return.

The weather was a little more inclement on this day of sailing and since we had immediately exited the harbor on Day 1, we decided that as we exited the marina we would sail to the south within the harbor and view the hotels and convention center from the water (we are used to the reciprocal arrangement). We sailed under the Coronado bridge past numerous naval vessels including a floating hospital and retraced our steps. Within the harbor there were three aircraft carriers, and based on the radio traffic, there were numerous other vessels at sea, on their way back to San Diego. To finish the day we again exited the harbor into the Pacific and saw four warships returning to harbor.

The last warship provided a sense of adventure as it radioed to us when it was close to green buoy #5. Phil talked to the warship (#4) and they negotiated respective passages – well we agreed to take the path they suggested. What else could we do?  But it was fun. Here you can see us just after the radio exchange.

In the excitement one of us ran down to the saloon to pick up their camera (I wont say who). One of the support vessels obviously saw our activity, found it suspicious and headed towards us at full-speed. It’s a good job that they didn’t see the cardboard poster holder (a four foot long tube of about 4 inches in diameter) in the saloon as I am sure that would have really piqued their interest as it may have been mistaken for something else. 

After searching the web we think that this warship is the USS Boxer (LHD-4) which is based in San Diego. If it is it has quite an interesting history. To quite wikipedia "She is the sixth US Navy ship to bear the name, and was named for a British ship captured by the Americans during the War of 1812."

This is quite ironic given that three of us on board Cliches are British. Also of interest to us sailors, "The Boxer is designated as the flagship of Combined Task Force 151, the international anti-piracy task force pursuing pirates off the coast of Somalia."

After returning to dock we went for dinner and celebrated our communication with a warship by drinking something blue! Not certain what it was but it certainly promoted relaxation. In fact it tasted so good that we questioned whether there was any alcohol in it. The question was answered when we stood up.

DAY 3: We had read the forecast that there were to be strong winds and rain on Saturday. The forecast was true to its word. We woke to rain and gusting winds to 30 kts. But we had paid for the rental and this is the last time to sail in 2010. Thus we went out into the harbor. Both sails were reefed and we had a great time. We sailed through a race and took movies that we have stitched together here.

One cannot get a true impression of either the wind the rain or the cold from watching this movie. You may notice the shrouds are quite loose – they were loose in dock without sails up. Thus we could have sailed with a little more sail area but we decided not to push the rigging.

We returned to dock for lunch both to eat and to try to dry out. Though we had foul weather gear we were soaked. After relaxing for a couple of hours we sailed again with our last change of clean dry clothing and enjoyed the last couple of hours of our season. To put an end to it a squall came through and we were happy to get back to the marina and dry off. I think we all wore dirty, but at least dry clothes to get home. 

Seals and Dolphins in the Pacific

In our daysail to the Coronado Islands from San Diego we encountered many dolphins. Before writing our trip summary here is a movie to enjoy.

Returned to Boston

We have all returned to Boston and will, during this forthcoming week, put together a more comprehensive summary of our trip to San Diego. We had great winds with a small craft advisory in effect on Saturday and have great movies of schools of Dolphins playing off the bow of our rental boat Chliches, as well as movies of sailing amongst a race during the small craft advisory. One of us said yesterday that our baggage might be over the weight limit because of all the rain that was soaked into our clothes. Hopefully all have dried out by now. Check back for the movies and summary. Cheers

Just before a squall arrived

Windy and Wet

There is a storm in San Diego with lots of rain. But the winds are up gusting to 30knots. We went out for a few hours and sailed with reefed headsail and reefed mainsail. There were 50+ boats in the northern part of the harbor racing. Sailing through the boats was exhilarating. Lots of movies of boats and dolphins that we will upload on our return.

War Games

We have had an exciting afternoon. After sailing around the harbor we exited to the Pacific and intercepted a convoy of warships. Warship 04 hailed us on the VHF and requested the captain of the sailing vessel. Capn Phil responded, switched down to channel 10 and negotiated our respective passage. Capn Phil responded to all requests and allowed the warship to pass without incident.

San Diego and the USS Midway

Chilly in San Diego

Our trip has coincided with a low pressure system and highs in upper 50s. This not a problem in the city, but without wind protection in the cockpit it is chilly out at sea. But there is an advantage - winds will be up today - 15-20mph gusting to 30mph.

We are sailing Cliche, a Beneteau 373. She really performs well in light air. However she heels really quickly. I am sure that lots of sail reefing will be needed today and tomorrow and that we will be wearing foul weather gear today and tomorrow.

Cliches and crew on the pacific

North Coronado Island

We have arrived

Beneteau 37, san diego. Here we go

San Diego

In San Diego for meeting. 3 days till we get to sailing. This view shows harbor from the Marriott

New Ablative Bottom Paint Needed

Most of the hull has had only one coat of Ablative bottom paint which was applied two seasons ago. We were advised after our first season, that we only needed to add new ablative paint around the waterline, which is what we did prior to this season. Now, after two seasons of use, it is clear a full ablative bottom painting will be needed in the spring. Here the ablative paint can be seen to be coming off the rudder - the lines you see are from the power washing.

At the waterline it is possible to see how well ablative paint remains on the hull for one season (top portion of light blue hull). Paint that has not been applied for 2seasons (lower) needs to be re-applied in the spring. This year we will strip the whole hull and re-apply paint throughout.

Lucky escape with rope around prop shaft

It is clear that we got some rope tangled around the prop shaft during the season. I wouldn't be surprised if this was during our vacation to Maine which, as you may remember from an earlier post, is full of lobster pots. Fortunately the rope did not cause a problem - we were lucky this time.

Prairie Gold on the hard at Quincy

 

Here she is on the land at Marina Bay, Quincy, ready for the winter. We went over today and took off the final food items, tidied up the docks lines and fenders and now await the arrival of our cover which we will apply for the winter.

Mobile Blogging

We have just set up mobile blogging for this site. On Nov 18 we will sail for 3 days out of San Diego and will post from the Pacific

Winterizing Checklist

As winter approaches there are a two critical issues that need to be taken into account before the freeze begins. First it is essential to prevent water on the boat from freezing, and second to change the oil and oil filter so that the engine has clean oil for the 6 months on land.

In addition to these two essential items there are a series of other smaller issues that should also be addressed. Beneath we list Prairie Gold’s winterization Checklist, together with comments, should it be of use to you.

Group 1: Prevent Freezing of water systems

a)      Empty all water tanks to the bilge and let the bilge pump out the water. Importantly, turn of the water heater and empty.  (In the next step one will need to flush through antifreeze. To reduce the volume necessary, we installed a bypass valve between the cold water input and the hot water output so that it was not necessary to fill the whole hot water tank).

b)      Add ½ to ¾ gallon of anti-freeze (pink RV antifreeze available at West Marine) to each cold water tank.  We add 2gallons to the mid tank to flush through all pipes. Our choice of the mid-tank is because its filling port is adjacent to our finger pier and provides easy access.

c)      Select the bow, then the stern and then mid-tank at the water selection station beneath the sink. With each, pump the water through from the tank to the outlet in the bilge. With the bow and stern tank we flush through until antifreeze it empty. Finally select the mid-tank and flush antifreeze through to bilge until there is a good flow.

d)     Select each water outlet system – faucet in galley, bathroom and don’t forget the cockpit shower head as well as the bathroom shower. With each select cold water system and flush until pink liquid exits the faucet. Then switch to hot for the same. (Note the antifreeze wont be hot because the heater is turned off and we used a hot water tank by-pass)

e)      Make sure that sufficient antifreeze passes through the sinks and shower to fill the exit to the through hull. Close through hulls afterwards.

f)       After emptying the holding tank of the head, it is necessary to use antifreeze throughout this system. With the raw water intake through-hull closed remove the tubing from the through-hull.  Either insert a funnel into the tube, or dip the tube into a container of antifreeze and pump the head. The purpose is to eject all raw water out of the system into the holding tank as well as to get antifreeze into the holding tank. Note because the temperatures are cold it can be difficult to remove the tubing from a through-hull. I recently heard of the tip (after I winterized)  to use a hair dryer to warm the tubing. I haven’t tried it, but it seems a useful idea.

g)      Empty and clean the fridge and pour antifreeze into the fridge floor and pump out.

h)      AC/Heating system. On our boat we have an A/C heating system and need to winterize this too. To do so, with the throughull closed, detach the tubing from the throughhull, insert a funnel and have someone turn on the AC system. Pour pink antifreeze into the funnel and allow the AC system to fill the lines with antifreeze. Once antifreeze is leaving the boat turn off the AC system, re-attach the tubing to the through-hull and tighten the hose-clamps.

i)        Winterize the bilge. From the previous procedures on the boat it will be clear that the bilge system will already contain anti-freeze. Don’t forget to use the manual bilge pump too so that this system can be filled with antifreeze.

j)        FINAL NOTE – It is not a problem to leave antifreeze in the pipes. It might gel in the winter, but will not burst pipes. Similarly, its also not necessary to make sure everything is filled with antifreeze. Rather the purpose of the antifreeze is to rid the system of either fresh or raw water so that they don’t freeze.

Group 2: Engine Treatment (based on our Yanmaer YM30 Diesel engine)

a)      Change the engine oil and filter: used oil contains corrosives that will damage the engine over a winter. Thus we need to change oil. This is a simple three step process.

b)      Preparation - Warm the engine (10-15 mins of idling sufficient) so that the filter is hot to touch. Place oil absorbent cloths under the engine. 

c)      Remove oil and filter – After the engine has been turned off remove the dipstick and insert a tube, to the bottom of the engine, that is connected to a pumping system. As one pumps (either manual or via battery power) resulting negative pressure in the tank sucks oil out of the engine. Take a little time to ensure that all oil has dripped to the bottom of the engine and that you have cleared as much as possible from the engine.  Subsequently, take a large ziplock bag around your hand and unscrew the oil filter. On our engine Yanmar (3YM30) the oil filter is positioned sideways. Thus when one removes the filter, oil pours out of the filter.  With the zip-lock bag around the filter it is possible to capture this oil, then lock the bag ready for disposal along with the oil.

d)     Attach filter and add oil. – First coat the gasket of the new filter with new oil. Apply oil with your finger tip. Screw on the filter, hand tight only is sufficient.  Add oil to the engine. IMPORTANT Do not over fill.  Turn on the engine to circulate the oil, then turn off and check for leaks (especially around the filter).  The filter will now contain some oil and the oil level may have dropped at the dipstick a little.  Refill if necessary.  As long as there are no leaks, the oil change is complete.

e)      Treat water system with anti-freeze – Like many inboard diesel engines ours uses an external raw water system to cool an internal system. It is necessary to purge the sea water from this external raw water cooling system and replace with anti-freeze. With the through-hull closed remove the raw water tubing from the through-hull and dip into a bucket containing 2 gallons of freshwater.  Turn  on the engine and allow the engine to suck the freshwater through. As the water level approaches the bottom of the bucket add about 1.5 gallons of pink antifreeze. Have someone watch the raw water output at the side of the boat. When it turns pink turn off the engine. At this point I re-attach the tubing and tighten the hose-clamps, just to ensure that I don’t forget in the spring.

f)       Remove the air filter and insert paper towel to stop wet air getting to the engine.

g)      Cover air inlets to air conditioning and engine

h)      Cover AC and engine outlets with tape.

Group 3 Sails and other items on the boat

a)      We clear as much as we can off of the boat prior to the winter. Remove food, and clean as much as possible. Leave doors and drawers open to reduce the probability of mildew development.

b)      Removing sails is best done in low wind conditions and after a period during which the sails can dry. Our goal is to have Prairie Gold over to Quincy, where she is hauled out, by November 1^st. Thus 10 days prior we watch for a weather window where there can have been some dry period and where winds will be low.

c)      After taking down the sails folding can be difficult. We read a tip to use Irwin Quick Grip Clamps (available from Home Depot) to clamp at the luff of the sail as we fold. Our strategy is to fold the luff, and repeatedly clamp until folded. Then while holding the luff in a constant position work from the clew of the sail performing folding. Although at first it seems somewhat confused, it really does come together nicely. A tip we have learned is to fold all sails the same. First fold as discussed, then roll up from the luff to the clew. In this manner in spring we know that the clew is exposed and we roll out the sail from stern to bow and the sail is then ready to be raised.

d)     DON’T FORGET TO TAKE OUT THE SPEED TRANSDUCER BEFORE HAVING YOUR BOAT HAULED OUT.  The straps on the boat lift are likely to damage your speed transducer if you leave it in the hull. Prior to haul out, remove the speed transducer and replace with the blank.

Boat is out of the water

We got the call at lunchtime today that Prairie Gold has been taken out of the water for the winter season. We will report back later with pictures of her on stands at Marina Bar, Quincy.

Going Green for the Winter using Boomtent Cover

We are scheduled to come out of the water any day now. The next preparation step is to schedule covering Prairie Gold for the winter. There are two general strategies - either use disposable plastic shrinkwrap or a reusable fabric covering. We decided to bite the bullet and pay the extra expense of going with the fabric cover and placed an order on Monday November 1st with Fairclough Sailmakers for a boomtent cover. There are many advantages to this approach. The Boom Tent cover, as the name suggests, uses the mast and boom as the frame for covering the boat. This means that it is not necessary to store a separate frame during the summer season. Thus storage is simple - just fold up the fabric and put it in our small storage unit in place of the sails. It is easy to install so that other than having the boat hauled out of the winter, we are able to perform all winterization steps. Additionally, it is easy to add to the boat when it is still in the water. Thus if next season we decide to stay in the water over winter, we will be able to attach the boomtent cover.  An added benefit is that I would like to be able to have a quick sail in the harbor (weather permitting) over thanksgiving and/or the Christmas holiday one year. The boomcover tent should allow that flexibility. We will write a new blog entry when we have received and installed the boomcover tent to let you know whether installation was as easy as the advertising suggests.