Sailing Constance

Suisun fleet!

2012-02-06T14:37:00.004-05:00

Some more impressions from sailing by the anchored fleet. Wonder if they will be ever used again! These are mostly cargo ships, tankers and other supply vessels, being mothballed for decades now. The battleship USS Iowa was also anchored here for quite a while, but left unfortunately last November, so no pics.

The mothball fleet close up

Sailing the Delta

2012-02-06T14:37:00.003-05:00

It's unbelievable, here we are in early February and it feels almost like summer! The winds around this time of the year tend to be very benign and are mostly from the East, so we tacked up the Sacramento River delta to visit the mothball fleet. One has to be very careful as it gets shallow very quick on the sides. There is a huge sandbank in the middle of the river (which is like 5 miles wide here), and you can see birds walking on the water at high tide. Either they have very long legs or it is darn shallow over there!

calm conditions

Suisun fleet!

2012-02-06T14:36:00.002-05:00

Very calm conditions today with winds just below 10kn. Enough for Constance to get some heel going and trucking upriver at 4.5kn! The new folding prop works marvelous, we added some 0.5-1kn under sail, and reach hull speed already at 1800rpm when using the engine.

Heading up the river

New home!

2012-01-23T11:32:00.001-05:00

Constance getting her feet wet in her new home in Benicia.

Sailing!

2012-01-23T11:31:00.002-05:00

While transferring Constance across the SF Bay

Finally got everything fixed and set up so we could actually move the boat. The new Martec 14/14 folding prop works like a charm! At 1800rpm the boat now goes 6kn through the water, something I never was able to do with the old fixed 12/12 tri-blade, even when revving as high as 3000rpm. One downside we found out just past San Pablo point: The wash from the prop is so powerful it pushed water through the cockpit drain pipes back into the boat, and it started siphoning into the bilge. Big surprise when I looked down the hatch and saw water puddling over the floor boards! Even after turning off the engine the siphoning wouldn't stop and the bilge pump wasn't able to push against it, so the water level kept rising :-o. So for a moment I thought we had a serious issue from somewhere else, but once we started the manual bilge pump I figured it out where the water was coming from and we were able to clear all the water out. So another thing I have to update on this boat: Make sure the drain pipe loops way above the waterline to prevent siphoning, plus install a backwash valve at the pump. Other than that we managed to cross the jib and main halyards so the jib wouldn't unfurl. Need to fix that, too..

Arrived in Berkeley!

2011-12-07T15:14:00.000-05:00

On the truck in Berkeley

Finally the boat made it to the West Coast! We got a little bit in a snow storm in Nebraska and Wyoming, so the exterior is pretty dirty now. Everything else seems fine, the mast was nicely wrapped and there is just one minor scratch that needs to be fixed. Unfortunately the Norwalk boat yard did a lousy job cleaning the bottom, so there were a bunch of barnacles left. Consequently, the California border inspection quarantined the boat and I need to get it re-inspected before it goes into the water. Since Constance needs a new bottom paint job anyways, that shouldn't be a big deal, it just going to cost me some time to get it released I guess.

Getting off the truck

One more week!

2011-11-15T19:56:00.000-05:00

In the waters of the Long Island Sound. Sailed the boat to Norwalk Cove today to get the mast pulled and the boat prepped for shipping. Kind of sad to say goodbye to my friends at Cedar Point..

At the dock in Norwalk Cove

Going West!

2011-10-10T20:24:00.000-04:00

Constance is going to start a new life at the West Coast! Decided to take the boat over to California with us. There sure aren't many Tartan 34s around over there so we'll be some exotic animal I guess. First week of November is the tentative pull out date and then it's a 4day journey on the back of a flatbed truck all the way across the continent. I wish I could have sailed her around but I just couldn't get the time off between jobs, unfortunately. And to be honest I was a little scared to sail through the Caribbean during hurricane season. Another time..

not this summer though!

2011-10-07T11:08:00.001-04:00

Paul at the Vineyard race on Gringo!

2011-09-06T13:49:00.000-04:00

Link here: http://blockislandrace2010.blogspot.com

Singlehanded race!

2011-09-01T10:55:00.000-04:00

Tried out singlehanded racing last night. Totally sore today! What started out with no wind at all got actually quite breezy in the end and I had all hands full during tacks and mark roundings. Got a solid last place of course since I was slow in all of this. No matter! Proud to have handled everything else just fine, incl soft as butter docking and even winning the pin at the start!

CPYC Wed night fleet before the start

Hurricane aftermath

2011-09-01T10:51:00.000-04:00

No problems for Constance, not even much water in the bilge. Some other boats had it worse:

Boat washed onto the seawall at Saugatuck

Last preparations

2011-08-27T13:03:00.003-04:00

Irene will be almost a direct hit with gust up to 85mph early Sunday here.
Took the head sail down and wrapped the main tightly so we should be ok. Only worry is the storm surge. If we're 10ft over normal high tide conditions the dock will float off the pilons and it will be a big mess. Unfortunately we have a new moon and high tide will coincide with the strongest winds from the east pushing lots of water into the sound. Combined with the runoff due to heavy rains this could be a close call.

All wrapped up

Irene!

2011-08-26T17:21:00.002-04:00

Getting the boat ready for the Hurricane. Landfall is expected around JFK airport and the eye will pass directly over of us, according to the latest predictions. Scary stuff.On the other hand this will be an interesting spectacle. I just hope everybody stays safe...

somebody has to be

2011-08-18T00:02:00.000-04:00

last in a race. Not sure why it has to be us but those 5-10kn conditions sure don't favor Tartan34s. Today we got DFL'd on time by 15 sec. grrrrr. Bad judgement call on my part when and where the tidal current will be max combined with the inability to point when the wind is down. Oh well.

Wed night race 07132011

2011-07-13T20:25:00.001-04:00

What a race! Had our friend Roberto onboard helping with the lines and taking some great shots. The evening started out easy and we were practicing poling out the jib with our heavy spinnaker pole. As soon as the RC was ready to start, a big black cloud showed up over the Connecticut shore. And sure enough the wind picked up, first a little, then quite a bit until we were somewhat overpowered with the overlapping jib. No time to change with 1min to go! So we went screaming down the line, of course over early and barely avoiding other boats. Sure enough the start was cancelled but in the howling wind some boats took off and were never to be seen again. Meanwhile we had a solid 30kn in the starting area with white caps all over the place. So we rolled up the jib and went into the next start half way furled. Even then we got heeled over in the gusts like never before. After the first mark the wind subsided and we went full sails again. The rest of the race was very uneventful, and yes, we finished, and not even last!

Tacking before the start

Start postponed

Division3 start

Looking at the fleet from behind

Wed night fleet returning to port

Block Island Cruise

2011-07-05T18:27:00.000-04:00

Constance went on a 4 day cruise to Block Island over the 4th of July holiday weekend! On board 6 crew which meant I had to take some stuff off the boat and also finally gave me a reason to adjust the size of the inset for the starboard settee to convert into a double bunk. Quite cozy with so many people onboard but we managed nicely, I think.

Passing through Plum Gut

We started off a little late at 7:30p but made it with remainder of the ebb tide through Plum Gut at 5a. Fabulous morning but then of course the wind died and it took us another 8 hours to make it in the Block Island Lagoon. Overall 20hrs to cover the 85 miles from Cedar Point to Block Island, incl about 5hrs of motoring. In the middle of the Block Island Sound Pat caught a big striped bass, which we invited to stay over for dinner :-)

Nice catch, Pat!

Block Island harbor was pretty crowded and there were no more moorings left, big surprise on a holiday weekend... So we anchored at the north eastern corner of the anchoring area, which works nicely with the shallow draft of the Tartan34C. I'm really happy with the holding quality of our 35lbs CQR anchor. Block Island is notorious for bad holding and I slipped here with Berni's boat before. Even though it was very crowded and quite windy the next day with the wind clocking around the whole compass, we never moved an inch.

Crowded dinghy dock in Block Island

Sunset with Dark & Stormies at the bar of "The Oar"

We stayed all Saturday, walking over the island to the Southern Cliffs. Quite a walk, but rewarded with a magnificent view and a cool splash into the crystal clear water! On the way back we indulged lobster rolls at the old harbor followed by the famous ice cream on main street. Great dinner on the boat with the backdrop of fireworks in our semi-secluded corner of the anchoring area.

Mohegan Cliffs

Next day we had start early to ride the flood tide through the Race back into the Long Island Sound. On the way back we got another (!) striped bass, this time he went for Berni's lure. Going through the Race was kind of eerie, the wind stopped as we entered the sound, but the water was churning like crazy. So engine on and towards the Connecticut shore. Tried to go inside long sand shoal to avoid the brunt of the outflowing tide, but in this case the tidal almanac is not correct, inside the shoal we had a ripping current of about 3-4kn against us vs 2kn supposedly outside. On top of that rain and dense fog set in. Time to get the boat washed down! Meanwhile Pat and I were entertaining other boats by using the Vuvuzelas as fog horns.

Rainy passage back to Connecticut

Finally made it into Clinton harbor, which has nice amenities including a pool and a harbor side restaurant. A little on the pricey side but we couldn't really eat any more striper! Getting into Clinton is a little bit tricky, it's basically up a little river that has tidal flats left and right. The channel is supposed to be changing every year and sure enough the GPS was showing us being off the channel even though we were clearly within the markers! Good that we have a shallow draft with the center board up since the depth meter was showing 3ft something in the channel :-o
Next day was pleasant and uneventful sailing/motoring back to Westport where we settled for anchor beers at the Black Duck on swaying tables..

Wednesday night race

2011-06-29T21:14:00.001-04:00

Photoboat came out and took some great pictures of the CPYC Wednesday night series! We also had a great breeze at 15-20kn with puffs up at 25kn, so just the right weather for Constance! We were actually almost overpowered with the 157% genoa but still had a lot of fun. In the end we got only 2nd last place in our division since the wind died on the last leg, just as usual, but nonetheless a great evening on the water.

C-mark rounding CPYC Wed night series 06292011

Constance ahead (!) of other boats

to the finish

Zincs

2011-05-22T23:24:00.001-04:00

This is the heat exchanger zinc after about 6 months of usage,
worn down to a nubbin

New heat exchanger zinc replaced 05/22
West marine part number 28309 10337

Cruise to Penfield light house

2011-04-30T23:17:00.001-04:00

Beautiful day so we took Constance out on a little cruise. Penfield reef light house is just about 1 hour away reaching towards Bridgeport and just the right distance for a leisurely afternoon sail. The wind was puffy from the north with some gusts heeling us all the way over, so we decided to shorten sail before something breaks.
The reef that extends from the Connecticut shore to the light house is one of the most dangerous places in the Long Island sound. Many boats have run aground here. There is a wicked current pulling over the reef when the tide runs and if your engine fails and the wind dies and you don't have the anchor ready you are on the rocks in no time. Also the light house seems to stand in the middle of the water and there is no evidence of shoaling around. Being one of the last mason brick lighthouses built, it does have the appearance of a private house on an island if you don't know the area. So I bet some people went in between the light house and the shore wondering what that funny little house would be. Also the light house is supposedly HAUNTED. One of the keepers died while trying to make it to the mainland during a storm and is said to be roaming inside the house at night. The thing does look a bit creepy, doesn't it?

Reaching to Penfield

The Lighthouse

..and reaching back to Cedar Point

some more work

2011-04-30T22:56:00.000-04:00

on the boat: Varnishing toerails, replacing the zincs, putting on registration stickers and decals, changing headsail to the big #1 so we have a slight chance on Wed nights. This is how Constance looks inside:

Looking forward through the main cabin

The galley and companionway

We also have a new slip! This one is a little bit more difficult to get out of since it requires backing out into a turn where the old one had plenty of space towards the back. The Tartan 34C is a beautiful boat but unfortunately a demon when it comes to reverse driving. With the long overhangs any side wind will push her away from whatever you're intending to do. Also, since the engine is at an angle towards the midship line the boat initially wants to go to starboard in reverse and then pulls to port when the prop walk effect sets in. So any undocking requires careful planning and nerves of steel. I guess I still have to learn something here..

Our new slip

First sail

2011-03-18T22:40:00.000-04:00

Little bit late on the posting but things have been busy! We took Constance out the first time this year on March 18th. Blustery but sunny day with lots of wind, white caps all over the sound. We put in the first reef, ventured beyond Georges rock and turned around soon after, ahem. Even with the day feeling quite warm on land the waters of the sound are still very cold so it gets chilly after a while even with all the sailing gear on. At least we were probably the first boat out this year, how about that. Oh and I put the sail numbers on so we can race now legally! In hindsight I should have put them a little lower, oh well.

Ready for the season!

2011-03-14T16:49:00.000-04:00

Removed the sail cover yesterday. I don't know why but it always seems to blow like crazy whenever we have to handle that big unwieldy canvas cover. Anyways, Constance did very well last winter, nothing broke during the multiple blizzards we had up here (one with 50+ kn gusts!). And besides some minor broken seams the cover is doing allright too. Inside everything seems fine, I left the front hatch a crack open and didn't close the companionway all the way to allow for some air to circulate. The problematic spots around the foot rails stayed mold free and all the cushions I left inside are also fine. So, just need to put the sails on and off we are for another beautiful sailing season!

winter cover

2010-11-29T16:25:00.002-05:00

is up! Took us 3 hours to get the damn thing up! The cover came in three pieces of heavy canvas that are zipped together over the boom and attached to stanchions and pulpits. We had a pretty heavy breeze going on Saturday so it was like wrestling with demons. I put a line underneath the canvas stretching from the boom end to the aft stay to reduce the sag in the cockpit area. Probably have to add some more lines to the sides as well before it starts snowing. Also, drained all the water from the pipes and replaced it with antifreeze. Constance should be all ready to go through the winter now!

winterizing..

2010-11-01T22:17:00.000-04:00

Last night was the first night below freezing up here in the Northeast. High time to finalize winterizing the boat! Did oil/filter change, drained freshwater from the pipes and put some biocide into the diesel tank. Both main and furling jib are down, flaked and bagged down below. Also checked the zincs. The heat exchanger zinc was half gone after 3 months so I probably need to exchange that one. Dove into the freezing harbor to check the zincs on the prop shaft, they were still fine. I thought with the colder temperatures those pesky birds that love to sit on the wind vane and shit happily on the decks would finally leave, but the colder weather seems to have invigorated them instead. Grr. So I guess we need to do some more deck scrubbing. Anyways, once we know which berth Constance will have (since the boat will stay in the water), I'll put up the brand new canvas cover. Keeping fingers crossed, I hope the canvas store got the measurements right. Up here we can expect snow within a few weeks so I better get this thing up. The bubbler below the boat is supposed to keep the sea water from freezing so it's relatively safe to leave the boat in the water. Probably need to haul the boat out in spring but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

Thimble Island Cruise

2010-10-12T21:20:00.002-04:00

anchored at Thimble Islands

Perfect weekend for a little getaway from the usual life! Sailed Constance together with our friends Berni and Irene to the Thimble Islands, some 30mls away from Westport. Saturday was blustery with SW winds around 20kn and somewhat cloudy skies. We skipped setting the spinnaker and sailed with poled out jib in 4.5hrs all the way to the islands. Great anchor spot to the east of Money Island with nothing else but the horizon limiting the view. Went swimming in the still not too cold water before a fantastic dinner from the onboard bbq.
Of course in the middle of the night the wind switched directions and we had to reset the anchor. No biggie and even better, that wind turned out to be just right for sailing on a beam reach back to Westport the following morning. Spinnaker up and again only 4.5hrs till we doused it right in front of channel to the marina. What a ride! in the end got actually quite gusty and we had some exciting moments getting the thing down again...

The spi is up!

2010-09-20T16:42:00.001-04:00

Finally tried out the spi! Got a brand new spinnaker pole, all the lines and blocks and were anxious to try it out of course. First set was a disaster, the halyard shackle opened and up the halyard went and down in the water the spi went. Urgh. So we had our friend Daniel climb the mast and retrieve the halyard. (Twice since he let go of the other halyard teehee). So in the end we got it up and look how nice it flies!

PHRF series is over

2010-09-08T10:00:00.000-04:00

Last Wednesday race got off pretty well. We won the pin end quite nicely but were behind at the first buoy. By the time we reached the 2nd buoy the div1/2 boats had caught up and behold, the wind died completely. So even the guys which were way in front and in biscuit tossing distance to the finish line just couldn't make it with the current setting out. So the RC abandoned the race and that was it for the summer PHRF series! Still a nice evening sail with our friend David. Just read the final score, we came in #8 out of 10 that qualified (and about 16 that raced). In the Sunday series we barely qualified and got 6th and last place :-).

Last Sunday race

2010-09-01T10:21:00.000-04:00

went pretty well. We had nice wind, a fantastic start, got the pin and powered upwind like crazy with about 5.5kn. Not enough to match the other boats in our class, though, they just simply took off. We were like 2 minutes behind at the windward mark and then lost it on the downwind leg. I was too chicken to put the new spinnaker pole out with just the 2 of us on the boat and quite a chop with 15kn of wind. Anyways, had lots of fun and qualified for the summer series. As far as I can tell in last place, but who cares!

Wed night sail

2010-08-26T10:23:00.001-04:00

Short course last night with the wind forecasted to die around 7p. So we were very happy to see that the rain finally stopped, the sun came out for a glorious sunset and the wind held up! We managed to round mark 2 & 3 before the division 1/2 boats could overtake us and beat some div2 boats on corrected time by quite a bit. Of course in our division we were dead last, but 'only' 4min behind the previous boat. Remember in these conditions we usually have problems finishing at all, so I'm quite happy.
Also, I've started a (technical) picture collection which can be accessed by clicking on the picture in the menu bar to the right.

not DFL'd!

2010-08-20T10:30:00.001-04:00

Wednesday night race was very delightful as we had fantastic weather and finally managed to come in better than last. Actually, second last, but was still a good race for the wind conditions we had. We started off with winds around 8kn and managed to stay at the top of the fleet to the windward mark. I finally figured out the sweet spot for upwind VMG (about a point off close hauled and the jib a good foot off the spreader), and we were able to beat faster boats to the windward mark layline. We're still too slow after the tacks, I may have to turn even slower to keep the boat speed through the tack. Then the inevitable happened and the wind almost died, but still enough to ghost us around the next mark and into the finish. By that time the lighter boats had all pulled away. Didn't matter since we had an awesome sunset with a double rainbow. Spectacular scenery as the Div 1 boats were all behind us lighted up in golden colours before the rainbow backdrop. Dinner anchored at Cockenoe (that was my birthday dinner!) with the last remaining bottle of Cuvee Constance as company.

Div1 boat Wed night

DFL'd

2010-08-16T14:11:00.002-04:00

Ok, the Sunday race series isn't ours. Somehow those other boats are just light years faster by design and the handicap doesn't seem to be realistic when the spread is so large. We had a great start with full speed on the line, but then got rolled by the big boats. Anyways, we had a day of fun sailing after spending the night anchored at Cockenoe Island (our favorite spot!). We averaged 4.5kn over the 7.5 mile distance including 2 upwind legs. By my account that converts into a 4.9kn average speed through the water which I think isn't so bad for a 10-12kn breeze. So even though we were a little bit tired from the rolly night before I think we still managed quite well. The waves from the southeasterly worked their way over the reef at high tide so we had some bouncy conditions around 2am. Yawn!

Jellyfish cloud over Westport

Sunset dinner at Cockenoe Island

Great company for a summer night

TLE!!!

2010-08-05T16:54:00.000-04:00

That means "time limit expired". That was our score last night and it means that we couldn't finish within 30 minutes after the first boat in our class finished. What a shame, even more since we were doing quite well all the way to the last buoy. However then the inevitable thing happened that happens every evening on the LI Sound: The wind died. And Constance just doesn't like to go without wind. So we were literally stuck 50 meters in front of the finish line and couldn't get across. There were still 4 boats behind us that actually retired before the time limit and therefore got a DNF score. So at least we didn't get DFLd!.

Sunday race

2010-08-02T09:16:00.003-04:00

Wind forecast was 5-10kn but when we arrived at the starting line we had a stiff easterly with about 15-20kn and quite some chop. Thankfully we had Martin and Mayada helping us today, so that was definitely easier than doublehanded under these conditions. Got off to a great start, but the other boats pulled off quickly since they were rating much faster. We had great boatspeed with about 5kn upwind and even caught up with a Div1 boat. They missed the mark and got stuck there, all of a sudden shooting off in our direction. Quite a bit of yelling, crashtacking back and forth but no harm done (they withdrew from the race after that :-)). We finished a solid 4th (and last) place, but had a lot of fun! Went swimming at Cockenoe Island after the race.

Martin and Jewel on the rail

Wed night race

2010-07-28T23:56:00.000-04:00

Lots of wind today which should have been favorable for us. After a great start we messed up the on the 2nd leg going inside a marker which was not allowed. So had to withdraw from the race. Also I parted the centerboard pulley which is slow downwind. Grrr. In the end we would have been 2nd last. But anyways, lots of fun and the Cajun Crawfish at the Black Duck were fabulous as usual..

Nantucket cruise

2010-07-28T10:58:00.017-04:00

Just returned from our cruise to Nantucket. We clocked 400 nautical miles over 12 days! This was the first serious test of the boat with strong winds encountered in the Vineyard Sound and around Nantucket, as well as high waves off Newport (I would say at least 15ft!). She did really well and I can't complain about anything. On the way to Nantucket we hopped from island to island: Thimble Islands, Fisher Island, Block Island, Cuttyhunk, Martha's Vineyard. Beautiful anchorages and moorings and some good seafood as well. On the way back we made it through dreaded Woods Hole, touched in Newport and Stonington and spent one last night at the Thimble Islands again. Some adventure on the last day when we first ran out of gas (I should have listened to Kyle!) which was not such a big deal since we had a reserve canister. After refilling we ran into a fishing net which I had to cut off the propeller in the middle of the Long Island Sound. Took me only 5 dives to clear it but it was really scary with the boat bouncing around.

Moored at Cuttyhunk

Cuttyhunk

Stonington approach

After passing Woods Hole