Ventura sailing-summertime sail strategies-Channel Islands Harbor


	June 2005 SailTime Channel Islands News


	Welcome Members ! Lots of news and information here this month, as we move into the peak Summer sailing season in Ventura.

Captain Dan's Corner

Hi Shipmates !
I know you were all expecting a Bonjour, but I don’t want to flaunt my fantastic good fortune...OK, I can’t resist.

I have just returned from the finest sailing adventures I have ever had. Under the sponsorship of Imagine Member Dennis Dreith, I got to sail the length of the French Riviera from just east of Toulon to Monaco with stops in Cavalaire sur Mer, St. Tropez, St. Maxime, St. Raphael and Cannes in the middle of the film festival. Sailing in France is incredibly popular. Facilities for yachtsmen are abundant and first rate. We thought we knew what a big yacht was before we left. The mega yachts are unbelievable. Bigger than destroyers, big as cruise ships in some cases and sporting helicopters and a wide array of toys.

I think Dennis will agree that this is one of the major SailTime benefits being able to hone your skills in the Santa Barbara Channel and then chartering anywhere in the world.Dennis and I would now feel confident heading off to any SunSail destination. SunSail loves it, too, because a SailTime sailor is someone they know has a high probability of returning the boat like they found it !

Summer 104/105 Classes Now Forming
If you are certified 103, its time to move through 104 (Bareboat Chartering) and 105 (Coastal Navigation). 104 includes an overnight cruise to the islands and 105 is pretty much all classroom time except to use what you learned in 105 on our 104 cruise to the islands. Class times for 105 is Sat, June 25 to July 23, 9:30am to 12:30 here in the harbor. 104 should be scheduled during the same time period so you get certified in both. Contact me now to get more info and to schedule the on-water time for 104. By the way, if you want your spouse or high schooler to join the nav class with you, I’d be glad to have them. No additional fee for that.

Do you still need 103 or just some extra time with me gaining more confidence ? Just give me a ring and we can put together a plan to fit your schedule on your boat !

Upcoming Events

Notices


	Your General Boat Responsibilities Naturally, with Summer upon us, the boats are getting much more frequent use. This gives Colin and our maintenance crew less time to spend on them. That means we are counting on you to be part of the team 1) Bring an old towel or two from home. Before you get on the boat, place them so you step onto them instead of those bloody bright white decks !@#$ Once your shoes are acclimated from the towel - as long as you stay ont he boat... your shoes will be clean ! 2) Only allow boat shoes/white soled tennies or bare feet on your boat. Removing black scuff marks is a tough time consuming job. Consider purchasing a pair of boat shoes that you put on at the boat and only wear when on the boat. 3) When wet rinsing the boat after a salty sail please use the squeegee and only the squeegee on the glass and dodger surfaces. If you are so inclined you can quickly wipe off the stainless with the towels you brought. 4) If you have any questions or problems of any kind with anything on the boat please send Chris an email when you get home. 5) Down below, please clean up the head for the next member with disenfectant cleaner and double check for personal belongings and food. If you overnight, use the swiffer rags on the floors. to pick up hair and food crumbs. That's really about it other than just keeping the boat ship shape for the next person. You all are doing a great job. These darn boats are sooo white but with a group effort they are perfect for each member all the time. Get a FREE month of membership ! Refer us a new Member or an Owner/Member and we'll give you a free month ! Only 1 space available on Imagine and 4 spaces on Rainbow. Race on Rainbow Rainbow Owner Member, Jerry Roth, needs crew for the Wet Wedensday fun races ! Races start at 6pm and are followed by a BBQ at Anacapa Yacht Club every Wednesday through September. If you have an interest to learn more, contact Jerry at 984-4058. Jerry doesn't do it every week and you don't have to be crew every week. Its all fun and members from both Imagine and Rainbow are encouraged to help Jerry crew. He plans to outfit Rainbow with a crusing spinnaker so this will be an excellent opportunity to learn how to use those exciting sails. Docking Procedures There is no doubt that it is easier to enter and exit your boat from the stern at the slip if the boat is backed into the slip. However, like anything, it takes practice to get good at it. The trick is that the bow can get blown down if there is wind in the slip. If it is calm though, it is relatively simple to back in. Captain Dan is offering docking tips. Please do this before attempting it on your own. And always, we want you docking whichever way is most comfortable to you. 95% of all boating accidents happen around the dock !@#$%. Contact Dan at 750-7828 to get some stern docking tips. Please double check docking lines as they are somewhat different when you are bow in versus stern in.

6/4-6/17 - Chris is away in the BVI's making sure its a good place to go :-) Colin is your contact for any boat maintenance issues @ 805/407-9836. Dan is your contact for any kind of question, quick solves, emergencies as he lives nearby and Colin does not. Dan is at 805/750-7828

6/24 - Full Moon Friday Frolic on Imagine - meet at the boat at 6pm. A sunset sail followed by frivolity. depending on conditions we can sail with 4-6 others beside the Cap'n.

6//25 - Heavy Weather Sailing Clinic on Imagine - meet at the boat at 2pm. Captain Dan will help you gain confidence for the big Summer seas. Limited to 3 people @$50ea.
Contact Dan 750-7828

Summer Sailing Strategies
You've probably heard me sing the virtues of Winter and spring sailing here. But the fact is, most people have more time to sail in the Summer.

The challenge with Summer sailing comes from the desert. Yeah, I know, it's a pretty long way from the jetty to the desert sands, but when the desert heats up the air over it also heats. And all that desert air - a couple of state's worth - goes up, and it goes up fast. That creates a giant and relatively intense low pressure area, and that sucks the air from our zip code into the vacuum over the desert.If the marine layer is lying off shore, it will quickly cover the channel and the coast. Hence our days of fog and high wind. If there's no marine layer, we just get the wind.

We're guaranteed a "sporty" breeze nearly every afternoon. Now, some people like "sporty" - but others like 10-15, the optimum conditions for our boats, and avoid the 16-22 we so frequently see in late afternoons from June through September.

How do these smart sailors avoid daily heavy weather? They get an early start. Capt. Dan reports that his summer of daily duty at the Ventura sailing school last year, only one day was flat calm past 0900. That's why every Summer Saturday you will see droves of experienced area sailors heading out very early. It may be flat calm, but soon - about 10:30 - your sails will fill. The little ripples will begin to turn into wind chop and by 11 it's blowing 10 knots. Some days it holds at that level. On others, each hour past 11am sees another 2-3 knots of wind, reaching a crescendo around 5 or 6 pm for a "Sundowner" in the 20 knot range.

Check the forecast before you go. The weather guessers do a very fine job, particularly in the summer.

Don't want to deal with the high winds and high seas? Go early and come home by 2-3pm. By the way, you'll have notice that you've stayed out too long. A pretty sure sign of an impending blow; a warm day begins and then then the temperature suddenly drops. The wind will definitely come up and there may be a major direction shift, too. When the temperature drops dramatically, get ready to reef.

Reefing - Here's my reefing strategy:

If its blowing 10 in the turning basin it is probably blowing 15 on the ocean, and I start out with a reef.It's much much easier to reef inside the harbor in flat seas than out in a building seaway. It is also very easy to "shake out" a reef once underway if you've overestimated the wind.

Continues below -

These boats sail best with 25 or less degrees of heel. Plus it is a much more comfortable ride to be under control - especially if the seas are big. If the wind is over 16, I reef the jib 20% reef and the main until it buries the Hunter logo on the mainsail. If it is blowing a consistent blowing 20 or gusting to 25, I reduce sail to about 50%. That's rolling the main in until the head is even with the top spreader. By the way, this strategy does not slow the boat down!

On many occasion I don't reef at all, I just look at the way the water is breaking over the breakwater and bail out, heading back to the slip if the breakwater is generally awash. For me, its just going to be too darn uncomfortable a ride under those conditions. The boat will survive it, but for me it's just not fun.

Harbor Entrance:
Both entrances can be tricky when the seas are running high. I have had several white-knuckle returns, usually because I didn't follow my instincts with the breakwater awash and headed out anyway.

Always, Always, Always have the engine running when leaving and returning. Use the engine to time your return in between the swells.

Generally you need to come in closer to the rocks on the Northwest side than the rocks on the Southest side.If the sea is running high at the entrance I furl the jib, center the main and motor in the Northwest side, keeping my speed at 4kts or more. It's the prudent way to do it.

Coming in from the south, I ensure that I'm on the seaward side of the breakwater. If the breakwater forms a straight line, I tack or motor to seaward so that I can make an approach that is 90 to 130 degrees off the breakwater line. Once past the breakwater, I head toward the left side of the channel and put as much distance between the boat and the Irving Johnson memorial buoys as practicable. When the wind and seas are doing their typical march out of the northwest, I enter the channel on or slightly left of centerline

We'll talk about Santa Anas another time.


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