Escapade's Skipper Will Be Missed...

Guest Skipper

Think we learned that we were basically on the right track. As far as sail trim, anyways. Need to push Dazz into the tactics that Das Boot could do and damn the kelp to the boat hook. Can't be all that bad. Besides, in our venue our fleet is divided between boats who do and boats who don't. Have to go for it.

C&C looked good, especially with an additional ex-crewman from Daz Boot aboard

If Only This Race Had Been Shortened!

This race was at 2.88nm in length. It took all but one finisher more than two hours of sailing. For the first 90 minutes, there were no wind-ripples on the water. At that point, we had managed an horizon job on the 20 other starters and we had passed through the gate in front of the Race Committee. If they had shortened the race, we would have a Cinderella ending to the day's story.

Then the wind totally quit. I honestly cannot account for what happened after that. Sunstroke? Talk of mutiny. Too much beer and not enough ideas. Boats with electronic wind quides began tacking and we were clueless.

Boats began to pass left and right of us. Finally, wind ripples came to us and we were able to make way & wake, as they say.

We weren't too disappointed. Dazz finish 10th out of 21. Except for skipper's errors, we could have bagged the whole bunch.

This Learning Curve Will Be a Steep One

Our 2nd race was marred by not getting the Race Committee's signals right. We learned of the reverse course start 40 seconds before the gun. And we learned of the course number 40 seconds before we approached the final leg. If I had remembered to click the VHF on before getting myself shackled to the tiller, that would have helped considerably. And, ship's binoculars are ordered.

Lessons learned! Right? Allow more time for set up, especially in the beginning days. Allow crew more experience on the helm, for another!

But fun! Especially fun sailing back up to the slip without the noisy engine. Took Trophy Wife and me back to our dinghy days in Newport Beach!

Back on the Water!

1st day in Dazzler!

Don't Fence Me In!

Why I moved to Santa Barbara: No Fences!

Two decades or so ago, I stole this cartoon of Tom Hachtman off the bulletin board at the old hamburger joint across from the current Harbor Post Office. I didn't live in Santa Barbara then, but this image hung around long enough in my head until I got myself up here!

All four of my dobies got to sample beach life; two of them got to live here!

The alternative was Newport Beach. I could have moved there and retained my job for another five years. But it had fences. It was full of commerce. High rises. Its docks were inundated with huge excursion boats and noisy cigarette boats. Republicans ruled there and erected fences.

No place where a varsity-sized canine could live with dignity.

Mark Noble, Eight Bells

In different Fleets, we raced against each other just a very few times.

On the same finger in the harbor: we will miss Escapade's famous post-twilight race dock parties.

And I regret never getting to play dominoes with you.

But I will remember our talks together.

Forever.

A 45th Anniversary Celebrated

A two-day hard-driving trip to San Francisco and back.

Arrival in the Bay area followed by a visit to my late father-in-law's yacht.

Followed by toasts and photo-op aboard said yacht.

Followed by Friday night dinner at St. Francis Yacht Club 
hosted by yacht's current owners.

Followed by a dazzling sail on the Bay!

Eight Bells for Nick Bown

South Devon, U.K.

Nick helped me start a local Laser Fleet in Southern California in the early 1970's. He was lighter, faster, smarter, (and better looking!) sailor than I was. Until the wind came up I couldn't get close to him on the water.

But on land, he was a close, close friend. Loyal. Cheerful. Amusing. Honest. We were always trying to figure out a way he could obtain dual citizenship. We almost bought a boat together. That J-24 from Steve Curren.

I am cheered only in that Nick enjoyed a good and long life and passed in the arms of his loved ones.

What Is This?

Past, Present & Future

What? I am no longer a sailor. Just a spectator and sponsor? A face in the crowd?

And Das Boot's slip empty? This is the way it shall be?

All Is (Not) Lost!

Wednesday, July 23rd

We were tracking the King Harbor Race and Das Boot's progress with every Internet app available. Ironically, we were able to get Das Boot's position and only three or four others on SailTrack. But, just after sundown, we picked up this message on the SB-KH Facebook page:

Got a message from our friends on Celebrity.
Apparently they were involved in a crash with Green Dragon.
Their boat is badly damaged, no one got hurt.
They're motoring home.
More info as it becomes available.

That was surprising: in my limited experience, wind drops dramatically in this race right after sundown. Everything begins to evolve in slo-motion. If this collision was evidence of woolly conditions out there, it was worrisome. But it turns out, this collision happened in daylight. Not only that, but it was recorded:

Clearly Green Dragon ²  violated Rule #12 of the RRS's. Pretty basic stuff. I don't buy the Byzantine symmetry theory that both boats are to blame. The burdened boat is the over-taking boat when boats are on the same tack as they appear to be. Secondly, one has to question why Captain Crunch, skipper of Green Dragon ², felt it necessary to maneuver so close when he was in the middle of a 82nm race. (There was plenty of water to go around.) Finally, these two boats were entered in different classes; they weren't even racing against each other.

This video of Captain Crunch has gone viral on the 'Net. And his real name is known and he is well on his way of becoming a poster-boy idiot of yacht racing.

But why am I posting this? 

Clearly this goes to the point as to why I relinquished the helm of Das Boot. I was at the top of my game. I had compleat crew, complete mastery of my boat's performance capability. I did not want my boat's name to be remembered because of a complete blunder I might have made years from now when I might be performing well below my current standard. Maybe after my sailing had become anosognosiac? I wanted to quit sailing my Laser-38 well before the nick of time.