Winter Vashon 2015 Did I Tell You That It Was Raining?

Saturday was the traditional first Saturday of December race around Vashon Island. Although it is not actually Winter, this gives it a great name. This race sponsored by Tacoma Yacht Club, is sort of the beginning of our racing season that will end on about the end of November 2016. This race is the first race of the four race Southern Sound Series.

My race starts on Friday morning when I was underway at 0700 for the four hour delivery to Tacoma Yacht Club. I arrived early enough to get a prime spot in the moorage. Later, the club sponsored a dinner. The class breaks were posted, and our class was composed of six J35s, two that I did not know.

Saturday morning, the rain started. We rigged the boat and got to the starting area. After predictions of south winds in the lower to middle teens, the winds were about five knots from the SW. we lined up for our 1005 start and approached the line to start only to not get a starting signal. Thinking I was off by a minute, we circled around and then a postponement was called. Don't know what that was about. The second time, we got a great apinnaker start and reached out into Colvos Pass. 

We did not get far until the wind shifted to the north at about five knots. We tacked up Colvos Pass chasing shifts and trying to avoid various dead spots. The winds stayed at 0-5 knots. We had a running battle with "Melange". We open up a lead only to have them catch up. Near the north end of Vashon Island, they opened up a good lead on us and then went close to the Vashon Island shore. We stayed farther from shore and with favorable current, we passed them again. We could see that the race was being finished on Allen Bank. With only a few hundred yards to go, the very light winds shifted to the south. "Melange" set a spinnaker, passed us and crossed the finish line 50 yards ahead of us. But wait! There is more! As "Melange" approached the finish line, they tried to sail between the mark boat and a larger boat from another class. After a heated discussion between the two boats, they ran out of room, the two boats touched each other and the current pushed "Melange" into the mark boat. Later the results showed Melange" as 'retired' and us in first place.

From the finish, we motored to Brownsville, off loaded the crew to my truck and drove them back to Tacoma Yacht Club.

Did I tell you that it rained? Well it did! And hard all day. But with good foulweather gear and warmer temperatures, it did not bother us much.

Thanks to my crew of Jim, Walter and Rainer.

Here is our psychotic track for the day.

Hanford And The "B" Reactor

The Hanford Nuclear Reservation was developed during World War II. It was chosen for several reasons, some of which was a good source of water, plenty of available electricity and a remote location. The Army confiscated the property, relocated the citizens of the town of White Bluffs. Soon a massive construction project was started. Reactors were built starting with the "B" Reactor. Other processing facilities were built to handle the products produced by the reactors. The whole purpose of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation and the reactors was to make Plutonium 238 for nuclear weapons. The "B" Reactor produced plutonium for the first atomic bomb exploded in New Mexico and the bomb dropped on Nagasaki Japan. Eventually plutonium production ended at Hanford and the reactors and processing plants were decommissioned. All the reactors except "B" were entombed in a structure and all the support buildings demolished. "B" was kept as a National Historic Site. The work being done at Hanford is now cleanup of the mess made during plutonium production.

A couple of months ago, I saw a television show where they mentioned the "B" Reactor tours. I knew about them a couple years ago, but circumstances got in the way of reserving a spot. But this time I got on the computer and reserved the last tour spot on September 29 th, the next to the last tour date of the season.

I decided I could make a day trip, so I was underway at 0445. With a breakfast stop at North Bend and a few Rest Stops, I was over Snoqualmie Pass and at the Richland reception center by 1000, well before the required checkin time. After a briefing and a short video, we loaded onto a tour bus and started north on Highway 240. Our guide talked continuously about the history of the area, the archaeological aspects of the area and a lot of other items. We entered the complex near the Columbia River and parked in front of the "B" Reactor. I was immediately shooting pictures without thinking that we had 2.5 hours there. 

The reactor was very interesting. It looked like it was shut down and the operators walked away. Equipment and furnishing were all in place. I was really amazed at the construction and the material schedule. I would have never thought that aluminum tubing would be used in a reactor! The "B" reactor is a graphite moderated reactor. The pressures and temperatures are quite low. Remember, this reactor was intended to make plutonium and was not intended to produce steam. Most of the plant was wide open. Some areas were still contaminated or radioactive. Barrier tape or physical boundaries kept everyone clear of hazards. Docents were there to give talks on the reactor operation. After 2.5 hours, we were back on the bus.

The bus took us back to the reception area, but this time we went through the length of the Hanford Site. We saw many of the entombed reactors and the remains of the old town of White Bluffs. We arrived at the Center at about 1530 and I was back on the road soon there after. This time I took a route that took me through Moxee, Yakima and home over Chinook Pass. It was a great drive home and I was home at about 2100.

Since I have been to Ground Zero in Nagasaki, this tour for me was like a "closing of the loop" in this historical event. Now I need to visit the Trinity site to complete my tours. The Trinity site and the "B" Reactor are scheduled to become National Parks in the future. Another reason for this trip was "Professional Curiosity". I just wanted to see how it was built and operated.

Here is a link for the B Reactor Tour Registration

 The reception center in Richland.

The "B" Reactor

 Hallway from the entrance to the reactor room.

 Warning board entering the reactor room.

 This is the front of the reactor. There are 2004 tubes. Each one has its own cooling water supply. The tubes are aluminum. The uranium fuel is encased in an aluminum tube and fits into the reactor tube with .080 radial clearance. There is only about 450 gallons of cooling water in the reactor at any time. Water is pumped from the Columbia River and after it leaves the reactor and goes through a settling pond and back to the river. Water temperature entering the reactor is about 55 degrees F and leaves the reactor at about boiling, 212 degrees F.

 This is the front of the reactor. Each tube is loaded with cylinders of uranium fuel and pushed toward the back. Sixteen spacer tubes were pushed in after the fuel. There was several feet of shielding material between the exterior and the graphite core. The fuel was in the center of the core for 60-90 days before the fission products made enough plutonium out of the uranium fuel. The areas around the edges might take a year before it was "done". When the fuel was ready for extraction, the reactor was brought to a low power level, the water secured, the tube cap removed and the fuel pushed out the back of the reactor where it drops into the water pit. One Docent (who was a reactor operator) said that exposure rates at the front of the reactor were not too high.

 Lets crank it up and make some plutonium!

 The control console.

 This clock in the control room is stopped at 1048, the time this reactor first went critical.

 The SCRAM (Safety Control Reactor Axe Man) button. There were two that needed to be pressed simultaneously.

Each of the 2004 process tubes in the reactor had a pressure indicator in the control room. If even one tubes pressure varied by more that 3 psi, the reactor would SCRAM. And a sign said not to lean against this board or it could SCRAM the reactor. Someone ought to warn this lady!

 Below this wooded grating is a water pit where the irradiated fuel is stored during it's cooldown period. The workers moved and handled the fuel with 20 ft long tongs.

 Placard showing the layout of the reactor.

 The Valve Pit where cooling water is circulated.

 Model of the graphite moderator and process tubes.

The train and casks that hauled the irradiated fuel to the processing plant. 

Foulweather Bluff Race 2015

October 3rd was the Foulweather Bluff Race sponsored by Edmonds Corinthian Yacht Club. For the second time, the course was reversed from the normal direction. It is a 26 mile race that starts  just north of Edmonds,rounds the bell buoy off Scatchet Head,  rounds the bell buoy off Foulweather Bluff, and back to the finish north of Edmonds. This year, the weather was forecast to be sunny and the winds were suppose to be northerly up to 15 knots.

 

I delivered the boat to Edmonds early on Friday and got a choice moorage spot at the visitors dock. I explored uptown and spent time kibitzing with old acquaintances and met a few new ones. Interesting how the sailors from outside my normal sailing area around Bremerton are so friendly.

Through friday night and into Saturday morning, it was clear that the wind forecast was not exactly accurate. The winds overnight built into northerly winds into the 20's. By morning, reports were coming in from the ferries that gusts to 30's were being observed. The sailors started getting nervous. As the race time approached, the Race Committee hoisted the AP postponement flag inside the harbor. They were concerned about trying to set and maintain a starting line as well as the safety of the participating yachts(a source of much discussion lately). 

As the postponement continued, some boats packed up and headed downwind for home. Other boat owners decided it would not be a good day for racing and found more substantial boats to sail on. Their crews also looked for good rides on other boats. We tried to pick some up to sail with us, but nobody was interested in sailing on my boat. Their loss.

After about an hour and a half, the wind abated some and the race committee lowered the postponement flag and the remaining boats headed to the starting area. Leaving the harbor, it really was not too bad. The wind had dropped to the 15-20 knot range and with the sun out, it looked like it would be a great day.

We put up the #3 jib and with a full main, we started the race. We had a poor start, but shortly after the start, we found our selves in a great position and it wasn't long before we found ourselves in solid second place. The beat to Schachet Head was pretty straight forward until we got close to the buoy where the current was flowing rapidly to the left. We were good about not overstanding, but still had to crack off a little to round the buoy.

From Scatchet Head to the the Foulweather Bluff buoy it was a sloppy, wet beat with the ebbing current against the northerly wind. We submarined the boat a couple of times taking solid water over the cabin top. We had a GPS waypoint to steer to the Foulweather Bluff  buoy and with the ebbing current, we thought we could make the buoy on one tack, but when we got to the Foulweather Bluff buoy, we were headed, ended up about 50 yards low and had to take two tacks before jibing around the buoy.

Rounding the buoy, we set the spinnaker for the run to the finish. We were efficient sailing low to Pt No Pt and escaping the adverse current. From Pt No Pt, we again used the GPS to judge the current and sail to a finish line waypoint. We pointed the boat low of the finish mark to account for the current. This allowed for the shortest distance to the finish. We cruised along at 8-9 knots passing some boats that started ahead of us and some faster boats that started behind us, passed us on the beat and somehow ran into trouble on the run. One boat in our class passed us on the run and we finished 3rd in our class.

It was a great day, very sunny and warm. At no time did the wind seem excessive. We sailed under great control the whole time. I was surprised at the number of boats that felt the need to reef. And I bet the skippers who bailed on racing are regretting their choice!

Thanks to my crew of Jim, Walter, Rainer and Kathleen for putting up with me.

Results can be found here: Foulweather Bluff Page

 My cozy spot at Edmonds on Friday. One of the perks of being retired, getting underway early to arrive and get the prime spots.

 The boats rafted up in the harbor.

 The boats rafted up in the harbor. 

Cruising past Pt No Pt.

Photo: S Nelsen

Our track for the day. We averaged 6.91 knots according to the nav computer.

The Pony Car Project-More Stuff!

I have not been accomplishing much on either of my project cars. But the last couple of weeks, I went crazy and placed a couple of order with Late Model Restoration. They were advertising a Labor Day Sale and later another coupon sale.

So, what did I buy? Here is a list:

Sub frame connectors

Rear control arms and urethane bushings

Urethane axle bushings and installation tool

Urethane spring isolators

Heater supply and return engine tubes and preformed tubes

Windshield wiper arm

Battery ground harness

Gas tank level sensor

The first order arrived a week ago and the second today. I installed the wiper arm and battery ground tonight. I do need to clean up the ground cable routing. The other items are a bit more involved. Probably do the tank level sender first, the heater tubes and hoses and later the rear control arms. The subframe connectors need to be welded to the frame. Lots of fun here!

Nice display of parts, but they should be out of sight installed on the Mustang.

Windows 10 and The Surface

I am not a computer expert. I have not had any formal training except for the various CAD (Computer Aided Design) platforms I used over 20 years of work. To me, a computer is a tool. I use it for some calculation, word processing and a lot of entertainment. I do not program nor "hack" around with the operating system. In fact, I can hardly tell the difference between the various Windows operating systems.

A few years ago, I bought a new desktop computer. I tried to spec it out with what I thought would be a computer that would have the power and storage to last several years. At the time, Windows Vista was the operating system of choice. After a couple years, I felt that Vista lacked something after Windows 7 came out. I arranged a barter with a friend who had access to a Windows 7 license. He took my computer home and installed Windows 7. Most of my programs converted over except for a few older ones that did not work well on Vista either. Some things on 7 worked really well and some things I struggled with.

Then a couple of months ago, I started hearing that Microsoft was going to upgrade Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 users to the new Windows 10. Sure enough, I received an announcement and scheduled an appointment to receive Windows 10. When the day arrived, I started the download and then left the house for a couple of hours. When I returned, Windows 10 was loaded and operating. I had one error message about a driver for backup hard drive that it could not recognize.

Windows 10 allowed me to use my Internet Explorer browser and a lot of the programs I used on Windows 7. But after a few days, I started using their new browser called Edge. It is fairly intuitive and has a Google Chrome appearance and feel. Strange. But I feel like my conversion was pretty seamless. I encourage others to make the switch from Windows 7 to Windows 10.

I had also been thinking about a new small laptop or tablet to use for travel. My old Dell 10 inch Netbook still worked, but with Windows XP operating system, it struggled to operate efficiently. In June while I was living in University Village while my mom was in the UW Hospital, I walked to the Microsoft Store to look at the Microsoft Surface. This is a tablet with an optional magnetic attachable keyboard and an optional stylus pen. They come in a small model as well as a larger Surface Pro model. The salesman demonstrated a standard model with Window 8.1. I could not keep up with all he was trying to show me. But he did tell me that newer models would be set up with Windows 10.

After a few weeks, I noticed that Costco had the Surface bundled with a keyboard and stylus pen for a very reasonable price. I selected the larger (more memory) of the smaller Surface tablets. The Surface PRO was several hundred dollars more and was physically larger with more power draw. The Surface I bought has about a 10 1/2 inch screen, USB power, and still has lots of RAM and hard drive space.

When it arrived, I fired it off right away. I struggled a little with the setup, but in a short time I was operating it. The amazing thing is that with my laptop mentality, I thought I would want to use the keyboard. After about an hour, I disconnected the keyboard and have not used it since. It totally is used as a touch screen tablet. I have not used a tablet except for my phone. The Surface is very similar.

I like the Surface. It is fast and runs the programs I use. It will run all day on a single charge. And as a Windows 10 machine, it was not hard to learn

 The Surface with the keyboard and the stylus pen.

And without the keyboard. It has a two position "kickstand" to allow a comfortable viewing angle.

Whidbey Island Race Week 2015, aka Adult Summer Camp

Whidbey Island Race Week(WIRW) is the third week of July and is five days of sailboat racing, partying, pranks and silliness. It has also been referred to as "Adult Summer Camp".  With a history of 30 years, it is one of the last race "weeks" that still exists in the country. Many "race weeks" have been shortened to a long weekend.

I was invited for the third year aboard a J105 named "Dulcinea" owned by Matthew. This boat is from my yacht club and is one of my primary competitors in the West Sound. This was actually my second year racing WIRW on "Dulcinea". I was invited for 2014 but could not race after I fractured my hip. My WIRW started on Sunday. The boat was already in Oak Harbor and I made my way there for a day of practice and to set up my camp at our team compound in "tent city". We sailed out into Penn Cove and tried to sail through some maneuvers. We were not very successful as the wind were very light. Also with the intense heat of the day, it was unpleasant on the water. So we pulled the crab pots and towed some of the crew members behind the boat. I guess we were trolling for sharks!

The racing was intense all week. This year the J105 class numbered 10 boats.  The starting line was crowded and often the boats stayed close together during the entire race. The winds blew each day at 10 knots or more. A few days it took a few hours for the winds to arrive. We raced a total of 12 races for the week, two days of three races and three days of two races. Twice we raced in south winds in Saratoga Pass and the rest of the days in Penn Cove. Matthew had good starts for most of the races and we had good upwind speed. On Thursday we had one first and one fourth and placed as the top boat for our class for the day. I was happy with our upwind speed compared to some of the top boats that we raced against. Unlike two years ago, our speed in stronger winds seemed good even though our placings sometimes were not the best. By the last day of racing, I was so tired I could hardly stand up. I was not the only one, many crews were pretty tired.

The J105 class is pretty close. On Wednesday, they class had a barbecue/potluck at a home overlooking Oak Harbor.

WIRW was a lot of fun for me. The racing was some of the most intense racing I have ever done.  Our foredeck crew of  Tessa and Jeanie for the first two days and Tessa and Melissa for the rest of the days were awesome. The cockpit crew of Mike and I did everything we needed to do to keep up with Matthew. The shore side activities were interesting and just like the expression "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas", some things are best left in Oak Harbor. Matthew runs a great program and arranged good logistics. Mike had his Class "A" RV and made us breakfast each day and provided a place for evening meals. In addition to Mikes RV, Matthew had a large travel trailer. The two formed a nice compound in the "tent city". We also had several tents and I slept in my truck.

Results can be found here: WIRW Results 2015

 Lisa on Last Tango greeting her visitor during a windless delay.

 And the Poke and Destroy crew getting in a little wake boarding while waiting for the wind.

 The entire fleet of J105's behind us during one of Thursdays races. A race that we won.

 Melissa awash in a sea of spinnaker fabric.

 Melges 24 planning down course.

 Sport boats planning down the bay.

 "Last Tango"

 The J105 fleet moored together.

Party "tent" where awards were presented and post race activities were held.

 The traditional crew photo after the last race of the week.

The actual crew photo after the last race of the week.

A New Belt For Ulysses

I remember the day and time when it happened. I was riding my Buell XB12X Ulysses motorcycle up the road to Sunrise at Mount Ranier National Park. The road was freshly chip sealed. I felt a thump and heard a bang. I did not find anything wrong, but after I got home, after a closer inspection I found a small hole through the drive belt. Evidently a small rock from the chip seal stuck to the outside of the belt, rolled over the idler pulley and pierced the belt from the outside.

I did not stress too much over the damage. Most of what I read on the internet said that it was minor damage and the Harley Davidson people (Harley discontinued the Buell line in 2010 GRR!) said that with the fiber orientation in the belt, that a small hole would probably not weaken the belt much. I continued to ride the Uly for a while and did not ride at all last year after breaking my hip.  A few weeks ago I found a new belt for sale on Ebay at a good price from St Paul Harley (Harley again GRR!). So today I finally carved out a block of time to change it.

The whole belt changing process is not too complicated. It just requires the removal and reinstallation of a lot of components: fender, belt guard, drive pulley cover, two chin fairing screws, idler pulley, foot peg bracket, brake pedal and master cylinder, partial removal of the rear axle and removal of part of the swing arm. Most of the fasteners are either allen head or torx head machine screws. Did not have to remove the rear wheel, but did have to jack the back of the bike off the ground. It took me about an hour and a half including being interrupted by a phone call.

After everything was reassembled and properly torqued, I went for a short ride. Everything worked fine. Now Ulysses has a new belt. Hopefully I can get out and ride now!

 The old belt almost removed.

 The new belt installed. Just need to install the covers, guards, foot peg bracket and rear brake lever and master cylinder.

 Here is the culprit. No, not the toothpick, but the small hole in the belt.

And always present, the shop manual.

Blake Island Race, WSSA #6-Sunny Warm Weather But Light Winds!

Today was the Blake Island Race. It was the sixth race of the seven race WSSA(West Sound Sailing Association series. This race starts near Pt Herron, goes through through Rich Passage, around Blake Island(either direction), leaves Bainbridge Reef Buoy #4 to port and finishes off the Port Orchard marina. This race is sponsored by Bremerton Yacht Club and has a history of at least 40 years.

The weather forecast was initially looking good. A high pressure zone was parked over the NW for the weekend with possibly record temps developing. The temperature was predicted to climb into the upper 70's or mid 80's but all the wind models indicated winds of less then 6-7 knots. But the winds never really developed as predicted. The current would be near ebbing at the start and could be flooding with us when we sailed back into Rich Passage on the return.

At the start, the winds were very light out of the north. I attempted a starboard start at the pin end. The wind headed us just before the start and we started about halfway down the line. When we were clear of the line we tacked to port. What little wind there was oscillated between NW and NE. We got closer to the Waterman shore and a little more wind and stronger ebbing current. We tacked to starboard for a while and then back to port for our entrance into Rich Passage. We had a strong header and tacked back into stronger ebb current along the Bainbridge Island shore. Another tack and we headed to Pt Glover. There a boat got in our way trying to pinch around the point or something. They slowed us and them down, so we tacked away and when we tacked back, we were ahead of them buy staying out of the Pt Glover back eddy. We had a nice beat between Orchard Rocks and Bainbridge Island and out of Rich Pass.

We had a close reach to Blake Island staying close to the Blake Island north shore avoiding some adverse current. We rounded the east point, set the spinnaker and sailed close to the east shore of Blake Island to avoid the strong current flowing north out of Colvos Pass. We gained on the boats behind and almost made it around the SE point of the island before the wind shut off and we started drifting backwards. We reached offshore found some wind and managed to get around the SE point into the west bound current. By now a lot of boats had gained on us and some passed us. Mainly the current carried us west until we cleared the west end of Blake Island where we headed up into new wind and sailed toward buoy #4.

Just before we got to buoy #4, we set the spinnaker. After rounding the buoy, we jibed and headed toward the south shore of Rich Pass. We worked in favorable current to Pt Glover. The winds were very variable. We jibed toward the Bainbridge shore and found some favorable current to Pt White. At Pt White, we could see some new wind coming out of the north. So we headed up high past the stern of another boat on the opposite tack, got into the new wind and left several boats behind.

From there to the finish, the wind built to 5-7 knots and we had a good run to the finish where we finished third at 1548. Following the race, Bremerton Yacht Club put on a social event at the Port Orchard Marina.  

This race was challenging with the light variable winds and the higher temperatures. But the crew kept focused and we sailed well through some of the difficult sections. Thanks to the crew of Jim, Tim and Rainer.

Results, when they are posted can be found here: http://wscyc.net/event/blake-island-2015/

 Rainer trimming the spinnaker.

And if you did not notice before, there is Mt Ranier in the background.

Our track for the day. Our outbound and inbound tracks crossed several times.

Race To Alaska-R2AK

Today I drove with a friend to Port Townsend to check out the participants in the first Race To Alaska (R2AK). This is a 750 mile race from Pt Townsend Wa to Ketchikan, AK. It is for non motorized  craft(sail, row, paddle, pedal). The rules are simple: set your own pace, no outside assistance or resupply, re provision or repair on your own. The award for the first boat to reach Ketchikan is $10000. Second place is a set of steak knives.

It was interesting to see the various concepts that people thought would work. Some boats were open with no provisions to escape the weather. Others were larger with nice accommodations. Some boats placed most emphasis on sailing with minimal rowing or pedaling capabilities. Some placed more importance on rowing or paddling. It will be interesting to see what concept prevails. I would think that a small, fast, light boat that will move well under sail as well as under human power would be the real ticket. The BC coast has it's share of unsettled conditions: wind, no wind, strong currents, cooler weather, cold water, rain. All this can present a challenge to any team not prepared to endure.

The race starts tomorrow morning at 0500 with the first leg to Victoria. There is a class for boats that only want to go as far as Victoria. This leg is also a qualifier for the complete race. I would assume that the qualifying criteria would be that boats need to arrive in Victoria by 1700 on June 5. The boats restart at 1200 on June 7 and race non stop to Ketchikan. 

For more info and access to a tracker see: http://r2ak.com/

 Lots of activity and gear on the floats.

 I believe that these two are just sailing in the first day event to Victoria. The boat on the right is a 11 foot Scamp.

 This is an interesting proa purpose built in Seattle. The ama always stays to weather and instead of tacking, they "shunt" where the swaps ends and the sail is moved from one end to the other. The rudder on the first end is raised and the rudder on the second end is inserted.  The boat is totally double ended and can go either direction.  Hard to describe and visualize. For the windless days, they have a removable pedal powered propeller system. A lot has been written about this boat and a lot of thought has gone into it. This is my favorite right now.

 A small Whamaran catamaran cruising around the harbor with a pedal/propeller arrangement.

 This was the stern of a large Chrowder 38 catamaran. Evidently, the plan is to put two people on the stern rowing on a sliding seat with oars. They were still assembling the brackets with sheet rock screws.

 An interesting addition on the stern of a Farrier F25C trimaran. For two people peddling, but with oscillating vanes instead of a propeller., 

 This is a made for the purpose monohull. Interesting design with an open transom, integral leeboards, twin rudders, trapezes and a movable sliding seat beam hor hiking or rowing.

 This little outrigger was sailed by a single lady intending to go all the way to Ketchikan. Don't know where or how she was planning on storing her gear. Her back up to sails was oars.

 Many of the boats tucked into the Pt Hudson Marina.

 This appeared to be one of the solo entries.

 Interesting beach cat that had a well thought out navigation pod and a pedal/propellor systm just forward of the mast.

This is a Mirror 16 foot sailboat. They actually were a well set up program. They could sleep in the bottom of the boat. They also had lots of experience cruising the British Columbia coast in Mirror 11 foot dinghies! They did not think they would win, but my money is on them that they will finish.