DAN'S BLOG-Tales of sailing, cycling, hiking and the retirement lifestyle.

Duwamish Head Race-South Sound Series #2

2012-01-08T22:10:00.000-08:00

The Duwamish Head Race is the second race of the four race South Sound Series. This race is sponsored by Three Tree Point Yacht Club and starts at the Des Moines Marina breakwater. The course then heads north around Alki Pt into Elliott Bay, around the Duwamish Head light, west across Puget Sound to Blakely Rocks. After passing Blakely Rocks (leaving them to port) the course continues south to the finish off the Des Moines Marina breakwater. The total length is 30.8 NM. Even though this race is run in the middle of the winter, the winds are often light and the course has been shortened at the Duwamish Head mark several times since I started racing it.

I was underway Friday morning at 0700 for the delivery to Des Moines. I like to leave early and I arrived at Des Moines at 1010 and found an empty slip in the transient morning. By mid day other boats were arriving. I helped the arriving boats moor which gave me some time to kibitz with other competitors, many that I know from previous races.

On Saturday, our start was at 1010. The winds were light at the start and not predicted to get much over 10 knots for the day. We got a good start on starboard with the spinnaker up, but we jibed to port shortly after starting and headed toward Vashon Island. “Melange” (J35) and “Jeopardy”(J109) both got a good jump on the class by heading left. “Bergan Viking” and “Fast Feather”(both J35’s) jibed back toward the right and sailed into a hole along with “Tantivy”(J109). We fought with “The Boss” (yes, another J35!) for a while before we jibed back to starboard on a favorable lift. We stayed ahead of “The Boss” to Three Tree Point but the lost ground by sailing closer to shore north of Three Tree Point and then again south of Alki Point.

When we rounded Alki Point, “The Boss”, “Melange” and “Jeopardy were well ahead. But we could also see that the committee was on station and finishing the boats at Duwamish Head. As we reached towards the finish, the boats ahead ran out of wind and we closed on them. As we got closer, we once again defied convention and stayed to the right near the shore and had a few favorable puffs. We soon found ourselves even with “The Boss” and “Melange” and right on the transom of “Jeopardy”. We thought for a while that we could finish ahead of “The Boss” and “Melange”, but both boats got a nice puff and passed us to leeward. “Jeopardy” finished first and “The Boss” finished second, one second behind after trailing “Melange” and “Jeopardy” for the entire race. We finished fourth, three seconds behind “Jeopardy” and since they owe us time, we corrected to third place in our class. All four boats finished within 3 seconds! That is a really close finish!

This race has always been a struggle for me. I never seem to be able to figure out how to sail the fast track from Des Moines to Duwamish Head in light running conditions. This year was no exception; we lost ground to the boats ahead, but no boats from behind passed us. Fortunately, even though the wind lightened near the finish, we did not give up.

The big mystery to me was why the race committee shortened the course. We finished at 1400 and even though the wind was light at Duwamish Head, it was sufficiently strong enough to have completed the entire course long before the time limit would expire. And it would have been fun to see if we could catch the leaders during the beat back to Des Moines. After we finished, we sailed the entire way to Brownsville and arrived at 1630.

Thanks to the crew of Jim, Tom and Michael for working hard and staying focused.

Results can be found here:Duwamish Head Race Results

On the delivery early Friday morning I spotted these sea lions lounging on a navigation buoy in Rich Pass.

Race boats crowding the Des Moines Marina prior to going to the starting area on Saturday morning.

Ready to go!

Our track for the day.

Captain Dan's Fleet Of Sailboats-Part 2

2012-01-04T10:46:00.000-08:00

About a month ago, I posted about my fleet of sailboats that I have owned over the last 45 years (Captain Dan's Fleet Of Sailboats). What gave me the idea for the earlier post was that I found old photographs of my earlier boats. I scanned the photos and attempted to clean up the files to make them presentable. I printed the scanned photos off at 8 X 10 inches and framed them with frames purchased at Goodwill. I also printed some of my favorite photos of my most recent boat (Great White) that were already in digital format.

I spend a lot of time in my home office (some people might consider this my "man cave", but my whole house is my "man cave"), so I thought that this was an appropriate place to hang these photos along side and above my "ego" wall. Most people will agree that I lack artistic abilities, but I think the way I am presenting these photos is classy, although somewhat casual. Since I bought my frames at Goodwill, very few match. I felt that this was sort of highlighting the various eras that these boat represent.

While I was working on these photos, I also undertook an ambitious project to scan the several hundred slides that I took during a couple of extended cruises to northern Canada in the mid and late 1980's. That will be the subject of a future post.

Progressive International Motorcycle Show

2011-12-17T18:51:00.000-08:00

Warning: Motorcycle content!

Today was the Progressive International Motorcycle Show. Just before I left for Seattle to go to it, I found out that it was going to be held at the Washington State Convention Center instead of the Century Link (aka Clink) Event Center where I attended last year. I have never been to the Convention Center before, so it was fun to go to a different part of Seattle. So, I caught the 0720 ferry and when I arrived in Seattle, I had a half hour hike up the hills.

The show has most of the major motorcycle manufacturers represented as well as accessory companies, insurance, ride promoters and custom and vintage motorcycles. I liked the show better than last year and some of the motorcycles that were not shown last year were present this year.

Erik Buell Racing 1190 RS. When Harley Motorcycles shut down Buell Motorcycles a couple years ago, Erik Buell started another company and started producing race motorcycles based on the old 1125 design. When the non compete clause expired, he came out with a new design. This motorcycle is street legal, but is also a major competitor in the American Superbike Series as well as overseas. For a mere $40K, you can own a state of the art American Sportbike.

Nice display of vintage motorcycles.

Honda Super 90. I used to have one of these in the early 70's.

Based loosely on the Buell XB9 chassis and engine, this bike holds a land speed record in it's class at Bonneville.

On the way back to the ferry, I went through Pike Place Market and finally found Post Alley where the wall is covered with chewing gum. Another great Seattle attraction!

I like the gum hanging from the window sill.

Lost In The Port Gamble Forest

2011-12-09T19:05:00.000-08:00

Warning! This blog post only contains info on mountain bike riding. Some people who read my blog such as sailors, people who used to be sailors, motorheads, hard core road riders or couch potatoes may not find this interesting.

This week has been cold and gloomy in the Bremerton area. I have felt chilled and lazy. But today, I made a decision to get out of the house and ride the mountain bike. The weather showed promise of being nice too.

Today I decided to head north to the Port Gamble Forest. This is north on the Kitsap Peninsula. So, I loaded up the mountain bike onto the Bronco and headed out at about 1100. I parked at the Stottlemeyer Rd entrance at the south end of the forest. Kitsap Mountain Bike (http://www.kitsapmtb.com/) maintains a very good map of the trail system in this forest. The Port Gamble Forresterrs do not object to hikers, horseriders or mountain bike riders using this land.

I rode around the gate at the first road. Soon I turned off onto a trail which turned back onto a road. This was the theme as I headed north along the east side of the forest. Eventually I rode out into the community of Port Gamble at the north end of the forest.

I turned around and headed south only this time I rode the trails and roads down the west side of the forest back to the parking area for a total ride of about 14 miles..

Even though I have known about this trail system for years, this was my first ride here. This ride was more of a reconnaissance ride to see what was there. The trails are well developed and since some did not appear on the map, I assume that new trails are being developed. I was a bit surprised of the elevation changes. I thought it would be flatter. The condition of most of the trails was very good and dry.

And sure enough, the sun was out all day making a very pleasant but somewhat cool day for riding!

Port Gamble Trail Map maintained by Kitsap Mountain Biking (http://www.kitsapmtb.com/).

My dual suspension Cannondale mountain bike loaded up on the Bronco.

Winter Vashon Race 3 Dec 2011, Or How To Sail Half Way Around Vashon Island In The Opposite Direction

2011-12-03T21:51:00.000-08:00

The South Sound Sailing series kicks off each year with the Winter Vashon Island Race on the first Saturday in December. This race is about 30 NM long, starts at Tacoma Yacht Club at Pt Defiance, sails around Vashon Island and finishes at Tacoma Yacht Club. As long as I can remember, the race has always been raced in a clockwise direction. This makes good sense as the current in the first part of the race heading north in Colvos Pass ALWAYS flows north. So this year, it was decided to race the race in the opposite direction so that the last half of the race would be sailed south against the prevailing north flowing current. Did not sound too fun to me. To complicate matters more, the northwest has been experiencing record breaking high barometric pressure. This has resulted in stagnant or very light winds.

The delivery to Tacoma Yacht Club was good with calm winds and clear skies. The yacht club puts on a great social time/dinner on Friday night and a filling breakfast Saturday morning.

The winds were light on Saturday morning and it was foggy enough to not be able to see Pt Robinson. The committee set a long line that was perpendicular to the course and parallel to the shore. But close enough to the shore that it made maneuvering interesting. Our class of six J35's and two J109's got underway at 0920 after a five minute postponement for some technical issue on the committee boat. The first leg was a close reach with the light No.1 jib. We had an excellent start and lead for several miles until the wind lightened and boats toward the south sailed high. Three past us: "Tantivy"(J109), "Melange" (J35) and "The Boss(J35). "Tantivy" and "Melange" cracked off some and headed toward Pt Robinson as we did. "The Boss" stayed high, played Monopoly and went bankrupt in Poverty Bay.

As the winds came aft, we set a spinnaker as did the two boats that were ahead of us. After a couple of jibes, the wind came forward at Pt Robinson and we set the jib and sneaked by in 10 feet of water. We reset the spinnaker and chased puffs of wind as we headed north. We jibed a lot and sailed steep angles to keep the boat moving.

Near the north end of Vashon Island, we could see it getting lighter. We could also see the committee boat on station to shorten the race. I decided to stay close to Vashon Island and sail very high of the finish line. Remember, I told you the current always flows north in Colvos Pass? Well the flow continues for a couple of miles north of the pass and across the finish line. We ghosted along with the spinnaker on a tight reach chasing the puffs. Our instruments indicated that we were drifting as much as 50 degrees toward the right. When we finally crossed the finish line, we passed about a half boat length downstream of the mark. Not too bad of planning.

So what about the other boats? It looked like "Tantivy" finished well ahead of us. "Melange" went wide of the north end of Vashon Island, we passed them and the last I saw of them, they had a jib up and were trying to sail up river to the finish. They finished third but were almost passed by another J35 that took our route. We finished second.

We then motored home to Brownsville and I trucked the crew back to their cars at Tacoma.

Even though the winds were light and the race was shortened, it was a very fun race. The crew worked well today and stayed focused. We were missing a couple crew members because of injuries and illness. Thanks to Walter, Kathleen and Tom for helping make the day a success. At least we did not have to sail upriver against a couple of knots of adverse current in Colvos Pass!

Results when posted can be found here: http://tacomayachtclub.org/site/racecommittee/wintervashon2011results.htm

The light winds and fog at the start.

A log boom went by that split the fleet.

At the north end of Vashon Island looking back at the boats behind with Mt Ranier looming over them.

Our course for the day. We only made a couple of tacks early in the day. The rest of the course changes were jibes.

Who Reads Your Blog?

2011-12-01T21:46:00.000-08:00

I have been blogging now for over three years. I have often wondered who reads this. A couple years ago I installed a tracking program. It provides some interesting data. The program will list who views by IP address, location and provider name. In addition, some data is available about how the reader got to the blog(Google Search, another blog, website, etc), how many times they visit, time of visit and where they exit to(another blog, etc).

I have had visitors from all over the world. I actually have a follower in Singapore. But many of the "visitors" may not have actually read my blog. For example, if someone does a Google search on say "Green Mountain Bremerton" or "New Manette Bridge", my blog will show up in the search since I have written about both of these subjects. But, it does not mean that the searcher visited or read my blog. The time of visit for these kind of searches is often "0". If someone does a search on "svgreatwhite", chances are that they are actually looking for my blog and I assume they probably will read it. The time of visit often reflects this. I have had some people brag about how many hits they get a day, but the reality is that maybe nobody reads or visits their blog.

Many of my regular visitors I recognize from the status counter. Friends from the SW, NW, Portland and Seattle show up occasionally. People from where I used to work are easily recognizable from the unique IP address and service provider from the workplace. Don't they ever work? One visitor is recognizable from the town that he posts from. This visitor has been hitting my blog a lot during the last month. Earlier in November the visits were averaging 9-10 a day then they dropped of to practically nothing only to ramp up to 19 visits a couple of days ago. Almost like they logged in and then hit the refresh button many times. They currently have the dubious status of being my most frequent visitor. Very strange. I might know who this is and take measures to block them.

Tear Down The Dam!

2011-12-01T21:06:00.000-08:00

Today I took a "day off" and drove to Port Angeles. I had a few motives for going to Port Angeles. One: To drive the Bronco farther than I have since I replaced the engine. Two: View the removal of the Elwha River dam. Three: Drive up to Hurricane Ridge to check out the snow depth.

The Elwha Dam has been mostly removed. The river seems to be flowing down one of the old spillways. I don't know how long it will be before Lake Aldwell will be drained. I suppose that the area where the dam was will be widened as the level of the lake drops. I was disappointed that there was not more to see. The upper dam at Lake Mills is not accessible.

The river routed down one of the old spillways.

There is a good snow pack already at Hurricane Ridge. I have seen more at this time of the year.

I walked across the meadow where I could see Hurricane Hill. It is covered and a few cornices are visible. I brought my snowshoes, but did not use them.

It was a warm day on the ridge. It was a nice drive and the Bronco behaved well and kept cool.

Captain Dan's Fleet Of Sailboats

2011-11-28T20:30:00.000-08:00

Lately I have been locating photos of my old sailboats. Some were very low resolution snap shots taken with an Instamatic, some were taken with large format cameras from aircraft and boats and some were digital. Those that were not already in digital format, I tried to scan. Obviously, the small Instamatic shots were hard to scan, so the quality is not very good. I did the best that I could.

So this is a history of my fleet of boats during my more than 40 years of sailing.

1967-1968: This was really my second boat. I bought this while in Junior High. It was called a "Sea Scooter", a 10 ft sailing dinghy. I learned a lot about sailing with this little boat!

1968-1972: My father and I built this boat. It is 15 feet long and built from plywood and covered with a layer of fiberglass. When we built this boat, we bought the plans at the local lumber yard for 25 cents.

1972-1975: This is "Rascal". It is a Victory 21. It was a small boat at 21 feet long and had a small cuddy cabin mainly for storage. But, I took a few short cruises in Puget Sound with it. It also was the boat that started my racing career.

1972-1975: "Rascal"

1975-1977: This is "Rascal Too". It is a Tanzer 22. At 22feet long, it had enough accommodations to cruise comfortably. I took several cruises in Puget Sound and to the San Juan Islands with this boat. I also raced this boat a lot and I was pretty successful.

1977-1999: "Good News" This boat is a Bystedt 30. It was designed by Bob Perry as a half ton racer under the IOR(International Offshore Rule). Only nine of these boats were built. Although it was designed primarily as a race boat, it had a comfortable interior and lots of storage space. I raced this boat a lot and in the 22 years I owned it, won a lot of awards. In addition this boat took me to farther than any of my previous or current boats. I cruised a lot in Puget Sound, San Juan Islands and on into Canada including two circumnavigations of Vancouver Island and to the Queen Charlotte Islands. This boat actually contributed to my enjoyment of cycling. It had enough space inside to carry a bicycle partially disassembled. On my long cruises, I took a bicycle with me and when I could get ashore, I could explore inland. I enjoyed sailing this boat. It had a light helm and tracked well. Like many boats designed to the IOR rule, it rolled a lot when sailing fast downwind with the spinnaker.

1999-Present: "Great White" is a J35. A J35 was designed in 1984 to be a high performance, simple, sailing machine. About 330 J35's were built between 1984 and 1992. I looked at these boats when they first hit the market and fell in love with them. When I got to the point in my life when I could afford a J35, I searched the Internet and found this boat in San Diego. When I was in San Diego on a business trip I arranged to see it. It was more "complete" and had more equipment than the boats I was viewing in Puget Sound. So I bought it and had it transported to the NW. This boat was well equipped and had most of the interior options that make it comfortable to cruise in. I actually lived onboard for five months when I was between homes. For me, I found it adequate. I have not cruised as much as I did on "Good News". Most of the time on this boat has been racing. We have been fairly successful with this boat. It is a thrill to sail and the power is felt when the wind picks up. It is no longer considered a high performance boat like the newer boats that have come out since the J35 was built, but we still are as fast as a lot of conventional 40 foot boats. That is what the ads said it could do!

1999-Present: "Great White"

It Is Time For Fowlweather, Gobble Gobble!

2011-11-20T13:35:00.000-08:00

Snow, rain, no wind. That was some of the forecast for the weather for Saturday. Not a real good forecast for a sailboat regatta. But the Fowlweather Regatta was scheduled and we can't control the weather.

This three race regatta is run just before Thanksgiving Day with the intent to award the winning boat with a Turkey(frozen not alive). I raced events like this at a former yacht club that I had belonged to in the mid 70's to mid 80's. Then I established this event for West Sound Corinthian Yacht Club in 1989 when I was the race director. It has been a popular event. In my extended family, the decision to buy a Thanksgiving day turkey was usually delayed until after this race. I have been quite successful in this event and have brought home many pounds of frozen, tryptophane laden, fowl flesh!

As it turned out, this Fowlweather regatta was an excellent three series for a late fall day. The weather started out clear and cold when I left Brownsville early for the delivery to Port Orchard. The decks of "Great White" were slippery until the rising sun melted the frost. But as the day progressed, the wind rose to as high as nine knots and the sun made the day feel warm.

Even though the turnout for the regatta was only five boats, the competition between "Great White" and "Dulcinea"(J105) was intense with "Great White" winning the first and third races and "Dulcinea" winning race two. On "Great White" we showed excellent upwind speed and good tactical calls. Our downwind speed was also good enough to stay ahead of "Dulcinea" who excels on the downwind/reaching legs. The winds speed varied enough that "Dulcinea" would gain some on us when the winds lightened in races one and three. But, we were able to sail hotter angles and find patches of new winds. In race two, we were way ahead of "Dulcinea" at the weather mark, when a mess up with the spinnaker set caused us to lose the lead and the race.

Following the race, the club had a deep fried turkey at the marina's visitors float. It was very tasty and on the delivery home, it was hard..... to.......keep.....my...eyes......open.......ZZZZZZ.....

Here are the tracks of the days three races. The red track was the first race of the day. The green track is the second race and the blue track is the third race. All races started at the Port Orchard marina. The wind was NW swinging to north as the day went on. The three races all went around the course in a counter clockwise direction.

Pacific Marine Expo Nov 17

2011-11-18T20:07:00.000-08:00

Thursday I attended the 2011 Pacific Marine Expo at the Century Link Event Center(aka Clink) in Seattle. This event is a trade show for commercial fisherman, commercial vessel operators, owners and the people who maintain or modify commercial vessels. Am I a commercial operator? Not really. My parents were commercial fisherman and were invited each year. I took their invite and added my credentials and my business name. Now each year I get a free invite. I don't think anyone really pays to attend. When they finally opened the gates, nobody checked any of the badges.

I enjoy going to this show. I can talked to vendors and they seem interested in talking to me. Little do they know that I am not in the market for a 200 gpm centrifugal pump or a 500 hp diesel engine. But I can still be interested in things that I can use on my own boat. I feel that I come away with a lot more information about what is used in the marine field. The exhibitors and participants at this show are a lot friendlier than what I experience at boat shows.

After the show, I had enough time before the ferry left to walk down the street to Ivars and get an order on fish and chips. YUM!

Most everything needed to operate, maintain and modify commercial vessels is here.

Big diesel engines.

The floor is filled with exhibits.

The model basin is always interesting.

"Got Me Under Pressure"

2011-11-10T20:16:00.000-08:00

With credit to ZZ Top, I was under a lot of pressure this week, hydraulic pressure! With a boat, it is always something. There is a continual list of maintenance and repairs. This week on my boat, it was the hydraulic system that needed work.

This all started a few weeks ago. A modern sailboat can use a hydraulic system to tension some of the rigging that holds the mast up. On my boat, I have a manual pump to supply the hydraulic oil to the cylinder. It is not uncommon to pump 3 to 4000 psi into the system. The seal on my hydraulic cylinder started leaking during the summer. I started looking for someone to rebuild the cylinder. A prominent rigger suggested an authorized rep in Seattle or just a local hydraulic shop could do it. I called the rep in Seattle, but he did not return my call(the number on the website was an old number he did not use). So I took the cylinder to a local hydraulic shop. They could not get it apart. So, now came Plan B. I found a used one on Ebay and decided to take a chance on it. It arrived and it became immediately apparent that it was in terrible shape plus it had the wrong rod installed and could not be made to work without replacing the rod and replacing the seals. The cost would be as much as a new one. I am still trying to return this cylinder and get reimbursed.

So now, I get a call from the factory rep in Seattle and yes he would be glad to see if he could repair one or both. So I sent both cylinders to Seattle to see what he could do. He possibly would need both cylinders to make one workable one or maybe both would be unusable. After a few days, he called to say that he could rebuild mine, but the Ebay unit had many problems along with the short rod and is pretty much junk and only couple of the parts were any good.

Yesterday I took a bicycle ride to Seattle to pick up the cylinders. The rep lives right at Alki Pt. But first I rode north from the ferry to the north end of Lake Union(near Gasworks Park) to Fisheries Supply for some small boat parts. Then I took a detour to the Ballard Locks. From there I retraced my path to the ferry terminal and continued around Elliot Bay to Alki Point. I loaded up the two cylinders along with two quarts of hydraulic oil and headed back to the ferry. I arrived with enough extra time to buy fish and chips from Ivars. Yum! By the time I rode home from the ferry, I had travelled 44 miles. A good days ride!

Today I took the cylinder down to the boat to install it. First I flushed about a quart of new oil through the pump and hoses. Actually installing the cylinder only too a couple of minutes and then I pressurized the system to 3000 psi a few times to purge any air out.

So even though it is more fun buying glitzy things like fancy electronics for the boat, sometimes the low tech items take priority.

The two cylinders. The lower one is the one from my boat. The upper one is the one I bought from Ebay. Notice how far into the cylinder the rod goes. It can be pushed all the way into the cylinder.

The cylinder from my boat is also fully retracted. Notice the difference?

Cylinder once again installed and leak free!

The large locks at Ballard have been drained for maintenance. I have never seen this before.

The bike trail heading along Elliot Bay back into Seattle.

Alki Beach.

Opening Day For The New Manette Bridge

2011-11-10T19:17:00.000-08:00

Today the new Manette Bridge opened. Once again the downtown Bremerton and the Manette community are joined by a bridge. I rode the bicycle down to witness the event and walk across the bridge. The day was spectacular! The weather warm and sunny.

The new bridge is built to modern standards and provides plenty of room for all forms of traffic.

One of the few times that the bridge will ever be this empty.

The crowd waiting for the ribbon cutting ceremony. It was reported that about 400 people attended.

And away they go! Pedestrians were given about a half hour to walk the bridge. I heard one woman say that she crossed it four times.

The old bridge is being demolished. This will go on for some time and everything down to the bottom of the narrows will be removed. The old bridge is in poor shape. Many have suggested leaving it up for non motorized traffic. But the footings are eroding away and the steel construction is rusting badly. Continual maintenance would be expensive. So after 81 years, it is time to say goodbye!

The parade of first cars to cross from Manette to Bremerton. The first people to drive across were chosen by lottery. I rode my bicycle back to Manette.

And some motorcycles too.

Seattle International Auto Show

2011-11-02T20:50:00.000-07:00

Today was my yearly trip to Seattle to look at the new cars at the Seattle International Auto Show at the Century Link Field Exhibition Hall, AKA as "The Clink".

As in previous years, the new auto displays were very glitzy and the sales personnel friendly.

The Cadillac CTS-V coupe. This was painted in the black diamond finish. It was beyond metal flake and hard to describe the appearance of the sparkly finish. I set in this car and it is very comfortable. Ricaro seats with nice bolsters. Also, with it's high horsepower and great suspension package, it has bested the European luxury cars in performance. This is NOT my uncles luxury Cadillac!

Ahh, the Mustang Boss 302! This car was locked up and I could not sit in it. They would not open the hood either. This is a serious performance vehicle. With it's high horsepower V8(444 hp), handling package and spoilers, this car just begs to be driven fast on a track. Surprisingly, Ford removed the back seat. It is a true two seat car now!

The rear spoiler looks functional.

Ford F150, SVT. This has a larger engine, offroad suspension, fender flares and a very comfortable interior. I could enjoy driving this. I am not a big fan of four door cabs. I wonder if they make this in a standard or super cab?

One from the other side. Chevorlet Corvette. I have already forgot the model, but this guy had a supercharged V8. Sort of cheesy, they put a plexiglases window in the hood to see the supercharger.

Hard to see in this photo, but this model of the Mini Cooper has a streamlined roof that ends in a hatchback. Called the Mini Coupe, it is not as boxy as the original flat top Mini Hardtop. It has lost the rear seat too and is now a two seater. The "S" model also utilizes a turbo instead of the supercharger that I was used to. One cool feature too is the rear spoiler that automatically deploys above 50 MPH.

I was told that the Dodge Charger had been redesigned. Sure enough, I like the full width tail light.

I still think of the Charger as a four door sedan. But this baby had a Hemi engine, suspension package, Brembo brakes and sporty wheels. Pretty cool family car!

Ahh yes! The Dodge Challenger! This is the car that I would buy if I had LOTS of disposable income.... Oh well, nice to dream! To me, this so resembles the late 60's early 70's Challengers. But these have a 392 cubic inch Hemi engine, better suspension, brakes and interiors.

I always like this stance!

Can you say Hemi?!

And finally, here is a high end Lamborgini.

Where Do You Blog?

2011-10-31T19:18:00.000-07:00

Where is your computer? Where do you blog or surf the Internet from? Are you totally mobile so you can WIFI with your laptop from anywhere in the house?

When I bought my house in 2006, one of the features I liked was the office. It is on the main floor just down the hall from the front door and great room. It could possibly be called a den or bonus room, but it really is an office. The previous owner wired the house during construction with a computer network and router. The office contains several data ports as well as multiple phone and TV outlets. He ran a small business from the office.

I like my office. It reminds me of my working days, a place where I can work from and be surrounded by books, reference material and personnel mementos. I spend way too much time here. Some people might consider a desktop computer as "old school", but I wanted the stability and size that it offered. I also have laptops and can WIFI throughout the house or hardwire to the network.

My office is pretty cluttered right now. I have been using my "file by pile" method and need to clean up some.

One blogger criticized me once when I referred to my home theater. He said that it really is a "man cave". Since I am single and only share my house with a cat, my entire house is my "man cave" and I can label the rooms as needed: office, home theater, exercise room, etc.

My (currently) cluttered office. This is where I blog from most of the time. With two windows, there is a lot of natural lighting. My cat likes to snooze on top of the hutch above the monitor when he isn't climbing on top of the bookcases or curled up around the legs of my chair.

My ego wall.

The other corner with marble topped counter, shelving, stereo, TV, printer, scanner, copier and FAX.

And Now I Have AIS

2011-10-14T20:49:00.000-07:00

Warning: Technical sailing and navigating info!

When I started "messing" around in boats over 40 years ago, we did not have much to navigate with. My early boats had a compass and I carried paper charts and simple parallel rules and dividers for plotting courses. I cruised with these basic items and even crossed the Strait of Juan de Fuca in dense fog several times. It was the way we did things then. If anything I became good at plotting my course and finding my way in inclement weather and at night.

It was not until I bought my 30 foot sailboat "Good News" in 1977 did I start installing more navigation equipment. In addition to a compass, I now had a knotmeter to indicate how fast I was going and a depth sounder. The depth sounders of that era were referred to as "flashers". The unit had a disc rotated by an electric motor. On the disc was a neon light that would flash along a scale to indicate the depth. My depth sounder was a 0-100 foot unit, but if conditions were good, the flashing light could go around the dial multiple times. I once saw it go around six times indicating 600 feet.

As time went on and electronics became cheaper and more compact. I bought my first VHF radio around 1980. This allowed me to call for help, communicate with other boats and shore stations and monitor weather broadcasts. About this time I also bought a radio direction finder. This was a receiver with a rotating antenna. You could use this to receive a bearing to dedicated navigational beacons or commercial radio stations. The ideal was to get three bearings and plot them on a chart to indicate the boats position. In reality we often were happy with a single bearing line as a second opinion of our already predicted position.

By the mid 1980's, LORAN-C became popular. LORAN stood for Long Range Aid to Navigation. LORAN had been around since World War II and was mainly a aircraft navigation system. The "C" version was developed in the mid 1950's. LORAN uses shore radio transmitters with a "master" station and several "slave" stations. With the signals from the stations, the receivers derived a set of numbers referred to as TD's or time delays. Charts were overprinted with lines of TD's and where the TD's cross was the position of the vessel. Somewhat cumbersome, but as time went on and thanks to modern microprocessors, the LORAN-C receivers would derive the TD's to Latitude and Longitude. In addition, the receivers could also provide navigation and steering information such as: SOG(speed over ground), COG(course over ground), BTW(bearing to waypoint), DTW(distance to waypoint) and CTE(cross track error). Most units would only display "numbers", but more sophisticated, very expensive units were chartplotters and could display the position directly on a digital chart.

I purchased a Sitex LORAN unit in 1987. I liked it. After inputting waypoints to go to, it would direct me very accurately. I travelled many miles in foggy conditions, across open water and at night and always found my to my destination. Some strange things could occur with LORAN. Since the signal was a ground wave, in narrow mountainous areas, the signal was disrupted and I sometimes received strange results. Also LORAN only functioned about 200 miles offshore and some areas like south east Alaska had spotty coverage.

But LORAN soon was overtaken by GPS(Global Position System). As the name implies GPS works all over the globe. It receives signals from a constellation of satellites in synchronous orbit. I bough a Magellan handheld unit in the mid 1990's and later a Garmin mounted unit. These units were just "number" units like my LORAN and produced similar outputs as the LORAN. I still liked the LORAN and used it the most.

In 1999, I bought "Great White". Shortly after I bought "Great White", I purchased a Garmin 180 chartplotter. Now this was a big improvement! Even though it was a black/grey screen, it provided enough information to be able to navigate some with it. I slaved the GPS to the autopilot and it could steer to a waypoint better than I could. Later I bought a Garmin 182C chartplotter. The "C" stood for color. Now I had something that was easier to look at! I also started sending the output from the GPS to a laptop with a simple navigation program installed.

I first heard about AIS about 1994. AIS stands for Automatic Identification System. This is a system that transmits a vessels identification, speed, course and characteristics over the VHF radio. The AIS transponder receives its data from the GPS. Commercial vessels and ships are required to have an AIS. The other part of the AIS is a receiver. The receiver can either display the data it receives or send the data to a compatible display, GPS chartplotter or computer chartplotter program. In addition, the receiver can calculate the CPA (closest point of approach) and TCPA (time of closest point of approach) between the two vessels. A lot of AIS systems are still very expensive. A few years ago a spirited debate started on the sailing forums about the use of AIS. Some newer sailors were vocal about it being essential for safety and others like myself that felt that it was a "nice to have" that would have to wait until other expensive upgrades were completed. Also, my chartplotter was too old to support AIS. So I would have to come up with a new GPS or chartplotter software.

But last year at the boat show, I found a VHF radio that had an installed AIS receiver. Very cool and not too expensive. I was looking for a better VHF radio anyway. This radio had a small display that would show the CPA and TCPA from the approaching vessel. It is hard to read the numbers on the small display, but it was better than nothing. An alarm can be set to warn of close encounters. It has been useful already.

A few weeks ago a neighboring boater gave me a Garmin 498 Chartplotter. He could not get it to acquire satellites. I did not hold out much hope that it would work for me and sure enough, it would not acquire satellites with my antenna either. So I did some research and found that it could be reset. So I reset the system and it worked! This GPS is newer than my existing Garmin and it appeared that it was AIS compatible. So, I started investigating how to use it. First I found that it only had one "port". That meant that it could not send data at one baud rate and receive AIS info at another high speed baud rate. I could get a multiplexer that might make it work, but again that was expensive. So I thought that maybe I could use it only for an AIS receiver. I would still need an antenna for it. I finally gave up for the moment.

I then started looking into a new chartplotter software for the laptop. On the Van Isle Race last summer, the navigator was using a program called Open CPN(chartplotter navigator). This is a free navigating/charting program. And it is compatible with AIS. So I downloaded it, installed it on the nav laptop and started using it. I stumbled around and determined that it would do most of what I wanted. I then bought a couple of serial to USB converters, a hub and a serial cable and wired it up to the AIS. It worked! I had to mess with some configurations, but after after a few hours of experience with it, it seems stable and I have figured out the operation.

So, now that I have a graphical display of AIS info on the computer screen, how will I use it? After the newness wears off, I can see myself using it for a double check of crossing vessels. I usually check crossing vessels by taking bearings. In inclement weather and at night, I can see that it could work well to check for who is around. But I know that it is not the tell all. Already I can see targets disappear at times. Also could be used in racing. One of my competitors has a transponder. If he continues to use it, I can plot him and tell if he is getting closer! Wouldn't that be cool!

Here are a couple of websites that track vessel positions with AIS:
http://marinetraffic.com/ais/
http://ais3.siitech.com/VTSLite/AView.aspx

A screen shot of Open CPN with the AIS function turned on and an example of the AIS screens available. The yellow targets are "unknowns". These have info on course, speed, CPA and TCPA but do not identify the vessel. Green targets contain information on the vessel. Red targets have CPA's that fall within the CPA range I have set for alerting for an approaching vessel. A list of target information can called up as well as individual vessel info that can be obtained by placing the cursor over a target. The ferry "Walla Walla" is passing through Rich Passage. It's course passes close to my position even though it is a few miles away. The yellow square near its location gives it's basic info and the CPA and TCPA. The "AIS Target Query" shows the full data on the "Walla Walla" and the "AIS Target List" lists all the AIS target within the range I set(21 miles).

Fallout In The Gorge

2011-10-10T20:14:00.000-07:00

This weekend was a good opportunity to head to the Columbia River Gorge for some hiking around some of the falls that line the Oregon side of the gorge.

I met a friend from Portland and hiked up the trail past Wakeena Falls to the headwaters of the stream at Wakeena Springs. This was a strenuous climb up the side of the gorge past numerous falls and along the creek.

At the springs, I headed east and descended down the creek that feeds Multnomah Falls. Again it was very scenic with many falls and rapids in the creek.

Once I reached the lookout at the top of Multnomah Falls, I was in tourist territory. The trail is paved and was crowded with tourists from the parking lot below.

Sunday was rainy, so there was no more hiking. I went to the Woodburn Outlet Mall and wandered around and bought some shoes. Friday on the drive south, I had stopped at the outlet stores at Centralia and bought some kitchen utensils and some new sailing raingear at the Helly Hansen store. It was an expensive weekend!

Wakeena Falls

The view of the Gorge from just above Wakeena Falls

Looking at the river from the top of Multnomah Falls

Upper part of Multnomah Falls

The tourist view of Multnomah Falls from just above the parking lot.

View of the Columbia River from the Vista House.

The Great Bronco Engine Transplant- Post Shakedown Availability

2011-10-04T09:23:00.000-07:00

When I worked, I usually worked on designing systems for ships that had been in service for many years. But during a few years, I actually was lead on a class of new ships. After these ships were completed, tested, turned over to the crew and operated for about a year, they went into a shipyard for a period called a Post Shakedown Availability(PSA). During this time, maintenance, warranty and upgrade work was performed. This is similar to what went on with the Bronco over the last month.

After almost 3000 miles of operation after installing the V8 engine in the Bronco, several items needed attention. The most pressing item was a leaky radiator. I contacted the manufacturer and they said that they would warranty the radiator, but they needed it sent to them for evaluation. So following the last Cruise at Sharis Restaurant a month ago, I removed the radiator and shipped it to Advance Adapters in California. This seemed like a good time to accomplish some maintenance and some upgrades. A partial list is as follows:

Replace oil filter hoses with stainless steel braided hoses.

Install new hose clamps on the braided hoses.

Install a thermal sleeve around the fuel line where it passes close to the drivers side header.

Find the source of a small transmission leak.

Replace engine oil pan drain plug gaskets with ones that don't leak.

Change oil.

Touch up engine paint.

While waiting for the new radiator, most of the list of work went pretty fast. Finally the radiator arrive last night and I installed it along with a new mounting design. Once again, the Bronco is operational. The PSA has been completed.

Prior to the PSA, I also bought some different wheels for the Bronco. These are aluminum wheels that were the optional wheels when the Bronco was new. I purchased five, four on the ground and one for the spare tire.

Foulweather Bluff Race-Oct 1st.

2011-10-03T22:54:00.000-07:00

Saturday, we raced "Great White" in the Foulweather Bluff Race sponsored by Edmonds Corinthian Yacht Club. This race has both short and long courses. We race the long course from Edmonds to the Foulweather Bluff Buoy, to the Schatchet Head buoy and back to the finish north of Edmonds. We race the long course unless the winds are light and the Race Committee sends us on a short course to a temporary buoy off Pilot Point and then to the Schatchet Head buoy and then to the finish. That is what happened this year.

We raced in Class 7, a class made up of ourselves, two other J35's, a C&C115, a C&C37/40, a Dehler 39 and a 40foot Peterson 40. The handicap range was only 3 secs a mile with the J35's, C&C115 and Peterson rated fastest at 72. The C&C37/40 and Dehler 39 are rated slower at 75, but they are much larger boats and have a higher speed potential. "Reign Maker"the C&C37/40 has a huge rig and is a great light air threat.

We started the race a bit late. We had to luff a couple of boats and got clear air. The first leg was a light air spinnaker reach. I concentrated on sailing to my target speeds. "Elusive"(C&C115) tried to luff us up and would not let us by, so when a faster boat that started behind us came by, I got on their stern and let them do our dirty work and take "Elusive's" air. As we neared the Kitsap shore, we continued sailing to our target speeds downwind and with the favorable current, we soon closed on the Pilot Point buoy.

When we got to the first mark we were just behind "The Boss" (J35). We changed to the No. 1 jib and had a close reach to the Schatchet Head buoy. With the strong, still ebbing current, we had to be aware of our course over ground(COG) to avoid being swept to the left of the buoy. We played that leg well. "Elusive" went way high and lost grond to us. We gained some on "The Boss".

After rounding the Schatchet Head buoy, "The Boss" got stuck in the bad air behind the boats ahead. We made a short hitch to the right to clear our air and gained on "The Boss". "The Boss" pinched to clear their air and fell in about 300 yards behind us.

A couple of miles from the finish, it looked like we would not make the finish line and the boats to weather seemed to have better wind, so I called for a short tack to the right. No sooner did we tack back toward the finish when the wind lifted. We had overstood the finish and "The Boss" made the finish ahead of us without having to tack. They got first and we were second. I knew better! YOU ALWAYS STAY BETWEEN THE MARK AND THE BOAT BEHIND!

At least we finished well ahead of the rest of the boats behind. We usually struggle against the larger C&C115, but they finished well behind us in third.
It was still a good race and we had great crew work. Thanks to Kathleen, Walter and Jim.

Results here: http://cycedmonds.org/

Our track for the day. The course went in a clockwise direction.

Bad Is Good

2011-09-24T22:07:00.000-07:00

The third Saturday of September each year is BAD at the Brownsville Marina. BAD stands for "Brownsville Appreciation Day". This year was "BAD VII". The Port of Brownsville holds a "block party" for the Brownsville Community. There is a classic car show, historic military vehicle show, boat rides. barbecue and sort of a farmers market. The port's proceeds from the event goes back into the community.

To avoid the parking problems, I rode the bicycle to the marina. The upper parking lot was filled with cars. Like I am learning from attending these car shows, the shiniest, most accurately restored isn't always the most interesting. There were lots of cool conversions and a Bronco rat road that was really well done. I probably would have taken my Bronco II conversion except I have not yet received a warrantied radiator back from the manufacturer.

The Military vehicle display was well done with many old historic vehicles.

There seemed to be a good turnout. The weather was very warm and sunny for a early fall day.

A nice stock late sixties Barracuda.

A 67 Bronco "rat rod". Two wheel drive, Chevy 327 V8, Camaro front suspension. And a very nice but un-rat rod looking flat black paint job.

Some of the cars on the grassy area above the upper parking lot.

More cars in the upper parking lot.

Part of the Military vehicle display. The vehicle on the left is a half track with a 50 cal machine gun on the front and a 30 cal on the back. Both demilitarized of course!

The vendors along the shoreline.

An Interesting Week In The Life Of Dan

2011-09-23T21:04:00.000-07:00

Warning! This blog entry contains information on several subjects. If you are looking for something specific like sailing or cycling, you may have to read through some uninteresting subjects to get there. You have been warned!

The last week has been interesting with some trials along the way. Where to begin? Ok, a few weeks ago, I developed a toothache. It seemed like a molar that had had a crown installed three years ago was developing cold/hot sensitivity. A couple Facebook friends encouraged me to see the dentist ahead of my normal appointment in Oct. Sure enough, the dentist did not like what he saw and sent me to the Endodontist(dentist that specializes in root canals). So, on Friday I walked into the office at 0720 and walked out at about 0845 with a numb mouth and a much lighter checkbook. I went home and slept most of the morning. BUT, the tooth did not stop hurting as promised. I feared that another adjacent tooth was acting up. It was really tiring to put up with the pain. So today at 0720, I got back into the Endodontist and told him my sad story. He checked the teeth with cold and there was no sensation. What he did find was that the filling that he filled the hole in my tooth with was sitting high, so he ground some off. Now the pressure is gone and my cold fruit smoothie is actually soothing!

So if the root canal wasn't enough financial stress, some boat gear is acting up. The hydraulic cylinder that controls the tension in some rigging that holds the mast up started leaking around the seal. I did some research and also with some advice from an acquaintance that runs a sailboat rigging company, I found that "sure, any hydraulic shop can overhaul them. They just use standard seals". So I took the cylinder to the only local hydraulic shop for overhaul. They said that they could get on it in a few days, but after eight days I called them on Thursday. They said that they would get on it that afternoon. That afternoon I got a call. They could not get it apart. The threads have galled. So with a race pending next weekend, I retrieved it and reinstalled it on the boat tonight. Hopefully it won't leak to much. After the race, I will probably send it to a "Authorized repair facility". And if they can't repair it, then I will price out a new one, OUCH!

If things were not going strange enough, last night, I got hit with malware on the computer. I was searching for some transmission drawings on the internet and hit a site that started trying to scan my computer for errors, trying to sell me data recovery software and showed all kinds of warnings. I could not close it out. I performed a virus scan and a hard drive scan. The scans made it appear that all my files were there, but I could not find anything! Most of the night, the scans ran but this morning it was no better. After returning from the dentist, I had a thought and ran a "System Restore" to a time before the event occurred. Sure enough the computer was restored to the configuration from the previous day. The malware was gone and all my files are back. The only thing missing is my Favorites on my browser. I need to fiqure out if those can be reloaded. I am happy this worked, I thought I was going to have to take the computer somewhere and pay to get it fixed.

So, while the computer was restoring this morning, I decided to take a bicycle ride. Two things I was wanting to try: some different wheels and the new pavement on Illahee Rd from Sylvan Way to Ocean View Road. A few years ago I bought a wheelset from Ebay. It is a nice set of wheels (Mavic Open Pro with Campy hubs) that are very light and showed no wear when I bought them. I probably only put about 100 miles on them with some old tires and zero miles since I installed new tires. The wheels I have been using on the white bike are Mavic CXP33's with Campy hubs. They are a semi aero wheel. I also bought that wheelset on Ebay and have put quite a few miles on them. Another cyclist had broken a wheel and I offered to loan him the Open Pro wheelset. He did not accept the offer, so I decided to try them out myself. I started out for a 21 mile ride to Keyport and back. Sure enough, the new pavement was smooth and fast. After about five miles, the bike got hard to peddle and soon I could not peddle at all. What is going on? I coasted to the side of the road and got off. It did not take me long to see that the retainer that screws into the end of the hub to hold on the rear cassette cogs had come loose and was jammed against the rear frame dropout. I removed the wheel and tightened the retainer by hand. Since I did not have the appropriate tool, I returned home to repair the bike. After tightening the ring with the special tools and after lunch, I once again set off on my 21 mile ride, this time without incident. The replacement wheelset has higher gearing(11 X 23 rear cogset) than my other wheelset, so the riding was more interesting than normal But the new wheels are light and roll easy and smooth and the total mileage for the day was 32miles with two climbs up the hill from Illahee to Sylvan Way.

Now if I only had the new radiator for the Bronco...... It has been two and a half weeks sent I sent the radiator in for warranty!

Tightening the retainer with the special driver, chain whip to hold the cogs and yes, a crescent wrench!

Triple Sound Sailing Championship 9-11-2011

2011-09-11T20:42:00.000-07:00

Today was the Triple Sound Sailing Championship(TSSC) in Seattle. This the final race of a three race shorthanded racing series. The first two races were the Race To The Straits(first weekend in May) and the Down The Sound Race(first race in August). The TSSC differs from the other two races in that it is a 13.89NM buoy race instead of a two day pursuit race like the other two were. All three of the races are sponsored by Sloop Tavern Yacht Club.

This race starts at Shilshole Marina, heads north to a club buoy at Spring Beach, south to the West Point nnavigation buoy, north again to the Meadow Point navigation buoy, south again to a mooring buoy south of Shilshole and return to the start/finish line.

The wind was great at about 12 knots. I made a great start in front of the rest of the boats in my class. The beat was fast. Unfortunately, the local boats knew these waters better and tacked early for the first mark. I overstood the mark some. The rounding of the mark was crowded. I headed south and set the spinnaker. It was not a great effort.

The run was pretty uneventful until I got to the leeward mark. By now, the current was flooding and I waited too long before taking the spinnaker down and was swept past the mark. At least I was not the only one!

For the next beat, I worked along the Shilshole breakwater to avoid the current. I rounded the Meadow Point buoy and tried to set the spinnaker again. This time it was twisted and took some effort to get squared away. But as I neared the next leeward mark, I performed a smooth takedown and did not get swept past the mark. It was a short beat to the finish.

I probably placed in the middle of my 7 boat class today, but with a good showing in the previous two races, I should have won the singlehanded division.

Boats getting ready to start.

One of the earlier classes starting.

On the first beat heading toward the Spring Beach buoy.

On the first run.

My course for the day. The overlapping laps makes this confusing to look at.

Labor Day Weekend Cruise Plus More

2011-09-07T21:10:00.000-07:00

My yacht club often has cruises scheduled for the big three day weekends. For this Labor Day weekend, a cruise was scheduled to go to the Dock Street Marina in Tacoma. We have been to this marina before. It is located up the Foss Waterway in front of the Glass Museum. The plan was for the boats to arrive there on Saturday and return home on Monday. I chose to get underway on Thursday and make a couple of overnight stops before I arrived in Tacoma.

I got underway on Thursday and went to Blake Island. The marina was about half full when I arrived midday. I spent some time walking around the island and lounging in the sun.

Friday I got underway early and went to Dockton on Maury Island. Dockton is an old maritime community. There is a King County park with a large moorage. I was surprised that only three other boats were visiting when I arrived. I am used to seeing this moorage filled on three day weekends. I assembled the bicycle and went on a tour of Maury Island. I rode to Pt Robinson light house. I have sailed around this point many times, but this was the first time that I have been at the lighthouse. I continued on around Maury Island to Portage where Maury Island joins Vashon Island., then back to Dockton.

Saturday was a short trip across Commencement Bay to the Foss Waterway and Dock Street marina. I was the first boat there, so I went up town and played tourist. The old downtown area of Tacoma has turned into a upscale dining, shopping, theater area. Toward evening, the other boats arrived and we had a potluck dinner on the dock.

Sunday, nothing was planned, so I assembled the bicycle and took a 20 mile ride down Ruston Way and around Pt Defiance park. It was a good day for a ride. The terrain was hilly, but interesting. In the evening, six of us went to the Spaghetti Factory.

Monday was a four hour motor home in warm sunny weather. The whole weekend had superb weather and if was great to spend several days on the water.

Beach on the west end of Blake Island.

Campsites on the west end of Blake Island.

Pt Robinson lighthouse.

The moorage at Dockton County Park.

Moored at Dock Street Marina in front of the Glass Museum.

And the other way is the suspension bridge and Tacoma Dome.

Burrito says "This cruising stuff is not so tough".

A small group at the Spaghetti Factory for Sunday night dinner.

Leaving Foss Waterway on Monday morning.

My route for Thursday, Friday and Saturday. I went from Brownsville to Blake Island, then to Dockton and finally Tacoma.

My route for Monday from Tacoma to Brownsville.

Two Nights/Three Days at Mt Ranier

2011-08-26T09:38:00.000-07:00

This week I met up with a friend from Oregon to camp and hike for a few days at Mt Ranier. On Monday I drove early to set up camp at White River Campground. I found a site close to the river in the far end of the campground. It was a nice site with enough open area to let lots of light in.

In the afternoon, we drove to Sunrise and hiked the trail towards First Burroughs mountain. The weather was starting to cloud over with a few drops of rain. As we neared the summit, there was patches of snow on the hillside trail. There we retreated back down. That night it rain lightly, but was not enough to make the camping bad.

On Tuesday, we hiked up the Glacier Basin trail. It starts at the White River campground and proceeds 3.1 miles up the White River. The first 1.25 miles is new. Last time I hiked this trail two years ago, the lower part of the trail had been destroyed by floods and the trail was rough and ran through the rocks of the river banks. The day was warm and sunny. In the basin, the flowers were blooming.

After the hike, I drove up the Stevens Canyon to Paradise and after a short stop at the visitors center, continued on to Cougar Rock campground for the night.

Wednesday, we went back up to Paradise to hike some more trails. We planned to hike to Panorama Pt, but the trails were covered with snow, so we stayed on the lower trails. Headed home in the early afternoon before the traffic got bad in Tacoma.

Mt Ranier from the river bed next to my campsite.

From the slopes of First Burroughs mountain looking toward Emmons Glacier and the headwaters of the White River.

Mt Ranier and Glacier Basin from First Burroughs mountain. The clouds were starting to blow in.

On the way to Glacier Basin.

Glacier Basin and Inter Glacier. This is the approach for climbers heading to Camp Schurman.

Meadow and lake in Glacier Basin. The mountain in the middle of the picture is First Burroughs and if you can see the patch of snow high on it, that was where we turned around the previous day.

Foot log over the White river. This is part of the Wonderland Trail from White River Campground to Summerland.

Mt Ranier from Paradise.

Mazama Ridge.

Myrtle Falls.

Mt. Ellinor Hike(or was it a climb?)

2011-08-17T10:21:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I got out of town for a hike. My intent was to hike up Mt Ellinor in the SE Olympic Mountains. I left the house early and after stopping for breakfast I was at the trailhead at 0800. The trailhead elevation is 3500 feet. I loaded up my gear and set out.

I intended to take the "summer" route up the mountain. This route heads up a route that has a developed trail up the south ridge. But when I reached 4300 feet of elevation, the trail was covered in snow. When I reached the intersection with the "winter" route, I could see that the "winter" route was still filled with snow, so I went that way. The "winter" route is a steep chute that fills with snow and heads straight up the mountain.

I started up the chute following two people I could see ahead. I followed in their steps so I did not have to kick my own steps. About a third of the way up, the rocks were exposed and I had to climb over them to get back on the snow. At about the halfway point I caught up with the two people at another rocky section. It was a bit harder here to get from the snow to the rocks, I had to jump down a few feet. Here the other two people decided that they were not equipped for the the snow and headed back down. After crossing the rocks, I was once more on the snow. Here it was more icy and I stopped and put the crampons on. This helped a lot.

Near the top of the chute, once again the rocks were exposed and I had to climb over them to the saddle between Mt Ellinor and Mt Washington. This saddle was filled with snow and I could see snow for the remaining 400 feet to the summit of Mt Ellinor. There was bare rock around the edges of the snow and I took this route to the summit at 5994 feet.

It was clear to the north of the summit and fog was blowing in from the south. The view to the north was spectacular and the whole Olympic range was visible. While I ate lunch, the chipmunks and a mountain goat patrolled around looking for handouts.

From the summit I could see that at least the upper portion of the "summer" route was clear of snow. This switchbacks down the face of the mountains over broken rock. Eventually I reached snow and hiked down the snow until I reached the tree line and once again found the trail and hike the rest of the way to the trailhead arriving there at 1300.

It was a nice warm. sunny day to be outdoors doing something strenuous. Furthermore, I drove the reengined Bronce and it preformed great.

This is the "winter" route up the snow filled chute. It is steep. Usually the snow is gone by May or June and the chute is a gully filled with boulders.

Looking down from the top of the route. Lake Cushman is the body of water.

Looking NW across the Olympics. Mt Olympus is visible in the distance.

Fog blowing over Mt Washington.

A little beggar on the summit.

This was one of several mountain goats that I saw.

Looking back up part of the "summer" route still covered with snow.

Looking up to the summit from the parking lot. You can see the trail traversing the open green spot just before it goes down into the snow.

Big Red Is Back In The Stables

2011-08-15T17:00:00.000-07:00

Big Red returned to the bicycle stables yesterday. I had loaned it to a friend five years ago when I was living on my boat and I needed more room in my storage unit. He was not using it anymore, so he returned it.

I originally bought Big Red in 1987 during a grim time in my life. It is a Cannondale MT800, welded aluminum frame mountain bike. The frame cracked soon after I bought it and it was warrantied with a new frame. It has gone through a lot of changes. I have changed the gear configuration and shifters three times: from 15 speeds, to 18, then 21 and recently 24. I added the front suspension fork. Several different pedal systems. Many wheels. Very few parts are original. And not all the paint is left on the frame!

I used to race it and ride it extensively offroad. It hurt me badly once, but I forgave it for that incident. I also used to carry it on the boat and it has taken me places in various parts of the San Juan Islands and British Columbia.

After I had spinal surgery in 1994, it just did not feel as comfortable offroad as it used to. So I bought a dual suspension mountain bike(duallie) that treated my back better. Big Red was outfitted with street tires and was used for commuting to work and running errands.

Today I got it out and tuned it up. When I loaned it out, it really was not in the best of shape. The brake pads were worn out and the cables were rusty. I found some lightly used brake pads and a complete, almost new front brake assembly in my used parts collection. I changed out the brakes, pads and lubed the cables. The rear brakes are a system that are not used anymore and because of the frame mounting studs, they are the only ones that can be used. So, I took apart the brake arms and cleaned and lubed them. They work great again and I can stop! It is great to have the tools, spare parts and skills to fix my bicycles.

I then went out for an hour ride in Illahee Preserve on the single track trails. It is different to ride then the duallie. Yet the riding style is not bad, just different. The early Cannondale mountain bikes had really high ground clearance. This helps clear obstacles in the woods, but also makes it a stretch to put a foot on the ground. The hardtail did not seem as harsh as I thought it would be and climbing is better then the duallie.

Great to have it back in the stable!

Visit to the Russian Sail Training Ship Pallada

2011-08-12T20:53:00.000-07:00

Thursday I took a quick trip to Seattle. The news media was talking a lot about the Russian Sail Training Ship "Pallada" that was moored for a few days at Pier 66. It was scheduled to be open for tours on Thursday and Friday.

So Thursday I rode a bicycle down to the ferry terminal(saving the parking expense) and rode the 0845 ferry to Seattle. A walk down the waterfront and I was at Pier 66 well before the tour time of 1030. But wait, the word was going around that the time was changed to 1100 and when the gate was finally opened, it was 1115.

The "Pallada" is a full rigged three masted "ship"(all masts rigged with square sails). It is 94 meters(308 feet) long, built in 1989 in Gdansk Poland. It is basically a floating classroom to teach cadets about seamanship, navigating and the lore of the oceans. It travels most of the year and is currently on a round the world voyage. It is homeported in Vladivostok Russia.

The ship was only open on the weather decks with one compartment open as a museum with many artifacts from it's voyages and from previous "Pallada's". It was well kept up as this is part of the cadet's training. Unlike old sailing ships, this ship had a completely enclosed pilot house with modern electronic navigation equipment. There are also two auxiliary propulsion diesel engines.

After a walk around the decks and and shooting some photos, I headed back to catch the 1235 ferry. I thought about stopping at Ivars for their great fish and chips, but they were VERY busy and I decided to put it off for another day. Funny that the other fish places along the waterfront had no lines what so ever.

I caught the ferry, arrived in Bremerton, retrieved my bicycle and had a nice ride home.

To Downtown Bremerton for the West Sound Safety and Health Expo

2011-08-10T16:07:00.000-07:00

Today I parked the Bronco in Manette and took a walk across the Manette Bridge to Bremerton. The construction of the new bridge has now reached a point where the old bridge is permanently closed to vehicular traffic. Pedestrians and cyclists can still cross using the sidewalk. The new bridge is suppose to be opened in November.

My main purpose for going into downtown Bremerton was to go to the West Sound Safety and Health Expo. This event is at the Convention Center and Boardwalk. This expo used to be within the confines of the Navy base and was intended for the Shipyard and Navy personal. But it has now partnered with the city of Bremerton and is open to the general public. It consists of many booths for health related products(chiropractors, massages, hearing evaluation, nutrition, etc) and safety equipment vendors(tools, fall protection, gloves, glasses, etc). I used to enjoy going to this when I was working, maybe because it was time out of the office. But today, it was still fun to see new gear, talk to the vendors and snag some free stuff.

Some displays set up on the boardwalk. Most of the booths were in the convention center.

The west end of the bridge. Some of the approach to the old bridge was cut back to allow completion of the new bridge.

Most of the deck has been poured on the new bridge.

The eastern end. A roundabout is being built for this end to eliminated the old intersection.

Down The Sound Race 6-7 Aug 2011

2011-08-08T22:36:00.000-07:00

This weekend was the second running of the Down The Sound Race. This is a singlehanded(one person) or doublehanded(two people) race. The course is from Shilshole Marina to Gig Harbor on Saturday and return on Sunday. An overnight stay at Arabella's Landing was planned along with a dinner and first day awards ceremony. I opted to race in the singlehanded with spinnaker division. About 45 boats were signed up for the race.

I got underway from Brownsville at 0715 for the motor to Shilshole Marina. The starts are staggered with the handicaps applied at the start. My start was at 1007.

The wind was very light from the north and I got a good start at my time. Up went the spinnaker and away we went chasing the boats that started ahead. At first it looked like the wind would fill near the eastern shore, and I gained a lot on the boats farther offshore. But then the wind shut off halfway to West Point. The boats nearer to West Point seemed to do well and that was my plan. But I could not get there! It was so light that I spent 1/2 hour within a boat length of a crab trap buoy. I was afraid that I would snag it.

Eventually the wind filled in some, first offshore and then near West Point. It never got above 5 knots. I sailed around West Point and along the outer reaches of Elliot Bay. I started gaining on the fleet ahead and as we neared Blake Island, I was back up with the pack. I could see "Lady Bug" (well sailed Peterson 30) along the east shore of Blake Island. I know of the current relief there and the possibility of some stronger local winds and I tried to go there too. BUT, "Rev" (Thunderbird 26) one of the boats in my division was farther to the east. So I jibed toward the east only to stay in front of the other boat. Sure enough the wind filled in from the east and I had a nice run to the "short course option" at the north end of Vashon Island. "Strider" (Nelson Marek 55) passed me just before I reached the short course point and "Dacha"(C&C 115) took the long route around Blake Island and also arrived just before me. I was fourth boat there. I took my time at 1706 and motored the rest of the way to Gig Harbor.

The dinner and party that night was good. When awards were handed out, I received a great award for first in my division, a haulout at CSR Marine! Very cool. I was also placed fourth for the day and only one other boat finished behind me.

On Sunday, the wind was from the south and again light. I again got a nice start and the fleet sailed up Colvos Pass. It was really a good sail. There was one hole a couple of mile up the course. I was able to sail around a large group of boats. I really never stopped moving. The wind increased as we sailed up the pass. Near Southworth, I again took my time at the short course point. The wind came more out of the north east and I had to change to the jib. I sailed higher than the boats ahead and gained and passed a few. As on Saturday, I sailed into Elliott Bay. There was good east to southeast winds and favorable current. I passed the boats to the west. Near Magnolia, the wind died. Fortunately it also died for the other boats to the west. I drifted along the Magnolia shore for hours, or so it seemed. It was so hot and there was no way to get out of the sun. My harness hardware was so hot that you could not touch it. People don't understand how hot it can be on the water with no wind and clear skies. It was also tiring trying to get the boat moving and all the effort foiled by the wakes of the passing boats and ships.

Eventually puffs of wind brought the rest of the boats together off West Point. One final good puff sent a large group of boats around the point and then left them there. I could see a north wind filling in, so I headed more NW. I gained onthe group of parked boats to the east, but I could not get to the new wind. I could see "Lady Bug" sailing in the new wind, but the convergence zone wouldn't collapse for the new wind to fill in. A few times I could get the sails to fill on port tack, but the windex and AWI both showed the wind off the starboard beam.

Eventually about six boats finished. When the time limit of 1900 arrived, I was still about a half mile away. Since nobody in my division finished, I will be scored at the short course location where I took my time. The boats in the doublehanded divisions that did not cross the finish line, unfortunately will be scored DNF because at least one boat finished from their division.

It was a good weekend for the race. More wind would have helped, but this is often the way with summer racing in Puget Sound. Results will be posted here when they are finalized: Sloop Tavern Yacht Club

Arabella's Landing where we spent the night.

Chasing the earlier starters up Colvos Pass on Sunday.

Sealions lounging on the midchannel buoy.

My track on Saturday. I crossed the short course line at the north end of Vashon Island and motored the rest of the way to Gig Harbor.

My track on Sunday. I sailed within a half mile of the finish at Shilshole when the time limit expired. My time will be taken to the short course line at Southworth.

John Wayne Trail Ride to the Snoqualmie Tunnel

2011-07-17T14:44:00.000-07:00

Friday I took a day off to ride the John Wayne Trail to the Snoqualmie Tunnel. This trail starts just out side of North Bend off of I90 and the right of way runs as far as the Idaho border. The John Wayne Trail is within the boundaries of Iron Horse State Park in the Cascades. Since I planned to ride the mountain bike both up and down the trail, I elected to drive to Exit 38 on I 90 and park at the trailhead at Olallie State Park.

The trail is an old abandoned Milwaukee Road railroad right of way. All the tracks, ties and ballast rock has been cleaned off and the remaining trail is like a gravel road. It is open to hikers, bicyclists, horse riders and in the winter, snowmobiles and cross country skiers. Because it was designed for trains, the grade is shallow. Some people I know, will not ride up the trail, but stage cars at the bottom and at the Hyak parking lot on Snoqualmie Pass and will only ride down the trail. I have no problem with riding both ways.

After an early departure from home, I was ready to ride at 0815. The weather was warm and a bit overcast. After a steep climb from the parking lot to the trail, I soon got into a nice rhythm riding up the trail. The elevation at the start was about 1250 ft and the upper elevation is 2620 feet. I was able to ride an average of 8-10 mph. I stopped a few times.

The last time I rode this trail was 1995. There has been several changes since then. The state has set up a few back country campsites. I always thought that would be a great thing. Also, an old snowshed was rebuilt from original material. When I was here before, the showshed was a pile of debris. Also, most of the old ballast rock was gone.

The tunnel is at about mile 15. It was closed since 2001 and was only reopened a couple of weeks ago after repair work was completed. It is about 1.25 miles long and of course, it is totally black inside, lights are needed. When you start through, the far end is just a small pinprick of light that gets bigger as you ride through. The east end of the tunnel opens into a large parking lot. This is also a sno-park site for winter activities.

I turned around, rode through the tunnel again and then rode downhill to the parking lot. The slight grade helped out and I averaged 15-17 MPH. My odometer logged a total of 34 miles of riding. I arrived back at the Bronco at 1145 and after a short stop at the North Bend Outlet Stores, was home by 1430.

The "trail" resembles a gravel road. A lot of rail/trails look like this.

The trail runs parallel to and above I 90.

The mile posts are all referenced to Chicago.

The west portal of the Snoqualmie Tunnel. The date of the tunnel is 1914.

Approaching the east portal.

The east portal.

Info board at the Hyak Trailhead. From here, you can ride west through the tunnel or east twords Ellensburg.

The reconstructed snowshed.

One of the many old tressels.

Before I got to the parking lot, this trip almost ended in disaster. I was a couple miles from North Bend on I 90. I heard a bang in the back of the Bronco and I first thought something broke. I looked in the rear view mirror and saw the front wheel from my mountain bike bouncing down the road. My roof top bike carrier has separate holders for the bicycle fork and the front wheel. Fortunately, no traffic was behind me and the wheel bounced into the brush on the left side of the east bound lanes. I stopped and ran across the road. I was sure that the wheel was lost, the brush and trees were very dense. But, I found the wheel. And another surprise was that it was straight and not "tacoed"(bent like a chip). I was very thankful that nobody was behind me, the results could have been very bad. I have carried bicycles on roof racks for many years and many thosands of miles and never had anything like this happen before. I need to ensure that the wheel skewer is very tight!

Brownsville Race-WSSA No. 7

2011-06-26T14:38:00.000-07:00

Saturday was the seventh(and final) race of the West Sound Sailing Association(WSSA) series. Going into this race, Dulcinea(J105) was the leader overall with us on Great White(J35) three points back. Prior to the last race around Blake Island, we had been leading the series by three points. More about that later.

The forecast was for light winds and sunny skies. The wind at the start was northerly at about four knots. We got an excellent start, close hauled at the pin end. On the beat to the Agate Pass mark, we started stretching out a good lead. "The Boss"(J35) went east and got a good lift toward the first mark, even though they should have been in more adverse current. They rounded the mark about 150 yards behind us. We had a good spinnaker set and headed toward the leeward mark at University Point.

"The Boss" had some good puffs and sailed past us. We jibed toward the west into better winds and closed some on "The Boss" near Battle Point. South of Battle Point, we sailed into a convergence zone were a new southerly wind was competing against the fading northerly wind. We put the jib up and tacked east toward Bainbridge Island and the new wind. We passed "The Boss" and set the spinnaker for what looked like a run toward the start/finish line. The wind lightened ahead and once again "The Boss" passed us. Then the wind came northerly again, so up with the jib and down with the spinnaker. We sailed above "The Boss", but the still sailed ahead of us to finish the shortened course in first. Thanks to my crew of Jim, Michael, Walter and Kathleen for the good work in this race and the series.

Following the race, an anonymous donor sponsored a post series party/barbecue at the marina's facility. The final results for the series put "Dulcinea" (J105) in first overall, "Great White" in second and "Emerald Lady" (Catalina 27) in third.

Complete results can be found here: http://www.wscyc.net/WSSA/2011/series%20standings%202011.pdf and http://www.wscyc.net/WSSA/results.htm

Now for the "rest of the story". We were ahead in the series up until the sixth race(Blake Island Race, June 18th). The series allows one throwout for the series(best 6th of 7 races). We did not place well in the first race of the series in February and I had hoped to use that race as my throwout. But, I got an offer to race in the Van Isle 360, a 580 mile, 10 leg race around Vancouver Island. The last leg of that race started on 17June and we finished 18June. Obviously I did not race WSSA No.6, the Blake Island Race. I was scored as DNC(Did not complete) for that race and had to use it as my throwout and count the series first race in my scoring. Going into the last race, "Dulcinea" had 12 points and "Great White" had 15 points counting the first race. There was nothing I could do to finish the series ahead of "Dulcinea" in fact they did not even need to race the last race to win the series.

I have two "rules" to winning the West Sound Series:

1. Consistent good finishes.

2. Race every race.

"Dulcinea" followed both rules, I broke rule 2.

This was one of our best series yet. We had great speed and placings(except for the first race). I have raced the WSSA series since 1978 when it was started. I have won it six times in two differant boats. There is always next year!

We nailed the start: on time and up to speed right at the pin end with clear air! Photo: Ben Braden

Sailing into the convergence zone. We eventually passed "The Boss", but they passed us again and finished ahead of us. Photo: Ben Braden

Our course for the day.

Van Isle 360 Race- Leg 10 Victoria to Nanaimo and it is finished.

2011-06-21T08:15:00.000-07:00

The 10th and final leg of the Van Isle 360 is a 60 NM race from Victoria to Nanaimo. It is a challenging course. There are many options for sailing the course through or around the Gulf Islands: Boundary Pass, Active Pass, Porlier Pass and Dodd Narrows. Some, like Dodd Narrows, are big gambles. If the wind doesn't cooperate, you may not be able to sail through before the current opposes your progress.

This leg started Friday afternoon at 1500 off the Ogden Pt breakwater. It was blowing from the south at about 15 knots. We had a good start and a close reach along the shore toward Haro Strait. The current was flooding nicely and boosted our speed by several knots.

After sailing into Haro Strait, the wind came aft and we set the chute. We reached toward San Juan Island and then ran along it's western shore. We originally had planned to sail the longer, more conservative route through Boundary Pass, but when we passed Turn Pt on Stuart Island, the management started thinking about sailing the same route through the Gulf Islands that a lot of the lead boats were doing. Since we were at the bottom of the scoring sheet, a late decision finally prevailed and we headed east through Boundary Pass and into the Straits of Georgia.

The winds were light and variable most of the night and the early reports had most of the fleet stalled at Porlier Pass with adverse currents. Toward morning, the wind filled in from the east and we had a great spinnaker reach along Valdes and Gabriola Islands. We jibed at Entrance Island and we could see Nanaimo and the finish. But wait! The wind took this opportunity to go away and we set for several hours between Gabriola and Protection Islands. About 0830, I gave up the struggle and went down for a nap and within minutes, the wind filled in for the other crew and we sailed across the finish line Saturday morning at about 0930. Some of our competition tried sailing through Dodd Narrows and were stuck. As a result, we moved above the bottom of the standings. Leg 10 and the Van Isle 360 was over for 2011.

The dock was in full party mode with many of the crews still around. We went to a restaurant for a last crew breakfast. I then walked to the Greyhound bus terminal and caught the 1245 bus to Victoria. Of course the bus arrived in Victoria just a few minutes before the 1500 sailing of the Coho left for Port Angeles. I knew I would miss it and I did. So I went to a Starbucks for WIFI and then caught the 1930 Coho. After retrieving my truck from my cousin's house, I finally arrived home at 2345. A long day!

Here are some of my random thoughts about my Van Isle 360 experience:

It was busy! The days were full from early morning until evening nearly everyday. With boat prep, racing and then boat cleanup, finding shore side lodging, eating, etc. there was not much time left to explore.

Preparation is vital. Lennart(the owner) prepared Sjora well and had the necessary spares that we needed to keep her operating smoothly.

Shore support. In the early legs, we were short of shore support. We bummed space on other teams for our shore gear. Later when we had a vehicle and driver, I appreciated how well things could work. Thanks again Kim! One small team did not have any shore support. When we offered to help them by hauling some of their gear, their quality of life improved immensely.

Shore planning. Marion did a stellar job at arranging the shore accommodations. I originally thought I would stay mostly on the boat, but when I stayed in hotels, B&B's and Condos, I was able to destress and relax.

Van Isle 360 community. So many of the crews had done this race many times before and knew each other. It was like a large extended family, although a bit dysfunctional! Everyone helped each other with shore support, repairs and loaned equipment. I met a lot of people. Some I already knew, a lot I didn't.

The windy leg from Winter Harbor to Ucuelet. This was a challenging leg for a lot of boats. Some world class offshore sailors said that it was one of the worst beats they had seen. That says a lot. Boats were damaged, but fortunately nobody was injured and all but one boat made it safely to Ucuelet to continue the race(Tripp Tease had extensive sail damage and withdrew back to Port Hardy). I appreciated the Roll Call process that the Coast Guard implemented and the Coast Guard ship that shadowed the fleet. I think I weathered the conditions well. I did not feel ill. I was damp and cold at times, but surprisingly it was not that bad even with the water washing over us all the time. I was even washed down the deck once by a big wave coming onboard. Some of our crew did feel sick and one was incapacitated the entire time. As a result, I had to put in some extra time on deck and we did not have enough personnel on deck at times. After I got home, one guy at my marina(who has never done this race) made some comments that we should be expecting those conditions, so what was the big deal. History shows that this was somewhat unusual conditions. You had to be there.

Sjora Crew:

Lennart-Thanks for taking a chance on me. The boat was well prepared and capable.

Rob-It was great sailing with you. You ruled the foredeck well and I could always hear you! Just wished you had more stories to tell me at night in the ocean when I was having troubles staying awake!

Marion-Once again, your logistics support and planning was outstanding. I liked your mainsail trimming capabilities(we both were not afraid to let the traveller down) and wished we could have sailed the offshore legs together.

Bob-I saw you progress as the race went on and you gained confidence. You became a good spinnaker trimmer and with your "kung-fu" hands, you were a fast tailer.

Daragh-Your navigating duties, wind and currents analysis were outstanding. You kept us in the current flow and maximum VMG to the mark. Now if those darn helmsmen wouldn't be chasing lifts and headers....

Ole-You had Sjora pointing higher than anyone else. You also demonstrated how to "heave to" in big waves and wind. Even if you did not intend to!

Don-We did not click, but you made good lunches.

The finish at Nanaimo.

The crew of Sjora in Nanaimo. Lennart(in the front middle), Left to right: Ole, Daragh, Don, Rob, Bob, Me. Marion sailed with us to Winter Harbor and is not in the photo.

Van Isle 360 Race- Leg 9 Ucluelet to Victoria and another layday.

2011-06-19T19:18:00.000-07:00

Leg 9 was a 100NM leg from Ucuelet to Victoria starting at 0900 on Wednesday. Much of this leg follows the return portion of a Switsure Race and I suspect most of the fleet was hoping for a downwind ride instead of the persistent head winds we had encountered.

The start was off Amphitrite Pt and is set between the point and a buoy offshore. The line is very skewed and we were forced out of the buoy end twice before we got started. Once started, we set the heavy spinnaker and had a great downwind run, once hitting 11 knots.As we started entering the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the winds lightened and started becoming more westerly. We were then headed down the straits with a nice reach. The wind lightened some more and we changed to the 3/4 oz chute.

Off Clallam Bay, the wind lifted, so we jibed onto port and then had a nice reach toward Race Passage. As we neared the pass, the wind built and with the flood current, we had nice speed over ground. After exiting the pass, the skipper sailed a close spinnaker reach high of the finish line at Victoria. The wind was gusty and we rounded up a few times.

About 1-1/3 miles from the finish, we sailed into a hole and after tangling halyards and sails, we sailed across the finish line with the windseeker. One boat behind(California Girl (Cal 40)) sailed the traditional Swiftsure Race course from Race Passage to the finish by sailing east a ways before heading to the finish and sailed past us while we were in the hole. We finished about 0240 Thursday morning.

Since we finished in a good time, Thursday became another lay day. The next start was not until 1500 on Friday. I stayed on the boat in Victoria's inner harbor and played tourist. I wandered up town and found a good place to eat lunch.

Red Fish-Blue Fish. A eatery built in a shipping container. Great fish tacos and good looking fish and chips. Also a very long line of customers!

Narrow alley in the international district.

Radical Departure, a One Design 35 from Vancouver. A guy I know from Silverdale said that he was going to be sailing onboard during the Van Isle, but never showed.

Boats moored in front of the Empress Hotel.

Ogden Point breakwater. This is one end of the start line.

Boats moored in front of the Empress Hotel.

Van Isle 360 Race- Ucluelet Layday

2011-06-19T18:44:00.000-07:00

As the races for the Van Isle get longer, more time is allocated for all the boats to finish. If the winds cooperate, this can allow time in port between races. Since we finished in the evening, we had a complete next day to recharge and work on the boat.

Some of us woke early in the condo we were staying at and it became imperative for one thing, BREAKFAST! Daragh's daughter Kim had taken over shore support duties and she drove us to a small cafe for breakfast. Because of all the sailors in town, the place was jumping. After breakfast, Kim, Daragh, Bob and myself took a short hike around Amphitrite Point where we had finished the night before.

After our hike, it was time for lunch on the boat and a short list of work items as well as provisioning for the next leg.

The docks were busy with all the work going on. Many stories were told of fun times in the ocean as well as sobering tales of flooding, sickness and mechanical failures. While we were working, some 5th grade students came by for a visit and presented the skipper with gifts. Seems that the school children adopted boats and followed our progress.

In the evening, we had a banquet and awards presentation at the community hall. Yum! Grilled salmon again! This would be the last time that all the crews would get together and the whole affair was great. Over $8000cdn was raised for the Coast Guard Auxilliary who escorted us into Ucuelet after finishing. Broken parts from "Cinco de Mayo" were auctioned off to help the cause.

During our time in Ucuelet, I cannot say enough about the support that Kim provided the crew. When we arrived, we were tired and in need of showers. She drove us to and from the condo to meals(usually requiring two trips each) and the docks, ran errands and even cooked us breakfast on race day among other things. Thanks Kim for your tireless effort!

The Pacific Ocean and rocks around Amphitrite Point.

The Pacific Ocean and rocks around Amphitrite Point.

The Pacific Ocean and rocks around Amphitrite Point.

Amphitrite Point Lighthouse. The start for the next leg was here.

Van Isle 360 Race-Winter Harbor to Ucluelet

2011-06-14T07:17:00.000-07:00

This was the longest, toughest leg of the Van Isle 360. At 138 NM, and in the open ocean, it has the feel of a true ocean race. Pre race chatter had a lot to due with the predicted 25-35 knot SE winds forecast for race day.

The first real obstacle of this race is to clear Brooks Peninsula. This land mass juts out into the Pacific Ocean and is notorious for nasty conditions. Brooks is 20NM from the start at the entrance to Quatsino Sound. The race committee took some precautions and decided to move the start time earlier to 0700 to hopefully sail clear of Brooks Peninsula before the storm hit.

After a comfortable night ashore, it was tough to leave the dock at 0530 to motor to the starting line. The line is set between the Kains Island lighthouse and a buoy across Quatsino Sound, about a mile away. The wind was blowing out of Quatsino Sound. We had a great start about a 1/3 of the way down the line from the lighthouse. We had clear air and most of the fleet was much farther down the line.

Since the wind was outflow from the sound, it was a convergence zone to get to the SE wind that we could see offshore. So, for three hours most of the fleet battled through light winds and many sail changes. We went to spinnaker, wind seeker, back to the windseeker and then to No. 1 before we could generate enough speed to head out into the ocean.

When we reached the SE wind, it rose rapidly. Within 1/2 hour, we changed from No. 1 jib to No. 2 and then to No. 3 jib. After a couple of hours, we reefed the main. Later as the wind built, we reefed the main a second time.

All day and night, we beat into 20-25 knot winds. In addition, the rain poured out of the skies with a vengeance. The seas built, the boat pounded and lots of water came aboard. We had one crewman get sea sick in the afternoon and was out of commission laying in a bunk all night. Others felt queasy. We had three helmsmen and we rotated through two hours stints at the helm. The time at the helm passed quickly with the reward being a chance to warm up in a somewhat dry, warm bunk. All night the beat down the coast of Vancouver Island. It was wet on deck. Many times waves would wash the length of the boat filling the cockpit.

Early in the morning, we were still beating off Nootka Island and suddenly the wind lightened and shifted west. Like a switch was thrown, everything changed. We shook out the reefs, went to a bigger jib and then set a spinnaker. We then had a 60NM run to the finish at Amphitrite Point. The winds built to about 15 knots during the run. We finished at about 1900. After finding our condo, showering, eating a late dinner, we enjoyed a good nights sleep in beds that still seemed to be rocking.

This was a challenging leg of the Van Isle 360. With the wet and cold, crews that could stay focused performed the best. This raced included some sailors who are world class ocean racers and the chatter on the dock was that they thought it was really tough too. Some boats had damage. The trimaran "Makika" hit a whale south off Brooks Peninsula, broke the rudder, returned to Winter Harbor, repaired the boat, restarted the race and should be finishing the race Tuesday morning. Another boat broke a port in the hull and took on a lot off water before discovering the damage. Still others had various systems failures and another boat reported a crack in the hull. At least one boat went into an anchorage along Vancouver Island to wait out the worst.

Today(Tuesday) is a lay day to rest up, repair any damage and sight see before starting the next leg to Victoria tomorrow.

The run toward the finish at Amphitrite Point.
With all the appearance of a locker room, we had wet gear everywhere. We tried to sleep behind the lee clothes that kept us from being rolled out of the bunks.

These gloves are now ruined. Fortunatly, I bought new spares before the start of this race.

Van Isle 360-Telegraph Cove to Winter Harbor

2011-06-11T21:14:00.000-07:00

Here are more of my random thoughts about the Van-Isle 360 race.

Day 6-Telegraph Cove to Port Hardy: After an early morning breakfast and coffee, we started the race at 0900. The wind was light and after 4 hours of racing, the fleet started motoring the 25 miles to Port Hardy. The race ends at 1800 and if 50% of the fleet cannot make it on time, the race is abandoned. There are no throw outs for this race and each race is "weighted" more as the races get tougher.

Day 7- Port Hardy to Winter Harbor: This is a 69 mile race and is the first foray into the ocean. It leaves Port Hardy, crosses the Nahwitti Bar, rounds Cape Scott and ends at Kains Island at the entrance to Quatsino Sound. The winds were light, but the day was sunny. We managed to get over the Nahwitti Bar and into the ocean before the current changed. We had a light beat across the north end of Vancouver Island and rounded Cape Scott as the sun went down. We beat into light SE winds and when the sun came up, we were 7 miles from the finish. It took us untill 0930 to drift across the finish line.

Winter Harbor is a small isolated community. The people are friendly and welcomed us here.

Tomorrow, the longest race to Ucuelet starts at 0700. This race is 139 miles. Gale warnings are forecast.

Telegraph Cove

Presenting the daily race flag to the city of Port Hardy

Port Hardy

Cape Scott, the most northwestern point of Vancouver Island. This was my third rounding of this notorious point of land.

Crewman Rob exhausted after the long race from Port Hardy

View of Winter Harbor from the house we stayed at

Boardwalk in Winter Harbor

Van Isle 360-Nanaimo to Telegraph Cove

2011-06-08T22:52:00.000-07:00

I am writing this after the first five days of racing in the 10 leg, 14 day Van Isle 360 race. This is a 580 nm race starting and finishing in Nanaimo BC and going entirely around Vancouver Island.

I have been busy and quite tired! The whole event rolls along like a big road show. Each day is filled with boat prep, racing, cleanup and socializing. Shore crews support many of the teams. I am racing on a Sweden 36 named Sjora with six other people. The boat is out of Victoria and I was asked to race on it.

Here are some random thoughts on the race.

Day 1-Nanaimo to French Creek: The race starts on the waterfront of Nanaimo in front of huge crowds then proceeds upwind for twenty two miles to the small harbor of French Creek. The beat was pleasant with warm weather and nice northwest winds. It took a long time with lots of tacks,

Boats at Nanaimo.

Welcoming party at Nanaimo

Day 2-French Creek to Comox: Again this was a race beating into the wind for about 25 miles. We also played the north side and passed a lot of boats that sailed into adverse current. We got second. Marion, our great organizer and mainsheet trimmer got us a place to stay in a families home with dinner and breakfast.

Day 3- Comox to Campbell River: Once again, another 25 miles or so of beating into the wind. The wind was consistent until we got near Campbell River when it puffed up strong. That was good because the current was starting to change against us. The First Nations people had a welcoming ceremony for the visiting sailors.

Campbell River

First nations children performing a welcoming ceremony dance.

Day 4- Campbell River to Deepwater Bay to Hardwicke Island: This day starts with a 10 mile motor through Seymour Narrows to the start in Deepwater Bay. The waters of Seymour Narrows really rips through the narrows. We had to hug the shore to get through against the current.

Today the wind was ripping! This is common for the Johnstone Strait area. WE saw winds to 30 knots and we sailed with a #3 and reefed main for most of the 28 mile beat. Now the wind was against a 2 knot current and it was very rough! The finish and overnight stay was at a salmon farming facility. They served us a great salmon barbecue dinner.

Hardwicke Island salmon farm.

The salmon dinner in the storage building.

Salmon barbecue.

The view from the salmon farm.

Day 5-Hardwicke Island to Telegraph Cove: The winds started strong and after two general recalls, we started 35 minutes late. All day the wind was up and down from 13 to 30 knots requiring several sail changes. We sailed fast all day, but finished 30 minutes after the 6pm time limit. Remember the 35 minute delay in starting? This leg was 44 miles of beating into the wind.

Telegraph Cove

My fashion statement: boots, white legs, shorts and polar fleece. This is usually covered with foulweather gear.

Swiftsure Race Weekend-Cape Flattery Race

2011-05-29T21:11:00.000-07:00

Saturday was the start of the 68th Swifsure Lightship Classic. Originally the race was run from Victoria to a lightship anchored on Swiftsure Bank and return. The lightship no longer is anchored on the bank, so a Canadian Navy ship anchors on the bank and is the turning mark of the race. The location is about 20 nautical miles in the Pacific Ocean from Cape Flattery. Originally all boats went to the bank, but to encourage participation for smaller boats, the Juan de Fuca race to Clallam Bay race was included in the late 60's and the Cape Flattery race to Neah Bay was started in the mid 80's. These races give competitors the opportunity to race in exposed waters without spending many days heading out to the ocean. Distance for the Swiftsure Lightship Classic is 138.7, CapeFlattery is 103.4 and Juan de Fuca is 79.9. There are also day races near Victoria for those that want the "Switsure Experience" without venturing into the exposed waters of the Strait.Racing in the Strait of Juan de Fuca is unique. The wind is funneled between the Olympic Mountains on the American side and the mountains of Vancouver Island. As the land inland heats up during the day, the wind can be "sucked" off the ocean, often at high velocity. The waters are really quite large and the seas can be quite nasty. In addition, the currents always need to be considered and can really add to the size and shape of the waves.

For this weekend, I was on "Sjora" a Sweden 36. "Sjora" is based in Victoria and for the weekend, I raced on her in the Cape Flattery Race. This was a warmup for the Van Isle 360 race(race around Vancouver Island in 14 days and 10 legs) that starts on June 4th.

I started this weekend on Friday morning when I got up at 0400, was out of the house at 0515 and caught the MV Coho at Port Angeles for the ride to Victoria. Lennart(the owner of "Sjora") met me and we worked on "Sjora" and later attended seminars on the weather and currents. The weather predictions were favorable(winds 10-15 knots rising to 20-30 knots in the evening), but the current was not favorable(big flood for the first several hours of the race).

On Saturday we got underway at about 0830 and motored to the starting area near Clover Point. The starting vessel is a Canadian Navy ship and they us a real deck gun for the starting signals! The wind was very late and the current was flowing through the starting area pushing the boats away from the line. We were in the third start. We were not close to the line and we were set away from the line. It took us an hour to clear the line! We were not alone, most of our race was equally late. We drifted for hour, barely making any progress toward Race Passage. Finally in the afternoon, the wind came to about 5-7 knots and we were able to beat toward Race Passage.

Fortunately, by the time we got to Race Passage, the current was ebbing, making it easy to get through. We continued tacking along the Canadian shore as we headed west. The wind built to about 15 knots and then more. We changed to the #2 jib and later as the wind increased to 20knots, we reefed the main.

We tacked close to the Canadian shore until we reached Sheringham Point. There, we headed across the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The wind lightened some, so we shook out the reef. We closed with the American shore near Clallam Bay as the sun went down. The wind lightened some more, and we changed back to the #1 jib.

We continued along the American shore towards Neah Bay where we rounded the mark boat (another Canadian Navy vessel) at 0124 Sunday morning. We set the spinnaker and headed back toward Race Passage and the finish at Victoria.

The wind was very light, and we headed back out into the strait to ride the now favorable flood current. With the swells coming in off the ocean, trying to maintain speed was a chore. We sailed steep angles to try to keep the spinnaker filled. Finally at about 0900, the westerlies started to fill in. We still needed to be careful not to sail into a light patch. As the day heated up, the winds started rising. When it was blowing around 15 knots, we changed to the 1-1/2 once spinnaker. The winds increased more as we neared Race Passage. With the flooding current, we reached a speed over ground of 12 knots and a speed through the water of 9.7 knots.

After Race Passage, the winds started lightening as we neared the finish line at Victoria. We peeled the spinnaker to the 3/4 ounce. As we neared the finish, we started noticing a lot of faster boats from our class around us. we finished at about 1407. As soon as we arrived at the inspection dock, I jumped ship and caught the 1500 MV Coho to Port Angeles.

We had a great race. Even after a really slow start, we finished in a good time Sunday afternoon. And we also had a great placing! We placed 4th in our race out of 46 finishers and 2nd in class and division.

I enjoyed the race immensely and the crew on the boat were great people to sail with. Most of them will be sailing on the Van Isle 360 next week. Now I think I will go to bed and sleep in in the morning!
View from the MV Coho. The Swiftsure boats are moored in front of the Empress Hotel.

The great crew of "Sjora".

The course map for the various courses that make up the Swiftsure weekend. We raced the Cape Flattery race.

Miscellaneous Ramblings, "Or Whats The Point?"

2011-05-26T20:23:00.000-07:00

As a retired person, I should be allowed to do odd things during my days that may seem pointless to some people. So, here are a few of my miscellaneous ramblings.

Yesterday, the weather was looking nasty, so what better time to go to the beach? Not some exotic beach, but an exposed point in North Kitsap. I also wanted to drive the reengined Bronco II for a longer trip to test it better. So I decided to drive north to Hansville and Point No Point. At Pt No Pt, I went for a walk on the beach. No, there were no sunbathing people drinking fancy drinks with umbrellas in them. In fact there were only two other people walking their dog. It was cool, but the wind was not strong. That was too bad, because I wanted to fly my stunt kite. As I left, it started raining. I drove the long way back, past Skunk Bay, Little Boston, Kingston and Poulsbo. The Bronco behaved well, but the temperature still fluctuates. Drove nearly 100 miles.

Today, I read in the paper about a tug that was at Bremerton for the Harbor Fest this weekend. It was built in 1944 as the ATA202 and later named USS Wampanoag. After the war, it was turned over to the Coast Guard and renamed Comanche (WMEC202). It is now owned by a group trying to restore it. It is on the Registry of Historic Ships. So, I drove to Manette, walked across the bridge and out to the breakwater to where the Comanche was moored. Unfortunately, no one was around and it was not open for tours. I would have liked to have gone aboard. Maybe Monday.

While on my walk, I did talk to a couple of people I knew and helped another with directions on how to get to Highway 101.

After walking back to the car at Manette, I decided to drive to Silverdale. The wind was really hooting, and it was a great day to fly the stunt kite. There is a grassy area at the waterfront park right next to the water. I set up my larger kite and flew for about an hour. The wind was so strong that I really had to brace to not be pulled over!

After I got home, the 180 degree thermostat and new transmission vacuum modulator arrived from Summit Racing. I changed them out and flushed the cooling system again. The shifting remained the same with the new modulator, but the temperature seems to be fluctuating less and the electric fan is keeping the temperature from spiking during stops.

So, there you have it, two days of nothing exciting, no fancy meals or exotic destinations. And now tonight, I am washing clothes and packing up my sailing gear. I am leaving the house at 0500 to drive to port Angeles to catch the first Coho run to Victoria. I am going to race on a boat in the Swiftsure Race from Victoria to the Pacific Ocean and back. The owner and his wife are letting me stay in their guest room again. The race starts Saturday morning and hopefully we will be finished before the last Coho run leaves Victoria on Sunday evening at 1900.

So there you have it, more pointless ramblings!
The lighthouse at Point No Point. It was built in 1878 and like a lot of lighthouses has been turned over to a group of citizens to maintain and show.
The new bridge is coming along nicely and should open this summer.
USS Comanche moored to the Bremerton Marina breakwater.
USS Comanche moored to the Bremerton Marina breakwater.

Port Orchard Invitational-WSSA No. 5

2011-05-21T18:42:00.000-07:00

Saturdays race was the Port Orchard Yacht Club's Invitational race. It is the 5th race of the West Sound Sailing Association (WSSA) series of 7 races. This race started at Port Orchard Yacht Club and sailed north to a temporary turning mark at Battle Point and return to POYC. The distance is 16.4 NM.

The winds were forecast to be light from the SW, switching to the NW later in the afternoon with a possibility of rain during the day. At the start, the winds were very light SE and it was raining. Even though it was raining, the temperature was warm.

I got a good start near the boat end end reached up toward the docks north of the yacht club. Dulcinea(J105) followed me and we both soon found ourselves in trouble with the wind shifting ahead. So, down with the spinnaker, up with the jib and fend off from the dock I was drifting into! The boats farther to the left got the new NW winds sooner and I found myself in last. BUT, wait, there was a few puffs off to the right near the Port Orchard marins. So I headed that way with a Div II boat "Aldebaran"(Cat 30). Sure enough, with a couple of knots of wind I got up to speed and when I met with Dulcinea again, I was ahead after they had been ahead in the new wind.

The wind increased to about five knots. I worked the right side of the course near Annapolis and gained on "Tantalus"(Express 37) and started sailing through the Division II boats that started five minutes ahead. I beat up the South Kitsap shore looking for the strongest ebb current. Near Waterman, the wind came farther east and I found I could crack off a little onto a close reach, then a beam reach and then up with the spinnaker. After sailing past Illahee, the wind came well aft toward the south. And sure enough, the wind ahead started dying. I had been well ahead of the entire fleet, and they started catching up.

At one point, the wind started coming ahead and I put the jib up again and took down the spinnaker. I thought "this is it, the convergence zone has found me and the wind will shift to the NW". But no, the wind stayed very light and some of the boats behind caught up and "Tantalus" passed me. After another boat caught up and insulted my crew("hey, get your lazy foredeck to set the spinnaker, you are getting passed by Tantalus"), I got the spinnaker set once more.

The wind was spotty, and I sailed the boat at very steep angles to keep moving. The wind rarely got past two knots. By the time I got past University Point, I had moved ahead of the fleet once again. But since I am the fastest rated boat, I have to place well ahead of the slower boats behind to correct on them.

I continued working downwind along the Bainbridge Island shore and as I closed with the Battle Point mark, I could see that the Race Committee was going to shorten the course, finish the race and put us out of our misery!

I finished far enough ahead of "Dulcinea" to correct on them. But "Jerry Rig"(Buchan 37), a division II boat probably corrected on me by a minute securing the overall win.

Even though the winds were agonizingly light all day, it was really a fun day for a race. I stayed really focused on my boat speed all day and was happy with the overall performance of the boat.

Results(when they are completed) can be found here: http://www.wscyc.net/WSSA/2011/Race5POInvite.pdf

Very light winds near the finish. Photo Credit: Steve N.

At the finish, taking down the spinnaker. Photo Credit: Steve N.
The track for the day. Lots of tack near Port Orchard, lots of jibes near the Battle Point finish.

Quick Trip To Victoria BC.

2011-05-19T19:05:00.001-07:00

Last weekend I took a quick trip to Victoria BC. I traveled on the 0820 MV Coho from Port Angeles on Saturday morning, spend the night and returned on the 1030 MV Coho run from Victoria. I did not do any shopping, sightseeing or take in any of the other attractions. I was there on somewhat of a business trip. I did sail on a boat during a practice session to get ready for future excursions.

The MV Coho in Port Angeles. This is the first time I have ever taken the Coho to Victoria. Almost every other time has been by private boat. For a vessel built in 1959 and in continuous operation, I thought it was clean, in great condition with a friendly efficient crew. Probably better than our Washington State Ferries.....

Entering Victoria Harbor with the Empress Hotel in the background. I always like this view when I come in on a boat. For the Swiftsure Race, the boats raft up in front of the Empress. It always seems fun to boat into the downtown of a major city. Most of the sailboat masts in this photo were boats that had competed in the Oregon Offshore Race from Astoria to Victoria. They had been finishing during the previous 24 hours, three were still at sea but within sight of Victoria and one was dismasted when a whale jumped onboard. They retired and returned to Astoria.

The boat I sailed on during the Saturday practice session.

Singlehanded Dip Pole Jibe

2011-05-09T20:10:00.000-07:00

I posted this previously on another social media site. But here it is for my followers.

This is a Singlehanded Dip-pole spinnaker jibe during the Race To The Straits, May 8, 2011.

Race To The Straits May 7 and 8.

2011-05-08T20:11:00.000-07:00

Two great boating events occur each year on the first weekend of May. One is the opening day of boating season. This event has been happening for many years and includes boat parades through Montlake Cut, crew races and a lot of pomp and circumstance.

The other great event that occurs on this weekend has a shorter tradition then opening day. In 2002, Sloop Tavern Yacht Club of Seattle started the Race To The Straits. This is a two day race from Shilshole Marina to Port Townsend and after a nights stay, race back to Shilshole. Each day of the race is 30nm. The rules for this race is that all boats shall be sailed singlehanded(one person) or doublehanded(two people). The class breakdown was further refined for flying sails or non-flying sails as well as a Jack and Jill category. I raced singlehanded with flying sails(spinnaker). This year there was about 100 entries making it one of the larger regattas in Puget Sound. Boats are also started in reverse order, where the handicap is applied at start. The first start for the slowest rated boat is at about 0752, I started at 0929. The reverse start is unusual in a sailboat race, but makes the race more interesting. There are no signals from the committee boat to warn you of the impending start. You need to know your starting time and keep track of how much time to the start. Also with the reverse start, any boat that you pass, you have beaten. Any boat that starts behind you then passes you has beaten you!

This year had a breezy weather forecast of 15-25 knots from the SW with the wind switching to the NW in the afternoon. I was a bit apprehensive about flying the spinnaker alone in 25 knots of wind. But fortunately by the I started, the wind had lulled to about 13 knots. I set the heavy spinnaker and had a great downwind run. I sailed straight downwind and worked toward the right to avoid issues with the current at Double Bluff possibly setting me to the left. The most wind I remember on the run was about 22 knots and a boat speed of 9.6 knots through the water. There were four other J35's racing doublehanded. I managed to stay ahead of all of them except "Fast Feather II" who sliped by me at the Double Bluff mark.

As I neared Double Bluff, I could see the Puget Sound convergence zone at work. The south wind was dying and a light north wind was filling in with rain. I got to work and got the spinnaker down and a jib up just as I entered the new north wind. I managed to pass the buoy about 25 yard away by sailing so far right on the downwind leg.

A lot of boats were head up toward Whidbey Island on a nice lift. But it also took them out of the favorable ebb current. I opted to foot of a little and get back into current. It seemed to pay off as I passed a lot of boats. The rest of the beat was an exercise in trying to keep in favorable current and good winds. The new wind was only about seven knots. I managed to pass a lot of boats on the beat and when I reached Marrowstone Point, I noticed the fleet had split with a few boats heading directly toward the finish and a lot of boats getting flushed toward the straits with very little wind. I choose to sail out of the river and toward the finish line. It worked OK, and I passed a lot of boats, but the wind filled in again and some of the boats made out really well. When I finished, I noticed that one of my competitors finished ahead of me. So, I got second for the day on Saturday. There is still the combined score from both Saturday and Sunday.

Sunday dawned with clear skies and no rain. Did I tell you that it rained almost all night? The mood on the dock was subdued, partially from the partying the night before but also from the weather forecast which did not predict much wind. But when we got to the starting area, the wind was puffing to about ten knots. I got a good start and headed toward Marrowstone Pt where the current was ebbing at about three knots. I stayed close to the point and got around. I then headed closer toward the island looking for current relief. The wind was reachy and I had a spirited luffing duel with "Tantivy"(J109) and a sister ship, "Fast Feather II". As I got toward the end of the island, I found myself almost alone as most of the other boats had headed across Admralty Inlet. I jibed and had a nice reach toward Double Bluff. As I closed with double Bluff, the winds got lighter, but there was a back eddy helping out.

I got passed the Double Bluff buoy and headed toward the Hansville shore where I jibed to port and sailed close along the shore to Point No Point. I passed a number of boats farther offshore in the adverse current. I jibed around Point No Point and joined the parade down the Kitsap shoreline. Near Apple Tree Point, the wind appeared to be dying ahead and a group of boats started heading across the sound. But wait! The boats near Kingston appeared to be beating into a new wind. I headed that direction and put up a jib. After a mile, the wind came aft again and I put the spinnaker up again. It was a nice reach and as it built, I was able to head low enough to finish without jibing. I finished in the first fife teen boats and did not see any of the singlehanded boats ahead or around me.

This was another great Race To The Straits. The sunny weather of Sunday made up for the rain on Saturday. Even though boat days had their share of fluky winds, it was actually more consistent than some of the past years.

Results(when they are posted) can be found here: http://www.styc.org/

"Fast Feather II". A boat like mine. I past him not long after this picture was taken.

Heading from Double Bluff toward the Hansville shore.

The parade down the Kitsap shore.

"Uff Da" a Moore 24 just before the sunday finish.

My track for Saturday.

My track for Sunday.

Poulsbo Invitational Race-WSSA#4

2011-04-30T20:39:00.000-07:00

Saturday was the fourth race of the seven race West Sound Sailing Association (WSSA) series. This race is sponsored by Poulsbo Yacht Club. It is a bit strange in that "A" course starts at Battle Pt, has a short beat to University Point, a long run to the #6 dolphin in Agate Pass, a shorter beat around Point Bolin and then a long reach and run into Liberty Bay to the finish at Poulsbo Yacht Club. The total distance for the "A" course is 9.6 NM, but with all the reaching and running, it should be perfect for the smaller higher rated boats.

The forecast for the day was for 5-7 knot winds from the SW possibly shifting to NW later in the day. There was also a chance of rain showers. The forecast was accurate as the winds were 5-9 knots at the start from the SW. The sun was out and even though it was a bit cool, the sun felt nice.

We got a good starboard tack start about half way down the starting line. Dulcinea(J105) started just below us and Reign Maker(C&C37/40 XL) tried a port tack start at the pin end. Reign Maker had to give way to Dulcinea, had to tack away and circle back to the line. After the start, Dulcinea and us continued on starboard toward Bainbridge Island. We were looking for a lift under Battle Pt and stronger winds. The rest of our class started on port tack down the line near the boat end.

We tacked to port and took a long tack to the Gilberton shore east of Brownsville. We gained on Dulcinea and Reign Maker who both took short tacks toward the east. The Boss(J35) was below us and when they finally tacked to starboard, they passed well behind us.

We rounded the University Point buoy first in our class, set the spinnaker and reached toward the Bainbridge Shore. The Boss rounded a quarter of a mile behind us and sailed more dead downwind. During our first jibe, we had an issue with the spinnaker pole jaws stuck open and we lost some time getting it resolved. We jibed again at Battle Pt. The wind lightened some and we sailed hotter angles to keep our speed up. After three more jibes, we rounded the Pt Bolin daymark well ahead of The Boss.

After a smart rounding, we had a short beat around Pt Bolin and then started reaching west toward the entrance to Liberty Bay. We ran almost dead downwind to get around the Keyport Pier, then we reached up again to keep our speed up. Just passed the Keyport Docks, we jibed again and headed into Liberty Bay. Hear the wind shifted forward and soon we needed to put the jib up. We dropped the spinnaker on deck. The rained started coming down for a short time and when it quit, the wind started coming aft again. We reset the spinnaker and carried it to the finish in a dying breeze.

We finished at least 10 minutes ahead of The Boss and much farther ahead of Dulcinea. They should place 2nd and 3rd respectively We saved our time on all the boats behind us for the class and overall wins.

In Divisions II and III, the wind lightened and many boats were caught in the channel entering Liberty Bay. The Division II boat Falcon(Cal 9.2) managed to lead their class home by a big margin and won their division.

It was a great day to be on the water. The light variable winds made it challenging to maintain good boat speed, but our crew of Jim, Kathleen and Michael did a great job and stayed focused to the task.

Results can be found here(when they are posted): http://www.wscyc.net/WSSA/results.htm

Our track for the day.

The Great Bronco Engine Transplant-Final Installment

2011-04-26T20:26:00.000-07:00

This will be the final installment of "The Great Bronco Engine Transplant" saga. The goal of removing the old V6 engine and replacing it with a 302 V8 has been accomplished. The engine has been started and I have driven the Bronco approximatly 100 miles. There is still work to do. Some small items and cleanup of cable and hose runs still needs to be completed. I also need to tweak the cooling system, maybe a cooler thermostat. The biggest item to finish is the transmission kickdown rod. The old Ford one would not fit. Right now, if I need to shift down on a hill, I do it manually. And that is exciting! Why? Because I took the transmission completely apart to install the transfer case adapter and reassembled it. And when I was done, IT WORKED! There was always something intimidating about automatic transmissions. But this was easy! I also installed what is called a "Shift Kit". This modifies the transmission so that it shifts quicker, snappier and not as "mushy" as it did before. It was a success.

So now, this blog will go back to mainly sailing, hiking and biking. And maybe some new project to report about!

Evrything neatly painted, installed and tucked away. Notice the "old school" original air cleaner!

The Great Bronco Engine Transplant-It's Alive!

2011-04-20T16:12:00.001-07:00

Today I started the V8 engine that I installed in the Bronco II. After three busy, long days finishing up a long list of small items, it was a relief to hear it roar to life. And that's what it did! I do not have an exhaust system installed yet and I will take it to a shop to have it installed.

It took only three or four tries of 20 seconds to get it to start. We did not even use any starting fluid or gas. The transmission pops right into gear and I backed up and went forward several times in the parking area. I may go out after dark for a short drive to check the shifting.

Of course, it not longer has a V6 engine, so a rebadging ceremony was needed!
Check out this video!

The Great Bronco Engine Transplant-Getting Close To Startup

2011-04-15T20:27:00.000-07:00

The Great Bronco Engine Transplant is rapidly heading to conclusion. I will be so bold as to speculate that within another week, I should make the first attempt to start the engine.

Since the last post, I removed the engine to finish some items and clear some of the interferences. While the engine was out, I painted the frame in the engine bay. I pounded on the flange/tunnel area to try to get more clearance for the headers. I put the engine back in last Friday. Still had a little interference with the oil pan, so I lifted the engine, reformed the corner of the pan a little. Good clearance now. So I put the engine back in. Still had interference with the right header. So, Monday I pulled the engine out again, found a bigger hammer and beat in the area in the tunnel that was hitting the header. I put the engine back in and now I have plenty of room between the header and the body. I reconfigured the heat shield and riveted it back in place. Not pretty, but should work. Hooked up the heater hoses and made a bracket to hold them from swinging around.

Wednesday, I installed the transfer case. It weighs about 60 pounds and is awkward. I am working on the floor without jacking the BII up, so I did not have room to "bench press" it into position. Didn't want to get under it anyway. I do not own a transmission jack either. I floundered around some before I thought of using my motorcycle lift. It is a lot like a transmission jack and is low enough to fit under the vehicle. The input spline needs to line up with the transmission output shaft, so it took some effort to get it all lined up.

While the engine was out for a week, I tried to get the company that supplied the headers and mounts to come up with what was wrong with them. They still hit on the drivers side. First they wanted pictures. I sent them. Next I called them and about two weeks ago I got in touch with someone. He said that they had a 302/BII conversion coming into the shop that afternoon and would take pictures. Nothing. I called and left messages. No response. I even sent them another email Monday about a question about torque for the header bolts. No answer. I finally gave up and engineered my own fix. I added 1/4 inch spacers between the engine and the mount and rounded the frame half of the mount. I now have about 5/16" clearance. It infuriates me when a company won't answer or respond. That is worse than the problem itself. To me it shows a complete lack of respect for the customer. I will never buy from this company again!

Yesterday I hooked up the B&M cable shifter and put the interior together again.I also installed the radiator and was going to install the mechanical fan. It would not fit, it hit the crankshaft pulley even with a spacer installed. I could not put a longer spacer in because I was already close to the radiator. The pulley has four grooves for all the accessories and is very long. I originally bought an electric fan, but thought that it was too tight to install it. So I took a look at the electric fan again and was able to figure out a way to install it offset from the water pump pulley. It offsets to the driver's side edge of the radiator. I hope it will move enough air to cool adequately.

Today I went for a parts run to one of the auto parts store. I had a shopping list that included spark plugs, air cleaner, engine paint, radiator hoses and some miscellaneous fittings. I was most concerned about the radiator hoses as this is a custom installation. I told the salesman what I was looking for. I made up sketches of what I needed. We looked through his stock and found a hose with the correct end connection sizes and correct angle and straight lengths. And it looked like it could be cut into three pieces for all the parts I needed. Sure enough, after I cut it, it fit great. Still need to trim some on the upper. The upper hose has the remote fill in the middle of the hose. My radiator is the Advanced Adapter radiator that fits forward towards the grill underneath the radiator/hood support. There is no room for the fill connection in the radiator.

Today I also fabbed some stronger fan supports to the surrounding structure. I was drilling a hole in one of the small parts and handholding it(no gloves). When the bit broke through, it grabbed and spun the part. Not sure exactly what happened, but it must have sucked me in and grabbed the sleeve of my coat too. The end of my thumb was torn up the worst(will probably have a strange thumb print) with lots of blood and my palm swelled up around where the thumb joins. I got all the bleeding stopped and bandaged up. There was some other cuts on adjacent fingers. I think I will put the drill press vise back on. This sort of freaks me out. A few years ago one of my coworkers was using a drill press at home with gloves on and wrapped a finger of the glove around a 1/4 inch bit and lost part of his little finger. And today as I was drilling, I was thinking of a rerun episode of American Chopper where Rick(one of the experienced fabricators) did the same thing with gloves on and got his hand mangled. I think I came out of this well.

Painted out the frame in the engine compartment.

The engine going back into the Bronco for hopefully the last time. Using the motorcycle lift for lifting the transfer case into position onto the transmission output connection. The new transmission adapter fit great!

The radiator hose cut into the three pieces. The left piece is for the lower hose and the two right pieces are for the upper hose with the remote fill/pressure cap tee in the middle of them. When I bought this, I did not know what this hose was for. I did an Internet search from the part number and found out that it was for a Chevrolet Blazer.

West Sound Corinthian Yacht Club-Rich Passage Ramble-WSSA N0. 3

2011-04-10T12:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the Rich Passage Ramble race. This race starts at Port Orchard, goes out Rich Passage, leaving Blake Island to port, Bainbridge Reef buoy R4 to port and return to the finish at Port Orchard. Total distance for the race is 20 NM. This is the third race of the West Sound Sailing Association(WSSA) series. The forecast for the day was for light winds in the morning possibly increasing to 10-20 later in the day. There was also a chance of rain.

The race started on time with winds to 8 knots from the SE. We got an excellent start, set the spinnaker and led for a while until "Dulcinea"(J105)reached past us. The wind lightened some as we approached Waterman, when the boats behind brought some new wind and closed up some on us.

As we entered Rich Pass, both "The Boss"(J35) and "Reign Maker"(C&C 37/40 XL) passed us, but they stayed toward the right side of the pass while we stayed more in the middle with better ebb current. At Pt Glover, the wind came ahead, the spinnakers came down and the beat started. The wind was a pleasant 8-10knots and shifting more toward the SW. We passed "Dulcinea", "The Boss" and "Dulcinea" before we exited Rich Pass.

We stayed on one long tack past the west end of Blake Island. There we short tacked close to the South Shore for current relief. We stayed ahead of the other boats in our class. The strategy on "The Boss" seemed to be to stay in our wake as we sailed in formation around Blake Island.

After rounding the SE point of Blake Island we reset a spinnaker and had a short run north along Blake Island and then a nice close reach toward the Bainbridge Reef Buoy "R4". "The Boss" stayed close, but as we approached the buoy we gained some distance on them and kept gaining on them as we entered Rich Passage against the still ebbing current.

We sailed toward the south shore of Rich Passage and then tight around Pt Glover looking for current relief and back eddies. The wind got light near Pt Glover and "The Boss" and "Reign Maker" sailed up to us. "The Boss" sailed to the end of the back eddy, struck out for the Bainbridge Island shore and was swept east. "Reign Maker" stayed close to the shore and would not venture out into the flow until we sailed out towards Bainbridge.

We sailed closehauled toward the Bainbridge Island shore and were swept east until we were about halfway across when the current lightened and we started getting into favorable current along the shore. We short tacked along close to the beach. "Reign Maker" followed our example and the two boats gained on the rest of the fleet. At Pt White, the current relief disappears and you have to muscle your way through the 3 knot current for about 100 yards. Fortunately, by that time the current was under the bow, setting us to the left and away from shore. "Reign Maker" was still in our track and should have been able to overcome the current, but they chose to tack away and headed into the middle and got swept back into Rich Passage.

As we escaped the pass, we took a long tack to the East Bremerton shore. One other boat, "Dulcinea", followed our lead exactly and was the next boat to escape the pass. We short tacked up the shore and had good favorable current. Near Pt Herron, we were looking for a current lift from the current flowing out of Pt Washington Narrows. But the wind also increased to 12-15knots and lifted us 30degrees above the finish line. Unfortunately the lift did not continue and we had to make one short tack to cross the finish line.We gained on "Dulcinea" and the rest of the fleet to win first in class and overall.

This was a great race for the crew of "Great White". The wind blew the whole day, the sun came out and there was no rain. Thanks to the crew of Michel, Walter and Jim. I like the races through Rich Passage and around Blake Island. Current is such a big factor in these races and after racing in this area for 35 years, I have developed a set of "rules" that I follow for sailing in the current. They again worked for this race.

Results are here: http://www.wscyc.net/WSSA/2011/Race3Richpassage.pdf

Our track for the day.

Steve N. took this picture of us from the bow of "The Boss". He says that the owner of "The Boss" likes bow shots. I would think he would like a picture of us from the stern better.

Taking A Day Off To Go To The Beach

2011-04-04T18:41:00.001-07:00

Some people think it is silly that I should want a day off. After all they say:"everyday is a day off" since I am retired. Well, I have been very busy and have put off going places or doing "fun" stuff. I have been working long hours on my car project(The Great Bronco Engine Transplant), working some on the yard and even helping others with some of their boat issues. There is nothing wrong with any of those items, but I wanted to get away if even for a day. So when I told my mom that I needed a day off, she agreed immediately.

So today I drove the truck to the ocean and walked on the beach. The truck was full of gas and I replaced the brake pads yesterday, so it was ready. I left early in the morning headed for Westport. I stopped at Aberdeen for breakfast and still arrived at Westport by 0900. I did not do much there. I walked the path down the beach, watched the fisherman unload their catch, walked the main street(almost all the stores were closed) and ate a great lunch of Fish and Chips at "Bennett's Fish Shack"("we are open seven days a week").

I started home by 1230. I took a different way home. I took some back roads from Cosmopolis to Montesano and then took a side trip to the site of the Satsop Nuclear Power Plant. It was never finished or operated and now the site is an Industrial Park. The cooling towers and reactor containment structures are still standing, but falling into disrepair. From Satsop, I headed into the hills to the north and drove the back way through Matlock passed the penitentiary to Highway 101 and from there through more back roads to the south shore of Hood Canal near Alderbrook.

It was nice to get away today. Oh did I tell you that it rained hard all day? Did not dampen my spirits!

The old lighthouse at Wesport. Still operates and is the tallest in Washington State. Downtown Westport.

The Pacific Ocean.

Trying to not get sunburned.

The walkway along the shoe.

Fisherman unloading crab.

Yum! Fish and Chips at "Bennett's Fish Shack".

One of the cooling towers at the site of the Satsop Nuclear Power Plant.

The Great Bronco Engine Transplant- Fabrication, Assembly and Disassembly

2011-04-04T16:08:00.001-07:00

After the engine was installed, the real work started in earnest. Now was the time to fit up all the systems needed to operate the vehicle once the engine is started. I finalized the wiring harness and soldered the joints together and bundled it neatly. I had several interferences to resolve as well as fabricate brackets and plates to mount new components. I had to modify the power steering pump bracket to accept the Bronco power steering pump. This part has been fun as now I can implement all the plans I have made. It has also been tiring as I have been working 6 to 8 hours a day. This is the heater plenum that mounts on the passenger side firewall. I had to cut a corner out to clear the valve cover. This is a known problem on 302/Bronco II conversions. I found a heavy plastic rectangular water bottle that I cut up to patch the hole.

The oil filter won't fit if it is left installed on the engine, so I needed to install a remote oil filter kit. This mounts on the radiator support. I had to fabricate the bracket to mount it with.

Another view of the remote oil filter.

I had to modify the throttle cable bracket to accept the Bronco II throttle and cruise control cables.

I built a plate to mount the new shifter. It needed to cover the hole in the floor and I added a stiffener on the underside.

Here is the new shifter installed in the Bronco. I completely hooked it up to the transmission and tested it before I took it out again.

This is how the valve cover clears the heater plenum now. The transmission dipstick tube clears everything too.

And here is the engine coming back out again. It gets easier every time I do this. I removed it so that I could finish work on the engine and to clear the interferences that I learned about when we put the engine in. I also installed the oil pan with gasket for the final time and have scheduled some time to touch up the paint

This is one of the interferences. The motor mount hits the front tube of the header. I have called the manufacture twice and emailed him pictures. He agrees there is something wrong, but has not offered a fix yet. He was suppose to look at a 302/Bronco II conversion and get back to me on Friday. Here it is on Monday and no word back from him yet. I will probably call him early tomorrow. He is starting to hold my progress. I am ready to put the engine back in and start hooking things up.

I had to replace the brakes on my F150 truck Sunday, so when I was at the parts store, I also bought the hose adapters I need to hook up the transmission cooling lines to the radiator. After the latest order from Summit Racing arrives tomorrow, about the only major things lacking will be the radiator hoses. I should be able to get them locally. My special synthetic transmission fluid should be here by the end of the week. I could have this engine installed, hooked up and running in just a few days if the header/motor mount interference gets resolved.

Port Orchard Yacht Club Spring Shakedown Regatta-WSSA No.2

2011-03-27T18:49:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the second race of the West Sound Sailing Association(WSSA) series. This was the Spring Shakedown Regatta sponsored by Port Orchard. It is a two lap, 11.7 NM race in Sinclair Inlet and Port Orchard. It has provisions for shortening the race at the end of the first lap for a distance of 7.6 NM.

The weather for this race was not real encouraging. It called for light winds to 10 knots early in the day with SW winds 10 to 15 knots in the afternoon.

At the start, we had about 5 knots from the south and rain. We got a good start at the pin end. It was a short beat to the first mark where we rounded second in our class just behind "The Boss" (J35). "The Boss" was on it's first race with a new owner, and it showed as they were very slow setting their spinnaker. We had a great bear away set on port and got up to speed rapidly passing "The Boss". Shortly after setting the spinnaker, we jibed over to starboard to cover "Dulcinea"(J105) and opt for the more favored right side of the course. We sailed hot angles and stayed ahead of "Dulcinea" past Annapolis.

There, the wind shifted ahead and gave indications that it would shift toward the North. We took down the spinnaker and set the jib and started beating into a light wind. The boats that stayed near the left side of the course still had a Southwest wind and lead by "Falcon"(a division II, Cal 9.2) they passed us and "Dulcinea". Fortunately, when the new SW wind reached us, the boats ahead slowed down. We reset the spinnaker and closed with the boats ahead and soon found ourselves leading everyone.

As we approached the Waterman Mark, the wind again shifted toward the north. We dropped the spinnaker and reset the jib. We dropped the spinnaker on deck and left it rigged in case we needed it again. As we neared the mark, our mission was to stay upstream of the mark. The current was ebbing and the boats behind us that did head toward the mark early found themselves being flushed past. We rounded the mark first, jibed to starboard, reset the spinnaker and headed for the right shore. Again, we reached at close angles to the wind to keep the speed up. We also found current relief along the right shore. But a few boats stayed along the left shore or in the middle and for a short time had better winds. "Dulcinea" passed us in the middle and Aldebaran(Catalina 30) did well along the left shore.

As we approached Pt Herron the advantage of the boats that stayed left or in the middle evaporated. "Dulcinea" slowed down and we started gaining on them. We jibed close around Pt Herron and into the ebbing flow of Pt Washington Narrows and received a good boost from the current. Unfortunately, we could not close the distance on "Dulcinea" in the remaining distance and they crossed the shortened course finish line ahead of us.

"Dulcinea" and us decimated the rest of the fleet. "Dulcinea" was first in class and first overall and we were second in class and second overall. In an exciting finish, "Aldebaran" almost finished ahead of the faster, larger, division I boat, "Tantalus"(Express 37). The previous owner of "Aldebaran" is the current owner of "Tantalus".

We had a great race and the boat was very fast. The crew did an excellent job and we worked well together. Thanks to Jim, Michael and Kathleen.

One interesting thing about this race: We had 19 starters. And even though we are a small group way out in West Sound, away from the great sailing center of Seattle, we completed a race when Corinthian Yacht Club of Seattle had to abandon the Pully Pt Race on the same day!

Results: http://www.wscyc.net/WSSA/2011/Race2spingshakedown.pdf Here is our track for the day. We started near the Port Orchard Yacht Club, headed southwest to the first mark. Then north along the right shore and returned along the west shore to finish at Port Orchard Yacht Club.

Gig Harbor Islands Race-South Sound Series Race #4

2011-03-22T15:46:00.000-07:00

Here it is a week after the Gig Harbor Race that I am finally writing about it. This is one of my least favorite races each year, so it probably explains my lack of enthusism about writing.

This race starts off the entrace of Gig Harbor, goes north through Colvos Pass, around a buoy north of Blake Island and returns to the start/finish line. Anyone that sails much in the northwest knows that the current always flows north in Colvos Pass. So unless there is a good wind, the sail south through Colvos Pass can be an arduous affair.

I started this race on Friday morning to deliver the boat to Gig Harbor. It was an easy delivery, the winds were light and the rain was light at times. But after I moored at Jerisch Park, the heavens opened up and a very soaking rain fell all afternoon. I started the furnace and stayed below reading and working on a splicing project. The boats that came in throughout theafternoon were crewed by generally soaked sailors.

By Saturday morning, the skies had cleared and the temp was near freezing. It did warm up as the sun came up. The winds were light out of the NE and with the current flowing north, it was tricky getting a good start without being swept over the line early. We got a good start near the boat end and started looking for lanes of current. We stayed mid fleet untill near Ollala when we hit a good combination of wind and current and passed several of the boats in our class.

We continued north in very light winds untill we neared the northern opening of Colvos Pass when the very light wind died and filled lighlty from the SW. The boats on the west shore got the wind before us. This brought three boats in our class passed us before it shifted to the north and filled to about five knots.

The race was shortened to the turning mark north of Blake Island. We motored home to Blake Island, loaded the crew into 'Big Red', the team truck and drove them back to Gig Harbor where their cars were and where Gig Harbor Yacht Club hosted a post race meal and social time.

Our placing was poor for this race. There was definatly some local knowledge and a little luck that helped the leaders. But, we had a great day anyway. The sun came out, the temperature was up and the crew worked well together and had a good time.

At the Jerisch Park dock the morning of the race.

Our track for the day.

The Great Bronco Engine Transplant- The New Heart Fits

2011-03-15T22:42:00.000-07:00

Today was a big milestone. With some help from my dad, we have the 302 V8 engine sitting in the Bronco II on the motor mounts.

For now, this is just for fitment and mockup and I plan on taking the engine out and putting it back in at least one more time. The biggest issue today is that the pan hits the passenger I beam bracket. This is a known issue in this type of conversion. I may grind on the bracket some more, put a dent in the pan or both. Also, I may have to lift the engine a little to get the headers on. Maybe I should have installed them first.

Although the bell housing does not hit the tunnel flange, I will probably bend it flat for header clearance on the right side. This is also a known item, but I wanted to try installing the engine first to see how it looked. Now do you see why I had planned to remove and reinstall this engine again?

But, now I can design and fabricate all the systems and components needed to make this engine run.

Good progress today. It took about 1-1/2 hours from picking the engine up off the floor up to having the bolts in the motor mounts. It will be easier next time

Transmission attached and ready to hoist.
High above the body of the bronco.

Tipped up and starting into the engine compartment.

Engine sitting where it was designed to go.

The Great Bronco Engine Transplant- No Retreat No Surrender

2011-03-09T16:45:00.001-08:00

Bruce Springsteen sings a song called "No Surrender". In the chorus is a line "No retreat (baby) no surrender". He belts it out with passion. I feel that is where I am at with the Bronco Engine Transplant, I cannot retreat now and I am going forward without surrendering!

This week was a major milestone in this project. Yesterday, the old engine was removed from the Bronco. My dad came over and helped me. I spent a day and a half disconnecting everything, draining fluids and rigging the lifting gear. The final lift went OK. Since I was trying to take a "path of least resistance", I did not remove all the peripheral components on the engine. And some things like the exhaust crossover were virtually impossible to remove. Another consideration was for the buyer of the engine, he could see where everything was. It was a tight squeeze, but with some jocking around with the lifting gear, we finally got it out. The only casualty was the distributor cap broke when it was pinched against the firewall.

Today was spent removing the wiring harness(most of which I cannot use), the motor mounts (very difficult to remove) and cleaning parts. The buyer of the old engine is driving over from Yakima on Saturday. I advertised it on Craigslist and he seems really excited about buying it.

Now that the engine is out, I can measure where the new engine will be be placed and can start work on installing the radiator and build the new wire harness. I hope to install the new engine next week for the fit test. That will just be to check the fit and design some of the new installations around the engine.

Here is the old V6 engine being rolled out of the garage. No retreat now!
And waiting for the new owner.

The empty engine compartment.

Now I have to clean out the engine compartment of 27 years of accumulated grime.

The Great Bronco Engine Transplant- Tranny Mods and Looking For Trouble

2011-03-02T15:32:00.000-08:00

During the last two days, I have accomplished a lot on the transplant project. I disassembled the automatic transmission and installed the adapter piece and tailshaft that will allow the transmission to the existing Bronco transfer case. While I was at it, I installed a "shift kit" that will hopefully improve the shifting and make it snappier and probably harsher.

Disassembling and reassembling the transmission was easier than I anticipated. I bought a shop manual on a CD, so I set up a laptop and had it running while I worked. I covered the workbench with cardboard and kept the parts in order of disassembly.

Today I installed the shift kit. While I was working, I noticed that a check valve was missing from under the filter. The spring was there, but the plug was gone. Somebody probably lost it when the fluid was changed as it can drop out. Fortunately, the shift kit had an extra plug that was for a competition setup. It fit the hole perfectly. The parts people say that you can't find these anymore.

Last week, I went looking for more trouble with the 302 V8 engine. I had read something about the valve seals hardening, breaking off pieces and jamming the oil pump. Sure enough, the new oil pump had warnings about that happening. So I looked carefully at the valve seals and found one broken into three pieces with a fourth piece missing. A friend loaned me his valve spring compressor. Tomorrow a set of seals should arrive from Jegs and I will change out the seals. Fortunately the tool my friend loaned me enables me to remove the springs and change the seals without lifting the heads.

Should be ready to start removing the Bronco engine next week. I advertised it for sale on Craigslist and have had one response so far.

It was a bit of a lift, but was able to get the transmission up on the workbench.
As I removed components, I kept them in order.

This is as much as I disassembled.

The valve body disassembled. The shift kit does not amount to much. One new spring, reconfigure a valve to increase pressure, enlarge a couple of holes in the separator plate, remove some balls and plugs and reinstall a couple of new balls.

The transmission mostly assembled with the new adapter. I still need to install the bell housing, but will probably wait until I get the transmission on the ground. I also need to drill and install a drain plug in the pan and install the pan on the transmission.

Hard, broken valve seal. Interesting that this was No.4 intake valve and that plug was not fouled, but it was "wet" and I could not figure out what it was wet from. I thought residual gas had found its way there. Maybe oil?

Jim Depue Memorial Race-WSSA No.1

2011-02-28T18:23:00.000-08:00

Saturday was the first race of the 2011 seven race WSSA(West Sound Sailing Association) series. Now after two days, I have warmed up enough to type my impressions of it.

In nearly 30 years of racing this race, I have always found this race to be a difficult one to place well in. Many boats from the host Port Madison Yacht Club participate in only this race of the series and frankly, they know these waters better than us. This is my least favorite race of the series.

The forecast was for 10-15 knot winds rising to 15-25 knots later in the day. The temps were still in the lower 30's and there was a potential of snow showers.

We got a OK start and started the beat up the shore toward the first mark off Eagle Harbor. Most boats stayed along the shore to avoid a predicted ebb current. A few boats went farther off shore and did appear to get a port tack lift. Maybe they were smarter, or just lucky? And sure enough, later in the beat when we stuck our nose farther offshore, we actually found favorable current and closed up some on the leaders. We also seemed to have a bit of trouble getting the boat up to speed. But we did stay ahead of another of my fast J-boat brethren, Dulcinea(J105) and actually rounded just ahead of them at the first mark.

On the reach to the West Point mark, the wheels came off our program. It took us three tries to get the spinnaker up. Each time it was either fouled or badly hourglassed. When we finally got the spinnaker hoisted cleanly, then it took a long time getting the jib down, finally getting it down just as we rounded the West Point mark. We probably lost 5-10 minutes on that leg. Tantalus(Express 37) even passed us after we rounded the first mark well ahead of them.

The second reaching leg went a lot better. We gained on Tantalus who jibed late stayed too far to the right. We seemed to close on the boats ahead, but it was hard to tell since we had fallen so far back. At the last mark, we carried the spinnaker longer then Tantalus and then they rounded the mark wide and we were able to round inside them and stay to weather of them. We gained on Tantalus on the final beat and saved our time on them.

We were sixth in our class and ninth overall. Not a great showing, but it is the first race of a long series. It is not the end of the world. Remember, I said that this race is not easy and most of the boats from this club do not race the rest of the series.

Although it was cold, the wind stayed steady all day and the race was completed quickly. I had a great time and my crew of Walter and Jim did well and it was a pleasure to sail with them. I don't have any great pictures, it is too hard to sail the boat and take pictures. I don't know how others pull it off. Maybe they are better than I am!

Results: http://www.wscyc.net/WSSA/2011/Race1portmadison.pdf Here is our track for the day. The course was 16.5 nm. We started at Pt Monroe and sailed clockwise.

The Great Bronco Engine Transplant- Timing Is Critical

2011-02-21T14:07:00.000-08:00

Originally, the plan to transplant the V8 engine into the Bronco was not much more than make the minimum amount of mods to the engine, install it, see how it runs and decide what to do with it later.

Some modification to the engine was necessary. The oil pan needed to be changed to a double sump pan to clear the front crossmember of the Bronco. When I changed the oil pan, I also intended to change the rear main seal. It was leaking badly and when I changed it, it was apparent that it was no good. In fact, half of it was missing!

But the strange thing was the small pieces of plastic that I found in the old oil pan. It did not take much research to determine that the plastic was really pieces of nylon from the nylon/aluminum timing gear sprocket on the camshaft. The shop manual warned that it could be an issue.

I determined I needed to at least pull the timing gear cover off the front of the engine to inspect the timing gear. So I ordered the necessary gaskets, puller for the harmonic balancer and since it really was not that expensive, I went ahead and ordered a double roller timing gear set. Of course, the new timing gear would not be compatable with the old two piece fuel pump eccentric, so I also had to order a new one piece eccentric.

Today I disassembled the front of the engine and sure enough, the nylon/aluminum camshaft timing sprocket was missing pieces of nylon. The missing nylon was exposing the aluminum under the teeth and it too was badly worn.

Now all I need is a longer dowel pin that aligns the camshaft, timing sprocket and fuel pump eccentric. The one that came with the timing gear set was too short. Drat! I read that that could happen and several fixes have been suggested.

The new double roller timing gear set from Ford Racing. What a thing of beauty!
The old nylon/aluminum camshaft sprocket. Not so pretty!

Toliva Shoal Race Feb 19, 2011

2011-02-20T17:48:00.000-08:00

The Toliva Shoal race is a 37.4 nm race from Olympia through the islands of south Puget Sound. It meanders to a navigation buoy at Toliva Shoal west of the Narrows and back to Olympia via Balch Pass. This race has a reputation for light winds and shortened courses or DNF's.

I raced this race for the first time in 1979, crewing on someone else's boat. The wind was strong and we finished the whole course before dark. My next attempt was (I believe)1984. The winds were light. There was no provision for shortening the course and the time limit was 0630 Sunday morning. We drifted around through the night and covered about 3/4 of the course before we motored in when it became impossible to finish before the time limit expired. Nobody finished that year.

I did not race again until 2000. In subsequent years, we were DNF one more time and all the other races were shortened. I missed 2006 and 2008. In 2006, the wind blew from the north and the sun was shining all day. Everyone finished the complete race that year.

This year was different.

I started this race on Thursday morning when I started the delivery of Great White to Olympia. I went as far as Gig Harbor the first night. Friday I got underway at 0600 to try to avoid most of the ebb through the Narrows and the other passes to Olympia. I arrived at Olympia at 1100 and found my reserved spot at Olympia Yacht Club. I wandered around town some and then had dinner at the pre race party at OYC.

Saturday morning dawned clear and sunny. I could hear the wind blowing at night on the boat and sure enough, the wind was blowing at about 12 knots out of the north. At the breakfast at OYC, the talk was about how strong the wind was expected to blow and how soon we would finish the WHOLE course. We collected all the crew and headed out to the start.

At the starting area it was blowing 17-20 knots. We set the full main and #3 jib and lined up for the start. I timed this one well and was first across the line with Absolutely(Kiwi 39) below us and Tantivy(J109) above us. The beat down Budd Inlet was fast with smooth water, but when we got into Dana Pass, the wind increased to 20 with gusts to 24. The current was ebbing into the wind and it was very rough. Rounding Johnson Pt is a 2 mile reach to G3. We lead Tantivy for a while, but they passed us just before G3. Absolutely was ahead of both of us.

We had a close reach to Lyle Pt on Anderson Island. The water had a strange scalloped dividing line where the brown water from the Nisqually River was on the right and blue water on the left. We stayed high in the blue water hoping for better current. Rounding Lyle Pt, we were once again in rough water. The chop was as high as 4 ft. We continued across the Nisqually Reach to the west end of Ketron Island.

At Ketron Island, first Absolutely and then Tantivy tacked away toward the north. We talked about it and then finally went through Cormorant Pass between Ketron Island and the mainland. I had always wanted to try this. The winds were still strong, but the water was smooth and we had good favorable current as can be seen on our track. After a few tacks, we set out on one long tack toward Mc Neil Island where Tantivy crossed us. They had not gained on us, nor did they lose any distance on us.

Rounding the buoy at Toliva Shoal, we set the spinnaker and headed toward Balch Pass. By now, the current was flooding helping us get through the pass. But the wind was fluky. We caught up to Tantivy, but we stayed to the right and they got some new wind on the left before us and took off. Three of the boats behind us in our class gained on us some.

We had a nice fast reach down Drayton Pass and around Devil's Head. The wind came forward again and we took the spinnaker down for the close reach around Johnson Pt.

Entering Dana Pass, we reset the spinnaker for the run to the finish. Flying Circus(Express 37) and Melange(J35) set their spinnakers earlier than us and we were in real danger of being overtaken. By now the wind had lightened quite a bit and we played the current and sailed to the optimum jibing angle to keep our speed up. The run up Budd Inlet turned into a close reach. We finished at 1552, about five minutes behind Tantivy where we were too far behind to save our time, but was good enough for third place.

We went into Olympia and had hot soup at the club. One of my acquaintances from Brownsville (Matthew with Dulcinea) wanted to return to Brownsville that night. So I agreed to run with him. We got underway at 1800 and with the favorable ebb current, got back to Brownsville by 0043 Sunday morning. That is a very fast run for a 49 mile run. It was a great night on the water. It was clear and the starts were bright. Later the full(or nearly full) moon rose making it easy to see. Was cold though!

I was happy with the results. In the last two races we gave away places late in the race. This time, everyone stayed focused in the difficult conditions when the wind was blowing and the equally difficult conditions when the wind turned light. Thanks to my crew of Jim, Walter, Kathleen, Michael and Peg.

Results can be seen at: http://www.ssseries.org/rtol.htm

And pictures by Jan: A slideshow of Jan's photos ...

And some other good pictures: SOME TOLIVA SHOALS PHOTOS

Reaching fast down Drayton Pass.
Our track for the day.

The Great Bronco Engine Transplant- The Part Has Arrived

2011-02-15T18:10:00.001-08:00

My transmission adapter kit has finally arrived! This has been on order since October, 2010 and I found out that it had been back ordered for two months before that. So, a six month lead time. And yes, I think they only build it after an order is placed.

So some of you who do not follow this blog much maybe wondering, "What is he talking about?". The story started last year and several blog entries chronicle the story. I became interested in changing the anemic old V6 engine in my 1984 Ford Bronco II with a small block ford V8 engine. I have owned the Bronco since it was new and it was always something that I wanted to do. Almost every young man wants to build a "hot rod" at some point in his life and this is probably as close as I will get. I also found out that this is a common modification and a lot of information and parts are available.

In Oct 2010, I found a low mileage older Ford with the required engine and transmission. I bought it, extracted the V8 engine and automatic transmission. I also started ordering the necessary parts for the conversion: radiator, engine mounts, headers, electric fan, shifter, gaskets to name a few and the most critical part, the transmission adapter. The adapter is needed to allow the automatic transmission to attach to the four wheel drive transfer case. The length was dependent on what transmission was originally installed in the Bronco II. I had the five speed manual transmission and that was the adapter that was not in stock at Advance Adapter.

Originally, my schedule was to have the Bronco back on the road by mid January 2011. Now I am not sure when I will be done. I can proceed with installing the adapter. This will require a complete disassembly of the transmission to change the output shaft.

I also have some more engine work to do. I cleaned and painted the engine. I have replaced the rear main seal and plan on replacing the timing gear, intake manifold gaskets and oil pump while I have it opened up. An acquaintance who used to be a certified Ford mechanic suggested some things like replacing the intake manifold gaskets. He had "tricks" to installing the gaskets so they wouldn't , but now won't tell me anymore or help me. So I can muddle along on my own.

I know one thing: I am not going to remove the Bronco engine until the new engine and transmission are ready for installation. I still drive it!

Dungeness Spit Hike 2-8-2011

2011-02-13T18:19:00.000-08:00

Last Tuesday hiked out Dungeness Spit to the lighthouse on the end of the spit. It was a nice day, a bit windy and cold in the morning, sunny by noon.

The lighthouse(built in 1857) is manned by volunteers who maintain it, provide tours and answer questions. They live there for a week at a time in the old lightkeepers residence.The hike to the lighthouse and return is about 11 miles. The volunteers get a ride out and back in a jeep.

It was cloudy, windy and cold when I started.
The tide was high when I started down the beach. I had to stay far up the beach in the loose sand. That made hiking harder.

Still a ways to go to the lighthouse.

Getting closer.

Almost there.

The lighthouse at the end of Dungeness Spit. The volunteers are there for a week and had the lighthouse open. I went up to the top where the light is. There are also rooms in the lighthouse with lots of displays of the history of the lighthouse.

I have arrived!

The sun came out on the way back. See the lighthouse waaaay out there?

Typical Afternoon Bicycle Ride

2011-02-13T16:32:00.000-08:00

Today we had a bit of a break in the weather after yesterdays storm, so I took the opportunity for a bicycle ride. After church and after working on the V8 engine, I took the road bike out for a typical ride out Illahee Rd, Ogle Rd, Military/Walker Roads, Central Valley to Scandia and return through Brownsville and Illahee Rd to home. This is a 21.76 mile ride and very hilly. The temperature got up to 52 and it only rained for a few minutes as I neared home.

Even though it is still cool out, a fast ride like I did today is exhilarating. I often go out even in freezing temperatures. Something good must be happening, my blood pressure and pulse are still low.

The distance: 21.76 miles.
The time on the bike: 1hr, 31minutes, 0 seconds.

Average speed: 14.3 miles/hour. This is low and I should be able to raise it eventually to at least 16 miles/hour. The hills on my route really cut into the average.

And my maximum speed on a short, steep downhill: 41.0 miles/hour.

Seattle Boat Show

2011-01-26T19:10:00.000-08:00

"The Boat Show! The Boat Show! The BIG Seattle Boat Show!...." That is the song that the media plays over and over again to advertise the Boat Show. I think it is the same song they have used for 40 years! Oh well.

Once again it was the time of the year to travel across the big water to the big city of Seattle to see what is new in boats and equipment. The show is at two locations in Seattle: the in the water show is at the South End of Lake Union and the rest of the boats and the other exhibits are at the Qwest Field Exhibition Center.

Even though the show did not open until 1100, I caught the 0845 ferry and arrived at Qwest Field a little before 1000 and caught the first shuttle bus to Lake Union. I intended to see the boats in the water when the show opened at 1100. But what I could see of the boats that were there, I determined that there really wasn't much that I wanted to see, so I caught the 1030 bus back to Qwest Field. I should have done my homework!

I arrived back at Qwest Field in plenty of time to be one of the first in the door. I walked around the boats and looked at one new 26 foot trailable performance boat, talked to a couple vendors who I know and viewed the new equipment that is available. So much is the same year after year and there seemed to be less participation from many of the companies this year.

One important item I wanted to do at the show, was to meet one of the vendors. He is someone that lives with his wife and two children on a sailboat that is currently in Mexico. They adopted the cruising lifestyle several years ago and have spent their time cruising the Mexican waters. I found them through their blog http://www.sailblogs.com/member/svthirdday/ He started a business with a partner building and marketing reverse osmosis desalination units. I don't see how he has the time to develop his equipment and travel to all the shows. He was a fun person to talk with!

One store had an exhibit and had a killer price on a VHF marine radiotelephone that I had been planning on buying this year. The price was about $100 off retail which was about $60 less then the price I can get through my account at another store. I wandered around some more and talked to the manufacturers rep. He ask what the store was selling the radio for. When I told him, he said "You need to buy it NOW, that is near cost". So before I left the show, I went back and bought the radio.

I was on the 1330 ferry home.

The sailboat section of the in the water boat show.

The small section of sailboats in the exhibition center.
And the power boats.

This is the radio that I bought. It is a Standard Horizon, Matrix AIS, GX2100. It has the standard VHF transceiver functions of marine radios. In addition it has two other functions: DSC(digital selective calling) and AIS(automatic identification system). The DSC is a system for more automated calling of another boat if you have their identification number(like a phone number) and one button automated distress calling. I am still learning these functions. AIS is a system that identifies vessels that may be around you and can help determine their course, speed and closest point of approach. A vessel with a AIS transceiver broadcasts on their VHF marine radio and until now, a boat receiving the signal had to have additional equipment to receive and process the signal. This radio I bought has the AIS receiver built in. This is a great benefit for boats like mine that have limited areas to install navigation equipment. And it is a lot cheaper to buy this radio than the specialized AIS components. This is the type of equipment that was worth waiting for. Lots of people installed AIS equipment when it started being available a few years ago and spent a lot of money.

I took the radio down to the boat to check the fit of where I was planning on installing it. The old VHF radio is smaller than the new one and I thought I was going to have to move some other instruments to make room for it. Fortunately it fit in the same area as the old radio. I connected the antenna cable and the power and turned it on. It has a lot more features than the old radio and already it seems to receive better. I still need to hook up the connections to the GPS(global positioning system). I also need to obtain a nine digit identification number and program it into the radio.

The Great Bronco Engine Transplant- Separating The Engine and Transmision

2011-01-24T12:56:00.000-08:00

Since I am still waiting for the critical transmission adapter piece, there has not been much going on with the engine transplant. Also, my back has been causing me a lot of pain for several weeks and I did not feel like doing much. My back has been feeling better lately, so today I did separate the engine and transmission. I bolted the engine to the engine stand. With the engine on the stand, it will be easier to do some work on the engine that I have planned. I wasn't originally planning on buying an engine stand, but Harbor Freight had a 25% off New Year's day sale, so the engine stand became a very cheap item to buy. This allowed me to fold up the legs on the engine hoist and park it out of the way and clear some additional floor space in the garage.

Without being able to work on the Bronco, I have also been spending some time on cleaning up the garage and clearing off my work area. I consolidated and stored a lot of my spare parts. Some things have not been unpacked since I moved four years ago. I ended up with several empty large plastic totes. I also bought plastic "shoebox" containers to organize small tools and other items. One of my main goals was to clear as much off the floor as possible and either find a locker to store it in or hang it from the ceiling or off the wall. I installed a hanger for the yard tools and put up hooks to hang the bicycle work stand, excess sailboat lines and extension cords. I was fairly successful and did clear up a lot of floorspace. I can actually see the top of the work bench now!

Duwamish Head Race 1-8-2011

2011-01-10T19:08:00.000-08:00

The Duwamish Head race is often advertised as the first sailboat race of the year in Puget Sound. That may be true, but it is the second of four races in the South Sound Series.

My beginning for this race started early Friday when I got underway from Brownsville at 0700. The delivery to the starting area of the race at Des Moines takes about three hours. I was concerned about the weather. It was suppose to blow hard, but the winds stayed mild. It did get cold and rained hard a few times.

The race started Saturday morning at about 1015. The early forecast for the day was for light winds and possibly rain and snow. We actually had some wind out of the southwest at about ten knots. We had a fair start and started the chase north to Alki PT. We stayed out from the shore and lost some to the boats that went inshore. At Alki Pt, the winds were somewhat westerly, so many boats sailed a "great circle" course far north before turning toward the rounding mark at Duwamish Head.

From Duwamish Head, it is a drag race across the sound to round Blakely Rocks. After rounding Blakely Rocks, the wind lightened. We stayed near the middle of the sound hoping for favorable current. The wind filled from the east. Those that stayed to the east shore got the wind first. We finished in the dark at about 1721. The committee had trouble seeing sail numbers, so they are still trying to sort out the finishing order.

We went into the marina, folded sails and cleaned up the boat. I was back underway by 1804 and had an easy motor home, arriving back to the marina at 2115.

The race went well, we had better weather than what was predicted and the crew did well. Thanks to Peg, Tom, Jim, Peter, Ron, Cindy, Kathleen and Michael.

Picture by Jan are found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/75869001@N00/sets/72157625664288151/

And results when they are figured out can be found here: http://www.ssseries.org/

Here we are in the middle of three boats rounding the Duwamish Head mark in front of downtown Seattle. A bit early to hear any cheering coming from the Seahawks game.

Ready to go before the race.
Not as many boast spent the night in Des Moines as we have seen in the past.

Our track for the day.

Seattle Progressive International Motorcycle Show

2010-12-12T15:47:00.000-08:00

Saturday I went to the Progressive International Motorcycle show at the Qwest Field Event Center in Seattle. Since I am retired, I really wanted to go during the week, but the show only ran Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday. My real reason for going was that I wanted to meet the Progressive Insurance spokesperson, "Flo". Unfortunately, she was not there. So instead I looked at motorcycles and "stuff".

I was a bit disappointed in the show. The layout was sloppy and only covered part of the main floor. Several large motorcycle companies were represented(Honda, HD, Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki, Ducati, etc), but the motorcycles I really wanted to see where the BMW's. They were not there. I was surprised at the size of the Ducati display. They offer a big line of mainly sport bikes and they had them all there.

Of course there were lots of vendor booths selling clothes, services, accessories, etc. The most aggressive vendors wanted to clean my glasses!

Several museums brought their collections of old motorcycles. It was fun to see some of the motorcycles that we rode in the early 70's when I was just starting to ride. There were a few custom bikes competing in a build off contest.

There was some presentations put on mainly by insurance companies. One demo was done by a small lady in the Harley Davidson section. She demonstrated how to right a motorcycle that had fallen over. She was demonstrating her procedure on a Sportster. Of course she had one caveat: " if you fall over with a large bike like an Ultra Glide, you should probably call road side assistance to get it righted".

The show was spread out on a portion of the main floor.
I am not much of a Harley fan, but I thought this was a nice look with very little chrome. I think they could have powder coated the wheels and gotten rid of all the chrome.

In this picture, there is no chrome showing. Scott, this one is for you.

This was a very unusual custom motorcycle. I wonder how it corners?

I know this one doesn't corner very good! This drag bike has no padding in the saddle. But who cares when it is only ridden for a few seconds at a time.

The Great Bronco Engine Transplant-Work Stoppage

2010-12-07T13:17:00.000-08:00

The work on the Bronco engine transplant has come to a halt. I have been waiting for a critical part. The date for shipping was suppose to be today, but when I checked the order status I found out that the shipping date has been moved to Feb, 2011!

I have virtually all but one of the parts I need for the Bronco engine transplant. The part I need is an adapter kit that modifies the Ford C4 transmission so that it will bolt up to the existing Bronco transfer case. A company named Advance Adapters makes the kit. I sent them an email a couple months ago and quizzed them about the availability of the kit. They never answered. So I found the Advance Adapters kit advertised at Summit Racing. And it was cheaper than the Advance Adapters factory price. I ordered in early Oct. First the shipping date was late October, then it was changed to today and now Feb, 15th.

I sent out more emails to other companies that sell the Advance Adapters kit to see if I could find one somewhere. Consensus is that the part has been back ordered for four months and delivery is still two months away. Advance Adapter did not answer my email.

So, I am in a work stoppage waiting for material. There is a small amount of engine work I can do on the V8 and if I get the larger differential soon I can start changing it out. But until I get the adapter, I cannot position the V8 in the Bronco. Until I position the engine, I cannot locate other equipment like the radiator, headers and oil filter. And until I get the adapter, I am not planning on taking the V6 engine out of the Bronco. After all, it is still a good daily driver.

If the kit from Advance Adapters is back ordered again, I have plan "B" to fall back on. The automatic version of the Bronco used a C5 transmission. It is the same as a C4 transmission except it has a lockup torque converter. If I can find a C5 transmission from a Bronco or Ranger, I can change the valve body and bell housing from the C4 and have a transmission that will fit the same as the C4 with adapter kit. I already have the C4 gasket kit and shift kit.

But for now, I think I will go clean up the garage and put away all the parts that I can't use right now. Like one friend said: "It is a marathon, not a sprint". But I was hoping to have the Bronco running by January.

The Advance Adapter kit. It contains a new output shaft and output housing.

Winter Vashon Island Race-South Sound Series #1

2010-12-06T18:24:00.000-08:00

Saturday December 4th was the Winter Vashon Island Race. This is a race from Tacoma Yacht Club at Pt Defiance around Vashon Island. The total distance is 30.7 nautical miles. This race is the first race of the four race South Sound Series. This race could also be considered the beginning of the 2011 racing season even though it is in 2010. All of the 2010 race series are over and all the year end championships have been sailed.

I started this event by leaving Brownsville at 0700 on Friday morning. One good thing about being retired is that I can get underway early and get a prime spot at the reciprocal moorage at Tacoma Yacht Club. I arrived at about 1045 and spent the rest of the day socializing and mooring boats as all the later arriving boats showed up. Tacoma Yacht Club sponsored a great pasta dinner in the evening.

Saturday morning was cool. The neat thing was that we had wind! That doesn't always happen at this race. The crew arrived, we rigged the boat and got underway.

At the start, the wind was gusting to 20 knots out of the north, so we chose the #3 jib with a full main. I was overly conservative at the start and was late for the gun. I wasn't the only one late, many boats in my class were just ahead. We started the beat up Colvos Pass. The wind was gusty to as high as 24knots. The beat was straight forward, but a few shifts and following favorable current flows allowed us to pass a few of the boats in our class.

Near the north end of Vashon Island, the waves got large to around four feet and very steep. The boat pounded heavily and lots of water came aboard. After rounding the mark, we started the run down the east side of Vashon Island. The wind was forward, so most boats did not set spinnakers. We still saw speeds to 9.5 knots. I waited until the wind lightened some before setting the spinnaker. Two boats in my class set their spinnakers early and passed us.

Rounding Pt Robinson, the wind came ahead and a straight course to the finish was a beam reach. The wind was still blowing 20 knots and at one point we saw 10.3knots. Since it was gusty and boat control was getting difficult, we took the spinnaker down halfway to the finish. Defiantly faster to be under control. A lot of other boats also took down their spinnakers.

We finished at about 1404, a very early finish time for this race! Our placing was not that great, we placed 7th out of 11 entries. One boat lost their mast did not finish. The wind blew strong all day and the sun was out. A lot of the country does not sail during the winter, we are fortunate that we can!

After cleaning up the boat and folding sails, I motored home, arriving at my moorage at Brownsville at 1908.

Total distance covered for Friday and Saturday: 87.3 NM

Results and photos can be found at: http://www.ssseries.org/

Prime mooring spot at Tacoma Yacht Club.
Here we are at the start near the back of the class.

Tom driving during the downwind leg.

Running toward Pt Robinson with the spinnaker up.

Our course for the day.

November Food Drive

2010-11-30T12:04:00.000-08:00

My church maintains a food bank all year, but a special food drive was held for November. It ended today so I drove 1014 pounds of food to the Bremerton Food Bank.

Jim and Dave after loading the truck.
The full load of food in the back of my truck.

First Snowstorm Of The Season

2010-11-24T18:27:00.000-08:00

The snow is going away, the roads are clearing off, the winds have abated and the power is back on. I guess I have survived the first snow storm of the season.

A lot of people laugh at us pacific northwest residents. We usually don't have much snow and people from other parts of the country arrive here thinking that our weather is nothing compared to what they are used to.

This storm did not deposit much snow, but other factors made it difficult for some. It all started on Sunday afternoon with a light dusting. No big deal, the deck was just barely coated. By Monday morning, there was 1/2 to 1 inch of snow on the ground. I drove down to the boat and when I arrived home, I left the truck on top of the driveway. Later that day, the snow started again and the temperature started dropping. Also, the wind started blowing quite hard out of the north. The news report were coming in that people around Puget Sound that were trying to get home were stuck in traffic and spending many hours on their commute. At 1715, the power went out at my house accompanied by the sounds of transformers blowing. Ironically, the houses just to the west and south of me did not lose their power. The many houses to the east of me lost their power.

I started the gas fireplace and located battery powered lights and radio. I had just started cooking dinner and since I have natural gas for cooking, it was no big deal. Same with hot water. It was actually quite comfortable through the night. But, I missed my computer, TV, microwave and I could not break the habit of trying to turn on lights when I entered a room. My main worry was the food in the refrigerator. I started moving food into the garage where it was colder than the refrigerator anyway. In 1990 when we had a similar storm and I was out of power for several days, the kitchen got so cold that I opened the refrigerator door and everything stayed colder than with it closed. In fact everything froze in the kitchen. That house had a fireplace in the living room. I closed it off with blankets to the kitchen and hall and that was where I lived until the power came back on.

By Tuesday morning, the temperature was down to 18 degrees. The news was reporting as many as 60,000 homes out of power in Kitsap County. The wind was still blowing hard and most of the meager snowfall was blown elsewhere. I drove down to the boat. The roads were really slick. With the snow blown away, the surface was mostly bare ice. There was a tree over the road and I had to backtrack a few miles. I checked on the boat and doubled up the mooring lines(something I should have done the day before) and then drove to Costco. Waaga Way was a mess when the road started up hill toward Ridgetop. Abandoned cars, trucks and even a school bus blocked off the shoulder and one lane. I later heard that some of the vehicles were stranded on Tuesday morning. I completed my errand at Costco and then went to McDonald's to get some breakfast for my parents who were also without power. McD's was a zoo. A lot of people without power had the same idea that I did.

My parents are dependent on electricity, so they have a harder time than I do. There water source is also a well, so no power, no water. At least they installed a gas fireplace after a brutal winter a few years ago.

I went home and then for a walk through Illahee Park to the waterfront and back. Even though it was cold and windy, the sun was out and it was really quite pleasant. I noticed the power crews working on the downed cables.

My power came on almost exactly 24 hours after it went out. My parents finally got their power back mid-day Wednesday. Things are fast returning to normal for some of us. Wednesday evening, the report is that 13000 are still without power, but should be restored by midnight. A lot of people had damage from the trees that were blown down. One friend in my church lost his home from a tree fall. The weather for Thanksgiving Day is suppose to moderate with rain coming for the weekend.

So now we will move on from this event and be surprised when it happens all over again!

Where Were You........?

2010-11-22T08:07:00.000-08:00

This time of the year the question comes up about where were you on Nov 22, 1963. That was the day that President John Kennedy was assasinated in Dallas, Texas.

I remember that day very well. I was at Chico Elementry school in 5 th grade. My teacher, Mr. Hopkins came into class and his words will always live with me. He said "I am going to tell you something and don't let anyone tell you differently, the President has been shot". Then later he came in and told us that the President was dead. The little boys joked about getting the shooter and a couple girls cried. We were allowed into the library where a TV was set up and news was being shown. I think we were sent home that afternoon..

The next several days our family was glued to the television during the subsequent murder of Lee Harvey Oswald and then the funeral. I remember my dad telling my sister and I to pay attention because someday we may be asked about it.

So, where were you this day in 1963?

Fowl Weather Race-A Race For Turkeys

2010-11-21T19:29:00.000-08:00

Saturday, I took the boat to Port Orchard for the annual Fowl Weather race. This is suppose to be a three race regatta and the prize is, well, a Turkey. I started this race for our club over 20 years ago. Around my family the joke is not to thaw out a turkey until we know the results of this race.

I was underway at 0730. The forecast was for 10-15 knots of wind from the north. It was also suppose to be cold and possibly some rain or SNOW!

I met the rest of the crew in Port Orchard. The first race was listed as the "F" course. This is about 5 Nm in length and goes around three permanent marks and one club buoy. I got a late start and trailed Dulcinea(J105) and Tantrum II(Schock 35). Things became strange when Tantrum II did not head for the first mark and sailed toward the second mark off Pt Herron. Then Dulcinea did not round the proper first mark(a radar target off Retsil) and rounded a different radar target a quarter of a mile north. We rounded the proper mark and caught Dulcinea and Tantrum II after rounding the mark off Pt Heron. We led the way to the finish. Since Dulcinea and Tantrum II did not complete the course, they were awarded DNF's (did not finish). Dulcinea does not sail in the Port Orchard area much, so was not sure which mark to use, even though the chart in the sailing instruction showed the proper one. Tantrum II was using last years sailing instruction. Should always check for the current sailing instruction!

The second race was a short beat followed by a long reach/run to the buoy near Gorst. The wind came up some and before the start, we changed to the Heavy No. 1 genoa. The race was a parade and we finished second behind Dulcinea.

For the third race, the committee became more aggressive with the course and set it as two laps of the "F" course. With a two hour time limit, we wondered if the smaller boats could finish in time. The winds were still in the 15 knot range, but puffy and shifty in direction. Near the Pt Heron mark, the wind got light and we got a good lead on the other boats, but after setting the spinnaker, we got caught in a dead area and Dulcinea sailed past us. On the last reach, the wind was off the beam and was gusting to 18 knots. We kept under control and hit a highest speed of 9.25 knots and maintained speeds greater than 8.5 knots for most of the run. Once again, Dulcinea finished first. Because of the scoring system used, Dulcinea was penalized heavily in the first race. We won overall by 2 points and took home the turkey.

It was a great day for racing. The sun was out all day and the wind was good, even though the direction and speed was variable. Thanks to the crew of Jim, Ron, Bionic Walter and Pete for the great crew work.

The trip home to Brownsville was epic. The wind built to 30 knots off Illahee and the waves were large. The boat pounded heavily and slowed way down. It was dark and started getting cold. I put on all my foul weather gear and even put on the goggles to keep the spray out of my eyes. I got to the marina at about 1700 and took two tries and some help from someone on the dock to get safely moored.

2011 Pacific Marine Expo

2010-11-18T14:54:00.000-08:00

I went back to the BIG city of Seattle today. The Pacific Marine Expo is at the Qwest Event Center for four days and I wanted to see what was new. The expo is a show for the commercial marine industry. The expo is primarily geared toward the workboat/commercial fishing fleets and is a show of electronics, engines, auxiliary equipment and services. I enjoy staying in touch with the latest info in the maritime industry.

I caught the 0845 ferry, walked to the center, registered and hit the main floor. There was lots to look at and I had some good discussions with some of the equipment vendors. Some of the booths had give away items and I loaded up!

After 1-1/2 hours, I saw all that I wanted to see and headed to the ferry with a stop at Ivars for a lunch of fish and chips. I caught the 1235 ferry home.

Famous Ivar's Fish Bar!
And the delicious fish and chips! I ate in the covered outside eating area where I could watch the action in Elliot Bay.

2011 Seattle Auto Show

2010-11-12T18:20:00.000-08:00

Today was a good day to make a journey to the BIG CITY, Seattle. The auto show was in town and like last year, I thought it would be fun to see what was new. The day was sunny and warm and the ferry ride to Seattle pleasant.

Like before, the Qwest Field exhibition hall floor was covered in shiny new vehicles. Some cars on rotating pedestals were being described by "beautiful people" even though nobody was listening. The display areas were carpeted in plush light colored carpet, so when I wanted to look under a car, it was nicer than in a garage on a concrete floor. Lots of eye candy with a lot of it in the category of "if you have to ask the price, you can't afford it"!

I looked at a lot of cars and a couple of things became apparent:

1. The manufacturers are getting a lot of power out of their engines.

2. Fuel economy for SUV's, trucks and larger cars is still not very good.

Fuel mileage of a lot of the SUV's is no better(and many times worse) than my 1984 Bronco. And the Bronco never got good mileage nor did it have a lot of power.

There was more electric cars and hybrids this year. I do think an electric car would be good for around town driving.

I was still drawn to the performance cars. The Mustang GT500 was awesome as was the Dodge Challenger R/T. The Audi TT was still cool. I was even impressed with the Cadillac CTS-V that was offered with a 6 speed manual transmission. With 556 HP, it is the fastest V8 production sedan in the world.

I only spent about 1-1/2 hours and caught the 3 PM ferry home. I did not go to Ivars, but picked up a muffin and mocha in the ferry terminal. I will be going back to Seattle for the Pacific Marine Expo next week and will have lunch at Ivars then.

Mercedes.

Cool Mercedes with the gull wing doors!

This is more my style! I really liked this Ford F150 SVT! Of course the GT500, Supercharged Mustang with the 6 speed manual tranny would be nice too.... Or maybe the Dodge Challenger R/T Hemi.....

At $340,000 it definitely fits in the category of "if you have to ask the price, you can't afford it"!

Same with this car! Very expensive!

The floor covered with highly polished cars. From soccer mom vans to high end sports cars! There was even a small section for motorcycles from Downtown Harley and RMC(Renton Motorsports Complex).

The Great Bronco Engine Transplant-Goodbye Ms. Granada

2010-11-08T19:30:00.000-08:00

Tonight, I finally sold the remains of Ms. Granada. I posted an add on Craigslist a week ago. The response was amazing. Several of the responders were in the business of buying hulks for scrap. This guy called me in the evening and after negotiating a price, he was at my house within an hour. Better than the guy that was going to call me last night and was suppose to be here today and then didn't show. I did not get much for the remains, but am happy that it did not cost me to get rid of her.

Ms Granada provided the essential parts needed to finish the Bronco transplant project and her hulk will provide more parts for someone else and ultimately scrap steel to be recycled into industry.

Ms. Granada loaded and ready to leave.
Away she goes!

Mom and Dad's 60th Anniversary

2010-11-06T18:12:00.000-07:00

Thursday was the 60th anniversary of my parents wedding. To celebrate, I drove them to Leavenworth, Washington. My sister and brother in law came up from Wenatchee and we had a great dinner at a Italian restaurant in town. Like most restaurants in Leavenworth, this restaurant offered an eclectic menu. Italian/Bavarian/Seafood dishes were served.

My parents and I spent an extra day in Leavenworth at the Bavarian Lodge that is located downtown. On Friday we drove into the country toward Plain and Lake Wenatchee. Plain is where their cabin was and we drove by it to see what changes the new owners had made. Later we went out to another Italian/Bavarian/Seafood/American restaurant and had another great meal.

The town was really pretty quiet with few people on the streets. It was easy to find places to eat with only a few customers. For those that don't know much about Leavenworth: It was a common small central Washington community that was supported by the apple industry. It had several cold storage and apple packing plants. As the business changed, some business leaders pushed for changing the theme of the town to represent a Bavarian village. The stores and buildings are all decorated in German motif. And the town is at the foot of the Cascade Mountains and could easily resemble a village in the Alps. Winter sports are big with cross country skiing being popular. An old ski jump area has also been reactivated. The changes to the town were successful and the main business is now tourism with many tourists driving over for events like Oktoberfest, tree lighting, etc.

Sister, Brother in Law, Father and Mother.
I really enjoyed the Eggplant Parmesan!

Downtown Leavenworth. Not many tourists.

Downtown Leavenworth again.

The Great Bronco Engine Transplant-Parts

2010-10-21T19:05:00.000-07:00

The Great Bronco Engine Transplant continues slowly. This week I received two shipments of parts. Just like opening packages at Christmas, it is exiting to rip open the boxes and see what is inside.

On Wednesday, I received the shifter, electric fan and controls, emblems and some miscellaneous stuff from Summit Racing. Today I received the headers from L And L Products. The fuel pump was also suppose to arrive in the L And L order, but it has been back ordered. Last week I received the radiator and remote oil filter kit from Advance adapters. This is all good stuff, but I cannot proceed much without the oil pan and transmission adapter from Summit Racing. These are not scheduled to arrive until early November. Oh well, I still have some small projects to take care of.

Everything fits easily within one box. The cat loves to jump into these boxes!

I really like the headers. They are electroless nickel plated and this right side one is routed above the starter. Some of the other manufacturer's headers had interference issues with the starter. Hopefully this one will clear the firewall when I install it.