Sailing?

[fifty5]

Anyone got a sail boat on any of the US Great lakes and wants crew?

I may be coming over to the States sometime this year to visit Texas, but I gather that sailing opportunities down there are like rocking horse shit - a bit thin on the ground.

Having crossed the Atlantic, travelling up north seems like a bagatelle, so just wondered if I could kill two birds with one stone...

(Not that I'm into cliches... )

 

[cloudy]

From what my brother has said, sailing is big up along the coasts of Oregon and Washington.

He crews on a racing sailboat.

 

[fifty5]

From what my brother has said, sailing is big up along the coasts of Oregon and Washington.

He crews on a racing sailboat.

"Oregon and Washington" ... talk about "eek"? If my barely inadequate US geography is anything like, that gives me a fair old spread of targets, Cloudy.

As far as racing goes, I suspect I'm past my 'sell by' date by a decade or three - it's cruising to which I aspire.

I used to own my own cruiser (a Trident 24, if anyone wants to google, a 40th birthday present), but crew was my problem - my wife, irrespective of her wishes, was just too prone to seasickness.

I did manage to sail across the sea to Ireland, with crew recruited by ads at the local Uni, but after that, lack of opportunity made me sell up.

I know the ropes (qualified to RYA "Offshore Skipper", but experience less than that), but now lack practice. I can take orders, but can also act on initiative without endangering the vessel.

Now involuntarily retired, I can fit your timetable...

Come on Skip - geeza job...

 

[Jenny_Jackson]

Yeah. Oregon and Washington. I've done the "FastPac" up through the islands off BC. Salied a lot in the San Juans. And sailed for years on the Columbia from Bonniville up to the mouth. Love that pervailing west-northwest wind we have here.

Learned to sail on "flatties" and "Optimists" then went to displacement hulls. Sailed and/or crewed on boats up to 42 feet. My own is a 25 footer I've owned since I was twenty. Sailed it as far south down the coast as Gold Beach and as far north as Victoria BC.

But, you're on the wrong side of the Mississippi, dude.

 

[LoquaciousLady]

I know nothing about sailing but I believe you're thinking of the wrong Washington. The intention is the one just north of Oregon, aka "Washington STATE" as opposed to the one on the other side of the country called "Washington, D.C."

 

[oggbashan]

I know nothing about sailing but I believe you're thinking of the wrong Washington. The intention is the one just north of Oregon, aka "Washington STATE" as opposed to the one on the other side of the country called "Washington, D.C."

But they're still a long way from the Great Lakes.

Og

 

[fifty5]

Yeah. Oregon and Washington. I've done the "FastPac" up through the islands off BC. Salied a lot in the San Juans. And sailed for years on the Columbia from Bonniville up to the mouth. Love that pervailing west-northwest wind we have here.

Learned to sail on "flatties" and "Optimists" then went to displacement hulls. Sailed and/or crewed on boats up to 42 feet. My own is a 25 footer I've owned since I was twenty. Sailed it as far south down the coast as Gold Beach and as far north as Victoria BC.

But, you're on the wrong side of the Mississippi, dude.

Shit, Jenny, right now I'm on the wrong side of the Atlantic! If I haul my ass from England, sure as hell I can haul it wherever in the US that there's some action.

My sailing virginity was taken by an Enterprise: very cheap; very old; very second hand; and probably the best value for money I've ever bought.

Since then, I've sailed in anything I had a chance, never a Laser or an Oppie, but from a Mirror up to a Normandy tunnyman. My worst temptation was a trawler that I came across in North Wales. The guy who owned her had spent 2 years converting her to a cruiser and was about to sail her down to Africa somewhere - and he wanted crew...

At the time, that didn't make sense. I had a proper job teaching in College - and he was planning to sail just before the next term started. Looked back at from here, prematurely retired from teaching, I sometimes wonder what life as a deck bum might have been like.

Right now I haven't had a sheet in my hand for several years - and the withdrawal symptoms are piling up!

I know nothing about sailing but I believe you're thinking of the wrong Washington. The intention is the one just north of Oregon, aka "Washington STATE" as opposed to the one on the other side of the country called "Washington, D.C."

Thanks for that. I was fairly sure there were two, but didn't know where to look for the other one.

Thank goodness for the AH, there's always a Lady to help me out of my innocence...

 

[LoquaciousLady]

But they're still a long way from the Great Lakes.

Og

And both are a long way from Texas.

Thanks for that. I was fairly sure there were two, but didn't know where to look for the other one.

Thank goodness for the AH, there's always a Lady to help me out of my innocence...

That's ok, luv, you've taught me plenty about your side of the pond.

 

[fifty5]

But they're still a long way from the Great Lakes.

Og

Hi there, big feller, how they hangin?

You're right, of course, but I'm not picky. The lakes was more of a starter - big water, but minimal tide issues was the attraction. And I must admit I'd like to see them - but if there's sailing on offer somewhere else...

 

[oggbashan]

Hi there, big feller, how they hangin?

You're right, of course, but I'm not picky. The lakes was more of a starter - big water, but minimal tide issues was the attraction. And I must admit I'd like to see them - but if there's sailing on offer somewhere else...

There are interesting storm patterns in the Great Lakes. I'm told they can be as scary as the Bay of Biscay or the Great Australian Bight. I've been in storms in the latter two but not the Great Lakes. If they are comparable I'd prefer to be in something like 40,000 tonnes or larger.

I used to like sailing but being cold and wet doesn't mix with my medical complaints.

Og

 

[fifty5]

There are interesting storm patterns in the Great Lakes. I'm told they can be as scary as the Bay of Biscay or the Great Australian Bight. I've been in storms in the latter two but not the Great Lakes. If they are comparable I'd prefer to be in something like 40,000 tonnes or larger.

I used to like sailing but being cold and wet doesn't mix with my medical complaints.

Og

The latter comes as no surprise - neither half.

As far as storms go, the worst I've been out in was only force 7, but the wind went round through 90 degrees, so there was one wave train on top of the other. There were 'lumps' of water on top of the real swell that were as big as my boat, and in the troughs, the waves were as high as my cross-trees!

What I found amazing - and very reassuring - was how much better the boat took it than I did. As I said, there were these mountains of water coming at me - and it felt as if they sank down under the hull. The fact that is was really the boat rising up was completely masked by random heaving and lurching (that was both the boat and my stomach).

I'd be glad to sit in port and watch through a bar window in the 'interesting' weather you are on about!

 

[R. Richard]

If yiou want to sail on the great lakes, first Google up "The Edmund Fitzgerald." Og gave an introduction to storms, now read about a BIG storm.

 

[trysail]

...the worst I've been out in was only force 7, but the wind went round through 90 degrees, so there was one wave train on top of the other. There were 'lumps' of water on top of the real swell that were as big as my boat, and in the troughs, the waves were as high as my cross-trees! ...there were these mountains of water coming at me - and it felt as if they sank down under the hull...

You really didn't think I wouldn't look in on a thread with a title like that, did you?

I'm still grinning at, "...only Force 7..." Ahh, written like a true Nor'seaman (or Irish Sea, as the case may be).


It's true that one becomes acclimated to conditions like that...,
however, a change of underwear is frequently required.

 

[DeeZire]

Considering that Texan Chris Cross wrote a hit song called 'Sailing', I googled 'sailing & texas', (between googling 'accidental & panties' and 'nip slips') and there appear to be many opportunities there - for sailing, as well as nip slips.

I have fond memories of sailing with an uncle in the San Francisco bay. I also managed to capsize a small sailboat in a lake in northern CA, with the help of a friend, who kept saying, "don't worry, you can't sink this thing". He was right, but boy, his mom was pissed.

Good luck with your adventure.

 

[dr_mabeuse]

I did a little sailing on Michigan. Superior is the killer lake, as bad as the ocean or worse because the squalls come up so fast. It's also the deepest, and cold. That's where the Fitzgerald went down, a huge ore freighter, she just broke in half like a stick during a November gale. A lot of ships on the bottom of Superior, the Gitchiegoomie of Longfellow's Hiawatha,

Michigan is a beauty, beautiful sailing. All that fresh water and clean sand bottoms. Huge sand dunes on the south and east sides. You want to contact the Chicago Yachting Association (I think that's their name). They're always looking for crews from what I understand.

 

[trysail]

I'm still grinning at, "...only Force 7..."

The Beaufort Scale:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaufort_Scale
(be sure to note the translations of knots into miles per hour, wave heights and the descriptions of various sea states)

 

[jomar]

My experience is small potatoes compared to you guys. I used to have a day sailer that I raced (Albacore - fast and jumped to plane quickly), spent some time on larger boats, windsurfed and all.

But this being lit, a quick story. I was at a Club Med and sailing a Laser around in the Caribbean. The waves were probably about five or six feet or so. I was scooting along having fun when I broke out of a trough at the same time as an unseen windsurfer. He startled me as he flashed by and I had to laugh. The dude was buck naked and had a huge grin on his face. It was an awesome vacation.

 

[oggbashan]

In the Great Australian Bight I was on a small liner in a Force 9 gusting 10. I do NOT want to repeat the experience. They don't call them the Roaring Forties lightly. The waves circle the Earth.

Sailing? My worst was a Force 8. That was not the time to discover that the ex-Admiralty 27 foot whaler had dry rot. Part of the gunnel was ripped off by the sea. We were over-crewed - just as well because two-thirds of the crew were constantly bailing. We ran for shelter with a third of the jib and the boom detached. If anyone pissed themselves with fright no one could have noticed.

Long before that I was seasick. The Royal Navy in Gibraltar had laid on a party for the Admiralty Officers' children. The highlight was to be a fast run on a Motor Torpedo Boat out through the Straits of Gibraltar into the Atlantic. The organisers obviously hadn't got experience of children. We had a party tea with sticky buns, jelly and ice-cream on a Battleship BEFORE the MTB ride. The MTB crew wanted to show their paces. We rounded Tarifa and they opened up all four engines - straight into a heavy swell at 35 knots. I leave the rest to your imagination...

Og

 

[fifty5]

You really didn't think I wouldn't look in on a thread with a title like that, did you?

Nice to see you, Trysail

I'm still grinning at, "...only Force 7..." Ahh, written like a true Nor'seaman (or Irish Sea, as the case may be).

The Irish sea. I'll admit that it did feel a bit like understatement, but remember it was in the context of Og's post about real storms. And Sumitra was a very strong sea boat.

It was the first time I'd been out of sight of the harbour - sailing from Bangor to Fleetwood - and with enough reefing for me to feel comfortable (yes that's another understatement - I did feed the fish uncounted times ) she wouldn't make anything at all against the wind; leeway took care of all the progress her heading might have suggested. That meant I could sail back and forth off Blackpool tower (and did - for hours) but couldn't make any port for which I had charts. After something over 24 hours, Sumitra was still perfectly happy, but I was getting 'tired', so we radioed the coast guard and a couple of hours later they sent out a lifeboat. With local knowledge, the chap they put aboard us shook out a reef and took us into the Ribble, south of Lytham. Once responsibility for the lives of my wife and young son had been taken on more experienced shoulders, I really enjoyed that part of the voyage!

It's true that one becomes acclimated to conditions like that...,
however, a change of underwear is frequently required.

I cant' think what you mean, sir...

 

[oggbashan]

I remember the Irish Sea for one unfortunate occurrence.

I was a civilian on a-better-remain-anonymous Royal Navy vessel returning from a courtesy visit to Dublin. The ship was fitted with depth charge rails. For some mysterious reason the racks were full of casks of genuine Dublin-brewed Guinness. (So were all the spare spaces that matelots can find on any ship)

The ship was of WWII vintage and had been action several times. It was of a class that was renowned for rolling on wet grass.

We rolled. We rocked. We pitched. We corkscrewed.

All the Guinness AND the depth charge rails (and the ship's boats but no one cared about them) were lost overboard. The Royal Navy replaced the depth charge rails and the boats. The Guinness was a total loss.

Og

 

[fifty5]

The Beaufort Scale:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaufort_Scale
(be sure to note the translations of knots into miles per hour, wave heights and the descriptions of various sea states)

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The wave heights shown there assume a constant wind direction. On that voyage the wind rose, then went round through 90 degrees, so one set of waves was rolling across the other, giving peaks-on-peaks about half as high again - getting on for 20 footers. I've said it before but I'll say it again, Sumitra rose effortlessly over them! They were awe inspiring as they towered over me, but the boat's behaviour soon stole their capacity to frighten.

What was somewhat humiliating was that there I was, fighting the tiller to keep my heading, then a lurch made me lose my grip. She steered herself better without my 'help'...

 

[trysail]

In the Great Australian Bight I was on a small liner in a Force 9 gusting 10. I do NOT want to repeat the experience. They don't call them the Roaring Forties lightly. The waves circle the Earth.

Sailing? My worst was a Force 8. That was not the time to discover that the ex-Admiralty 27 foot whaler had dry rot. Part of the gunnel was ripped off by the sea. We were over-crewed - just as well because two-thirds of the crew were constantly bailing. We ran for shelter with a third of the jib and the boom detached. If anyone pissed themselves with fright no one could have noticed.

Long before that I was seasick. The Royal Navy in Gibraltar had laid on a party for the Admiralty Officers' children. The highlight was to be a fast run on a Motor Torpedo Boat out through the Straits of Gibraltar into the Atlantic. The organisers obviously hadn't got experience of children. We had a party tea with sticky buns, jelly and ice-cream on a Battleship BEFORE the MTB ride. The MTB crew wanted to show their paces. We rounded Tarifa and they opened up all four engines - straight into a heavy swell at 35 knots. I leave the rest to your imagination...

Og

That's a hoot, Og! I suspect that an effort at staying upwind of the ankle-biters was well rewarded. Further, I suspect the outcome was illustrative of the phrase, "The deck was littered..."

 

[fifty5]

I used to have a day sailer that I raced (Albacore - fast and jumped to plane quickly)

Beautiful boats, jomar. There was one at the club I belonged to before I got the cruiser and I used to drool. I loved my old Enterprise, but I was still jealous.

 

[fifty5]

I did a little sailing on Michigan. Superior is the killer lake, as bad as the ocean or worse because the squalls come up so fast. It's also the deepest, and cold. That's where the Fitzgerald went down, a huge ore freighter, she just broke in half like a stick during a November gale. A lot of ships on the bottom of Superior, the Gitchiegoomie of Longfellow's Hiawatha,

Michigan is a beauty, beautiful sailing. All that fresh water and clean sand bottoms. Huge sand dunes on the south and east sides. You want to contact the Chicago Yachting Association (I think that's their name). They're always looking for crews from what I understand.

Thanks very much for that info, Doc. Once timing becomes definite, I'll chase them up.

 

[oggbashan]

I learned to sail in RN 14-foot dinghies in Portsmouth Harbour. That harbour dries out considerably and at the time was cluttered with the Reserve Fleet including an Aircraft Carrier and a large Monitor (HMS Roberts).

The Reserve Fleet obstructed the wind. The drying harbour and the variable tidal streams made sailing interesting. I was used as crew in strong winds because we could heel the dinghy further.

We only won one race with me as crew. On a tack we cut a corner across some drying mud. We had hauled the centreboard right up, unshipped the tiller from its pintles and were making considerable leeway which didn't matter because the deeper water was to leeward. The other competitors followed us but with their centreboards down. Six stuck until the tide rose again...

Og