High n' Dry

In the cold November sunshine, Chris and I made our way to Sandusky Harbor for likely the last trip of 2007. The time had come to haul my girl out for the season. The marina offered to haul the boat out themselves for $50, but I needed to grab some things off the boat before she went into storage. Besides, I had never seen the boat out of the water so I had to be there!

We moved the boat near to the lift to do our unloading. We removed all of the cushions, CG equipment, electronics and the battery. We also removed the boom and tucked it inside the cabin. In fact it and the anchor were the only things left inside. Soon it was time to motor over to the well. After I tied up the first thing they did was remove the mast. A boom arm came in and hooked in while 2 techs removed the deck hardware. Soon it was in the air and on its rack.



Wow! Look! Naked sailboat!

Now it was time for the fun part. The lift came back for the hull. They manuvered into position and hooked up the straps. With the throw of a lever and the revving of the diesel engine the hull was lifted in the water. Her blue bottompaint was brown with slime.



After she was clear of the well, over she went for a bath. In no time the bright blue of her antifouling paint was revealed. She is a beauty! Soon a tractor came over, pulling a trailer containing my cradle. They set her down and touched up the areas they had missed when the straps were in place. Soon she was on her way to her winter berth.

After they manuvered her into place among the others, Chris and I climbed back onboard to gather the last few items. The first to come down was her 85lb Tohatsu outboard, which proved to not be as bad as I thought. We also grabbed the fuel tank. We aslo grabbed a few of my winter projects: the aluminum tiller (which needed paint), a few cabinet doors in need of stain and varnish, and her two cockpit locker covers/seats. The wood covers were in poor shape. The starboard cover was the worst. I pulled it off its hinges with the same amount of force I'd use to pull a pizza out of an oven! They will both be replaced with new wood. I still have to decide it I'm going to go with stained-wood seats or if I will glass them in.


I locked up the companionway and made my way down the ladder (the boat sits up a good 9' in the air), dropped off my sails at service (they are due for a cleaning and stitching) and headed home. Now the question is, where the hell will all of this stuff go?!?!

Last Sail of the Seaon

You would think that cold weather would determine my last sailing weekend of the season. With temps in theupper 80's this weekend I won't be able to use that as an excuse. Unfortunately it's my busy work schedule that determines this is my final weekend. For this weekend, Chris decided to bring his Mariah up and dock next to me, which proved to be a good idea. In addition, my partner Aymie brought her family up for a day sail.

We arrived in Sandusky early Saturday morning. My marina was kind enough to allow Chris to dock next to me free of charge for the weekend (because I'm a member and it as so late in the season). After venturing to the public ramp to launch Chris' boat, Sarah and I drove back to the marina to meet him there. After getting him situated we headed out to grab some provisions. It was already in the low 80s at 11 am (remember, this is Sandusky in October). The flags were not moving. I immediately worried about Aymie and her family coming up. They were expecting a sail and there is NO WIND!!!! After we got back, I did notice some boats moving a bit out there and thought, "well if nothing else we'll fire up the Tohatsu and motor around a bit."

Aymie and her family arrived around 1pm, just as I was preparing the boat for departure. Her family got situated as I rigged the jib and fired up the outboard. Chris and Sarah decided it would be best if they drove around in their boat separately since we had a large crowd (I also think Chris was eager to get his first taste of the lake in his own boat). Once we were ready I slowly eased the 6500 lb beast out of its slip and headed out into the bay.

As we motored into open water I began to feel something. There was something else in the warm apparent wind: a hint of cold air. I eased off the throttle and the Columbia slowed to a stop. The slower I went the cooler the air became. It was wind, fresh off the lake! Cool, consistent wind! Not enough for my taste, but perfect for my somewhat green crew! We raised the sails, killed the motor and sure enough we were doing 4.4 knots in no time!

While at first I was bummed that Chris and Sarah wouldn't be joining us, I as thrilled after he took these shots:




I returned the favor and took several shots of his boat as well.

After a decent sail out into Lake Erie and past Cedar Point we decided to head back in (BTW when children are feeling restless and bored, give them the helm and watch it all go away). Chris was already in for the day (fuel is much more expensive for him). We quickly put the sails away and headed to Clinker's at Lyman Harbor (the old Lyman boat factory) for dinner. It was our first introduction to lake perch. Amazingly good!

The next day proved to be even hotter than the last. Highs in the 90s and winds less than 5 MPH. Since I was in no mood for a bake fest we decided it would be a good day for power boating. We hopped into Chris' Mariah and drove up to Put in Bay, which was nice because it's usually a 4 hour sail (vs a 1 hour boat ride). While many of my fellow sailors find it necessary to dismiss all powerboaters as not being real boaters, Chris is a skilled mariner and is considerate to sailors and otehr boaters. As a sailor I have to say that the best way to boat is to find a friend who has a powerboat. They get free boating aboard yours and gain a new appreciation for sailing, and you have a way of getting out on the water when the wind dies down (unless you like frying in the summer sun). So while there are powerboaters (and sailors for that matter) who can ruin a day on the water, remember that many of them share our same passion for the water.

Maiden Voyage & Exploring Sandusky Bay

On Thursday, August 23 I inhaled deeply and signed the papers which made me (along with my bank) the proud owner of a Columbia 26. Two days later I, along with my better half and my best friends, made the trek from Cincinnati to Sandusky to take our first sail as the owners.

DAY ONE
The weather forecast called for 15 knot winds, gusting to 20 (17-23 MPH) with a high temp of 75 and mostly cloudy with a 30% chance of showers. The temps were a relief to us having experienced temps in the uper 90s-low 100s in Cincinnati! We arrived at our marina and took inventory of CG equipment and to give me a chance to show off me girl! We took note of what we needed and headed off to West Marine in downtown Sandusky. With the conditions on the lake being similar to the ocean I decided to make the investment in a CO2 vest. Maybe I'd actually wear it!

After buying provisions at a local Krogers, we headed back to the marina to load up and head out. By this point the wind was definitely at the top-end of its forecasted numbers. The wind whistled through the rigging of nearby boats. I decided to only fly the main this day. Of the 4 passengers onboard, only one had any real boat handling experience, and with this being my first time handling a sailboat more that 16' in legnth I decided to try and sail conservatively. With everyone onboard we began the nail-biting task of manuevering 6500 lbs of boat out of its slip and into the bay. After a brief but harmless encounter with the rock wall behind my slip (better that than my neighbor's boat) we motored out into Sandusky Bay.

Once safetly outside the walls we raised sail and explored the bay. Everyone was excited to seeCedar Point's coasters.What thrilled them more was the 15 degree heel we developed! Two of my party had never been sailing before, and this coupled with the experience of moving through the water with no motor noise was a real treat for them! And for me, being able to live my dream of taking my best friends sailing on my own boat put a smile on my face. Sailing is an amazing experience, but even better when you share it!

Unfortunately, poor Sarah wasn't used to the rolling and pitching associated with coastal sailing (her experiences prior were limited to river trips with Chris) and she got queasy. When I looked aft I saw a meanacing band of rain on the horizon and decided it was time to head back. We dropped sail and fired up the outboard to try and give Sarah a smoother ride. As the rain approached, Kirsten and Sarah ducked in the cabin while the guys waited on deck. It nailed us as soon as we made the turn into the harbor. Fortunately it stopped once we docked (again, a bit of an experience).

After we put the sails away we headed out for dinner to Famous Dave's, which hit the spot after a day's sail. We then had everone back to the boat for wine and music. Ahh.. perfect end to a (n almost) perfect day! Around 2300 we said goodbye to our friends and crawed inside the V-berth for a good night's sleep.


DAY TWO
Day two brought sunny skies and warmer weather. The winds had subsided slightly to around 12-15. The gang had stayed in a nearby hotel and arrived at the marina at 1000. With my first sail out of the way I now felt confident to raise the jib (I was relieved because the Columbia's helm becomes very weather-heavy with main only). With a bit of a smoother experience manuevering from the dock we headed out once again into Sandusky Bay.

Once we raised sail Chris broke out his GPS system to track our speed (the knotmeter wasn't functioning). With winds flying in from the lake we had no problem reaching speeds of 5-6 MPH (very impressive for this monster). My crew was also feeling more confident in the warm sun so we winched in held on to see if we could push her even more. With winds at around 15 MPH, we reached 7 (I know that this should be in knots, but Chris forgot to change the speed setting) and had a respectable 15-20 degree heel. Soon after we let out our sails a bit and had a relaxing sail around the bay. Sarah, who didn't learn her lesson the day before, apparently didn't take any motion-sickness medication and once again felt queasy. With the time reaching 2:30 (and our guests facing a 3.5 hour drive in order to get back to their dogs) we headed back in.

After they left, Kirsten and I locked up and took the ferry to Put-In-Bay for some lobster bisque and beers. There's nothing like eating amazingly good seafood and washing back with some suds while overlooking the water! After walking around a bit more we headed back to Saundsky Harbor. With a good meal in our bellies we settled into the cabin and fell asleep.

Hoping for more to come!

Welcome to my new harbor!

Greetings all and welcome to JoeFish's new blogsite!

For those of you who followed our (mis)adventures with the Lockley Surprise, this blog begins a new chapter in my sailing travels.

I sold the Lockley earlier this month in order to buy my "new" boat, a 1972 Columbia 26 MKII. My plan has always been to upgrade from the Lockley to a small cruiser, somewhere in the 22-24' range. I would keep it at either Brookville Lake in Indiana or Rocky Fork in Ohio. I also planned to take it up to Lake Erie for extended weekends. I had known that sailing in the great lakes was VERY different from the inland lakes I was used to. The winds are a lot more reliable, there are destinations like Put-In-Bay that we could sail to and stay the night. But, storms on the lakes tend to come out of nowhere, and like the ocean there are places where you can not see land. A far cry from Cowan lake!

I had settled on either a Hunter 23.5 or 24, but decided I'd wait until next season before I made the leap. However, in July my boating buddy Chris told me that a coworker of his asked if he knew anyone looking to buy a sailboat. He had a Columbia 26 harbored in Sandusky Bar Harbor Marina, and planned on upgrading. No trailer, but had a storage cradle. A strong boat for a big lake!

I began mulling over the idea of making Sandusky Bay and Lake Erie my home waters (a good 3.5 hour drive). I decided that by making Erie my home waters, I'd get better sailing experiences and a vacation destination to boot! The drive time seemed long, but when I took into account the time spent on the Surprise (.5 hour drive to the storage lot + 1 hour drive to Cowan + .5 hour prep and set-up) the added trave time suddenly seemed insignificant. I'd also have the luxury of having a bigger boat without having to swap the Audi for a tow vehicle, and with the price being less than half of the Hunter, how could I argue?!? So after a test sail, some dealmaking and lots of questions, I signed the papers and took posession this past week!

We just returned from our first sail as the new owners so I will be posting a full report later this week. See you soon!

Capt' JoeFish