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Fridays in February
At the Shilshole Clubhouse, the bar will open at 6:30PM, there will be appetizers and the talks will start promptly at 7:00PM. They will go until 9:00PM. The dates are and programs are described below.
February 6:
Sue and Jon Hacking, blue water cruisers
The Far Ocean - Indonesia to Africa
After so many years in the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean with their predictable Trade Winds, sailing in the Indian Ocean has brought new challenges. We learned to deal with the windless archipelago of Indonesia with its strong currents, the reversing monsoons of the north Indian Ocean and the massive currents of the Mozambique Channel. But what makes the Indian so special are Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist cultures and the ever changing landscapes from volcanoes to rainforest, limestone features to atolls, to some of the most pristine coral reefs in the world. We're looking forward to sharing some of our pictures and stories from this challenging, intriguing, and beautiful "far ocean".
Photo: Jon and Sue Hacking in Mozambique
February 13:
Bob Hale, editor/publisher of Waggoner Cruising Guide
Cheap Northwest Vacations
A look at some of the fascinating places to see on a cruise up the Inside Passage. The Publisher/Editor of The Waggoner Cruising Guide will begin his presentation in the San Juan Islands and ends at the abandoned cannery of Butedale, far up the northern B.C. coast. Along the way it introduces some of the interesting and resourceful people who live in the remote outposts, far from the conveniences of civilization. It also shows the stunning scenery of the Inside Passage, and some of the wildlife. Bob will also talk about Howe Sound and the Gulf Islands, destinations of the CYC Summer Cruise this August.
February 20:
Elsie Hulsizer, author of Voyages to Windward
Cruising the West Coast of Vancouver Island in the windward direction
Do you want to cruise the West Coast of Vancouver Island but don't have all summer to go around the island? Elsie Hulsizer, author of Voyages to Windward: Sailing Adventures on Vancouver Island's West Coast, and her husband Steve have taken 20 trips to this fascinating cruising ground, 17 via the windward route-- out the Strait of Juan de Fuca and up the coast. Her slide show and lecture on the West Coast of Vancouver Island presents its people, history, wildlife, scenery, and anchorages. Elsie Hulsizer will introduce you to a nearby cruising area too infrequently visited by northwest pleasure boaters.
February 27:
Rich Jablonski and Elaine Casher, Blue Water Cruisers
Cruising With Teenagers, Pets and Other Cultural Contraband
Rich and Elaine will review their cruising experiences of 2001 -2004 with their two teenage children and family pet in Mexico and across the Pacific Ocean. Their presentation will use photographs to illustrate their adventures in addition to talking about home schooling issues and international processes for traveling with domestic animals. They will also offer their experiences using the Dockwise Yacht Transit service from Brisbane, Australia to Vancouver, B.C.
Photo: Windarra crew plus a few.
April 11-12 - Pizza Cruise to Kingston
Join CYC for what has become a traditional annual event for cruisers and racers alike. We will meet in Kingston Marina at 1700 for appetizers and drinks and then go to Bella Luna for Pizza. Details for RSVP will follow. RSVP for planning and Pizza reservations to Bill Mains. See if you can get a reservation at the marina. Call (360) 297-3545. But they save half the moorage for non-reservation visitors, so if you can't reserve, arrive early.
Memorial Day cruise to Longbranch and Tacoma.
Saturday we will raft up in the Longbranch harbor for happy hour, aiming for about 5 PM. No plans to organize a potluck. In the evening many cruisers dinghy in to the dock to attend the dance held at the Longbranch Improvement Club's large hall, a very impressive building built in 1939. A shuttle service is provided to ferry people the half-mile north from the dock to the hall. $12 at the door gets you in to hear the nine-piece band and there will be a bar. It's a good anchorage and there is a designated dinghy tie-up area at the dock.
More info at longbranchimprovementclub.org.
We had announced plans to rendezvous for a Sunday overnight at Tacoma, but the two marinas near town (Foss and Dock Street) have no space. So we will meet at anchor in Gig Harbor as in the past. Gig is a good place for the energetic folks to have dinghy races, and there's plenty of space for dinghies at the Jerisich Park dock right in "downtown" Gig Harbor.
Saturday there is a large flood running from noon to 6 PM. Sunday a large ebb runs from 6 AM to noon. It's about 16 NM between Gig Harbor and Longbranch, so allowing for three hours of travel time the heavy-current portion each way should be easy.
If you plan to go, it's very important to let me know. You could either reply by e-mail or call my cell at 206-979-5705.
Bill Mains, Fleet Captain Cruise
This small bay has an entrance only five feet deep at dead low although the bay itself is an excellent protected anchorage with mostly 20' depth and hard mud bottom. When we'll be arriving late Saturday afternoon the tide will be high with plenty of depth at the entrance. Sunday a 3' minus tide occurs at 10 AM, but rapidly rises to plus 1.8 at noon and plus 4.8 at 1 PM.
We'll plan to get there about 5 PM Saturday and raft up and share hors d'oeuvres. No plans for a pot-luck at this point.
So what else is there? There is a public launching ramp with small dock for dogs to dinghy their owners in for a walk. About 30 rather interesting boats at anchor. That's it.
When approaching the entrance, be very careful about the somewhat confusing bouy marking the rocks about a 1/2 mile east of the entrance--not a real problem, just something to note.
July 3-5th - Poulsbo - Quartermaster
We plan to rendezvous in Liberty Bay at Poulsbo Friday July 3 around 6 PM for drinks and hors d'oeuvres. No plans for a potluck. There should be a lot of boats this year because the Elliott Bay show lost its sponsor (Ivar's) and is not going to happen.
Please fly your burgee so we can find each other.
There will be a strong flood tide running south through Agate Passage most of the day, with slack at about 5 PM. Then a weak ebb runs till about 9 PM.
Saturday we will raft up in Quartermaster Harbor at about 6 PM for that show. There's a good dock for dinghies and a fairly big marina to explore. On the way into Quartermaster on the east side is the Dockton County Park, which is a good place to tie up for an hour or two to check out the beach.
It's about a 40-mile run from Poulsbo to Quartermaster if you go down on the east side of Vashon. A strong adverse flood will be running through Rich passage from about 11 AM to about 5 PM. It's about a 33-mile run from Quartermaster back to Shilshole if you use Colvos Passage, which most people take because the current there is almost always running north.
It would be good to email me at mainsbill@yahoo.com if you know you're coming or think you're coming to one or both events, just so I'll know who to look for.
See you there!
Bill Mains, Fleet Captain Cruise
August 1-2th - Commodore - Gibson
This is a very casual race/cruise to Port Ludlow Saturday and back Sunday. It's a reverse start by handicap, so in theory all boats will finish simultaneously. This is another event with appeal for CYC racers and cruisers alike. Join us for this fun race starting at the Meadow Point Buoy and ending at Port Ludlow. Winners and others will receive fabulous prizes. We will stay at the Port Ludlow Marina. (Each yacht is responsible for making their own reservations for moorage in the marina. Contact Port Ludlow Marina at 360-437-0513.) Again this year we have successfully reserved the picnic area. We will meet at 1800 hours for potluck and barbeque at the Barbeque Pit, which is reserved for us. Bring something to grill and/or a salad, side dish or dessert.
Because the organizer, Bill Mains, needs to know each boat's handicap to calculate the time differences, please notify him at mainsbill@yahoo.com if you plan to come or may come. (CYC members only, please.) If you don't have a handicap, Bill will help negotiate one for you for this event. There will be a skipper's meeting at 9 AM Saturday at the clubhouse, with the first (slowest-rated) boat starting at 10. This meeting is important because you'll need to know when you should start, and a sheet with lots more info about the course will be handed out.
Schedule:
August 8-23 Canada cruise
Cancelled for lack of interest
September 5 - 7 - Labor Day Cruise
This year the Corinthian Yacht Club Labor Day weekend cruise will go to Bremerton and Gig Harbor.
Saturday September 5 we will be in the Bremerton Marina. Each boat should call 360-373-1035 to reserve a slip; there is a $5 non-refundable registration fee to charge to your credit card. Once registered they send an e-mail confirmation with a file that shows where all the slip numbers are located. On arrival there is an 800 number on the dock side of the gate with instructions that say the message at that number will tell you the gate code. That same number is posted on the office door ashore, but without mentioning that it obtains the gate code. Happy hour 5-6 on the biggest boat; no potluck planned.
That whole weekend in Bremerton is the annual Blackberry Festival along the city boardwalk very close by.
Sunday evening we will raft up at anchor in Gig Harbor in the vicinity of the public Jerisich Park dock, which is a good place to tie up dinghies to explore town. Happy hour will start sometime between 5 and 6 at the raft. Since some crews may prefer to eat in a restaurant ashore, no potluck is scheduled.
Distances from Shilshole and tides are as follows.
Seattle-Rich Passage-Bremerton 15 NM, big favorable flood Sat 2-6 PM
Seattle-Agate Passage-Bremerton 17.5 NM, big favorable flood Sat 1-5 PM
Brem-Colvos-Gig 21, big favorable ebb in Rich Passage Sun 9-12 AM
Brem-East Passage-Gig 28, probably much less adverse current than Colvos
Gig-Colvos-Seattle 23, usual small north current increased by ebb 9A-2P
Please let me know if you expect to participate in one or both legs of the cruise. mainsbill@yahoo.com, cell 206-979-5705
October 17-18 - Fog Cruise (rain?) to Bainbridge Island
Join the diehard cruisers for an overnight trip to Eagle Harbor on Bainbridge Island, also known as the ferry destination of Winslow. CYC has paid a fee to reserve 100 feet of space at the city dock, which is just west of the big ferry terminal. Rafting is permitted, so we can accomodate plenty of boats. Orange cones and signs on the dock will indicate the reserved part.
On arrival skippers need to go to the pay station at the head of the dock to fill out a moorage envelope and pay $.50/foot. There is a supermarket two blocks away. Happy hour will be at 5 PM abord the boat with the largest warm cabin. Dinner will be at a local restaurant to be determined.
This facility now provides use of shower stalls ashore included with the moorage fee, along with toilets which are locked at late hours. Door codes for the showers and toilets will be provided later.
It's important to notify Fleet Captain Cruise Bill Mains if you're planning to come or think you might come. He's at mainsbill@yahoo.com or cell 206-979-5705.
November 14-15 - Dinner Cruise
November 14-15 is the date of the annual Edmonds Dinner Cruise. If you come by boat you could call the marina at 425-775-4588 to reserve dock space, although at this time of year it's unlikely to be full. Of course it's also possible to show up in a virtual boat (your car). In the past only one or two boats have actually made the trip, but there have been lots of people who drive up. We will meet at Arnie's restaurant there at the marina at 6 PM for drinks and dinner.
December 31 - January 1st - New Year's Eve Cruise
Reviving a CYC tradition, we've arranged with the Port Madison Yacht Club to spend New Year's Eve at their reciprocal dock with the use of their clubhouse. This mooring space is on the southern side of their westmost float and that dock area is marked as reciprocal. Imagine getting to sail on a reach to your destination and on a reach back!
No public fireworks, no big-screen TV showing the ball dropping in Times Square, but excellent moorage and a cozy space on shore with wood-burning stove for heat and plenty of firewood and a fully-equipped kitchen. An good event for all ages and the price is right.
A few more facts about the cruise. The docks have only 15-amp power hookups which are free but should not be used for electric heaters. On New Year’s Eve we will have happy hour ashore at 5 PM and potluck dinner at 6. Potluck breakfast will be at 9 to 10 on New Year’s Day. People could bring some low-end fireworks if they want to.
The tide will be minus 3.4 feet at 10:30 PM. Any boat that can’t stay at the marked guest moorage over that low swing should anchor out and dinghy in to the dock for the evening (and maybe the morning) activities. There should be a full moon at about midnight (does this have something to do with the negative tide?). Their commodore tells me that half the boats in the moorage will be aground at low tide.
Port Madison YC is on the south end of Hidden Cove, directly south of red day marker “2” and there is a dangerous rock about 200 feet ESE of that marker. You should not need to go near that rock but be advised that it’s there for your use if you need to make an insurance claim.
It's very important to notify Bill Mains at mainsbill@yahoo.com or cell 206-979-5705 if you're planning to come.