PYXIS

Ships Log 1999 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

End

1/4/99
On the hard, frozen in.

5/4/99
LAUNCH DAY 1999
Launched boat at 1230
Motored over to C dock right at the bridge from shore. D dock is not available because they are dredging. Stepped the mast.

5/8/99 (1)
First sail of the '99 season.
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind WSW 12-16 knots , waves 1-2', visibility 10 mi, temp 50-55, light rain.
Main, WJ
1700-1830
With David Proctor. Motored our to river and set mainsail. Motor sailed down almost to Coast Guard station and raised jib. Shut off the motor about half way across the harbor. We sailed out the entrance and off to the north on a close reach. I knocked my favorite hat overboard so we practiced some quick tacks to recover it. We hardened up on the wind headed out about 1/2 mile making about 6 knots. We tacked and headed back towards the lighthouse. We tacked again, headed out a bit then fell off to a beam reach and sailed in the entrance. We headed up to the river and beat all the way to the basin in the fluky river wind. We dropped the sails in the basin and motored back to our temporary spot on C dock. The knotmeter read 5.9 on port and 6.1 on starboard, which may have been a real difference in speed. It would have been more like 5.7 and 6.3 in the old impeller location.

5/9/99 (2)
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind WSW 6-10 knots , waves 1-2', visibility 20+ mi, temp 55-60.
Main
1600-1815
Motored out and down the river to the harbor. Set the main, shut the motor down and headed off on a broad run to broad reach to the east making 2.5-3 knots. At the condos we jibed and headed north on the wind making 3-3.5 knots. We beat back to the west end of the harbor in 3 tacks. We sailed up the river to the basin making 1.5-2.5 knots. In the basin we dropped the main and motored back to the temporary spot on C dock.

5/16/99 (3)
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind SSW 6-10 knots , waves 1-2', visibility 20+ mi, temp 55-60.
Main, WJ
1600-1815
With David Proctor and 2 students. Went out and did a class on basic sailing. Motored down the river and sailed about in the harbor under main then motored in. Dave took them out again for a trip around the breakwall with main and working jib. In the afternoon we went out again with 3 instructors to give them some time on the P26. We went out the main entrance and practiced the sail points drill and man overboard drills. Observed an inversion on the lake. Very weird looking horizon with ships going by with a mirror image floating above them.

5/17/99 (4)
Fairport, OH to Lorain, OH - 44 NMI.
Wind SSW 8-14 knots building to 15-18 , waves 1-2', visibility 10 mi, temp 65-75.
Main, 130, WJ
0815-1630
Added 6 Gallons of fuel.
Sailed boat to Lorain with two crew from Great Lakes Sailing Academy - Mike and John. We left the dock at 0815, raised the main in the harbor and were out the main entrance by 0830. We fell off and raised the jib in the lee of the main and headed off on a course past the Eastlake power plant then about 240 to leave room to fall off to Lorain. We were close hauled making about 5.4-5.7 knots. We passed Mentor harbor at about 0920, Eastlake at about 1000 and Euclid at about 1100. At 1200 we were about 5 miles North of the east side of Cleveland and fell off about 15 degrees to a close reach. We picked up speed and made 5.8-6.3 knots. At about 1430 the wind had filled in to the point that we decided to change down to the working jib. We were about 25 minutes from Avon point and after we came past it we started to motor sail. We were headed a bit and dropped the jib. We motor sailed the rest of the way at 6-6.4 knots. We arrived at the dock in Lorain at 1630 and secured the boat for the storms that were moving in. Average speed for the trip was about 5.6 knots.

5/23/99 (5)
Daysailing from Lorain, OH - ASA instructor training
Wind N 0-5 knots, waves 1-2', visibility 15 mi, temp 65-75.
Main, WJ, 130
1000-1230
6 POB. Took out ASA instructor candidates and ASA instructor trainer for on water session of ASA instructor training. We motored out to the basin in Lorain and set the main and working jib then motor sailed in very light wind out the west of the entrance. The instructors practice lessons on each other for a headsail change, tacking, MOB and reefing. We had very little wind at first but got up to about 5 knots with a reef and the 130 on the way back in. Dave Proctor took out some sailing students for basic keelboat instruction earlier. They broke the inboard block on the port side, cracked the gooseneck and bent the traveler car so it pulled off the track (probably in an accidental jibe).

5/23/99 (6)
Daysailing from Lorain, OH - ASA instructor training
Wind E 5-8 knots, waves 1-2', visibility 4-10 mi, temp 60-65.
Main, WJ
1430-1930
6 POB. Took out ASA instructor candidates and ASA instructor trainer for more on water session of ASA instructor training. We motored out to meet Jessica (33 foot sloop) at the river entrance. They were not there and we could not raise them on the radio. We headed up the river and made the 1500 bridge. We found Jessica at her dock with motor trouble. We prepared to tow them out. I set up a bridal on the stern with a dock line lead from the sheet cleats around the winch drums on each side. To this we connected the tow line with a large loop bowline. Jessica was walked out of her slip and we took up the tow and headed for the 1530 bridge (4 POB). We had about 6 minutes and 1/4 mile so I headed for the bridge at about 1 - 1.5 knots. We made the bridge just right and headed for the lake at about 2-3 knots. We towed Jessica to a point about 1/4 mile west of the harbor entrance and released one side of the bridal to let the tow line drop free. Jessica anchored and we motored alongside to transfer people and gear. We took on one more person and headed in to fetch Antaries (the other training boat) since they also had motor trouble. We were on the dock at about 1620. Antaries skipper said he was not taking the boat out so we took the rest of the students and headed back to Jessica. We got back to Jessica at about 1700, came along side and transferred all but two people to Jessica. The two on board ran a series of solo training drills for the ASA testing. They cam back and switched off with two more for more testing. The wind shifted 180 degrees and went very light. Weather was approaching from the west and occasional thunder was heard. At about 1900 the last training drill was called off so we could head back in. Pyxis came along side and I went back on board. We rigged for along-side tow to go and retrieve the anchor and float that had been set for the exercised. Wind and rain came in making visibility difficult. We found the float and anchor and it was retrieved on Jessica. Once it was secure we broke the alongside tow and rigged for tow with the line (5 POB). The bridal was set and we backed away from Jessica because the wind and wave conditions (14-18, 2-4 foot) made rig contact a danger. I brought the boat around to forward and had a bit of trouble when the rudder swung around on me as I was turning. I got it back under control and we got the tow underway. We headed in at 3 knots and once inside the harbor increased to 3.5-4. There was a big lightning strike about 1/4 mile to the east and Ted felt a small jolt in the backstay just ahead of the strike. We motored into the marina and slowed to under 2 knots. Jessica coasted up on us a bit and I had Ted match our speed with them. We prepared to use the tow line to slow them but the coasted down well and made it on to the dock without too much trouble. We nudged their stern in a bit after it swung out by backing to their starboard 1/4 and fending with legs. We dropped the tow line and motored in the our slip and secured the boat at about 1930.

5/28/99 (7)
Lorain, OH to Fairport, OH
Wind W-WSW 0-6 knots, waves <2', visibility 15 mi, temp 75-80.
Main, Spinnaker
0920-1920
With Chris Duer. Forecast had called for west winds 10-20 knots. Left Lorain with very little wind - 0-2 knots - and motor sailed east with the main at about 5.5 knots. At about 1200 we hoisted the spinnaker on port tack and shut the motor down. After we got out of a hole we were sailing at about 3-4 knots for about 1.5 hours then the wind died. We were off Euclid at about 1430 and the primary 6 gallon fuel tank ran dry and we switched to the 3 gallon backup. I called Louise on the Maxon Walkie talkies from about 5 miles, a bit later she was at the end of the street and we talked on the Motorola FRS radios from about 4 miles (line of sight). We considered stopping in Chagrin to top off with fuel. At about 1530 we raised the spinnaker and shut the motor off. We made 2.5-4 knots until we were about 7 miles from Fairport and started motoring with the spinnaker. When the spinnaker was drawing it gave us an extra 1/2 knot of speed getting us to about 4.9 knots. We were going a bit slower then usual motoring to conserve fuel. We reached the lighthouse at about 1900 and were on the dock at 1920. Average speed was about 4.5 knots, lots of motoring.

6/18/99 (8)
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind N 0-3 knots , waves <2', visibility 20+ mi, temp 60-65.
Main
1830-2020
First sail with Alexander on board (5 weeks old). Also with mom. Motored out and down the river to the harbor. Motored to the east past the GRSC dingy race course, shut the motor down and set the main. We sailed and drifted about with very little wind for about an hour. Then I dropped the main, started the motor and headed back to the river and up to the dock.

6/21/99 (9)
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind NE 4-7 knots , waves <2', visibility 12 mi, temp 65-70.
Main, WJ
1830-2040
Second time out with Alexander. First time actually sailing. We motored out the main entrance, raised the sails and headed off to the NW on a close reach at about 3 knots. We sailed out and back twice and headed back in. We motored up the river dropping the jib in the river and the main in the basin.

6/30/99 (10)
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind NNE 11-15 knots , waves 2-3', visibility 20 mi, temp 65-70.
Main, WJ
1920-2030
Third time out with Alexander, first time with any real wave action. We motored down the river and off to the east behind the break wall staying out of the way of the racers. We raised the main and motor sailed north towards the wall and shut the motor down. We tacked a few times and managed 2-3 knots. We raised the jib and speed picked up to 5-5.5 knots. We headed off on a close hauled course to the east past the finish line of the race course. The boat was balanced perfectly with finger tip control of the tiller. Once past the line we hove to. The boat hove to beautifully with a nice motion and very little leeway. We stayed hove to for a few minutes then tacked the head sail and immediately accelerated off on a close reach heading back for the entrance. We fell off to a broad reach then jibed to head up the river. We sailed up past the salt dock, started the motor, dropped the sails in the lulls and headed back to the dock. For this trip I tied the car seat base unit to the dinette table. Then we dropped the car seat into the base. In this position Alex could see us in the cockpit and we could see him. He seemed to like the ride and didn't mind the motion at all. On the way up the river we put him in his life jacket and brought him up to the cockpit for a bit.

7/8/99 (11)
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind SSE 2-7 knots , waves <2', visibility 20 mi, temp 65-75.
170
1900-2130
With Tim, Deb and Cindy Gooden (Alex and Louise too). We motored out the harbor entrance and off to the NE for about 1/4 mile. I raised the 170 flying it free, no hanks or luff tape. It set pretty well. We drifted about for about 20 minutes before the wind filled in. We got enough to move at 2-3 knots. We headed off to the east about 2 miles from the light house then turned back. We were close reaching back at 3-4 knots. We made the entrance and got lifted a bit and sailed towards the Coast Guard beach then tacked and crossed the channel. We went head to wind and dropped the 170. I let it fill back onto the mast and spreaders and that made it easy to contain as I brought it down. The sail set pretty well flying free and moved the boat nicely. We motored back up the river and to the dock.

7/10/99 (12)
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind NNE 15-20 knots , waves 2-4', visibility 20 mi, temp 65-70.
Main
1940-2100
Motored down the river and set main at Coast Guard Station. There were 2-3 foot rollers coming up the river. We headed off to the east behind the breakwall on a reach making 4-5 knots under the full main. We reached back and forth 4 times like this (best speed 5.5 on close reach) then headed back up the river. We were running dead down going up the river at 5 knots past the CG station. By the time we reached the turning basin we were making about 3 knots. I headed into the basin, went head to wind, dropped the main and drifted for a few minutes. We drifted at about .25 knots. I started the motor and headed back to the dock.

7/12/99 (13)
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind ENE 10-15 knots, waves 2-4', visibility 20 mi, temp 70-75.
Main
1900-2030
With Chuck Duer. We motored down the river and raised the main at the Coast Guard station. We headed to the NNE close hauled, then tacked towards the condos to the east. We beat across the harbor then ran back to the river. Heading up wind we made 2-3 knots. Off the wind we made 4-5 (broad run). We would probably of made hull speed with the working jib. We came about and went west again then ran back to the river. The wind was diminishing. We jibed and sailed up the river. The wind direction would put us head to wind in the slip so we sailed in.

7/14/99 (14)
Racing from Fairport, OH.
Wind ENE 2-6 knots, waves <2', visibility 8 mi, temp 75-80.
Main, 150
1800-2130
With Chuck and Nathan Duer. Race was S start, course A2, A-G-F-S. We were about 2 minutes late to the start. We made about 3.5 knots on port and 4 on starboard on the way to the first mark. We did not point as well as the other boats and lost time (5 min behind Natures Way). Course to the second mark was dead down wind and we made about 1.5 knots wing-in-wing. We headed from there to E mark by mistake because I miss-read the course card. We Were about 300 yards from the correct mark when I figured it out and we went back to go around. We finished about 8 minutes behind Natures Way. I think we would have been right with them had we not made the course error. After the race we sailed on a beam reach for the east end of the wall then motored to the river and up to the dock dropping the sails on the way.

7/21/99 (15)
Racing from Fairport, OH.
Wind E 8-14 knots, waves 2-4', visibility 8 mi, temp 75-80, some rain.
Main, 130
1800-2130
First race with Alex - He stayed below in his car seat strapped to the dinette table. Race was S start, course B2, B-H-G-S. We raised the main at the dock and motored out to S mark, mostly head to wind. We were last across the line with Silmiril (P30). Everyone was pointing higher then us and we lost a lot on the first leg. I was doing everything myself and wasn't sheeting the headsail very well. We were 4-5 minutes behind at the fist mark, the other boats were all pretty close together. I think we gained a bit on the second and third legs and held on well on the last. Had we been pointing well on the first and been better at the start we might have done better. The bottom is also a mess, it hasn't been cleaned all season.

Fuel Consumption Info
I was running off the 3 gallon backup tank and right after leaving the dock it ran out. It has a reserve which you access by tilting the tank and shifting the fuel over the barrier in the bottom of the tank. I shifted the fuel from the reserve and continued on it to see how far it would go. The reserve space is a bit larger then the pickup space so I did the transfer again in the harbor. The fuel finally ran out about 1/4 mile from the main entrance. That's about 1.5 miles. We went about 4 knots down the river then full throttle the last 3/4 mile at about 5.5 knots. So at 4 knots we could probably make it 3 miles on the reserve at 4 knots. That's about 45 minutes.

7/27/99 (16)
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind WNW 10-14 knots shifting to WSW 5-10 knots, waves 1-3', visibility 8 mi, temp 75-80, full moon.
Main, 130, asym spin
1915-2245
With David and Kara Milner. We motored down the river raising the main on the way and motor sailed to the NW for about 10 minutes while I prepped the asymmetric spinnaker for it's first flying. We turned to a broad reach to the NE and I raised the spin. We jibed accidentally and the spinnaker went through the fortriangle and wrapped on the headstay. I tried to unwrap it but couldn't so we jibed again and I got it free on the port tack. It set nicely and we headed off to the NE on a reach making 5.5-6 knots. We jibed and headed SE on a reach to close reach. The asym spin was easy to jibe and trim. We went for about 15 minutes and dropped the spinnaker. I let the halyard go to early and the top half of the spinnaker got wet, but not too bad. We raised the 130 and headed back to the main entrance close hauled making 4-4.5 knots. The wind had backed form 10-14 to 5-10 and shifted to the SW. When we approached the harbor entrance the freighter Wolverine was coming in and we waited for them to pass. We sailed up to the entrance, started the motor and motored to the river dropping the jib on the way. Once in the river I dropped the main. The Wolverine was tying up just up river from the salt dock and we left it to starboard as we passed. There were lots of eddies in the river around the ship that had effect on our steering. We felt the first one 500 feet from the stern of the ship. We were back on the dock at 2245.

8/1/99 (17)
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind NNW 15-25 knots, waves 1-3'(behind wall), visibility 20+ mi, temp 75-80.
Main
1900-2030
We motored down the river past the freighters Adam E. Cornelius and Calcite II and set the full main at the end of the river. We shut the motor off and reached across the harbor at 4-5 knots. We tacked and reached back. I had set the jib up but we decided not to fly it. The wind was blowing around 20 knots and we had plenty of power from the main. Off the wind we mad 5-5.5 knots, beam reaching we made 4.5-5. We went back and forth a few times, hove to once and headed up the river running almost dead down wind making 4-5 knots all the way to the basin. When we approached the Adam E. Cornelius I turned back and beat down the river to approach again with my camera ready for a photo. We proceeded to the basin, started the motor, dropped the main and headed for the dock. We were getting plenty of power from the wind to go 2.5 knots entering the channel. I gave a blast of reverse to slow us to under 2. When we were about 3 slips away we got into a wind shadow and had a nice controlled docking. I did have to give a blast of forward as we came into our slip to maintain steerage and get us right beside the dock. We had a very nice ride and Alex seemed quite happy for much of it, never sad. He spent most of it in his car seat strapped to the dinette table.

8/2/99 (18)
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind NNW 12-20 knots, waves 2-4', visibility 20+ mi, temp 70-75.
Main, 130
1920-2120
With Chuck Duer. We motored down the river and set the main and 130 in the harbor. We shut the motor down and sailed off to the NE on a reach making 5.5 knots. We went out about 2.5 miles, tacked and headed back to the entrance on a very close reach at 4.5-5. As we closed on the entrance we were lifted and fell of to a close reach making 5.5 knots. We sailed about halfway up the river in occasional lulls. We dropped the main in one of them and carried the 130 to the turning basin. We dropped the 130 in the basin and motored to the dock. The dredge was parked in our channel but was not in our way. Before leaving the dock I cleaned the bottom with my floating bottom brush for the first time this season. It was pretty messy and probably needs a more thorough cleaning from the water.

8/3/99 (19)
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind WNW 2-6 knots, waves <2', visibility 25+ mi, temp 70-75.
Main, Drifter, Asym Spin
1900-2140
Motored all the way out the main entrance and off to the NNE about 1/4 mile. I raised a drifter I had borrowed to try it out. It is a very light material and flies free (no luff attachment). It measures out at about a 130. The wind was very light, 2-3 knots. We managed 1-1.5 knots with the drifter and no main. The sail was in pretty poor shape but I wanted to see how it flew. I suspect we would have gone faster with the 170 or the 130. I dropped it after about 10 minutes and raised the asymmetric spinnaker (still no main). In the same wind we now made about 2 knots reaching. The wind came and went and was never higher then about 3 knots. When it did blow I made 1.7-2.3 knots and was able to make about 70 degrees apparent wind angle. I raised the main and the speed went up to 2.5-2.7 and I was able to head up to about 55 deg apparent. After another 10 minutes or so the wind filled in to 4-6 knots and we were making 3.5-4.5 knots at 45-50 deg apparent. We carried that out for about 30 minutes then jibed to head back in. We fell of to jibe and while broad reaching made 5.5 knots in about 5-6 knots of wind. The lazy sheet got hung up on a bow chock and I had to go forward to clear it but other then that jibing the asym is very easy. After jibing I headed up as close as the sail could manage making 3.5-4 knots at 45 deg apparent. I set the self steering bungie and the boat held course very well. I think we would have gone faster and certainly pointed higher with the 150 genoa. But off the wind there is no comparison. We made 4-5 knots in conditions where we would be happy to see 1.5-2 with the big genoa. We were headed a bit as we got close to the harbor entrance so I fell off to a broad reach to drop the asym. We made 5-5.5 broad reaching with somewhat sloppy trim. I sheeted the asym in and let the main out to blanket it. The tiller was tied off and I went forward to drop the asym. There was still a bit of air in the sail. I released the tack, went back to the shrouds, gathered up the sail and let it down. It was pretty easy to contain and would have been even easier with another person to work the halyard. All-in-all it was easy to fly. I took the sail below, started the motor and headed in. I motored up to the turning basin, dropped the main and motored to the dock.

8/6/99 (20)
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind NW to W 10-14 knots diminishing to 4-7 knots, waves 1-3', visibility 10-25 mi, temp 70-75.
Main, WJ, Asym Spin
1730-1930
With Mike, Sue and Christopher Gulley. We motored down the river, raised the main at the end of the river, raised the working jib in the harbor and sailed out the main entrance at about 4.5 knots. We headed off to the north close hauled to close reaching making 3.5-4.5 knots. We headed out about 2 miles and tacked. On the other tack we were a bit slower and the waves were more on the bow. We headed SW about 1/2 mile and fell off to fly the asym spin. We raised it, lowered the jib and headed back to the main entrance on a beam reach at about 3.5 knots. The wind was down to less then 5 knots and the waves made it more difficult to keep the spinnaker flying. We sailed in the main entrance, fell off to blanket the spinnaker and dropped it in the lee of the main. We motored back to the river and dropped the main on the way up to the marina.

8/9/99 (21)
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind Variable NW to SW to S 0-5 knots, waves 1-3', visibility 25 mi, temp 70-75.
Main, 130, Spin
1745-2000
With Roger Dyster. We motored down the river and set the main near the Coast Guard station. We set the 130 in the harbor and motored out the main entrance and off to the NNE a bit and shut the motor down. Wind was next to calm for a bit then a wind line came in and we sailed off to the NNW on a close reach at 2-3 knots. The wind was very light and shifty. Lulls would come and the next line would have the direction different by 90 degrees. There was a new C&C 110 off to our south that was on the same point of sail as us and heading perpendicular at times. We got about 1 mile out and tacked to head in. On the way back we rigged the symmetric spinnaker. The wind was still fluky but when it had air in it it moved the boat at 2-2.5 knots reaching. We were about 200 yards from the entrance in a lull and I dropped the spinnaker. We motored in and dropped the main in the river on the way to the dock.

8/11/99 (22)
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind WNW 4-10 knots, waves <2', visibility 20 mi, temp 70-75.
Main, 130, Asym Spin
1730-2120
With Ann Hewit. Raised the main at the end of the river and the 130 in the harbor on the way to the main entrance. We shut the motor down and sailed off to the NNW on a close reach making 3.5-4 knots. We went out about 3 miles, tacked and headed SW making 4-5 knots on a close reach. About 1/2 mile off shore I dropped the 130 and raised the asymmetric spinnaker. We Headed SSE for a bit making 4-4.5 knots at 100-120 degrees apparent in about 5-7 knots of wind. We jibed and I tried going wing-in wing a bit but really needed a pole for the clew of the spinnaker. We headed up to a broad reach and I worked down a bit in the puffs. We jibed when the lighthouse would be on a broad reach on the other tack and carried that back to the entrance. We sailed into the harbor, fell off to a broad run and dropped the spinnaker. We sailed around a bit with just the main but the wind was dying away so we motored to the river and up to the dock dropping the main on the way.

8/22/99 (23)
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind NE 6-10 knots, waves <2', visibility 20 mi, temp 70-75.
Main, 130
1700-1940
With Jill Johnsen. Motored down the river and raised the main and 130 in the harbor. We sailed out the main entrance close hauled then off to the NNW at about 5 knots. I set up my new self steering rig with the knob adjuster. It worked very well. We went out about 4 miles, tacked and headed back towards the lighthouse on a reach at about 5.25 knots. About 1/2 mile out we came up to close hauled and headed to the east end of the wall. We fell off at the end of the wall and headed inshore. About 2/3 of the way to shore from the wall we jibed and headed west behind the wall on a broad reach to beam reach. At the west end we tacked and headed back across to the east and circled the 4 sailboats anchored in the harbor. We tacked and headed back to the river, jibed into it and sailed up to the turning basin. I dropped the sails and motored into the dock.

8/27/99 (24)
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind WNW 6-10 knots, waves <2', visibility 8 mi, temp 65-70.
Main, 130
1845-2115
With Susan Kain. We raised the main and 130 in the turning basin and motor sailed out the river. We shut the motor down in the harbor and sailed out the main entrance on a close reach and off to the NE on a close hauled course. About 1 mile out we heard a boat reporting to the coast guard that it was taking on water. They said they were a 26' sailboat with sails down and a blue Macgregor sail cover. We spotted them about 1/4 mile off our starboard bow. We fell off to an intercept course as we listened to them tell the coast guard what their situation was. The skipper was excited but not quite frantic as he told the CG he didn't know where the water was coming from and he had no bilge pump. The boat was a MacGregor 26 which I believe has positive floatation and will not sink. As we were closing on him we could see they were still high in the water and motoring in. The CG boat was on it's way out and searching for the MacGregor. The skipper said he thought the leak might be from the water ballast tanks. If that was correct and the valves for the tanks were shut then the boat was in no danger of sinking. The skipper did not seem to have a clear idea of where he was and was not able to give the CG a good location. The skipper described the blue and white sail cover and the CG was headed for a red boat with a blue and white genoa asking on the radio if that was them. I called out on the radio to the CG boat that the boat they were looking for was on their starboard beam. They immediately changed course for them and were along side in about another 90 seconds. We continued on our way since they were well past us now and there was nothing we could do to help. We returned to our original NW course making about 4.5 knots. We headed out about 3 miles, tacked and headed back on a close reach at about 5 knots. We came up to close hauled as the wind shifted near the entrance. We sailed into the harbor and headed for the river. As we got close to the river we fell off and sailed down to the east end of the harbor. We saw the coast guard boat coming out of the marina below the condos where the MacGregor docks. We jibed and sailed back to the river tacking twice to clear an anchored trawler and the shoal. At the river we tried to sail up but the wind was not right so I started the motor and dropped the jib. We motored to the turning basin where I dropped the main, then we motored back to the dock.

8/28/99 (25)
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind W 6-12 knots, waves <2', visibility 8 mi, temp 70-75.
Main, Asymmetric Spinnaker
1920-2215
Motored down to the harbor and prepared to set the asymmetric on the way to the main entrance. We waited while a Tartan 10 (Cracker) passed on their way in. They were wrestling with their spinnaker having trouble getting it down. We raised the asymmetric just outside the main entrance. I didn't get it up all the way before it filled and couldn't raise it further on the jib halyard because it was pulling to the side. I raised the main and blanketed the spinnaker and was able then to raise it all the way. Probably shouldn't fly the asymmetric without the main in anything over 2-4 knots to ease setting it and taking it down (in the shadow of the main). We were heading NE on a beam to broad reach making 5 knots. We headed up as close as we could carry the asymmetric so we could reach back to the entrance. We were able to make 4-4.5 knots with the apparent wind at about 40-45 degrees. Could have gone faster and pointed a lot higher with the 150. We headed out about 2 miles, jibed and headed in carrying a high course so we would have room to fall off. At 40-45 apparent we made about 3.75 knots. When I cracked off 15 degrees we made 4.5 and the apparent wind angle was still 45 degrees. I think the top of the spinnaker may mess up the windex a bit on a close course and make it point a bit higher then it should. We sailed in the entrance and once clear of the shoal fell off to a beam reach to the east making 5-5.5 knots. We sailed about 1/2 way across the harbor and dropped the spinnaker in the lee of the main. Then we headed inshore and tacked for the west end. We were making about 2 knots with just the main. We went across the river channel, tacked and headed into the river. we then jibed and headed back out to watch the moonrise. Once clear of the trees near the river entrance we picked up enough wind to make 2.5 knots. We sailed out the main entrance and NW about 1/2 mile then tacked and headed in making 3 knots on a close reach. We sailed in the river and up to the freighter Cuyahoga which was loading on the east side of the river. We lost our wind there and motored the rest of the way in dropping the main on the way. Some of the boats out after dark were running the wrong light configuration. One sailboat sailing had steaming and masthead lights on and another sailboat motoring had no steaming light. That same boat had a bi-color nav light on the bow (red and green in same unit, 1 bulb). It was difficult to tell there were two colors until we were about 100 yards away. From further the colors blended and you couldn't tell what you were looking at.

8/31/99 (26)
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind ENE 14-18 knots, waves 2-4', visibility 18+ mi, temp 65-70.
Main, reefed main, 130
1800-2000
Motored down the river setting the main after Passing the freighter Oglebay who was about to get underway. We motorsailed to the harbor then shut the motor off and reached back and forth under just the main until the freighter was clear. we made 2.5-4 knots with the main. After the freighter was clear I hove too with just the main. This worked pretty well, the motion was good and the boat didn't spin. I put a reef in the main and headed off on a close reach. Then I set the 130 and tacked back to the west. I came up to a close reach for the main entrance and headed out at about 5-5.5 knots. We headed NNW on a close reach for about a mile. We were close to overpowered and easing the main did less to level the boat then usual. But there was no excess weather helm. I think we would have been better off with a full main and working jib. we got some photos of the new homemade catamaran Zoom while they were off to our east. We were sailing the same course as them but they were pulling away, but not too fast. We tacked and headed back making 5.7-6.2 knots on a beam to close reach. At first after the tack the baby seat was a but precarious. I went below to secure it better and it started to slide off the table. It would have only gone a bit over and hung. Alex was strapped it. I moved it to the floor and wedged it in place. Alex slept through it all. The seat will need to be better secured in seas like we had. We sailed in the entrance while Zoom worked past us. They made the river ahead of us by about 100 yards. We caught up and almost past them in the river but they caught some more air and pulled away. On the way up the river I shook the reef out of the main and dropped the jib in a lull. We sailed into the turning basin, went head-to-wind and dropped the main. Then we motored to the dock.

9/2/99 (27)
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind E 4-8 knots, waves <2', visibility 18+ mi, temp 65-70.
Main, 170
1715-2030
We motored out the river, raised the main in the harbor and motor sailed out the main entrance. Once on the lake I raised the 170 flying it free (no luff tape). We headed off to the NNW on a close reach at about 4 knots with the self steering unit driving the boat. It took just a bit of tweaking to keep the boat on course. We headed out about 3 miles then tacked and headed for the east end of the wall at about 4 knots on a close reach. We came past the wall and reached inshore then jibed the main and went wing-in-wing towards the condos at about 1-1.5 knots. About 100 yards from the marina wall in front of the condos we jibed and broad reached to across the harbor at 2-2.5 knots. About 300 yards from the river I fell off and blanketed the 170 with the main and dropped it. I had the main on a preventer and as I secured the 170 on deck the boat slowly swung around and the main back winded. We stopped moving and then started sailing backwards with control. I let us go back and turned us backwards into a jib. The boat started forward again and with no trouble. I started the motor and headed for the river dropping the main on the way up to the marina.

9/5/99 (28)
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind ENE 14-20 knots, waves 2-4', visibility 18+ mi, temp 65-70.
Main, reefed main, WJ
1620-1830
With Quinta Pickrum. We motored down the river raising the full main on the way. Once in the harbor we headed east and raised the jib. We went back and forth a couple times making 5-6 knots close reaching then hove too to put a reef in the main. We then headed out the main entrance and off to the NNW at 5-6 knots on a close reach. The waves were big in the entrance (NE wind)but better once we were past. We went out about 1/2 mile then turned back towards the entrance making 5.5-6 knots and occasionally better then 6 close reaching. We were taking the waves better on the way back in. We caught a few little surfs in the entrance and rode one from 5.4 to 6.2 knots. We sailed in the river at 5 knots and were making about 2 by the basin. We continued all the way up to Grand River Yacht Club then tacked and dropped the jib, started the motor and dropped the main on the way back down river to the dock. We saw a P26 OD named N??????² with a bright red hull tied up on the grand river side right next to the ramp at Grand River Marine. Maybe they were transient?

9/12/99 (29)
Motoring from Fairport, OH.
Wind SSW 10-15 knots, waves <2', visibility 18+ mi, temp 65-70.
No Sailing
0900-1310
Served as committee boat for Ohio Racing Catamaran Association regatta with 3 ORCA members on board and the 3 of us. We motored down the river and across the harbor to the east end of the wall then to the NE out on the lake and anchored about 300 yards from GRSC F mark in 35 feet of water. Used the 18lb danforth with 6 feet of chain and 110 feet of rode. The catamarans did 2 back-to-back races then we motored back in the main entrance. I left the canopy up the whole time to provide us with some shade. Also got a ride on a Hobie 18 for about 15 minutes.

9/15/99 (30)
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind NNW 12-18 knots diminishing to 5-8, waves 2-4', visibility 18+ mi, temp 65-70.
Main, WJ
1700-1845
Motored down the river and raised the main at the salt loader. We motorsailed out the river and turned downwind to the east on a broad reach. We shut the motor down and were making 3-3.5 knots at about 130 apparent with just the main. Towards the east end of the harbor we raised the jib in the lee of the main and came up to a beam reach for the east end of the wall making 4-4.5 knots. At the end of the wall we came up to a close hauled course on a heading of 010-020 making 4-4.5 knots. The waves outside the wall were 2-3 footers with the occasional 3-5 footer. We headed out past S mark. The wind was settling and oscillating in velocity. We dropped to 3-3.5 knots and I re-trimmed for a slightly wider course. When I let out the main outhaul, speed jumped by 1/2 knot. Just beyond S mark we tacked and headed for the main entrance on a close reach. The wave angle was not as good as on the previous tack and the wind had dropped to 6-8 knots. We fell off for the east entrance but we were rolled more then we liked and didn't have enough sail up to make speed so we came back to a course for the main entrance. The wind continued to drop off. The racers were on their way out and we had a nice parade of boats passing the other way as we closed on the entrance at 2-3 knots. We would have been better off with more sail but were heading in so we didn't bother. We could have flown the 150. In the flat water behind the wall we made 3.5 knots. We sailed in the river mouth and lost most of our wind. We powered up the motor and dropped the sails. The freighter Richard Reiss was turning in the basin and we waited for them to finish before proceeding to the dock.

9/18/99 (30)
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind NE 8-14 knots, waves 1-3', visibility 18+ mi, temp 65-70.
Main, 130
1700-1900
Set the main in the river near the CG station. Motor sailed across harbor and set 130 then motor sailed out main entrance on a close reach. I secured the motor and we headed off to the north close hauled. We were followed out the main entrance by a Pearson Ariel and a Seidlemann 34. We were making 4.5-5 knots and pulling away from both of them. I set up the self steering unit and it steered the boat pretty well. Balance could have been better. We headed out about 3 miles, tacked and headed back for the main entrance on a close reach. We made 5-5.5 knots on the way in. Once inside the entrance we came up to a close hauled course and sailed to the east behind the wall at 5.2 knots. We tacked and headed back to the river. Once north of the river we jibed and sailed in on a close reach. As we were entering the river a couple of speed boats came in and were up on plane right to the river. As they came down they threw out a huge wake. One came within boat lengths of us while planing at 30-35 knots. I should have gotten their OH numbers and complained to the CG. It was very reckless of them. We sailed up the river past the freighter just below the turning basin, started the motor and dropped the jib. We motored into the basin, took down the main and motored to the dock.

9/19/99 (31 part 1)
Motoring from Fairport, OH.
Wind W 5-10 knots, waves <2', visibility 14 mi, temp 65-70.
1130-1330
Motored out the harbor and anchored off the Coast Guard beach to clean the bottom. We were in 18' of water and had about 75 feet of scope on the 13 lb danforth with 6 feet of chain. I went in the water in my wet suit and scrubbed the bottom. This was the first time the bottom was cleaned all season and there was a lot of growth. Some spots were pretty thick but all in all it wasn't bad considering it had never been cleaned. It took about 50 minutes to clean the bottom. The water was on the cool side but I was comfortable in my wet suit.

9/19/99 (31 part 2)
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind ENE 4-7 knots, waves 1-3', visibility 14 mi, temp 65-70.
Main, 150, Asym Spin
1640-1900
With Steve and Laura Maricich. We motored down the river past the freighters McKee Sons, ______ Norton, which were tying up on the right bank of the river. We raised the main and motorsailed out the main entrance the raised the 150. We headed off to the NNE close hauled to get clear of the freighter American Republic which was waiting to head after McKee sons came out. The wind was pretty light at 5-7 knots and we made 3.5-4 knots close hauled. We headed out about 3 miles and tacked to the ESE towards the mickey mouse tower. About 1 mile from shore we fell of for the main entrance on a broad run at about 150 deg apparent making 1-2 knots. We dropped the 150 and set the asymmetric spinnaker. We made about 3 knots at 150 and 4.5-5 at 90 apparent. We headed W to WNW at 90-100 apparent then jibed for the main entrance. We came in the entrance at about 80-90 apparent making 4-5 knots and headed up a bit to clear the channel. Once clear we fell off and blanketed the spinnaker with the main to collapse it and took it down. We motored to the river and dropped the main in the lee of one of the freighters on the way up to the dock. I think the clean bottom helped our speed a lot in the light air. It probably gained us 1/2-3/4 knots.

9/27/99 (32)
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind SSW 12-17 knots diminishing to 5-10 knots, waves <2', visibility 10 mi, temp 75-80.
Main, WJ
1500-1720
Set the main and jib in the turning basin and shut down the motor part way down the river. We made 3-4 knots dead down wind with the jib in the shadow of the main as we went down the river. We sailed out the main entrance at 4-5 knots on a broad run then came up to a close reach to the west making 5.5 -5.8 knots and came up to a close hauled course at 5.3-5.5 knots with about 15 degrees heel. After about 20 minutes we tacked and headed back towards the lighthouse on a close reach hitting 6.7 knots at first but averaging 5.5 -6. We fell off to a reach to clear behind the freighter David Z. Norton on it's way in. After passing astern of the freighter we came up to a close reach for the east end of the wall. As we got to the east end there was an Aloha 32 (Wes Orlof?) coming out. They went to the east on a reach and we gave chase. We were gaining on them making 4-4.5 knots, they were over trimmed with the boom set for a close hauled course. We got within 100 yards then tacked back for the harbor. We made 4-5 knots all the way back and behind the wall on a close reach. Once we were about 1/4 mile from the river we hove-to and I dropped the main sail. I sailed on with just the working jib to see what it would do. The wind was down to 5-8 knots and we made 2.3-2.7 on a close reach. I nosed up into the wind, dropped the jib, started the motor and headed in.

10/01/99 (33)
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind W 15-25 knots , waves 3-6', visibility 20 mi, temp 75-80.
Reefed Main, WJ
1420-1610
With Chris Duer and Tori. We raised the reefed main and jib in the turning basin and shut the motor off. We sailed down the river accelerating in between the gravel piles on the west bank making 3-5 knots. Once in clear air in the harbor we quickly accelerated to 6 knots. We sailed out the main entrance and into the big waves. We headed NNE on a close reach making 6-6.5 knots with about 15 deg heel and very easy steering.. The ride was dry except for one wave that sprayed a bit of water over us. We headed out about 2 miles, jibed and headed for the east end of the breakwall making 6-6.3 knots on a broad to beam reach with a couple of surfs to 6.7. We came around the end of the wall and hardened up for the beat to the west end. We were just a bit over powered close hauled in the puffs and heeled to 25-30 degrees. Close to shore there was a bit less wind and we were lifted a bit. We made 6 tacks to get across the harbor managing about 6 knots. We were tacking through a wider angle (about 110-120 deg) because we were a bit over powered. With less sail we would have pointed higher. we tacked into the river and sailed all the way up to the turning basin, dropped the sails and motored to the dock.

10/02/99 (34)
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind W -NW-N 12-18 knots , waves 2-4', visibility 20 mi, temp 65-70.
Main, WJ
1520-1830
With Jill Johnsen and her friend Bill, Maryann And Gary. We raised the main and jib in the basin, shut the motor down and sailed out the river making 3-4 knots. The freighter Richard Reiss was unloading sand across from the salt dock. Once clear of the trees close to shore we accelerated to 5+ knots. We sailed out the main entrance and off to the NNE on a close reach. I flew the WJ off a pennant about 2 feet long. It sheeted on the adjustable cars about where the 130 sheets. Shaped looked very good and it was nice to be able to tweak the car position. We sailed out about 2 miles making 5.8-6.3 knots with the self steering rigged. Steering by hand I managed 6.2-6.5 with one ride to 6.7. The boat oscillated about 15 degrees in the waves and slightly puffy wind with the self steering. The wind clocked a bit and we were heading more NE. We tacked and headed back towards the main entrance making 5-6 knots on a wide beam reach. Once at the entrance we tacked and headed off to the ENE on a close reach. We fell off to a wide beam reach. We jibed and headed for the east end of the wall on a close beam reach making about 6 knots. Once behind the wall we came up on the wind and crossed towards the condos. We tacked to the north side, tacked back and headed towards the river. At the river we tacked and sailed to the east end of the harbor on a broad reach making 5-5.5 knots. We sailed about 1/4 mile east of the end of the wall, tacked and sailed back to the river on a close hauled to close reach course (the wind had clocked more)passing by Windward (P30) as they headed east. As we approached the river we saw the Richard Reiss moving down the river so we hove to for a bit to see if they were coming out. They re-tied and started unloading in a new spot. We got underway again by jibing the boat and sailed to the river entrance and tacked into the river. Once in the river the wind was dead astern or a bit to port (east). We sailed almost all the way up the river at about 1.5 knots then motored after the Richard Reiss announced they would be moving to the turning basin. The motor was flooded and I had a lot of trouble starting it. I finally got it going and dropped the sails on the way to the dock. There was a lot of floating tree debris in the river and we bumped a few logs on the way in the channel at about 1.5 knots.

10/11/99 (35)
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind NNW 10-15 knots , waves 2-4', visibility 20+ mi, temp 60-65.
Main, WJ
1530-1715
Raised the main in the basin and motor sailed out to the harbor. We raised the jib on a 2' pennant without the 6" strap that was on the jib. It flew very well and sheeted about where the 130 normally sheets. We sailed to the NNE on a close reach for about 2.5 miles making 4.5-5 knots. We tacked and headed back to the main entrance on a slightly wider close reach making 5-5.5 knots. About 300 yards from the entrance we crossed a foamy trail that we didn't see on the way out. It was about 10ft wide. I thought it might be an oil or fuel trail and reported it to the Coast Guard. We sailed in the entrance and to the river and started motoring. I dropped the jib at the start of the river and the main on the way to the turning basin. When we started I started the motor by pulling the cord. I turned on the instruments but for got to switch on a battery. They were running off the engine. After I turned on the battery the depth sounder behaved erratically. It may have been damaged by the engine power? I will have to test the electric output of the motor.

10/12/99 (36)
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind SE-SSE 7-14 knots , waves <2', visibility 20+ mi, temp 60-65.
Main, WJ, Asym Spin
1430-1700
Set up the asym spin for a port side set before leaving the dock. I motored to the turning basin and decided it would need to be a starboard set in the river so I switched it. Then I raised the main and motored up the river about 200 yards and came about intending to set the asym on the way down. The set now needed to be from port so I switched the spinnaker back for port set as I sailed across the turning basin with the self steering set up. I fell off in the river to about 150 apparent and set the spinnaker. I shut the motor down and we made 3-4 knots in the fluky wind in the river. Once in the harbor we picked up more and carried out the entrance on a beam to broad reach. I came up a bit to a reach and we headed off to the NE making 5-6 knots. The wind velocity was oscillating. We sailed out about 3 miles then jibed to head in. The wind had shifted a bit from SE to SSE and we could not make the entrance with the spinnaker. We fell off to a broad run and I dropped the spinnaker and set the working jib on it's new 2' pennant. We came up to a close hauled course for the entrance making 5-5.2 knots. The working jib seems to fly better with the pennant. About 3/4 mile form the entrance I tacked to measure the tacking angle. A close to pinching course making 5-5.2 knots went from 210 to 105 compass. That corrects to 218 and 112 for a tacking angle of 106 on the deviation card I made in 1996. But I think that card needs revising. I tacked back and headed for the entrance on a very close reach making 5-5-6 knots. Once in the entrance I started the motor and headed for the river. I was basically head to wind and dropped the jib. I dropped the main in the river.

10/15/99 (37)
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind NNE 5-10 knots switching to S 6-12 knots, waves <2', visibility 20+ mi, temp 60-65.
Main, 130
1530-1830
We set the main in the river and the 130 in the harbor. We made 2 tacks to get out the entrance and headed off on a close reach to the NNW making 4-5 knots. There was a Catalina 27 that started on the same course with us. They were flying a smaller jib and we left them behind. Probably have a a cleaner bottom too. I flew the 130 on a 15" pennant (plus the 4" strap on the tack). It flew well and sheeted about where the 150 sheets. I set the self steering and the boat was easy to balance. With it set I slacked the jib halyard, went to the bow and untied the 4" strap from the tack and replaced it with just the 15". That took the car position forward about 8". About 3.5 miles out we tacked and headed back for the main entrance on a close reach making about 4 knots. Wind was lightening a bit. As we approached the entrance we saw another sailboat on about the same course as us but behind the wall. We were on a port tack close reach, they were on starboard. There was a clear wind line a bit less then half way to shore from the wall. The water was smooth between that and us. We sailed into a hole and the wind switched back and forth a few times from N to S. We started the motor and motored inside the wall. The wind line moved out. Once inside I stopped the motor and fell of to a close reach to the east. I was now on the same course I had been on a few minutes before but now on the opposite tack. We powered up to 5.5 knots and sailed east to the crib. The wind was still oscillating. We tacked and headed for the river. The wind was still fluky. We passed Tachyon on the way to the river. About 200 yards from the river we hove to and I dropped the sails. We motored to the river and up to the dock.

10/16/99 (38) 1 of 2
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind SSW 15-25 knots, waves <2', visibility 15+ mi, temp 65-70.
Reefed main, WJ (on 8" pennant)
1015-1300
With Marianne Usiak and Gary. Raised reefed main in basin, shut the motor down and sailed down at 150-180 apparent making 3.5-5 knots. At the end of the river we came up to a reach to the east making 5-5.5 knots. We raised the jib and accelerated to 6-6.5 knots. Speed was better in the puffs. We reached to the east about 1 mile past the end of the wall then tacked and headed back to the west close hauled at 5-5.5 knots. Back at the west end we turned north and went out the main entrance, jibed and headed off to the east again at 6.2-6.6 knots. At the east end we ducked Al B. in Windward who was coming out and sailed off to the SE a bit. We fell off to a broad run at about 150 apparent and dropped the jib in the lee of the main. Then we tacked and headed back to the west on a close reach to close hauled course making 2.5-4.5 knots in the puffy conditions. At the west end we turned started the motor, turned upwind to drop the main, and motored up the river.

10/16/99 (38) 2 of 2
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind SSW 12-22 knots, waves <2', visibility 15+ mi, temp 65-70.
Main
1610-1750
Raised full main in basin, shut the motor down and sailed down at 150-180 apparent making 3.5-5 knots. At the end of the river we came up to a reach to the east making 5-5.5 knots just like earlier in the day. We went about 3/4 of the way east behind the wall and passed by the P26 "Redemption" who was heading west. I took a photo. We tacked and headed west on a close reach making 4-5 knots. At the west end we turned north, headed out the entrance and off to the east towards the east end of the wall making 4.5-5.5 knots in the puffy wind. At the east end we tacked and headed back to the main entrance outside the wall on a close reach making 3.5-5 knots. As we approached the main entrance the Freighter Adam E. Cornelius was close to coming in. We started the motor and motor sailed in at 5.5-6 knots. Once inside the main entrance we dropped the main and motored up the river about 5 minutes ahead of the freighter.

10/25/99 (39)
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind SSW 12-22 knots, waves <2', visibility 15+ mi, temp 50-55.
Reefed Main
1540-1730
With Mom. Motored to basin, set self steering head to wind, raised reefed main and shut off motor. Sailed down the river almost dead down wind making 3-5 knots. At the end of the river we jibed and sailed off to the condos on a reach making 4.5-5.5 in the puffy conditions. We went back and forth a couple of times making 2.5-3.5 knots upwind and 4.5-5 downwind. On the way east I headed off to a broad reach to set the storm jib in the lee of the main. I set it on a 3' pennant (made of a 1" webbing strop) but the wire on top was too long and the sail would not go up all the way (the wire topped out). While I was trying to figure that out the boat turned up a bit and the sheets went free since they had no stopper knots. Louise turned us downwind and I dropped the jib and recovered the sheets. I removed the wire from the head of the sail but decided it was getting too late to mess with it so we headed in. We motored up the river and dropped the main at the bottom of the basin and motored on to the dock.

10/27/99 (40)
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind NE 2-5 knots, waves 1-3', visibility 15+ mi, temp 50-55.
Main, WJ
1540-1720
Added 2.4 gallons of fuel. Motored down the river raising the main on the way. In the harbor I raised the WJ and shut the motor down. I flew the WJ on a 3' pennant and it sheeted a bit aft of where the 130 normally does. We sailed to the east a bit on a close reach but the wind was very light and puffy, 1-3 knots in the long lulls and 4-6 in the puffs. We only made 1-2 knots. We beat to the main entrance. Boat speed went from less then 1 slowly up to about 2-2.5 then back to less then 1 every 3-5 minutes. Once outside the entrance it was a bit better and on the close reach to the east end we managed 4 knots for a bit but usually 2-3. Near the east end we were headed and started the motor. We came around the end of the wall and started back to the west at 4-5 knots. The apparent wind went from astern to almost on the nose which means the true wind was from astern at less then 3 knots. Pretty miserable sailing with the small sails, it was difficult to keep the boat moving. I dropped the jib and we motored to the river and on in. I dropped the main in the river as we approached the basin.

10/28/99 (41)
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind SSW 13-20 knots, waves 1-2', visibility 15+ mi, temp 50-55.
Main, WJ
1500-1700
Raised the main and jib in the turning basin and shut the motor down. The jib was on the 3' pennant. We made 3.5-5 knots wing-in-wing all the way to the main entrance then jibed the headsail and headed off to the east on a close reach at 5.5-6 knots. We went about 1/2 mile then tacked and headed to the west. To the east of the entrance the lake was quite flat. To the west there were 1-2 foot waves. We went about 1/2 mile west of the entrance, tacked and headed east again catching a few surfs in the puffs to mid 6's. Once east of the entrance in flat water we made 5.8-6.2 knots on a beam to close reach. We went east about 1 mile past the east end of the wall and tacked. Heading west we made 5.5-6 knots on a close reach to close hauled course. We were almost overpowered in the puffs close hauled. We passed the ketch Autonomy as we headed west (they were going east). They came about after passing and followed our course to the west. We seemed to be pulling on them. We sailed to the west about 1 mile past the entrance and tacked. We were bean to close reaching back to the east and caught some small surfs, one to 6.8 knots. We came up to a close hauled course for the entrance. At the entrance we decided to go to the east end of the wall so we cracked off a few degrees to a close reach. We made 6-6.3 knots in the puffs on the way east. We passed the end of the wall, headed up to move inshore, then tacked and headed for the west behind the wall on a close reach at 5.2-5.7 knots. About 1/4 mile from the river we dropped the jib and started the motor. As we turned head-to-wind in the river we dropped the main and motored in. I measured the headwind in the river at about 16 knots. At full throttle we made 5.6 knots into it. The bottom is probably moderately slimy. We'll know at haul out next week.

10/29/99 (42)
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind W to NE 0-8 knots , waves <2', visibility 8 mi, temp 60-70.
Main, Asym spin
1500-1830
Raised the main at the end of the river and motor sailed into the harbor. We headed east on a broad reach and raised the asym spin. We jibed the main and headed off to the east wing-in-wing at about 2.2 knots in less then 4 knots of wind. The wind came and went a bit then went away completely. We drifted east at about .2 knots or less. After about 45 minutes enough wind filled in to move us at 1 knot and we jibed. We headed back to the east and the wind came and went never getting us above 1.2 knots. The spinnaker had a twist at the very top and I couldn't slack the jib halyard since it was wrapping over the headstay. We jibed and then I slacked it about 6" and jibed back. That fixed the twist. As we got to the west end of the harbor the wind filled in and we came up to a close reach for the main entrance making 3 knots. We went out and a Catalina 27 that was coming in turned and followed us. We headed up to as high a course as we could making 3.5-4 knots (in about5-7 knots true wind) heading north just pulling away from the Catalina who was flying a genoa. I think we could probably have gone faster with the 150 and pointed quite a bit higher. We went out about 2 miles then jibed and headed back on a slightly wider reach making 4.5-4.8 knots. The freighter Richard Reiss was coming in and we had waited to head back so that we would come in after them. They were halfway to the river from the main entrance when we got there so we dropped the spinnaker and sailed in on just the main at 1-1.5 knots. We heard several series of gunshots from the direction of the breakwall and I think there may have been some duck hunters out there. Once in the river we started the motor. We dropped the main at the turning basin and motored to the dock.

10/30/99 (43)
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind WSW 3-8 knots W to NE, waves <2', visibility 8 mi, temp 60-70.
Main, 130
1400-1630
Raised the main in the basin and the 130 in the river and shut the motor down. I flew the 130 off the adjustable pennant strap I made from the 18" position and it seemed to sheet about 10" ahead of the coaming. (the strap has 12, 18, 24, 30 and 36" positions). We sailed down the river on a reach making 2.5-4.5 knots. We sailed right out the main entrance and off to the NNE on a close reach making 3-4 knots in the patchy wind. I set the self steering and got the boat balance easily. Once set I went to the bow and changed the pennant strap to 24 inches. This moved the sheeting back to the coaming. I let the main out a bit extra then went up on the cabin top and set the vang as a preventer to the cabintop padeye and used it to trim in the main so I could tweak the steering balance from there. This worked very well in the light conditions. The main sheet was slack. The boat held course very well and was not too sensitive to me moving around. Maybe because we were only carrying about 12 degrees of heel. At about 2 miles out we tacked and headed in on a close reach at about 3.5-4 knots. About 1 mile out I did a man overboard drill with the life ring. It flew pretty well, like a frisbee. We continued in moving into lighter air close in. The apparent wind went forward and we were close hauled and had to tack twice to make the entrance. As we got to the entrance the wind filled in a bit and we were able to make 4 knots on a close reach to the river. We sailed up to about the salt dock then got a big header, tacked, tacked back and started the motor. We dropped the sails and motored to the dock.

10/31/99 (44)
Daysailing from Fairport, OH.
Wind WSW 4-7 knots W to NE, waves 1-3', visibility 3 mi, temp 55-60.
Main, Spinnaker, 150
1320-1800
We motored to the marina main channel to tow Nathan Duer out into the turning basin in his 10' "Wingsailor" or whatever it's called. He slowly made his way out to the basin as we followed. We motored around at idle for a few minutes. We shut the motor off a couple of times and drifted. With no forward motion and no sails up the boat turned broadside to the wind. We raised the main and sailed around with the motor down but not running making 1-2 knots. We went back to the dock and picked up Nathan after he tied up his boat and Chuck and headed out to the lake. We raised the main in the basin and motor sailed out to the main entrance. Once on the lake we set the spinnaker (symmetric) and headed off to the NE on a broad reach. We made 3-3.5 knots in about 4-7 knots of true wind. We came up to a close reach and made 4.2-4.8 knots. We jibed to head in but were not able to carry the spinnaker on a course for the harbor. We dropped the spinnaker which was a bit of trouble as it was on a jib halyard. I had to bunch it up and walk it around the headstay for it to drop. If there had been more wind I would have had to jibe and take it down on the other side. After the spinnaker was down we set the 150 and came up to a close hauled course for the east end of the wall making 4.5-3.8 knots. I secured the spinnaker pole and all the spinnaker gear and set the self steering unit. The boat balanced and steered very well with the 150. We passed the east end of the breakwall as I steered the boat with mainsail trim. About 200 yards from shore we tacked and headed west. We could not make a high enough course for the river so I started the motor which gave us another 15 degrees or so of pointing. About 200 yards from the river we luffed up and dropped the 150 on deck. Once in the river I dropped the main pulling the slides from the sail track for removal before unstepping the mast.

11/7/99 (45)
Motoring in marina
Wind NW 3-7 knots, temp 50.
1300-1320
The rig was taken down on 11/1. Haulout was scheduled for 11/3 but on 11/2 there was a lot of rain that brought debris down the river. The wind shifted to NW and the marina was filled with the debris and haulout was canceled. Our channel was blocked and the boat was locked in by lots of small debris and a couple of large trees. By 11/6 a lot of the debris had cleared from the channel. On 11/7 we walked the boat from dock to dock clear of the debris. Once clear we motored around to C dock and tied up. Haulout is at 0930 Monday 11/8.

11/8/99 (46)
Motoring in marina and river
Wind w 3-7 knots, temp 50-55.
0900-0930
Motored over to Grand River side to pay marina bill, then back to C dock and into travel lift slip for haulout at 0930.