Pre-Sail: June 28th, 2008 - Brownsville Marina to Seattle

The lease on the slip at the Brownsville Marina is over at the end of the month. We have to get it out of there this weekend and into some marina to be determined in Seattle. We learned the hard way that you can't get out of the bay near Brownsville if the current is coming in. It just so happens that in order to make it out with the current on Saturday we will have to start sailing at about 5am and be out of the bay no later than 7:40am or it is game over. We'll head north and through a small channel. Use the map below to scroll over and see Seattle. Ideally we will head up the locks and into Lake Union or Lake Washington for a fresh water moorage.

I'm hoping we have a 3rd crewman with us. Last week's adventure showed me that it will be tough in rough weather to manage the boat with just two people. This is especially true if something goes wrong like the jib ripping to shreds.


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Inaugaral Sail

Our first sailing trip was pretty intense. It began around noon on a Saturday, Summer Solstice., starting at the Brownsville Marina and exploring the bay. We were actually trying to get out into the main part of the sound but could not make it due to currents (something a guy should pay attention to I guess). At one point it was really calm and we were considering using the motor to get to a more windy open area. About 15 minutes later we were kind of in over our heads keeled over. Delicate Dan was at the tiller and made a small error which set off a chain reaction and we ended up doing a 360 before I could get everything back under control. About 15 minutes after that Deetz' jib sail ripped to shreds and we had to deal with that. We fought up wind for another hour or so and then headed back for port downwind. We got there about 5 times as fast. Twice, along the way we had to strap Deetz to a rope and hoist him half way up the mast. Good to have a guy like that around. The sun came out over the Olympics, it was warm, and we still had some gin left so we kept going downwind. Eventually we were forced to head back before dark. But we went too far and the wind picked up dramatically. So now we're tacking up wind in white caps. Water is flying over the bow. We reefed the mainsail (e.g. make it smaller so you don't keel over so much). It took alot to get back. It's now dark and we have our headlamps on to see the sails or anything else. We get near the marina, drop the sails, and put them away. The engine starts ... and then dies. Deetz got it going again soon enough and we make it to port. Finish the rest of the gin, rum, and make a dent in the whiskey. We grilled a couple of thick steaks on the stailess steel charcoal grill that hangs off the back of the boat. It was a damn good time. The next day I felt like absolute shit as we scrubbed the deck and re-did the teak trim.

Links:

videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpAOKjtZdeQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sj_6-BpYeCw

Inaugaral Sail

About the Endeavor

• 27 ft Catalina sailboat
• built in 1978
• standard configuration
• orginally moored in Brownsville, WA (south of Poulsbo)

Steven "Deetz" Bryant purchased this boat in June 2008 for $5750. I, Dylan Peterson, threw in $1000 as a loan to make the purchase easier. It is hopefully the beginning of a whole new set of adventures.

I should also point out that I had taken some pretty serious sailing lessons ... over 4 years ago. I've been on a boat maybe two or three times since then. Steven had been on a sailboat twice for some beginner lessons. Delicate Dan had never sailed. Also, the boat itself had not been sailed for over 4 years. The previous owners could not tell us about the state of the equipment since all he did was motor around clueless. And so we headed out ...