Conference unifix::sailing

    Just a thought: we can comfortably take up to four crew. Two couples
    would be nice, but any combination is OK.

    Hey, I'm history after Friday (or so it seems); count me in.  I'm
    doubtful that my wife can make the trip as she works at church on
    Sundays.  The trip sounds good to me as long as it's not this weekend
    as our church has a big music thing.
    
    PLease give me a call when you know more about things to see if this
    works for us or not.
    
    	Ron	
    	508-264-9473 home
    

    Give me a call when you have an idea of your sail dates:
    
    (617) 639-1694
    
    Gregg

    If you find yourself considering Dec 20-23 for the trip, whether by
    choice or necessity, I'll likely be available along with a visiting
    Aussie friend, raconteur and fellow adventurer.  
    
    John Spencer
    508-546-9022

    Ashikin,
    
    I may be interested.  My wife are both experienced sailors. Let me know
    what goes on.
    
    Tom

I'm not sure I should abandon my family to go sailing during the holiday
season :-), but if you can't get enough folks from the previous replies,
give me a call.

I have night and off-shore experience, and I've been through the Race a
few times.

Could be kinda chilly!

--Reinhard
dtn 223-0752
home 508 568-8691

    
    Hi
    
    I've skipped boats in New England including LI up to Portland Me.
    I also have very good navigation skills and am good at radar and
    loran (I have a portable GPS too) (Oh.. I can help cook also)
    
    I'd like very much to catch a few freebe days on a fun boat..
    So.... count me in if you need another crew member
    
    						Georgia Hilton
    					BTOVT::HILTON_G
    					DTN 266-4077

    Hi again, folks. Well, it looks like the sailing is going to be January
    9th, due to some work on the boat that the yard promised for before
    Christmas, but which now looks like January 5th...
    
    We'll keep you in touch.
    
    Cheers,
    
    Ashikin

    I will be on a cruise to the Bahamas during that period; sorry but I'll
    not be able to make your trip.
    
    	Regards,
    
    	Ron
    

    
    i also , will be on the same cruise as Ron.. Sorry i can not be of
    any help.
    
    				georgia

    Well, I won't be on the cruise, I don't think I'm on call and I don't 
    ski many weekends after Jan. 1 (midweek is the time to ski) 
    
    	I sail around Buzzard's Bay in the summer on a 22'er and I race 
    some around Boston, so I'm familiar with some of the water you'll be 
    sailing through. I 've never gone throught the canal, But I know where 
    Cleavland ledge is. I wouldn't look to me as a star navigator, but I'm 
    a competent hand if you need one. But I am only one, you're comment 
    about couples turned me away at first, I am only one.
    
    Geoff
    			Happy Wintertime!!

Ashikin,
	At the risk of non-macho sentiments, can't you avoid moving the
	boat to Boston in the winter!

	I was sailing in Maine in October and on the last couple of weekends
	did not see another sailing boat... and it was COLD. My feet were frozen.

	Now cold is not a problem in itself - I enjoy winter camping.
	On snow and ice, you keep moving to keep warm. When there is no climbing
	or skiing to do, you get into a winter sleeping bag!

	On a sailboat in winter, the helmsman is just sitting there - with core
	temperature falling. (Of course, if you have a motor-sailor with cabin
	steering that's no problem.)

Mike

    I couldn't help but to make this suggestion...If you are going to make
    this trip, I strongly urge you and your crew to borrow/rent/or somehow
    obtain survival suits just in case.  A trip such as this -  new boat,
    winter weather, and unfamiliar crew (with one another) would lead me to
    be extra cautious.

    not a bad suggestion - that......

        I've been sailing for about seven years on small boats.
        I own a Catalina 22' out of Winter Island (Salem, Mass) and
        sail early May until late October. We've done weekend trips around
        the local islands.

        Although I do not have any extensive experience, I have day
        crewed on many different boats including a 40 foot sloop out
        of Marlblehead (grinder), 125' schooner Spirit of Massachusetts
        during the 1992 tall ships ('virtual' grinder on block & tackle)
        and was the helmsman for Bill Koch's America� Jayhawk for a few
        hours while testing on-board computer hardware in San Diego.

        I've been wanting to volunteer for more experience, but never find time
        in the summer. I am an able and hardworking hand, but also look at
        this as a learning experience.

        Let me know if I fit your crew needs.

        Dan LeBlanc

    I read your note about Jan. 9. I would like to crew. I currently have
    a CT42 Ketch located in Falmouth, Ma. and sail extensively around
    Buzzards Bay, Newport, Canal and up to Boston. Usually single handling
    the boat.
    
    Let me know if you still have room for an experienced sailor.
    
    Home number 508 897 2008
    Work Number DTN 244 7855
    
    Regards, Pete.
            

    I heard there is possible poor weather planned for this coming
    weekend... what's the status of this trip ? 
    
    I would be interested in participating if crew is still required. I
    doubt that I could get my wife to "play" at this time of year....
    I have an O'Day 28 and have been coastal cruising for 7 years. If you
    need someone who is cautious, a hardworker, and willing pair of hands,
    please let me know. 
    
    	John Carver
    	Beginnings
    	FSOA::Carver
    	DTN 297-9710
    	Home 508-422-8044
    
    

    It looks from the latest NOAA forecast that for Southern NE we should
    have clearing but cold Thursday (highs 25-35) and that this should last
    through to Sunday. No indication as to wind direction or strength yet,
    but assuming fair conditions, we are thinking strongly of setting off
    Thursday morning. We'll call those originally confirmed last weekend to
    see who can make it; with the numbers interested I believe it should be
    no trouble getting together a good crew. 
    
    We are now fully provisioned, and last Friday and Saturday Ray went 
    through the standing and running rigging with the yard's rigger after 
    the masts were re-stepped, and everything looks good.
    
    We'll call you as soon as we have confidence in the forecast, but the
    best estimate at present is to drive to Branford, CT on Wednesday night
    or Thursday morning...
    
    As of now, our strategy is that we are waiting the best weather window,
    and then calling to confirm a crew. If only a small crew, then we will
    take it easy and use up perhaps three days. If a crew large enough for a 
    decent watch materialises, then we'll cruise straight up to Boston as befits
    conditions.
    
    Ashikin

                       Sea Star Trip Report

For those of you who saw the "crew wanted" note, and are wondering how it
turned out...

Skipper: Ray Thackeray
Crew:    Dan Leblanc
         Pete Seuffert
         Reinhard Schumann

We set sail from Branford, CT on Friday. We motored through the Race, and
to Point Judith, since there was little or no wind. We did set the sails,
since this seemed like a low risk opportunity to check everything out.
We spent most of the morning removing 1/2" of accumulated slush and ice from the
decks. The weather was cloudy and mid-30's. We spent the night at Point Judith.

Saturday was equally uneventful. We motored into Buzzard's Bay, and through
the Cape Cod Canal. We spent Saturday night at the Canal Marina next to the
power plant. There was a mysterious problem, in that all our fresh water
(all 150 gallons!) was missing, although we had only used 30-40 gallons of
it... Saturday's weather was also pleasant, with very light winds, and
low 30's. Buzzard's Bay was uncharacteristically calm.

Sunday morning we got up at 5am to get a head start, since there was a
possibility that the weather would deteriorate. There was a 10-15 knot
NW wind in Cape Cod Bay, and we started motorsailing north towards Boston.
After a while, we discovered water on the cabin sole and under the starboard
settee. We turned the main bilge pump on, and it ran, but it didn't pump out any
water. We got a bucket, and started a bucket brigade. About three minutes
later, the motor abruptly died. The wind was gradually freshening to about
20 knots. At 25�F, the wind was brisk, to say the least. Around this time,
some of us were starting to have doubts about the wisdom of signing on to
this cruise :-).

To make a long story short(er), we determined that a) there was no new water
coming in, and b) the motor failure was probably due to sucking air from the
fuel tanks when under heel. After a while, Ray convinced the bilge pump to
empty the bilge for us. We also passed "Fuel System Bleeding 101" with
flying colors, despite a motor manual whose pictures bore only a vague
resemblance to the motor in the boat. We lost a total of four hours diagnosing
and fixing these two problems.

Unfortunately, the wind blew directly out of Boston for the rest of the day.
Fortunately, the wind speed dropped back to 10-15 knots, and the seas subsided,
so we had no trouble motoring the rest of the way to Boston. The sun even
came out for 20 minutes near the end of the trip.

All-in-all, the cruise was quite pleasant. We delivered the boat to its
destination as planned, and as a bonus we helped Ray identify some minor
shortcomings in his new boat :-). (The Sea Star is a real beauty overall!) 

--RS

> There was a mysterious problem, in that all our fresh water (all 150 gallons!) was
> missing, although we had only used 30-40 gallons of it...

> we discovered water on the cabin sole and under the starboard settee.

> we determined that a) there was no new water coming in


Possible coonection ?


GvB

    Yeah, where did the water come from?  Was the water in the bilges your
    missing fresh water?   Why didn't the bilge pump pump?
    
    Jeff

>    Yeah, where did the water come from?  Was the water in the bilges your
>    missing fresh water?   Why didn't the bilge pump pump?

I imagine *some* of the bilge water was our missing fresh water. There was
definitely some salt water there too, since it tasted salty. Ray will
need to spend some time diagnosing the water system to figure out where the
water goes.

The bilge pump wasn't drawing water initially because the intake strainer
was laying at the surface of the bilge. The bilge has a step in it. When
the strainer was moved off the step to the deep part of the bilge, it
worked fine. 

The double-depth bilge was not immediately obvious, that's why we didn't
understand this until after the bilge water came onto the cabin sole under
heel. At the dock, the bilge had appeared to be empty, since all we saw was
the higher step level.

--RS

	One other thing not yet mentioned was the forward head ceased
	to function about the same time in the canal. Fortunately
	there was an aft head!

	While in the bay heading for Boston, we managed to put both rails
	in the water under full sail. This shook out a few other things that
	are on the TO-DO list.
	
	Somewhere out in the bay when everthing seemed to be going wrong, 
	the skipper Ray summed up our sentiments when he said "Funny, I don't 
	remember hitting anything" which we hadn't. Other than the forward 
	head, everything was repaired or understood by trips end.

	At one point we counted the layers of clothing we each wore. I had
	two layers in bed, four in the cabin and eight on deck. This maintained
	a very comfortable body temperature except for the feet. An alcohol
	pail provided the necessary heat for warming feet and fingures as well as
	providing a source of heat during the evenings.

	Once the snow and ice had been removed, the deck received a good mopping
	and rinsing. It looked great comming into Boston.

	The food and living conditions were great, as well as the company.

	I found this to be a fulfilling experience.

	Dan

    This report of yours really highlights the need for shakedown cruises
    under favorable conditions if you can manage it.  But if your
    delivering a boat I guess it sort of HAS to be a shakedown cruise for
    the delivery crew.
    
    Jeff
    

    
    
    Some explanation...
    
    I wish we didn't have to sail Sea Star in MID-JAN TO BOSTON
    (directionally incorrect, eh?), but we didn't have much choice.
    
    We could either pay HEFTY storage $$ in CT AND the apt rent (by month
    since my lease is due 1/31) in MA, or bite the bullet and move her to
    Boston to be lived in.  Plus the Boston slip is available and paid for. 
    
    Sea Star shakedown was done as much as feasible; of course this does
    not equal a proper sea run.  Unfortunately one cannot negotiate with
    Mother Nature.
    
    Regretably I wasn't on the cruise; instead I took care of all the
    logistical nitty-gritty: crew, provisioning, communications,
    transportation etc.  Well, that was a very good experience in project
    management!
    
    Thank you Dan, Pete and Reinhard for a super fantastic job under
    such arduous conditions.  We greatly appreciate it.  Next time, we'll
    definitely sail under beautiful balmy conditions heading SOUTH!
    
    Regards,
    
    	Ashikin
    

    I would like to pre-register for that leg of the shakedown please :-)
    
    Brian