Small Reach Regatta 2012!

When young Dawn with her rose-red fingers shone once more,

they set sail for the main encampment of Achaea.

The Archer sent them a bracing following wind,

they stepped the mast, spread the white sails wide,

the wind hit full and the canvas bellied out

and a dark blue wave, foaming up at the bow,

sang out loud and strong as the ship made way,

                           skimming the whitecaps, cutting toward her goal.  (Illiad I:569-576, Fagles)

Intrepid readers, welcome.  This is the Small Reach Regatta 2012

It has been a year since the last Small Reach, and again we met this year at Lamoine State Park in Maine for several days of sailing, rowing, camaraderie, and all out awesome.

Day 1

This Small Reach was a momentous meet-up for Goat Island Skiffs with a total of three (3) boats sailing together simultaneously.  This is the first time this has happened, ever!  I am proud that I Am Zinea, Pterodactylus was part of this historic moment.  It was a damn cool feeling to be sailing with other boats of the same pedigree.

Moments before launch on Day 1  THREE GOATS
From left to right: Bleat, IAZP, Kathleen Marie

Happiness is Goat on water (Courtesy of Capn Jon)

The first day of the SRR was a sail out to Thomas Island, as shown below and marked by an "A".  Since this was launching day we spent some time milling around Lamoine (northeast of Thomas, marked in green) until most boats were launched.  Then we set off Armada style for Thomas.  I ended up leisurely cruising behind Capn Jon in his Pheonix III Two Hearted-- official IAZ,P Partner in Adventure.

This was Capn Jon's first SRR and he decided to approach the east beach on Thomas by wrapping around the backside of the island.  I thought this was a fine idea since I had never been back there and there appeared to be obstacle strewn shallow waters on the south end.  Just as expected we had to beat upwind to the beach in shallow seaweed and rock festooned waters!  Several other hapless skippers followed us.  I'm pretty sure they all had a good time, right?  It was a great technical sail complete with the usual rowboat spectators waiting for us on the beach. 

Me and my Goat. (Courtesy of Capn Jon)

 I got there early and was able to take some pictures of others arriving.

Paul driving Kathleen Marie to Thomas

Kathleen Marie and a Penobscot 14

Bleat's first sail!  WOOT WOOT 

Sea Pearl 21 Velella Velella 

Loon, a Devlin Egret 
This guy isn't afraid to run her right up onto whatever rocks are in the way.  Bulletproof.

First boats are pulling up with most of the fleet downwind of the island.  Note Bleat

Andrew's Ian Oughtred J2

 Bleat


Clint Chase gets to put his cool logo on his sail

Kathleen Marie nestled in for lunch

Brand new Core Sound 17 after first sail EVAR

After lunch the wind had picked up considerably and it was time to sail back to Lamoine.  At this point I picked up a crewmember (moveable ballast!) and so I decided to forego reefing and see how fast we could get IAZ,P.  We made it back to Lamoine and had no one to greet us as everyone was still behind us.  So we turned around and beat back to the fleet.  Landing on the shore at Lamoine turned exciting since it was a lee shore at that point.

 Clint coming in under mizzen alone and Capn Jon in Two Hearted

Scooting along

Clint posing, Ellie shipshaping, and Capn Jon struggling.  It's more fun to watch from a distance.

I ended up going back out again with another crewmember.  This time we were reefed to the second point.  This was a great idea, and the boat performed awesome.  Sailing is fun, the wind was up, I couldn't justify not sailing again.  

Me storming back to the beach under 2 reefs.  Full speed ahead. (Courtesy Capn Jon)

Hand carry parking area.  Lots of coolness.

YAY friends!

It was windy enough that Jasmine, a Caledonia Yawl (of which we will see much more of later) ended up blowing out it's mast step.  At the SRR this is not a problem, because we can wander over to Allen's mobile woodshop and fabricate a new one.

Making that new mast step.  It doesn't have to be nice, just functional.

Hand carry at dusk

Day 2

On Friday it was off to gorgeous Stave Island, far on the eastern side of Frenchman's Bay.  I was able to scoot out relatively quickly in some light air.  It was beautiful sailing, though interrupted by some calm.  I had some moments of absolute golden sailing in flat glass scooting right along.  All in all, a little bit of everything.  I was the first sailboat to reach Stave, with the rowboats waiting for me (again... those rowboats).

 Three Goats and the Pheonix III

 One Goat. Two Goat. Three Goat.

 Caledonia Yawl Jasmine on the way to Stave Island with Cadillac Mountain

 Beautiful sailing...

 ...The fleet behind me...

...A nice sail shape...

 ...BAM!  Into a WALL OF CALM.  Out came the oars.  Row, row, row your boat, fool.

 Breeze back up and some nice Maine islands.

 The fleet starts to show up.  Note Far and Away, a completely unique Noman's Land boat to port of IAZ,P

 Nap in the grass

 Capn Jon decides to finally show up along with a Bolger Sweet Pea, Better Than Chocolate.
This Pea never gave up and always made it.

 On the way out of Stave Island, wind is coming back up and Clint and I start to get into it.

Video from Steve B of Clint and I battling it out

Clint and I fighting to windward.  This is happiness.

A very cool Washington County Peapod with a Block Island (RI) rig.
Out of Chapelle's American Small Sailing Craft
Nicknamed "stiletto"-- good looking but a pain to use

After a spirited sail out of Stave Island, we ran smack right back into the WALL OF CALM and sat floating in the middle of Frenchman Bay.  What to do but rehydrate and while away the hours? And then....

Jasmine gives IAZ,P a tow.  This is a GISAmateur first!

Three little ducks all in a row.  Look at that sky!

Sam and his CLC Northeaster Dory power-sailing like a champ.

Day 3 and the EPICNESS OF THREE (3) GOATS

The itinerary on the third day was Lamoine to Bean Island, but we did a circumnavigation of Dram Island first off of Sorento since the wind was so so sweet and we were making such great time.

Bean Island lunchtime:

Goats getting cozy

Intrepid reader, I am not going to write much here.  I just want you to enjoy what it is like when three Goats get together to terrorize the neighborhood for a bit.  All of the below pictures of three Goats are courtesy of Capn Jon.  Thank you Capn Jon for turning around and taking notice of this momentous event!

I present to you Goat Island Skiff history:

 Clint and myself working west.

 Catching up to Paul who slowed up a bit so we could sail together

 Terrorizing the Maine coast with smelly Goats! Fast as stink!

 Braying loud-mouthed Goats!

 Pillaging Goats!

Full on Goat fury! 

Capn Jon wisely stayed behind and out of the way of angry Goats!  

Well that was fun.  I don't think I was able to wipe the smile off my face that day.

Into Lamoine the wind slacked off and I doubled back to do some sailing with Two Hearted.

Shortly after this the wind died off and Capn Jon and I decided to go for a swim.  Then Capn Jon got the brilliant idea to pull the boats by ourselves, so we self towed.  Jasmine came swinging by like the predator she is and figured she might be able to get salvage rights and gave us yet another tow.  Skipper Chris has no fear, and this is why I like him.  He sail towed us right into the mooring field.  Go Chris, Go!

 Swimming.  Notice Capn Jon in distance also swimming.  We are heroes to the people.

On board and ready to rock!  Chris rocked us back and Mary fed us.

Then, it was time to pull the boats.  Sadness.

Herreshoff Carpenter

again

 Tom Jackon's Noman's Land boat, Far and Away

 Interior detail of Far and Away

 Kathleen Marie at rest with Acadia National Park 

Before we knew it, Small Reach Regatta 2012 was over.  A giant lobster dinner followed (and I do mean giant-- clams, mussels, sausages, corn, lobsters and more lobsters, etc) along with appropriate after-SRR campfires, story telling, and reminiscing.  

And then I woke up the next day.

 Three days of sailing, rowing, wind, sun, sunburned lips, and dehydration.  Coffee will fix this.  Or so I am told.

Trailer issues and Hamilton Marine in Searsport is CLOSED ON SUNDAYS!  

What are they thinking?  I needed my HM fix.

Nine (9) people pulled in while we there making repairs looking for Hamilton Marine goodness.  

Maine ice cream stands definitely fixed this.

Until next year, Small Reach Regatta!  Here's to 2013!

(Courtesy Capn Jon)

TWO HEARTED and IAZ,P

This is going to be a brief post, but it is very important that I prequel the upcoming week with exciting new developments here at Amateur Style!

Goat Island Skiff I Am Zinea, Pterodactylus now has a fellow partner in somewhat-high-seas shenanigans!  I present Cap'n Jon's meticulous and spectacular Two Hearted, a Ross Lillistone Pheonix III.

HUZZAH!

HUZZAH!

Two Legends and Cap'n Jon-- cool guy who doesn't look at explosions

HUZZAH I say!

Little Chebeague and Fort Gorges

AHOY

Last week I was in need of escape to spend some time on the water.  With just a two days off I quickly loaded the boat and got myself back to the clear waters of Casco Bay for a short and dirty one-night jaunt.  First time the Goat Island Skiff has been in Casco Bay since 2010!  Initially I had planned on going out to my favorite little island, Bangs, scene of many an adventure in IAZ,P, but when I landed on the clear sandy beach of Little Chebeague I was hard pressed to find a reason to continue onwards.

Not only did the nice beach attract me to Little Chebeague, but I saw this little piece of awesome anchored.  Note clear water.

Sweet lines

This is an Atkins XLNC, white cedar on white oak frames.  Please check out the Atkin & Co. page for XLNC here.  You will notice that in the pictures, this boat if featured.  XLNC was also featured in the 2012 Small Boats by Wooden Boat Magazine.  She is powered by a Palmer Model #27 complete with required Pabst Blue Ribbon beer can on the exhaust manifold to prevent water from dripping into the carburator.  This is called Yankee ingenuity and if you are rolling your eyes you are not from New England.

The boat is currently under the care of Bill and Jennifer who were enjoying a week cruising the Maine coast from their summer retreat.  With a setting sun and a falling tide Bill and Jennifer shoved off for home.  For all of 100 yards the boat made cute chugging noises as its bow seamlessly split the water, and then some engine fiddling was required.  Engine fiddling is a very important part of maritime experiences.  If you are not fiddling with the engine, something is wrong.

"This beer can is a fine solution"

After Bill and Jennifer left I set up camp as the tide continued to drop, stranding IAZ,P for the night.  I was alone on the island, on a beach, watching the sun set and the ferries go by.

I'm pretty sure this is the same ferry that almost ran me down during VisionQuest/ManQuest2010 at this very spot!

My evening was spent in quiet reflection as I enjoyed l'heure bleue  some rice, carrots, and hummus, and a swig or two of rum.  There was no wind, just the gentle lapping of water on the beach and the kaleidoscope of stars and Milky Way spinning slowly overhead.

As I was snugged down in my sleeping bag an ugly plastic motorboat showed up  and disgorged several 20-something guys.  Their self-importance was reflected in their constant braying, bottle rockets, frenetic music selections, and general indulgence in noise which totally shattered any optimistic feelings I was having about the world and humanity.  We truly are a pathetic and primitive creature, afraid of the dark and the silence that accompanies it, always insistent to fill the few sacred times with the profanity of our repugnant self-worship.

The next morning I was awakened by a hot needle boring into my nose into my brain.  I swatted at my nose to find a red ant at the tip of it.  Wake-up calls from red ants biting my nose does not figure high on my pleasure list.  I couldn't stop the tears streaming from my left eye.  I was awake, before the dawn, but her rosy red fingers were already streaming over the coast of Maine.

I had a little bit of a breeze from the northwest.  Since it was supposed to shift to the south later in the day, I supposed a period of calm would fall between the two.  A high pressure dominated.  Even though the ebb had begun and I would be fighting all of western Casco Bay to get back to South Portland I decided to shove off and use the wind while I had it.

It turned into a frustrating sail with the current against me, I made barely sufficient headway.  Time to strategize.

Little Chebeague is (A).  Fort Gorges is (D).  Bug Light Park is southwest of the fort, and that is where my vehicle and trailer are.

Purple = wind
Red = nasty currents
Blue = heroic path of jaunty skiff (approx)

Leaving Little Chebeague I usually go west of Diamond Island (marked McKinley Estates) into the broads of Casco Bay.  However, the ebb was on, and the flow was pushing out to the Atlantic (east-southeast of the island group-- to the right on this map). This made getting around Diamond difficult, since the current is rather forceful around the northern tip.  With the wind from the west, I made a gamble, and decided to allow myself to get pulled into Hussey Sound (B).  My hunch was that I would get pushed towards Peaks Island.  The channel on the northwest side of Peaks would also have a strong flow against me, but I hypothesized the westerly wind would be compressed between the islands, like a venturi.  This would give me the thrust needed to overcome the current and get halfway down Peaks Island to (C), where the flow would be reversed in the other direction.

I sped through Hussey Sound (B) worked my way towards the gap between Diamond and Peaks and sure enough, the wind velocity was much higher!  I had a spirited sail through the gap, keeping to the southeast side where the current was least and the wind highest.  I made it to (C) and the current reversed and the wind died, but now at least I was being pushed to my destination.  I was elated!  My strategy worked.  On the backside of Peaks I broke out the oars to row towards Portland harbor and the breeze that awaited me there.

Mastermind

About this point a very nice couple in a powerboat swung by and asked if I was OK.  I affirmed I was. They asked if I wanted a tow.  I politely declined.  They asked again, as if I was a bit muddled-- I was rowing and I didn't have an engine after all-- and I declined once more.  They sped off and I rowed on.

I made landfall at Fort Gorges on the beach.

Fort Gorges is a pretty sweet place.  First, it's a bad-ass fort.  Second, it's publicly owned which means we, as citizens, can enjoy nice things together for enjoyable picnics and family outings.  Third, it's a thumb in the eye our litigious society.  It's a fort.  There are dark places.  There are high places.  There is water!  In short, I love Fort Gorges.

Entry way.  Two massive doors.  Arrow slit windows to gun down the invaders.

Walking into the fort.

Entry way is on the left.  Powder Magazines are straight ahead, the giant wall in the shade

 I explored the officer quarters, which had nice plaster and blue paint on the walls, and then walked up to the third sod-covered roof level where bigger guns were to be placed.  This is a place to wear shoes FYI, there are lots of rusty bolts from the gun placements.  The dark areas and powder magazines are pitch black nighttime dark, so bring a flashlight if you want to go in them.  And bring a friend.  Spooky abounds.  This fort is massive by the way.  Everything about it screams indestructible.

I went up to the third floor to find the 300 pounder rifled Parrott gun that was hoisted aloft but never mounted.  Interestingly, it is on the northwest corner of the fort, with a great view towards the city of Portland as opposed to a southwest corner which would offer a better view out to sea...

Note rifling and beer cans.  This is one of those pictures that you take with a hand that is quickly removed from dark tube lest the beasties eat your fingers off.

Some scale.  I am a size 13 foot.  Note "U S" stamped on metal.  This is genuine US Military Grade weapons technology for the taking!

I spent some time wallowing in the sun and the nice water on Fort Gorges, and then I made a short leisurely sail back to my trailer.

On the way back, I got passed by the legendary "Free Candy 'go-for-it-this-guy-seems-legit' Van" which we Cap'n Jon and I saw back during the Portland Boatbuilder Show this spring.  It was moored off Long Island that morning.

Fenders down and everything.

Until next time Intrepid Readers!  (exciting episode in the works for next week!)

 I love summer.

BLING BLING

I figure it is time to put a face on my Goat Island Skiff.  Today my lovely wife and myself went for a spirited sail on Squam Lake.  I was expected 8kt winds and a leisurely sail and some swimming, instead it was blowing 15 and we did a grand tour of the western side of the lake at high speeds and shipped some water and almost capsized and my wife had fun.

As you will notice, I made some adjustments to the cosmetics of the boat.  That's right mofo's, I dress this girl up, yes I did! (Thanks to CLC and the vinyl sticker department, and a coworker who helped me photoshop the badass FLYING DINOSAUR!!! (fyi Pterodacylus' are not dinosaurs, they are pterosaurs)

OOOOOOOH IT IS SO BAD!

Please note "FrankenBoom!"

Additionally, I also added another block of purchase on the downhaul to improve close-hauled performance in higher winds and I dare say it worked!

I added a fiddle block from C+S at Duckworks and moved the becket block to the bottom.  Combined with super burly FrankenBoom, I am Zinea, Pterodactylus is coming into her own!  What took me so damn long!?  (oh wait, money, um, impatience, and a laissez faire attitude (aka lazy)

No camping trips so far, only day trips sailing, but things are in the works, so as always, stay tuned intrepid reader and keep the rum at the ready!

....And thus begins the Season Three

I AM ZINEA, PTERODACTYLUS, has officially splashed for its third season.

Sail onwards, friends, for there is not a minute to be lost!  Stay tuned, intrepid reader.