San Diego: windy; oared; shored; honor
San Diego: windy; oared; shored; honor
Windy here today. 20 knots, gusting 24. More than off Hawaii and Cape Horn. The windward portion of my bicycle commute this morning from a hotel three miles away was hard work. This unusual San Diego wind was predicted. I found the source--a low in Southern Utah--clearly identifiable on the WeatherMap+ and WeatherTrack apps. GANNET is bobbing around in her slip as the sun burns off low clouds.
Lexan for the companionway slat back-up arrived on Wednesday. Already cut to width and length, I had only to cut the angles on the slides, which I did quickly with the power saber saw thanks to Kevin who gave me a spare adapter to the marina shore power outlets.
This was the first time I’ve connected to shore power since GANNET came west. My hand drill’s battery can be charged onboard and the Dremel tool works from the small inverters. Only the sander and saw and small electric heater require shore power, and I haven’t had occasion to use the sander or heater.
On Thursday, my oars, locks and stands arrived an hour before Carol, who flew in for a few vacation days before a business conference this week, so I didn’t have much chance to consider them.
We’ve been staying ashore, first at the Hyatt Hotel, whose tower can be seen on the other side of Quivira Basin in several photos that have been recently posted, and now at the Hilton.
While I enjoyed watching March Madness semi-final games on Saturday night and look forward to seeing the final tonight, the only aspect of staying ashore, other than being with Carol, that I really like is indoor plumbing. There are times when walking across a room is more convenient that walking a hundred yards up a dock.
We’ve ridden bikes, gone for a sail, and sat in GANNET’s cockpit, watching a sea lion roll around the next dock trying to find a comfortable sleeping position. One wouldn’t expect that with all that padding, this would be a problem for a sea lion; but it obviously is.
The sail on Saturday was just out toward La Jolla and back. There was 9 and 10 knots of wind from slightly south of west instead of the normal northwest, and bigger than usual swells between the breakwaters, rendering the south side of the channel unusable about half way out.
Once clear of the breakwaters, I eased sheets and GANNET reached along happily at 6 to 7 knots.
On the way out one tack was sloppy when a jib sheet caught on the forward hatch, causing me to wish I had ordered the right size.
And when docking, GANNET stopped dead as soon as I turned into the wind, re-enforcing that I am going to have to change my preferred method of cutting the engine and gliding in, and power--or row--all the way into the slip. She carries no weigh. No way.
Being aboard yesterday as well as Saturday, I’ve had more time with the oars.
They are beautifully made. The blades are easily removable, which simplifies stowage. The shafts themselves are 7’ 9”/2.36 meters.
The steel stands are bigger than I expected. I knew the dimensions, but sometimes I need to see. They will work. They would be easy to install. But I think they are too big and am going to consider following Doryman’s lead and put fittings on the side of the hull, though I have been reluctant to do so when on GANNET they will often be below water when she is heeled.
The final decision will wait for my return this (Northern) summer.
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From ANTIFRAGILE: Things that gain from disorder by Nassim Nicholas Taleb:
‘A man is honorable in proportion to the personal risks he takes for his opinion--in other words, the amount of downside he is exposed to.’
The difference between sailing your own boat and one sponsored.
When THE HAWKE OF TUONELA’s rigging was unravelling at sea I often found myself thinking that if the mast came down, replacement of mast, rigging, furling gear, sails, masthead electronics, would cost more than she had herself.
Monday, April 8, 2013