Tradewinds Sailing School and Club More Experience. More Time on
the Water. More Fun.
From the Helm
Typically by November we are slowing down a bit and looking for
projects to improve our fleet, but this year it seems that everyone
wants to keep on sailing! That’s absolutely fine with us, we are
keeping up with maintenance and repairs just fine. Keep those boats
out on the water where they belong!
We have added two new boats to the Platinum fleet and bumped a
couple down to Gold. We also have a new boat coming into the Silver
fleet sometime in the next month— keep your eyes open for e-mail
announce- ments and checkouts. We don’t plan to stop there, we have
a few more fleet surprises in store for this winter to beef up our
fleet for the next sailing season. Tell your friends!
The Sail Trim class was completely full and very successful—we plan
to run this one again after New Years, so keep your eyes peeled for
that. We are also scheduling some other seminar-type classes during
the win- ter—Splicing, Sail Repair, and more! Check out Page 2 and
make sure you don’t miss any of them.
We have a Food Bank donation barrel in the office, so if you would
like to donate some non-perishable food, please bring it with you
when you go sailing.
Don’t forget we will be closing the of- fice on Thanksgiving Day
and the day after. Go sailing, but keep that emergency number handy
in case you need to reach us.
Smooth Sailing,
Contents
Events & Announcements 2 Sailing Classes 3 Checkout Schedule 3
La Paz Adventure 4 Thailand Adventure 5 Finisterre Delivery 8
Sailing the Greek Islands 11 Nautical Terminator 13 Cleat Hitch
Article 14
What new adventures do you plan to experience in 2010? Are you
ready to go to Baja or Thai- land? Check out our upcoming
trips on pages 5-10
2
Nov 7 5pm– 9pm
Sacramento Social - Dave and Teresa Arnold along with Dick and
Sylvia Stuart are hosting
a Sacramento Social for Tradewinds Members at their home in
Sacramento. This is a way for all the Sacramento members to get to
know each other without driving to San Francisco. Of course,
members from anywhere are invited! Details are in last month’s
newsletter, available on our website.
Nov 14 10am- Noon
Splicing & Knots Seminar - West Marine Rigging Specialists will
be holding a splicing and
knots seminar here at our facility. Ever wonder how that rode is
attached to the anchor chain? Here’s your chance to learn!
$20/members, $30/non-members.
Nov 14 1pm- 3pm
CPA Seminar for boats in Charter companies - This seminar will be
held at Passage
Yachts facility in Brickyard Cove Marina. All of the benefits
buying a boat to put into charter will be discussed and questions
answered. Tradewinds plans to increase the fleet by 3 to 5 boats in
2010!
Nov 21 10am- Noon
Sail Repair and Kits Seminar - Angie Rowland will open up her sail
repair kit and give
you a peek! She’ll show you what you should take with you and how
to use it to make minor sail repairs underway. She’ll also give
some insight into how to tell if sails are nearing the end of their
life or if they should be repaired.
Dec 5 6pm- 9pm
Christmas Party - It’s our annual Tradewinds Christmas Party!
Always the best social of the
year. Bring your favorite dish and drinks and socialize with
Tradewinds members. It's always a good idea to bring some business
cards or other contact info as well. Our socials are a great way to
meet people to sail with.
Dec 12 6pm- 9pm
Marina Bay Lighted Christmas Parade - If you have the brightest
house in the
neighborhood at Xmas and like boats, this event is for you! Watch
for an email with all of the details within the next couple of
weeks. We expect to let our members check out boats and decorate
them to participate in the parade!
More Fun.
Welcome New Members
Ina Stahl Eugene Weiss Jack Smith Pater Swann John Lyons Mike
Appleby Ted Olsson Rob Hartley Chuck Kight Rich Lovato Marie
Mallannao Shellie Bench Anthony Meixner
New Boat and Fleet Change
New Boat in the Platinum Fleet: Whale Song (Jeanneau 43) - this
boat will be active and available for charter mid-November. Watch
your calendar for checkouts. If you attended your ACC (ASA 106)
class on this boat, call us and we’ll add the certification to your
ac- count. Fleet moves: Redeemed (Hunter 35) has now moved to Gold
Fleet
3
Classes
The following classes currently have at least one opening. Check
the web calendar to view all open classes in an easy-to-read
format. Call the office if you have any questions or if you are
ready to sign up.
Prices are listed as NON-MEMBER/MEMBER
Basic Keelboat ($595/$495) Nov 8,14,15 Nov 14,15,21 Nov 16,17,18
Basic Coastal Cruising ($795/$695) Nov 7,8,14 Nov 15,21,22 Nov
18,19,20
Advanced Anchoring ($195/$175) Nov 21 Radar Course ($295/$275) Nov
21,22 - 6 openings
More Experience.
Boat Checkouts
Remember, checkouts are free and the more boats you are checked out
on, the easier it is for you to go sailing on any given day! There
are openings in the following checkouts, remember to call the
office and schedule it if you can attend.
Date
Time
Nov 1 11am 4202 - True Love (Platinum)
Nov 7 9am 4301— Whale Song (Platinum)
Nov 7 11am 3403 - Na Mara (Gold)
Nov 8 9am 3103 - Clio (Silver)
Nov 8 11am 3801 - Black Pearl (Gold)
Nov 8 1pm 3503 - Redeemed (Gold)
Nov 14 9am 2803 - Toba Leah (Silver)
Nov 14 11am 3401 - Pink Slip (Platinum)
Nov 14 1pm 3503— Redeemed (Gold)
Nov 15 9am 3009 - Risky (Silver)
Nov 15 11am 3402 - Lucy! (Gold)
Nov 15 1pm 4301— Whale Song (Platinum)
Nov 21 9am 3011 - Amazing Grace (Silver)
Nov 21 11am 3603 - Home Free (Platinum)
Nov 21 1pm 3503— Redeemed (Gold)
Nov 22 9am 3104 - Megalina (Gold)
Nov 22 11am 4201 - Galen (Platinum)
Nov 22 1pm 4301— Whale Song (Platinum)
4
La Paz/Sea of Cortez July 1st - 9th, 2010
Join Brandy, Matt & Family on this magnificent charter!
Sail through the desert. The stunning contrast of calm blue wa- ter
against the arid backdrop of the Baja Peninsula seems surreal at
first. Effortlessly you sail past impossibly rugged terrain. Thick
forests of cardn cactus cling to the jagged slopes around you. The
Sea of Cortez offers easy navigation, sand-bottom anchorages, and a
pro- tected cruising area both winter and summer. You are
surrounded by deserted islands, quiet beaches, mountains, and
magnificent scenery. Hiking, snorkeling, diving, whale watching,
fishing, and bird-watching are almost as rewarding as sailing here.
You're certain to have plenty of company here - a sea-going escort
of thriving wildlife. Visitors are mesmerized by the company of
migrating whales, dolphins and majestic manta rays. Expect the rau-
cous serenade of sea lions basking on shore. Beyond their echoes
are the quiet desert world of craggy mountains and cactus forests.
Sail among the uninhabited islands and well protected anchorages
combin- ing reddish-gold mountains and sapphire-blue water. Counter
this seclusion and tranquility with fine dining, nightlife and
shopping in La Paz and you've got one of the most enjoyable and
rewarding sailing vacations possi- ble. Cost per cabin is $2600 for
Tradewinds Members and $3000 for non-members. This rate includes
your cabin, provisions (minus beverages, and the cost of eating at
a restaurant on the final evening), and hotel the final night. You
may book your own flight or join in our group rate of $675 per
person from San Francisco International Airport to La Paz. The
initial deposit to reserve a cabin is $400. We expect to fill all
of our cabins quick, so don’t delay. The second deposit of an
additional
$700 is due by January 1, 2010. The final payment of $1500 for
members and $1900 for non-members is due May 1, 2010. You are
welcome to book your own flight in order to use airline miles or
travel to arrive early or leave late. If you choose to take
advantage of our group airfare rate, a deposit of $200 will also be
due at time of booking, with the remaining $475 due on May 1, 2010.
Please pay close attention to the cancella- tion policy
below.
The Fine Print: The price listed includes all taxes and fuel
surcharges as of October 1st, 2009. If the airlines add new fuel
surcharges or invent new taxes, we may have to pass these on to
you. We don’t expect it to get worse, but we have to warn you just
in case. Cancellation Policy: 6 months before departure, full
refund. 6 months to 90 days, loss of deposits. Less than 90 days
before departure, no refund.
5
8
Finisterre’s delivery from Panama to Florida. Being a brief account
of the Finisterre’s delivery form Panama to Florida.
Tradewinds instructor Mike Heath needed to bring his sloop,
Finisterre, a 44’ Nautic Santionge from Panama to Florida. It was
stored on the hard at Shelter Bay Marina Colon, Panama. He asked
Bob Kimble, another Tradewinds instructor, John At- taway, a
Tradewinds member, and friend Steve Thomas to help with the
delivery. In late April 2009, they met in Colon, prepared the
well-fitted boat, and were soon off on May 1, beginning with a 4-
hour upwind sail to Portobello. The bay of Portobello is beautiful,
and the town is built around and over ruins of the colonial period.
We were there in the afternoon and enjoyed the town square until
the scruffy, if festive locals began focusing heavily on the rum
portion of their Friday night celebrations. The next morn- ing we
began another upwind sail that
brought us to the San Blas Islands. Another upwind sail with many
tacks along the green and rocky coast helped us clean out our
systems and gain tolerance for lumpy days to come.
On an earlier visit, Mike and his wife Kay had met a Kuna Indian
family on Gunboat Island led by Adelaida and Priciliano. The Heaths
had made them colorful “business” cards so we made our way to make
delivery. We tried to trade an old sail for one of the molas or
bracelets the Kuna women are famous for. We were reminded that
there is a definite separation of re- sources between the sexes
among the Kuna. Adelaida may have been happy that Priciliano scored
a sail, but if we wanted her handiwork, dollars would need to be
exchanged. When we finally bid them farewell, Adelaida was a bit
richer, Priciliano got his sail and two fine bracelets were aboard
Finisterre.
Our next leg was about 40 hours to Isla Providencia, Columbia. We
were treated with moderate seas as we close reached into the steady
trades that held for the rest of the Caribbean portion of the
voyage. Providencia is pleasantly out of the way, but we did
encounter 12 cruisers at anchor when we dropped ours near Morgan’s
Crack. Most of the population is bilingual (English and Spanish) we
happily discovered, and we spent parts of three days,
re-provisioning, calling home and enjoying the small town and its
friendly people. The Finisterre crew gives big thumbs up to Provi-
dencia for those looking for an out of the way Caribbean retreat.
The crew spe- cifically recommends the Bamboo Café across the
bridge on the small neighbor island of Santa Catalina. The owner
shared with us a wealth of island informa- tion, cooked a
delightful selection of local seafood, and her mom next-door does
boaters’ laundry. On the morning of the 8th we headed toward
the mainland of Central America. There had been hope that we could
head more northerly to the Cayman Islands, but the forecast and
winds pushed our plans to the west. About 30 hours later we
approached Cayo Vivorillo (Vivario Cays) Honduras, which is
uninhabited and around 60 miles off a not very developed coast.
Both before and after these cays, for an extensive time we were
usually in water no more than 50 meters in depth. We anchored in
the lee of the reef on the morning of the 9th and made our way
ashore by way of a brief visit to our only neighbors on a nearby
sloop. Not being sure what their chemical imbalance was, we
continued on to the island. It is approxi- mately 2 acres with an
abandoned 2-story cement structure, hundreds of Mag- nificent
Frigatebirds perched and in flight, wood lobster traps piled high,
and blood seeking punkies (no-see-ums). Steve unpacked his Hawaiian
sling on our reef adventure the next morning and got a shot off at
one of a pair of 8” Caribbean Reef Squid. It escaped.
More Fun.
9
On Monday the 11th, we headed for Cabo San Antonio at the west end
of Cuba. On Tuesday, what was likely a warbler (bright yellow
breast) paid us a half hour visit as it rested on deck aft of the
mast. That afternoon, we were also visited by around 25 Spotted
Dolphins. A White Tailed Tropicbird briefly fluttered around the
mast on Wednesday, otherwise, the western Caribbean seemed pretty
empty to us. By the afternoon of the 13th we aimed for the small
Marina Gaviota. The way in was marked by a wreck along shore, and
because of extensive shal- lows, we watched both depth sounders
closely as we finally made it to an anchor- age as light was
fading. The following morning, we skiffed in and tried to land on
the dock, but were waved off by an official from the Interior
Ministry. He wanted our papers and boat documentation and said he
would call us on VHF to tell us when we could return and land.
Because it was too shallow a channel for Finis- terre to make it in
to the dock, and because there was a moderate chop, what fol- lowed
was a long morning with Mike shuttling a series of increasingly wet
offi- cials and one drug sniffing dog from the
dock to the boat so they could conduct inspections and free us to
land. We were delayed here through the next morning, as we waited
for a re- lieving official to check us out. The next 30 or so hours
became a transition from our tropical tradewinds sail to a more
“northerly” experience. The NW coast of Cuba has extensive reef
protection which made us head out for deeper water, where
unfortunately, a westerly countercurrent lurked. There was light
wind, our speed dropped and we resorted to the engine. In the
afternoon we approached a squally area. The wind increased and the
skipper ordered all sails up. We soon found ourselves between two
cells with heavy rain, and lightning. One strike, off
to starboard, which we will all remember for- ever, was just about
con- current with a resounding thunderclap. When things finally
calmed down a bit, Steve posed the question: “When approaching a
storm, aren’t you sup- posed to reduce sail instead of power up?”
We decided to go in for the night to Bahia Honda, a large protected
bay with nu- merous hulks of ships waiting to be broken down for
scrap. We anchored off the civil guard pier, and momentarily
spotted a guarda rowing out to us. He was in a rustic rig with rope
oarlocks and homemade oars. He informed us that to check out of
Cuba we had to proceed to Marina Hemingway (Havana). This was a
disap- pointment, as we had wanted to head north from there due to
a
forecast of poor weather closing in later in the week. We motored
to Havana the next morning and got to spend more time with official
Cuba and another drug-sniffing dog before being shown to a side tie
on a concrete dock. Marina Hemingway must have been quite the
showplace when it opened in 1959, just
before Batista got booted out. By now the elements and dis- use
have left it a bit rough with abundant jagged concrete. Be- cause
the forecast gave us a short win- dow to make it to Florida, we
decided to put off for another time our exploration of old Havana.
We followed the recom- mendation from the Marina staff and arrived
at immigration by 7:30am. The offi- cials were ready to go home
after their all night shift, and processed us relatively quickly.
By the way, it appeared to us that Cuba offers cruising grounds
aplenty, and visitors may find many anchorages lightly used by
other cruisers.
More Experience.
10
We motored across the Florida Straits with a backdrop of huge
thunderheads lining the Cuban coast, and mostly clear skies ahead.
Late morning, a small pod of either False or Pygmy Killer Whales
passed by without stopping, and we landed our first Dorado. We
approached Marathon around 2am and, just as a deluge hit we lost
vision to any lights or landmarks and had to drop the hook on
instruments only. We woke to a fine morning with 7-Mile Bridge
looping away to the west. Part of the day was spent at anchor, then
we were off again for an overnight motor to Miami. Checking back in
to the US was illuminating. We were told to take a taxi to the
Immigration and Customs office, where, after about 15 minutes, our
pass- ports and boat papers were returned and we were sent on our
way. There was no inspection of the boat, which had been out of the
country for 6 years! The municipal marina was in the center of
downtown and we were soon re-saturated with ex-
cessive lifestyle and consumption choices. While there, we met a
French two-man crew of a small yellow sloop flying the flag of the
Netherlands. Mike asked them about the flag and they said that the
boat had been purchased in the Netherlands, and since the flag is
similar to the French flag, they had never bothered to change it.
Mike was the first person to have spot- ted this in all their
travels! Let this be a small illustrative example of the knowledge
and pro- fessionalism our skipper brought to this trip. There may
have been a couple minor disagree- ments about coffee, but
otherwise, we felt completely at ease with his navigation and
decision making throughout the voyage.
We next unsuccessfully attempted to beat the lingering
thunderstorms that were pep- pering Florida and had to pull back
into shelter at Palm Beach that evening. We then utilized the safe
and sane Inter Coastal Waterway (ICW) for 40 miles to Fort Pierce.
As we headed back out to the Atlantic on Monday the 25th, in a
fairly developed area, we spotted what looked like two manatees
leisurely rolling and splashing.
For the next two days we mostly motored up the coast. We had glassy
seas and passed close to and surprised several resting turtles,
which were probably loggerheads, saw hundreds, if not thousands of
Golden Eagle Rays, and had another group of Spotted Dolphins
briefly join us. During the early morning of the 26th, off shore of
Cape Canaveral, Bob and John saw what must have been a submarine
launch of a rocket, with bright light, then 1st and 2nd stages and
an exhaust plume against a starry backdrop. As we approached the St
Mary’s River and the Florida-Georgia border, we dodged shrimp
trawlers in the now turbid water coming out from the St. Mary’s
drainage. We made it in to an anchorage opposite the friendly and
picturesque Fernandina Beach. The next morning, Bob and John
arranged to depart while Steve and Mike stayed on to put the boat
up at Tiger Point Marina in Fernandina. Would we do it again? At
the drop of a hat!
More Fun.
Sailing the Greek Islands:
Things Never to Do
By William McGinnis Mary climbed up to the elevated bridge of our
42-foot Lagoon catamaran, saying, "Watch out. With my luck we'll
get doused by a big wave." Emboldened by my having somehow stayed
dry for the last 15 minutes, I foolishly said, "Don't worry. I'll
protect you with my force field." I had no sooner uttered these
imprudent words, which very likely did not please the gods of the
Aegean, than a huge wave lifted and inundated the big cat's
starboard hull, violently rotating the boat to a 45 degree tilt,
simultaneously immersing us with foam, blasting us off the high
bridge, and propelling us into free fall to port. Mary slid from
view. I plunged backward and downward through the air, with the
world flying past my peripheral vision, like falling backwards down
a long tunnel of foam. The ship's wheel, instru- ments, winches,
chrome bridge railings, a fiberglass stairway and mountains of
exploding popcorn spray flew by— until, by some stroke of luck or
the grace of some forgiving deity, I landed on my back, stunned,
with a huge lump on my head, bruised but OK. Mary had caught belly
over the bridge railing, while I had flown past, taking the long
trajectory many feet down to the floor of the catamaran's stern
dining area. I was very, very lucky not to have bro- ken my neck!
This was our biggest wave so far. Everything not tied down
throughout the boat had gone flying. Our ship was a royal mess, but
everyone was OK. My walnut-sized bump on the head was our worst
injury; we had gotten off lightly. Struggling in the 35-plus-knot
meltemi gale, with sails 30% reefed, on the 8-hour crossing from
the Cyclades Islands to the Peloponnesian peninsula, racing to stay
ahead of even worse weather, our catamaran pitched, rolled and
yawed like a big, square, buoyant cork. (Give me a mono-hull any
day--especially in strong winds!) Looking out across those
marching, cresting, relentlessly oncoming rollers stretching to the
horizon, with hearts pounding and fear dancing up our spines, we
were--amazingly yet undeniably--thrilled to be there, elated to be
alive. Ever since I can remember, it has been my dream to sail the
Greek Islands in the wake of Odysseus. So, two years ago I set
about realizing this dream: Researching Greek history and the Greek
Islands; reading/rereading Thucy- dides, Herodotus, Homer and
others (my favorites: Charles Rowan Beye's Odysseus: A Life and
Steven Press- field's historical novels The Virtue of War and Gates
of Fire); learning to speak some Greek; studying Rod Heikell's
Greek Waters Pilot; getting bids from Aegean bareboat chartering
companies; and rounding up a crew of kindred spirits willing to
share the cost and adventure of this plunge into the unknown. One
thing I learned early on was that the Greek Coast Guard requires
all bareboat skippers--and their first mates-- to be certified for
bareboating through a sanctioned organization like the American
Sailing Association. I learned to sail at age 12 and have sailed on
and off ever since, mostly on San Francisco Bay, where the strong
winds, racing tidal currents, frequent fog and constant shipping
traffic steaming in and out at 20 knots tend to develop a certain
sailing competency. I had raced classic wooden Golden Gates, risked
my neck in a tipsy 17-foot sailing canoe (the best boat I had
access to at the time), crossed the Gulf Stream to the Bahamas on
my friend Bud Robyn's Bruce Farr 72 Dream Voyager, and skippered a
bareboat Beneteau 38 for 10 days in the Virgin Islands. I had
assumed I'd fly by the seat of my pants as Aegean skipper, figuring
it out as I went, but instead I was inspired by this Greek Coast
Guard requirement to take, together with my son Will and daughter
Aly, the necessary certify- ing classes at Tradewinds Sailing
School, which is near where I live in the east bay across from San
Francisco. This, it turned out, was one of the best things to come
out of the trip. Not only did I learn to sail with more confi-
dence, filling in gaps in my sailing know-how that I was previously
unaware of, but I--and to some extent my kids-- awakened to the
incredible fun of sailing our home waters of San Francisco Bay in
the diverse Tradewinds fleet.
More Experience.
12
Another hurtle I faced was putting together a two-week crew. If I
was going all the way to Greece, I reasoned, it only made sense to
sail for at least two weeks. Unfortunately, my potential crew
members could get away for only one week. So my solution was to
have one crew for the first week, and another the second week. The
first week's crew was so big, by the way, that it required a second
boat. In as much as this made the trip possible, it was a good
idea. But in as much as this led to major logistical headaches, it
was not. More on this in a bit.
Let's jump to the trip: Will, Aly and I, who were the only ones on
the full two-week itinerary (actually it was three- weeks including
our Classic Greece land tour before the sail), flew into El
Venizelos Athens airport where we were met by my friend Stephanos
Moussouras, the owner of Catamaran Hellas
(
[email protected]). I had met Stephanos online and in San
Francisco a year earlier in the course of researching Greek
catamaran charter compa- nies. Even though we were not chartering
his boat, Stephanos was an incredible host, playing Athens tour
guide, helping us fine tune our two-week sailing itinerary through
the Cyclades Islands, and even wining and dining us in fabulous
Greek check-grabbing fashion.
It was from Stephanos that I got my first inklings of approaching
trouble: His face fell when I told him that we had hired a Greek
captain for our second boat, and he said, "Oh no! Greek charter
captains are notoriously lazy." And when I told him we had ordered
provisions through the charter company, he said, "Oh no! They
charge double to triple what you'd pay buying them yourself." Of
course, at that point our plans were set, and we were going forward
regardless.
Day 1: Just getting to the Alimos/Kalamaki Marina, where our
catamarans awaited us, proved to be a wild adven- ture. With the
best of intentions the charter company had hired a luxurious
air-conditioned bus with Russian driver. Unfortunately, the bus was
much too large for the extremely narrow streets of Athens' historic
Plaka district sur- rounding the Acropolis, where our group of four
families was spread out between two hotels and a rental villa.
Plus, the driver spoke limited Greek and no English; had no idea
where the hotels, the marina or seemingly any- thing else was
located; and throughout our time with him exuded the body language
of a person about to explode with rage. What could have been a
30-minute taxi ride turned into half a day of missed connections,
countless wrong turns, and hours of inching along crowded ancient
marble streets barely wide enough for a small Fiat. At times we
literally had to lift parked cars and motorcycles aside to make way
for our massively wide bus. At one point, with our driver utterly
lost, we were saved when half our group appeared Zeus-like out of
nowhere. Bruce Lessels, an intrepid 6-foot-5 former Olympic kayaker
and president of Zoar Outdoor in Massachusetts, had some- how
ingeniously anticipated the route of our lost and wayward bus, and
had walked his contingent from their hotel through the maze-like
Plaka district to achieve a deus-ex-machina rendezvous that defied
belief. Impressively, our group remained wide-eyed and upbeat, even
developing an Achilles-like enthusiasm for muscling and bouncing
cars up onto sidewalks.
As for me, I was already feeling border-line overwhelm. I like to
prepare my crew for what is to come, ease them into things, teach
them ahead of time what they'll need to know. But I myself was
diving into an unknown sea, leap- ing into skippering in a part of
the world utterly new to me, with new language and customs, new
weather and sea conditions, new boats and a whole new universe of
rocks, reefs, islands and confusing land masses where even the
clever Odysseus, whose idea for the Trojan horse won the Trojan
War, wandered lost for ten years. To provide at least a semblance
of leadership, and hopefully to reassure my own overwhelmed inner
self, during this bus ordeal I gave a sort of orientation talk to
my group of novice sailors. I stressed the basics of not falling
overboard, respond- ing if someone did go overboard, using plenty
of sun screen, staying hydrated and conserving ship's water. I as-
signed/reaffirmed key roles of head chef/food managers and water
supply monitor teams.
The Alimos/Kalimaki Marina was a mad house pulsating with hustle
and bustle. Gorgeous yachts of every descrip- tion extended as far
as the eye could see. Every boat seemed to be a beehive of
activity, many loading and head- ing out, many apparently going
nowhere, just teeming with people partying at the quays. With bags
in hand, our motley group of 8 adults and 6 kids followed Circe
(pronounced SEAR see), the charter company representative, through
the confusion and sweltering 90+ degree heat out along a concrete
quay lined with fabulous yachts all med moored, that is, moored
stern-to the quay--see side bar below.
This short story is too long for our newsletter! You can find the
rest of it on our message board in the “Sea Stories” section.
More Fun.
13
The Nautical Terminator Tradewinds Instructor Marianne Wheeler
Where does the word, Yacht come from? Yacht (pronounced /jt/, from
Dutch jacht meaning hunting or hunt, compare German Jagd) was
originally defined as a light, fast sailing vessel used by the
Dutch navy to pursue pirates and other transgressors around and
into the shallow waters of the Low Countries. They were also used
for non-military governmental roles such as customs duties and
delivering pilots to waiting ships. The latter use attracted the
attention of wealthy Dutch merchants who began to build private
yachts so they could be taken out to greet their returning ships.
Soon wealthy individuals began to use their 'jachts' for pleasure
trips. By the start of the 17th century 'jachts' came in two broad
catergories- speel-jachts for sport and oorlog-jachts for naval
duties. By the middle of the century large 'jacht' fleets were
found around the Dutch coast and the Dutch states organised large
'reviews' of private and war yachts for special occasions, thus
putting in place the groundwork for the modern sport of yachting.
Jachts of this period varied greatly in size, from around 40ft in
length to being equal to the lower classes of the ship of the line.
All had a form of fore/aft gaff rig with a flat bottom and lee
boards to allow operations in shallow waters. The gaff rig remained
the principle rig found on small European yachts for centuries
until giving way to the 'Bermudan sloop' rig in the 1960s. Charles
II of England spent part of his time in exile during the period of
the Commonwealth of England in the Netherlands and became keen on
sailing. He returned to England in 1660 aboard a Dutch yacht.
During his reign Charles commissioned 24 Royal Yachts on top of the
two presented to him by Dutch states on his restoration. As the
fashion for yachting spread throughout the English aristocracy
yacht races began to become common. Other rich individuals in
Europe built yachts as the sport spread. Yachting therefore became
a purely recreational form of sailing with no commercial or
military function (see, for example, the Cox & King yachts at
the beginning of the 20th Century), which still serves a broad
definition of both the sport and of the vessel.
Book your travel on our website!
Did you know that you can now book travel through our Tradewinds
web site. From our home-page (www.TradewindsSailing.com) just click
on the Travel discount link under More Fun! Remember, you can also
book your sail boat charters through us for savings on vacations
around the world.
More Time on the Water.
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