Another good time. Raised the mast by myself again. Twice in a row means I'm a pro at it right? However, by the time I had the boat rigged, the wind was just too much. Luckily I found someone willing to serve as rail meat so we went out around the island and back. I was hoping the wind would die down and I'd get to go out again, but it wasn't to be.
The two young guys in the Hobie 16 went out though. They were having a tough time going up-wind. I hope they got back okay. Also, a Weta went out. I talked to the guy and he said the wind was a bit much for them, but it would be their last chance to go out before going back up north.
Also, a Weta went out. I talked to the guy and he said the wind was a bit much for them,
Probably drank too much sea water that was sprayed off the bows of that thang! they don't call it a wet a for nothin'
Oops, the above post was from me. I didn't realize I was not logged in.
Any word on the condition of the launch area at the causeway? I've heard rumors that the south side of the road is closed but I haven't found anything official...
Edited by danielt1263 on Sep 29, 2024 - 04:40 PM.
Sorry - i realize this is on the wrong thread now but i dont know how to delete...only lets you edit.
Just dropping a note here to see if anyone has any interest. I had my Prindle 19MX stored at the Clearwater Sailing Center and it was heavily damaged by Helene storm surge. The boat has probably sailed its last day. Please reach out if you are interested in a boat project or you know somebody would might want some undamaged P19mx parts. The only damage is to the hulls but i dont know how to estimate the effort and i dont even know who does this kind of work anymore.
Edited by cataholic on Oct 04, 2024 - 07:24 PM.
Bummer.
Down here in Fat Point we got 2 feet of water in the house.
But I found a Rick White book from a long time ago. Phil Berman's book may or may not survived.
I drove down to the Dunedin Causeway on Thursday and it was open, although the entrance we normally use was closed, another one further down was open.
Of course it doesn't matter now with Milton bearing down on us... Stay safe!
Edited by danielt1263 on Oct 06, 2024 - 08:31 PM.
Went out today in some fluky winds. Ended up sailing downwind to the Clearwater Causeway then while sailing back, the wind shifted so I was going downwind again. I had lots of quality time with the spinnaker.
Gary was there when I got back. He said he was sailing Friday and Saturday and didn't feel like going out again today, so he was just hanging out on the beach.
I also had a hat overboard incident so I got to practice my overboard drill.
It was a good day sailing today. The wind was kind of light in the morning. I went out into the gulf to try to find wind and all I found were 4 foot swells. So I turned around and came back in and sailed along the ICW.
I discovered that one of my spinnaker blocks was broken last trip. It's still under warranty so I sent it to Harken and they are mailing me a new one. It won't be here until Saturday so I didn't have a spinnaker today. It felt odd without the spinnaker pole leading the way...
Daniel, where do you store your cat when not on the causeway? I recently moved to the area (Valrico) and have left the 5.7 in PA. If I could find a reasonable storage solution I would bring it down and join you.
I have a two piece mast and my boat is only 15' so I store it in my garage. The Clearwater Community Sailing Center has boat storage for about $100/month which includes a membership that gives you access to their boats as well. Otherwise, it would have to be one of the out-door storage parks.
For example CubeSmart Self Storage in Palm Harbor has 20' parking spaces for about $85/month or something like that. It's about 10 minutes from the launching beach.
I live in a HOA neighborhood in Valrico, and the 18.5' boat, 30' mast and long trailer are a non-starter here. I looked at the CCSC information online. Looks like a great way to get started. Is the boat storage mast-up? We left our kayaks and the catamaran in PA, and would really like to bring them down here. Lots of places nearby inland, as well as on the coast for our 12.5-13.5' Eddyline kayaks. I also have a Precision P-24 which is a real pig to haul around. My current plan is to sell that. I just enjoy the cat more. Like a lot of old beachcat owners, I'm 71, so trying to hold on to some sailing, but don't go on the wire anymore.
Yes, boat storage at CCSC is mast up. There's lots of kayak action on the causeway, as well as SUPs.
tominpa wrote: Daniel, where do you store your cat when not on the causeway? I recently moved to the area (Valrico) and have left the 5.7 in PA. If I could find a reasonable storage solution I would bring it down and join you.
check out Clearwater RV & Boat Storage. around 5 miles south of the causeway. I know a few cat sailors used this place.
Clearwater RV & Boat Storage.
All of a sudden, the forums are showing the most recent post at the beginning rather than the end...hmmm. Had to change the Forum post order preference.
I'll check out Clearwater RV Boat Storage, but at the point I don't have mast-up storage, I can pretty much look anywhere, and someplace local east of Tampa may be less expensive than Clearwater.
Edited by tominpa on Dec 04, 2024 - 11:13 AM.
tominpa wrote: ... someplace local east of Tampa may be less expensive than Clearwater.
For sure. Not only that, but having the boat close to home will make minor repairs easier to deal with.
Another great day on the water today! Wife went out with me again. Wind was a bit light and the ICW was extremely shallow. I had to keep my rudders at skeg height for most of the day.
My wife has gotten really good at jibing the spinnaker.
The last couple of times I've gone out I had a cormorant decide to hang out with me. Don't know if it was the same bird or not, but it would fly ahead of me, land, then as I'm passing by it would dive under the boat and usually surface right behind me. No fear of me at all. It did this about ten times or so. My wife thought it was a real highlight, she compared it to getting up close with a dolphin. Has anybody else ever seen these birds do something like that?
I assume that it's because my passing when it's so shallow stirs up a bunch of small fish in the seaweed...
Glad to hear from the causeway! Lets see a pic of your bird friend. You can now upload images directly into a post.
Had a pretty good day today even with how light the wind was. I caught a deep sea fishing line while out in the gulf and didn't have my knife with me. I ended up having to pull in a couple of hundred feet of the stuff before I found the end and could unhook my boat.
Winds 10-15 kts. Picked up a random person on the beach as crew. I unfurled the jib for a bit, but it was just too much work for the conditions. Unfurled the spinnaker on the downwind and it felt pretty good.
It was pretty overcast and I only sailed for an hour before coming in. Even so, it started raining before I was done packing up. No track this time. A bad day sailing is better than a good day doing just about anything else!
I bought my boat in Early December of 2022, and have sailed it 32 times since. Almost, but not quite, once per month on average.
The last couple of times I've gone out I had a cormorant decide to hang out with me. Don't know if it was the same bird or not, but it would fly ahead of me, land, then as I'm passing by it would dive under the boat and usually surface right behind me. No fear of me at all. It did this about ten times or so. My wife thought it was a real highlight, she compared it to getting up close with a dolphin. Has anybody else ever seen these birds do something like that?
Just noticed the cormorant story. I've had the same experience with 'em on our local reservoir...lots of them around here in the cooler months. I always assumed it was easier for them to dive under to avoid me as opposed to flying away. Being diving birds that sit so low in the water, it takes them a lot of effort and distance to get airborne. They actually look pretty awkward (a la albatross) during takeoff.
It's awesome that you are getting so much time on the boat, and I enjoy reading your trip reports. Getting cold here now, and I ain't as gung-ho as I used to be. (When it's this cold these days, I'd rather read about it than do it!) On the bright side, the cold season is a good time for boat maintenance. I figure that's why God, in his infinite wisdom, invented winter.
I went out yesterday (Feb 17, 2026). Wind was great. Sailed for about 3 hours without crew, then an hour with. Just went around in circles mainly. Maxed out at 12 knots (I think a record for me?). I was only able to do 10 knots alone.
When I was alone, I was sailing main only and out on the wire. When I had a (clueless) crew who weighed 190#, I unfurled the jib, but it was a casual sail barely even hiked out, but went so much faster... I don't know what's going on with that.Â
https://www.gaiagps.com/datasummary/track/2ff45c4de40f556bb3deb05883f25d02/
The GPS track link doesn't work for me, maybe have to have an account? Can you make a link that works for anyone?
Â
Sorry for the bad link, here's the update: https://www.gaiagps.com/public/OV2mpQsTp0SEd3skXjbN8lPI/
@danielt1263 Thanks! Love that. Way back I always carried my Garmin eTrex in my PFD pocket and would peak at it to check my speed, helped to find the sweet spot for the sails on a course.
But to make a chart like your Gaia one I had to connect to a computer, download the .gpx file and use software or google earth to display it.
@damon-linkous You might enjoy checking this out then: My Gaia Cloud
I don't have all my trips in there because I tried other apps before Gaia that had a more nautical bent to them. Sadly, they just didn't seem to work as well.
@danielt1263 Yes that is awesome. It is great how easy it is to gather and display that data now that everyone is carrying a "pocket computer - satellite communicator - video camera" everywhere we go!
Great day on the water today! I was going upwind toward the Clearwater causeway and fighting the current so I didn't quite make it all the way. The wind also started shifting around so that didn't help.
I finally gave up and turned to go back. I was on a hot reach with the ginnaker up all the way. Reached a personal best speed of almost 13 knots (in 14.4 knts wind). I was keeping the gennaker tight while hiked out as far aft as I could, then I would head up until the lee bow was just starting to burry itself, keeping the wave piercer tip just under the water. The best part was that despite the speed, I felt like I was in complete control.
https://www.gaiagps.com/public/OmsCqRLEnyjqoX7v9ke5dIGg/
Another good, if light wind, day today. Took the missus out and check out the rich people's back yards. https://www.gaiagps.com/map/?loc=12.5/-82.8091/28.0252&pubLink=OijuyuP4WfNjqjjdVNTGiRET&trackId=4086ce7ccdd82949739f1a69b4d3baef
A cormorant decided to have some fun with us again. This time my wife took video. The bird would fly right in front of us and dive under just as we were about to hit it, then surface behind us and fly back in front of us. The bird did this about 10 times.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/7HAEW8_UyEI
Just got back from sailing. Winds 5-10 kts. Went to Dunedin causeway but it was closed, so I went to Abu Seba Beach on Sand Key and launched from there. King tide was a bit of a bother, I almost got my car wet.
https://www.gaiagps.com/public/yTgW3zDgeMAepxBg1oUAhv2t/