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Ok, I got it
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since 12/21/08
Full and By
The (B)Log of the Montgomery 23 "Dauntless"
Full and By
3 Peas in a Pod
Sep 11 2009 01:13 pm
Two weeks ago 'Jo, I, and Bosun traveled over to Channel Islands Harbor to sail with Capt. Howie and his group, The Socal Potters. It's a seven hour trip for us to get over there with Dauntless in tow but it's a trip we've made every year for the last four years. In fact, it was the first place and time that we actually launched Dauntless after acquiring her and having to do major repair work. So, it's kind of like an anniversary every time we go.

We usually stay for 3 or 4 days and the group either sails out to Anacapa Island or up to Ventura, or both. Well, this year the wind just didn't cooperate. A high pressure system set-up right over us. Temps soared (for the coast anyway) and winds dropped. On Sat morning, the group assembled to head the 11 or 12 miles offshore to Anacapa. There was no wind.....none. Hoping that as we got offshore the breezes would pick up, off we went under motor. Jo and I weren't planning on going the whole way, anyway, but we were hoping to head out with the group and find some sailing. It wasn't to be had.

We were trailing behind the main group that was pushing to make time for the trip out to the island. A couple of other boats were in the vicintiy of us. Suddenly we were surrounded by a pod of dolphins. Not 5 or 10, or even 15 or 25, but lots of them. They were everywhere. We circled around to stay in the area. As I turned the boat the dolphins that were riding our bow turned with us. I looked over at Howie's boat, Sweet Thing II, and the same thing was happening to them. Craig in his P-19 was experiencing the same thing.



We played with these guys for well over an hour, circling around they would jump from our boat to Howie's, then Craigs then back to ours. They'd split up and give us all a group of our own and then all converge into one group again. As they would swim alongside the boat you could literally see them looking at you. You could see them switch their gaze from me in the cockpit to 'Jo on the bow. It was amazing. I've seen it before, but never for such a prolonged time. Their motion through the water was effortless and they could speed away from us at will....but then they'd come back! Occasionally you could even hear their high pitched sonar sounds they make.

The entire episode lasted well over an hour. Eventually we turned for home as the pod started moving on.

Motoring back to the harbor was a time of reflection for me. In my everyday life I sometimes find myself so caught up in things. Like so many of folks out there, recent times at work have involved budget cuts, manpower shortages, and leadership that at times seems so out of touch with reality that it's hard to believe. Power struggles within the organization disgust me, especially when they lead to decisions the are made for entirely the wrong reasons. I came looking to find a get away from the whole situation and turn my brain off for a while. I knew a good stiff ocean breeze would distract me, at least for the short time that we'd be there.

 I didn't find that breeze......
 
What I found was better. That pod of dolphins opened my eyes. My focus has been on such a microcosm that my viewpoint has been skewed. All these people that I have been so frustrated with, the ones that are the "movers and shakers" (at least in their eyes), the ones that make the decisions based on personal motivations rather than the good of all, the ones that abuse their power to attack anyone that challeges their motivations, regardless of the damage it may do...they are only kidding themselves. They are big fish in a very little pond. Yes, in this little town of 50,000 people they have the power to do what they do....but in the overall picture they are little people and inconsequential. There is a great big world out there that moves along whether we know it or not. That pod of dolphins is somewhere out there in the Pacific, right now as I type this. They are hunting for food, giving birth to and raising their young, and playing on someone else's bow wake. The pod lives on with no ill will towards anything. Their motivations are pure. Acquire what is neccessary to support their own. Period. They don't destroy their own enviorment. They don't seek to acquire perceived wealth or worry about their own self-importance. It makes me think that maybe they look at us (humans) in amazement...of our ingnorance as a race. It made me wish that my world was more like theirs.

We returned to the dock early. Most of the group had gone the whole way out to the island. With no wind, and our four legger (Bosun) aboard, we figured we'd head back, get some lunch, and let him make a pit stop.

As afternoon moved into evening the boats began returning. Everyone arrived back in the harbor and smiles and laughter soon filled the docks. An impromptu dock party began. Someone decided we needed pizza and soon six or seven pizzas were being devoured by the group. The finger dock between Dauntless' starboard side and Sweet Thing's port side became "The Spot".

People were sitting on the boats, on the dock, in beach chairs, or just milling around the group. Open pizza boxes covered the concrete dock. Multiple conversations could be heard at any one time, all interspersed with laughter and joy.

 

Pizza boxes on the ground, chips and salsa on the cabin tops, drinks for everyone......soon crews from other boats nearby, not even associated with our group  began to mosey over. They were welcomed with open arms and joined in on the the pizza feeding frenzy. 

As darkness set in, Bosun indicated it was time for a walk. He and I took a little stroll up the dock and through the park like surroundings of the harbor area. The whole time we were walking my mind was thinking about the dolphins. We walked for about 20 minutes before returning to the docks. The tide was out making the docks quite a bit lower than the walkway above. As we came down the gangway to the dock I could see the whole scene from above. All the crews were there in the dim rays provided by the dock lights. There were so many conversations going on that it was difficult to pick out just one from a distance. Someone had turned some music on in the background. Every body was eating, laughing, and moving about. One second there would be a group by Dauntless' bow  and Sweet things stern. Then as the laughter continued the group mingled around and reformed on Sweet things bow and Dauntless' stern. Then everyone momentarily got on the same conversation and an uproarious laughter was heard before they broke up into indiscernable conversation and reformed their groups again.

Right then it hit me......I'd seen this before,,,,,,,,I'd found my Pod.....  ;-)

Thanks gang I needed that.


Casting off

S
Resolutions
Jan 6 2009 07:36 am
It's 38 degrees out this morning. For Lake Havasu City, AZ  that's cold. It was the same yesterday morning when I got off from work. That might not be bad thing and here's why.
At work we operate what's called a 48/96 schedule, 48 hours on duty and 96 hours off. You would think that with all that time off I'd always be caught-up with all my "husbandly duties" around the house. Not so. Why? One word. Dauntless. Yes, Dauntless.
Knowing that I have 4 days off when I leave work makes it very easy to just blow everything off on the first day to "unwind" a little. Heck, there are still three more days to get stuff done! Of course, if there is a breeze, even boat projects are put on hold in favor of going sailing. Day 1 is now gone. By Day 2 I am feeling the pressure to get some more progress done on whatever current project I have going on the boat . Right now it's re-finishing exterior teak. So I take all my stripping, sanding, and re-finishing supplies to the marina and....."Oh look.......a little beeze.....yeah, that's sailable"  I quickly talk myself into the fact that it's too much breeze to apply varnish (or Cetol) so....You guessed it....Day two gone with no progress on any projects (home, boat, or otherwise). By day three I know that need to get that finish on, rebed that piece of hardware, or whatever. Maybe the breeze doesn't blow. If not, I find myself down at the marina with a favorite CD or XM playing working on the boat all day. Hours pass unnoticed as I  think about past sailing adventures and daydream about upcoming ones. If the wind does come up....refer to Day 2. For whatever reason Day 4  ALWAYS ends up being set aside for home projects like trimming trees, installing a new water heater, washing trucks, cleaning the garage, etc. Funny thing though. Day 4 almost always has the best wind! AND....I'm going to be going away to work for the next 2 days. I mean, I really owe it to myself to take advantage of the good sailing while I can, Right?
About 6pm on Day 4 reality usually sets in. That's when I get home from the marina and see the palm trees that are still patiently waiting to be trimmed, garage that is waiting to be cleaned, etc,etc. But worse than that...that's when the garage door opens and I see the white Chevy Tahoe sitting there. That means that 'Jo is home from work. I know that she too has passed by the palm trees that I didn't trim, garage I didn't clean, etc. After 20 years she knows the drill well. She can see the lake on her drive home. I'm sure that she looks at the surface of it when she's leaving work. To her, a windline on the water probably has a different meaning than it does to me. If it's there, she knows I'll probably get home around dark and that there hasn't been much progress on projects around the house.
I sheepishly grab my stuff out of the truck and try to slide in the kitchen door. I know she's gonna be mad. I'm hoping that she won't embarrass me by yelling at me so loud that the neighbors hear it. Maybe this time she'll actually get physical and throw a toaster or something at me for my lack effort around the house. As I set my stuff on the counter she comes around the corner from the bedroom. She smiles and say "How was your sailing?" and gives me a hug. Just like every other time. No yelling, no flying toasters. Wow, how cool is that?  Inside I kick myself for not getting the trees timmed and the garage organinzed.
I'm gonna change. I'm gonna do better. She deserves it. It's my New Years Resolution. A morning like this morning is exaclty what I need to get started. It's 38 degrees outside, remember? Kind of cold for sailing. Now, to decide which project to start on first. I head out to the garage. Lot's of work that can be done out here. First things first, though. I've got to ge the trucks backed out so I can have some room to move around in here and get started. Up go the garage doors. ........................
Huh? Would you look at that?  There's a nice breeze already blowing. You know, it's only Day 2.    ;-)




Casting off,


S
Over the Transom
Dec 31 2008 11:10 am
Well, 2008 is just about in the books. Looking back it's been a pretty good year for 'Jo and I. Even though the economy has tanked we have been blessed with jobs that so far have isolated us from being affected too much. Yes, we have felt the crunch a little. There have been some cuts that affect our paychecks but not too severely so far.  We don't like it, but that's the way it is. My part time job at West Marine where I have been employed both full and part-time for the last 10 years was terminated last week. The notice was by a knock on the door. I opened the door to find no-one there and a Fedex envelope sitting on the ground. Upon opening it I found a check for $179.00 from West. It took me a minute to figure out that it was for un-paid vaction time and that there was a note in the comments section of the paystub saying "final check". I will certainly have to get used to paying "full boat" prices again at the boat store. Well, it was a good run while it lasted!

We sailed all over this year taking trips to San Diego, Catalina, Channel Islands, and Monterey. Since October "Dauntless" has been in her wet slip here at home in Lake Havasu allowing me to get out on the water at least 3 times a week. All of our coastal trips were related to Socal Potter events. We have made some great friends with members of that group. The funny thing is that this year there were as many "other" boats (Montgomerys, Catalinas, Odays, etc) attending the Socal Potter events as there were West Wight Potters. Why? Because the Socal Potter's priorities are in the right place. Every event is about sailing, but also about friendship and camaraderie. The folks involved in this group are first class and it has been our privelage to get to know them.

What's in store for '09. Well, the "BIG" thing for us will be to once again trailer "Dauntless" 1500 miles up to the San Juan Islands in Washington State. There we will launch and join the Montgomery Sailboat Owners Group for a two week long cruise through the San Juans, across the International Border into Canadian waters, and up through the Canadian Gulf Islands. This trip has been planned for two years and June can't get here fast enough! Hopefully fuel prices will remain "low" or should I say "lower" as that is our major expense.


In the near future will be our crazy 2nd Annual Lake Havasu Pocket Cruiser's Poker Run here in Lake Havasu during the weekend of Feb 19 to the 22nd. We had a great time last year with 17 boats participating. Over 20 are signed up this year. There are boats coming down from as far as San Francisco and beyond! The odd thing is that nearly every boat is from out of town.

Getting local boats to participate has been like pulling teeth and that's a shame. We live in a beautiful town on a lake where you can leave your driveway and be on the boat in less than 10 minutes. Heck, most folks can see the lake from their yard. Yet, the majority of the sailors here continue to pay slip fees and watch their boats deteriorate in their slips, never taking them out. There are 2 yacht clubs in town and both of them have seen their sailing programs completely dry up. There is a core group that used to like to chase each other around the bouys (I played that game for a while, a few years ago) but the back-biting and inter Yacht club politics seems to have even destroyed that scene. I guess over time they have just come to take for granted the special set-up we have here. I'm glad to say, though, that a few have said that they will participate with us this year's in the Poker Run. That's a few more than last year. Maybe we can get those local sails out on the water again. I really hope so and that's the whole reason for the Poker Run. Everyone is welcome.

There will undoubtedly be some Socal Potter coastal trips in '09 for Dauntless, although we will regretfully miss their signature event, The Catalina Trip in June, due to the dates conflicting with the San Juan/Gulf Islands trip. A few of us are talking about putting together a trip out to Santa Cruz Island in the Channel Islands. We've been out to Anacapa Island on daysails a bunch of times but Santa Cruz, a little further north, promises to be a more challenging trip. The talk is of a multi-day trip taking time to explore multiple anchorages around the island. It's still in the research/planning mode right now, but if it pans out it looks to be quite an adventure.

So that's the view from the helm of "Dauntless" both looking over the transom at our wake, and over the bow to the horizon. A big thanks to all of you we've sailed with this year...and there's a lot of you!!! We've enjoyed every minute. I hope that we'll cross paths again in '09. With the struggles we all as Americans stand to face throughout this upcoming year it's important to take time to get away. I plan to leave the Republicans, Democrats, Independants, Bills, Phones, Emails, Economy, Wars, Work, etc., etc., etc., behind for a little while, get out on the boat, and get back to basics(Family, Friends, Wind and Water) as often as, and for as long as possible. I recommend you do to.  Don't worry, I've found that you really won't miss anything. It'll all still be there waiting for you when you tie back up to the dock.

Happy New Year!!!

Casting off

S
Simplicity
Dec 26 2008 09:15 pm

I hope that everyone had a Merry Christmas. For some of you it was a pretty white Christmas I hear. Believe it or not we've even had snow down here in the desert!

I had to work Christmas Eve which put me getting off-duty at 7am Christmas Morning. Fortunately my job is pretty cool. All the guys on the Engine Company had their families, girlfriends, kids, etc. come to the firehouse for a HUGE Christmas Eve dinner. It was great. We even got through the entire dinner without anyone catching a call...barely, but we made it none the less!

Christmas morning I got home about 8am. It's just Jo and I these days. Not even any pups around the house anymore. But we still have a tree and each had gifts to exchange. This year it appears photography was on our minds, as she got a new still camera and I got a new video camera.

I usually consider myself pretty computer savy (to a point) but I have to tell you that this little tiny video camera has completely defeated my attempts to figure it out. As I sit here typing my printer is banging out a 150 page manifesto of a manual on how to operate the software that came with the camera. It took me an hour to find the manual buried in a file on the installation disc.  That was after about 2 hours of "Oh, I don't need the stinkin' manual. I can figure this out". Yeah right! This micro- camera that disappears in the palm of my hand does so much stuff I can't even believe it. I'm sure there's a food menu in there somewhere!

We took our new cameras sailing today to try them out. In one hand I had 10 times the technology and capability that it took to put Neil Armstrong on the moon, and in the other I had the steering  mechanism for our  boat...........a 30 year old varnished wooden stick.30 year old "stick"  I am fairly certain that in those 30 years, that stick has never crashed, overheated, become fragmented, burnt out a pixel, been rebooted  or ever had a "Nerd" work on it. Amazing isn't it? I wonder how much they were trying get out of the original owner for the "extended warranty"?
 .................................
All Right you got me....................

I lied about the "Nerd" thing!   :-)

Casting Off,

S

Was it worth it?
Dec 23 2008 12:47 pm
I've been asked that question by a number of my non-sailing friends with respect to all the effort it took to get "Dauntless" back on the water again. They had watched as she was craned onto work stands in the back yard and then remained there for the next nine months. Everytime one job seemed almost complete, another "surpise" came to light. Each job seemed to get uglier than the last. I could see in some of their eye's that although they were verbally being supportive, they thought that there was no possible way that "that boat" was ever going to see the water again. I can't blame them, really. There were times when I almost lost hope. But, we made it through.

As part of the rework of my website that I'm working on, I decided to add a page of "Favorite Photos". Some of these are the photos that I have on my computer's screen saver. They are good at getting me through the time from one adventure to the next. But, I hadn't really looked at all of them for while. Wow! I'm glad I did. What a great Christmas present I just gave myself. One picture after another of smiles and memories of the last three years. They are full of great friendships that have been developed strictly because of sailing "Dauntless". That alone is worth every hour of every day I spent sweating, covered in epoxy resin, bottom paint dust, stripper, or whatever the project of the day was during the restoration and repairs.

To everyone that we've met through sailing Dauntless, Thank you! The times we've shared can only be understood by someone with a mutual love of sailing like we have.

I constantly look for folks to share  my love of sailing with in the hopes that one of them will find the pure joy of it like I do. What I find is that the we are a rare breed. Most enjoy the sail but miss the big picture.

I had a mentor when I was just a pup who took me under his wing and shared his enthusiasm for sailing. He owned 2 Monty 17 flushdecks....yes 2!... One named "Zip" and the other "Cat's Pajamas". He enjoyed racing and I crewed for him for three years on "Zip", starting when I was about in the 8th grade. When the 4th race season came around I gave him a call to see when we'd be starting to practice for the upcoming fall series. In a serious voice he told me that I wouldn't be crewing for him this year. There was a dreadful silence on the phone as I frantically pondered what I had done to deserve being kicked off the crew. Then his voice changed back to normal and he answered my question...."I think it's about time for you to find your own crew and skipper "Cat's Pajamas"...don't you?  I sailed Cat's Pajamas for two years as if it was my own boat. I realize now that he probably enjoyed watching me as much or more as I enjoyed doing it. Ken's gone now. What a gift he gave me. I didn't realize how valuable it was at that age, but looking back on it now, I do. He gave me a purpose, direction, self-worth, confidence, and kept a young high-school kid from getting into any shennanigan's that could have got me into trouble.
My eyes are open now looking for that same kid. I haven't found him/her yet but I know he's out there. And when I find him (or her) I plan on sharing the gift as well.

I hope that you will consider doing the same so we can keep the "rare breed" alive.

Merry Christmas to you and yours.

casting off,



S
Something New
Dec 21 2008 07:15 am
Time for something new on this website. What initially began as a chronicle of major repairs to "Dauntless" gave way to occasional posts  whenever we get around to taking some pictures. As many of you know, a lot of time can be eaten up just sitting at the keyboard arranging a webpage. Too much time. I have found myself sitting here on many occasions while I should have been getting other things accomplished! This has led to fewer and fewer "new" entries on my site. So, like many other sites, I decided to add a blog. Hopefully it will help me to keep some fresh material on the site without having to spend as much time as a full photojournal page. I know that I have enjoyed reading some other sailing blogs like Dave Scobie's of the M15 "Scred" (soon to be an M17 owner!) so I thought I'd give it a shot.  So....here we go!


S
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