Monthly Archives: June 2010

Too short of a Vacation Requires a Yacht Delivery

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Somehow your summer vacation is too short and puts those famous ports just out of reach. You have worked hard and the adventure of reaching those ports would sure fill your “Summer Bucket List”. We have an affordable solution. I would like to return your yacht or sailboat to your home port for free.

I am currently working on my USCG Captains License and cannot charge a fee for deliveries. The USCG License has many requirements, and my current chellenge is to fill 90 days on the water in the last three years. So read my resume, and if my skills fit your requirements, then email me at john.weller@AfrayedKnotSailing.com and lets review your specific timing and requirements to see if we have a fit.

My resume:

Age 46 and physically fit, with three children, and wife that is ASA certified for 101, 103, and 104.
ASA Certified Instructor – level 201, 203, & 204.
Boating and sailing 20-30 days a year since age 13, including fishing boats, sailboats, and cruisers.
Regular crew on a 35 ft racing J/35, on Lake Macatawa, Holland, MI, every Wednesday night.
Chartered sailboats in British Virgin Islands, Lake Michigan, Lake Macatawa, and Lake Charlevoix.
Full-time IT Auditor and hold the following certifications: Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), Certified in the Governance of Enterprise IT (CGEIT), Certified Secure Software Lifecycle Professional (CSSLP), and ACL Certified Data Analyst (ACDA).
My professional work requires me to review risks and controls all day long. Sailing, navigation, boat hardware, and weather offer a complete set of risks that require constant risk management every step of the way.

June 16 Race #3 Summer series

Near full crew on Lickity Split. Due to a lack of wind on the big lake, the race was to be held on Lake Macatawa, and the lighter winds meant we only had time for two legs.

Brave Bert We sent Bert up in the Bolsons chair to fix the WindDex. We used the main sail halyard, and a backup line with the genoa halyard. He packed his pockets with tools. Of course it required one more tool, so we sent a five gallon bucket up another halyard with allen wrenches. Once it was at the top, it posed an undesirable image: a 5 gallon bucket directly underneath Bert as he was working the mast top equipment. Not a pretty picture.

Our division started at 1910. Our speed ranged from 1.5 to 3.1 knots. We were all trying to eek out more speed, and we stayed ahead of Drumbeat on the first three tacks. Each time she would have her retractible spar extended a bit, reaching out toward us, as we crossed paths in three near misses, and each time, she passed within in feet of our aft. Put a sharp point on the front of the spar and she would have been a ramming ship.

In the end, other boats were fortunate enough to be in a lane of breeze, while others like us, nearly stalled in calm spots. To our unpleasent surprise with spinnakers sailing downwind, Carpicious sailed under us, as we sailed over them on a port breach, and we fully expeted to steal her wind, yet they excellerated and we stalled. Uggg.

Swinging SteveO SteveO is our main spinnaker guy, reconnecting the spinnaker pole to the opposing clew on each jibe. In heavy wind it is easy to see that the job has lots of increased risk of injury. Last night was calm, but Lake Macatawa was crowed and narrow and required at four jibe manuevers, all performed smoothly by SteveO.

Bay Shore Race #2 Summer 9 June 2010

Captain Jeff reports:

Wind out of the SW…around 15k…. started out about 2 to 3ft lumpy seas…quieted to about 10K…1- 2 ft at race end…perfect skys…clear visibility…just a perfect evening for sailing…We had 7 onbord, three short of full crew.

Tom drove…. I think our winsdpeed is off as it was showing a steady 17-19k…which prompted a call for the #3 headsail…which was the wrong call as we were slow the 1st upwind leg… Other than that, the race went fairly smooth… 4 ..1 mile legs…. We were 4th out of 4 in our division….

Bay Shore Race 1 of the summer series

June 2, 2010

We heard that there was no wind on the big Lake, so we took our time and headed out in medium fog to check in with the committee boat on the small lake, Lake Macatawa. We had eight of our 10 crew. The fog increased and we could hardly see 100 yards. It was gripping to be with a 200 yards of 36 sailboats, as they pop in and out of sight.

Captain Jeff said hold off on raising the sheets, as he keenly anticipated the race would be canceled. And sure enough, at 1855, the race was canceled. The committee boat noted they could not see the other mark to be able to determine which boats were crossing the finish line. It would also be very dangerous to suddenly see sailboats heading at you, and be surrounded by other boats in your division, and not able to tack in time.

How foggy was it?

When we arrived at the marina, Captain Jeff turned into a slip, only to notice he turned two slips too early.

Till next week.