Hobie 16

By Miles Moore commodore of Hobie Fleet 926,

As some of you know I am trying to get the Hobie 16 (H16) fleet going again within the Inland NW. As I have worked on building the Inland NW Lakes & Rivers Guide (www.sailcda.com) I have visited almost every lake and pond within this area. The thing I have noticed in my travels and sailing on many lakes is that there are more H16’s than any other class of boat. As an active H16 sailor myself and with the fact that there are so many H16’s I realized in a short period of time we could have a very active H16 group sailing recreationally together and racing.

I am hoping that with this post any of you that own H16’s, sail them, race them will contact me now so we can start preparing for next seasons races. Starting in May at the Deseret Regatta will be our first race and recreational fun event… and we will progress from there. I am building a H16 data base to bring us all together and I need again you all to contact me via email info@funtosail.com or call 208-704-4454 to get our fleet going.

I will be sailing at times with my wife and with Scott Bailey via Trapseats at various events in 2012.

Check out the discussion about the H16 Pan Am racing and Olympic multihull racing future... http://forums.sailinganarchy.com/index.php?showtopic=118319

Here are a few videos to get your juices going…

Learn-to-sail a H16

From funtosail.com

Learn from top H16 sailors

From Surf City Videos

Hobie 16 Trapseat sailing... Its a long video and the sailing portion is at 19:41 in the vid.

continue from Jeffrey Rosenbluth on Vimeo.

Before the snow flies! Sailing on Flathead Lake



I arrive in Rollins at 10 pm on a Friday night, and crash immediately. The morning stroll to the beach reveals a brilliant white blanket shrouding the peaks east of the lake, heralding the coming close of my beloved sailing season.  Bittersweet. It's been an awesome summer, slow to get rolling, very cool and wet for the inland northwest. But that didn't stop me from splashing the 18 in early April, and doing some drysuit sailing close to home on those few days with some wind and no rain.

The F16 crested Thompson Pass in early May to initiate the Montana season. Still cool and wet, so weather reports were studiously scanned for suitable weekends. And I got a few. One of which John documented beautifully with his fortunately waterproof GoPro video camera. Big wind and big water equals big fun, with those foiled rudders forever returning the leeward bow back to the surface!

Flight Risk gets wet in June when the water comes up to full pool, and that opens up the main lake for those early morning rides on the reliable 10 to 15 kt northerlies. Big boat for the big swells. An outboard motor for chasing wind. The month advances and summer finally arrives with the typical high pressure and clear skies. Out with the drysuits, in with the shorts and sunscreen!

My regular perusal of catamaran classifieds turns up an 18 square ridiculously cheap in San Diego. A class racing boat from the 80's, it's 18 feet long, 11' wide, with a monster mast, 35' tall. Another light air machine. That lust that I seem so susceptible to, develops once again! I surely don't need another boat, but this is one I've eyed for years, and here was a great opportunity to see if it'd be as much fun as I had imagined. So I scan about for a partner. Not that hard to find. My regular crew and landsailing/iceboating guru, John, has been thinkin' that he might be needing a cat of his own so he doesn't have to drive that 10 minutes south to fly with me. He ponies up the purchase price, and I arrange and finance the craft's journey north. Yippeeee! A new toy!  ohn hacks up a boat lift to adapt it to the wide beam, and she has a new home in Lakeside. I now have a ride there at mid lake, Flight Risk 10 miles further south at the cabin in Rollins, with High Voltage on Dayton Bay another 10 clicks to the south and west. Which is the bay with the magic wind!

Brad had undertaken a major overhaul of the 22, repairing, fairing, and painting. A big job, that took a bit more time to complete than we'd both hoped. But when she's finally launched in July, her stellar performance and sexy good looks leave the other cats languishing forlornly. Still new to us, and brimming with new, trick upgrades, she delivers such glee that long, uncontrollable fits of giggling erupt regularly.

My usual summer visit to Minnesota, and it's week of sailing Adam's A cat on Lake Minnetonka, and a day or two with the Fleet 444 catsailors, gets transmuted into a glorious 9 days in Rollins with Kathy. Of which I snuck in 8 days of powered up sailing under gloriously sunny summer skies. With 4 cats scattered along the shoreline, if there's a breeze somewhere, it'll be exploited. It's my job! If I can't see pressure from the hill just above the cabin, I'll fire up the DRZ and climb a couple thousand feet to get a good view of the lake, north towards Lakeside, and south to Dayton and Big Arm bays. And what a vista!  Flathead Lake is 28 miles long, north to south, and 15 miles wide from Elmo to Yellow Bay.  Clear, deep blue water, with the rugged Mission and Swan ranges to the east, and rocky, coniferous shores, which often reminds me of Superior. A magnificent sailing playground for a fellow like me!

August finds me spending every weekend in Rollins, scanning for breeze, lining up my buddies to crew, and maximizing the hours spent afloat. Loyal crewmembers John, Mark and Phil all got stints at the helm of the 22, and all found the groove easily. We're all gaining sensitivity, and building teamwork, with crew now running the mainsheet while the skipper concentrates on driving a smooth line.

Tom and Bev come to visit one weekend to experience the big cats, and Brad proposes taking both Flight Risk and the 22 out to the main lake. Another sensational morning with breeze enough to power up both! What a gas to sail the two together, switching off crew, chasing wind as the day progresses. In the light stuff, the 22 can pop a hull up out of the water sooner than FR, giving it the advantage. But as the pressure builds, Flight Risk comes into her own and starts to give chase. Another fine day on Flathead!

As the season advances, Brad manages to generate the free time to go sailing regularly, and we start to spend a bunch of time on the 22. With each passing weekend we see progress in our ability to power up in light air, and drive harder as the wind strength increases. Our focus becomes ever more intense, and the return is repeated exclamations that" This is the best day of sailing ever".

Quick blast back to Spokane, work a week, and head back to Rollins. Still a few good days to be sailed yet. Dayton Bay delivers again, and Brad and I put in a few more hours.  Between sessions I manage to pull the 16, and then Flight Risk the following weekend.  Brad sez the 22 stays til it snows!  

I'm headed east again this Friday to close up the cabin, and hopefully squeeze in another day or two on the water.  Then it's truly fall, and I'll spend my free time closer to home, hiking the peak behind my home, trying to get this ageing body ready for the white fluffy stuff. And iceboating! And kiteskiing! What a life!

Dave, 10/19/2011

Sailing Spirit Lake, Idaho



My name is Brian Auer and I've recently gotten hooked on sailing. My dad, Dan, and I have been going out almost every weekend for the last few months and he's been snatching up boats like there's no tomorrow. Here's a bit of info on our most recent trip out to Spirit Lake. In the photos below, my dad is the guy in the yellow jacket and his buddy, Chris, is the guy with the hat.  I'm the one behind the camera.

The Trip

We set out to Spirit Lake on the morning of September 18, arriving at 10:30am. The wind was already blowing pretty good, so we were quick to set up and launch. Once we got out of the narrow launch channel and onto the main body of the lake, we could see that the wind was light/moderate and consistently across the entire body of water. So we set the 150 Genoa up front and we were off and running at about 4-5 knots.

After an hour or so, the winds started to kick up and get gusty. We still had the 150 set and we ended up heeling over at about 30 to 35 degrees a few times. After one big incident, we took down the 150 and put up the jib. Of course, this caused the winds to mellow out again. So up went the Genoa once more. The rest of the day was fairly tame and the sailing was relaxing. Not a single other boat was on the lake, so it was very quiet and peaceful.

We made our final run back toward the dock at about 4:30pm and we drove home at 5:30pm. All in all, a good long day of easy sailing. I was hoping for some higher winds in the 15-20mph range so we could test our skills a little better, but things just hung out around 5-15mph all day. But hey, at least it didn't rain on us!

The Boat

The boat we took on this trip is a 1975 Clipper Marine MK 26.  It's about 26' long with a 26' mast and displaces 2400lb.  The cockpit seats 5-6 adults comfortably, and the cabin sleeps 6. There's also a dinette, sink, fridge, stove, and head inside.  We're looking forward to doing some weekend trips next summer. The boat has a 540lb swing keel that pulls into the cabin, so it sits very low on the trailer and can be launched quite easily. I don't have a good photo of the entire boat, so here's a diagram of the profile.

Everything on the boat is original as far as I can tell... except for one little thing. We had a mast "mishap" a few weeks ago and we had to replace it.  Lucky for us, the funtosail.com shop just happened to have a perfect replacement. I believe the mast was actually from a Prindle catamaran, but it had the same shape, size, and length as our original. At any rate, we learned a valuable lesson -- the staging areas at Farragut have tree branches hanging over them, so always look up when you pull the boat out of the water!

The Lake

Spirit lake is a great little sailing lake located north of Rathdrum and west of Athol. It covers about 1500 acres and is plenty big for small to midsize boats. The wind is typically consistent in strength and direction, though the occasional gust and side wind do pop up now and then. Based on the trips we've taken to this lake, here are the prevailing winds (at least for this time of year):

The wind makes for a nice round trip of tacking to the west end of the lake, followed by a run all the way back to dock. Every so often, though, you'll get a gust coming out of the south that throws you off a bit. I've also marked out a "Spirit Lake Triangle" -- this area messes with us almost every time. Something about the island and the point and the change in wind direction can make for a nasty little area that you seem spin circles and get stuck in.

There are two public launch ramps on the lake. #1 is the main launch that most boaters use. There are two docks and parking is ample. The problem with this launch is that you almost have to motor out to the lake.  You could probably tack your way out there with a cat or other small boat, but it wouldn't be very fun. #2 is the launch for catamarans and other un-powered vessels. You're right on the main body with the wind blowing at you from the west, so it's pretty easy to get out there and sail. The problem with this launch is there's no dock and parking is up a hill a ways. Between the two ramps, though, every sailor should be covered.

Next time you want to head out on a small scenic lake, consider checking out Spirit Lake. And if you ever see our flag flying, give us a wave and a shout! Please post at the end of this artilce if you would like to contact me, etc. or email me at brianauer@gmail.com

For directions and other info about this lake visit http://www.sailcda.com/ Lakes & River Guide. Direct Linke Here!

July-Sept. Regatta Reports

Picture from Rickey Point Regatta, Lake Roosevelt, WA.

Spud Cup (Sandpoint ID.) report

By David Cohen

At Sandpoint, Idaho this weekend I sailed Eye Eye (J80) in the Spud Cup Regatta.  There were 8 boats in the “Performance A Fleet”. We have sailed with or against most of them for many years— all tough competitors and  very good sailors. One of the Melges 24 owners even brought in a ringer, Professional helmsman for the series.  One of the Ultimate 20 boats has won their National championship with the same crew that he had in this, and past Spud Cups, so we knew that we had to sail well to even get on the podium. As it turned out it was almost a repeat of the Montana Cup. We were in 4th place going into the final day of racing.

Going into the last two races we were 3 points behind the Ultimate 20 (we had to beat her across the line by over 5 minutes to place ahead of her). As luck would have we finished up strong, with a first in each of the final two races and won the 1st place trophy for the second major regatta in a row. Once again all the credit goes to our wonderful crew of 8. No professional sailors, but they could be if they chose to. The real secret was a “quiet boat”. This skipper only heard where to go to find the best pressure on the course.

Once again the host were fabulous, great food lots to drink, and a wonderful race committee.

A Note by Miles Moore...

On a side note the Summer Dinghy regatta only had 3 Holder 1’s participate. I was there with my Weta but racing a trimaran against some dinghy monohulls did not seem like a race to me so I just flew around the cans and stayed out their way. Hopefully next year more small boats will show up.

Visit the Sandpoint Sailing Assoc.

Montana Cup (Flathead Lake, MT.) report

A week ago I sent out the first iteration of this note the night we got back from the Montana Cup. We just realized that it is floating out in space somewhere and nobody received it.  So, here goes again.

Thanks to the wonderful folks at CSR Marine, AAA and Washington Auto Carriage in Spokane and B&R Boat Repair in Rathdrum Idaho we were able to get Eye Eye over to the North Flathead Yacht Club in Somers Montana for the 24th edition of the Montana Cup.  This year there was enough wind for Scott Galbraith and his hard working  race committee were able to get 10 races started in in two days and they only had to abandon one long race when the wind died on our last leg. And that didn’t include a practice race on Friday night called for in the deed of gift of the Cup.  We were DFL in the practice race, but it allowed us to make adjustments in the crew assignments and techniques, so we were ready to compete by 6:30 am the next morning when we left the dock.

We had a superb crew (see attached photo), great karma and a very competitive fleet.  Going into the last day we were in second place, 2 points behind the leader. Three other boats in our fleet were within one or two points behind us.  The final morning we managed to get two bullets and a second to win the Cup by one point. Then it was back to the dock get the boat on the trailer, mast down, wrap up all “the loose ends”, pack up the tents and sleeping bags and head back to Newman Lake.  This time the trailer behaved nicely and we dropped the boat off in Rathdrum before dark even after a stop for dinner at the Olive Garden in Coeur d’Alene.

We are really grateful for all the help from everyone that had a hand in getting this super boat ready to go to Montana and to all the crew that travelled long distances to come sail with us. Even Kaci, our one local talent, had to scrounge to get time off to sail with us and was just healing up after a double course of antibiotics to treat a bad case of strep throat.

We are looking forward to  the Spud Cup our next regatta in Sandpoint on the Saturday and Sunday of the Labor day weekend (September 3rd and 4th). Please let us know if any of you can sail with us so we can make arrangements to have you stay with us at our condo at Schweitzer during the regatta. The weather is usually great, the wind fair and the Sandpoint Sailing Club does a fine job of getting everyone well fed and entertained.

Best wishes…

Visit the Flathead Lake Yacht Club.

Rickey Point Sail Club 28th Annual Regatta (Rickey Point Lake Roosevelt, WA.) 2011 Report

 

By J. Foster Fanning, sailing Aquila

Far on the northern reaches of Lake Roosevelt where the rolling, pine covered hills meet the Columbia River a small sailing club has just celebrated another year by hosting it's 28th annual regatta. When thinking of Lake Roosevelt, the 150 mile long lake formed by the impounded waters behind Grand Coulee Dam, bass fishing, houseboats and party barges come to mind. But nestled against the eastern shore, in the lee of Rickey Point, just south of the historic Kettle Falls

is the small nautical community of Rickey Point Sail Club operating 26 buoys under a National Park Service permit with over 40 members and associates.

Starting on Friday evening the ‘Skippers Meeting’ was hosted at Riverview Orchard and Crandall’s Coffee Roasters over looking the Rickey Point Sail Club buoy field on northern Lake Roosevelt

. Having a couple of taps of donated Northern Ale’s porter and pale was certainly appreciated by us land-locked sailors.

An exciting component of sailing a regatta is the proximity of other boats. Aquila

’s crew oft sail remote places and off-seasonal times, thus a lot of our time under sail is solo. In a regatta there is often two or more vessels right under your rail (or closer). The keelboat RUNRIG is definitely one of the boats to beat in any club race, especially in light air. This Cal 2-24 skippered by owner Gabriel Cruden with a crew of John Tyra is a formidable contender. The S/V Aquila knew this going into the races and fortunately poached crew from Runrig. Thus we beat them three out of six heats across the starting line. P.S. Nessie was great to have onboard!

There were very close finish in many races, in particular on one of the heats between two very differing vessels, the Luders 21, DAVY JONES REVENGE (a sailboat with a classic salvage-from-the-depths and restore project history) piloted by Adam Wharf and the 30’ AQUILA nearly beam to beam at the finish line.

Of course I failed to mention we were respectively 8^th and 9^th…

On Saturday there are usually five around-the-cans triangular buoy races. So if you didn’t get a good start on the last one there is a chance you will nail it on the next.

The S/V TANGO, a Clipper Marine 26, had the strategy of letting the madness of the starting line clear for an open run at the course. RPSC Vice Commodore Brian Golphenee at the helm. If there is any one to blame for all this nautical madness it is Brian, who has coordinated our annual regatta for a number of years now.

On the 2^nd day of the regatta, Sunday, the race is an eight mile windward/leeward run to French Rocks and back to the Rickey Point Sail Club buoy field. A great race when the wind holds steady…

Once again AQUILA

managed to find herself in good position at the starting line when the race horn sounded the start of the 2^nd days event and we were the first across the line.

The morning winds were light and variable as the fleet made its way to the French Rocks islands. It’s a ‘parade’ of sailing vessels running downwind and fetching the western channel of the islands. By the end of this race the already light winds had nearly vanished but we all were able to all finish the race.

The Sunday afternoon RPSC awards banquet was once again held at Barney’s Junction on the western shore of Lake

Roosevelt near the historic site of Kettle Falls on the Columbia River. And a good time was had by all…

For a detailed review of this regatta, info about this club, and great pictures go to Ricky Point site blog.

36th Annual Tribune Cup reports 2011

By Lewiston-Clarkston Sailing Assoc.

Sailing in his red Comet Trimaran, Randy Blair of Clarkston missed coming in first place by just 14 seconds at the 36th annual Tribune Cup at Chief Timothy.

In the light winds Sunday, sailboats in the open class failed to finish within the 1-hour, 30-minute time limit – by just 14 seconds. Those 14 cost Blair first place as David Walker of Seattle won with this Buccaneer 18.  Blair took second.

In the San Juan class, three-time national champion Mark VanderSchalie continued to dominate the field of 11 boats and took first place in his green “Kermit” boat. In Saturday’s race Vander Schalie employed a strategy of hugging the shoreline of the island as he went upstream to the first mark, tacking with each slight wind shift.

Tim Lynch of Lewiston placed third in the San Juan class while his crew, 4-year-old Dylana, fished over the side for yellow plastic fish.

A total of 16 boats competed in the two-day race, which is sponsored by the Lewiston Tribune.

San Juan Class – 1, Mark VanderSchalie, Wenatchee, 2, Lauren Murphy, Clarkston, 3, Tim Lynch, Lewiston. (Lynch wins three-way tie-breaker for third with Wes Vaugnh, Clarkston and Sergio, Boise).

Open Class – 1, David Walker, Seattle, 2, Randy Blair, Clarkston, 3, Jeff Hanson, Pullman.

Visit the Lewiston-Clarkston Yacht Club.


For other 2011 regattas/events reports such as the May Desert Regatta SEE MAY & JUNE SAILING report

Sailing the Inland NW

Sailing the Inland Northwest
I know I have been promising you all that I will post the new sailing videos, articles, etc. I am getting close to getting it all done. Sorry I have been just so busy... one man show...

Here is some new news and repeated stuff I have sent you before but please take a look at it all as we have some fun activities coming up.

In this email: Lesson & Activities Oct., Nov., Dec.; RC Models

LESSONS

Keelboat Class... Just an update I now have a Keelboat again to start teaching the 105 Basic Keelboat course. The best thing is I have the boat in Hagadone's marina so I can go straight to a dock versus paddling out to the boat as I had to do in the past. I will run the 105 Keelboat course all winter. Course dates to be announced shortly. Private instruction is always available.

Indoor Spokane sailing classes - I will be doing some indoor sailing classes in Spokane soon. I am working with an organization in Spokane and my sailing class will be part of other marine classes they offer... More info about this coming soon!

October Event & Lessons
On Oct. 15^th I offer my last on-the-water sailing class for dinghies (small non-ballasted boats). I only have room for two more people in this class so sign up via my email ASAP at info@funtosail.com class fee is $125. AI and TI sailors can bring their own boats. For more info about the lake we will be sailing on and directions go to this link and slide down the page http://www.sailcda.com/local_lakes_guide/small_kootenai_county_lakes.htm

For those who already know how to sail but want to improve their skills and have their own boats, you can join us for $55/person or $75/couple. For $125 you can take the class aboard one of my boats (I only have room for two more people). Learn more about the lessons here… http://funtosail.blogspot.com/p/lessons.html

ACTIVITIESOn Oct. 15^th I am inviting anyone that would like to sail on Radiant Lake in Rathdrum Idaho to do so. This is a 20 acre artificial lake with two large fountains on each end of the lake. This lake is only suitable for sailing dinghies up to 16 feet (TI is 19’ and works great on this lake). The lake is 4-8 feet deep. Email me for details for your specific boat at info@funtosail.com . For more info about this lake and directions go to this link and slide down the page http://www.sailcda.com/local_lakes_guide/small_kootenai_county_lakes.htm

Nov. 12^th Activity
Hot chocolate sail… Radio Controlled model sailing activity at Riverstone Pond, Coeur d’Alene Idaho (see directions link below). Come and join us for some RC models sailing and hot chocolate. I will put out some buoys for some around the cans racing. If you have never raced before this is a fun way to learn... For more info about this pond and directions go to this link and slide down the page http://www.sailcda.com/local_lakes_guide/small_kootenai_county_lakes.htm

Dec. 3^rd Activity
I assume Riverstone Pond will be froze over so we will do our Dec. 3^rd RC model sailing activity at Independence point next to the Coeur d’Alene Resort. For more info about this lake and directions go to this link and slide down the page http://www.sailcda.com/local_lakes_guide/large_kootenai_county_lakes.htm
We will start RC sailing in Spokane in 2012 as soon as Windermere Pond thaws out.

Buy a RC Model Sailboat
The official RC model sailboat for Sailing the Inland NW club is the Nirvana II. To purchase and to learn more click on this link http://funtosail.blogspot.com/p/snark-rc-model-keelboat.html


WELLNESS MEETING

I think part of enjoying sailing/kayaking is being able to do it without pain, etc. So as many of you know I run a wellness business and I want to invite you all to the following:
This Thursday we are providing a major wellness presentation about Bone and Joint health, Blood Pressure/Lipids, Blood Sugar problems....

and the Natural Solutions available to resolved these issues.
The world renowned Jerry White is doing this important and informative Presentation at the Wellness Center in Post Falls this Thursday Night 7:00 pm (see directions below).

This is an especially good event for those wanting to learn how to lower blood pressure, deal with diabetes (or eliminate it), overcoming joint pain, and increasing bone mass all without the use of drugs with their sometimes dangerous side affects.
Don’t miss this presentation as it can help you and/or those you know and love.For more info contact me (Miles Moore) at info@leadersinvitality.com or call 208-704-4454.

Directions: 2561 W. Seltice, Post Falls, ID. 83854. 208-

End
Sincerely,
Miles Moore
Leaders in Vitality http://www.leadersinvitality.com/
funtosail.com http://www.funtosail.com/
208-704-4454