• Untitled Document

    Join us on March 29rd, 7pm EST

    for the CBEC Virtual Meeting

    All EYO members and followers are welcome to join the fun and get to know the guest speaker!

    See the link below for login credentials and join us!

    March Meeting Info

    (dismiss this notice by hitting 'X', upper right)

Setting off around the world!

p.gazibara

Member III
Hey all,
off we go on Cinderella. So far things have been...slow. Fickle summer winds and strong currents mean long days for us. We stopped in Port Townsend yesterday and had a blast checking thing out.

heading to Port Angeles now riding the morning ebb. We are taking things slow to wait for the coming southerly to die down.

-P
 

Mark F

Contributing Partner
Blogs Author
Good luck -P.

Are you heading south down the coast? Any plans to stop in Santa Cruz CA?
 

p.gazibara

Member III
We are hoping to stop by Santa Cruise. I'm hoping to have a beer with Buzz and get some insight on our rig. I'll let you know when we plan to get to town.

-P
 

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
Port Angeles has a well protected harbor and also a very friendly yacht club!
:egrin:
 

p.gazibara

Member III
We learned a bit about ocean swell today. If the wind doesn't blow at least 8kts, we can't sail in it. We just flog flog flog. Needless to say we just spent 24 hrs floating around in circles in the straights. we have decided to head back to Neah Bay and wait out some strong northerlies. Debated using them to sail south, but not sure what kind of sea state they would kick up.

On the plus side, we spent the day whale watching and salmon fishing. Not bad! However frustrating clogging sails at 3am may be.
 

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
You will most likely turn south and head further out from shore when you go, but if you need to stop in @ LaPush, it is a short albeit precise entry... but not very long to get into totally protected waters. Friendly folks and a decent restaurant.

Gray's Harbor is an easy bar crossing, as long as you avoid the middle of the ebb. Nice port and good facilities. There used to be a free shower room in the harbor master's office on the second floor.

If you enter the Columbia River, pay attention to the tide. Listen to the USCG info on the radio. Do not cut too close to the north jetty even tho some local fishing boats will be seen to do so. (some of them have local knowledge, and way-too-many of them have loco knowledge).

Thanks much for your updates.
Are you using Satellite communication?

Regards,
Loren
 

toddster

Curator of Broken Parts
Blogs Author
Good info. I was looking at those northerlies on-line and thinking, "gee, I wish I was sailing north this week!"
 

p.gazibara

Member III
Thanks for all of the info Loren, much appreciated. We are probably gonna use the northerlies to get most of the way to SF. After a little more research, it looks like prime conditions. (I am still new to reading weather, and a bit conservative)

We are gonna check the buoys over the course of the evening and hit it once the wind hits 12kts or so.

I have been using Verizon LTE so far for our communications. Once offshore we will be limited to our inreach for info, but right now we are capitalizing on unlimited data.

cheers,

-P
 

Joliba

1988 E38-200 Contributing Member
We learned a bit about ocean swell today. If the wind doesn't blow at least 8kts, we can't sail in it. We just flog flog flog.
Pajo,
As you are planning to sail engineless while at sea, you will no doubt encounter light winds and ocean swells many times during a circumnavigation. The rolling will be hard to tolerate without a steadying sail, and your good mainsail will flog itself to shreds in short order if you leave it set. I know from your blog that Cinderella came with many old racing sails. Is it possible for you to make yourself a nylon mainsail? There is a good article describing this in SAIL Magazine, Sept. 2017 issue.
Good luck and fair winds!
Mike Jacker
 

p.gazibara

Member III
Pajo,
As you are planning to sail engineless while at sea, you will no doubt encounter light winds and ocean swells many times during a circumnavigation. The rolling will be hard to tolerate without a steadying sail, and your good mainsail will flog itself to shreds in short order if you leave it set. I know from your blog that Cinderella came with many old racing sails. Is it possible for you to make yourself a nylon mainsail? There is a good article describing this in SAIL Magazine, Sept. 2017 issue.
Good luck and fair winds!
Mike Jacker

That is an excellent idea. We will have to look into it. We made it to Eureka, did most of our trip between 60-90 miles offshore and iIt was overall a pleasant trip. Got Cinderella surfing and had a blast. I would have never believed how great a windvane is, truly priceless. We had a bit of bad luck our first night when a wave pooped the cockpit and about 500 gallons out so drenched us. About a bucketful got into the open companionway and soaked our instruments/settee bunk. Fortunately our backup systems worked and we got into Eureka without issue.

Tough lessons to learn, but I'm glad it happened here where we can easily buy replacement cords/dongles for the PC. It's a lot different out there than on the sound.

It it looks like we will be hanging out here for a bit and trying to leave before the big swells get here. Hopefully, if we time it right, we can get some good wind for the ride to San Fran.
 

Joliba

1988 E38-200 Contributing Member
Nylon Mainsail

Pajo,
Wow, it sounds as though you have gone through some rough sailing for the first leg. You might get halfway around the world without being pooped like that a second time. If you made it through that first leg with enthusiasm to continue, I have confidence that you will complete your circumnavigation.
Anyway, here is a link to the article describing the light main that can be flown while the primary sail is furled on the boom. I have never seen one, but it looks clever to me and could be a good solution for you.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.sailmagazine.com/.amp/diy/a-lighter-mainsail


Mike
 

Christian Williams

E381 - Los Angeles
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
Cool video.

I'd love to see, if you haven't done it already, a complete report on the motor and solar and batteries and how the usage goes.

By now I'm sure you take the sails down in no-wind slop to keep from being driven nuts. If you can motor at even two knots under such conditions I find it reduces the crazy motion considerably.

Good voyage!
 

p.gazibara

Member III
Hi Pajo,

Just found your Cinderella Cruising video; https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHpAIlJuhBUTsgFWXRf8dfA

Nice video!

Maybe you mentioned it before but I was surprised to see that the deck stepped mast was changed to a keel stepped mast. Very interesting.

A PO swapped out the original mast for that of an Express 34, its super bendy, and gives us lots of sail shape control. The PO also tore the interior out and beefed her up with tie rods from a Santa cruise 50 and added stringers to stiffen the hull. She was a pretty stout and bare race boat when I got her.

Christian: if the sun is shining, we can motor at 3 kts without depleting the batteries, but the sun has to be shining... I think our goal is to wait for wind as much as possible.

cheers
-p
 

p.gazibara

Member III
Finally crossed under that golden gate! Saw an E boat ripping out and about on our way in, probably a 32 or 35. Anyone out today? Also, we would love to meet up if there are some of you in the area.

cheers,
-p
 

gadangit

Member III
Hey Pajo-
Looking good! How are things holding up on the boat so far? Also, what was Eureka like from a port of call perspective?

Chris
 

p.gazibara

Member III
Hey Pajo-
Looking good! How are things holding up on the boat so far? Also, what was Eureka like from a port of call perspective?

Chris

Hey Chris,
The boat is holding up great! No issues with anything mechanical. Definitely a light wind light boat, most of the time in the ocean we are flying a reefed jib alone or in tandem with a reefed main. We also stayed in about 17-25kt winds so we didn't have to worry about flogging. When things started to gust to around 35, a storm jib got the boat easily to 6-7kts. She surfs a bit, but donesnt really stay on a surf I think that's the displacement hullform. I'm still new to the ocean sailing thing, but it's lots of fun.

Cinderella seems to really like 6.5kts. She gets there easily and doesn't feel like we are straining her, and the windvane keeps course well.

Eureka is... interesting. A friend described it as Port Townsend on Meth, I don't think it's too far off. We didn't anchor very long as we were told dingy theft was high. Lots of migrants. The Woodly Island Marina however was amazing, our first time staying in a true working marina and the fisherman were lots of fun to hang out with. It was also only $20 a night for Cinderella. Captain Banjo even gave us some free tuna and showed us how to filet and BBQ it. There isn't much in terms of services in Eureka. One fishing supply shop which is also the only fuel dock in the bay (for those who need that stuff) and one little sailing shop that is run by a fellow named Tom. He is very helpful but also up there in age and has light hours. We were there for a week and I think it was too long for us.

The swell in the ocean meets a 4.5kt current at the bar and it gets dicey if its big, that's why we stayed as long as we did. There were breaking waves across the whole entrance even at slack with a 12' swell. We waited for a 4' swell before we sailed out on the slack before the flood.

Hope that helps!

-P
 

celtic sea

Member III
Great info!

Hi, subscribed to the channel, awesome! I put together a channel as well to start sharing the (Ericson) experience. I'm living aboard my E35-2 1975. (Have been sailing for over 40 years, she is my 6th sailboat and the last) It's been refitted but still needs a bunch of stuff, this is one reason I am wintering over in NJ and leaving fall 2018. Itching to shove off. My wife/friend/crew passed away last year so I retired, sold everything and moved onboard. The adventures begin!
Check us out on YouTube---Sailing Dijan.
John
E35-2
#413
DIJAN
 
Last edited:

p.gazibara

Member III
Hi, subscribed to the channel, awesome! I put together a channel as well to start sharing the (Ericson) experience. I'm living aboard my E35-2 1975. (Have been sailing for over 40 years, she is my 6th sailboat and the last) It's been refitted but still needs a bunch of stuff, this is one reason I am wintering over in NJ and leaving fall 2018. Itching to shove off. My wife/friend/crew passed away last year so I retired, sold everything and moved onboard. The adventures begin!
Check us out on YouTube---Sailing Dijan.
John
E35-2
#413
DIJAN

Just checked out your video, we are following! Have fun out there, who knows maybe a couple of E 35s will cross wakes out there somewhere.

-P
 
Top