Fall 2006 Trailer/Sailors Association

The magazine of the
Trailer/Sailors Association
Fall 2006
Trailer/Sailors Association
www.trailersailors.org
Features/announcements
2 Welcome Aboard
3 President
6 Membership Secretary Letter
6 New Member Application form
9 Membership Challenge
15 Want Ads
15 Cruise Notices
16 Welcome New Members
17 T/SA History - Part 2
27 TRAILSAIL discussion
John Clement
Dave Craigie
Dave Craigie
Dave Craigie
Bob Rouda
Cruising articles
4 Storm at Long Point - North Channel Cruise 2006
7 Ramp Report: Fort Walton, FL
10 Eight Days in Paradise with Rebecca and Sail
21 Keys to Rebecca
How to
14 Lightning Strikes
20 Modified Slab Reefing
Murray Clelland
John Ulmer
Dave Craigie
Mike Collins
Henk Vanderhulst
E-snips Password for this issue: new member Eugene Lindgren s boat name (all lowercase).
The authors of the newsletter disclaim any and all responsibility for any kind of injury or damages sustained which may result from the
application of any or all ideas or suggestions appearing in any articles of Clipper Snips.
The authors of the newsletter furthermore give no warranty, express or implied, as to the merchantability, fitness for purpose, advertised
quality, or any other matter of any products advertised in Clipper Snips or appearing in any articles of said newsletter.
Clipper Snips
Page 1
Fall 2006
Welcome Aboard
I like reading Age of Sail novels.
They describe the hardships and
demands of sailing when an auxiliary motor was not an option.
There are several of these series
books, usually named after their
heroes Hornblower, Bolitho,
Lewrie, Aubrey, Kidd.
In these adventures, the story is
presented in one of 2 types of sailing ship.
Type 1 is the small quick sailing
ship, fresh off the ways, with
tight woodwork and clean bottom. It s capable of swift movement, which adds to the zest of
the story.
akin to blockade duty - necessary
to the mission at hand. Similar to
the fictional ships, support has
been somewhat erratic. Despite
numerous requests, getting submissions has never been more difficult. It s fortunate that I ve have
Dave Craigie to pressgang members into writing some articles.
Lately, I m always surprised when
the finished issue comes in at the
32 page target.
Clipper Snips is showing a
garden of weed.
I ve noticed myself leaving some
pretty sloppy editing errors in the
Type 2 is the same
boat, seen after several battles and years
of blockade duty;
loose, stressed, worn
out. In A King s
Trade , Dewey
Lambdin s latest installment of the Alan
Lewrie Naval adventure series, he describes this type ship
with these words: a
hard-worked
ship it s waterline
was a gently waving
garden of weed
Five years and 17 issues ago, Clipper Snips, and it s new editor was
type 1. It was in fine shape, and as
the new commander (and crew), I
was able to make changes to
streamline it, make it fast, and fill
it with zest..
Fueled by numerous member submissions, I was able to reduce margins and headings, increase graphics, and generally meet or exceed
the target size of 32 pages per issue.
The last couple years have been
Clipper Snips
with a little computer savvy, and a
fair amount of time, take it on as a
fun activity.
I ve enjoyed being the editor getting clarification from the authors, arranging the text and graphics (it s like doing a picture puzzle)
it s not difficult, only time consuming.
I would also hope the new editor
would receive renewed support
from the officers and membership
in authoring and submitting the
articles. If the magazine is important to the association, then it s
time for the membership to show
that.
I thank the submitting
authors I ve worked
with during my tenure.
Through back and forth
emails, we ve developed their stories into
first class articles. Several of them should
write for a paying
magazine I think their
creations are often better than those of well
known authors in the
commercial magazines.
last couple issues; errors I d have
easily caught during my earlier
issues.
The work is taking a personal toll
that exceeds its satisfaction. Even
though Gregg MacMillan is picking up the printing and mailing
tasks, I doubt there s more than a
half dozen members who ll really
understand my situation.
It s therefore time for a change of
command and I gladly turn it over
to whoever can make it work. I
would suggest that some retiree
Page 2
My mate has supported
me in this quest, even
though we re not trailering our boat anymore. But she
also has several projects to fill my
newly available time, and I ll be
better for working on those.
I don t believe this is any kind of
extraordinary announcement (like
in 1998). After 20 years, T/SA
will continue to serve a need, and
I m sure the new editor will push it
to even greater heights.
I remain, your retiring editor,
Joe Orinko
Fall 2006
President s Column
Greetings to all Trailer Sailors,
It s a time of year to be looking
back and looking forward, a
time of giving thanks for all that
is good. We ve just celebrated
Thanksgiving here in Canada,
with traditional family regathering, centering on Irene s
famous traditional family turkey
and secret stuffing recipe with
all the trimmings. By the time
these words get out to you, the
readers, it will be closer to
Thanksgiving as celebrated
south of the friendly border .
As Trailer Sailors we have much
to be thankful for, the serenity of
peacefully gliding across smooth
waters, the exhilaration of overcoming weather just a bit outside our comfort zone, the camaraderie of friends and fellow
sailors and the way in which
sailing brings us closer to the
beauty of this wonderful world.
At these times of year let s toast
our fellow sailors, remember
past sailing highlights, and look
forward to our next time on the
water. Here in the north we are
covering boats for winter hibernation. In other parts of the
T/SA world sailors continue to
be out on the water. One of the
great things about our style of
boat is that, thanks to trailers
and tow vehicles, any of us can
dream of that southern cruise.
As I write I am aware of a number of northern sailors who are
planning to head south, to Florida, targeting the Bahamas, or
just looking to get in another
cruise during the season of
northern hard water .
you in areas where there is yearround sailing to write an article
(a paragraph, a page, or even
longer) for Clipper Snips about
your area and what it offers. It
would be great to see a variety
of on-water rendezvous during
winter months. Perhaps your
lake, harbour, or sailing area can
be a place for one of these to
take place.
Now for this column s project
suggestion, coming from my
own experience. This summer
we were surprised and disappointed when trying to make a
VHF call to find that our signal
was not getting out. This after
almost a decade taking good radio performance for granted,
with strong signal using the
identical set-up. The culprit was
found to be a corroded coaxial
antenna wire. With help from
Mike Nelson (Eventide) and
Robert Paquette (Firecracker)
we managed to get things working again for the rest of the
cruise. Another example of the
benefit of cruising in community . What I ve learned as a
result is that antenna coax has a
finite life, especially in exposed
applications. After some 5 years
or so (depending on exposure) it
is deteriorating. Antenna wire
comes in different grades, the
better coax costs a bit more, but
passes a stronger signal and, if it
has tinned wire to fight corrosion, may last longer. I ve now
bought replacement coax with
tinned wire, and installing this is
on my to-do list. Next time in
the water Taranui should be
back to her healthy long-range
I d like to challenge those of
Clipper Snips
Page 3
listening and calling again.
(Poignant to write this during a
time of being fitted for first
hearing aids). Is your radio reception less than stellar? Maybe
it s time to look into replacement coaxial wire before you
find your reception and transmission are gone.
In a couple of weeks a number
of us will be getting together in
Sarnia, Ontario for the 2006 dinner, celebration and annual
meeting. Community means the
chance to meet friends again and
to find new ones. T/SA is community, and its greatest strength
is the number and quality of
members. This was brought into
sharp focus for those of us who
hosted Rebecca of Sail magazine on our boats this summer.
She was of course interested in
the area, the sailing, and the
boats, but also very strongly saw
the extended family nature of
T/SA, the community, and celebrated that with us. This was
the main message we tried to
share. You ll find more about
Rebecca s time with T/SA elsewhere in this issue.
Now to ask you each to look at
what you can do to help T/SA
continue and to grow. We are
all volunteers, and T/SA needs a
number to step forward so that
the task for any one person is
not too great.
One need I want to highlight is
for help with Clipper Snips.
We ve had a great magazine
over the years under different
leadership, and its time again to
renew this leadership. Thanks
to Joe for his contribution over
Fall 2006
the past 17 issues for pulling
together a quality product. Now
it s time for the baton to pass.
This is a call to members who
have any of the following: interest in magazines, interest in
writing, ability to encourage potential writers, understanding of
publishing, computer skills. We
could use help in areas such as
editor, assistant editor, writers,
author assistance. We ve done
quite a lot over recent years in
trying to support the editor position, so that much of the prior
grunt work has been spun off.
We do need people to step forward to keep this important part
of T/SA on the rails.
issue. I hope to see some of you
in Sarnia, would love to visit
any southern locales for winter
sailing, and hope to see many of
you again in future northern
summer.
Fair winds to all Trailer Sailors.
John Clement
T/SA President
Well that s my space for this
Storm at Long Point
North Channel Cruise 2006
Murray Cleland
A fierce thunderstorm, with
heavy rain and very high winds
raged outside. I was hunkered
down, warm and dry in the cabin
of Rosa Linda in the Long Point
anchorage, reading an adventure
story, "The Happy Isles of Oceania - Paddling the Pacific" by
Paul Theroux. There were perhaps 20 or so Trailer Sailors'
boats sheltering in the same anchorage. The storm that had
been threatening all day arrived
with a vengeance!
Was it a bump that alerted me,
or shouts and loud talk from outside the boat? I grabbed my coat
and hat and climbed out into the
deluge outside. Where in the
world had I left my raincoat?
Outside I found that Rosa Linda
had a companion vessel! Bells
Toil was jammed alongside. At
the bow, Debbie Bell was struggling to keep the two vessels
from damaging each other, amid
a roaring onslaught of wind and
rain, punctuated by thunder and
lightning flashes.
Wayne was grabbing bumpers
and working feverishly to control their sailboat as, in tandem
now, both boats swung dangerously close to the rocky shore.
We were so close in fact, that I
realized I had to tilt my outboard
up, out of the water, to clear the
top of a rock as we were
slammed sideways by raging
winds.
Bells Toil snuggles up to Rosa Linda
Clipper Snips
Pummeled by
severe winds,
Bells Toil had
dragged their
anchor and
pulled it over
my two anchor
lines. In an attempt to keep
the two boats
from being
bashed on the
rocks, Wayne
Page 4
and I started our motors. It
worked, but a shore line, tied
from Rosa Linda's stern cleat to
a sturdy tree prevented us from
getting more than a few feet
away from the menacing shoreline.
Winds put tremendous broadside
pressure on the duo of Bells Toil
and Rosa Linda. Somehow, we
had to swing into the wind to
ease the strain and move us towards mid channel.
Drenched to the skin and buffeted by winds, Wayne and I
pondered the problem of how to
lessen the wind blast on our
boats and move a safer distance
from shore.
It was vital to lengthen the line
to shore to allow the wind to
swing us towards center channel
and allow us to be bow-on facing the winds. If I just let it go,
there was a danger of swinging
uncontrolled across the waterway and perhaps smashing into
other boats. A section of rope
had to be added to control the
swing.
At first I couldn't budge the line.
Wind pressure and the combined
Fall 2006
Y-Knot and Wild Journey after the storm.
weight of the boats made it impossible. Finally in a slight lull,
I managed to pull in just enough
slack to tie another length of
rope to the shore line. We
swung immediately towards the
safety of center channel, clear of
the rocks. We now could ride
out the balance of the severe part
of the storm in relative security.
The sky finally lightened and the
worst was almost over.
Wayne had removed his rudder
which had become jammed
against the bottom. Deb had
bumpers between the two boats,
now tied bow to bow. It seemed
like an eternity, but in reality
was perhaps 1/2 hour, before the
severe winds and heavy rain
abated. We had a chance to get
our bearings! Wayne used his
dingy to re-set our anchors.
Both Wayne and Deb were profusely apologetic but, considering the severity of the storm,
we could just as easily have
been in reverse roles.
When we finally had our own
problems resolved and had time
to look around we were amazed
to see two Trailer/Sailor boats
listing heavily in shallow water.
Bob Carlson on Wild Journey
Clipper Snips
and John and Cindi Myers on YKnot were both healed over laying in the mud on the southern
shore of the anchorage.
Members from around the anchorage were converging to assist. Wonderfully, that seems to
be the T/SA way! It became
apparent that the boats were too
firmly wedged on the bottom to
be moved by manpower alone.
Rosa Linda, with her Honda 50,
might be the answer
Lines were attached from the
first boat to the Rosa Linda.
Fearing that a sudden impact
might snap something, I slowly
opened the throttle. Men in the
water pushed and strained and
the Honda gave a throaty roar
and churned up the muddy bottom. The boat moved! More
throttle, she shook, turned and
was free! We repeated the task
for the second grounded boat; it
worked once more.
Although winds continued relatively high throughout the late
afternoon, the storm abated and
sunshine returned. Later we
learned some of the far reaching
impact of this storm. Trees were
broken off or toppled in many of
Rosa Linda - tow ready!
the anchorages that we visited.
Gore Bay was without hydro for
several days, preventing us from
provisioning there. A 42 foot
cruiser sank off Clapperton Island, fortunately with no casualties! As for us at Long Point,
the storm left no apparent damage and a great lesson in working together during crisis!
An hour late for our rendezvous,
I left "The Happy Isles of Oceania" on the counter, grabbed
my guitar and paddled to Blue
Max to accept Brian's kind invitation to supper and sing-a-long.
It turned out that Blue Max has
also dragged anchor during the
melee.
This was just the 3rd day of the
14 day Trailer Sailor cruise in
the North Channel, an adventure
punctuated by regular threats of
storms, but interspersed with
great sailing and camaraderie.
Afterwards, I returned to reading
Theroux's "The Happy Isles of
Oceania", but I was aware that
my own wonderful adventure
was occurring right here, right
now! Paddling the Pacific could
wait !
Murray Cleland
Page 5
Fall 2006
Membership Secretary Letter
David Craigie
For everyone that was
able to get their boat out
from under the tarp this
summer and on the water
somewhere, congratulations!!! Our summer was
very busy, and with an
eight year old grandson
(Jonathan Hodgin) along
it was interesting.
Jonathan Hodgin and Friends
Trailer/Sailors Association New Member application form
for the Membership Secretary s Challenge 2006
Date: _____/______/______
Current TSA Members Name: __________________________________
First Name: ___________________
Last Name:__________________
Address:___________________________________________________
Most of our summer was
spent in the North Channel. We met a hoard of
new sailing friends and
were able to rekindle
many old friendships. I
just wonder where the
time goes. They say that
life is like a roll of toilet paper; the
closer you get to the end the faster
it goes.
Perhaps the highlight of our summer was arranging an eight day
visit for a reporter from SAIL
magazine. Seems strange that a kid
from south of the Mason-Dixon
line is making cruise arrangements
for an event in the Great Lakes.
But stranger things have happened
and it was a delight to do. Please
read the related article in this issue.
Membership-Secretary Challenge
City:__________________________State:_______Zip:_____________
Home Phone:____________E-Mail:_____________________________
Mate:____________________Crew:___________________
Make and Length of Boat:_____________________________________
Name of Boat:_______________________________________________
Mail this completed form along with your check to:
Don Ziliox, 1340 Elmdale N.E., Grand Rapids MI 49505
Clipper Snips
Page 6
Because of your support, T/SA
membership has again approached
the 400 level. Thank You to all
that have chosen to give a gift
membership to a friend. This promotion will continue and further
information is contained in this issue and online. See the page in this
issue, or get in touch with me if you
have any questions.
David Craigie
Incipient@MSN.com
405 741 2555
Fall 2006
RAMP REPORT - FT. WALTON BEACH, FLORIDA
John Ulmer
Ft. Walton Beach is in Florida's
Panhandle between Panama City
and Pensacola, and, contrary to
what the name implies, it isn't on
the beach. It's on the mainland
where Choctawhatchee Bay connects to the Gulf Intercoastal
Waterway.
The bay is twenty-five miles
long, three miles wide and is
totally sheltered from the open
waters of the Gulf. It provides a
lot of water for sailing, and,
unlike most of Florida's coast,
the water here is deep enough
that you won't have to worry
about your depth sounder unless
you're approaching shore. Here
you won't get stuck in a narrow
channel, getting bounced around
by power boats.
Ft. Walton Beach is far enough
south to provide acceptable
weather for sailing even in the
winter, and outstanding weather
in the spring and fall. Anytime
other than winter, the water is
pleasantly
warm for swimming. Marinas
and anchorages
are plentiful all
around the bay.
The eastern end
of the bay is the
least developed.
The land here is
flat and the water is shallow
near shore.
This is the place
to go if you
want to get
away from it all. The western
end is heavily developed with
the urban areas of Ft. Walton
Beach, Eglin Air Force Base,
and the resort community of
Destin. By Florida standards,
the land here is hilly, providing
beautiful views of the homes
along the shore.
Because the air force base takes
up much of the land along the
western and
northern shore,
you should
check with the
locals to find
out which areas are off limits. If you see
signs or buoys
that say you
are on air force
property, leave
immediately.
Fort Walton Shoreline
Clipper Snips
Choctawhatchee
Bay has many
smaller bays,
Page 7
Boggy Bayou
called bayous here, that offer
great gunkholing. Each one is
worth exploring and offers interesting and varied cruising. Unfortunately, two of the very best
bayous, Cinco and Garnier, are
blocked by low fixed bridges
that effectively keep sailboats
out. If you want to explore
them, you can either anchor near
the bridges or take a slip at one
of the marinas near the entrance
and explore by dingy.
Of the bayous that are open to
sailboats, two of the best are
Rocky Bayou and Boggy Bayou.
They are right next to each other
on the northern side of the bay,
and are a delight. The launch
ramp is on Rocky Bayou and
you will enjoy what the bayou
has to offer as soon as you leave
the ramp.
As you cruise the bay, you'll
want to visit downtown Ft.
Walton Beach. It's an interesting place and has all the services
you could ever need. There are
Fall 2006
northern side of the bay, at Bluewater Bay Marina, and is part of
a luxury housing development.
The marina is private and restricted to members of the housing development, but you can
buy a temporary membership for
just $13 a week which will let
you use the ramp and park your
car and trailer at the marina.
Because the marina is well hidden in the development, the
parking is very safe and secure.
The people at the marina are
very friendly and helpful, but
call ahead to make sure nothing
has changed since I did my research. Their phone number is
(850) 897 2821. You can also
find them on the web at bluewaterbaymarine.com
Ramp:Fort Walton
no good anchorages near downtown, but there are several marinas close by, mostly near the
bridge over the Intercoastal Waterway. By the way, the bridge
of the Intercoastal Waterway is
50 feet high, providing plenty of
clearance for sailboats.
If you want to enjoy the Gulf
beaches, sail over to the beach
resort of Destin. In the warm
months it will be crowded and
busy, but in the winter you will
be surprised at how pleasant and
peaceful a resort community can
be when most of the people are
gone. The Gulf beaches here
have the whitest sand you will
ever see.
tances in the open Gulf, a run
along the coast to Panama City
or Pensacola should fill your
needs. Be careful of East Pass,
as it's small and has a strong
tidal current which can be
tricky.
By the way, any cruise in Florida will be much more enjoyable
if you get a copy of Claiborne
Young's cruising guide. His
guides of southern waters are the
best there are and you'll be glad
you have a copy aboard.
Destin's harbor and marinas are
located just to the east of East
Pass, which is Choctawhatchee
Bay's only entrance to the Gulf
of Mexico. You'll find the harbor entrance just under the East
Pass bridge.
As in most coastal areas, there
are boat ramps all around Ft.
Walton Beach, but I found it almost impossible to find one
where you could safely leave
your car and trailer overnight.
In fact, one commercial ramp
had a sign that said, "vehicles
and trailers left after closing will
be towed." It took a little investigation, but I finally found a
real gem.
If you want to sail long dis-
The ramp is at Niceville on the
Clipper Snips
Page 8
To get there from Interstate 10,
exit on Rt. 85 at Crestview and
go south. When you reach the
Rt. 20 intersection at Niceville,
turn left and follow Rt. 20 past
the Food World and the K-Mart
stores. After a few miles you
will cross the bridge over Rocky
Bayou. The name of the bayou
is not on the bridge but you will
know you are going the right
way because you will pass the
entrance to Fred Gannon Rocky Bayou State Park on the
left. Two miles after the bridge,
(the third traffic light) you will
turn right at Bay Dr., which will
take you to the marina. The
road curves around a lot, but the
small signs pointing to the marina will reassure you that you
are going the right direction.
There are two concrete ramps.
Each is 10 feet wide, 34 feet
long and 6 feet deep, giving an
angle of 8 degrees and a slope of
14 percent. Tides here don't
Fall 2006
amount to much, but I measured
at high tide. There are docks at
the ramps, but be careful, there
is a big UNMARKED drop off
ONE FOOT before the end of
the docks.
Choctawhatchee Bay is a great
place to sail, and for people
coming down from the north,
has better road connections than
Panama City. And, remember,
sailing anywhere on the Florida
Panhandle will get you on the
water a day sooner than driving
down to southern Florida.
Send requests for ramp information to :
John Ulmer
659 S. Canal St.
Canal Fulton, OH 44614
Phone : 330-854-3796
email address - j.ulmer@juno.com
Membership Secretary s Challenge for 2006
The Membership Secretary s Challenge is an opportunity for current TSA members to give a Gift
Membership to a prospective Trailer/Sailor at a reduced rate of half price. It works like this:
Every TSA member knows someone that they believe would enjoy, and would benefit from membership
in the Trailer/Sailors Association. You may have tactfully tried to get this person to join by speaking of
the Association, and perhaps have given them a membership form. But nothing has happened yet. Now
you can give a personal gift to this sailor and send them a Gift Membership.
The Membership Secretary s Challenge will be available through the end of 2006, and perhaps
longer if the membership approves. There will be no prizes or awards given out with this challenge .just the satisfaction of knowing that you have shared with a friend the joy of being a member of
the Trailer/Sailors Association.
For membership between June 1st and December 31st , the regular membership fee is: $20
($24US for Canadian addresses)
This pays for the remainder of the current year and all of the next. (Best Deal)
1/2 price for this membership package would be: $10.00 & $12.00)
The rules are simple:
The prospective member should own, or contemplate owning, a trailerable sailboat.
The member giving the gift must be a current member.
The membership form and payment must be received from the current member.
The quickest way to enroll a new member is on line at WWW.TrailerSailors.org Go to the membership
section where a special membership form will be found titled, Membership Secretary s Challenge.
This membership form can be filled out and submitted on line. Payment can be made with your credit
card through Pay Pal.
Membership can also be done by mail and any TSA membership form will do. Simply write your name on
the form in the area, Sponsor or How did you learn about TSA?
Or you can use the form on page 22 Fill it out and mail it to Don Ziliox at the address indicated . It all
works.
The new member will receive a gift certificate in your name. What a wonderful gift to give a fellow
sailor. This, along with the fact that you are helping promote the TSA, has to make one feel good all over.
I would personally like to challenge everyone to give at least one Gift Membership to a friend.
Smooth Trailer Sailin , David Craigie, Membership Secretary, Trailer/Sailors Association
Clipper Snips
Page 9
Fall 2006
Eight Days in Paradise with Rebecca and SAIL
Dave Craigie
In late April our T/SA President,
John Clement, received an interesting E-mail from SAIL Magazine.
Hi John
I'd like to run a story about your
2006 cruise and was hoping to
talk to someone about sending a
writer up there this July. Could
you drop me a line and let me
know who I should talk to about
setting something up? Thanks,
Bill
Bill Springer,
Senior Editor,
SAIL Magazine
John s response in part was
Hi Bill,
Interested to hear about your
wish to cover T/SA's "2006
cruise". We are a fairly loose
knit group, with many different
cruises, of which the North
Channel has recently been the
most visible and most attended.
This cruise takes place in the
second half of July, out of Spanish Ontario, Canada. There are
other smaller cruises, in fascinating waters. What direction
are you thinking?
In the meantime I'll share your
request around our leadership
group and see what people say.
We appreciate your interest and
will be glad to continue exchanging with you to find out
how best to get our story told.
John Clement,
President,
T/SA
SAIL magazine wanted to send
Clipper Snips
a reporter to the North Channel
and they wanted us to host this
reporter on our boats. After numerous E-mails it was the general consensus, although not
unanimous, that we should do
everything possible to accommodate this reporter.
One interesting response came
from our Co-Webmaster, Chris
Holderness. In part he said:
Yes - pass the writer around!
Talk about diversity - first a
quiet evening on "boat X" wine, chit chat and the sounds of
nature followed by a quiet nights
rest.
Then a night on our boat, at the
mercy of a 4 year old (the most
destructive force known to
man)! Better make sure the
writer currently has small children.
It was assumed that the writer
would be male. Heavens knows
where that thought initiated.
But to our surprise, it was
learned that he
was a charming
young she.
week with our group to do an
article on it.
About children:
Apparently this is just what they
wanted. She has no children,
but is very personable, and
good-natured (according to
Bill).
Who will take charge?
A big question was: who will
take charge and make everything
work? John Clement directed
Wayne Bell and I to work this
out. Wayne has a very busy
schedule and I am (sort of) retired. So without any objections
from Wayne, or the other officers, I set out to coordinate Rebecca s visit to the North Channel.
In response to sleeping accommodations on a small boat this
was Rebecca s comeback:
I have a sleeping bag and I don't
need anything fancy for sleeping
After speaking
with Bill, Snips
editor, Joe
emailed:
He's (Bill is) suggesting she
(Rebecca Waters)
crew (not bring a
boat). She's an
accomplished
sailor and wants
to experience the
Page 10
Rebecca Waters at SAIL Magazine Office
Fall 2006
accommodations; I've spent
plenty of nights on the settee of
my dad's Southcoast 26 and
even the odd night sleeping on a
dock.
This was a very good answer.
For the next week I was on the
phone, contacting T/SA members that I thought would be in
the North Channel this summer
and who would be interested in
helping with this adventure. I
was seeking larger boats with an
enclosed head for the overnight
stays; this was for the comfort of
both the members and Rebecca.
I would have done the same for
a male reporter. The smaller
boats, preferably with children,
would be used for day sails and
other day time activities.
The reaction from members was
excellent and soon I had a suitable list of volunteers. It was all
starting to come together and I
sent this information on to Rebecca. I wanted to reassure her
that we were sincere in our intentions.
She's an accomplished
sailor and wants to experience the week with
our group to do an article
on it. [in SAIL Magazine]
While visiting in the New England area during June, I had occasion to visit Rebecca in her
world. That world consisted of
a cubicle in an upscale office
building on N. Washington St.,
not far from North Station for
those who are familiar with Boston. It was a brief meeting, but
long enough to know that this is
all going to work out well.
Clipper Snips
Rebecca and Henk, as Go Gently passes Strawberry Light
Rebecca chose to join the cruise
for the week of July 21st through
the 30th. She would fly from
Boston to Toronto and then on
to Sudbury ON. There I would
pick her up and take her to the
Little Current Town Docks, located in the heart of the North
Channel. This was good timing
as the group would be passing
through Little Current to reprovision and she could immediately join the group.
The time of her arrival was
getting near.
After the start of the T/SA cruise
my list of volunteers grew. I felt
like an airline reservationists
overbooking seats. But this was
necessary in order to assure a
different boat every day and
every night, and members
seemed to understand this. It
would be an impossible demand
to ask a member to be at a particular anchorage on a specific
Page 11
day. So arrangements were left
flexible and the plan was to
work on a day to day basis.
Mother Nature is fickle and has
a tendency to affect boating and
airlines schedules. Such was
the occasion when Air Canada
was delayed leaving Boston on
Friday evening July 21st. Apparently a tropical storm was
pounding up the east coast. The
delay caused Rebecca to miss
her connecting flight in Toronto
and to arrive early the next day.
But there was still ample time
and this was but a minor inconvenience when traveling by air
or water.
Our arrival in Little Current was
greatly anticipated. Waiting patiently to act as her first T/SA
host was our renowned octogenarian single-handed Canadian
sailor, Henk Vanderhulst. After
a brief tour of downtown Little
Current with Henk and lunch
Fall 2006
Twenty T/SA boats passing through the 2:00 O clock Little Current Swing Bridge
with a few other members at the
infamous Anchor Inn it was time
to set sail and join the group.
age our President bestowed
upon Rebecca an honorary electronic membership in the T/SA.
Sailing on Henk s Precision 23,
Go Gently, our first anchorage
at Heywood Island was just a
short eight mile run. A storm
was threatening from the west,
but a better sail has never been
had by any group of
trailer/sailors. At over twenty
boats strong, the T/SA group
funneled through the swing
bridge at two pm sharp. It was a
sight to behold and was an impressive start to what would be a
memorable cruise for everyone.
In addition, she was presented
with an official T/SA flag that
we hope is now hanging in a
prominent location of her cubicle for all the Senior Editors at
SAIL to see. Perhaps by doing
this she could soon find herself
in the fast lane to better sur-
Every day of this cruise was tremendous and the members that
hosted Rebecca made it all possible. However, one of the highlights that took place was at
Covered Portage. Here, a place
of beauty and solace too many
boaters, it was thought to be a
suitable time to honor Rebecca.
We wanted to let her know that
we really do appreciate her being with us. So, from the
heights of the granite cliffs that
surround this wondrous anchor-
Clipper Snips
rounds with a window overlooking N. Washington St.
Rebecca s final night in the
North Channel area was Saturday July 29th. It was spent on the
hard at the home of members
Jim and Nevaida Howe in the
Sudbury area. That evening
they treated her to an Irish
Ceilidh (káylee, an informal
gathering for music, dancing and
Rebecca capturing the Beauty of Covered Portage
Page 12
Fall 2006
will depict trailer/sailors in the
North Channel, it is not intended
to portray the T/SA as being a
North Channel cruising club.
The purpose for the Association
was spelled out in the early issues of Clipper Snips and is as
true today as it was then.
the T/SA is a non-profit organization which was formed to
provide those who sail trailerable boats with a means of exchanging ideas and information
about all aspects of this type of
sailing activity.
Trailer Sailors at the Anchor Inn
song) and that night she slept in
a warm and dry off-the-floorbed for a good nights rest.
The next morning Jim returned
her to Sudbury International
Airport. I can only imagine that
Monday morning found Rebecca
back at her desk, pounding out
yet another story for SAIL.
What a deal; sailing in the North
Channel and getting paid for it.
Every effort was made to give
Rebecca a memorable cruise and
fodder for something to write.
At times this meant deviating
from the main group in order to
accomplish this goal. But for
the most part, things did go as
planned.
What did work out exceptionally
well was Rebecca s desire to
experience the diversity of T/SA
members, their boats and the
North Channel. Her itinerary
brought her to five different anchorages with side trips to Little
Current and Killarney. She was
hosted on no less then fifteen
T/SA member boats over the
eight days and seven nights of
her visit. Members ranged in
age from four year old Kira Holderness to Henk, who proudly
boasts that he is in his 80 s.
Rebecca s shipmates: Kira Holderness and Jonathan Hodgin
Clipper Snips
Rebecca said that her article will
most likely appear in the spring
of 2007. When it is known for
sure we will pass the word so all
can enjoy. Although this article
Page 13
It would take a whole book to
chronicle the entire eight days
that Rebecca was with us. She
was a delight to sail with and I
do hope that we will meet on the
water again someday. So, with
due respect to all the astonishing
T/SA members that helped out,
and to those many others who
volunteered but were not utilized, Thank You very much.
Without you, this operation
would have not been, period.
T/SA Host Members
Henk Vanderhulst,
Ramblin Rod & Ondine
Brandon,
Chris & Lenore Holderness,
Lindsey (12) & Kira (4,)
Tom & Jan Larimer,
John & Irene Clement,
Bob & Jane Mullen,
Bob Anderson, Delfina
Traxler & Maireid (9),
David & Joyce Craigie &
Jonathan Hodgin (8),
Wayne and Debbie Bell,
Jim & Jessie Haslock with
Mike & Carolyn Richards,
Mike & Diana Nelson,
Gary & Karen Breault,
Robert & Ilona Rouda,
Grant & Darla MacPhail,
Jim & Nevaida Howe
Fall 2006
Lightning Strikes
Mike Collins
Looking back on my forty years of
sailing brings me to evaluate all the
pluses and the minuses. On the
plus side I remember all the wonderful days and nights I ve spent
under sail. On the negative side
there is only one element that I
feared; lightning strikes.
I feared them because I had no defense for them; I was at the mercy
of the elements. I can speak from
experience because I was hit twice;
both times from the same storm and
twenty minutes apart.
The strike that hit
our South Coast 26
Y-Knot was dramatic; a ball of fire
as big as a basketball came down the
mast and jumped
over the side six
feet off the deck.
The second strike
was the same, only
this time it ran out
the spreader and
down the shroud
and into the water.
Shaken, I checked
the boat out and everything seemed
OK. I thanked my lucky stars that I
was still on the right side of the
grass and kept on sailing the twenty
miles to my marina. It happened at
night so I couldn t see a lot. But I
wasn t sinking and sails were full
and drawing so I charged on.
I was always told that the first thing
to go in a lightning strike was the
VHF radio. To my great surprise,
the radio was still working. So
there are no positives or givens in a
lightning strike. I called the marina
to report my circumstance and I
also gave them my position just
incase I didn t show up. That way
they would know where to start
Clipper Snips
looking.
After a while I noticed that my
wind speed and direction gauges
were no longer were operating. So
the next time the mast was lowered
I removed them and sent them back
to DataMarine for repair. It wasn t
long and I got a call from the technician with the sad news; the entire
works were fried and it was time to
think about getting a new unit. So
now I know where the lightning
strike hit the hardest; in my wallet.
A streaming light was also fried
and there was a burned mark in the
aluminum mast in the area of the
steaming light. Try as I might, I
never did get that mark off the
mast. So I chalked it up to just another battle scar that gave my beloved Y-Knot a little more character.
What are the physics of a lightning
strike? Not to go into a lot of details (and bore you to death) it is
simply a transfer of a electrical
positive charge going to a negative
ground. Most lightning strikes
travel from cloud to ground. But
some studies claim that some
charges actually travel from the
Page 14
ground up. No matter. A strike is
still a strike and it can be a killer.
A lightning bolt can vary, but in
general is about the thickness of
one of your fingers. The voltage
varies, but it can fry a boat and it s
electronics in a nanosecond. Most
of us have an aluminum mast, and
they are a terrific conductor of electricity. Even a wooden mast has
enough moisture in it to make it a
reasonable conductor. So what can
we do?
The answer is
basically, nothing. Unless you
can get off the
boat, you are
probably going
to be one of the
tallest stick in
the area and thus
a sitting duck.
One of the indirect benefit of
being a
trailer/sailor is
that our masts
are generally a
little shorter then
most others. So that can be a little
advantage.
If you are underway, try to duck
into a harbor and get around other
boats with a mast that is taller then
yours. If you can not do any of the
above then get ready for a strike.
Making a few preparations will not
only make you feel like you are
doing something positive, it may
save your life. One of the first
things to do is put on your very best
life jacket. If you get knocked
overboard, at least you will be
floating when you regain consciousness.
Another good preparation would be
Fall 2006
to get your dingy at the ready.
Hopefully you are either towing
one or have one available that is
easily deployable. Your survival
bag should always be ready and
close at hand too. In a worst case
scenario, getting your boat holed by
a strike could cause you to abandon
ship. And don t forget to carry a
knife. At night with your boat
sinking you don t have time to start
untying the knot on your painter.
Cut the line and think about survival.
I used to hang an auto jumper cable
from the shrouds down into the water. Seems like every sailor I talked
to touted this as a good way to
ground a boat and avoid a lightning
strike. But I was told by a master
electrician, who I greatly respect,
that this is wrong. By doing this he
said that you are really attracting a
lightning strike. So much for that
theory.
strike is so fast that it would jump
right past the fuse and cremate anything in its path.
There are scads of innovative devices on the market to help protect
your boat, and empty your wallet.
One look in a chandlery magazine
will bring forth lots of lightning
prevention devices. Some even
offer up to $10,000 insurance if you
are ever hit and suffer some damage. Most have all the usual disclaimers like deductibles, depreciation and that old standby rule; do
you have the original receipts? In
my opinion, this is nothing more
then an insurance policy, and the
marine company wins.
So what is the bottom line to this
potential threat. First of all, be not
afraid I don t have any statistics to
prove my statement, but I would
venture to guess that getting hit by
lightning while on a sailboat is
about as remote as an aircraft crash.
Golfers and people walking down
the street are probably as likely to
be struck. In other words, move
on, get over it. Take what precautions that you can, don t get paranoid about it and enjoy the water.
I thought about putting an inline
fuse that would blow before reaching my electronics. But I am told
that would not work either as the
Member Want Ads
Clipper Snips
Mike & Jan Collins
S/V Y-Knot
Cruise Notices
For T/SA Hats ($13US) or
Flags ($10US), contact:
Wayne Bell
344 Creek Drive
Slippery Rock, PA 16057
bellstoil@zoominternet.net
1975 Clipper Marine 26
Crealock design racer/cruiser
Pop top with enclosures
8 HP Johnson Longshaft
Fuhler with 150 Genoa
Mainsail with lazy jacks
Solar panel, tillerpilot,
2 burner gas stove,
2 anchors
$5500 ($6500 with trailer)
Maurie Rieff
Melbourne FL
(321) 155 1984
cemelot57@juno.com
Fair Winds and see you on the water.
10 HP Mercury Saildrive motor
25 shaft
less than 300 hours
w/alternator/charger
w/spare parts (impellor, etc)
$800 US
Ray Davidson
(734) 878-5583
rrdavid@charter.net
For T/SA Tee-shirts ($13US),
contact:
Doris Lockie
67 Springbrook Drive
Peterborough, Ontario, K9J 1L4
Charmagne65@hotmail.com
Page 15
Is there any interest in organizing a
cruise in the Florida Keys or the
lower Gulf coast this winter. I was
thinking about going down for a
couple weeks, late February, early
March.
Dave Turner
drturner56@excite.com
I am planning to go to the Bahamas
again next March, trailer to Florida
and sail over. Early spring is the
best time for lower winds ideal for
smaller boats. Looking at the Exumas this year, did the Abacos last
year. Would like to have a small
fleet to travel with, so contact me if
you are interested. I am flexible on
the route. You should have at least
6 weeks allotted for this trip, and it
could be more if we run into poor
weather for the return crossing.
Bryan Childs (Blue Max)
bchilds1@peoplepccom
Fall 2006
Last
Allen
Armstrong
Beeker
Brennen
Carlson
First
Dave
Terry
Martin
Larry
Bob
Conway
Robert
Cowgill
Denise
Dauncey
Raymond
Derkach
Dion
Ditty
Bill
Elliotson
Stan
Engle
Robert
Evans
Bob
Fairchild
Michael
Faver
Ken
Grandholm Paul
Hachmer
Armin
Orthner
Ken
Painter
Troy
Phillips
Glenn
Rieff
Maurice
Rinkel
George
Rohloff
Scott
Sadler
Jim
Scarborough David
Sexton
John
Shriver
Authur
Swaim
Stephen
Taatjes
Tom
Van Houten Rolf
Wetzel
Stu
Williams
Joe
Williams
Ron
Address
53 Glen Avon Cresent
2445 Riverside Dr. #302
43379 LaBelle
550 Dexter/Pickney Road
124 Mackubin St.
6621 Deer Meadows
588 Renaissance Ave.
5914 Dundas Road
P.O. Box 54
3418 Timberlake Ave.
1020 Oriente Ave.
3216 Skyview Dr.
PO Box 33
4906 Northtowne Blvd.
7651 Bittersweet Dr.
5399 North Shore Drive
136 Paradise Drive
P.O. Box 96
12327 Mallory Ave.
City
Kitchener
Trenton
Harrison Twp
Dexter
Saint Paul
Drive
Huber Heights
3314 Sessions Dr.
Baton Rouge
74 Gowrie Dr.
Kanata
Kelsey (Yorkie)
20 Cork Hill Rd.
Ogdensburg
2431 Woodbine Ave.
Portage
47 Hewitt Street
Orangeville
Jonathan
2567 E. Woods End Ct.
Boise
3484 McKenzie Drive
Gainesville
3550 Greenfield Lane
Hamilton
PO Box 912
Newburgh
13508 Madron Lake Road Buchanan
45-11 Tower Road RR1 MacTier
Drew
325 Balsam Chutes Rd. RR#2 Port Sydney
1175 Maple Ave.
Shady Side
Lexi
Steph David Daniel 55 William St, PO Box 1379 Chelmsford
Melbourne
Rapid City
Craig
Giddings
San Jose
Wilmington
Burnsville
Betsy, Tracy
Bellwood
Columbus
Charles, Alex
Eden Prairie
Eau Claire
Rogersville
Morgan Nick Rachel
Brookville
Baton Rouge
Mate
Crew
Fern
Anne-Marie
Ann
Nene
Kim
Molly
Adele
Gail
Becky
Darlene
Melissa
Karen
Carol
Judy
Rachel
Denise
Heather
Denise
Dee
Marcia
Sheryl
Jean
Angela
Sandy
Dolly
P1H 1C2
P0C1H0
83706
30506
49419
47629
49107
L9W 2T8
7439
49002
K2l 2S5
45424
70816
48183
48045
48130
55102
N2N 1C2
705 855 1990 glenn.phillips@personainternet.com
410 867 4465 r_painter@comcast.net
705 385 1477 ken@ksoa.ca
705 644 4313 armin@muskoka.com
269 697 8192 paul@grandpower.com
519
269
613
225
651 224 8851 bob.carlson@reell.com
519 570 4607 ferndave@kw.igs.net
E-mail
20764
Area Ph1 Ph2
P0M 1L0
225 293 7225 capnronn@bellsouth.net
Postal
Stat
e
ON
MI
MI
MI
MN
32940
49676
78942
95148
19807
55337
16617
43229
55344
54703
65742
41004
70816
937
973
208
dscarb@prodigy.net
tomtaatjes@earthlink.net
606 782 7122 joe.c.williams@gmail.com
417 818 2668 swetzel@oakstarbank.com.
715 832 8509 rolfvh@clearwire.net
952 906 0300
614 475 6354 Stephen_Swaim@hotmail.com
814 742 7357 ADSHRIV@Verizon.Net
952 895 5968 aadorable2@aol.com
302 429 0907
408 515 3370 jsadler@bellmicro.com
979 542 5543 rohloffis@SBC.net
231 258 3590 grinkel@yahoo.com
321 255 1984 camelot57@juno.com
812 204 2930 grinner43@gmail.com
770 287 0367
667 9577 rconway@woh.rr.com
754 7161 mollyc27@cox.net
836 7525 rayadele@sympatico.ca
827 5458 gtderk@earthlink.net
323 3143 cgdiver@juno.com
941 6569 compasspoints@hotmail.com
384 0884 rcengle@earthlink.net
bobee@bellsouth.net
fairchildren@verizon.net
734 426 2016 brennanlawrence@sbcglobal.net
586 465 1463 mbeeker@sbcglobal.net
734 778 3008 odtrainer@aol.com
OH
LA
ON
NJ
MI
ON
ID
GA
MI
IN
MI
ON
ON
MD
ON
FL
MI
TX
CA
DE
MN
PA
OH
MN
WI
MO
KY
LA
Fall 2006
Page 16
Clipper Snips
History of the Trailer/Sailors Association: Part 2
David Craigie
This segment on History of the
Trailer/Sailors Association
spans the years from 1990 to the
spring of 1998. It covers four
areas of interest:the
Announcement made in the
Spring of 1998. This proclamation was a turning point in the
direction of our Trailer/Sailors
Association.
tremendous surge in T/SA
membership,
Our membership was growing
exponentially.
the first article to be submitted
for publications by a lady
sailor,
From humble beginnings, when
fourteen founding members set
out to form the Trailer/Sailors
Association, by 1990 the membership had swollen ten fold.
The next year it was up to 215
faithful followers and this
prompted our founder, Bob
Hodgson, to remark;
the origins of the T/SA flag
are revealed and finally,
the first lady officer takes over
as our T/SA president.
This T/SA history segment concludes with an Extraordinary
We have been receiving enquiries from
prospective
members at
the rate of
three per
week. This
healthy
growth is
gratifying, if
not alarming!
It would not
be unreasonable to predict
a membership
of over 500 in
a few years
time beyond
that one
hardly dares
to speculate.
10th Anniversary Clipper Snips, Spring 1995
Clipper Snips
Membership
in the T/SA
continued to
grow and in
1994 reached
its all time
Page 17
high of 576 members. Although
our growth tapered off and
membership receded to about
500 members in 1998, the membership remained a viable, sociable and determined group of
sailors. Unwavering, members
today continue to carry on the
T/SA philosophy set in these
days.
The first article by a lady
sailor is submitted for publication.
Literary contributions to Clipper
Snips are accepted only from
current T/SA members. This is
the mainspring used to encourage members to put their
thoughts on paper and offer
them for all to enjoy. No one
needs a literary degree and no
mention of gender has ever been
a deciding factor in selection.
Until the fall of 1991 the only
submissions that ever crossed
the editor s desk were from male
members. However, in the
spring of 1991 that all changed
when Betty Liz Palmer, of
Farmington Hills, MI, submitted
the first article by a lady sailor.
Her article, Fun in the Baja,
chronicled the events of her
journey to Loreto Baja. She was
off on a holiday to visit a long
time lady friend and sailor,
Mary, who lived on her Pacific
Seacraft Dana 24, The Might
Merry Too.
Bob s observations about Betty,
and lady sailors in general, were
this;
Betty Palmer is the first lady to
Fall 2006
T/SA flags flying all around
North America. Some have
even reputedly been known to
show up overseas carried by
members as they charter around
the world.
Liz Palmer s Article - Clipper Snips, Spring 1991
contribute an article to Clipper
Snips. It is hoped that now she
has opened the lock-gates, and
other ladies will follow in her
wake, pouring out their interesting stories. . . Articles from ladies particular viewpoints
would be welcome additions to
the newsletter and help balance
its content.
Betty s story was soon followed
by a succession of other interesting comments and articles by
other ladies. Included in this
astute list are three current and
long time members; Carol Bowman, Debbie Bell and Rosemary
Beggs.
Our Trailer/Sailors Association flag and its genesis
The design for the T/SA flag
was chosen from a field of
eighty-six colored sketches, all
drawn by our founder, Bob
Hodgson. A designer by trade
in the automotive industry this
was an area at which he excelled. For viewing purposes
and to help formulate a decision
they were taped all over the
laundry room of their home. Of
this arrangement Bob remarked;
it looked like a laundry reClipper Snips
gatta. Differing from regular
club burgees, ours is a rectangular flag, not one of those pointy
things on which graphics look so
wretchedly uncomfortable.
In the summer of 1986 Bob announced,
I thought we had a suitable
design for the flag and with unwarranted confidence and impetuosity, I announced that flags
would soon to be illusionment
I showed it to several people
and they were completely underwhelmed! So back to the drawing board and many more designs were investigated. At last
one was produced that was liked
by all who saw it and those
who did see it included some
skillful and frankly out spoken
designers. (Believe me this
sort of acceptance constitutes a
minor miracle in designers experience!)
Hence, the first T/SA flags debuted and were offered for sale
in the summer of 1986, for
$11.50US. No changes have
ever been made to the flag design [as seen on our cover], nor
have any ever been suggested.
Today there are hundreds,
maybe a thousand or more,
Page 18
To help promote the flag, Bob
developed a unique sales pitch
that provided a little reading entertainment to boot. The following excerpts are but a few of the
many promotional testimonials
that appeared over the years.
Have you got a flag yet? Send
for one, it ll make your boat
look just like Stars and
Stripes! and give you [Dennis]
Conner s self-assurance. What
more can you buy for a lousy
$11.50 including postage?
Write to Hen.
There was a report from Annapolis that when three admirals
passed by a T/SA flag they saluted it. This is an irresponsible
exaggeration. It is important to
keep the records straight (a demanding objective since the
flag s rich history has spanned
some incredible occurrences)
but in the cause of accuracy it
should be made clear that there
were actually only two admirals.
Don t be overwhelmed by the
senior officers deferential behavior in the presence of the
flag. One of its most endearing
features is its universality anybody can be at ease with it. Just
send a check for $9 to Bob
Hodgson to get your own flag
and experience the rapture of
fresh pride welling in your
chest.
Everyone wanted a flag and Bob
was kept busy filling the orders.
Because of demand the flag
Fall 2006
maker apparently reduced their
price to $9US, which was
passed on to members. No
profit was ever made on the
T/SA flag. Two decades later,
while the price of gasoline has
sextupled and a Hershey bar has
gone from a dime to eighty-nine
cents, our beloved flag is about
the same price it was in 1986.
The same design for the flag is
also used as our T/SA logo.
This has sporadically been reproduced in decals, bumper
stickers, and on occasion monogrammed on members shirts. I
doubt that anyone would complain if you had an idea and
wanted to show it off.
The logo has also been used in
the production of T/SA T
shirts and hats. These are
widely seen amongst members
at various cruise gatherings and
available from members who
donate their time and make no
profit for their efforts. Bob and
Doris Lockie handle the T
shirts and Wayne Bell the hats.
Be in style and get yours before
you set sail next summer.
A lady sailor presides over the
Old Gang.
During the incipient growth of
the T/SA there was a steady progression of new officers. Unlike
many yacht clubs and other organizations, officers, or committee members as they were know
in the T/SA, did not have to
politick to get elected. Instead it
was a process of being asked to
serve and consenting.
Such was the case with our new
T/SA president, Betty Liz
Palmer. Not only was Betty the
first woman to be published in
Clipper Snips
Clipper Snips, but
she also accepted
the presidency in
the spring of
1992. She and
husband John
(Jack) lived in
Farmington Hills,
MI and they sailed
a Spirit 23 Sea
Duction.
Liz and Jack Palmer
In communicating with Betty,
she revealed how she was selected as president and some of
the upbeat moments she had
during her years of tenure.
letters to Bob. This little surprise ended up being quite an
enjoyable part of my trailer sailing presidency.
Tom Lyons (the current president) asked me if I would like to
become president. I said I really
didn t know that much about
doing something like that. He
assured me that I could, so, I
said, well I might be able to
handle this and said okay.
Betty served the T/SA until the
fall of 1998 when there was a
major shift in the committee
members. Like everyone who
has served, she will always be
remembered for her selfless
dedication to the trailer/sailing
way of life.
Shortly after I took over the
task of being President of the
T/SA, Bob Hodgson wrote a big
article for SAIL magazine (Jan
1993 p20). In the article he
mentioned my name and address
as being the Association President. My life was not the same
for some time after that.
Extraordinary Announcement
Spring 1998
Soon I was getting letters from
all over the USA and Canada.
Mail started rolling into my mail
box by the hundreds asking
questions about trailer sailing,
boat problems and ideas for different boats. I was able to answer some questions regarding
how to store food, what utensils
to take, bedding and anything
regarding the lady part of the
boat. When my husband and I
were not able to answer some of
the questions, I forwarded the
Page 19
In the 1998 spring issue of Clipper Snips, Bob Hodgson made
an Extraordinary Announcement; the current management
committee intended to retire!!!
Was the Trailer/Sailors Association going on the rocks? In part
the announcement read like this:
Having served for more than a
dozen years, we committee members have decided to take steps
to retire. Two years will have
passed before they are complete,
by then none of us will be on the
sexy side of seventy (except Liz
who is thirty-nine and holding
fast) and we shall be well advised to resign before ill-health
or fate blunders in and leaves us
short-handed and in difficulties.
We want another group to start
Fall 2006
forming right away and preparing to take over the committee s
responsibilities. We will do all
we can to help them and show
them how we have managed the
Association s affairs, but we
shall not stand in their way if
they want to introduce new ideas
and reorganize procedures.
The remainder of the two page
announcement described the
committee positions along with
their duties. In addition, there
were two time lines that would
be followed over the next two
years. One time line anticipated
that a new committee would
take over. The other was for the
possibility that no new committee members would step forward. If that occurred then the
dissolution of the Trailer/Sailors
would follow.
Obviously several members did
come forward and refused to
allow the T/SA to die. Otherwise you would not be reading
this and still enjoying membership today.
In our next segment (Snips Winter 2007), several other highlights of the T/SA are discussed:
Microsoft stock was soaring
and the internet was becoming
the in thing.
E-mail became the medium by
which committee members and
the membership communicate
the introduction of the Yahoo
message board brought a continuous flow of information.
Then our own T/SA web site
WWW.TrailerSailors.org was
launched.
How did all this affect our membership? The truths are revealed in our
next installment (in the Winter
2007 issue).
Modified Slab Reefing: (Rapid Reefing)
Henk Vanderhulst
Many sailors don t know how the
benefits of reefing their mainsail
when the wind pipes up. Still others don t know how to set up their
rig to do this.
In the archives (06/96), was this
article by Henk Vanderhulst, with
comments by then editor, Bob
Hodgson.
and (I). From there each goes to a
separate cheek block (J) mounted
on the side of the boom. These are
placed about 2 inches back from
where each cringle meets the boom
in order to provide out haul as well
as down haul when reefing. Both
lines then go through a couple of
eye straps (K) on the bottom of the
boom, then via a swivel block (L)
below the goose neck, a swivel
block (M) at the mast foot, a turning block (N) and through pad eye
(O) to a cam cleat (P). Using cam
This system used four colour coded
½ inch lines. I use blue-white for
reef #1 and red-white for reef #2.
The luff reef #1 line is tied at the
lower reef cringles (A) and the luff
reef #2 line to the upper cringle (B)
using bowline knots. Both are led
through a pad eye (C) attached to
the side of the boom forward end.
Then through a swivel block (D) at
the mast foot and a turning block
(E). At the cockpit is a cam cleat
(G) with a pad eye (F) a few inches
in front. Blocks etc. need to be big
enough to take both ½ inch lines
unless you wish to spend the extra
dollars for separate items.
The leach reef lines are tied at the
appropriate leach reef cringles (H)
Clipper Snips
Go Gently - Slab Reefing
Page 20
Fall 2006
cleats without fair leads but with a
pad eye a few inches forward allows either of the lines to be cleated. The colour coding indicates
which line to cleat.
When reefing, first let go the main
sheet. While easing the main halyard pull down the appropriate luff
reef line and cleat. Tighten up on
the halyard. The pad eye © prevents the cringle (A) or (B) from
coming down too far. Next, pull
the appropriate leach reef line tight
and cleat. Make sure the leach reefs
properly. Set the main sheet and
you are on your way. This system
works very well and fast for me. It
uses a minimum of reefing line.
Also, tying the reef lines at the
cringles rather than looping them
through and back to the boom
causes less strain on the lines. My
green coded out haul line follows
along with the leach reef lines because when reefing the out haul
line is not needed.
The mid sail reef points are only
meant to tidy up the foot of the
reefed sail. Therefore, the leach
reef lines, when tight, should pull
the reef cringle back in order to
flatten the sail.
last thing wanted in a rising wind is
stubborn gear that fights back!
Editor Hodgson s Comment (6/96)
The second drawback of the single
line reefing system is the sheet
length of the line to be hauled in
12 feet to put in a 3 foot reef, 24
feet for a 6 foot reef. All of which
must be tidied away before the invisible rope fiends descent and knot
it to maddening snarls as they do
with all loose rope. Whereas, with
Henk s system, after easing the halyard, putting in a 3 foot reef takes
just a quick easy tug on each of the
two reef lines and leaves two 3 foot
bitter ends short enough to escape
the notice of the rope fiends.
Henk s practical two-line slab reefing system has two significant advantages over the commonly used
single line system which, incidentally, Henk has also tried.
With the single line system, the line
is attached to the boom and led up
and through the reef cringle in the
leach of the sail, then back down to
a block on the boom. From there it
goes forward along the boom,
around a block near the gooseneck
and up through a reef cringles in
the luff, from where it is brought
down again and let to a cleat. In
use, after easing the halyard, the
reef line may be hauled in and a
slab of the sail reefed in one operation. Although it may seem a winner, the galling friction from dragging the loaded line through the
cringles can make it hard to pull
tight. Reefing systems are employed in pressing conditions and
the aim should be to make them
work as willingly as possible, the
Editor Orinko s comment (10/06)
The two line reefing method allows
you to pull down the luff with extra
tension (where it s needed: the luff
reef patch is much thicker with a
bigger grommet). After the luff is
tensioned, the second line can tension the leach reef, without pulling
out the bottom luff slides (as can
happen with the single-line
method).
Keys to Rebecca
Edited by Joe Orinko
As mentioned in his article 8
Days in Paradise with Rebecca
and Sail Dave Craigie describes a T/SA encounter with
Rebecca Waters, a writer from
Sail magazine. She hitched a
ride on various host boats during
this year s NC cruise. It s expected that a spring issue of Sail
will include text and pictures
from her viewpoint as a first
time North Channel sailor.
For this article, I asked the host
members to provide a little insight (keys) about their tempo-
Clipper Snips
rary shipmate; a look at what it
was like, from our member s
point of view.
A WOW Ride! (Henk Vanderhulst)
Yes, we have all been curious
concerning this person from Sail
magazine who is going to be
spending a few days with our
group up in the North Channel.
Today we are to find out. She
was to have been here yesterday,
however her flight from Boston
was delayed due to bad weather.
This morning Dave Craigie arPage 21
rived with her around noon, after picking her up in Sudbury.
Several of our boats are docked
in Little Current, and so we get
to meet Rebecca Waters.
I was amazed by the
variety of sailing experiences and ambitions
the trailer sailors were
eager to share with me.
Rebecca Waters
Fall 2006
what our Association is all
about, and a very good start for
her week with us.
Wayne & Debbie Bell
It was indeed a great joy to have
Rebecca aboard Bells Toil this
summer in the North Channel.
Both Debbie and I had fun sharing with her several of our favorite spots and sailing stories.
We especially enjoyed taking
her to "booming rock" and the
enchanted cedar forest on South
Benjamin.
Bob and Jane Mullen
Dinner aboard Atta Buoy
She is obviously a very pleasant
young lady. Several of us escort
her to The Anchor Inn where
we enjoy a good meal.
After this I get a chance to show
her around Little Current, and
then it is time to leave the dock
in order to make the two
o clock bridge. The plan is for
Go Gently to lead the way as the
group leaves Little Current, in
order to give Rebecca an opportunity to take some pictures of
the group of boats sailing and
motoring as we pass the open
bridge. Then I am to drop back
so as to be among the other
boats. Oops: Rebecca is having
problems with her camera, so
she ends up borrowing mine.
(Lucky for her she managed to
get it working once we are at
anchor).
I soon find out that she is quite
at home on a sailboat, since her
Dad sails a 26-footer out of Chicago. I let her handle the tiller
Clipper Snips
for a while and she does OK.
Once passed Strawberry Lighthouse the wind starts to pick up
from the NW and I get the urge
to try and leave all the other
boats behind us. We are really
moving!! WOW!
Rebecca loves every minute of it
and is comfortably perched on
the gunwale as we pass other
boats. We end up neck-and
neck with Taranui and Bells
Toil as we approach Haywood
Island. Taranui and Go Gently
are first in. I had seen a 7.9 on
my knot-meter and John Clement registered 8.2 knots on his!
What an exhilarating ride!!
Soon we are at anchor in
Haywood. Rebecca and I enjoy
a cup of tea aboard Go Gently.
And then it is time for her to be
taken to SeaQuell by Dave
Craigie.
I believe that this afternoon was
a good introduction for her to
Page 22
We were delighted to host Rebecca aboard the Atta Buoy on
July 24th and 25th. Our friends,
Gene and Colleen Lindgren
were rafted with us in beautiful
Covered Portage when Rebecca
came aboard. Shortly after her
arrival we began dinner preparations and enjoyed a glass of
wine and hors d oeuvres in the
cockpit. Luckily we had decided to eat in the cabin because
shortly after the five of us began
our dinner of salmon burgers,
couscous and salad, the rains
came a real pour down !
We soon discovered several bad
leaks that were previously undetected. Our guests were forced
to huddle together and play musical seats in an attempt to stay
dry. We were fortunate that Rebecca was such a good sport.
Mike & Diana Nelson
With all the bad weather, Dave
had to do some hasty rearranging of the schedule. By the time
she joined Eventide, Rebecca
was probably feeling a bit like a
package traveling ground track
on UPS. "If it's Wednesday, this
Fall 2006
must be Trojan." After yet another day of rain, this time at
Covered Portage, everyone was
ready to get moving and, hopefully, do some sailing. We
picked Rebecca up at about 8
AM and headed for the Lansdowne Channel. Wind forecast
was out of the West, of course.
When we left, there was not
enough wind to sail, so we motored most of the way down the
Lansdowne. Once we got past
the last buoys, the wind was
picking up, out of the West, as
predicted. Good day to head for
Mary Ann Cove, not Little Current. After some discussion and
looking at the charts, we decided
to go south of Heyward to avoid
having to beat all the way to the
bridge. We put a reef in the
main and set off SW. Rebecca
took the helm and we had a nice
sail. Unfortunately, we were
still doing a lot of tacking to
avoid heading too far south. Rebecca shook out the reef, but it
didn't help much. As we were
reaching the end of Heyward,
Dave called and asked what
bridge we thought we would
make: 1 PM? Easy, we said. It
was only about 11:00. Then we
got out the chart and realized
how far the bridge was from our
current position. Yikes! We
turned on the iron wind and
pushed the throttle to 3000
RPM, motor sailing, to make the
1:00 PM bridge. We had to wait
for space at the fuel dock, but as
soon as we were tied up, Dave
ran up and offered Rebecca a
chance for a shower, so she was
off lickety-split. It was a pleasure to have her on board, even if
it was only for the morning. She
especially liked the skipper's
chicken curry sandwiches.
A night aboard Incipient with
Rebecca (Dave & Joyce
Craigie)
We were weathered in at Covered Portage and it was plan B
for a place for Rebecca to spend
the night. It had been raining
and the wind had been howling,
but the evening proved to be delightful. I had bought some lake
trout at Killarney and Mike and
Diana Nelson provided some
greens. We had a fish dinner to
die for. Gourmet connoisseur
Mike whipped up a secret concoction of spices to roll the fish
in and I followed orders at the
skillet. Soon, all six of us, including our eight-year-old
grandson were cleaning our
plates. There were no leftovers.
The rest of the evening was
spent in small talk with Rebecca. True to her words, the
port settee suited her just fine
and while I retired early, as
usual, Rebecca read and perhaps
made some handwritten notes.
My biggest regret is that of all
the pictures I took I failed to
capture even one of her on our
boat. But I will always remember our first female overnight
guest as a delight and welcome
back anytime.
Bob Rouda
Rebecca sailed with us on the
Maija Lisa (Precision 23) from
the Benjamins to Shoepack Bay.
It was the best sailing day for
the whole trip one long tack
from Hook Island, all the way
past Eagle, through the Boyd
Island inlet and right into Shoepack. With great winds, under
full sail. The best part was that
Rebecca knew sailing she handled the tiller all day, and entertained us by sharing her knowledge about sailing, authors, and
the sailing magazine business. It
was good to have such a competent auto-helm aboard.
Chris & Lenore Holderness
After a wonderful early morning
cruise from Little Current to
Heywood, Teliki arrived in a
timely fashion to pick up our
"crew for the day", Rebecca.
She was welcomed aboard and
after a last minute destination
change we motored out in anticipation of a long sail to Thomas
Full Crew on Teliki
Clipper Snips
Page 23
Fall 2006
stern shot. I had a chance to
take the tiller and we flew back
towards the approaching fleet. I
suggested we pass them on their
port side.
Rebecca said "No. There's a slot
between two come on, thread
the needle!" Well, I don t need
much encouragement to have
fun - so I obliged her and hope
she got some great shots. I
guess it is a little bit of bragging,
but I did feel good when I was
able to turn us around and catch
up to them to follow Go Gently s lead into spectacular Thomas Bay.
Lenore Holderness and Rebecca, Threading the Needle on Teliki
Bay. Once out of Heywood we
soon realized that no amount of
wishing was going to bring the
wind. Reluctantly we motored
along and made the decision to
forgo a possibly more scenic
route through Lansdowne Channel and go "on the outside" hoping for a chance of better
breezes. We were a little apprehensive setting course to a new
anchorage, but not wanting to
show our limited experience to
an editor from Sail magazine we
carried on like seasoned pros!
Rebecca soon became acquainted with Lindsey and Kira
and all of Kira's stuffed toy animals, rubber turtles (all named)
and an assortment of dinky cars.
She saw firsthand the incredible
amount of "must have" items
required for cruising with a
small sailor!
When we rounded the point, the
winds picked up and we were
able to set sail. Chris had the
Clipper Snips
tiller and I headed into the galley to prepare lunch. The sun
was sparkling on the water; the
sky a clear blue and we felt she
was experiencing the North
Channel at its best. Rebecca
chatted about her job, sailing
experience and memories of
sailing Lake Michigan with her
father. She agreed that our girls
would most likely develop a life
long love of being on the water.
Kira even convinced her to join
in a game of cars!
When we passed the entrance to
Killarney we realized that we
needed to follow the fleet into
Thomas Bay since it had a tricky
entrance. Next thing we knew,
we were hailed on the radio by
the fleet. They were wondering
how far we had made it to? I
think they were a little surprised
to find that we were far ahead of
them. Rebecca asked if we
minded heading back towards
them for some "head on photos,
always more interesting than a
Page 24
After an exciting entrance
through a maze of partially and
totally submerged North Channel rocks, Rebecca helped anchor. We all donned bathing
suits and had a refreshing swim
before she was picked up and
taxied away for dinner aboard
the next waiting boat. We
joined everyone later for a classic campfire with roasted marshmallows and good company.
What a way to end a perfect day
on the North Channel. We hope
she enjoyed sailing with Teliki
as much as we enjoyed her visit
with us.
Tom & Jan Larimer
Jan and I on Trojan were next in
line to host Rebecca for the
night. [Sunday, 23 July.] We
were in Thomas Bay - a beautiful anchorage a few miles east of
the SE entrance to Killarney. It
was tricky getting in there but
well worth it. Rebecca had been
sailing with the Holderness family aboard Teliki, a very nice
family and a very nice boat.
When you host a guest for the
Fall 2006
yes , and an hour later we were
sharing these, along with
pressed coffee. Our tradition is
always to share each batch of
cinnamon rolls with someone
who does not know about onboard baking, so John rowed 2
hot fresh sticky rolls across to
Teliki where they were received
with surprised delight. We then
offered Rebecca the use of our
dinghy to visit boats she was not
scheduled to spend time with,
and she rowed off in the rain for
a time of visiting around the anchorage.
Irene Clement, Rebecca, and NC Sticky Buns
night you don't really have much
time to visit - you spend most of
the time sleeping. Nevertheless
we did manage to get acquainted
and get some insight into what it
was like being on the "inside" at
a magazine publisher. We had a
campfire on a nearby rock that
evening and we all had a chance
to talk to Rebecca. One notable
event was that we witnessed a
nearby island burning. Wayne
Bell noticed the fire earlier and
reported it to the Canadian Coast
Guard. Next morning we had a
rainy spell, which put a damper
on our planned dinghy tour of
the area. We transferred our
overnight guest to Taranui for
the sail to Killarney with John
and Irene Clement. Then we
hung around until 2 PM waiting
for the weather to clear. It was a
bit rough out in the open water
and we hope Rebecca enjoyed
the excitement of the 4 to 5 foot
waves. It was indeed a pleasure
for Jan and I to have had the opportunity to meet and spend the
evening with such a talented
Clipper Snips
young lady.
John & Irene Clement
Rather than settle down, the
weather forecast began to speak
of higher winds and waves on
the way, and we decided to
make the exposed run to Killarney for lunch before the main
weather arrived, then go on to
rejoin the main fleet in the sheltered anchorage of Covered
Portage. It was a bouncy windy
passage under motor at first, but
It was a cool, windy and rainy
morning in Thomas Bay as Rebecca arrived for her time on
Taranui. We sat and talked
about sailing, Trailer Sailors,
shared a number of our stories, and
showed some
of the modifications we have
made to make
life easier on
board. Then,
as the rain continued to fall,
Irene pulled out
her tiny backpacker s oven
and asked if
Rebecca was
interested in
hot fresh cinnamon rolls. The
answer was a
resounding and
very definite
Wild Ride on Taranui (picture by Tom Larimer)
Page 25
Fall 2006
How to shore tie in the
North Channel.
How to play Mexican-train
dominoes (good times on
Grand Finale).
Only time will tell which will
be the most valuable lesson.
Rebecca did have a message for
her shipmates:
Trailer/sailor: Rebecca Waters [photo by Bob Rouda]
adding a double reefed main
helped us pick up more speed.
Killarney was the first port for
Rebecca after joining the fleet in
Little Current. We walked the
town, bought some scrumptious
fresh bread and baked goods,
checked out the general store,
then joined Henk Vanderhulst
for fish and chips lunch. After
lunch Rebecca took the helm for
the short passage to Covered
Portage where we joined the rest
of the fleet.
It was on the heights of Covered
Portage overlooking the anchorage where, along with picking
wild blueberries, we held a brief
ceremony where we made Rebecca an honorary member of
the Trailer Sailors Association
Rebecca
Your editor caught up with Rebecca (via phone) after the Annapolis Boat show and before
the next issue of Sail got final-
Clipper Snips
ized.
When asked if she was shopping
for a trailerable sailboat, she replied: Maybe if I get a raise, in
the meantime, there is no shortage of dealers and charter companies eager to lend a boat to a
member of the SAIL staff. I am
actually considering becoming a
liveaboard in Boston Harbor; it
would be much cheaper than my
apartment (if I can just figure
out how to manage the icy winters).
When asked about awkward moments, she said having to use
the head in the middle of the
night just inches from my sleeping hosts.
When asked what she learned:
How to change my clothes
in a 2' by 3' head with no
standing headroom
(modesty's not a problem
when you're just sailing with
family).
Page 26
I really appreciated the hospitality, openness and attentions
that everyone showed me. I
could not have hoped for a better experience. I was amazed by
the variety of sailing experiences and ambitions the trailer
sailors were eager to share with
me. It is refreshing to see how
much can be accomplished on a
small (and comparatively cheap)
boat. I have long believed that
small boat sailors spend much
more time on the water than
mega-yacht owners, and that
Great Lakes sailors are much
more passionate about the sport
than many on the coasts; the
North Channel cruise proved
both. I want to thank everyone
who welcomed me aboard: the
food was gourmet, the company
was exceptional and the hospitality was overwhelmingly warm
and inviting.
Conclusion
On a cruise, it s impossible to
fool your shipmates. If our hosting members are any judges of
character, then Rebecca has a
pretty fair measure of it. She
joined our host members in creating lasting NC memories.
Fall 2006
...From the T/SA Web Discussion List...
Bob Rouda, TRAILSAIL Discussion List Editor
EXCHANGE RATE
Diana Nelson:
I have been traveling in Canada the
past few weeks and the actual exchange, if you change money at an
exchange, is more like .965 than
the .90 that Tom mentioned. Using
a credit card may not help as several are now charging 3% for each
purchase in another currency. You
might want to check if this applies
to your card. Not that anyone is
going to stay home over this, but
you might avoid surprises.
IMPORTING WINE INTO
CANADA
John & Susan Coppedge:
I know this does not impact the
teetotaler part of the group but:
We generally take about a case of
beer and a couple of gallons of
wine and maybe some other stuff.
We have no idea what the duty is,
but it generally costs us about $25.
We have found that it is FAR
cheaper to buy it in the US and pay
the duty rather than buy it up there.
Besides, the duty receipt could also
bail us out from some over-zealous
Mountie questioning whether we
entered the country legally.
If you do this, remember to take
receipts - they will assign a value
far over what you paid (unless you
are a booze snob) if you don't.
Michael Morris:
Reminds me of an olde story of 3
friends getting set to sail away with
3 cases of beer and a gallon of wine
and a loaf of bread. When the 3rd
member was packing away the supplies he asked, " What will be do
with all this bread?"
Joseph Orinko:
Clipper Snips
Dave Craigie, as usual, was ahead
of his time. He wrote a fine article
entitled "Canadian Wine at $3 per
Liter".
Your editor needed to shrink the
Spring issue to an even 32 pages,
so this article got held back. It is
presented to TRAILSAIL, as it is a
very useful presentation on the subject.
When you re-read it in a future issue of Clipper Snips, just say it's
"Deja Vu all over again."
[We re going to re-run that article
in the Spring 2007 issue. Just in
time for Canadian Summer cruising.]
Mike Nelson:
The article by David Craigie that
Joe Orinko mentioned earlier today
is now in the files area of TRAILSAIL for your download. You need
to go to
www.groups.yahoo.com/group/trail
sail Then click on "files" in the left
hand menu; therein you will see the
Canada wine article in pdf format...
ber it was quite liberal. I doubt that
a case of wine would be no problem. Especially since it is divided
up among all your passengers for
duty purposes. Not sure about liquor with under age persons though.
TOBERMORY FERRY
John Myers:
We are considering crossing into
Canada at Sarnia and taking the
ferry to Manitoulin Island. Does
anyone know how to find the ferry
schedule?
Lynn Nye:
The ferry departs Tobermory at
7:00 AM, 11:20 AM, 3:40 PM and
8:00 PM. You can make a reservation on the 7:00 AM departure or
the 8:00 PM departure by calling 1800-265-3163.
Murray Cleland:
Go to this website:
http://www.tobermory.org/ferryser
vice.html
Have a nice trip!
Armin Hachmer:
Bob Rouda:
We have to pull over at Canadian
Immigration & Customs, anyway,
to pick up the piece of paper showing that we brought the boat into
Canada legally by road (not by water).
Might as well pay the duty while
we are out of the tow vehicle
Rod Brandon:
Don't know for sure, but for some
reason 10 - 15% rings a bell.
Stan Coombes:
It's been a long time since friends
and I took beer, liquor and cigarettes into Canada but as I remem-
Page 27
Where do you park tow vehicle and
trailer in Parry Sound for all this
time?
Rod Brandon:
We have a dock at Ondine's family's cottage on Deep Bay.
So the truck and trailer are at home,
and we visit SeaQuell on the weekends. We were much later than normal splashing her this year.
Anything we gained from our
cruise south was lost from a later
start to our normal season.
(Missed the black flies and worst of
the mosquitos though!);-)
Fall 2006
Michael Morris:
Mike Nelson:
The ferry is a nice way to get to
Manitoulin Island but can be quite
expensive if your boat sits tall on
the trailer. Fares about double if the
overall height of your rig is over 10
feet. My Luger is almost 11 feet.
This would require me to go in a
truck bay instead of a car bay. Last
year the fare for a low slung 22
footer was about $85.00 one way.
Sorry I can't help with the sailing
times.
For those who want it, I just put a
(printable) pdf file of the float plan
on the web site--the link is at the
top of the float plan page under the
cruises section; the URL is:
NC CRUISE FLOAT PLAN
If you have questions or problems
with this link, let me know.
Bryan Childs:
I have been collecting all the names
for the North Channel Cruise, a
total of 17 so far. Keep them coming so that I can assemble the list
and get everyone a copy.
I plan to send out an email to all on
the list on June 1 just to confirm
that I have the correct address and
to convey any last minute instructions.
Remember, if you need a crew let
me know and I will try to link you
up with a seasoned sailor.
Any people that have not cruised
very much and would like to
broaden their sailing skills as well
as enjoy the North Channel this is
the ideal opportunity. Also the
cruise this year is set up so that you
can sail for only one week, by starting in Spanish and circle back after
Benjamin (July 15 to July 22), or
start in Little Current and return to
Little Current the second week
(July 22 to July 29).
Mike Nelson:
An erroneous waypoint in the float
plan for the NC cruise has been
corrected both on the float plan
web page and in the downloadable
pdf file on that same page.
For those who didn't catch it, the
longitude for Mosquito Bay was off
a bit.
Clipper Snips
http://www.trailersailors.org/cruise
s-float%20plan.html
Best bet for those using Windows
is to right-click the link and
download the file to your computer;
then open and print the pdf file.
NC CHARTERS
Pat Adams:
We have a Catalina 25 sailboat and
live in PA. We would love to join
the group next year for the cruise.
We were thinking it might be easier
to just charter a boat rather than
trailer that distance. Do you have
any information about chartering in
this area?
David Stjern:
Pat - my North Channel charter
info is quite dated (mid 1990s) but I
pass along the following for what it
is worth: Canadian Yacht Charters
of Gore Bay - 1/800-565-0022 or
1/705-282-0185; Discovery Yacht
Charters of Little Current - 1/800268-8222 or 1/705-368-3744; and
Maple Ridge Yacht Charters of
Kagawong - 1/705-282-3330 or
1/705-522-6584. Good luck!
NC LAUNCHING
Randall Berens:
Randy Berens & Don Ziliox will be
joining the North Channel Cruise
this year on Randy's Precision 23
Windsong ably towed to Spanish,
Ontario by Don's Ford Pickup. We
plan to arrive a few days before the
cruise starts in Spanish. We will
stay for the entire two weeks.
If it is possible, on Saturday the
29th, could we have someone hook
Page 28
up to my trailer and pull Windsong
out of the H2O? We would appreciate the help.
I think my boat and trailer weigh
about 4,000 at pullout. I used to
pull it out with a GMC Safari minivan with AWD. Had no problems
at all.
Tom Larimer:
I'm sure someone will volunteer for
the challenge. If we're in Spanish
at the time, I'd be glad to do it for
you. I pull my Mac 26 out with our
'92 Ford Explorer 4X2. The Mac
weighs about 3500# at pullout. If
your Precision 23 is heavier, I may
defer to a beefier tow vehicle.
Bob Rouda:
We have a P-23 also, and have no
trouble pulling it out of Spanish
marina with our rig. Glad to help.
NC FIRST TIMERS
Paul Grandholm:
I'm a new member and I would
love to join the North Channel
cruise (and perhaps others) some
day. I keep my Rhodes 22 in a slip
in New Buffalo, MI, which is about
a half hour from where we live. I
consider myself a relatively proficient sailor, but all of my experience has been of the day-sailing
variety. All of my anchoring has
been close to shore on nice sandy
bottoms. Therefore, I would need
to learn a lot more about provisioning, and to a certain extent, anchoring, before I would be comfortable
undertaking a cruise. For example,
how much chain and / or rode do
you need for the kind of anchoring
you do?
How do you provision a small boat
with such limited space for a long
cruise? How much fuel do you
need?
Are there some archives I can
check somewhere for these answers?
Fall 2006
Just wondering if there is somewhere I can go to read up on these
topics.
have to do much ourselves except
pull in the rodes and tie them off!
(If you need or want the help.)
Chris & Lenore Holderness:
We usually stop in a marina every
third or fourth night, so just bring
enough food and water to hold you
until the next port = store = restaurant = shower = pumpout.
We wrestled with the same thing
last year! We had mostly day sailed
and only anchored out a half dozen
times. I think we flooded the forum
with all kinds of questions. If I
couldn't find an answer by searching the forum, I posted the question. I already see several responses
talking about what to take etc.
You can read about our experience
and look at many pictures on our
site:
http://www.holderness.info
But, the bottom line is - just prepare and go! Read up on what to
take, ask questions on the forum
and go cruising with a great bunch
of people.
Help and advice are abundant and
hey, we're all learning. The collective experience of the group probably spans a century or more!
That said, we WERE pretty nervous until we realized that we were
not alone. It also helped that another experienced crew watched
over us (Ramblin' Rod and
Ondine). It all helped us to realize
that "YES, we can do this!".
This year it's "Lets do it some
more"!
It would be nice to see you "up
there" this year.
Bob Rouda:
No problem. We were exactly
where you were 2 years ago. We
have a Precision 23. The T/Sers
are VERY helpful; you will meet
lots of new friends and get all the
advice you might possibly want.
Anchoring: There is usually someone at each anchorage, in a dinghy,
that will help you set your hook
and/or tie to shore. We often didn't
Clipper Snips
For our first trip, we brought (and
are glad we did):
the Magna; there are better ones)
PRIZE (under $10) for dinghy
bingo
flashlights & batteries
EXTRA FIRE EXTINGUISHERS (kept all over the boat)
camera, batteries (digital is
great), lots of flash cards or
equivalent
enough emergency food & water,
in case you get stuck in some
anchorage for an extra day or
two (bad weather, worst case
only)
binoculars
an extra anchor (Bruce clone), 1
size too large (22 lb), with 100
feet of rode (15' chain) - good for
non-sandy bottoms. It has ALWAYS held.
first aid kit, sunscreen, bug dope,
etc.
6 gal of gasoline (6 HP motor)
can refill / top off / in every port
dinghy (anything you can row
ashore) not necessary but REAL
NICE to have. Tow it behind.
100 ft of extra line - for tying up
to shore (med-moor style)
extra collapsible water jugs
a built-in porta-potty (1st year,
with a hose we could pass up the
hatch for pump outs)
books (for when we get stuck
somewhere)
lots of extra batteries
raingear and fleece (of course)
- screens to cover the hatch and
companionway (we bought some
mosquito netting - hardware
store - sewed a sleeve all the way
around, filled it with mediumweight chain - now we just drape
it over the open companionway
so we can sleep with bugs and
lots of ventilation if it gets hot (it
does)
tool kit (you never have enough)
everything else that we usually
carry anyway
something nobody thought of,
that you will wish you had
brought with you...
money
charts
a bulkhead compass
nav tools (for drawing DR plots
etc.)
GPS (handheld)
VHF & masthead antenna
T/SA burgee, Canada & US flags
PORTS cruise guide to Lake
Huron etc.
Pixie's "Well Favored Passage"
(well, we finally got it this year)
BBQ for the stern rail (don't get
Page 29
Sounds like a lot, but you only have
to outfit the boat once. You will
not need all of this, but there is not
a West Marine in any of the anchorages.
In a real emergency, some other
boats can loan you almost everything (we spent a day last year repairing boats after the storm - see
Clipper Snips for Margery's article).
Punch Line: Come along and don't
worry. We have had great trips,
Fall 2006
met great people. You will be an
expert after one trip. And you will
learn A LOT!
David & Mary Stjern:
Obtain a copy of Chapman's Seamanship. It contains a wealth of
information and is a quick reference. I envy your slip in New Buffalo. For us that would be a destination spot!
SPANISH PIZZA
Mike Nelson:
the cruise, go right ahead.
PS: Whose boat is called ARC?
Derek Henshaw:
Nice idea for the North Channel
cruise group on Yahoo. Your pictures are great and give those of us
who did not have the chance to get
up there this summer a chance to
drift up there mentally. Glad to see
everyone had a good time.
SHALLOW WATER SAILORS
Barbara Garland:
Last year when we were stuck in
Spanish fixing a pump (while the
rest of you were battling thunderstorms), we discovered that the pizzeria on highway 17 a few blocks
west of the turn-off to the marina is
remarkably good. Highly recommended, but allow at least 1/2 hr to
45 min., as they are made from
scratch and not terribly fast.
NC FISHING
Just got back from Lake Champlain
(I'll tell you more about that later)
but one of our group ("Time
Enough" - sailed by Bob Ahler and
Carol Mosely - one of the 2 Bahama boats) is headed to the NC
with the Shallow Water Sailors.
They will be up there around the
same time you are there. He is in a
Mac 26 classic. If you run into him
say hi.
Dan Allen:
Michael Morris:
I am leaving on a 10-day NC cruise
out of Spanish in early September. I
would like to favor anchorages that
I might catch some fish. Does anyone have experiences or have any
recommendations? I will be towing
a small boat.
We ran into the Shallow Water
Sailors a few years ago but they
were all sailing Dovekies or Shearwater boats. A strange lot who preferred to anchor for the night out in
the bull rushes where the mosquitos
were thick as clouds.
Bob Hartman:
My home club group plus 3 Thousand Island boats (Bob Borden,
Carroll Seibert and Roger Davis)
will be up there at the same time
and hope to meet up with the main
T/S A fleet on the 22 of July at
Heywood Island. If these other
folks are looking to be part of the
largest gathering (I think) of trailerable boats let them know where
we'll be. On the 23rd we are off to
Macgregor Bay leaving the others
to go their own way. Could be quite
a sight.
Dan - I don't fish myself but while
anchored between Green Island and
Wilfred Island (just a stones throw
from Spanish) I talked with some
fishermen who had caught some
nice fish there.
ROBERT S NC PHOTOS
Robert Paquette:
I've added a link to this discussion
group called 'Photos'. It has all the
photos that I took on the North
Channel 2006 cruise. If anyone
wants a full size version of a photo
(about 400K), contact me, and I'll
send it to you. If you want to add
photos of other boats taken during
Clipper Snips
OTHER CRUISES - LAKE
NIPISSING
Chris & Lenore Holderness:
Page 30
Just thought we'd share a few pictures from our second cruise of the
summer. Lenore has always wanted
to cruise Lake Nipissing (she grew
up in a small town on it's northern
shore) - and this year we finally did
it!
Lake Nipissing is east of the North
Channel. Actually, where we
launched at Sturgeon Falls is about
the same distance east of Sudbury
as Spanish is west. The lake itself is
about the same size as our "cruising
grounds" in the North Channel.
There are many islands, as well as
the famous French River mouth.
We only cruised a fraction of the
lake and will definitely be back
several more times.
We also plan to put an article on
our website as several people expressed and interest in the lake.
Enjoy - there are about 90 images...
http://www.holderness.info/index.p
hp
Brian Childs:
Hello Chris & Lenore. I liked your
pictures; looks like you guys had a
good time. Keep on finding good
places for us to add to our list of
trips we should do. Did you get the
pictures we sent you from the
N.C.? Alice and I have been talking
about maybe taking the Trent from
Lake Simcoe to the bay and do the
30,000 islands instead of the N.C.
next summer. You guys would be
more than welcome to come along.
You could launch from our yacht
club, I don t think there would be a
problem leaving your car and trailer
there. Will you be going to the boat
show in Toronto this January?
LAKE CHAMPLAIN
Barbara Garland:
Not everyone is headed to NC.
There are 2 of us on the east coast
who are headed to Lake Champlain
with 26 other boats from NE-TS for
Fall 2006
a week. We've already been sailing
on Narragansett Bay
Back the Champlain story. I hope
to head up there with Whale Friday
for 10 days of sailing and fun. It
will be the first time I really solo
sail the boat. I know that there will
be lots of friends helping me dock raft etc. I'm sure there will be pictures of the event on the NE-TS
web page once we get home.
are up there. I realize I won't fit in
some of the gunk holes but we will
figure something out. If you know
of anyone who wants a very good
Mac, mine is for sale. Its special
features are the mosquito netting
for the pop-up, Bimini and rigged
for single-handed. Of course the
head has been re-configured to a
pump-out. We won't get much sailing time in this year but hope to
have everything ready to go next
summer. Hope to see you at one of
the conferences so we can hear
more about the T/SA adventures.
BAHAMAS
GPS
Barbara Garland:
Murray Cleland:
A conversation with Dave Craigie
this morning (I'll get to meet him
tomorrow here in NH) reminded
me that you all might like to read
the adventures of Puff Stuff in the
Bahamas this winter. Sam and Arlene Wykoff wrote an article that is
on the NE-TS web page at
http://www.ne-ts.com/cr/puff.htm
Looking forward to getting reacquainted on the North Channel
cruise. Does anyone attending this
cruise have a Raymarine Sportpilot
- preferably one that works for
you? I purchased my MacGregor
26 M with the Sportpilot that is
an autopilot that is attached to the
steering wheel.
Enjoy and dream of something to
do some other winter
Performance has been "spotty" at
best since I got it. I've notified the
company that I purchased the boat
from as well as Raymarine. I'm
seriously considering sending it
back to the company but thought I'd
give it one more try on the North
Channel Cruise.
http://www.ne-ts.com/re/re2006ahI.aspx for those of you who
want to read stories.
NC FLEET SIZE & ALTERNATIVES
TRAILSAIL Discussion List Editor:
As we went to press, there is quite
an active discussion underway
about how to manage and what to
do with our 50-plus North Channel
boat fleet. Check it out on our
TRAILSAIL on-line discussion
group. Multiple starts & finishes,
alternate sailing grounds, and many
other topics are getting thrown
around jump in and contribute
your ideas.
I've never got to the point of entering waypoints. I'd be delighted if I
could rely on it to hold a bearing
with total reliability.
If any of you have had positive experience with one, (or simply more
negative experiences) I'd like to
chat with you before I send mine
back to Raymarine.
OTHER STUFF - BOAT FOR
SALE
T-SHIRT
Ronald Gacsko:
We were traveling today on the PA
Turnpike, and at a rest stop along
the way, we ran into a guy with a
T-shirt on with a message that I
Well, my goal is to learn how to
handle the 'new' boat and take it to
the North Channel when you guys
Clipper Snips
thought was worth passing on!
"I would rather be in a boat with a
drink on the rocks, than in the drink
with the boat on the rocks."
Keep that in mind all of you North
Channel sailors!!
NEW BOATS
Chris & Lenore Holderness:
Yes, it has been quiet on here?
Our little green Matilda 20 grew 6
feet over winter and changed its
name to Teliki. With most of the
repairs behind us it's now time to
figure out "where to put everything". After two years, we had just
worked out a "system" on the old
boat.
We'll be easy to spot in the NC this
summer. Look for the boat with
nobody at the tiller and the entire
crew with their heads in various
storage areas tryin' to find things!
Hey, I just crossed off another day
on my calendar - getting close!
KNOTS
Chris Holderness:
Here is an excellent site to learn the
basic knots.
http://www.animatedknots.com
You can't always assume the President will row over and give a personal lesson, like our experience
last year in the NC.
John Clement:
Chris - Hey, a great resource.
Good find.
After you've spent some time with
this site you might be the one to
row over and give the president a
personal lesson!! ;-)
Debbie Bell:
Page 31
Fall 2006
Trailer/Sailors Association
The Trailer/Sailors Association is a non-profit organization formed more than 15 years ago. Its members provide a
exchange of ideas and information about all aspects of sailing trailerable sailboats.
Our more than 500 members are scattered across the USA and Canada, and the diversity of their experiences enrich
the association and heightens our collective interest in small sailboat cruising.
Clipper Snips, published in a Winter, Spring, and Fall issues, is the official publication of the organization, providing cruising articles, association announcements, how-to articles, and free classified ads.
Association Officers:
President: John Clement, 51 Hillside Dr. Aurora, ON
L4G 6E1 Canada, (905) 727-3492, E-mail:
jclement@aci.on.ca
Membership Secretary: David Craigie, 101 W. Marshall, Midwest City, OK 73110, (405) 741-2555, Email: Incipient@MSN.com
Associate Membership Secretary: Tommy Clark,
5837 Karric Square Drive, Dublin, OH 43016, (614)
271-6011, E-mail: twcsail@att.net
Treasurers: Dave & Donna Laux, 18043 Asketum
Branch Rd., Georgetown, DE 19947, (302) 875-2917,
E-mail: laux@ce.net
Assistant Treasurer: Jack Beggs, 41150 Fox Run
Road Apt 405 Novi, MI 48377, (248) 960-3974 , Email:jackbeggs1@aol.com.
Trailersailors.org Webmasters: Mike & Diana Nelson, 2717 N. River Rd., Yellow Springs, OH 45387,
(937) 767 9487, E-mail: webmaster@trailersailors.org
Co-Webmaster: Chris Holderness 83 Pinehurst Cres.
Kitchener, ON N2N 1E3, (519) 741-0199, E-mail:
holderness@sympatico.ca
TRAILSAIL List Manager: John Travis, 328 Riverview Ln, Sheboygan, WI 53081, (920) 459-8382,
E-mail: shrwtr@charter.net
TRAILSAIL editor:Bob Rouda, 946 Lydia Dr., Roseville, MN 55113, (651) 481-0226, E-mail:
rouda@alumni.caltech.edu
Cruise Recorder: Don Ziliox, 1340 Elmdale NE,
Grand Rapids, MI 49525, (616) 361-8230, E-mail:
DonZiliox@Yahoo.com
Launch Ramp Advisory: John Ulmer, 659 S. Canal
St., Box 4101, Canal Fulton, OH 44614 (330) 854-3796,
E-mail: j.ulmer@juno.com
Public Relations: Gary Schafer, 2578 Pembroke, Birmingham, MI 48009, (248) 649-4911, E-Mail:
trailersailor@comcast.net
New Member Secretary: Rich Zets, 11420 Country
Line Rd, Forestville, NY 14062-9741, Email:
richpatzets@a-znet.com
Clipper Snips Publisher: Gregg J. MacMillan, TechneGraphics, Inc., 2002 Ford Circle, Milford, OH 45150
(800) 771-3171, E-mail: gjm@techgra.com
Clipper Snips Associate Editor: Gary Felix, 5121
Western Avenue, Omaha, NE 68132, (402) 553-2011,
E-Mail: gfelix1@cox.net
Clipper Snips Editor: Joe Orinko, 433 Lincoln Avenue, Erie, PA 16505-2449, (814) 456-6469, E-mail:
unicorn@velocity.net
Clipper Snips Editor
433 Lincoln Avenue
Erie, PA 16505-2449
Trailer/Sailors Association
Forwarding Service Requested
Clipper Snips
PRSRT STD
U.S. Postage
PAID
Erie, PA
Permit #554
Dated Material Please Deliver Promptly
Page 32
Fall 2006