A Blast from the Past: Learning to Sail - Baja Style

"Sure, sailing with bikinis was and is still distracting....what's the question?"




Note: I am being told that this post requires mucho editing to make any sense. So....I can do that like... whenever, right?







All these inshore sloops will soon be gone…hoisting anchors and sailing over the horizon.

"A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for."



RACING WITH THE WIND - OUR PAST ‘SOS’ REGATTAS - ‘SOS’ (Sodden Old Salts)

All of the pictured 'sailors' and boats below participated in our weekly regattas at Coyote Beach, Burros, and Escondido…all in the BOC. The time period was the late 80's and early 90's..when there was a lot of ENERGY around...and some adult beverages, which may account for the fuzziness of this photo:



WE raced by the sailing rulebook we found in somebody’s trash - with a regatta chairman even, notably 'Club Burro' - and con mucho gusto!

Back then, almost everybody managed to scavenge up a Hobie or a laser..anything that could sail..or have a sail mounted to..bathtubs, car hoods, etc..did not matter. Somebody's yard had a sailboat of sorts.

We had a few drift in from seaward from time to time, also. Below, Baja Nomad 'Crusoe' did not have time to enter the regatta however, but I'm sure his sailing dory would have placed well. He was on his own epic trip down the Cortez.




Craigslist in San Diego provided me with 3 or 4 catamarans over the years. What fun that was...buy low, sell lower...go back and do it again. Okay, so I was nicht zu gut at economics. Who cared?

The journey was not about a destination, it was about the journey.



Here my Yarcraft was enlisted into service as a committee tow-boat for my Prindle and 2 Hobies behind.

A normal day’s event when no winds showed by race time. Calm mornings are the norm here…so naturally we started sailboat racing…go figure?

Johnny Tequila and Cindy onboard their trimaran, ‘Quetzal’…Coyote Bay dwellers for many years. Now landlubbing in Modena, Utah desert. Pop 15!



Another Baja perennial visitor…the ‘Christina’ out of Half Moon Bay, Ca. Hiyah Barry and your Swiss Miss, Christina!


Above and below…”Meshack” John Walton, wife Cristy, my folks, Nomad ‘aguaholic’, and others take a bay ride before the regatta start.
Below: John and Ian Farriers design and production tri…the F-27 and F-32 trailerable trimarans..a very fast and successful boat design. Lots of speed and fun, but not cheap!




“I find the great thing in this world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving: To reach the port of heaven, we must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it, but we must sail, and not drift, nor lie at anchor.”
The basics of sailing are fairly easy to learn …with pals and a good instruction book.

WARNING: Story detour ahead:

“In my case I had never sailed anything in my life before coming to Baja….well, ‘almost’ anyway…

Yup…At age 8 floating a stick with a goose-feather mast down the LittleMissouri River in western ND ..usually a trickle, except during a prairie thunderstorm…… was ‘almost’ my total sailing on the high seas experience.

‘Almost’..as in…”The Day of the Easter Hat Debacle” Well…save for that time my mother’s little round Easter hat went a vast distance downstream from our ranchyard.

But I had to do it! You will surely see it, too, once you’ve heard my reasoning. That little round hat was a dead-ringer for the round boats ..bullboats…that the tribes and early traders on the Missouri used to haul fur down this very river in…honest!

…AND…. at the time of Mom’s hat incident, I, Capt. Rogers of Roger’s Rangers, was in charge of the Hudson Bay Trading company and we were at war with the French trappers invading our territory.

(I sometimes got my history reading a bit mixed in that 8th year…but….I was spot on by 10..)

My dad grinned a bit at first when I explained how it all happened with the furs, bullboats and such…, but then Mom was suddenly standing there beside Dad…. glaring at me, holding that wet hat dripping Missouri mud..….and my Dad turned to stone in her presence.

That bullboat- hat cost me a lot of days filling the hayloft.

But I digress…(it happens )....Back to SAILING….I was thrilled all my young life with the lure of The Seven Seas, Mighty Ocean storms, and Sailing thru the Cannibal Islands…armed with bazookas and standing at the helm of a 4-master singing a shanty….

”Yo-ho-Ho!...the wind blows free! Oh, for the life on the rolling sea!

A gentleman dapper stepped out of the crapper ..
and these are the words that he spoke…and I quote..

Her mother never told her, the things a young girl should know.!

About the ways of sailing men, and how they come and gooooo…..”…oops…er..maybe not that one!

Digress No. 2 (no more chili, thanks) So....much later in life and when I could afford some toys, I bought a good-used 16 ft Hobie-Cat & trailer in Mission Bay, San Diego (cheap at $500) Also that same day, I asked some sailor amigos on Shelter Island to tell me what they thought was the best instruction book for an absolute beginner at sailing.

(You see, I was in a hurry, enroute to Conception Bay the very next day. And although my neighbors are NOLS as mentioned in Bob & Susan's post above, they are in business to take students on a 2-3-or 4 week kayak and sailing trips, plus those courses are many thousands USD. So self-instruction with a working sailboat and a good manual was to be my method)

My highly skilled marina friends recommended two ...

‘MY’ BEST BOOKS ON TEACHING A BEGINNER TO SAIL.

1. Alan Browne's "Instructions to Sail"...or was it 'How to Sail'? No…it was “Invitation to Sailing” Well, it’s been about 30 years, so I had to look it up online.
2.
http://www.amazon.com/Invitation-Sailing-Alan-Brown/dp/06712...

2. And this one, which is thee Bible for beginning sailors. Buy this if you want just one.

http://www.amazon.com/Learning-Sail-Annapolis-Sailing-School...

This Snark was my first sailboat in Baja. Got it for turning in Raliegh cigarette coupons (400 I believe). I am now official VERY INTERESTED in learning how to sail. INTENSE would correctly describe my mood at this point. I was ‘riveted’ with enthusiasm, so to speak…and am shown in this photo practicing how to catch the slightest breeze in the shallows….you snore into the sails!




I became obsessed with Sailing ships…and envisioned myself at the helm of a double-masted sea-worthy ketch rounding Cape Horn in a roaring gale. Shades of Hornatio Hornblower!! Wife, Felipa, notes my intent and makes several great-odds bets with her bookie on my imminent collosion with some rocks at 34°21′29&#8243....S 18°28′19″E Yes dear, those are the right gps cords for the Cape allright?






Why do I love the water so much?
I love vibrant colors and lively shapes one sees so often at sea. Extreme eye candy.


Sailing “Wing on wing” below. Easy maneuver going downwind on a gentle breeze.




I had an ideal situation for learning to sail, that you might now have. I was living 6-7 months a year at my beach house in Coyote Bay south of Mulege. Any sailing instructor would say the situation was ideal. Calm mornings mostly, but a nice breeze usually came around noonish. Add to that the fact that the water is warm and so what if you capsized? The first thing the book taught you about righting an overturned cat was how to right it….using the wind and your halyard (rope) After rigging the cat ( had my amigo, Randy, to 'help' with that...)

“This is a …what? Well, that’s a idiotic name and you probably don’t need it anyway…out it goes.”


I was eager to put to use the easy to follow steps I had read.. and re-read …so I got seated on the cat’s tramp, with the dagger-board tiller in one hand and the sheet in the other (the sheet is a rope...don’t ask me to explain sailing terms…totally anal) ..and away I went like rocket…way, way out there into the middle of Conception Bay where the wind was blowing 15-20 knots…..and naturally I capsized. Boy, did I ever capsize. Not just over on it’s side….but I was blown completely over…what is called turned turtle…with the mast pointing straight down to the ocean floor.

Well, that book from Anapolis and Browne’s served me well…cuz I got that Hobie back upright again. No, not on the first attempt, nor the second or third…but maybe it was the fourth. The first thing I had done was use my own weight to slowly pull one ama (hull…sigh) out.. and then slowly swinging up the mast by use of The Sheet and my weight leaning back. Thank Neptune I I had that…the weight.

Then, going by the book again, I got that cat upright! Oh, Man! What a feeling of satisfaction I had after I had accomplished this next seemingly impossible task… alone in the middle of a now white-capping Conception Bay. The book had clear instructions on how to right the cat by using the sail and the wind to do the work of lifting those hulls and getting the mast pointed straight up. I won’t bore you anymore with my first day sailing…..except to add I started showing off to myself and turtled her again! Which was damn ‘stoopid’, but I did the routine again…but was completely exhausted and just glad to sail downwind back to the shore. Good sailors do not tempt fate.

Another plus was that there were many other cat enthusiasts and wannabes in the Bay…back in the Day.


There were very few collisions during a race...before and after was a different case.


A real sailor, Matt, organized us all into a ragtag sort of Regatta. Once a week, we would have our Cat Regatta at a few selected beaches…and our Officials would mark our course in my fish boat. Matt was very knowledgable about this, and so was Club El Burro resident, Gearie. So that’s something I hope you find, my sailing amigos…compadres to sail with, always a huge plus and you are learning while having fun. I learned something new about sailing small boats at every regatta we had….and we had GREAT FUN. I even managed to win a couple times…after I had sold off the two Hobies I went through…and bought a…PRINDLE. I had heard some rumors about the Prindle cats. While back in San Diego I went to Fast Lane Sailing close to Sea World and asked the experts there What is the difference between a Hobie and a Prindle?

They simply said, “The Prindle is a Hobie……it's just built much better.”

Further discussion stated the Prindle could sail to weather better, too. Meaning you could sail a few degrees closer to the wind’s direction. Not much, but maybe enough to win our regatta!?? Oh yeah, I had to have one, so I towed a beauty back to mi casa….and won the next race in our regatta….sailing 2 degrees closer to the wind than my good friend and competitor, Trent, could in his Hobie. As seen in the photo below.





Matt was Regatta Chairman/Executioner and used my fishing boat as the Official Committee Boat in charge of enforcing the rules and netting any beer bottles that had fallen overboard. He took this photo of me edging out Trent. Trent and I both had huge grins on our faces when I sailed through the last set of buoys…first time 1st Place…huzzah!



"You can't change the wind, you can however adjust your sails."


Not to be in second place for long, Trent went out and bought himself a newer, faster, sweeter ….HOBIE! New boat…needed a name…so….We had to have a christening party on the beach at Posada.

I asked him what he was naming his nice blue-hulled Hobie?

He grinned at me and said, ….”Blew ...By You.”

Here’s some of the gang ‘christening’ her. ;rolleyes:





THE BAY IS YOURS IF YOU WANT TO COME DOWN AND TURN TURTLE!



[Edited on 2-18-2012 by Pompano]

Pompano

My first boat was a Snark, your dating yourself.

Quote:

Originally posted by comitan Pompano My first boat was a Snark, your dating yourself.

After the thrill of 16ft and bigger cats, I advanced into smaller monohull sloops. No. 1 was a MacGregor 26’ with swing down keel. A nice bay sloop…for the money.










MacGregor 26'... Not a bluewater boat by any means, but was sure fun to sail from Coyote Bay to Guaymas…around Tortuga and over to San Marcos to anchor for a few days on the west side near the mine…then down to San Sebastian and San Nicholas. MacGregor…kind of the Chevrolet of the small sloop marketplace…you get what you pay for, but in this case my first 26’ was a great deal, worth more than the amount she sold for new in 1980.

Sloop class

1st swing down ballast/keel

2nd had water ballast with dagger board. A great feature of the McGregor 26' was you could pull the skag/keel and slide her up on the sandy beach…and Wha-Laah!, you had an instant camper on your own private beach! Come high tide...and you're off to find another. If no high tide...dig in.


Perfect Baja Camper…funky but nicely done. Heck, it even had a king size berth, a full 7’ x 7’…very unusual for a small sailboat.



Huge stern bed, dinette, sink, port-potti,front V-berth

SAILING...is on my mind again.

Going through my photo morgue and found some old sailboat memories. Great fun for a flatlander born on the Great Prairie!

(Note: Please forgive my poor photo captures from these old 8mm video film...I will get better, I promise.)


Having a great day sailing my first 25' MacGregor sloop.



This 1985 model had the weighted swing-down keel. A great boat for the money...just don't try any ocean crossings!




Boat company owner Roger MacGregor with his sailing Hall of Fame award.



Below: Coyote Bay..we did an overnighter to Pta. Chivato..then north to BOLA. Wa-hooo!




Crewmate Dusty learning that sailing and flying are pretty much the same...a gamble well worth taking.


Up North for the summer..
Clem's Marina, Detroit Lakes, Minnesota July 4th, 1985..a helluva longs ways from Coyote Bay, Baja, eh? We won a regatta there, in the 25ft sloop class...we were the only entry!













My old diesel vet, 'Pompano'...the African Queen of Baja.


Coyote Bay





We had a plus factor using my old cruiser, Pompano, as a supply boat...for refreshing the food locker....

....and crew replacements, if needed. Sometimes they jumped ship...why, who knows?







"!!HANG ON, MATEY...AND .....VIVA BAJA!!"




[Edited on 4-15-2012 by Pompano]

Nice treasure

Pompano, Thanks for all the pictures. Keep 'em coming.

Quote:

Originally posted by Pompano Going through my photo morgue and found some old sailboat memories. Great fun for a flatlander born on the Great Prairie! (Note: Please forgive my poor photo captures from these old 8mm video film...I will get better, I promise.) Having a great day sailing my first 25' MacGregor sloop. This 1985 model had the weighted swing-down keel. A great boat for the money...just don't try any ocean crossings! Boat company owner Roger MacGregor with his sailing Hall of Fame award. Below: Coyote Bay..we did an overnighter to Pta. Chivato..then north to BOLA. Wa-hooo! Crewmate Dusty learning that sailing and flying are pretty much the same...a gamble well worth taking. Up North for the summer.. Clem's Marina, Detroit Lakes, Minnesota July 4th, 1985..a helluva longs ways from Coyote Bay, Baja, eh? We won a regatta there, in the 25ft sloop class...we were the only entry! My old diesel vet, 'Pompano'...the African Queen of Baja. Coyote Bay We had a plus factor using my old cruiser, Pompano, as a supply boat...for refreshing the food locker.... ....and crew replacements, if needed. Sometimes they jumped ship...why, who knows? "!!HANG ON, MATEY...AND .....VIVA BAJA!!" [Edited on 4-15-2012 by Pompano]