Tsunami hitting California..??

Photo of the damage in Samoa

It was 7:15pm when I showed up at a dinner party and was told a small tsunami might hit the harbor (where my boat was) at 9:11pm. What?! 

The Samoan 8.0 earthquake/tsunami that wiped out villages was just 1.5 meters. It hit Hawaii at about half that size and was enroute to California at an estimated 0.6 meters. The Harbor Patrol seem unconcerned on the phone but my boat lay uninsured right next to the breakwater. Damage to itself or other boats is not in my budget. Even though the threat was low, they say an ounce of prevention is best..

so I scrambled rudely away from the dinner party and had the engine going at 8:56pm.
we were out of the harbor at 9:05pm
and lay anchored in 35 feet of water at 9:12pm

Did the tsunami go through? Apparently their effects can last 1.5 hours. But nay... this was a false alarm. For a natural catastrophe "drill", this was pretty night with stars and altogether enjoyable... here anyway.

...hearts go out to the islanders in the Samoa and nearby who lost their lives and homes. May lots of aid go their way!

Kiri Maiden Voyage day 3

"You guys are the first under-50 year olds we've seen in days!"  Colin and Kristin are crew aboard the S/V Allymar, 38ft ketch from Oregon - they are also in their late 20s, and paddled over to visit us. Appears that young people are in shortage at sea. They are "hitchhiking" their way to South America on yachts.

Together we hike up the hill, and experiment eating the famed Prickly Pear cactus, which has micro thorns that stick to one's tongue, as Colin discovered...

 We depart the Coches anchorage around 2:30pm and set the autopilot east - this is a wonderful gadget, being able to set the course and carry out work around the boat.

4pm we round the last headland in the island, and we are in the Santa Barbara Channel, sailing on a close haul at 5 knots, which is great upwind performance for a trimaran - which is typically sluggish into the breeze (I think it's because of an extended keel on this boat).

Dolphins cruise our bow, the boat is effortless and stable. I love it.  As the sun sets, we crank the motor and jam back to the harbor at 8.5 knots, pulling in a calm dark night at 8:30pm, for my first attempts at docking...

Kiri Maiden Voyage day 2

First Stop: Surfing, 2-3ft south swell.

One other guy in the water, John, who I had met at this same spot 4 years ago. He was spending the night on his 18ft inflatable boat so we invited him over to the "Hotel Trimaran".

Second stop: Coches Prietos anchorage.

John came by and tied his boat up behind ours..  remarked on the trimaran's carpentry ("whoever built this boat actually knew how to build boats!") and for his good company he got the aft cabin, some Zinfandel, pizza, and a movie. Nice time all around!

 Issues: Batteries

And finally-- we mustn't forget, this is after all a shakedown cruise...  figuring out what "falls when we shake 'er up a bit". And we find the batteries are indeed dead - without the motor they simmer away quickly.  The lights stay on for a few hours but the galley sink and main toilet flush are electric and take up too much juice. The engine starter battery is in a different circuit, so it stays fine. Some other minor issues popped up, but so far so good..

Kiri maiden voyage day 1

'twas the time for the shakedown cruise...

We worked like crazy bats and still managed to cast off the lines only at 4pm on the Saturday. Still, some basic questions remained:  Would the batteries work properly?  Would the inverter run the fridge?  heck, where was the GPS??

I bought extras of each at West Marine (just in case) and we zoomed out. Crew was Alyssum, nutricionist extra-ordinaire, who has spent several seasons in Alaska commercial fishing - a good person to have around.

We sailed upwind for a few hours but progress was slow. As evening closed in, and a fog bank rolled in, it got interesting. Particularly as the rowboat (that was being towed) suddenly plunged underwater and pretended to be a submarine. We hauled the confused vessel on deck with the help of the mast halyard. We motorsailed from then on at a brisk 8.5 knots.

With very poor visibilty, happiness is to have a radar. Even if we don't actually know how to use it (!) at least it provides psychological relief. We dropped anchor 2 hours after dark at Smuggler's Cove. Pulled out the lawn chairs and enjoyed from stars from the deck.

Success for the first day!

..and what about Southern California MPAs

closer to home...

You can support the version of the  SoCal MPA network (soon-to-be established) that you prefer by going to this link - just need your name and city.

The map shows an image of the Group 3 proposal, which has the most biodiversity conversation (although not nearly as much as the scientific panel recommended).

Still, it does retrict fishing livelihoods and lifestyle, and is controversial. But I suppose so did the National Parks 100 years ago, and now they are incredibly valuable.

Kiribati and Hawaiian MPAs join forces

The two largest marine protected areas (MPAs) in the world have now joined forces as "sister sites". They are the areas in Kiribati and the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, and together they make up 25% of the world's total MPAs.


The Kiribati (Kee-ree-bas) site, established in 2008, is called the Phoenix Islands Protected Area and is about the size of California.

The Hawaiian site is called Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument and is slightly smaller. They encompass about 300,000 square miles of ocean.

"Our sites provide ocean insurance for the Pacific against the depletion of marine life that has accelerated across the globe," said Tukabu Teroroko, director of the Phoenix Island Protected Area.

For more details see ENS.

Prop stress

I spent a good 45 minutes toiling with the propeller, cold and frustrated while free diving, trying to make it fit on the shaft while holding my breath (in many ways). The sun was going down. I was losing the battle.

This was one of the big gambles when buying the boat - the prop didn't fit the shaft from the get go. The Valley Prop folks did an honest good job refurbishing it to fit - but I still couldn't get the damn little "key" to fit, which aligns the prop and the shaft. This could be a problem.

I despaired. In my cold miserable state I retreated to a nap under the blankets, then in a half-conscious state the answer came to me. The voice said: "Do it backwards. Make the key small, insert it first, then slide the prop in."  Which is pretty weird, like putting a key in the doorway hole then installing the lock around it.

But the hacksaw came out. Cut the brass key, sanded it down a bit, dived back down and loved the fact that it worked. Great satisfaction.  The maiden voyage was on.

The big move

Getting things ready for the maiden voyage on the trimaran!

had to pile everything from the old boat into big plastic bags and load up the van, but that was the easy part...

The rowboat also had to get moved from Santa Barbara to Oxnard, where the trimaran was..

and turns out it had a delightful colony of algae and crustaceans living on the bottom - which I had limited success scrubbing away with just the paddles onhand...

The rowboat actually folds up, this is what it looks like without the benches... (it's called a Porte-bote)

<-- And fully folded up..  then just had to jam it in the van (which ended up smelling like seaweed, but hey, only for an hour or two..)

Enroute to the new mothership~

Up on the Mast

Was hanging 40 feet up in the air, drilling holes in the mast... a cluster of lines and tools in the bucket bouncing around. All for good cause- installing the mast steps so I can reach the mast head quickly. Some consider them a luxury, I think they are a necessity...

...especially because the halyards (which are used to raise/lower sails) have been jamming at times. So I fumbled with screws and sealant and electric drills while rushing against the sunset, which was both a sweet sight and a cause for concern, due to the impeding darkness. But the task got done in time for our maiden voyage out to the islands

Repair Chaos

Working hard to fix things before this weekend- hoping to leave Oxnard
(where the trimaran currently lives) and head to Santa Barbara (new
homeport). With a little stopover in the channel islands of course...
Always makes for a good "shakedown" opportunity :)

Cockpit is in total disarray with tools and fiberglass scattered about.

hasta luego Black Pearl

Well, it was time to say good-bye to the Cal 30, as the Voyage of Kiri is upgrading to the new trimaran. We sold it to a motivated sailor from the San Luis Obispo area who wants to sail to Hawaii and beyond. I was stoked on his story and felt great about selling him the Black Pearl.

Many fond memories aboard the Cal 30, anchored at UCSB campus point while doing graduate school, rowing in to class, walking out to the beach at 11pm so many nights (sometimes during high tide!)... sailing to the islands and camping...  dodging storms during winter time in East Beach...  staying with friends when the going go rough (thanks scotty!)... too many blissful mornings to count with dolpins and sea lions cruising about.  I loved being able to see the boat from both my office, the bathroom, and the stairwell as we went to class!

Some stories from the Black Pearl's days at campus point can be found here.

Many thanks to everyone.  Hasta luego Black Pearl...

 

6 First Steps to Digging Holes in the Boat

And here starts the work to bring the Trimaran to decent shape...  one can't purchase any boat, much less one that was discounted at 1/4 its original value (!), and not expect to labor tirelessly. Particularly on a 43 foot boat that is 23 feet wide.  Gulp--  I have to wonder if this is a bigger bite than I can chew.  But try not to think too much! Just march onwards.

Step One - stock up on tools!
Blessed Home Depot had a special discount on electric tools - jigsaw, grinder, circular saw, new drill. At least makes me feel like I'm making progress... even if all I'm doing is spending money (so far).

Step Two - search and destroy

Check out the rot on the edge by the white wall, darker circle area. It is soft and rotting because the fiberglass on the deck cracked and let water in. The boat is made of marine plywood with fiberglass. As long as the fiberglass is sound, the plywood should be fine. But when it's not, it's time for surgery.

Step Three - Let 'er rip
It helps to have friends that know carpentry - thanks Kitts!! - or else I'd feel pretty insecure about digging holes in the boat. Keep digging until you can't find more rotten wood. To an extent of course..

Step Four - Clean up the wound
Nice square smooth wound allows us to cut a piece of wood to fit in the hole and then fiberglass over that. Still, it's never exactly level and smooth, so I'm still a bit confused how to keep the piece in place..? Ahh!

Step Five - Sand it more! and more!
This is another spot from a collision when hitting the dock. Tarp is to keep the fiberglass from going in the water. Quite uncomfortable position to work from. But dug it out and discovered there was only styrofoam below the fiberglass, no wood! But trimaran advisor said, go back and sand more. Dang it.

Step Six - Obsess about boat wakes going by

This was damage from some other boat hitting the corner of the trimaran, which is out on an end tie dock. Boats going by fast set off a wake and get it wet. Finally I set up the tarp here too but it is impossible when the crack is just 3 inches above the waterline..!




Conclusion
Ran out of time. Of course takes longer than planned. So there's plastic over the wounds and will fix next Monday.  But:

• Gives me renewed confidence in the boat's wood condition - these were the funkiest spots and they were just superficial a few inches. 
• And... my sinuses are not stoked with inhaling lots of fiberglass dust even with the face mask. Got to get a better one! And ear plugs too, noisy power tools they are!
  

Trimaran for the trip

The Voyage of Kiri just got a major upgrade!!

We are replacing our humble 30 ft Cal with a spacious 43 ft Trimaran. With 3 hulls instead of 1, the trimaran is very stable and fast. It will be great for bringing people on board (including kids in port visits) and carrying gear. The Cal was a good boat, but limited in many regards. We are stoked!

The trimaran is in good shape overall. It does need a lot of cosmetic work and some mechanical work - which is why we were able to afford it in the first place... ;)  Will require lots of "elbow grease"!  It's bigger and more costly, but it will open up a lot of doors for exploration and research for Kiri in the future.

We motored during the sea trial and tri flew at 9 knots under power. Speed under sail is still to be discovered! Currently she's in Oxnard, we hope to get repairs done in the next 2-3 weeks to bring it back to Santa Barbara. Gulp. Time to roll up the sleeves (and bring out the credit card). More on that soon...

Specs:

• 43ft LOA (length overall)
  
• 21ft beam (wide)
  
• 4ft draft (depth)
  
• Spruce mast and boom
• Fiberglass/Wood construction
• 56 HP diesel engine
• 3 double bunks and 2 heads (toilets)
  
• Radar, autopilot, depth sounder.
• Tons of storage space

Hurricane Jimena

Glad not to be sailing in southern Baja right now.  Currently a category 3, "Jimena" should make landfall in the next 12 hours on the Pacific coast of the Baja peninsula.  It may be the largest hurricane on record to hit Baja California Sur (the last big hurricane was in 1976) according to Bloomberg. Hurricane Katrina was also a category 3 when it made landfall in New Orleans. The brunt of the storm is expected to narrowly miss Cabo San Lucas but will probably make landfall further up the peninsula, in areas with vulnerable communities such as Bahia Magdalena, that Voyage of Kiri plans to visit.

5-15 inches of rain should bring mudslides and flooding, and winds are currently around 200 km/hour or 125 miles/hour. The images are from Wunderground, and show the likely track of the hurricane, the sea surface temperatures (red colors) driving the beast, the huge size of the storm on the satellite image, and a historical chart of September hurricanes in Baja.  Only two made landfall, one in southern California; so this is not a common occurrence. Fingers crossed everyone stays safe!