Sailing Co-ops

If you are wanting to get into sailing and don't want to have the capital expense of buying a boat, you might consider a co-op.


In a co-op the organization owns a number of vessels. There is an annual membership fee as well as a fee when you use a boat. The members contribute their time to maintain the boats thus reducing the maintenance costs as well as providing some social aspects. Most co-ops are not teaching schools although they do have senior members who may take you out sailing and evaluate your skills before you area allowed to skipper a boat on your own.

For information on co-ops in British Columbia

Nautical Time

Historically the day was divided into six four hour periods called watches. Each member of the crew was assigned a period where they would be assigned duties or would be "on watch".

Traditionally the watches are named as follows:

0000 - 0400 Mid Watch
0400 - 0800 Morning Watch
0800 - 1200 Forenoon Watch
1200 - 1600 Afternoon Watch
1600 - 1800 First Dog Watch

The reason behind this watch's existence is that in order for the crew to rotate through all the watches it was necessary to split one of the watches in half. This allowed the sailors to stand different watches instead of one team being forced to stand the mid-watch every night.

The choice of time also allows both watches, if there are only two, to eat an evening meal at about the traditional time. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_watch

1800 - 2000 Last Dog Watch
2000 - 0000 First Watch

In the summer of 1966 I served as an ordinary seaman aboard the CCGS Stonetown, which was a weather ship assigned to Ocean Station Papa, 50 degrees North, 145 degrees west. On this vessel the Dog watches were eliminated so we stood the same watches for the six week patrol. I was assigned to the 0000 - 0400 and 1200 - 1600 watches.

Many mornings I was reminded of the words of the poem Sea-Fever by John Masefield "And a grey mist on the sea's face and a grey dawn breaking."

Fishing

Recently I was teaching a Marine Emergencies Duties course to a group of fishing guides at West Coast Resorts lodge at Whale Channel. http://www.westcoastresorts.com/whalechannel.cfm

I flew with most of the staff from Vancouver to Bella Bella. We boarded three Grumman Goose aircraft to fly direct to the lodge which is located in Barden Harbour at approximately 53 degrees North, 129 degrees West. The lodge is on a barge moored to shore and the water is over 100' deep right at the dock. The aircraft comes right alongside the dock. This is the view toward the harbour entrance from the room where I stayed.

As the staff were preparing the lodge for the first guests the manager, Terry Schultz, kindly had a boat ready for me and with some advice from two of the guides I set out alone across Whale Channel to try my luck at salmon fishing. One tip was to fish at about 37' and stay in about 80' of water. The shore line is very steep so I could stay close to shore.

Two hours passed and not a nibble. I tried various depths with no results. The port reel gave a little buzz and I removed the rod from the holder. I gave a sharp tug to trip the line from the downrigger clip and nothing happened. Turning on the electric downrigger to bring up the weight I started to reel in my line. Somehow I had fouled the line around the downrigger cable. After clearing the line I continued to reel in and the line was very heavy. I realized I had a fish on the line and soon a 20 lb. spring (Chinook) broke the surface. I have caught a few salmon before but never by myself in a boat. After three attempts with the landing net the fish was in the boat.

Returning to the lodge, two of the guides gave me a hand and some tips on cleaning and filleting the salmon. They kindly took a picture so I could show my family. After the fish was prepared it was taken into the barge, vacuumed packed and flash frozen. When I flew out three days later, the fish was boxed and put on the plane for me.

My thanks again to Terry and all the wonderful staff. It was a pleasure to work with everyone. The food was great and the scenery spectacular.

More fishing information

Wind warnings in Prince Rupert

I just returned from teaching a non-pleasure powerboat course in Prince Rupert.

On Thursday night as we were returning to the harbor after completing a night navigation exercise Prince Rupert Coast Guard issued a safety broadcast advising all vessels in the harbor to have a second anchor ready to let go and to have their engines at Standby. Winds of 50 km/hr were forecast. There were two large freighters anchored in the harbor.

Last night, Sunday, I had dinner at "La Gondola" overlooking the harbor with one freighter directly in front of the restaurant. Her anchor chain was tight and you could see her swinging in the gusts. Occasionally water was being lifted off the surface by small waterspouts. The forecast was for winds up to 90 km/hr and the gusts were peaking at 63 km/hr according to the reports on TV.

It gives you a real appreciation for the professional mariners who crew these vessels.

Anchoring

To anchor quietly, first discuss with the crew all the steps and where the anchor will be lowered.

Crew lowers anchor just into the water as skipper brings the boat into the wind. When the skipper has brought the bow over the desired anchor location engage astern propulsion. When the crew notices the wave around the anchor has stopped, lower the anchor quickly to the bottom. Pay out the desired amount of line and cleat off the anchor rode. The vessel will seldom reverse in a straight line. When the rode becomes taut, the vessel will swing back into the wind. This confirms to the skipper that the anchor is holding. Slowly increase power to dig the anchor in while watching two objects in line(a range) abeam. If the objects stay in line you are not moving and the anchor is set.

This process can be done without any talking.

More information Basic Powerboat Standard

VHF radio

Although a VHF radio is not required on recreational vessels, I strongly recommend equipping your boat with a radio. A fixed mount radio is the first choice with the option of purchasing a handheld radio for use in your dinghy or kayak.

In an emergency a VHF radio becomes your lifeline to the Coast Guard and other vessels nearby. You may use it to contact marinas to reserve moorage and stay in touch with your fellow boaters. Marine weather forecasts are available on the VHF radio.

If you have a radio on board, the operator must hold a Restricted Operator Certificate - Maritime (ROC-M).

Turning in confined waters

This technique applies to single inboard engine vessels with a straight shaft. Backing and filling is a technique to turn a vessel around in confined waters.

"There is no need to shift the wheel when operating astern. The vessel is not moving astern and the rudder only has the prop suction current flowing across it and has little, if any effect. I have seen many boaters get into trouble by wasting time shifting the rudder each time they operate astern. Many boaters are used to this technique because they are familiar with outboards or inboard/outboards. When they move to an inboard-powered vessel they tend to bring this habit with them. One method to demonstrate the P effect is to go astern while moving ahead with the rudder amidships. The stern will swing (walk) despite the rudder.

An easier way to back and fill is simply place the wheel opposite to the side the vessel backs to and leave it. The objective is to continue the swing produced by the rudder while operating ahead using the P effect of the prop to move the stern when operating astern."

D. Bruce Stott
President
Gulf Islands Cruising School Ltd.

Yachting Magazine Nov. 2004

Letters to the Editor