Century Club: Jeffrey Halpern

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Sunday, January 26, 2025
Number of days:
1 day
It should have been a sailing day.....
  • Rope clutch and Bracket Trial Installation 1-26-2025
  • Rope clutch backing plate Trial Installation 1-26-2025

Sunday should have been a sailing day, but instead it was boat working day #2

Saturday was a very sad day. I had attended a memorial service for a long time sailing (and architect) friend who passed on too soon from alzheimers desease. I was hoping to get out sailing Sunday to mourn in an appropriate manner.

When I work up the creek was still completely frozen over. I was really bummed out since the temps were in the 40's F range and there was a decent wind. I had hoped the ice would break up enough that I could slip out by the afternoon and go out sailing. The ice didn't,.so I didn't.

But not being one to spend a weekend without any boat related activity, I worked on a project on Starbird, the Tartan 101 that I race on during the AYC Frostbite and summer AYC Wednesday night beer can series. When the boat was delivered, the stock deck plan and hardware on the Tartan 101 was horrible. It was neither workable as a cruising deck plan nor as a race boat. Now in my fourth season racing with Frank on Starbird, over time, Frank and I have worked together progressively improved one bit of the deck plan and sail inventory after another.

The latest project was setting up the towable jib leads so that they can be adjusted under load and also so that they reliably stay cleated. We decided that the solution was to replace the existing camcleat with a rope clutch.  That was easy on the port side, but problematic on the starboard side. There already was a rope clutch on the starboard side of the boat that is used by the spinnaker tack line. Because of that, the adding a second clutch meant installing a side mounted double clutch on starboard. The clutches are Spinlocks and while Spinlock makes a side mount kit for a single clutch, they don't make one for a double.

I ended up engineering a small stainless steel bracket as a meand to mount the double clutch. Garhauer did a beautiful job with the fabrication of the bracket at an affordable price. So it was that on Sunday morning I made a wooden spacer to go between the backing plate and cabin side in order to deal with the geometry of the cabin side and then did the installation.

The wooden spacer is a temporary installation. The plan is to eventually build a plinth out of thickened reinforced epoxy but it is too cold to use epoxy. The wood spacer should work fine until the weather warms up. 

Unfortunately, I returned to the house only to find the creek still frozen, and so consoled myself by clearing snow off the driveway. That was not much of a consolation, although I did sleep well that night. 

Sunday, January 5, 2025
Number of days:
1 day
A great sailing opportunity not taken....

I am not sure whether this counts as a boat maintenance day or simply a day on the water. Who needs a gym membership when it keeps snowing on a regular basis. On Saturday, I cleared the 1 to 1 1/2 inch snow from the portion of my driveway that I previously cleared. Then cleared additional sections of the walks and driveway with 7-8 inches of snow.

But then I cleared a path to the dock, the steps down to the dock and the dock itself. 

In one of the more stupidly risky stunts of my sailing life, I cleared a piece of deck on Synergy then got aboard and cleared the cockpit and some of the deck. As I approached the shrouds, I realized that I was standing on a thin sheet of ice clinging to the non-skid with almost no traction, so clinging to the grabrails on the cabin top I crawled back to the cockpit and then got back on the dock.

Sunday morning I walked back down to the dock. The sun and slightly warmer temperatures made a huge difference in terms of melting the skim of ice and compacted snow.

The areas that I had cleared on Synergy were now clear of ice and dry to safely walk on. I carefully shoveled my way around the south side and bow decks clearing away the snow down to the thin ice that covered the non-skid, and was able to come back to the areas of the boat that were sitting in the sun after perhaps 10-15 minutes  and easily clear off the ice.

I was optimistic about getting out for my first sail of the new year until I hit the north side of the boat working aft towards the shrouds. Here the decks in the shade of the cabin had a thicker layer of ice that was firmly adhered to the non-skid. It took a lot of focused care, even with moving slowly and mindful of safety to clear off that short bit of snow. I quickly realized that sitting in the shade without direct sun on the deck, the ice wasn't leaving anytime soon.

So, despite a near perfect sailing day in almost every way, I decided it would be too dangerous to go out with one side of the boat still iced over.

As I was shoveling ice and snow off the deck, I was reminded of a story I had come across about a distance cruiser who had sailed across the middle and northern Pacific from the Pacific Northwest to Japan, then down to Australia and New Zealand. He had decided to return to the US East Coast via Cape Horn and the Caribbean.

At some point during the return trip he ended up near or into the Roaring Forties. He was over taken by a gale that had hail and very cold temperatures leaving the deck of his boat with a thick layer of ice. (There was this incredible picture of the boat encapsulated in an icy surcophagus so thick that you could not tell where the edge of the cabin top met the piled snow and ice on the side deck.

He described crawling forward to the mast to tie in a deeper reef. I cannot even begin to imagine how he dared do that let alone how he did that. In the story he said that it came down to asking himself how he wanted to die; as in die taking multiple knockdowns and a potential pitchpole from carrying too much sail with the reduced stability due to the ice on the deck, or sliding over the side and dying by drowning and/or hypothermia. He chose to reef. 

My choice today was far less dramatic.But it felt good to be aboard Synergy after not being aboard for the past few weeks. I ended up plugging in the shore power, hooking up a space heater, and crawling into my bunk with a magazine and a pile of blankets to dose my sea fever. 

Sunday, December 29, 2024
Number of days:
0 days
My Last sail of the year

There are days that need to be declared legally mandatory sailing days because the conditions are so perfect. Today was one of those. High temps near 60F, winds in the 15 to 20 knot range with occasional higher gusts, and mostly sunny.

I must admit that I woke up this morning feeling like a million bucks....Green and wrinkly. I have been running flat out lately, burning my candle at both ends, then trying to light the middle. Yesterday Barbara and I got up early and started cooking, drove to Philadelphia to spend a marvelous afternoon (lunch) and evening (Dinner) with my stepson and his wife, then drove back to Annapolis, getting home way past my normal bedtime.

The last thing I wanted to do was drag my achy-shakey bones out of bed and go out sailing. (Okay, not the absolute last thing.). But as I said, as I looked at the weather online, the following notifications popped up:
" Get your head out of bed,
you ain't listening to what I said,
I said get your head out of bed,
Spray them pits, and eat then grits,
And get that boat out of its slip."

It ended with an official note from NOAA that declared this is a "small craft mandatory sailing day"  with the rarely used,"no-if-ands-or-butts."

So, whether I wanted to or not, given the official weather notification I was forced to go sailing.....and it was a super day out on the water. A co-worker from West Marine joined me. We had a lovely beat down towards Thomas Point in pretty steady apparent winds in the low 20 knot range, occasional errant gusts not withstanding. 

Feeling a bit off my feed, I did throw in a first reef, but carried the full jib. Coming home, we surfed in the steep chop holding pretty steady speeds in the low 8 knot range with surges into the low to mid 10 knot range while still under reefed main and jib.

All in all, it was a great last sail of the year, my 86th logged sailing day of year. 

Apparently, no one else got the weather alert since, inexplicitly, Synergy was the only boat out there. Their loss, or as they say, not my monkey, not my circus....

Sunday, December 15, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
The last of the first

Yesterday was the last two races of the First Frostbite Racing season. I was again on Starbird for the races and was mainsail trimmer and tactician. These weren't our best races of the season although we had two really good legs out of the four in the first race. Unfortunately they were not good enough to overcome getting pinned in at the start, and ending up starting just where we did not want to be on the line, which resulted in a really awful first leg. But it was nice to be out there, and was surprisingly comfortable. 

We ended the season finishing in fifth place for the series out of 15 boats, That was only ne point out of being tied for thrird and two points being out of third place outright. Well, then again, there is always the second Frostbite Racing season and winter daysailing on Synergy. . 

On the other hand, with 15 days left in the year and 85 days on the water, and a job, the writing is on the wall that I won't make the Century mark, but it was a lot of fun trying. 

Sunday, December 8, 2024
Number of days:
2 days
From Here to Eternity and a little bit further

Light and variable winds notwithstanding, this alleged Frostbite was a real treat weather wise. It was supposed to be another race in the AYC Frostbite Series.

We had an almost completely new crew onboard so we got out on the water early to practice and figure out the various settings for the range of breezes.

Unfortunately, the Race Committee couldn't make up its mind whether to actually have a race. For almost two hours, we sailed around sampling the wind on the course and waiting for a decision of the committee.

But eventually the committee pulled the plug and we sailed back to the dock after what effectively was a lovely daysail.

I will note that something happened that I have never heard before. When the race committee cancelled, one of the race boats called them on the radio and asked them to reconsider. That was followed by a smattering of boats saying "Ditto" on their radios

Then one of the boats in the J-105 class came on the radio and said something like, "We are out here to go racing. Anyone who wants to join us, meet us at marker 7 for an informal start."

The race committee never responded, but once the race is canceled, I don't believe that the race committee can reverse themselves since some boats may have shut off their radios and headed home.

 

 

Sunday, December 1, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
Finally a frostbite race that almost lived up to its name

I wasn't sure I was going to make this one. I had the brilliant idea to get both a flu and a covid shot on Friday evening figuring "How bad could it be? and besides I have all day Saturday to recover." Saturday I was "off my feed" as a farmer might say about a sick livestock. Saturday night my muscles were sore and I was seriously dragging about, making old man noises every time I stood up or sat down. I went to bed a little early, but frankly, it was looking pretty questionable that I would feel like braving the cold to go racing on Sunday. 

But Sunday morning, I woke up feeling fit as a fiddle (does anyone really know how fit a fiddle feels...But that's another story). It was a good thing too since it was a great day to be racing on the Chesapeake Bay. We had rotated positions so I was mainsail trimmer with Julian Richards calling tactics. It was light to moderate winds with random bigger "Where did that come from/" type gusts. Trimming mainsail gave me the kind of workout that more than adequately replaced a day at the gym. That night I felt a little sore in my right arm but was not sure whether it was the work out or the innoculation site, but I did not care. it was still a great day on the water. 

Sunday, November 24, 2024
Number of days:
0 days
Another AYC Frostbite race on Starbird

Today was a lovely day to go racing. It was sunny. The temps were reasonable. There were nice breezes, and life was good. The race committee managed to get two races off, which was great after all of the down weekd. The first race was near perfect for us except for having to take a penalty on the first race due to an alledged foul on one of the mark roundings. We planned to sail the second race much more cautiously but somehow managed to be over the line early. Even with the recall, we still did quite well and it was a beautiful day on the water. 

Jeff

Sunday, November 10, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
Frostbite racing sans frost or biting

I raced on Starbird (a Tartan 101) in the AYC Frostbite series. I have been racing on Starbird for four seasons now. Over that period, we have progressive improved the boat, boat handling, and our crew work.  We have gone from fighting it out not to be in last place, to pretty solid results in the ORC class. Yesterday, we had a third and a fifth placing us in third for the series. Those were especially good results since we were down to four crew total from our usual crew size of 5 or 6. But more importantly, it was lovely to be out on the water with a team that meshed really well.

Saturday, November 9, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
A nice but poignant day sail

This was a lovely weekend to be out on the water. Temperatures in the 60's F and reasonably good breezes, even if the down drafting gusts were pretty crazy.

In my religious tradition, we set aside the anniversary of a person's passing as a day of rememberance for that person. Its amoungst other rituals, it is traditional to visit the gravesite for that person on that day, . This week was the anniversary of my mother's passing. Mom had her ashes spread in the Chesapeake Bay and as is my annual tradition, I sailed out to the waypoint  where her ashes were spread. It was meant to be a quick and quiet daysail. As I typically do, I hove to and spend some time in quiet contemplation.

Afterward, as I had planned, I sailed into sail into Annapolis to top up my fuel tanks for the winter. I was surprised that the fuel docks in the harbor were closed, I decided not to go around to Back Creek and try the other one. 

Saturday there was an extremely low tide. I suspect I may have been cutting through the silt to get out of Mill Creek since my depth sounder read almost a foot less than Synergy's draft. I thought that I was going out on a rising tide, but the whole time that I was out sailing the tide continued to drop. Somehow I managed to get back into the creek even if the depth sounder readings were really scary.

 

Sunday, November 3, 2024
Number of days:
1 day
A Challenging Frostbit race

This was the first race of AYC's Frostbite series. I was tactician and mainsail trimmer on Frank Martien's "Starbird".  It many ways it was one of those 'what's else wrong with this picture' kind of days.

There were big cruising boats that were anchored right in the middle of the starting area. The logical place to have the boat at the start was met with the sudden formation of a dead spot out on the course stopping the lead boats in their tracks. There was a series of big wind shfts and gusts from nowhere. And the race rules required that boats did not pass through the start line on the way to the finish. 

That last point would have been no big deal except  that as tactician, this was a tough challenge, because it was very difficult to avoid passing through the finish line on the committee boat end and still round the next mark a few hundred feet away. On the pin end of the finish line (where there was more breeze and a hotter angle), the clearance was roughly 100-150 feet between the pin and the Naval Academy seawall and rounding to that side of the harbor left the boat completely across the harbor from the finish line, adding a lot of distance. Moreover on the other side of the harbor (committee boat end), you had to thread the needle between the committee boat and the big boat that was aground, which as the committee boat swung on its anchor, was only roughly 30-50 feet wide . We chose to thread the needle, and the winner in our class took the seawall side.

But all in all, it was a lovely day on the water, The crew worked together well and ended up correcting 8 seconds out of third place (in other words in fourth) which was not too bad for a first day out racing in a new series. 

Jeff

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