The Mystery of the Stern Anchor

The dinghy loaded with the displaced anchor gear.

3pm. I receive a call from Miguel saying that my boat has moved in the anchorage. Since the Pearl is anchored bow and stern this normally would not happen; it appears that the stern anchor failed, and the boat was being held by the bow anchor alone. The explanation that came to mind was that one of the fittings came under - between the line and chain, or between chain and anchor. However, this is the most unlikely of days - a sunny hot day with no wind at all.


The Pearl was terribly close to the other boats in the anchorage, all set bow and stern. I start hauling on the stern line and it's heading in the opposite direction than I previously had it. Furthermore it was just dragging along the bottom so I was surprised when I pulled the anchor up - a small 20lb Claw anchor.

This was no anchor dragging event; the only explanation I could come up with was that a boat somehow caught my anchor line, dragged the gear 100 yards, and then proceeded to drop it. How that could have happened is difficult to visualize - maybe a submarine? Either way, it's good to be nearby and deal with fouled anchors immediately.

Jazz the West/East way

Miles Jay playing at Brick's Cafe downtown Santa Barbara with the Colter Frazier Jazz Trio. He spent over a year in Cairo, Egypt, recording a fusion of jazz and egyptian which came together in his CD "el 'Aysh wel malh" with the band he put together, named "Massar". Check it out here:
http://cdbaby.com/cd/masar

Endless Summer dinner

The view from the Endless Summer cafe. Free popcorn, live music, happy hour 4-6pm with $4 burgers and $5 Fish Tacos; a to-go emergency dinner guaranteed spot!

Seals on the Docks

Boaters have a love hate relationship with harbor seals. They are cute and friendly, yet they have been known to take over docks and sink dinghies!

Going aloft, mast steps are cool

The boat looks like a lilly pad floating on the water. The aluminum mast is hollow and vibrates like a nervous giraffe, it sways like one too!



If able to go aloft quickly on your own, you'll be more likely to check the condition of fittings, spreaders, blocks - and this is important for safety. Also if a light bulb breaks or a line needs to be run through the masthead in the middle of a storm - hope not!



The Black Pearl has mast steps - triangle ones at the bottom and foldable ones the rest of the way. Chaffing of lines and sails is a real problem but this setup minimizes that effect, while giving you the flexibility of climbing quickly.

Random Piece of Teak

Cousin Titcho wondering what purpose this nice bit of wood serves in the boat. The mish-mash of various parts and semi-installed equipment that comes with these live-aboard cruising boats is a source of much humor for sailors more interested in day sailing and racing.

As for myself, I fall somewhere in the middle of those who keep everything "just in case" and those that obsessively de-clutter the boat so you can actually get to the stuff- with a tendency for the former, and a desire to go to the latter.

Later ex-owner Mark told me "Oh, that's a good piece of teak, I used it once as part of the dodger." As part of the dodger(*)?! Now that's creative...

(*)dodger - a "windshield" of canvas and plastic that is installed above the companionway to keep the cockpit dry when sailing into the wind and seas.

Cleaning the Motor

Ahhh... This is what happens when you leave the motor in the water too long. The motor mount is tweaked so I can't raise the motor easily out of the water. I'm going to have to exchange it for a heavier duty mount, since the 4 stroke 10 horse outboard is kinda heavy.

I REALLY like having a quality outboard instead of an inboard engine, so far. One of the main issues with an outboard, though, is that when motoring in a swell it will "cavitate" which means that it'll come out of the water killing your boat's momentum. A good motor mount will let you keep the propeller nice and low, and then when the motor isn't in use you can pull it clear out of the water.

After some good scrubbing done from the dinghy this is what the propeller looked like:

First sail aboard the Black Pearl

I like how easy this is going... so far. Bought the boat on thursday, by saturday we were casting off the lines for a day sail. The only work done on the boat thus far was maybe 1 hour of tidying up and organizing.

Outside the harbor we raised the main and jib and saw the delightful rips already existing along the leach of the sail (the back part of the sail - or is that the luff? I always get it confused). But the wind is light so we go for a cruise anyway.



Fran, Ed, and his dad Maurice, brought over a bottle of champagne and we celebrated on the dock - they helped back out of the dock, which is tricky on a down wind slip (wind pushing the boat into the slip) specially with the outboard.

When the propeller is behind the rudder, as it is with an outboard, maneuverability is compromised. That is one of the many advantages of an inboard, since the prop is in front of the rudder, and powers the turns more accurately. That being said, I'm glad I don't have an inboard, for reasons to be explained later!

A rough video taken with the trusty cel phone:

The Black Pearl - 1964 Cal 30'

8 months had gone by since I sold the "Tabula Raza". Living in an apartment just wasn't... satisfying. I couldn't help looking everyday on Craigslist for boats and marine gear. A guy in Long Beach was getting rid of his 26ft Islander for $750 and I was about go buy it. The day before that happened, I went to the harbor to check out the this Cal 30 that I saw listed.

Immediately I knew the boat was for me. Seeing it opened that door to imagination that led me to anchorages in Mexico, skirting about in the Galapagos. I had been dreaming for months about this and now it was here. A cruising boat loaded with serious gear - a burly hull from 1964, classic look - an ideal setup of sails, rigging, and engine.

Purchased her the very next day for $4250 cash. I had $1250 in my account and I pulled $3000 from my 12.5% line of credit from Wellsfargo. Such good equipment:

-2 Bruce anchors on bow rollers with lots of chain and a Windlass, plus stern Danforth
-3 headsails, spinnaker, 2 mainsails, lines led aft to cockpit, boom vang and self-tacking jib setup, mast steps.
-Radar, GPS, 2 vhfs, oven and 2 burner stove, manual sink pump, coal burning cabin heater, shower.
-75 watt and 15 watt Solar panels, 2 batteries.
-9.9 horse Johnson four stroke high-thrust, electric start, cockpit controls, battery charging alternator.
-A beauty black hull, mast, red boom and spreaders.

The Blessing of the "Black Pearl"....

Orcas in the SB Channel

Sailing to the Santa Barbara Channel Islands with Miguel and Luna.

After cruising last year for 6 months between Morro Bay and the Channel Islands, I sold my Columbia 29 "Tabula Raza" to Miguel in October '06. Since then we've become good friends, and I've helped him get started on the sailboat life. He's living aboard the Raza in Santa Barbara.

We sailed on my birthday, the afternoon of March 30th. The conditions were gorgeous. Then in the late evening we had an amazing encounter: as I stood on deck a huge fin came out of the water 500 feet away.

An orca whale! We changed course to follow the beauty and ended up seeing Momma Orca - a massive fin and incredible white spots. Holy mooly. At that point we figured we should get on course for Lady's Harbor in Santa Cruz Island. I was buzzing with excitement for hours - what a great present for my 26th birthday.