north-eastern waves

Waves! Play us a song with the surf's break!
Our eyes are closed -- no need to wake.

Dreaming the future, yet not asleep,
past weights heavily -- making hearts weep.

I stole a moment and gave it to you.
Were will life's current carry us two?

.

repost: perl haiku

sub conscious {}
while( true ) { tell ( NONE ); }
die unless conscious();

Far better it is to dare mighty things,
to win glorious triumphs,
even though checkered by failure,
than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.

Theodore Roosevelt

emotions?

My soul is screaming, yet I calculate all I write.

- What happened to you Uki?
- Where were you in the past few years?
- Wake up! Spill the ink!

Share, express, wonder, don't hide behind the words; soul-mate? I think so. I hope so.

Chasing the Horizon

Wow, what a blast, a little mind blowing book! I just finished reading "Chasing the Horizon" by Cap'n Fatty Goodlander. The book is amussing, witty, very witty, and has touches home on several levels.

You don't need money to live your dream life, to own a boat, to cruise the seas.

You can be a pro writer and the jouralist, even if you did not attend the high school. You have to be willing to practice a lot and to be hundred-fold rejected and ridiculed.

You can have a family aboard. You can find the fullfilment in life beyond the collecting the things like houses, cars, and plasma TVs in the rat race of the corporate humpster wheel.

Don't be fooled by the corse language used, it is "for the effect", the book is a valuable literature.

Together with "The Zen and the art of motorcycle maintanance", this book is definitelly going on my "short" bookshelf of this man's essentials.

Classic.

Fulfillment at work

Today, I had one of the best days at work of my life.

With 6 students divided in 3 teams, working on the new and clean project, I could circulate around in relaxed atmosphere and help solve the problems. I felt needed and fulfilled, which is always a good thing. It is such a big difference from daily banging your head alone against some old and totally screwed up project.

I am actually looking forward to each day of being a mentor. Maybe I should try to make it my career?

wild horses in the coal mine

Today, at work, was a second day of the training of the 6 newly hired college graduates. The tranning is going very well, even to my own suprise -- I am able to talk, keep them occupied and productive for the whole 8 hours. My thoat hurt, but I feel that we accomplished a lot.

I decided to forgo the typical Power-Point presentation deal and focus on the development of a real, hands-on application which I created for that purpose. Boy, is there a difference from that dry stuff others were presenting!

I had a boss once a while ago who was stressing the need to prepare the good presentation and printed documentation. When I finally heard him lecture, I knew why, ouch!

It is worth mentioning that despite the fact that they are all computer major with Java as a language, they have no skills whatsoever required in our proffesion. Shame on the universities and teachers who still teach ASP/VB, ridicuolous!

I got a call from the Gen. H. about 7PM, clear message: cut cost on the free lunches for trainees, make them work at night, add an individual projects to what they need to accomplish, despite the fact that they did not know a squat before and are being bombarded by too much knowledge too fast already.

The instructiions I got are more than a slightly bit against my salty marine principles of family-like-team, shoot-to-kill and get-out-and-play, but I need to keep my bearing for the course.

I got an image in my mind, the wild horses, in the coal mine. Did I just hear a whip sound? Next week on Wednesday they will take us to the dinner after work (like that will make anybody feel better), so we can get to know each other better, I cannot wait, but then, Wednesday is my sailing night, too bad I will miss the team-building.

Saturday sail on Diamond Lake

Roman and I took the Day Sailer out. We practiced several things.

The jib-only sailing stinks upwind, after trying several times, we got so close to the lee shore that we had to use my electric motor to prevent being pushed on people's peers. 

Motoring upwind was also difficult as the wind was brisk circa 15 knots and I have only 55 pounds of thrust motor.

Heaving to: worked very well, we got on the (1) starboard tack,  (2) tightened the jib with the starboard sheet until it backfilled, (3) locked rudder to the lee and (4) loosen the main a little. While heaving to you can relax as your hands are free and the boat sails itself on the beam reach at a slow knot or two, depending if the main is helping or not. I tie the main just enough not to luff.

I installed a quick jib douse line: tied up the the top of the jib, a thin line goes thru some hanks to the tack and from there to the cockpit. Once I release the jib halyard, and pull on this line and the jib gets pulled to the deck without need of going to the bow. Great safety feature.

I tested the ballast of two 50+ pound bags of sand paced in the midship. I think they added the some stability to the boat in addition to 65 pound battery I am carrying aft. I will need all stability I can get when sailing with my wife and daughter.

We sailed whole day, making a point of docking with the wind in our nose, it took us quite a while to beat upwind, with a lot of close calls in shallow waters, or maneuvering near the swim line. We did make it back without the help of the motor.

O'Day Day Sailer practice day on Diamond Lake

Roman and I took the Day Sailer out. We practiced several things.

Upwind jib-only sailing is hard. After trying several times, we got so close to the lee shore that we had to use my electric motor to prevent being pushed onto people's peers. I would love to have at least a minimal shoal keel in addition to the retractable centerboard to prevent it from sailing sideways.

Motoring upwind was also difficult, as the wind was brisk, about 15 knots, and I had only 55 pounds of electric thrust motor.

Heaving to the wind worked very well; here are the steps:

1) starboard tack,  
2) tightened the jib with the starboard sheet until it backfilled, 
3) locked rudder to the lee
4) loosen the main a little. 

While heaving to the wind, you can relax or work on the boat, as your hands are free. We have heaved to the wind many times while sailing with family to sunbathe or have a picnic.

The boat sails by itself on the "beam reach" at a slow one or two knows to the lee, depending on how much the main is helping. I tie the main just enough not to luff.

I installed a quick jib douse (downhaul) line tied up the top of the jib. This thin line goes through some hanks to the tack and from there to the cockpit. Once I release the jib halyard and pull on this line, the jib gets pulled to the deck without the need to go to the bow. It is a great safety feature for a sudden squall.

I tested the ballast of two 50+ pound bags of sand paced midship. They added some stability to the boat in addition to the 65-pound battery I am carrying center aft. I will need all the stability I can get when sailing with my wife and daughter, Lili.

We sailed whole day, making a point of docking with the wind on our nose, it took us quite a while to beat upwind, with many close calls in shallow waters, or maneuvering near the swim line. We did make it back without the help of the motor.

https://smallboatsmonthly.com/article/oday-day-sailer/

storm jib on the Day Sailer?

Question about the smaller jib sizes. Currently, I have 1 jiffy reef in the main.

I found a 28 square foot storm jib ($205), and I wondered if that would be a good area for the windier situations to match the reefed main?

I want to keep the boat balanced and steady in Apostle Islands, Lake Superior. I know most of the people sail in the fair weather only (10-15 knots), I do too, but when you are several miles out, sometimes you just have no choice, hoping you are best prepared.
On the bigger boat I found that reefing genoa/main make the difference between hanging for dear life and having a lunch in the cockpit table, same wind conditions, a big difference!

cuddy-top-stepped mast with tabernacle

The idea of using the cabin top set up is to clear the space inside the cuddy and to easy the folding of the mast, as well as not having big holes in the roof.

I just ordered the tabernacle parts from Ruddy Nickerson:
http://www.drmarine.com/proddetail.asp?prod=DR2151
http://www.drmarine.com/proddetail.asp?prod=DS207

I can do the wood/glass work myself, etc. to strengthen the cuddy roof.

Before I attempt any mast modifications, I would:

1) add few profiled ribs made of thick plywood that would be glassed to the roof (upside down), to make the roof rigid.
2) add forward posts that would support the roof to the keel in the V
3) add plywood support bulkhead to the opening of the cuddy

The above I have to do anyway. Currently I have a big wooden partition board dividing the cuddy in half.

If (and I mean "if") I decide to add the tabernacle I would:

4) glass over the existing holes and ad the glass thickness in the middle and in the corners of the roof (I have a lot of holes and cut-outs)
5) add bigger plywood plates above and below the deck, bolted thru with tabernacle above the deck (easy folding)
6) add the center mast support when under the sail

The biggest weight would be the bulkhead, but I wanted to do it anyway, and it will be just few pounds.
I will post the conversion process and photos in due time.

_________________
O'Day DaySailer hull #1949 class/sail #DS 103

Is it mindful or wasteful 15 minutes?

For about a decade now, I've been reminding myself of this simple philosophy of living a few minutes at a time. I think it is worth to re-state it again.

According to the Buddhists, and common sense, there is no universal good, nor bad choices in life. However, we are not entirely off the hook yet; every action carries its consequences -- yes the buddhist 'karma'.

To be 'mindful' as Buddhists say is to be aware of self and the present surroundings. It's hard to keep the constant vigilance, therefore, it is by far easier to make the minor course corrections every once a while.

Wasting time, resources, life, opportunity (to learn), or simply not caring, is hardly mindful.

I try to do the best I can a that moment and monitor my life every 15 minutes. I ask myself what have I done that is beneficial?

No worries mate, sometimes your choices will be plain dumb, but I assure you, your life will gradually turn better and you become a more valuable person because you are more mindful and you learn constantly.

Finally, the note about the rest and fun - don't overdo it, but both are necessary to maintain the sanity. Life is too short to keep it all 'hard charging'. You will learn that after 5, 10, and 20 years later, you still chasing your goals as you did the day one. Life will be over sooner than you can realize.
Enjoying the present is the only way to be happy.

Pink cast

Today, I took Lili to the doctor to take a look at the X-ray pictures the ER did. The doctor has shown me the little protrusion of the arm bone inside the elbow area. He took additional pictures and put on a pink colored cast. The casts are not made anymore of plaster-of-paris but with the fiber-cloth not unlike the stuff my boat is made of.
The cast will stay for about 3 weeks, he did not voice any concern.
Lili was very good and in a great mood today.

Sunday sailing class

In the morning I had the third of my sailing classes.

There was one more left on August 4, 2007.

The winds were very calm, but because it was a weather system coming from the North, the waves were bigger. The waves on Lake Michigan in the Chicago area are the biggest when the wind blows them all the way the length of the lake.

We practiced some tacks and gybes and the man overboard figure 8 drills. 

Then, we spent much time in the port practicing the peer approaches, which was scary because it always looked like you were going to hit it. 

We practiced the 90-degree approach with the swing and slid your butt (stern) to the dock. It is not unlike the car parking in a thriller movie.
Sliding the big boat to the dock slip is not easy either.

I came home so exhausted that I dropped and slept a few hours. My legs were hurting from last night's sail and today's waves.

Lili fractured arm

Ji & Lili went to the birthday party on Saturday. Suposedly, Lili was jumping on the gym matresses with Jay when she fell ogg the mattresses. She fractured her left arm above the elbow. Tomorrow, I will take her to the specialist to see if she need a hard cast, right now she has the type you secure with the compression bandage. She is not hurting much anymore. But she was in pain before, she was handling herself very well.

Chicago-Mackinac Race 2007

This Saturday, at noon, the famous Chi-Mac race begins. 

For those who don't know it is rather difficult 333 mile race. Lake Michigan can be unforgiving with short, tall choppy waves and strong winds. There are calms, too, as I experienced in 2001. The race takes about 3-4 days of non-stop sailing. You could do it in 18 hours on very fast catamaran (Stars and Stripes 60ft. 1998), or in 24 hours on very fast boat(Geronimo 33ft. 1997, Pyewacket 77ft. 2002), but most of us don't have the money these boats cost, and this is what makes it wonderful, in comparison to let's say America's cup -- anybody can participate, even if you are as slow as a river barge. There are safety rules of course.

I am planning to be on the water to see the start (I have my sailing class at the same time in Chicago).

Later, in the afternoon, if we will be able to sail out off Waukegan harbor at 4 PM we could see some of the yachts again under the full sail.

I am planning to bring the good telescopic lenses, bring some video cameras, too.

Let's hope for the good weather, the winds from SW, so the boats will have big, colorful spinnakers out.

Saturday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a high near 79. Breezy, with a west southwest wind between 10 and 20 mph. 

Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, then gradually becoming clear, with a low around 59. West wind between 5 and 10 mph becoming calm. 

Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 82. Calm wind becoming north northwest around 5 mph. 

Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 64. 

Chicago-Mackinac Race 2007

This Saturday, at noon, the famous Chi-Mac race begins. 

For those who don't know it is rather difficult 333 mile race. Lake Michigan can be unforgiving with short, tall choppy waves and strong winds. There are calms, too, as I experienced in 2001. The race takes about 3-4 days of non-stop sailing. You could do it in 18 hours on very fast catamaran (Stars and Stripes 60ft. 1998), or in 24 hours on very fast boat(Geronimo 33ft. 1997, Pyewacket 77ft. 2002), but most of us don't have the money these boats cost, and this is what makes it wonderful, in comparison to let's say America's cup -- anybody can participate, even if you are as slow as a river barge. There are safety rules of course.

I am planning to be on the water to see the start (I have my sailing class at the same time in Chicago).

Later, in the afternoon, if we will be able to sail out off Waukegan harbor at 4 PM we could see some of the yachts again under the full sail.

I am planning to bring the good telescopic lenses, bring some video cameras, too.

Let's hope for the good weather, the winds from SW, so the boats will have big, colorful spinnakers out.

Saturday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a high near 79. Breezy, with a west southwest wind between 10 and 20 mph. 

Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, then gradually becoming clear, with a low around 59. West wind between 5 and 10 mph becoming calm. 

Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 82. Calm wind becoming north northwest around 5 mph. 

Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 64. 

O'Day Day Sailer sunset cruise with teenagers.

My sister Maja, her cousin Karolina and her friend Patricia came in the evening. 

This was the girls' first-day sailing. 

We took the O'Day Day Sailer out for the sunset cruise on Diamond Lake until it got really dark. We sailed under the main sail only to make sail easier. 

Patricia is sharp and delightful to teach sailing. 

Maja has gotten the steering with the rudder and the wind direction quite right. However, her indifferent attitude towards learning worries me; her interests lie elsewhere. I cannot say she cares, or maybe that is her way of trying to be a  "cool" teen.

Karolina said she could not swim. She was quite unresponsive, and she looked pretty scared. She was also sporting a floating vest.

There was barely any wind from the SW the whole time, but when we were coming back to the dock, a sudden and strong gust of the N wind caught us by surprise. Day Sailer is a very stable boat, so there was no risk of capsize.

I hope it was a good memory for them, it is definitely for me.

https://smallboatsmonthly.com/article/oday-day-sailer/

The sailing class got cancelled, bummer, especially, that I came all the way down from Mundelein to Chicago. Next time I take the class closer to home.

Lili learning to swim in school.

Optimal boat length.

On average, any sailboat is 5 feet too short, and my boat is shorter than your average boat.

Wednesday evening sail

We arrived on the Catalina 30 "Fellowship" at 18:30 after I picked Ji from the downtown Chicago train at Waukegan station.
We sailed out with the crew of 7. The winds were 8 to 15 knots from the West shore, almost no waves.
The Fellowship carries 135 percent genoa, so when the wind picked up off-shore to 15 knots we had hard time keeping her on her feet when close-haul sailing. She would either fall to the irons, or lean and dump air, it was no smooth sail.
I proposed to roll-up and leave only about few feet, about 60 percent.
After that the sail was smooth and we even could eat snacks on the table in the cockpit.
I am happy that experimenting with sails gives me comfort of steady and smooth sail in the briskier winds, when other boats heel and dump the air not really going any faster.

We have seen and took pictures of some intense racing with spinacker action and strong winds in the sails.

We came back atfer 22:00 in the darkness. It was a good sail, good learning for me.

I am thinking that it would be wonderful to have 150 percent genoa with the furling.
In the meanwhile I plan to make a tarp storm jib I have read about. We will see.

Lake Michigan sailing locations (positions on the water)

Winthrop Harbor entrance:

42.488033, -87.799237

Zion wild beach (no Marina)

42.398108, -87.802649

Waukegan Harbor entrance:

42.355016, -87.820448

Montrose Harbor entrance:

41.958924, -87.640707

Chicago outer sea-wall entrance:

41.888493, -87.590067

Meggs Field harbor entrance:

41.852038, -87.607834

Chicago/Columbia harbor entrance:

41.875936, -87.609851

Mackinac (Fort) harbor entrance

45.843375, -84.613888

Lake Michigan Beach (across the lake from Chicago)

42.227818,-86.3867

Hamlin (Michigan)

44.028803, -86.513557

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

45.019670, -86.082172

Fellowship, Catalina 30

We arrived on the Catalina 30 "Fellowship" at 18:30 after I picked Ji from the downtown Chicago train at Waukegan station.
We sailed out with the crew of 7. The winds were 8 to 15 knots from the West shore, almost no waves.
The Fellowship carries 135 percent genoa, so when the wind picked up off-shore to 15 knots we had hard time keeping her on her feet when close-haul sailing. She would either fall to the irons, or lean and dump air, it was no smooth sail.
I proposed to roll-up and leave only about few feet, about 60 percent.
After that the sail was smooth and we even could eat snacks on the table in the cockpit.
I am happy that experimenting with sails gives me comfort of steady and smooth sail in the briskier winds, when other boats heel and dump the air not really going any faster.

We have seen and took pictures of some intense racing with spinacker action and strong winds in the sails.

We came back atfer 22:00 in the darkness. It was a good sail, good learning for me.

I am thinking that it would be wonderful to have 150 percent genoa with the furling.
In the meanwhile I plan to make a tarp storm jib I have read about. We will see.

despair

In 2002 I posted the link to this website because it was good and funny, today I re-post it, it got much better.

http://despair.com/spin.html

Apostle Island preparations

This year we have decided to do something different and go island hopping (sailing) on Lake Superior. In case you don't know Lake Superior is unlike most other lakes you know, unless you are Canadian, or the mountain man. This is the biggest body of fresh water, and if you'd sprinkle some salt it would make a nice sea. It is also very deep, very clean and very clear, as in transparent, just like mountain lakes. The Apostle Islands, also called the Carabean of the North, are a group of about 20 islands, separated by deep and pretty large channels. The islands are all part of the National Park system and therefore left in the virgin state. In fact there is a densest population of the black bears in USA.

List of things to remember:

+ solar panels to charge battery (12W - I hope enough) - ordered

+ boat compass - installed

- binoculars with compass (maybe)

- GPS, borrow from father

- make a watertight partition for the boat caddy (about 6-12 inch minimum)

+ storage nets (sort of small hammock to put stuff in) - installed

- storm jib made of the tarp fabric (DIY project)

+ NOAA charts of Apostle Islands - got it

- 12V chargers for all electronics we take (cell, GPS, AA, D battery charger and AC converter)

- tent (a big one)

- air mattress

- sleeping bags

- front boat rail (maybe)

+ reefing lines in the mainsail - installed

- sun shower

- ballast sand bags

- video camera

javascript:void(0)

"A might heart" the movie with Angelina Jolie

In the evening I went to the movies by myself as my wife is not interested in the serious stuff like that film based on the true events from the Pakistan during our invasion of Afghanistan.

There was only a handful of people watching the show, too bad really, it is the movie everybody should see. The movie showed the struggle to find a kidnapped journalist, and the Buddhist way of his wife to deal with the loss. The movie was very well made, realistic, not a Hollywood romanticism, very moving too. It showed me that hate is not the only way to deal with peoples' ignorance.

Sunday sailing class

On Sunday we started at 9 AM, I parked in the same free lot by old Meggs field.
Unlike yesterday, today it was blowing. With the small craft advisory and the flags jumping in the sudden gusts, I got my wish -- we were to learn for real, no more of the sunset & Champaigne cruising.

When we got out for the port, the wind recorded 20 knots of true wind and 25-30 of apparent when sailing. We were flying two hankerchief of sails as the yacht has both genoa and main in-mast furling. We did not have more than 3-4 feet of each showing.
Despite of the wind we did not heel exesively, by which I mean the rails were not in the water. We were able to maintain the boat somewhat ballanced and it felt 100 percent safe, even when tacking. I gained a great confidence in having the right amount, or less, of sail in a windy weather

View of Chicago downtown from the water. The picture taken on "Flying Dragon". 

FairWinds: "Flying Dragon" Beneteau

View of Chicago downtown from the water. The picture taken on "Flying Dragon". 

Saturday sailing class

Saturday
We sailed in the mild, 6 knot wind. The weather was very nice, but the sail was somewhat boring because I did not learn almost anything new. I guess the class assumption was the beginner's level. Captain Ben Sells did not want to valenteer much more then minimum necessary. Even with steering and the sail trim we were not allowed to make any adjustment beyond what got us moving in the prescribed direction. I really quicky learned about that inflexibility. Getting over the facts above, I got to like our Captain. I was happy to be able to experience a new 36 foot Beneteau named The Flying Dragon. We sailed some very uneventful 16 miles in abour 4 hours.

Quotes

 

 I always turn to the sports pages first, which record people's accomplishment. The front page has nothing but man's failures."

Chief Justice Earl Warren

 

It's not enough that we do our best; sometimes we have to do what's required.

Sir Winston Churchill

 

Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.

John Lennon (1940 - 1980), "Beautiful Boy"

 

Life isn't fair. It's just fairer than death, that's all.

William Goldman, "The Princess Bride"

 

Try not to become a man of success but rather to become a man of value.

Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)

 

"If you are going through hell, keep going."

Sir Winston Churchill

 

"Communicate everything you possibly can to partners.  The more they know, the more they will understand.  The more the understand, the more they will care.  Once they care, there's no stopping them"

 Sam Walton

 

"It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data"   

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

 

Some people are like Slinkies. They're really good for nothing; however, they still bring a smile to your face when you push them down a flight of stairs.

Unknown

 

 

I talk to myself for two reasons, I appreciate someone who knows how to ask an intelligent question, and I admire someone who can always provide a smart answer –

 from Mitchell & Bert Sosnowski

Independence Day

Once again, the fireworks totally freaked out the dogs, especially Saba. She managed to somehow jump the fence and get entangled.


Our neighborhood, predominantly Hispanic, is very fond of the fireworks.


The sailing on Fellowship (Catalina 20) was called off again, which is too bad since the weather was OK, and I did not go sailing earlier in anticipation of sailing on the bigger boat. 

Next time I will not depend on others and celebrate my independence day.

P.S. I do not have too many pictures from these pre-smart-phone days, here is a photo of Fellowship 2