Sunday, July 24, 2011

We crossed some significant milestones this week with Wilparina. My buddy Dave from British Columbia was visiting this weekend. Dave and I were crewmates on Coyote2, a Beneteau 40.7 First that crossed the Atlantic in 2009. On that two-week passage, we became friends and now we get together occasionally for new sailing adventures.

Dave arrived on Friday afternoon. I skipped out of the office a little early and we went out to the marina. Dave really wanted to see the boat, and he was interested in all the details. So we went through most of the systems, and opened the bilge and inspected everything. It was great to have another set of eyes to look at the boat. Dave owns a Catalina 32 and a Santana 25, so he has a lot of experience with maintaining boats. His insight was extremely helpful.

We rigged up the staysail for the first time since the rigging was repaired. There is still some work to do there. The gooseneck needs some adjustments, and I need to figure out how to properly attach the tack of the sail to the forestay; there's a piece missing from this puzzle. But the sail went up on the new halyard, and looks mighty fine - in spite of the unfortunate, ugly stain in an area about halfway up the luff of the sail.

We also got the radar working. Not sure what we did to fix it - probably just connected the cable correctly. Regardless, it's a nice surprise, and a wonderful item to check of the "fix this" list. It's an older black and white Raymarine unit, but seems to work just fine.

Yesterday, Kathleen, Dave and I arrived at the boat about noon. We rigged Wilparina for sea - or should I say rigged for "river." The GPS that had been working so well the day before ceased to function. (That was weird). But we didn't need this for an afternoon sail on the Columbia. We had a depth sounder, and our eyes, and a crummy chart, so we were good to go. And, we had our card for Captain Ron and his towboat, just in case.

The engine runs like a champ, and we motored out into the 3 knot current of the Columbia. There's a shallow area just outside the marina entrance. The water level has come down about six or eight feet from the late spring. As the water continues to recede, it might get to be a little dicey getting in and out of the marina.

We had about 8 to 10 knots of wind. It was a beautiful, sunny day; it was one of the first "warm summer days" that we've had all year. Plenty of other boats were out taking advantage of the weather. Mount Hood was shining bright crystal clear to the east.

We raised the main and unfurled the jib. Wilparina sailed like it was the most natural thing. At about 19,000 lbs, and with a deep, semi-full six-foot deep keel, Wilparina is a substantial boat. But in spite of her stout build, she sails responsively. Not slow, we were easily keeping pace with the other sailboats.

But the Columbia doesn't give one much of a chance just to take a break and relax. There's a ton of traffic; it was thick with weekend boaters and the occasional tug and barge to watch for. There are the shallow spots to watch for, and of course the "Green Monster" bridges looming downriver, ready to chew up any hapless sailboat that gets too close to its girders. And of course, the river isn't that wide, so there was a lot of constant tacking and gibing. Two people can sail Wilparina, but having a third hand was nice because there's a lot of work to do. All three of us kept busy.

Bottom line: Wilparina is meant to roam the open Ocean. Wilparina is a Tayana sailboat, and was built in the TaYang yard in Taiwan in 1984. TaYang means "big ocean" in Chinese. When an "a" is substituted for the last letter of a word, it denotes the possessive sense. Thus Tayana means "belongs to the big ocean." (From the Tayana Owners Group web site. http://www.tognews.com/history.php) Wilparina's name actually means, "Go with the Wind." Put these two names together, and there's no doubt about what the boat is destined for.

I'm sure that we'll have a lot of fun with Wilparina on the river; but after yesterday's sail, I'm thinking, this boat belongs out in the blue water. And with the way she performed yesterday, she really isn't that far away from being ready to go. Perhaps that first passage from Astoria to the San Juan Islands isn't two years away after all; maybe it's only one?

We came in after about three hours. Motoring back into the marina is interesting as you have to "crab" sideways against the current to work your way into calm water inside the breakwater. I pulled her into her slip, like a hand into a glove (always a nice feeling for the skipper). After another hour of reinstalling canvas covers, zippering up bimini tops and re-stowing gear, the happy crew headed home.

Dave left early this morning for his return to B.C., but he vowed to return and help crew on her first passage north. Wilparina passed her first major "sea"-trial. There's still some more work to do, but it's realistic to see we'll be ready next year.