Category: Sailing

Racing in 2024

Cat Links Racing, Sailing Posted on Paul Rogé

Unlike past years of coastal cruising, I pivoted to mostly regatta racing with the San Francisco Singlehanded Sailing Society in 2024. The Singlehanded Society is dedicated to racing shorthanded, with one or two people on each vessel. It turned out to be a social year, meeting and sailing with experienced sailors. In addition to building more connections with sailors, racing has helped me better understand how to deal with the variable conditions in the San Francisco Bay, including strong tides and different wind conditions. … Continue readingRacing in 2024

M&R Log 2024

Cat Links Maintenance and Repair, Sailing Posted on Paul Rogé

In 2024, I participated in most races organized by the San Francisco Single-handed Sailing Society. This included two coastal races that required vessels to comply with the NorCal YRA Offshore equipment list, including an AIS transponder. Most of the improvements to Grace in 2024 were to comply with these rules. I also continued the basic maintenance schedule, such as replacing small parts, annual outboard service, and regular bottom and topside cleaning. Notable small repairs included replacing the burnt-out Plastimo LED compass light, the Dyneema backstay that snapped in a race, and the Davis Instruments WindTrak 15 Wind Indicator that was knocked off while docked, most likely by a seagull. … Continue readingM&R Log 2024

M&R Log 2023

Cat Links Maintenance and Repair, Sailing Posted on Paul Rogé

On one of my recent trips between Santa Cruz and Año Nuevo, my mast-mounted tri-color navigation lights failed due to saltwater intrusion that corroded the above-deck junction. The bow bi-color light signal cable connection was also damaged twice by minor rubbing against dock boxes. It was time to protect Grace’s electrical system from various vulnerabilities to saltwater and collision. … Continue readingM&R Log 2023

Berkeley – October 2023

Cat Links Cruising, Sailing Posted on Paul Rogé

I sublet my slip in Santa Cruz to do winter sailing in the San Francisco Bay. This needed to be a two-day trip over the weekend as I did not take time off from work. Starting out around 10 am from Santa Cruz, I immediately encountered favorable northwesterly winds for several hours. A small craft advisory was in effect, but the conditions were manageable. The waves and swell were intense, but the wind only required me to put in one reef. … Continue readingBerkeley – October 2023

Santa Cruz – April 2023

Cat Links Cruising, Sailing Posted on Paul Rogé

Between storms and strong winds, my father and I found a window of mild weather to sail from Berkeley to Santa Cruz. We motored from Berkeley to just past Alcatraz, at which point the winds quickly picked up. I had chosen the genoa due to the light wind conditions, but we were quickly overpowered. As we headed to a more sheltered position near the San Francisco shoreline, I swapped out the genoa for the class jib. With just two tacks, we had cleared Lands End and were sailing comfortably along the coast on an upwind tack. We stayed on the same tack until Half Moon Bay. Around Montara, the already mild winds died down even further. I put back the genoa, which we probably could have been using for most of the day after clearing Lands End. As we got closer to Half Moon Bay, the winds shifted and we were sailing downwind between the buoys marking the approach to the harbor. After clearing the last of the marker buoys, we found ourselves sailing upwind to a nice breeze leading up to the sea wall. We sailed in the lagoon behind the sea wall and dropped anchor for the night. … Continue readingSanta Cruz – April 2023

M&R Log 2022

Cat Links Maintenance and Repair, Sailing Posted on Paul Rogé

This year finally saw the end of major repairs and improvements to Grace. Mostly, I kept up with annual maintenance, such as servicing the outboard, bedding deck hardware, servicing the winches, and keeping up with the brightwork. I am continuing to use a natural linseed oil varnish, called Le Tonkinois Linseed Oil Varnish No.1, which is a pleasure to work with and is durable enough. I did some minor fixes to hairline cracks in the gelcoat here and there, and I rewired the bow bi-color navigation light, which had been removed to be repaired by Weems & Plath. I also picked up a spare 3-gallon fuel tank with a direct hose attachment to the outboard, which will be used for extended motoring when coastal cruising. Filling up the outboard’s tank every few hours gets old fast! … Continue readingM&R Log 2022

Berkeley – September 2022

Cat Links Cruising, Sailing Posted on Paul Rogé

This first day of sailing ended up being a trial run. Conditions from shore seemed mild. I had packed lightly having just returned from a three-week work trip. A friend, William, accompanied me. After some delays in organizing our belongings, we got a late start around 1:30pm. The sun was shining and the winds were calm inside the Monterey Bay. We sailed comfortably until just past Steamer’s Lane, at which point northwesterly winds picked up dramatically. … Continue readingBerkeley – September 2022

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