I just want to say a few things about racing and yelling on sailboats.

When I did my first out of town Bareboat Charter in the San Juan Islands in 1993, in Friday Harbor, I noticed a sailing group called Womanship. Their banner said, “Nobody Yells.”  Back then I thought, “Huh?” Now I can see that this yelling thing has been a problem for many decades.

I’ve been at this a long time and over the years I’ve both yelled, and I’ve been yelled at.  As the receiver of the yelled epithet, it was not pleasant.  I quit racing in the year 2000 because I was tired of 1) the yelling, and 2) having to negotiate strategy and tactics with people who didn’t know what I knew but felt that yelling made them more correct.

Tonight, a friend I care deeply about cried on my shoulder about her treatment by captain and crew of an Olsen 30 during an evening race out of King Harbor in Redondo Beach, CA.  From her account, yelling was a big problem.  Lack of clear communication about responsibilities was a big problem.  Uncommunicated expectations about performance were a problem.  Lack of orientation to the responsibilities of the person in the pit and how to accomplish them were a problem.

It amazes me that one could make a post on the GoSailing App with an invitation to join, fail to train, and then demean the crew for not being able to do the thing that is being yelled about.

She’s not going racing anymore.  She’s not joining a yacht club.  She’s not joining your GoSailing thing.

Look, if you want crew to join you on your boats to race on a night like tonight, think about the proper orientation to the boat. Think about assessing your crew and assigning positions based on their capabilities; think about whether the fact that you are racing is more important than treating a crewmember as you would treat a friend, a companion.  Then, see how you do on the racecourse.  You might do better with training, orientation, support and respect.

None of us like yelling. Racing is a poor excuse for it.

I’ve been following my friend, Russ Fritsch, around the globe as he makes periodic FB posts from this or that exotic location. His latest message to me was via satellite while he was en route from Fiji to Honolulu. He wondered if I knew anyone interested in a spot as delivery crew for a Honolulu to Long Beach sailing voyage.

I asked Russ if he could write something up about his experience on the Delivery Crew circuit, because I thought a lot of you would be interested. Russ has put together some thoughts about how he does what he does, and what you might want to think about if you have similar aspirations. Follow the blue link below for a downloadable PDF of Russ’s guest blog. Here we go!

So, You Want To Work As Delivery Crew

By Russ Fritsch

Getting Started in this type of sailing life. In the fall of 2016, I was presented with an opportunity to retire early with a sweetener to help make the decision easier. I took the offer and left. After 46 years in telecommunications, I was now retired so what’s a guy to do? My son suggested I go sailing and told me there are a bunch of Crew Wanted pages out there on the internet. I jumped in with both feet.

Most American sailing however, is on the east coast of the United States. There are millions (no exaggeration) more boats on the Atlantic Seaboard than out here on the Pacific Coast. My first sail as delivery crew was in May of 2017 on SV Allora. She was a 2000 Passport, Royal Passport 43 and what a boat she was. I was hooked. As luck would have it, I was picked for crew because, at 5’9” I fit into the sea berth in the salon. If I were 6-feet tall, I might not have been doing this…

Read the Full Blog Post Here

Sharp Eye on the Temperature Guage

If you read my last guest blog, you’ll remember that I was over the moon about being able to change the oil on our 1989 Catalina (Universal 25 XP).  Well, that was one of the easy jobs!  A few weeks back as we were motoring back into the harbor after a delicious sail off Long Beach, I glanced at the engine temp gauge and noticed it was 240 degrees.  Yep, panic set in and I quickly shut her down!

Most likely culprit? The impeller.  Marc successfully showed me how to replace the impeller (we always keep spare parts on board) and then we knew we were going to have to get to the heat exchanger!  Project for another day!

Cleaning Out the HX

Of course, the “another day” arrived and armed again with my favorite site on maintenance for our Catalina 34’ (www.realitycheck.me) we prepared for a BIG project.  Thanks again to Steve and Rebecca for such great explanations, instructions and photos!  

One of the first steps was getting all of the coolant out of the engine.  Once that was done, it was safe to remove the heat exchanger.  We replaced a couple of hoses at the same time though it probably wasn’t necessary.  I knew I would need new gaskets for the ends of the heat exchanger and they were readily available from Catalina Direct.  I was so curious to see what would be in the heat exchanger!!  Indeed, we found a good chunk of the pencil zinc anode that had broken off and lots of pieces of impeller! 

After cleaning out the HX,  I flew into artistic mode with a burgundy scotch bright pad, scrubbing all the corrosion off the end caps til they were as shiny as a brand new penny!  

She Looks Pretty, Burps, and Runs Cool

I cleaned up the heat exchanger by using a wire brush as per Steve’s advice then, the really fun part, I painted the heat exchanger Old Ford Blue!  It looks beautiful!  Put the gaskets on the end caps, sealed everything up and Marc and I worked together to clamp the heat exchanger and hoses back on.  We filled the coolant and started the engine…. Oh no!! Overheating!  We tried a couple of things, when my brilliant Captain thought there might be an airlock where we previously had the water heater.  That was the ticket!  We released the air (burp!) from that and we were in business!  It’s so important to get that heat exchanger off and cleaned out if you have lost a zinc or have bits of impeller that have broken off.  While it was challenging and an almost all day project for us, being the first time, when we have to do it again, it will be so much easier!

Chrissie – First Mate

Okay, I am going to tell you right off the bat, I lived in Italy for 12 years so I am totally prejudiced. I LOVE ITALY!  I love the food, the people, the scenery and yet, this past July was my very first time sailing there!

On this Sailing Adventure we charted a Jeanneau 519, brand new, with 5 cabins and 2 heads.  (Yes, there were a few of us aboard!)   We were part of a flotilla with NauticEd that was well organized by Grant and Lauren!  We had a fun dinner together and the next morning all 60 sailors (not all on our boat obviously) departed Salerno, free to follow their own itinerary or the flotilla’s suggested stops.

Around lunch time we anchored for a bit at the green grotto, jumped in for a dip and a swim into the cave! Rolly, rolly, rolly! My best friend who had come from Bari, Italy to cook for us succumbed immediately to nausea and dripping sweat.  How my heart broke for her.  

So, we sailed on to Positano.  Lovely Positano!  And it is! From the land!  We’d reserved a mooring ball and you won’t believe it! Rolly, rolly, rolly!!!  In addition, you’ve probably heard of the Italians’ reputation for driving!  Well, they drive their boats the same!  What? A 5 mph no wake zone?  NO WAY!  Doesn’t exist!  So, between the ferries coming in from the islands of Capri, Procida and Ischia and the skiffs zooming along…. Did I mention that it was rolly? I think it was the most miserable time I’ve ever spent at anchor but this is the life of the sailor. Some good nights at anchor and some rough nights.  Ahhh, but then the sun set, the temperature cooled off and the lights of Positano began to glow and wow, what a sight!

Of course, we were none too soon to get underway the next morning along with the rest of the flotilla.

We ventured on to Ischia, a beautiful, beautiful island, lovely marina.  After spending the night in Ischia (at Marina Aragonese in Casamicciola) we sailed on to nearby Procida (Marina Procida) checking out some of the fabulous picturesque towns and medieval castles from the water. From there, on to Capri.  Sailing was lovely.  Good breezes and good company!

If you plan to sail the Phlegraean Islands of Italy there are a couple of things to be aware of.  The marina prices are high.  Reservations for slips or moorings are very important and to be made well in advance!  On average, we paid $130 USD per night for a slip and should one decide to go Marina Grande on the north side of Capri to hang out with the rich and famous, get ready to knock out up to $2,700 per NIGHT! (Okay, monohulls are only charged about $300 USD)  So, not wanting to take up any slip space from Beyonce and Jay Z, we decided to sacrifice and anchor at Marina Piccola on the south side of Capri.  And you’ll never guess!   Rolly!  

Another concern when anchoring out is that you may not be able to take your own dinghy to shore!  There often are no dinghy docks, nor permission to leave your dinghy.  If you are moored, there are shore rides available but we had trouble discerning what we were able to do at Capri.  So, our crew pretty much decided to hit the road (hit the sea?) and head back to Amalfi where we got a slip in the marina.  It was a good choice as it gave us extra time to explore the historic town of Amalfi, eat lots of gelato, drink Rucolino and Limoncello, and of course, eat PIZZA!!!!  Lots of pizza!

I think cruising this area of Italy is much more about getting to your destination, shorter sailing from place to place, exploring on land and eating wonderful dinners ashore!  You can expect rolly anchorages as much of them are very open and offer little protection. Once the skiffs and ferries stop, things do tend to calm down quite a bit.  Sailing the Amalfi Coast is a COMPLETELY different experience than spending a week on the Sea of Cortez where you are surrounded by nature, no restaurants, very few people, cooking aboard, swimming and snorkeling!

Exploring the Amalfi Coast is a great way to see many towns, gorgeous and dramatic cliffs and mountains and yet, at the end of the evening, be able to retreat from the tourists and constant thumping from the local discotheques (Yes, they still believe in disco in Italy!)

On my wish list is to visit the islands around Sicily!  Perhaps in 2019.  Would you like to hone your sailing skills, see the fantastic Aeolian islands, and eat wonderful Italian food?  Get in touch with Captain Marc and let him know you’re interested.  And finally, do you need to speak Italian?  No… most folks speak enough English in the tourist areas, but it always helps to speak a little, and especially to joke.  Italians have a great sense of humor and if you’re willing to go with the flow and understand that things don’t always function the way we are used to here in the USA, you’ll have a blast!!! 

Chrissie – First Mate

Scroll Down for the Gallery