Steve York, Author at Santa Barbara Sail & Power Squadron

NOVEMBER 2021 BUCKET AND CHUCK-IT or What to do when your toilet misbehaves by RICH AND PEGGY CIOLINO

Steve York on November 11, 2021 Member News and Articles

“Bucket and Chuck It”. Westcountry Sail: Merchant Shipping 1840-1960 (1971): The helmsman stands on a grating with his back against two teak rubbing boards on the wheel shelter. To port, the steel shelter houses the lavatory (of the bucket and chuck it variety).

Our family took advantage of schedules that finally lined up so Peggy and I could get out to the Isthmus on Catalina Island and have our daughter and husband, and our son and fiancée, join us for a week of sun and fun. We left Santa Barbara on July 5^th, stopped overnight at Channel Islands Harbor and arrived at the Isthmus the following afternoon. Through a miracle of scheduling and luck we arrived just as the Catalina Express from San Pedro carrying the kids arrived. In this picture below, that’s the Catalina Express arriving at the Isthmus as seen as we approach from a few miles off.

While gathered in the saloon one evening playing a board game our son leaned over to me and asked me “Do you smell something like urine?”. I did and I dreaded something bad but didn’t want to immediately face the consequences of finding a leak in our toilet system that would likely come with a major interruption in what up-to-now had been a stress-free and fun get-together. But, this is boating. After the game came to a reasonable stopping point we packed up the game and I went over to the bilge area where the toilet hoses, macerator, overboard thru-hull valve, and deck pumpout hose are located. The smell was stronger there so I donned rubber gloves and felt around to locate the source of a leak. With my crew standing by for instructions, holding a flashlight, and offering ideas of what to do, I found some cool liquid on the macerator. Before going on let me explain my toilet usage guideline with six adults on board for a week and a 27 gallon holding tank: With nearby access to full bathroom facilities on-shore, just a short dinghy ride away, we use the on-board facility for liquid deposits only, unless of course there is an emergency or midnight need.

The macerator was not only leaking from the input end but had some brown stains on it from other leakage. Also, three of the four screws holding the input end of the macerator in place were loose and pulled out as they were totally corroded through! This was the second macerator installed in our boat since we bought it and both of them had the same problem with corroded screws.

My plan was to first stop the leak, or at least keep it from going into the bilge so as to get through the night. In the morning we could then take the boat over to the main dock and use the pump-out facility to empty the holding tank and drain the hoses, which would essentially stop the leakage. The only way to dump our holding tank is with the macerator and I did not want to run it at all with its leaks, so taking the boat off-shore to dump the holding tank was not an option. We could use the on-shore bathroom facilities for the remainder of our stay.

Our particular installation does not have a shutoff valve, or Y-valve, but uses a Y-hose fitting to route the holding tank waste to the macerator and the deck pump-out. It’s simple but in this situation we couldn’t block the holding tank waste from going to the macerator. I believe this accelerated the corrosion problem with the macerator screws since the holding tank liquid was always in the macerator even if not running. My only choice to deal with this mess until we got home was to try and catch the leaking liquid in plastic bags to be disposed of as necessary. So, with plenty of gloves and plastic bags available, I connected the first bag to the leaky macerator. Here’s what it looked like with a bag connected using duct tape and nylon ty-wraps.

This got us through the night at which time I put a new bag on and took the first bag ashore to empty into a toilet. It held about a pint of liquid. While on shore I learned that the pump-out station was broken and they were not sure when it would be repaired so it looked like we’d have to handle the leak with plastic bags for a couple of days.

Back at the boat we were faced with getting rid of the remaining smell coming from the bilge that had collected the initial leakage from the macerator. Fortunately the level in the bilge was not sufficient to trigger the automatic bilge pump but I did want to get that liquid out. So, after cleaning the bilge area below the macerator with liquid cleaner and paper towels (the leakage had flowed down to the low point of the bilge) we began pumping out the bilge using a manual hand pump into an empty six gallon jerry can. We got a couple of gallons in each of two jerry cans so they’d be easy to carry ashore and dump in the toilet there. I found some hydrogen peroxide at the General Store and flushed out the jerry cans.

Catching the leakage in plastic bags and using the on-shore facilities for a couple of days worked out fine until the kids left and Peggy and I got underway to sail home. While underway we did adopt the time proven and reliable method of “Bucket it and Chuck it” as we made the non-stop 15 hour run to Santa Barbara.

Once home we pumped out the holding tank and hoses, rinsed it all out a couple of times with water, and dug into the mess of replacing the macerator. In the process of installing a new macerator – oh, not the same brand this time – I had to install some new hose and add a Y-valve that can isolate the macerator from the holding tank. The following pictures show the failed macerator side view and an end view that highlights the three empty bolt holes that corroded loose, and the completed new installation. The macerator is in the upper left corner of the photo.

October 2021 A Whale Tail (the picture that got away) by Lisa and Scott Burns

Steve York on October 5, 2021 Member News and Articles

Friday morning September 24^th crossing to Pelican’s will be remembered for humpback whale sightings about six miles from Santa Cruz Island. After a foggy motor sail, some blue sky was peaking through, while the autopilot allowed captain Scott Burns and our first-time to the Channel Islands guest, Matina, to doze. Lisa, keeping watch from the captain’s chair, spotted a whale off the bow about 200 yards. Quickly calling attention, all eyes were searching the horizon for it. Scott said, “Let me get my camera.” We were looking around, wondering where the whale would emerge again. Just about that time we heard a ‘flushing’ noise and the sailboat rocked, then the giant whale shot up at about 100 feet off the Benchmark’s beam. The size was magnificent and astonishing as it slightly turned in the air to show its light grey underbelly, then a giant splash! Scott didn’t get the photo, but we agreed that it reminded us of the insurance commercial logo. It seemed very big and was very close to our boat.

We anchored at Pelican’s Harbor, timed nicely with Ecco Bella’s arrival. There were eight boats by that evening. Lisa & Matina kayaked to Lisa’s favorite spot of “Hole in the Wall,” where the high tide created a blow hole spraying out water like a blast furnace.

The next morning Peggy, Scott, Lisa & Matina hiked from Pelican’s to Prisoner’s Harbor where we saw some of the old ranch buildings. A shared ride for Lisa with owners of cruiser Whale Rider from PCYC & Ventura Power Squadron, allowed another 1 ½ hour hike back for the other three. Saturday

night, Ecco Bella hosted an epic 12 game Mexican Train. Even with the weekend’s low clouds, it was a calm and relaxing trip with dolphins escorting us most of the way home.

September 2021 What a Cruise! Catalina 2021 by Rich and Peggy Ciolino

Steve York on September 9, 2021 Member News and Articles

Three Santa Barbara Sail and Power Squadron sailboats participated in our annual cruise to Isthmus Cove at Catalina Island: Virginia and Dennis Johns with grand-daughter Kira aboard S/V Libertad, Lisa and Scott Burns aboard S/V Benchmark, and Peggy and Rich Ciolino aboard S/V Ecco Bella. Another sailboat, a friend of the Burns from Marina 4 aboard S/V Westerly accompanied us to Catalina but sailed on to Avalon instead of tying up at the Isthmus.

S/V Ecco Bella was the last to leave the Santa Barbara harbor on Monday morning at about noon after taking on fuel. We could see S/V’s Benchmark and Libertad about two nm ahead and learned that S/V Westerly was a bit ahead of them. We were all headed to Smugglers Cove on the south side of Santa Cruz Island for an overnight stay before the 60 nm passage to Catalina.

*Ecco Bella leaving Santa Barbara under staysail and mainsail as we await new genoa replacement for worn-out and torn genoa.*

*Two cargo ships passing ahead. Note orange life boat launcher on stern of each, a new innovation we hadn’t seen before other than on a YouTube video.*

We were the last to arrive at Smugglers and took our position at anchor in about 30 feet of water with about 150 feet of chain out.

*View from Ecco Bella shortly after anchoring looking at (L-R) Westerly, Libertad, and Benchmark.*

*It wasn’t too long before the wind shifted and turned us all around, our orientation for most of the night.*

We left the following morning for Catalina and had a lovely, warm motor-sail since the wind was in the 4 kt range and the seas were small for most of the trip. As is usual the wind picked up as we neared Catalina but to only about 10 kts which is not quite enough for Ecco Bella to make decent speed without the gennie so we continued all the way with the engine helping us along. Libertad however took advantage of the wind and set their spinnaker for the last few miles into the Isthmus.

*Libertad under spinnaker approaching the isthmus with Bird Rock and Westerly and Benchmark on the left.*

When we arrived at the Isthmus and radioed the harbormaster for a mooring assignment we were told that S/V’s Benchmark and Libertad had just picked up their moorings and that we would be next to each other so we proceeded to pick up our mooring next to S/V Libertad.

*From right to left: S/V’s Benchmark, Libertad, and Ecco Bella*

The first order of business was to get our dinghy in the water. We had just bought a new one to replace one we had for about 10 years that gave up the ghost during our last trip here a month ago. Having a dinghy is crucial here to go back and forth to shore or just do some sightseeing. Peggy and I stayed aboard this first night, had dinner, and got to bed early after a long day. A not so critical item to ready was our Stand Up Paddleboard (SUP) which we inflated the following day.

*Richard boarding Ecco Bella after launching our new dinghy.*

*Being close to each other makes communication easy.*

Peggy and I took a walk each morning before breakfast. It’s a nice pretty level dirt road trail with gorgeous hillside, harbor, and ocean views from one side of Catalina Island to the other that’s about one mile each way. We roused the entire party for the second day’s walk.

Overall, the weather was great with warm sunshine every day. However, on most days an off-shore westerly ocean breeze would blow in the afternoon just enough to make ripples on the water and cause a cooling effect in the air. Sitting in the cockpit behind a dodger with the bow facing into the wind provided protection from that cool breeze.

On Wednesday night we gathered on Ecco Bella for some drinks, “pain killers” and appetizers. Note, NO MASKS, it’s nice to be somewhat normal again!

*All aboard Ecco Bella enjoying drinks and appetizers*.

*A nice activity in the cove is SUPing amongst the moored boats*.

Just for kicks we all took a day trip to Avalon aboard the Cyclone speedboat. For $30 you get a round trip ticket from the Isthmus to Avalon that takes about 35 minutes or so. Speeding along the scenic coastline at 26 kts with thumping music playing is quite a kick. Their schedule is such that you only get 2 and a half hours in Avalon before catching the return trip, but that’s enough time to casually stroll around and grab lunch. And that’s exactly what we did, meeting up with Scott’s friend from S/V Westerly that traveled to Catalina with us and a friend of his who came up to Avalon from San Diego. The nine of us had a nice lunch at the Bluewater Grill, and some of us followed lunch with an ice cream cone or a frozen chocolate covered banana.

*The Cyclone delivers a shipload of passengers to the Isthmus.*

Richard had a fright when we returned to the dock to pick up the Cyclone for the return trip when he couldn’t find his return ticket. After searching his pockets several times and asking Peggy to search her fanny pack and pockets he moved up the line to ask the Cyclone crew what he should do without a return ticket? One of the crew reached into his pocket and pulled out a ticket, looked at it, and said “Are you Richard?” Wow, he found it on my seat after we disembarked from the boat! Oh, what a relief that was!

On Thursday night we all got together aboard S/V Benchmark for pot-luck appetizers with Lisa providing enough delicious cheese and bean quesadillas to fill us up that we skipped dinner.

On Friday we all gathered on S/V Libertad for a delicious tri-tip dinner with side dishes provided by Peggy and Lisa. The John’s grand-daughter Kira, with help from Virginia, made a tasty dessert cookie to top off the dinner. S/Vs Libertad and Benchmark were planning to depart for home in the morning so we couldn’t hang out into the night, but we were able to get in a few rounds of Mexican Train Dominoes before breaking up the party.

*Libertad’s dining saloon. The dessert tray in the center has been picked creating happy smiles for all.*

*A quick few rounds of Mexican Train Dominoes in Libertad’s cockpit , where it was turning a bit cool as the sun was setting, before breaking up the party.*

Well, S/V Benchmark left for home early Saturday morning with a stopover in Channel Islands Harbor and S/V Libertad left later with a stopover in Paradise Cove. S/V Ecco Bella, not having any pressing reason to rush home, stayed one more day and departed early Sunday morning for home with a stopover in Smugglers Cove on Santa Cruz Island.

Saturday turned out to be a lovely day with more walking, SUPing, reading, a quick dip in the 71° water, and readying the boat for a 6:00AM departure. When we awoke on Sunday morning we noticed the neighbors on either side of us were awake, with lights on and looking busy. The motor boat on our starboard side had three men on but right now only two were there and their engine was running and their navigation and running lights were on. On our port side was a couple on a sailboat who were standing in their cockpit, a light on, and drinking coffee. The motor boat departed slowly and headed out to sea. As I started our engine to warm it up I told the couple on the sailboat that we were leaving at 6 o’clock and one of them said, “Oh, that’s when the race starts.” Race, what race? “The paddle board race” she replied.

Let me back up a bit: It turned out that the guys and gals we had seen the past few days, including one guy from the power boat next to us, that were scooting around the cove on these incredibly thin paddle boards, just wide enough for a body to lie on, with their hands paddling like crazy to move really fast in the water, were here for a race across the channel! No sooner had I realized what was happening, I heard an announcement from the direction of the beach, and a signal, gun or horn, I can’t remember, and the race began! I could hear lots of splashing and yelling as the racers were headed in our direction. I quickly grabbed my video camera and tried to film the approaching crowd of racers and was able to get some out-of-focus dark footage before I zoomed out to get the image in focus just as they came by our boat, yelling and splashing in between the moored boats. The best shot I got was after they passed our boats.

*The paddle board racers slip by our boat heading out to sea.*

We left shortly thereafter and got this picture of part of the string of support boats,
*including our ex-mooring neighbor, accompanying the paddle boarders.*

EPILOGUE: After we got home I found some information about this race. It turns out that this race is 26 nm to Manhattan Beach, their destination from the Isthmus, and it has been going on for 42 years. I also found the results of this particular race and here a couple of key highlights: The cutoff for finishers is 9 hours so the last racer getting in under 9 hours placed 75^th out of over 100 male and female racers in 8 hours and 58 minutes or so. The winning time was about five and a half hours! That seems amazing that a person can keep up a pace of nearly 5 kts for that long; others not so fast.

The rest of our run to Smugglers Cove was not nearly as exciting as being in the thick of the paddle race start. With an overcast sky, a bumpy sea, and cold headwinds most of the way, we motor sailed the entire way. The sun burned through as we approached Smugglers and we anchored in about 30 feet of water and let out 150 feet of chain, pretty much as we did earlier in the week on the way to Catalina. The wind and sea were quite calm all night and we left Smugglers about 11:00 in the morning. We meandered along the north coast of Santa Cruz to enjoy the sights and finally turned for home about 12:30. Again, conditions were not conducive to sailing so we motor sailed all the way home. Along the way, about half way home, the sea went super calm. We haven’t seen it so calm. The sea had ripples interspersed with huge, like tens of hundreds of square feet, areas where it was like glass. It remained like this until we got about three miles off shore.

As we neared Santa Barbara we took note of a beautiful, very large, yacht heading out to sea. It had a similar appearance to Steve Jobs’ yacht that we had seen in Mexico in that the two upper decks were separated by fairly flat rooftops that, on Jobs’ yacht mimicked an iPad and an iPhone. As we got very close to Santa Barbara we noticed a strange looking vessel at anchor close to shore. It was gray and had kind of a military look to it. We circled around it and took some pictures of this huge catamaran, now known to be non-military as we saw some civilian deck hands on board. On deck we recognized a helicopter and a few RIBs and dinghies of various sizes. As we sailed into the harbor we noticed that it had weighed anchor and was moving out to sea. Peggy noted the name of the yacht, Hodor, and began researching it as we moved into our slip. What she found out was the catamaran was a 216 foot support ship for the yacht we had seen earlier, a 285 foot yacht named Lonian! This support ship carries all the “toys” for the “mother” yacht Lonian owned by Lorenzo Fertitta, the former CEO of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He also has ties to some Las Vega casinos. Boy, what incredible excess, gut pretty interesting to see. This turned out to be an unexpected surprise to our Catalina cruise – you never know what you might come across when cruising.

*This photo showing the Lonian was not taken by us but was copied from an on-line issue of the Santa Barbara Independent that covered the appearance of these two yachts last week.*

*This photo shows the Hodor catamaran support ship to the yacht Lonian.*

August 2021 “A Summer Visit to Santa Cruz Island July 2021” by Steve Hodges

Steve York on August 3, 2021 Member News and Articles

We were approaching the ideal anchoring spot in the northwest corner of Pelican bay. As we chugged along, I readied the hook for its plunge and signaled to Susan to go into reverse. After a moment, instead of confirming reverse as usual, she yelled, “the shifter doesn’t shift!” In a flash I wondered if we should bail and sail, but it was late, we were tired, and we had an escape plan if I couldn’t fix the shifter: it’s a sailboat. We weren’t moving quickly, so I loosened the windlass clutch, let the anchor go, and scurried back to the cockpit to kill the engine. I went back to the bow, and as Frolic coasted into the wind, the anchor bit. I paid out chain grudgingly as the breeze stopped us and then blew us back. I put out a little more than 3:1 scope in 40 feet, and then increased that to about 4:1 with the snubber line (1/2″ nylon three-strand, with a chain hook). Once the load was on the snubber, and our position seemed secure, I let out another 30 some feet of chain, to encourage the snubber hook to stay down (and give some catenary advantage). Back in the cockpit I reconsidered the default plan to deploy the stern hook as is usual in Pelican; a stern hook would make it harder to sail out, and also important, there were only three boats in the anchorage, and all of them 200 yards or more away. We settled about 100 yards from the west wall, and more than 300 from the point. Since the wind waves wrap into the anchorage, a stern anchor can aim the boat into that and minimize rolling. But a little rolling can be comforting, and it was calm and forecast to become calmer.

And it did become calmer, making several days of gunkholing in our kayaks very pleasant. Our multiple paddles spanned from a little west of Prisoner’s to Orizaba. The water was crystal clear and not that cold. We saw quite a few small black abalone shells, but only one alive — a far cry from when they climbed over each other on the rocks in the tidal zone! Some of the shells had a neat hole drilled in them, perhaps the art of one of the many black oystercatchers that circled us as they sang their loud and shrill song. The bright garibaldis really stood out as they darted among the kelp fronds. And I saw a few striped bass streak by. Santa Cruz Island is a lovely place to visit!

Our impromptu sail across the channel had also been pleasant, with winds ranging, as usual in July, from iron genoa, to reefed main. The wind built as we crossed and, judging by the lack of swell, it was a new breeze. It was warm enough that I was comfortable in shorts and a short-sleeve shirt, even in the wind. As the wind built, the advection fog thickened, completely shrouding the island in mist. As we approached the shipping lanes, visibility was only a few miles; we could see the west-bound ships, but the east-bound ones could only be seen on AIS. Unfortunately, this was literally true as, after more than 20 years of operation, our radar went kaput. Oh well, it’s only another couple of boat bucks…. Did I mention that our also-old, but much older, hydraulic backstay adjuster had blown its gasket a couple days before we left, and that Frolic’s mast was now supported by a new turnbuckle and a scrap piece of stainless-steel plate? Despite our inability to achieve perfect close-reach trim, we sailed nicely, pretty much at hull speed. Maybe I don’t need another adjustable backstay adjuster after all (haha). Anyway, we poked into Lady’s but the chop had followed the wind as it veered north of west, so we wandered down the coast and ended up in Pelican.

Our four-day stay in Pelican was thoroughly relaxing. We ate and drank well. Our love of the cockpit awning was re-affirmed. The solar panels kept the batteries full. I was vigilant in watching our position as I knew that, unable to shift the gear box out of forward, I hadn’t set the anchor as well as usual. Part of my piece of mind stemmed from that fact that, rather than eyeball, I could measure our distance from other boats and the rocks. Usually I’ve accomplished this with radar, but our radar didn’t work. However, that void was sort of filled, at least in the anchorage, by my new favorite toy: a laser range finder. I had bought the thing to help plan some development in a heavily wooded part of our property, by measuring between tall trees on opposite sides of the impenetrable area. This was the first time I brought the range finder sailing, but I think it will be a standard piece of gear hence, even after I have a functioning radar again, as it is easy to use and accurate (+/- a yard).

And what about being able to use the diesel to do something besides idle along in forward? Frolic’s Teleflex combined throttle and gear shifter appeared to have failed due to some combination of corrosion from seawater ingress and a loose set screw; in other words, a general lack of maintenance (my bad). The fix was fairly straight forward and didn’t involve too much boat yoga. By the time I was comfortable with the repair, I had disassembled the linkages, cleaned the corrosion, and lubed the morse cables and shifting mechanisms. I also topped off the gear box oil. Susan and I had strategized what we’d do if it came apart again while weighing anchor or after we entered the harbor. But we were lucky, all worked as it should and we had an uneventful motor-sail home.

July 2021, The Summer Sailstice Sail to Pelican’s Bay, or How we get by with a little help from our friends by Lisa Burns

Steve York on July 2, 2021 Member News and Articles

Summer Sailstice at Pelican’s Bay began Friday morning with 2 dads, Scott Burns & Steve Carlson in the Benchmark, along with wife Lisa, leaving at 8am & arriving at 12:30pm. Joining the Catalina 30 Benchmark were fathers Tom, Paul and Gary on Destiny, 31’ Beneteau. It was an uneventful motor across a calm Santa Barbara Channel to Pelican’s where Destiny and Benchmark anchored on the east side, near the makeshift landing of the old hotel, away from the 11 (which swelled to 14) yachts, a mixture of sailboats & motor cruisers. In a twist of fate, this proximity became important on Saturday. Gloomy skies cleared and the crews of both boats took their respective dinghies to Little Pelican’s, where we walked the Nature Conservancy’s trail to amazing vistas of both Pelican’s and Prisoner’s Bays.

Scott made friends during kayak visits to other boats anchored and by Friday evening, a social-distanced gathering spontaneously developed as people lashed their dinghies together to form a flotilla, passing wine, beers and going boat to boat hailing crews to join up with their preferred libations.

Saturday morning began with intentions to relax or exercise when the Destiny discovered that the diesel would not start. The day progressed with Tom making a neighborly visit inquiring if Benchmark had a battery charger on board. Score one for the Power Squadron, Scott had a battery charger. Tom exchanged a bottle of wine and took it over to the Destiny. However, their battery would not take a charge. Scott took Benchmark’s second battery over to Destiny, but the engine would not turn over. The problem was not the battery, but what to do? Scott having had a prior experience, remembered how Dennis Johns towed the Benchmark back, and offered to return the favor for Tom. A plan was made for an early departure on Sunday, with the Benchmark towing Destiny back to Marina 3, where both boats had berths.

Early Father’s Day Scott prepared two ropes so that the Destiny would be evenly pulled from the bow on port & starboard, as Dennis did with Benchmark. A neighboring fishing boat kept a watchful eye as the sailboats moved, circled around, pulling up first their stern, then their bow lines, and then connected lines from Benchmark’s stern to Destiny’s bow. Soon Benchmark started the trip, and with calm seas, light winds and only one southbound freighter to be concerned with, the crossing was made. Decisions to try to sail across the channel were abandoned with light winds, so Benchmark towed the Destiny home, finally moving cautiously through the harbor channel, with Destiny throwing off the tow lines after Marina 4. The wind then picked up and they were dead in the water for a few seconds, drifting over to Marina 4. The crew secured the boat and waited a few minutes for the Harbor Patrol to take them to their slip on Marina 3.

Footnote: The ground cable to the motor had gotten loose, and it took 20 seconds to tighten, once it was noticed back at the slip.