Was this Heartache Necessary?

The vessel Angelique sitting on the beach in Playa del Rey, CA June 2014
All photos © 2014 Kathryn St.Amant all rights reserved
unless Mitchell Family Photo in caption

Playa del Rey beach, Angelique on the beach
Two "Ballona Creek Yacht Club" boats at anchor

I am guilty. I have laughed at what we local sailors call the “Ballona Creek Yacht Club” boats. These are vessels that the less fortunate among us live in. The boats are at anchor of off the coast of Marina del Rey, CA. If you were to think of a family that lives in an old RV in the streets, then you get the picture of what is happening here. The difference is that when a family lives in an RV it sits very stable on the street and does not rock incessantly back and forth and up and down all day  (unless there is, you know, activity inside that…….never mind). Also, you can drive the RV about and get yourself to the store in relative comfort.

People that choose to live in a small boat that does not have a home base dock must be, in my mind, desperate. When they are at anchor they are cut off from the rest of the world by waters that can be very unfriendly, have no electricity, little running water, or any other creature comforts we consider vital to our daily lives. Most of them have a ratty dinghy connected to their home that they take into shore for their daily chores or work. When the marina managers go home, we see many of these boats coming in to find an empty slip for the night so they can juice up their batteries and just have a comfortable night. That is if they are lucky enough to not get caught and tossed right back out to their anchor. Hopefully they are also emptying their holding tanks in the proper way so our beach remains healthful.

Many of the boats could be described as total junk as a vessel. I am sure not many would pass any inspections. Most of them out there right now are old sailboats that have had their masts removed. All you need to do is spend a few minutes watching these boats on their anchors rocking and swinging like crazy to come to the conclusion that no human should live out there. Yet, they choose to do so.

Angelique floating proud
Mitchell Family photo

Every once and a while there is a dreamer who wants to live on a boat and buys the best vessel they can afford without thinking about the related costs to keep it maintained and docked. For me, the cost to dock a boat is why I don’t have the boat of my dreams. The costs continue to escalate as the marina lessees are being forced to upgrade their facilities by the County of Los Angeles to build new docks and amenities. Yes the new facilities are beautiful, but they are an instant upgrade to unaffordability by the middle class yachtsman, let alone the dreamer who purchased way over their heads.

Going back to the family who bought the biggest vessel their money could buy… this particular family, Cosmo & Angelique Mitchell, purchased a steel hulled power boat that was 70+ feet long. They spent two years fixing it up and creating a pretty nice home for their family.

Galley upgrade
MItchell Family photo

States Cosmo Mitchell: “My boat has been our primary residence for the past 3 years and we saved her once from the scrap yard and we can do it again, she ain’t worth much, but she is ours.   …and for the past five years (I) have been fighting congestive heart failure which has left me permanently disabled, and on a fixed income. The "Angelique" was our pension, our retirement, and our life savings all in one basket. She was our past our present and our future.: This might be buying over your head!

(All Mitchell photos and quotes are referenced from: http://bit.ly/1mkqeJx GiveForward.com the fundraising website for their cause)

So here the situation is created where the boat became one of the “Ballona Creek Yacht Club members”. In February 2014 a winter storm the likes of which we haven’t seen in years rolled into Southern California. It was the second of two quick passing heavy hitting storms to hit the area. Following is the high surf advisory put out by the National Weather Service on the storm:

Surf Advisory

A high surf advisory remains in effect through Sunday, with waves 4 to 7 feet expected at many local beaches on Friday and sets of 8 to 12 feet and as high as 15 feet during the peak Saturday, according to NWS. The most threatened locations include low-lying areas near Venice Beach and Long Beach. High surf will create strong and dangerous rip currents in the surf zone as well as waves that can suddenly wash people off of beaches and rocks. 

A satellite image of the storm that was responsible as it rolled into Southern California
Courtesy of NOAA

I don’t know about you, but if I was sitting on my hook off of a lee shore in my boat with this advisory, I would not be anywhere near the shoreline. I wonder if there was anyone paying attention to weather advisories?

Not surprising to most of us, the anchor chain on Angelique broke during the maelstrom. Here is a shot of the chain in June, 4 months later. I am sure the deteriorated condition of the chain did not happen in just 4 months.

Angelique's chain four months later

They ran out of fuel trying to keep the boat off of the beach so the boat ran aground right next to the breakwater of Marina del Rey.

Mitchell Family photo of Angelique freshly on the beach

Now, as a captain, I have many things I could say about this. One… the marina entrance was right there and it would not take much fuel to get inside. They would not have been turned away in an emergency. It makes me wonder how much fuel was on board. Going back to the fact that they were at anchor due to lack of funds also makes one wonder about owning a vessel that costs hundreds of dollars just to fire it up, but that is another rant. I was told by Angelique (the Angelique, not the boat!) that this was their dream. OK, safety of the family aside, maybe I could understand that, well maybe not. Another thought would be that they were just too far inside the surf line to make it to safety no matter how much fuel they had. They don’t admit that, but I don't think I would either.

This LA County Lifeguard says the Mitchells come to the boat every day.

I am writing this in June, 2014, the boat went aground in February. I went down to the beach to photograph the wreck on the beach before it gets removed and met Angelique and her son. The family members were sitting on the foredeck watching the surf holding an American Flag when I was walking down to the boat. Her son came out of the cabin holding a pair of wet and sandy shoes and handed them to his mother. She then told me and a friend their story. All of a sudden this was not just a “Ballona Yacht Club” vessel or a wreck on the beach for me to play with. It was now a story of passion, heartache and reality. The awful reality ballooned when the boat hit the sand and it became an open resource to thieves. “We lost everything to looters, our rooms were ransacked, anything of value was taken. Now what belongings we have left are buried under sand.” (Cosmo Mitchell) They also lost their beloved cat. There is a sign painted on the boat asking why someone had to steal their rusty shovels. Angelique told me they are trying to dig out the boat. Now they can't even do that.

Cosmo Mitchell stated that their insurance company gave them a pretty cold response (well ummmmm.... yeah!). The couple is trying to raise some funds to get the Angelique off the beach themselves and restore the beach and the boat to their original states. Their time is coming to an end as the vessel has been declared a public nuisance and public danger. The Mitchell’s have been told they will be billed $250,000 for the cutting up and removal of the Angelique by way of land. They, on the other hand, think they can get it off the beach themselves by digging it out and refloating it for $5000. With the help of anyone and everyone digging… and there is quite a bit of digging. I honestly don't think shovels will do the trick, as it is totally buried inside and out. As we all know from playing in the beach sand, as soon as you get a hole dug out, more sand pours in. The boat is in the surfline as well and that means constant change. They believe the steel hull is intact (it is also full of saltwater mixed with the sand). They have received a very short extension of time to give it a try.

This piece of shoreline is one that sees quite a few wrecks up on the beach and as sad as it is to say, the stories are very similar. The boats are at anchor in the area, their anchors fail and then the boats go up on the beach. The boats stay on the beach for extended periods because it is the owner’s responsibility to remove them. The owner’s, of course, do not have enough money to do this. The county then has to go through all the legal hoops, including environmental studies, before they can remove fuels, liquids and the vessel. Then they charge the owner a massive dollar amount for cutting up the boat and dragging it out over the beach (after all, getting bulldozers and cranes moved onto the beach is not cheap!). The charges are understandable. why should we shoulder the burden of boaters who won’t consider the consequences?

Here is my photo essay on the wreck of the Angelique as she stood on
June 17^th, 2014 along with few shots of before from the Mitchells.
Now she lies buried, looted, broken, and sad. 

This image shows the pile of sand the family has created as they begin
digging out their home. GiveForward.com is the fund raising website.
The little pile  is a woeful amount of sand in comparison
to what they have to remove!

The stern rail. This shows how deeply
the Angelique is buried in the sand.

Looking North toward Marina del Rey

See below for  a similar view of the boat in her grander days

See above for the similar view of the starboard side today
Mitchell Family Photo

Starboard bow in days past while tied up to a dock
Mitchell Family Photo

Starboard bow today

View of the bow out of the forward porthole in happier times
Mitchell Family Photo

The same porthole viewed back across the bow today

Sunset over the bow of the Angelique, and probably her life

Day Of The Dolphins

The day started out with little wind, and not much of a possibility for a super day of sailing.
We were enjoying cruising the bay and soaking in the January sunshine, and then a
super sized pod of dolphin came to play. Oh what a day it turned out to be!

Macando Races the Times Whitney Bogart 2012 Part 1

On March 24th and 25th Los Angeles Yacht Club hosted races  2 & 3 of the Times Whitney Bogart Race. This one was over to Howlands Landing on Catalina Island on Saturday the 24th, then back to LA Harbor on Sunday the 25th. This is the story of Macando, a Beneatau First 47.7, sail number 52304, its owner Camilo Martinez, and crew sailing this regatta.


The first race was an around Catalina race on February 11th. I had to sit this one out, as I had just had knee surgery. The stories from the crew on this one were nothing but excitement. They had rough seas and decent breezes to get them around Catalina and back. One of the boats made it in record time. Considering the storied regatta we are talking about, that says quite a bit about the weather. The Macando crew had more to say about who was sick when, and how they all handled the slamming seas than much else. OH, except the great ride home and early finish!


For races 2 & 3 the weather prediction for Saturday was benign. The front of a storm due to arrive on Sunday brought 3+ foot swells and moderate breeze. We sailed across in race 2 with some rain but without incident and arrived at the island ready for the hamburgers and the endless rum promised on the beach. LAYC delivered as promised and we ate, drank, and cooked our butts at the camp fire on the beach. A great day and evening. The crew retired early, considering the offerings on the beach, as we knew the next day would not be so simple.

Howlands Landing at Catalina Island, getting ready for the start

The competitor in our class, yes there were only 2 boats in our class, decided they did not want to race home for race #3 in the projected storm, and left very early in the morning to beat it. The race committee announced an early start to get the boats back before the worst of the weather hit. We started at 1100 hrs under the cover of the island. It was blowing a steady 15 to18 kts in there. About 10 minutes before the start we decided that a single reef would be a good idea, as the predictions were for a big blow and rain later. When we went to put in the reef, we forgot that we had just blown the boom lift in a jibe. The main came down and the boom started to sweep the deck. A good screaming by a few astute crew got everyone's attention and they dove to the deck. All was gotten under control, and the reef was put in.


We sailed off the start line with the 15 -18 kts of wind and rain. As we sailed out from under the island, the wind actually lightened up. We were discussing shaking the reef, as we watched others sailing with full main. After a few minutes of bright discourse, we decided to keep it for 10 more minutes to see what happened. The wind built continuously from that point on. We were on a tight reach for the majority of the way home, then as the wind went forward, we continued to tighten up the sails, and hang on.

Some of the crew slowly faded away after being sick and not dressing appropriately. The cold, wet, and constant heavy crashing was grinding on everyone. I drove for almost 2 hours and passed the wheel on to Camilo. He took us the rest of the way home, as the wind built to over 35kts. When we entered the breakwater at Angeles Gate, Los Angeles Harbor, it was screaming. We spun the boat around and dropped the main and jib. I started the engine, and put it in gear when the main went down. I pushed it into forward and felt the engine kick in. Or, at least wind up. I did not feel the prop biting under the boat.


We were drifting fast toward the rocks inside the harbor. I screamed at Camilo to come back and see if I had put the gear shift into neutral. I thought I did and could not get it out. He gave it a wiggle and it engaged. We made our way to the slip safely and watched the anemometer continue to build close to 40 kts. Hot food and drinks helped to get us all ready to go home. We stayed on board eating and drinking as a huge wave of heavy rain passed us by.


The crew on this race consisted of Jacob Mathew, Patty Mathew, Linda (Martinez? by now...), Vadim Mantelzak, Dino Lopardo, Leon Goss, Tina Claps, Kathy St. Amant, and Skipper/Owner Camilo Martinez.


OH, before we left, on the way to the boat, in the pouring rain, I hit a MONSTER pot hole. My front tire blew out. I made it to a marina parking lot about a mile away, and called for a ride to the boat. Tina picked me up and delivered me to Macando. I called AAA on Sunday to get the spare put on... in the rain. The following week, when I took the tire in for repair, they discovered that I blew out the back one too. I should have realized this may be a sign of what is to come. I did not take the signs to heart and left the car to go sailing.


Race 4, LA Harbor, around Santa Barbara Island, and back brought predictions for MORE wind and rain. There was even warnings for water spouts out there. After much study of the weather reports, we decided to go for it. After all, Macando loves the wind, and 35kts "ain't that bad". Before the start, there was a whale at the entrance of the Harbor, right under the Angels Gate Light. AWESOME! Haa Haa, even the whales were coming inside because of the crap outside. We started in over 25+ kts of wind and headed out the gate. Who was smarter in this one, the whale or Macando? You decide.


TROPHY FOR MACANDO


On March 20th LAYC held the trophy presentation for the Times Whitney Bogart regatta. Macando took home a first place trophy for this set of races. Thanks Camilo for a great weekend!

Leon Goss, on the right, and Kathy St. Amant, in the middle,
stand in for Camilo Martinez to receive the trophy.
Photo by: Dino Lopardo

©Kathryn St. Amant and CaptainKathy.com, 2012, All Rights Reserved

Macando Races the Times Whitney Bogart 2012 Part 2

THE START


The whale at the entrance, coming in alongside Angles Gate lighthouse, was it a sign? Was it saying, I don't want to be out here, so you should not either? Well, we didn't take it as such after discussing it. We thought it was probably having fun, riding the surf, got too far inside, and angled itself to get through the gap on the last wave. 


Oh, I did not mention the drenching downpour thunder/lightening storm that was blasting the marina as I drove up to get to the boat. I called Camilo on the boat to get someone up to let me in the gate. He told me there were two Brads running around in the parking area with the key. I made it into the bathroom building lobby quickly carrying my gear bag. I found one Brad under the cover of the lobby. He was in khakis and a t-shirt, soaked to the bone.I wanted to get into my foulies before walking the long distance to the boat. Brad, on the other hand, had come up for a quick trip to the loo and all of his gear was already on the boat. For once in Southern California, it was not the place to leave the gear!

The wind was in the low 20's as we left the marina, and we set a course for our first leg to Santa Barbara Island. The crew consisted of Brad Petway, Brad, Dan Perozzi, Dino Lepardo, Leon Goss, Tim Fredreicks, Kathy St. Amant, and Camilo Martinez. The start was at 1500. We shared the helm around and had a wonderful afternoon sail. The wind kept building all day. We had already totally lost one crew member to the seasick gods, he actually never came out of the bunk until we were inside, hours later. I was watch captain at the time and asked one of the crew, Brad Petway from San Francisco, at the expense of seeming like a woosie Southern California sailor, when he thought we should put in the second reef. He said, "I was hoping you would say that!". So, we did. We both did not want to say it first. Silly now that you think about it. We stated so many time the rest of the night... thank God we did.


Here is a little video of the nice sail in the afternoon. I shot it along with Leon Goss, who hung over the side of the boat to get the cool low down water shots. I am waiting for Camilo to send me the video he shot when it was really honkin'! I will put it up when I get it. Tim Fredricks passes by the camera,  Dan Perozzi is on the helm, and Brad Petway is riding the aft rail in the shot.

BUILDING WINDS AND GROWING SEAS

I took the helm at 1700 hours and began my turn steering through the wet hard slog into very large seas.  There was continuous fish feedings going on, but everyone stayed up and on the rail. The wind continued to build. We were seeing 35+ kts sustained, and puffs to 40 kts at this time. The West end of Catalina looked inviting...just turn the boat a little, and jam over to Cat Harbor... calm Cat Harbor...hmmmm.


Camilo got out his camera and took some great video while standing in the cockpit. I was driving around the big ones the best I could, but every once and a while, a "crester" appeared and we would launch half the boat off the wave and crash down the backside. I would have loved to have seen this from the outside looking in, half a 47 footer out of the water. I know it was at least half, because I could see the backside of the wave while the bow was airborne, as I was steering in the back. I also felt the CRASH as she came back down.

Macando Pushing Water!
Frame shot taken from video taken by Leon Goss. 

One of these came on us and just buried three quarters of the boat. I got bashed with the white water, ducked my head and hung onto the wheel very tightly. I apologized to everyone, I just did not see it coming. I also realized that this "big" boat (well big to someone who usually sails on Santana 20's and Martin 242's) got very, very, very small very quickly. I was not hooked into the jackline that was strung for the helmsman. This is one of the few times I felt I really wanted to be. I could not stop thinking that I was not hooked in. My tether was draped nicely around my neck. Everyone else was smart, they were hooked in. I could not take either hand off the wheel to hook in, or look down. All concentration was on driving.  (This was one day before the fateful Farallones Race off of San Francisco, where almost the whole crew was washed off the boat and perished.)

The wind was up to gale force winds, showing more 40s, and I was getting very tired, it was close to 1900 hours. I called for a replacement. I was on the low side of the boat, and one of the crew on the rail came to take it. I looked up at him and noticed that he was doin' the "gonna' feed the fish head buck".. ya' know... oooomph....oooomph. I yelled at him to grab the wheel and I jammed myself forward just in time to miss the feeding.


I went below and noticed that the refrigerator door had opened and sent the lasagna package, mustard, mayonnaise, and who knows what else out onto the floor. I closed the door to the fridge and locked it in, bent over to retrieve the mustard and mayo and decided I could not bend down that far without leaving a bigger mess on the floor. So, I hit one of the bunks, literally, flew across the cabin, dove in, and tried to rest. I can tell you, there is no rest when half a boat flies out of the water, sends you airborne, and then both of you come crashing back down every 40 seconds or so.


THE SHREDDING - DID I MENTION THIS WAS FRIDAY THE 13TH?


One crew came in from above to warm up and asked what we were trying to prove. Everyone was sick. Only two of us did not provide a feeding the whole trip. At approximately 2100 hours there was an all hands call. The number 3 had shredded. (Camilo had just spent $400 to get the foot stitched from the last time we used it. DOH!) We were going to go home. "Yea." I said it, not loud, 'cause I didn't have much energy left. One of the guys getting geared up to go on deck, hit the sink. All I could see was a set of foulies feeding the sink. I went up to join in the work.


The number 3 was totally shredded. We got the boat turned around and Brad P. took the helm. He muscled the boat through the big surf as we took a look at what we had, what was happening around us, and how we were going to get home, or somewhere, safe. We were on a port tack broad reach and the waves were on our quarter. We were somewhat stable and moving fast right toward King Harbor breakwater. After some discussion, we decided this was the closest safe port in the storm and continued on this track. There would have been a wearing of the boat to get on course to Long Beach, and the waves would have been dead behind us. The night was clear and it was very easy to see the landmarks. For the two crew who knew the area anyway.

Brad asked what to look for. He could only pick out Pt. Vicente Light clearly and was aiming for it. We were approximately 15 miles out, so it was not a big deal. But, he really liked looking at that light and it took some gentle reminders so he would aim to the left of all visible lights at that moment. Palos Verdes was beautiful, and if you did not know what it consisted of, the Pt. Vicente Light looked like it may take you to a harbor entrance.


It was so clear out, it was deceiving for us on how close or far away we were. It was a big deal to go below to look at the chartplotter, as anyone who went below got sick immediately. The driver could not take the time to look at the one by the wheel, it took everything he had to keep us going in the waves. It was too unsafe to have anyone walking around the deck for any reason that was not totally necessary.There were gusts to 48kts, force 10,  by now, with sustained winds at 42kts. I truly believe it went higher on some of those, but we were to locked in to working the boat and keeping safe to keep looking at the anemometer on the blasts. 


I love sailing. I love telling my sailing stories (OK, I may talk too much). At this moment I was thinking, I can hardly wait until I can say "I DID THIS!". I was really tired (and a touch scared) of "doing it", hurry up, let's get in so I can say "DID". 


THE SHREDDED JIB MUST COME DOWN


STORM: It was flagging at the top and whipping at the bottom. Pieces of the jib and threads were all that were left in the foil. Camilo wanted to get it off the foredeck. It was very very dangerous out there, but he and Dino went forward, hooked into the jack lines, and got the bottom pieces under control and on the deck. They came back into the cockpit and rested. Then Camilo wanted to get the piece down that was at the top of the mast flagging. I tried to talk him out of it, all was safe as it was. It would be much safer and easier to get down it in the marina. Camilo and Dino went forward. Camilo let out the halyard and Dino pulled it down. Camilo was talking, we thought to Dino, then he yelled, "Can't you hear me?". Wow, we couldn't even hear THAT! Wind is noisy! He walked back to tell us what he needed us to do.


As soon as the head of the sail, or what was left of it, came free of the foil, Dino could not hold on to it and it went out into the wind. First dragging behind the boat in the water, then up into the sky. They came back again to talk about it. Camilo was very hesitant to cut the halyard where it was now, as most of it was up and out, and not much would be saved. He wanted to pull it in, and then cut it. After realizing the danger of the pieces and halyard wrapping up the main, we finally got him to pull out a knife and cut it. He touched it and off it flew into the night.


TIM TAKES OVER


Brad drove for almost two hours, I am not sure how long. Tim, who knows King Harbor, came in to take over and guide us in. He muscled us through the worst of it, the wind (we saw up to 55 kts) and swells grew as we got into Santa Monica Bay's shallower water. The boat was thrown around with only the double reefed main and no head sail. Tim concentrated on the driving, I guided him towards the harbor entrance. We kept the pier lights to the right, and the whale wall to the left. Finally, we could catch a green or a red harbor entrance light every so often. I picked out a set of lights on the beach in between the pier and entrance that put us right on track for the entrance buoy. We all got a little nervous since we could never see the blinking light of the buoy. Tim and I continued a conversation to be sure we were aiming in the right direction, as doubt comes into your mind when everything is not in place... AND you are surfing in a 10+knots in a 45+kt wind right at the beach. Where was that buoy?


The swells grew and took the view of our destination away quite often as they rolled past us. We could get a look real quick while on top of the swells, and then the land would disappear. As we got closer, it came to me that maybe King Harbor would not be safe to enter. We tried the VHF radio microphone on deck, we all dreaded going down below. We could sort of tell that Harbor Patrol King Harbor could hear us, but we could not hear them clearly. It is LOUD when the wind is blowing that hard. Camilo volunteered to go down to check the chartplotter and give the radio a try on the main unit. We needed to know the status of the entrance before too much longer so we could adjust our course and get up to Marina del Rey if we needed to. It already would have been a nasty ride up there, with the swells on our beam and almost close hauled.


KING HARBOR WHERE ARE YOU


The King Harbor Harbor Patrol told us that the harbor was safe to enter, the waves were breaking, but at an angle that  we should be able to handle upon entrance. Camilo let us know that we were four miles out. Tim and I swear, we were close enough to be about ready to go inside! So deceiving when it is so clear and bumpy. Tim muscled on, Camilo came up to feed the fish and went back down to help guide us in.


At this time we discussed how to get the main sail down. The boom topping lift was off the boom, so the boom would come down to deck level. We had it worked out between the person on the halyard and the main trimmer to get the boom on the deck, then let loose the halyard.


Every once and a while Tim would scream that we needed to help him see. "Where is it?" He kept losing the guiding lights. We would get him back on track. Camilo called out the closing distance. The yelling got louder, we got more nervous, still KNOWING that we were on the right track and were going to do this thing just fine.... Yeah Right...   Right?

If you have never entered King Harbor, just know it is a tight turn at the rocks, without much room for error. Once inside, it is a very small area covered with buoys, rock walls, moorings, and boats. We kept looking for the buoy with the flashing white light to help guide us in. We finally saw the silhouette of it as we passed. It lay over in the water from the wind and swells, the light blinking only toward the beach. It was lucky we didn't run over it. We had to get all the way inside here, before we could clearly see the necessary entrance lights and scenery. Tim let us all know he could make it out and was ok. (In other words ... shut up!)


INSIDE AND ON THE ROCKS

We made it inside without fan fare. Tim guided us through the entrance, missed all the buoys, and even got us passed the moored tug boat who was shining his light on us and blinding us to what was in the water. Everyone on board was cheering Tim, our hero. The main came down as we planned. Camilo came back and took the wheel as I called up the Harbor Patrol to let them know we were in, as they were waiting to help us tie up at their docks,. They knew. They were watching everything. They watched us as we approached the entrance and swung the corner. 


This is when Camilo let us know that the boat's engine would not engage. The engine was running fine, but just not engaging the propeller (oh boy, did that sound familiar!) So, now inside it was becoming very dangerous. There just is no where to go. I was still on the radio with the Harbor Patrol and said we were on our way to the rocks. They were watching the whole thing standing by their boat, jumped in and came to get us. We hit the rocks and bounced about three times. Our seasick crew member who went down right after the start jumped out of the bunk and said, "are we home?". I kinda laughed as I told him we were on rocks. He was all of a sudden feeling much better now that we were inside, then became concerned that he slept through so much. "ROCKS? HUH? Where are we?" The Harbor Patrol pulled us away from the rocks on the third bounce.


NOW WE HAVE TO GET TIED UP TO THE DOCK


The fun was not over yet! It was blowing so hard, the patrol had a hard time moving us around. It took four attempts to get us to the slip, in the mean time we almost went into the stone wall, the rocks again, and a couple of tied up boats. The dock was situated such that Macando would have to get beam to the wind to get up next to the dock. She kept blowing away. By pulling Macando up to the patrol boat, pushing Macando, and throwing the line hard,  we got the bow line of  Macando over to the dock, and got close enough to get a few guys off the boat and onto the dock. By pushing the stern of Macando with the patrol boat, Macando got close enough to throw a stern line. The stern line got tied up when the bow line was lost and Macando was blowing away from the dock and facing out. Thank heavens the stern line held, and the patrol got into the side of Macando to push her over and get tied up. Easily this whole thing took 25 minutes.


The King Harbor Harbor Patrol / Redondo Fire Department personnel really know their stuff. They saved Macando that night. The crew wasn't really in too much danger inside, but the boat could have caused much damage to itself and to many other boats in the harbor. The patrol boat really got a work out, the guys jammed that engine full out more than once to keep us from hitting things. And to watch the deck hand pull in the tow line to shorten it while the patrol boat was in full juice with a big boat at the end of it being blown away in 45+ kts of wind, was simply amazing.


THE LECTURE


As soon as the boat was tied up safe, the Harbor Patrol skipper looked over at me and asked, "Where did you guys come from?" It took me a moment to tell him, as it really sounded quite silly by now... "we were racing" I said. His eyes popped out of his head and he said "WHAT? RACING? FROM WHERE TO WHERE? WHO IS HOSTING THIS RACE? HOW MANY MORE ARE OUT THERE? WHERE ARE THEY? WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? THIS WIND WAS NOT A SECRET YOU KNOW. YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN OUT THERE FOR ANY REASON. OK, I am done with the lecture." I told him that we would be notifying the race committee that we were dropping out and would try to get information on who was still out there.


OUR DINNER


With so much fish feeding going on for so many hours, the crew had empty stomachs. Our hero number two this day was Dino, who cooked up a batch of pasta and sauce and served a very hungry crew at 0030 hours on NOT Friday the 13th anymore. YAAAA Dino! This video is a little taste of our relief as Dino cooked dinner. 

THE FINISHERS


All boats had retired, except for two. They both finished the next morning! Sleeper, a JSO 44 and Wind Dancer, a Catalina 42. Wind Dancer had also shredded their number three and sailed to the finish with the pieces blowing in the wind. CHEERS TO THESE GUYS! The wind and swells just kept growing when we turned back, so we know, they had their hands full. 


THE MORNING AFTER

THE CREW


There is one thing I wish to say publicly, I would sail anywhere with this crew. Everyone was awesome under extreme pressure and circumstances. When anything was needed, personal discomfort was put on the back burner. 

• Camilo Martinez, owner, watch captain & driver
• Brad Petway, down from SF Bay - jib trim, tactics & driver
• Brad - trim, all around crew
• Dan Perozzi - trim, driver and all around crew
• Leon Goss, main trim
• Dino Lopardo - foredeck & cook
• Tim Fredricks - trim, driver & hero
• Kathy St. Amant - watch captain & driver

MACANDO


Macando was pulled out by the Redondo Beach boat yard on Monday to check the bottom and get the engine and linkage checked out. I don't know the results of this at this time. But I do know we blew up a sail, cut and lost a halyard, and went on the rocks. Yep, this was an adventure!


A FEW CREW EMAILS AFTER THE ADVENTURE


From: "Kathy St. Amant" <CaptainKathy@gmail.com>
Date: Saturday, April 14, 2012 5:55 PM

Hi guys,

Without sounding "syrupy", we spent last night in an adventure we will remember and talk about forever. It was a night that not many sailors get to experience. I just wanted to say, I am very glad I had this experience with all of you. I would sail anywhere with you guys... puke or not!!! 

:-)

Best, and see ya'll on the water,

Kathy

Subject: Re: What a Night!
From: Camilo 
Date: Sun, April 15, 2012 3:01 pm

Yes, not many non-sailors can relate to what we experienced, and will think we are crazy. I am glad we made it back safely, and the worse we seemed to suffer was losing our lunches. It was a pretty rough night, and showed us why the sea deserves so much respect. 

This last point is especially important when we consider what happened yesterday in San Francisco. During the Full-Crewed Farallones Race, from the Bay to the Farallones Islands 25 miles out, one boat (Low Speed Chase, a Sydney 38) was hit by a big wave and several crew were washed aboard. The remaining crew tried to rescue those overboard, but they could only recover one body before they were smashed on the rocks. The Coast Guard was able to rescue three crew members and the deceased. Four are still missing. This will probably be the worse sailing accident in the history of SF Sailing. 

Low Speed Chase was a well-sailed boat, and we often raced in the same class. (editors note: Macando came to Southern California after years of racing in SF Bay) The conditions were normal for this time of year: 25 kts of wind, but seas were about 10-15 feet. It was probably a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. You just never know what will happen. You just have to be as safe as possible when you can.

I hope everyone else enjoyed the rest of their weekend. Let's hope the CG finds the remaining crew.

Camilo

Subject: Re: What a Night!
From: Camilo 
Date: Sun, April 15, 2012 8:51 pm

Here's a quick note from Mike Trujillo of the LAYC:

Hi Camilo

Thanks for the note, and very sad about the SF incident. Honestly, I was worried during every moment of our race. The conditions were brutal, and we sure didn't want anyone to get hurt. 

See below, Sleeper finishing. Unconfirmed, but we hear that jib blew out at the island. Meaning how far sailing on main only in those conditions?!

Windancer said you guys were smoking out there! By the time they got to the island, only 2 of 7 could work. The rest too seasick. Many anecdotes about their trip. 86 year old dad PK Edwards at helm coming in.  Tough dudes!

Camilo, thanks so much for supporting the series. Some serious conditions all three races. Some years we have no wind at all. 

Give a call sometime. 

Mike

©Kathryn St. Amant and CaptainKathy.com, 2012, All Rights Reserved

Adventure Finds ME

Many of my sailing days seem to turn into real adventures. I tell these stories often while sailing long nights, or around drinks at the yacht club. I finally decided it was time to write some of them down. This is for me as much as for anyone who wants to come along for the ride.

Sometimes I think the stories grow into bigger tales over the years. I sometimes double check with my friends who were involved in the stories to cross check the facts. I must admit here, they really have not gotten much bigger. I have just had a slew of fun days on the water! These are some of my stories. The past couple of months, March and April 2012, have sent a few adventures my way. I am starting this blog with those. I will write up more as the days go on.

One more thing I want to add here... GO OUT AND GET SOME OF YOUR OWN!