Kona Kai Marina April 2008 Newsletter

San Diego Approves Controversial "Bay-to-Bay" Canal!
Boaters to be Able to Cruise From Mission Bay to San Diego Bay Via "Venice-Like" Waterway
Dateline San Diego - April 1, 2008 - In a surprise move behind closed doors, the San Diego City Council and the San Diego Port District resurrected and approved the controversial plan to build a navigable waterway between Mission Bay and San Diego Bay.

The original plan was tabled in 2002 as unfeasible, but recent renewed interest by major development groups sparked the reconsideration of the plan.

Plans for the canal call for a 300 foot wide waterway with a mean depth of 12 feet, with bridges tall enough to accommodate the typical 40 foot sailboat. (See Bay to Bay Connection). The entrance to the canal on the San Diego bay side will be near the ASW school and Liberty Station.

Waterfront properties for private homes and condo complexes with boat slips will line both sides of the canal.

San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders lauded the landmark decision to build the canal saying "This project will bring in enough money to wipe out the pension deficit in less than five years."

Port Chairman Michael Bixler added "We'll probably wipe out an endangered specie or two in the process, but hey, you can't stop progress!"

Councilwoman Donna Frye, the only dissenting vote, could not be reached for comment.

From the Poop Deck - Local Fisherman Receives "Seal of Approval"
O.K. - So there might just possibly be one or two cute animals other than yours truly! Personally, I don't think so, but if there were, this might be one of them.

After many years of fishing, Seaforth Marina's Eddy Torrez finally brought home a champion sized catch of the sea ... or was it the other way around???

While fishing off La Jolla, a cute seal pup jumped onto the swim step of Eddy's boat, Seeker, and sauntered through the open transom door.

He immediately made himself comfortable on a cockpit seat, kicked his head back and thoroughly enjoyed the leisurely cruise back to Mission Bay!

Eddy's not totally sure, but he could swear he thought he heard the pup ask for a brewsky.

Sea World was notified about the cute hitch-hiker, but when they arrived back at the marina four hours later, Eddy's catch decided to abandon ship and was last seen looking for a free ride back to La Jolla.

Editor's Note: Madeline is always on the lookout for boating animal stories. Click Here to send Madeline an e-mail about your animal story.

The Call of the Water
- By Russ Cornelius
If the saying "A boater's two best days are the day he buys his boat and the day he sells his boat," is true, then Mike Morse has had many great days.

Mike's addiction to boating started in 1982 when he purchased a 12' Dolphin sailboat. A year later he moved to a 14' ski-boat followed the next year with a 25' Coronado. Betraying his subtle and complicated sense of humor, his Coronado was named "Semper Ubi Sub Ubi" which literally translated means "Always Where Under Where".

Being able to spend extended periods of time on his boats has guided Mike's career choices of being a professor at USD and being an expert witness in electrical injury. Lots of free time in the summer as well as the periodic sabbaticals was compatible with lots of boating time.

After a few years of owning a 37' Islander, Mike bought a 47' Gulfstar Sailmaster in 1994 which became his home. Adventure beyond sailing the coastal waters called to Mike in 2001, so he sailed to Hawaii and then Alaska with a crew made up of power boaters. The stories of camaraderie and near mutinies will last in his mind forever.

It's 2004, Mike is now newly married with instant children. So with the plan to have a home on the water roomy enough for everyone, Mike makes the move to a 60' Lien Hwa. Whoa Mike. Your passion for boating and living on the water does not catch on. Other than a summer cruise to the Channel Islands, Mike is tethered to living on land and cruising San Diego Bay.

What to do? In 2007, Mike gets a second boat, a 34' CHB which he keeps in Anacortes, WA. He spent most of last summer cruising the San Juan Islands with family and friends. And as this article is being written, he is on a shake-down cruise to test some modifications on his CHB before he starts a trek this summer up to Alaska. Oh, Mike's Lien Hwa is for sale, and once that is sold, he'll buy himself a boating toy for the San Diego area. Mike just keeps having "best" days.

Editor's Note: Russ Cornelius is a yacht broker with California Yacht Sales. Counting his service in the Navy, Russ has been boating since the early 70s and is one of those rare yacht brokers who actually owns a boat. There's something addictive about being on the water. Boaters know the draw. Many boaters will give up so many other things just so they can have their boat. Large or small. Power or sail. Fishing or cruising. Russ' column is about these boaters. If you know someone who you think would be interesting for everyone to read about, shoot him an email and let him know about them.

Leech Lines and Longevity
- By Brad Poulos
All sails today come equipped with leech lines or cords that enable sailors to stop that annoying flutter between the batten pockets on your mainsail or up the entire leech of your genoa. This flutter usually gets more pronounced as the wind increases and in some cases can get so noisy, it becomes difficult to hear anything else.

In the days of Dacron sails, adjusting the leech line was a matter of eliminating a nuisance, nothing more. Today, many cruising sailors and virtually all racing sailors use laminate sails, which places a new importance on properly adjusting the leech line to prevent damage to the sail.

For example, let's consider the leech area in your mainsail between the clew and the lowest batten pocket (see photo). At the very edge of the sail, there is a Dacron tape that encloses the leech line. This tape usually extends 1-2" into the sail and then you are left with whatever laminate the sail is made of. When the leech flutters, the laminate bends or hinges back and forth just inside of this tape and as we have all seen, this frequency of this bending can amount to hundreds of times per minute in a stiff breeze.

To get an idea of what this is doing to the laminate, straighten out a paper clip and flex it back and forth a couple of times. The result is obvious! Of course the metal in a paper clip isn't nearly as flexible as a sail laminate, but Mylar film and some high modulus yarns used in racing sails do break down rather quickly when flexed.

So I'd like to offer some words of advice:
- Pay attention to the leech of your sails and adjust the leech line when the edge of the sail starts to flutter.

- Make sure the leech lines and cleats are adequate for the job. For instance they should be a low stretch line and of sufficient diameter to hold in the cleat. On large genoas, you may need a mechanical advantage (2 or 3:1 or even a small tackle). If your leech line cleat gets stripped and fails to hold the leech line, tighten the leech line and then tie it off until you can get the cleat replaced.

- Your mainsail leech line should be able to be adjusted when the sail is reefed; notice the cleat just above the reef in the picture. Cleats on the leech of the sail cannot be adjusted when the boom is eased out over the water; therefore, some offshore mains have two leech lines, where the second one is led over the top of the sail and down the luff to a cleat at the tack.

Editor's Note: Brad Poulos is the General Manager at UK Sails and holds a US Coast Guard 50-ton masters license. Brad is also an ASA certified sailing instructor. If you have a question regarding the use or care of sails, send an e-mail to brad@BlueSkyNews.com.

Seasickness is No Joke! How to Avoid It
- By Bob Sherman
Those lucky few who have never experienced sea sickness say that it's all in your head, but It's not.

For sure, if it has happened often enough to someone, they may get nauseated by just stepping aboard as a conditioned response, however, seasickness happens more often to ordinary folks than you'd think, and it can turn a fun day into one of the worst experiences of your life.

It has been said about seasickness that at first you feel that you may die; then you worry that you won't.

Having been there myself on occasion, I am very sympathetic to anyone who is so disposed. Prevention works best. Keep updated on the weather and swell condition prior to your trip, and plan accordingly.

When in doubt, medicate! Discuss susceptibility with guests ahead of time. If they are susceptible, they should take medications a full two hours ahead of reaching open water. As a minimum, keep over-the-counter remedies aboard, such as Bonine or Meclizine, wrist bands, Saltine Crackers, Gatorade or similar drinks with electrolytes. Make the remedies readily and discreetly available to your guests. No one wants to admit they are getting queasy, until it is too late. (Then, everyone usually shares their worst motion-sickness stories, making the afflicted person feel even worse. )

I'm not a doctor, so anything I'm talking about here with reference to drugs is purely a personal observation. You should consult your physician to make sure any drug is safe for you to take. Also, be aware that some seasickness medications generally make you drowsy, and may impair judgment. The skipper must weigh these risks compared to incapacitation by seasickness. This makes the alternative use of natural remedies attractive, if you can find one that works for you

The only drug I've found to work once you're feeling bad is Phenergan, also known as Promethazine. It is by prescription, but it often works so well that if you can keep one down, it will work. It is available as an IM injection, if you have someone qualified to administer it. Once it starts to work, you'll need a nap, and probably be wiped out for the rest of the day, but it's better than being miserable.

Check out the internet. The newest products include ginger-based "Queasy Pops", gum, lozenges, and an oral spray called Vita-Motion. Different products work better for different people. The Transderm-Scop patches work well for some and lasts 3 days, but must be taken hours in advance. There is a new pill called "Scopace", that has the same active ingredient, but can just be taken for the day.

A few more tips:

Don't go out with a hangover. It will be many times worse, combined with seasickness.
Don't go to sea on an empty stomach, but avoid rich or greasy foods.
Avoid going below. Use the head before reaching open water. Make sandwiches in advance. Keep them in a cooler in the cockpit or flybridge.
Plot your course ahead of time; minimize time at the nav station, or staring at the chart plotter.
Advise everyone to avoid alcohol until reaching port, except on the calmest days. One beer can feel like six. Avoid drinking alcohol if taking medication; it causes extreme drowsiness.

If afflicted, position guests outside, downwind, and where the least motion is. Don't have sick passengers in the head; they will feel even worse, and the head may become unusable for others. Often they will be cold; try to make them as comfortable as possible. Try whatever remedies you have. Saltine crackers may help. Consider a course change, or diverting for the nearest port, if things get bad.

Find a place to stand relatively stationary, hanging onto something, letting the boat move under you, as it rides the waves. Watch the horizon. If you can use a landmark as opposed to the compass, sometimes steering the boat brings immediate relief.

On a multi-day trip, I find it works best to medicate myself the first day, as a precaution. I take one Phenergan. If it's rough, at the slightest hint of nausea, I take another. On the second day, I halve the dose. After that, the motion actually seems pleasant, and no medication is required.

The key is finding what works best for you. Good luck!

Editor's Note: Bob Sherman has over 19 years of Yacht sales experience and is the owner of YachtSource. He is also qualified to instruct on all vessel types, and has held 100-ton Captain's license since 1982. He is an avid sailor, and scuba diver. You can send an e-mail to Bob at bobsherman@BlueSkyNews.com