California MacGregors and Ventures

[Ben]

Hi Everyone;
"Seas the Moment" is still berthed at Don Pedro Res so we will not be able to make it this year. Hope everyone has a great time. Ben & Helen

[mgg4]

Well, we missed a lot of you, but we did have four boats show up for our rendezvous.

Frank brought "Summer Wind" (Venture 2-24) down from Windsor, and Kevin brought "Dwen" ('04 Mac 26M) from Roseville. They both arrived a day early (on Thursday), and had some fun with our 15-25 MPH winds in the delta. Frank had a new sail, and struggled a bit.

Rob brought his unnamed '95 Mac 26X up from Clovis on Friday, and my wife and I (and our dog "Elsie) arrived in "Offline" ('02 Mac 26X) at about 6:00 Friday afternoon (Had to work a half-day).

Everyone got settled in, and we bid farewell to the crew of "Dwen". They had some other commitments for Saturday, so they had to leave Friday night. We kept "Dwen" company until they returned.

Saturday morning, Frank also had to head home, so we didn't get a chance to sail with him. (Frank, I'm looking forward to next time. Hopefully things will work out for the best.) That left the two 26X's to go out for a sail.

As Rob had some fairly new crew, we elected to go out under reefed main only, just to keep things nice and controlled. Winds were fairly steady at 10-20 MPH, and we just stayed in a small patch of water that was a beam reach up and back. After a few circuits, we headed back in to get ready for dinner. All in all, we had a great time on the water. Managed to get up to about 4.4 knots of water speed under the reefed main. Rob normally sails in Millterton Lake (Central California), and the winds in the Delta were a bit more brisk. Rob seemed to like the spirited conditions, and his crew seemed to agree.

The potluck on Saturday was just Rob and his family, and my wife and me. Everyone else was either gone, or not yet back. Even though the gathering was small, we had a good time.

Sunday morning, the crew of "Dwen" had returned. Rob needed to head home, so we got him around to the boat ramp, and Kevin and I made plans for a longer sail. I was also heading home, but because I had sailed into Brannan Island, I was able to sail home. As before, we elected to go out with reefed main only.

I took a longer way home, just so "Dwen" would have company for a longer time. Even though Kevin has only had his boat since January, he is doing great. I can tell you that a lightly loaded "M" will outsail a fully loaded "X". There were a few times when I had the better hand, but those times were few.

All-in-all, I think everyone had a good time. Every seemed to be looking forward to next year, so we should start planning soon. Need to pick a weekend, and someone needs to propose a location for us to gather. The Delta is nice, but I was thinking we might want to spread this around a bit. Of course, if you want to come back to the Delta, there is a lot more water than we sailed on this past weekend, and lots more to do.

I have some pictures, and I know Rob and Kevin took some pictures as well. I'll have my posted shortly, and will update this forum with the link.

--
Mark Galbraith
Mac 26X "Offline" (2002)
Oakley, CA

[Kevin]

This was a great time. The sail on Sunday couldn't be beat.

On the incredible long run we ended the day with we maintained a steady 7.6 knots by GPS for more than an hour!

Here are some pictures from the trip.







I appreciate the kind words from Mark, but there is no doubt that he outsailed us on every tack. There's nothing like following someone that knows what he's doing to learn from.

[Norm]

Nice pics Kevin! Glad everything went well. I took my boat out to our local lake on Sunday and it seems my impeller has gone bad after only a year and a half. So we derigged and went home without being able to leave the launch ramp. Glad I didn't tow it all the way to the delta only to be disapointed.

[HERNDON]

Best sailing of my MacGregor life of 1 year 7days. I am planning on heading back again this year. I will email some pics to everyone.

Thanks............Rob

[mgg4]

Nice pics Kevin! Glad everything went well. I took my boat out to our local lake on Sunday and it seems my impeller has gone bad after only a year and a half. So we derigged and went home without being able to leave the launch ramp. Glad I didn't tow it all the way to the delta only to be disapointed.

In the Delta, they recommend changing the impeller every 12 months. I've been pushing my luck at 24 months, but it's going to be changed in July.

--Mark

[mgg4]

Best sailing of my MacGregor life of 1 year 7days. I am planning on heading back again this year. I will email some pics to everyone.

Thanks............Rob

Glad you enjoyed yourself. You should have been with me yesterday. We sailed from Benicia to the Antioch Bridge (About 24 miles), all at a beam reach to a run. Winds were 10-20, with an occasional higher gust (around 25) and we had full main and 100% jib out. We got up to about 8 knots of water speed (not calibrated) and over 10 knots on the GPS over the bottom speed (with a push from the flood current). We left at 9:30am and were on the trailer by 13:50. I don't think I could have made it much faster if I was under power, and I definately burned less fuel without the engine.

As you say, *that* was the best sailing day...


--Mark

[mgg4]

Ok. We had a good turnout, but I know there are more of you out there. Perhaps Father's Day wasn't such a good weekend to take you away from your families.

I know you're still thinking about this year's sailing season, but let's keep an eye on the calendar and see if we can find a day that fits most of our schedules. I belong to several cruising groups, and I don't know what their schedule is yet, but as soon as I have it, I'll be starting a new thread to see if we can put together a 2005 California Mac/Ven gathering.

So, keep your eyes and ears open, and let me know when and where you'd like to get together next year. Doesn't have to be the Delta, but I would be willing to act as "Host" again next year if no one comes up with another suggestion.

--Mark

[Norm]

Crystal Bay at Tahoe is a really nice rendezous place. Problem is that the only place to launch in S. Lake Tahoe is Tahoe Keys Marina, and that place is a real pain in the butt. Camp Richardson is great to launch from but last year and this year the launch ramps are closed because the lake level is too low they say. We won't even go to Tahoe this year it's so much of a hassle at Tahoe Keys. Maybe next year Richardson will be open. That would be nice.

Another place that I've been wanting to sail is Lake Shasta. It's a bit of a drive, but a beautifull Lake. Just a couple suggestions.

[HERNDON]

http://home.comcast.net/~herndon.d/wsb/ ... html-.html

Hope this works...just posted pics on my first website. Click on Pics at top.

Rob

[HERNDON]

Yeah it works....

[mgg4]

Thanks for posting your pics, Rob. Seems there were a lot of them of me and Brenda (and "Offline"), but then we did sail together. Unfortunately, I didn't think to drag the camera out when we were in open water, but I think I have one or two of your boat. I've been swamped and I'll be getting them out of the camera in the next day or so.

--Mark

[HERNDON]

MarK:
I actually had more which included pics of Dwen and Kevin's brother
but I have reached my limit. Lookimg forward to the next sailing
adventure. Sounds like your trip went well. I believe Kevin and his
brother should be enroute to San Diego for the trip to Mexico. When
we come back to the Delta maybe we can hook up again.

Rob