[Rhodes22-list] FL Sailing Trip

Mon May 11 15:19:00 EDT 2009

Captain Bob,
 Thanks for the report and write up. Kinda  funny though. Even  with the 
boom room up, Yankee Clipper still looks pretty puny next to those mega  
yachts. 

Rummy

In a message dated 5/11/2009 1:56:12 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
r22yankeeclipper at hotmail.com writes:

Hello All,

My wife and I just returned from a  trailersailing trip to southwest 
Florida last week and I wanted to share some  findings and pictures with the 
group.  We drove from Richmond Hill, GA  (near Savannah) to Punta Gorda, FL (100 
miles south of Tampa) on Saturday and  it took us 7.5 hours (420 miles).  
Art Czerwonky and Tom Simpson drove  down to meet us at the municiple marina 
and boat ramp called Laishley  Park.  It is a great facility and the day we 
got there they were having a  redfish tournament with professionals and ESPN 
coverage.  Other than  tight parking, it did not impact us at all.  This was 
our 6th trip there  in the last 7 years, but the first time we went as late 
as May and we were  rewarded with perfect weather - highs in the mid 80's 
and winds were 10-15  knots, mostly out of the south (compared with the 
typical 15-25 knots we  usually get in April).  We spent 5 nights on the boat, 
which we both  agree is our limit.  Went to Tween Waters on Captiva, Cabbage 
Key and  Boca Grande which has an outstanding new (since the hurricane of 
'04) marina  that is first rate.  All the facilities we visited were rebuilt in 
the  past 5 years and were all in great condition.  The sailing was really  
great on this trip because we were able to sail with the poptop up and the  
sails all unfurled which is the first time we have ever been able to do 
that  in FL.  That said, let's get to our findings:

This was  the first trip we made with the Boom Room and it was the biggest 
upgrade we  have made to the trip.   It makes overnighting on the boat much  
nicer for a number of reasons.  First is that it is modular in that you  
can put up as much as you need and a little at a time.  This makes  assembly 
easier because you can do it gradually.  Very easy to take down  and put up - 
after my second time I was putting it up in 10-15 minutes - the  top first 
which is a great sunshade for the cockpit.  Then I would put up  the bow 
screens and add the other panels as the sun moved to keep the cockpit  
comfortable.  The side panels are lightweight materials and are very easy  to work 
with, ie: you do not break a sweat putting this up.  The other  nice aspect 
is that when you wake up in the morning, the cockpit is not  covered with dew 
as it used to be.  Doesn't sound like a big deal, but a  dry cockpit also 
stays cleaner - after a week the boat was just as clean as  when we started.  
Last but not least, the Boom Room is very easy to stow  and store and does 
not take up a lot of space.  The BR is a very nice  addition and I recommend 
it if anyone is going to be sleeping aboard for any  amount of time.  
Due to the above, I will be selling my Pop-Top  enclosure if anyone is 
interested.  Very good condition - all snaps &  screens intact.
I think I got the idea on this list to actually fill up the  icebox 
(ice-holder) for the fridge with water and freeze it before going on  such a trip.  
I tried this and actually froze it for a week before the  trip and it works 
amazingly well.  The ice lasted for four days compared  with 1 day for ice 
cubes!  Amazing in that this would last almost the  whole trip.  The only 
problem was that my box cracked on the bottom,  maybe due to it being frozen 
or being old, so as the ice melted it got the  carpet in the boat wet and 
kept it that way.  Anyone else ever have that  happen?  I am going to try and 
fix it with silicone or maybe get a new  one from Stan.  I just hope the new 
one won't crack from freezing  also...
This was the first time I tried out my new 150 genoa (vs. the old  175) and 
it was a huge improvement.  The boat pointed a lot better into  the wind, 
even when furled.  The new sail does not slip over the furling  tube like the 
old ones did and I think the new design is much better.   Just having a new 
sail probably accounted for most of the improvement.   Time will tell but I 
expect this new sail will be much better on the coast  where I sail since I 
almost always had to furl the 175.
I have given up on  a dinghy for the R22.  I had a Sea Eagle (6H) 
inflatable and it was a  PITA to carry (bulky) and then inflate once the anchor is 
down.  So I  tried to tie it off to the stern rail and drag it behind me but 
it really was  a lot of drag and it slowed us down quite a lot (I would say 
by 1 knot).   Then I had patched a leak (on the seam of course) several years 
ago and tested  it out before we left and it was fine.  Naturally when I 
inflated it on  day 1 the patch was leaking.  Because of that I could not row 
it very  well against the wind at the anchorage.  Finally when we got to the 
 marina I gave it away to some unlucky person.  Glad to get that POS off  
the boat.  Not sure if anyone has the perfect inflatable for the R-22,  but 
maybe a two-person inflatable kayak?  It would have to be light,  compact, 
easy to inflate/deflate, durable and of course easy to  row.

That is pretty much it for this trip and these findings except  that my 
wife and I are realizing that one of the keys is to simplify and take  less 
with us rather than more.  We've been taking too much of everything:  clothes, 
food and other stuff that are not needed.  The simpler the  better.  I now 
have her convinced to keep doing this twice a year, so  October is the next 
one.  

If I come up with any more  "findings" I will post them.

Bob  K

_________________________________________________________________
Hotmail®  goes with you.  
http://windowslive.com/Tutorial/Hotmail/Mobile?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_HM_Tutorial
_Mobile1_052009
--------------  next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name:  DSCN1139.JPG
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 47947 bytes
Desc: not  available
Url :  
http://www.rhodes22.org/pipermail/rhodes22-list/attachments/20090511/6191d852/attachment.JPG  
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was  scrubbed...
Name: DSCN1140.JPG
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 52069  bytes
Desc: not available
Url :  
http://www.rhodes22.org/pipermail/rhodes22-list/attachments/20090511/6191d852/attachment-0001.JPG  
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was  scrubbed...
Name: DSCN1199.JPG
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 48449  bytes
Desc: not available
Url :  
http://www.rhodes22.org/pipermail/rhodes22-list/attachments/20090511/6191d852/attachment-0002.JPG  
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was  scrubbed...
Name: DSCN1202.JPG
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 42793  bytes
Desc: not available
Url :  
http://www.rhodes22.org/pipermail/rhodes22-list/attachments/20090511/6191d852/attachment-0003.JPG  
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was  scrubbed...
Name: DSCN1204.JPG
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 44219  bytes
Desc: not available
Url :  
http://www.rhodes22.org/pipermail/rhodes22-list/attachments/20090511/6191d852/attachment-0004.JPG  
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was  scrubbed...
Name: DSCN1213.JPG
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 41773  bytes
Desc: not available
Url :  
http://www.rhodes22.org/pipermail/rhodes22-list/attachments/20090511/6191d852/attachment-0005.JPG  
__________________________________________________
To  subscribe/unsubscribe or for help with using the mailing list go to  
http://www.rhodes22.org/list
__________________________________________________

**************An Excellent Credit Score is 750. See Yours in Just 2 Easy 
Steps! 
(http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100126575x1222585010x1201462743/aol?redir=http://www.freecreditreport.com/pm/default.aspx?sc=668072&hmpgID=62&bcd=May
Excfooter51109NO62)