Catalina 42 Rendezvous in Genoa Bay BC 2011

2011 Catalina 42 Rendezvous

Genoa Bay Marina, British Columbia, Canada

May 5-8, 2011

A rendezvous is a gathering of boats that have something in common, usually the manufacturer.  The Catalina 42 rendezvous is unique for the NW in that we are a specific size too.  The sharing of information from other owners is the best part with discussions on issues specific to our vessels. 

There are two rendezvous for C-42s each year.  The spring one is usually in the San Juans and the fall gathering is usually in Poulsbo down south.  This year saw us heading up to BC to Genoa Bay which is just on the north part of Cowichan Bay.  Jah Mon had never been there but will be going back.

There are a couple of all Catalina rendezvous too.  One in Seattle somewhere and one at Thetis Island’s Telegraph Harbor for August 25/26 which would be a good one to go to.

This rendezvous in Genoa Bay had a good schedule for Jah Mon.  It turned out to be the weekend after the Anacortes Yacht Club’s Cruise and Race to Sucia.  It just made sense to do a full week on the water so the cruise started with us going out to race on the morning of April 30.

Catalina 42 Rendezvous and Sucia Race April 30-May 12 2011

Sucia Race Crew:  Count Enrico Ferrari, Rear Admiral John Papajani, ‘Blingster’ Bill Ling, and ‘Polisher’ Patrick Gonzales.

Saturday, April 30, 2011:  Day 1

Arrival at Anacortes Marina was at 8:00 AM for the Count.  Having to take down 3 cart loads of bedding and other good stuff, it was disappointing to do it in a big rain shower!  Bill had packed his 2 loads down before the rain shower and JP had stayed aboard the previous night. Patrick even brought one cart load.

Count Ferrari returning multiple carts

Anacortes Yacht Club mixed the cruisers with the racers.  All boats were heading to Fossil Bay on Sucia at the top of the San Juans.  The Pavilion and big fire ring was reserved, the Cruisers went out Friday and the Racers started at 9:30 AM in Anacortes and raced.  Six boats started and only one boat, Emonayi, finished in the allotted time.

Jah Mon, a 1994 Catalina 42, blew the start by leaving early at 9:15 under power and only looked back to see if anyone was in sight.  The only boat we saw was Mac and Wendy’s Panagea, a Baltic 39.  They were motoring.  There was no wind for most of the journey.  The Iron Spinnaker (the 50 hp diesel)  was our friend.

Jah Mon took Thatcher Pass and went through the inside below Orcas Island and didn’t put up sails until Sucia was in sight.  We sailed into Fossil Bay and pronounced ourselves first and no one believed us.  We will have to work on our credibility.

We had lunch on a mooring buoy at Jones Island on our way to Sucia.  We saw, through the shared binoculars, a party of 12 -16 fit bodies walking around and we watched them explore as we ate a fabulous lunch of French Dip in Au jus.

John and Patrick had to do all the sailing and managed to get us up to 3.8k!  Bill and I played cribbage while being crewed to our destination.  Sails were dropped and we motored in and got the last mooring buoy.   No chanting!

Our trip route to Sucia from Anacortes.  The zig zag was sailing at up to 3.8k!

We set up L’il Mon, the inflatable dinghy, and motored in with our donated firewood for the fire pit.  It appeared there were 15 – 20 boats from AYC.  A good turn out!  The weather was sunny after we got into the San Juans.

We had dinner Surf and Turf (halibut and NY steak), coleslaw and spicey dirty rice (Zatarains) aboard and then walked the beaches and sat by the large bon fire. 

Sunday, day 2, May 1:  We departed in the full sun toward Friday Harbor but stopped at Jones Island State Park at the dock on the north side.

Prowling Jones Island State Park in the San Juans.

Bling, JP, and Polisher on Jones Island State Park.

There was a walkabout for the entire crew and a deer sighting but the fit bodies had departed so looking for them was in vain.  JP looked very carefully.

Rear Admiral (Albainian Navy) John Papajani, instructing Polisher Patrick.

The Rear Admiral was instructing Polisher on the finer points of cruising and managed to point out the ‘WWI battleship’ that makes up Battleship Island.  Patrick was told it was a wrecked battleship from 1917.  He was amazed there were even trees on it.  Hmmmm… should anyone tell him?

Lunch was salmon burgers in route to Roche Harbor where we took a dock for $36/night and then met up with Chris who chauffeured us to the disc golf course near the end of the runway at the Roche Harbor airport.  We had a fun round playing on the challenging 18 hole course.  We had Blingster out doing the Nancy Sinatra work for us, he was walking out ahead of the drives spotting the throws so we could find our discs in the deep underbrush.

The disc golf scores are approximate:  CF  +8, CB  +15, JP  +15, and PPG +15.

Polisher found his gun on this course.  He was winging some 250’ with ease!  A transformation in his game.  He will have to go to www.discnation.com and order whatever disc it was he borrowed from Chris.  He was ripping it even if it did go wrong and long a couple of times.

 Polisher, Bling, Rear Admiral, and CB on the disc course at Roche Harbor.

Chris took JP and PPG to the ferry and left Bling and CF at the dock on a bay.  We retired to Jah Mon and had dinner of halibut tacos with chocolate cake from a neighboring C42 friend and cribbage.  It was a very still night.  We had done no tying off of halyards or even gasketing the mainsail.  Not a rattle all night thankfully.

Monday May 2, 2011:  Day 3

The rain started falling 20 minutes after waking at 7:00 AM.  It was a soaker!  It stopped for a bit after lunch and we took off but found a bunch more as we neared Stuart Island so we pulled into Reid Harbor instead of going over to BC’s Bedwell Harbor.  We will clear over there tomorrow and then go to Ganges, weather permitting.

We took one of the 11 moorings available and had an early dinner of chicken, our own dirty rice, and salad.  The dock was open so we motored over to register and take the 1 mile walk around to Prevost Harbor.  The sun came out for good around 5 PM so it inspired us to get dinner down early and get out for some exercise. 

Jah Mon at the dock in Reid Harbor, Stuart Island.

Jah Mon on the dock in Reid Harbor on Stuart Island State Marine Park.  The lack of boats made it easy to come in and register without having to get the dink off the foredeck.

Bill and I slept well after playing cribbage.  The boat was on a mooring and we had a very pleasant evening.

Tuesday May 3:  Day 4

We woke up late.  It was already 8:30 when we rolled out to turn on the furnace for the morning.  We had banana bread and coffee, deferring breakfast to brunch later.  After motoring into the dock at the park, I went off to shoot a photo of the boat at the dock and had to scramble around the cliffs to get a clear shot.

Bill was in the Clivus Multrum doing his morning duty.  By the time we got back to the boat it was 10:00 AM and the tide was going out from under the boat at the dock.  We might have had 7” left under the keel since it was to be another minus tide.  Once we were off the dock it was all good.  There were blue skies, very little wind and a trip across the border to get under our belts.

The crossing to BC was easy and flat with a motor moving us along at 7+ knots.  We did conclude the autopilot computer was toast and thought a bang on it with a wrench might fix it but more research was needed. 

We cleared customs at Bedwell Harbor quickly and grabbed a mooring buoy at the nearby park to make and eat brunch (1:30PM) and it was  really good.  We fried up some chunked up brauts, sautéed onions and mushrooms, and had a great egg scramble with cheese.

The scramble for lunch.

Blingster is seen here putting the finishing cheese touch on the scramble for lunch.  Yummmmmmmmm!  Note our constant table fare:  Crib board and candy!

Jah Mon was ready to go so we headed the 16.7 miles to Ganges and actually sailed for 45 minutes but then the wind cut off.  We pulled into the public wharf.  Bill backed us right in handily.  We watched the locals move one of the tired boats out, the wharf had just shifted from monthly rates to daily rates, and they had to move to a cheaper dock. (Our rate was $32 without power).  There was no ramming but it appeared it was difficult to maneuver, even with a tender to push it around.  The tender driver was more interested in his hamburger and beer.  The driver was dealing with transmissions that didn’t shift every time and everyone was ready to fend them off.  It was good entertainment.

It was off to the disc golf course to look for the goods and local players.  What a great town for tourists! We found some quiche for breakfast the next day at the bakery, then came back to the boat.  Dinner used more of the fried brauts, added onions and mushrooms again into a Ragu red sauce over penne pasta accompanied with a salad.  Yummy!

We walked the streets of  Ganges and found the skate park and watched the kids do amazing things on their bicycles,  jumps, 360s, landing backwards and pedaling, and only 1/6 with a helmet.  Indestructable!  We saw the most aggressive lad do a crash that had him groaning and laughing but he hit pretty hard all over his body.   OUCH.  He had to laugh it off or lose face to the others.  Seemed like normal teen behavior to me.

Ganges Skate Park by the middle school.

The skate park in Ganges with lots of good tag art.

200' of fish art by the students here in Ganges.

Thursday, May 7, 2011:

There was fantastic fish art on the fence that was done by the students.  Nice illustrations on the building and some good tag art on the surface of the skate park.  There are many artistic endeavors in this community.  Most of them are good too.

Ganges to Genoa Bay BC.  The green represents a bit of sailing.  The most of the trip!

We departed Ganges to make the run over to Genoa Bay.  We sailed a bit once we got into Cowichan Bay but it was pretty light air.  We departed Ganges around 9:00 AM and arrived in Genoa around 1:00 PM and were the 3^rd boat to arrive.  We chose to tie up at the end of the dock so we could easily go out and demonstrate spinnaker sailing (which no one wanted to do as it turned out).  We did have very nice and private spot on the dock though.

The players are shown below with their vessels in no particular order.

John and Ann from Brentwood Bay  on Satarie, Mk II (2000)

Rick and Bob from Blaine (boat) or Idaho (residence)
 whichever you prefer.  Camelot, Mk I, (1990)

Don and Jan Paget, our organizers, from Maple Bay YC.
 Tehillah, Mk II, (2007)

Jeff, Rita, and Ken, our outgoing National C42 org president
 on Solaria from Anacortes Marina.  Solaria, Mk II (2005)

Bill and Lynda (hockey nut) living on their C42 in BC,
 wherever they are.  Knot Today, MkII (1996)

Betty and Casey on their lovely C 32.  Invitation II, (2003)

Diane, Rebecca, Dick and Jake the beagle from
Anacortes’ Skyline Marina.  A Lil R&R, MkII, (2005?)

Bill 'Bling' Ling and Count Enrico Ferrari from Anacortes.
  Jah Mon, Mk I, (1994 the last year of the Mk I)

Friday, May 6, 2011:

(This part is for the Catalina 42 owners and others with Yanmar motors in their boats) (Other leisure researchers might scroll through this bit without fault).

The presentations begin.  We started with a Yanmar workshop given by Steven Ross, 1-886-948-5996 or steven@landseapower.com, and his boss (I didn’t get his card).  They drove a van in and unloaded a new Yanmar 2 cylinder motor to point at while on the talking points.  Apparently Yanmar and Kubota are the motor install for 80% of sailboat auxiliary motors.  I know I love my own 4 cylinder that just keeps chugging.

Things to note:

1.  Transmission oil should be NON detergent single weight (30 wt)
2. Change out impeller every 2 years.  Use Johnson Pump impellers and soap for installation lube.
3. Oil changes every 100 hours or each year for sure.  The age of the oil is more important than the hours so when I put 150 hours on in two months, that was not an issue.
4. Injectors, valves, and heads looked over every 2500 hours.
5. Check engine mounts for cracking after 5 years.  Replace if seen.
6. Run Wide Open Throttle for 15 minutes every 5 hours.  The engines love to be run hard.  IF you cannot get 3400 RPM at WOT you may be propped a bit strong.  ( I can rev to 3600 but only ran at 3400 for the burn off 15 minutes).  Cruising revs should be around 2500, but 2800 is no worries.
7. Check hoses and belts regularly for cracks and soft bulges, replace if seen.  Use Yanmar hoses as they are preformed for the correct shape.  Belts from auto stores are fine.
8. If there is white dust in your engine compartment, check the heat exchange exhaust riser.  Replace if there are micro holes.  (This is where the white dust (salt) comes from.)  Catalina can supply you with the stainless risers or get the cast iron from Yanmar.
9. Stana Dyne was a recommended engine additive, but I cannot remember why.
10. Biocides in fuel are a good idea.
11. Fuel stabilizers are good if the boat is not to be used in a year.  Diesel is good for one year apparently.
12. DO NOT SAIL in REVERSE GEAR.  For feathering props, put them in reverse to get the feather and then put them in the CORRECT (from Yanmar Advisory MSA08-003) position of neutral!

There was a 1400ish presentation by Bill Manahan on showing off the modifications made to live aboard Knot Today which we missed.

Then a most excellent wine and cheese party put on by Simon Cox, the local Catalina dealer for BC.  It was lavish!  Lots of wine and fancy cheeses and other fun knoshes.  We were all fed with really good stuff!  I think this is the best spread I have seen by a yacht dealer in the 5 rendezvous I have been to.  Yacht Sales West is to be commended!  I am sure this event was what caused me to gain 3 lbs for the week....

Saturday, May 7, 2011:


Genoa Bay Marina put on a continental breakfast of fancy pastries, fruit, and coffee.  It was very pretty and tasty!  A good way to start the day and made me like this marina even more!  Again, this bit of extra food was  over budget for my waistline.

The agenda for the day included an expert on hydronic heaters and then a technical discussion between the owners followed by a Power Point presentation from Count Ferrari on how the mighty Jah Mon went around Vancouver Island in May and June of 2010. 

Bill, Rita (from Solaria), and I went on a great hike to the ridge view point (536 meters elevation) that was attained in about 1:20 going up and :55 coming down.  A great hike that had views that just kept getting better as we went up the hill.

The fleet is just visible at the tree line.

Rita and Bling looking southwest  toward Duncan on
Vancouver Island.

We were back to the boat for lunch and a nap.  I signed up for internet from the Marina wifi for $5 / 24 hours with a very good signal.  Rita and Bill helped me set up the computer projector and screen in the new kiosk in the roofed over dock gathering area. 

The wind and cheese party apres shot.  Simon on the left
with his lovely wife.  You can see a bit of the roofed
gathering area for the dock.

We next got our showers and got dinner ready for the fleet potluck where there was too much food (as usual).  After we were all stuffed, Shirley who we met on the dock, invited the boys to see the 41’ Cooper sailboat hull she had in her living room.  The girls came along too!  What a huge house.  7000 sq ft with 10 bedrooms and 9 baths, was the old mill bunkhouse and cook area. 

A Cooper 41 hull hanging in the living room!  Full size.

This lovely lady is unique.  How many people go out in their kayak and drag logs back to the beach, let the tide go out, buck up the wood and then split it?  She had put up 6 cords this past winter!  Her gardens were in bloom and looking good.  Everywhere one cast an eye was an interesting bit or antique.  This home visit was worth the trip!

Count Ferrari in the front room admiring the America's Cup
Illustration with the Aussie Dame Patti and the US Defender.

You can see Bob walking under the boat and he is 6'!

The movie for the evening was a free loaner from the Marina.  Knight and Day was the title with Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz.  Lots of shooting in this thing and it was a very easy plot to follow as it was very thin.  Rating is 2 stars out of 5 but fun.

Sunday, May 8, 2011: 

Bill and I got up around 8 AM and had coffee prior to wandering down the dock and meeting the others who were left at the dock.  Solaria left before we woke up and L’il R&R left around 8:30 with both of them heading back to Anacortes. 

Don Paget had coffee for all and then some.  He is to be congratulated on setting up a fantastic and fun rendezvous.  I know I will be coming back to this dock with anyone who will go with me.  Don and Bill took off from here to go up to Chatterbox Falls in Princess Louisa Inlet which is a very fine and famous sight among cruisers here in the NW.

Blingster and I headed up to visit Shirley in her huge house, taking back a tarp she loaned us to use as a windbreak during the potluck.  We had promised to show her how to start her weed eater and that was easy.  We promised to come back and visit.

Back at the dock, we departed around 9:30 AM and motored out in very flat water, riding the outflowing tide, with small blue clouds here and there.  Our destination was Port Sidney Marina which we tied up in at 10:30, after negotiating the multiple islands near Canoe Cove and the Swartz Bay Ferries. 

We tied up and found out we now have to pay $5 for an hour tie up and the rate for overnight is now $1.50 a foot.  We wandered the town and got an ice cream as Bill had not seen Sidney before.  The bricked walkway along the water is just gorgeous and the town has anything you might need, so high marks are to be awarded for a Sidney stop.

The tide was still flowing out and gave us over 8k over the ground as we headed out and across to the US.  We got caught in the antiwater flow out Speiden Channel and found out later it would have been much better to leave it to starboard when heading to Friday Harbor to clear Customs during an outflow tide.  Friday Harbor had no boats at the Customs dock and we met an officer who was actually civil and fun to talk with.  That is a first for me.  Life is good.

The path home, all in one day and it was pretty easy!  Some 55 km...

The weather had bits of sun and the tides were good for us to get to Anacortes in record time so we left Friday Harbor around 4:20 and got into Anacortes around 7:00 PM with a very easy day of about 56km!  Bill made a good 6 egg scramble with all sorts of good stuff in it.  He and I had a last game of cribbage since we were tied at 12 and 12 for the trip.  I managed to get a skunk on him!   We loaded up 2 carts of clothes and sleeping bags and headed home around 9:00 PM. 

The question, after doing something like this... Would I do it again?  ABSOLUTELY!!!