First cruise to Santa Cruz Island

This past weekend was our first opportunity to take Juliet to Santa Cruz Island. And what a GREAT weekend it was! This was an organized group cruise with Channel Islands Yacht Club, so we were accompanied by 7 other club boats. This was also the first time we've ever gone to Santa Cruz Island for only one night...something we couldn't really do with previous, slower boats. But Juliet - what a speed demon! While our previous boats could take anywhere from 3 1/2 to 5 hours to make the journey, Juliet powered over there in 2 1/2 hours! That makes it much more doable to head over there just for an overnighter, as we can leave early in the morning on Saturday, get there well before lunch time, and still have most of the day to either relax onboard, kayak around the anchorage, or even go ashore for a hike. And then we can sleep in on Sunday and not feel rushed to get underway in order to get home at a reasonable time.

We provisioned and boarded Friday night, then shoved off at about 9:00 into flat seas and foggy skies.





After the first hour, the thick marine layer began to burn off, the fog lifted and the sun came out.



Bubba did what he loves best when we are under way...napped at Charlie's side.



We picked up a nice breeze, enough to raise the main and get a bit of a lift from that. This brought us up to over 7 knots - wow! The trip seemed to go by SUPER fast. After less than two hours we were passing Anacapa off the port beam.



And before we knew it, there we were, dropping anchor in Yellowbanks! Being a proper galley wench, I whipped up a yummy lunch of tuna & avocado sandwiches, then we dropped the kayak in the water and I went off to explore, and get some shots. Here's the fleet on the hook.



Juliet sure looked beautiful on the hook!







Captain Charlie and his first mate Bubba kept watch.



After a relaxing afternoon, we headed over to one of the larger powerboats in our CIYC fleet for a happy-hour cocktail and appetizer party. What a fun group!



There were so many appetizers that we ended up not needing to make dinner.

Yellowbanks tends to be a bit more rolly than Smugglers, which tends to rock us to sleep, so we retired early. The next morning we were able to sleep in, since we didn't have to rush to raise the anchor. How wonderful! We took off around mid-morning, and were back in our slip by early afternoon.

Juliet performed beautifully, and now we are ready for our week-long trip to Santa Cruz in July.

New House Batteries & Inverter-Charger

Our two 8D 12-volt wet cell house batteries were over six years old and about the end of their useful life. They were taking too much of a charge, overheating, and gassing excessively. We decided to replace the house batteries with six 6-volt AGM batteries. The six 6-volt batteries fit nicely in the original house battery box located under the V-berth. They will provide 570 total amp hours which is a little more than the two 8Ds. In addition, the 6-volt batteries are smaller and will be easier to manage if we need to replace them while cruising.

We chose to go with the Absorbed glass mat (AGM) technology since the do no off-gas, have very low self discharge rates, and recharge faster than the wet cells. The sealed batteries were attractive since the house battery box is under the V-berth and not vented.

Since our original Lewco battery charger was not designed to charge AGM batteries, we added a Magnum 2000 watt / 100 amp inverter-charger complete with a temperature sensor and advanced monitor with remote control module. The battery charger was configured for charging the AGMs and should work well either via shore power or our 5,000 watt diesel generator. I believe it will also run from our backup portable Honda 2000 generator using the power save feature. The inverter is wired to power the 110 volt outlets and microwave. It was not wired to power the water heater or fridge. We installed the battery charger under the starboard side of the V-berth so that it would be close to the house battery bank and have good ventilation. We kept the original Lewco battery charger as a backup.

New Bow Anchor

It"s warming up and we're getting Juliet ready for going to the Channel Islands. We replaced the original 45 Lb CQR plow type anchor with a new ROCNA 73 Lb anchor at the bow. The ROCNAs are supposed to set fast and hold well in most bottom types. I've heard a few horror stories of CQR anchors fouling in the eel grass at Prisoner's Harbor and felt the ROCNA would work better. We upgraded the size to be appropriate for a storm anchor since it often blows over 30 knots at the islands. We also added an extra large Fortress anchor as a spare since it is reasonably light and stows well. We had to have the original custom quick release pin on the bow roller machined down by 2 mm in diameter to fit the hole in the ROCNA's shank. We also replaced the original heavy bronze roller with a slightly thicker and much lighter Delrin roller to make it easier to insert and remove the quick release pin. We tested the anchor in the harbor during our yacht club's Opening Day. The anchor set immediately in the mud and it pulled up nicely into the bow roller. This setup should serve us very well at the islands!

Juliet's first race

Saturday was our first time racing Juliet! We entered her in the Channel Islands Yacht Club's annual Port Royale Regatta, which is a competition that actually involved multiple short races. There were only 7 boats racing - 4 in the J-boat class, and 3 in the PHRF Spinnaker class (we were the 2nd class). So that meant, no matter what, as long as we finished we'd get third place!

Our race crew consisted of skipper Charlie, first mate LeeAnne, crew members Shelly and Larry (experienced racers), and ship mascot Bubba. I should mention that Juliet is by no means a racing boat...she was designed for cruising, and with her heavy full keel and short waterline, tends to be rather slow, so we had no aspirations about winning...this was just for fun and sailing experience.

We were rather disappointed, however, when it turned out to be about the worst possible racing conditions for a heavy boat like Juliet. There was NO WIND! It was overcast and drizzly when we left the slip, and while the drizzle did stop, the sun never came out. The first race started at noon, and we had an excellent start, right up against Fusee, our friend Harry Krum's boat. We tacked almost immediately, and in light variable winds we began building up speed as we headed towards the mark, and watched Fusee and Magic Dragon (the other boat in our class) pull further ahead of us...not unexpectedly, of course. Then, as we watched Fusee and Magic Dragon round the mark, the winds just...DIED! I mean DEAD! All the other boats raised their spinnakers, but even they couldn't catch a puff...they just hung there like deflated balloons. We sat...and bobbed...and eventually drifted to the mark, able to get enough light puffs to round her, and then...bobbed some more.

All the other boats were able to crawl their way to the finish, but Juliet is just too heavy to move in that light air. When we saw that the rest of the fleet had crossed the finish line, and we were moving at about a 1/2 knot with a good mile to go, we gave up and radio'd the committee boat to DNF. We didn't want them to have to wait for us to start the next race.

The second race started shortly thereafter, and the wind did seem to be picking up a bit. We had another good start, this time continuing on our starboard tack for a longer distance before we tacked to port, putting us on a direct rumline for the mark, and on a better course than our competition. We made it to the mark and rounded it, but then again...the wind died. Again all the lighter, faster boats made it in, while we bobbed along at a 1/2 knot. Given the conditions, the race committee decided not to hold the third race, so we didn't feel the pressure to do another courtesy DNF, so we persevered to finish, which we eventually did.

While this was a slow-motion race, it was a lot of fun sailing with Shelly and Larry, and we had some good laughs. It was also an excellent learning experience, as we are still figuring out the ins and outs and quirks of Juliet. And, since we did in fact finish the second race, we were awarded the third-place trophy for our class!


The fleet, far ahead of us!


Fusee, during a downwind leg when there was actually wind to fill his sails


Bubba, manning the mainsheet


Charlie and Shelly, scanning the seas for any rippled that might indicate WIND


Magic Dragon, getting a puff to fill her spinnaker


Larry, as we round the mark in glassy seas

Juliet - winner of the 2013 Bristol Boat Award!

For the second year in a row, our boat has won the Channel Islands Yacht Club Bristol Boat Award!

Last year it was with our Islander Freeport 36 "Spray", which we sold right after we bought Juliet. This year it is with our new boat, Juliet.

The Bristol Boat Award is given to the boat that is most up to Coast Guard safety standards. Cleanliness, polish and attractiveness are also judged. It takes a lot of work to get a boat up to Bristol Boat standards, including outfitting her with all kinds of safety gear and features, polishing up everything, and making sure the vessel is at her spiffiest. Kudos to Charlie for working so hard to get Juliet up to Bristol Boat standards!

The winner was announced at the CIYC Opening Day festivities. Here's Charlie, all decked out in his Opening Day duds, with the CIYC Bristol Boat Perpetual Trophy.