A Passage to Southern California

MAYAN winning her class in 2016 Master Mariner's

Old Boats Need Love 

But work and family obligations tend to push boat projects back, and back, and back. After two years of sailing MAYAN around Santa Cruz and San Francisco, racing her hard, making a list of things we wish were different, it was time to get busy and address some issues. 

For example, it was time to remove and pack up the last components of the water-maker aboard MAYAN. Water-makers are great devices that make fresh water from salt water by pushing it through a membrane at extremely high pressure. This is something that would have seemed magical to anyone from the golden age of sail, along with diesel engines, GPS, and email by radio. But today water-makers are rather standard aboard cruising boast.

Once the water maker membranes were removed and the hoses pulled out, I set about removing the plywood they’d been attached to. Darn! There are never “good” surprises on a boat. This time, hidden by the membranes and their mounts, there were some rotten deck beams beneath the cockpit. Laying on my back I broke a few 2” pieces off of the deck beams with my fingers. Time to sail back to Wayne Ettel’s boatyard! MAYAN needs a new cockpit floor.

A passage to Southern California

Getting MAYAN to Wayne's boatyard in Southern California resulted in five of us meeting aboard MAYAN in Santa Cruz Harbor at 0700 on a beautiful late June morning. Our crew was: Gene Sofen, Alex Rickabaugh, Lance Burc, Dick Watts, and me. It’s always a joy to have shipmates you can trust. It lets a skipper sleep well!!  We left the harbor at 0900 to an oily 4’ swell from the south and no wind at all. But… the forecast was looking “sporty”. 
In addition to a MAYAN Spa Date at Wayne's boatyard, we intend a bit of cruising in the southland. The St. Francis YC Commodore's Cruise for 2016 will be from Newport Beach to various spots on Catalina. Stacey has never seen Catalina, and there is no better way to enjoy the island than aboard a boat. I (Beau) grew up spending hundreds of weekends sailing to Catalina and have sea chests of memories of my times there with my family.

MAYAN at Avalon Harbor, Catalina Island, circa 1970s

MAYAN is no stranger to Catalina. While David owned her she made a number of trips to the island including one in which he and his band-mates completely cleaned out the grocery store at Avalon, having decided to go to Mexico after a few beers and realizing that they'd no provisions aboard.  As happens in every port with enter with MAYAN, I am certain someone will row up and announce: "I've partied on that boat!" (We will post about our cruise in a week or two.)

As we left Santa Cruz and headed south to Lover's Point, the middle of Monterey Bay didn’t disappoint us. There was sea life everywhere. I’m always surprised at how thrilled I am seeing the humpback whales breach, and how a pod of porpoises always make me smile as they romp up to MAYAN and start surfing her bow wave. This has been a BIG YEAR for whales.

Gene Sofen driving us south of Lover's Pt.

With the weather forecast including reasonably strong winds off of the coast north of Point Conception, we set the double reefed main, main staysail, fore staysail, and the yankee. The yankee is our smallest jib, flies from the tip of the bowsprit, and is made of heavy cloth. It loves a blow. 

We did feel a little silly for the first few hours, all reefed down and rolling slowly along against the SW swell. But by 1300 the wind was up to 25k from the NW and MAYAN was moving nicely at 8 knots. 

By 1500 the wind was up to 30k, and we lowered the main. By the 1600 watch change the wind speed was 35k and a bit beyond. The NW chop had developed nicely and was doing odd things as it crossed with the SW swell. As the wind steadily built we struck the fore staysail, then at 1700 we struck the main staysail. 

The wind speed was now a steady 40 knots with an additional 5 to 7 knots in the gusts. The NW chop was now truly magnificent as it crossed the SW swell. It was getting a little damp aboard. When the wave trains crossed the peaks were amazing, some over 18’. One decided to pay us a visit and filled the cockpit nicely! So much for dry boots!

From the left, Beau Vrolyk, Alex Rickabaugh, and Gene Sofen

MAYAN handled the breeze and bumps beautifully. Since rounding Pt. Sur we’d all been sailing hooked into the jack lines as the water sloshed around us across the deck. As the sun set we settled into the night watches, expecting the wind speed to moderate after mid-night. Another failed forecast. When Alex and Lance handed off the watch to Gene and Dick at 2000, I checked the wind instruments. Average wind speed for the previous hour had been 43 knots. Peak wind speed recorded was 51 knots. “It’s breezy out here.” Dick announced as he climbed into the cockpit. No kidding!!

MAYAN was romping through he snot and loving it!

A 15' wave rolling by, Pt. Sur in the background

As the waves would rise up behind her broad transom MAYAN would rise and rise until they washed around her. Accelerating to 12 or 14 knots, she’d create a thunderous bow wave and then the wave would pass her by. She’d gently sink into the trough and await the next wave. It was hypnotic. I sat in the cockpit watching the waves slide under her over and over again. In a more modern design, we’d have been planing at the speed of the waves, but MAYAN is far too heavy to plane. Instead, she gracefully lifts her stern, surfs a bit, and lets the wave pass with a roar. 

As the dawn grayed the sky about an hour into the 0400 watch, Gene and Dick and I sat in the cockpit entranced by the racing waves and steady 40 knot winds. The entire crew had adapted. We’d expected the wind to die off after mid-night, but it continued to howl in the rigging. Around 0630 Gene started kidding with Dick about setting the spinnaker. A 40k breeze had become our new normal. 

MAYAN's course from Santa Cruz to Los Angeles

Deciding to take advantage of the strong breeze to push us along to Los Angeles. We headed for the west end of Santa Cruz Island, where the wind in the Santa Barbara Channel would last the longest. The day passed as MAYAN continued her gentle rolling gate in the large waves and by dinner time we were abeam of Anacapa Island. Finally, the strong NW winds faded, we set the main staysail to steady us, and started the engine. With the watch on deck genuinely giddy with the simple pleasure of not having the coffee blown right out of their cups, MAYAN’s big old MBZ diesel moaned along through the night. We didn't want to arrive in Los Angeles too early, so we throttled back and made turns for 5 knots, planning our arrival at 0900. It felt as though MAYAN were crawling along, but the worst night underway is better than the best night ashore.

Powering the final run to Los Angeles. From the Left: Alex and Lance Burc

We were abeam of Los Angeles Light at 0905 and were off of Wayne’s boatyard at 0930. A civilized time to arrive on a Saturday morning. The strong breeze had let us make Los Angeles in 48.5 hours. The distance travelled over the water was about 350 nautical miles, and MAYAN had comfortably carried us along at an average of about 7.2 knots. “We sure seemed to be going faster than that!!” was the general impression of the crew. 

What we learned about MAYAN is that she is deceptively comfortable below decks even in 15 to 18 foot waves and 40+ knots of wind. So much so that various crew members would put their heads above deck and say: “I’ll be back in a minute.” appearing later wearing much heavier cloths, hats, and boots. 

Secondly, we found that MAYAN is amazing at climbing up over steep waves without letting (much of) them aboard. John Alden did a great job. Third, we found that trying to drive a displacement hull like MAYAN’s above her hull speed is dumb. She starts to fight the helmsman. Keeping boat speed below 9 knots made for a much easier passage. Hey, we’re cruising here! 

Finally, we learned that when running off in a breeze it’s best to have the center of effort well forward, pulling MAYAN by the nose, and the centerboard fully up allowing MAYAN to do her lovely sliiiiiiide sideways down the face of steep waves. This passage was the most wind and largest waves we’ve ever experienced with MAYAN, she made it look easy. As a result, we’re happily planning trips to far away places knowing that MAYAN will have little trouble taking us through the snotty bits. 

While in LA, MAYAN will spend a few months at Wayne’s “boat spa” getting her various bit renewed and improved. After two years of sailing her, we’ve decided to change a few thing and continue putting MAYAN back to the way John Alden designed her. We’ve concluded that Mr. Alden really knew a few things about the way that schooners should be designed. Once MAYAN has had her spa treatment, we’ll cruise her in southern California before bring her north again to Santa Cruz in the fall, and once again race and cruise her in Santa Cruz and San Francisco.