Memories: 2015 Great Schooner Race at SFYC

With MAYAN moored in her slip while we're sheltering in place from the COVID-19 pandemic, we decided to reach back in time to one of our favorite events.

We had the tremendous luck of having the Crowninshield schooner MARTHA visiting the San Francisco Bay for the event, giving us a rare opportunity to sail against a staysail schooner of similar length. The schooners BRIGADOON and YANKEE were racing with us, but their gaff rig puts them at a disadvantage when going upwind.

MAYAN flying her "Lowers", with her small Yankee Jib

The day started with the threat of strong winds. A gray overcast hung above us and a strong ebb tide was forecast. It would be bumpy!

We had set all the lowers: Yankee Jib, Fore Staysail, Main Staysail, and Mainsail, in anticipation of a blow. But as we reached back towards the Knox Buoy starting line, the wind faded away.

"Change to the Genoa Jib!" called Beau, only 4 minutes before the start.

Under the leadership of the foredeck boss, Syntha Petroka, the foredeck crew went to work. With one minute to the gun, the sail-change was completed, we were on the line on time, and had the correct sail flying. As the starting gun went off, the boat settled down, and we started playing the puffs in the surprisingly light air.

MAYAN was new to us all. Thanks to the quick work of the foredeck crew, we had the right sail up and began to extend our lead on MARTHA. But, we didn't know how much wind the rig and sails would take. As we reached the windward mark, the wind was above 25 knots with gusts to 30. We turned downwind and hauled up the massive Advance Staysail to replace the Main Staysail, and set the Spinnaker flying from the bowsprit. With her centerboard pulled up, MAYAN has far less wetted surface than the other schooners. As one of the crew said: "She's lifting her skirts to run away now."

On the wind sailing back from Southampton Shoal to Alcatraz

The leeward mark far to the east of Angel Island was fast approaching and the wind was still in the high 20s to low 30s. Just before rounding the leeward mark the Advance Staysail and Spinnaker came down, the Main Staysail went up, and we took a chance by flying the Genoa Jib. Our crew boss, Skip Allen, had the team working beautifully.

"Wayne, how much can that bowsprit take?" Beau called out.

"More than the sailcloth can!" responded Wayne with a smile.

Wayne had entirely rebuilt MAYAN a decade earlier, he was confident in her strength. He was right. With the large jib drawing well MAYAN started clawing her way back upwind, bouncing in the ebb chop, and covering her crew with cold saltwater. A typical spring day on San Francisco Bay.

As we approached Alcatraz Skip Allen could see the ebb pushing us westward, directly upwind. MARTHA was gaining on us now, her full keel holding her to a lot less leeway than MAYAN makes with her centerboard.

"Bow down, Beau" called Skip. "Don't pinch her in this chop. You'll be too close to the island."

Beau pushed the bow down and MAYAN picked up a knot of boat speed. She was romping along now, spray flying everywhere. As is usually the case, Skip was right. The ebb tide kept pushing MAYAN westward towards Alcatraz and we ran the risk of getting into the lee of the island. What's worse, if we got too close, we'd be lifted out of the favorable ebb tide.

MAYAN riding the edge of the ebb tide upwind past Alcatraz

As we shot past Alcatraz, Beau called to Skip: "Call the layline. We don't want to go any further towards the City than we have to."

Skip grinned and started to gauge the current, wind, waves, and boat speed. One of the most experienced racing sailors in the world, this was a call he was really enjoying. 

"Stand by to tack!" rang out as Skip rallied everyone to their positions. "Tacking in 5, 4, 3..." he counted down. 

"This is nuts." said a friend from the Pacific Northwest as he took his position at the Genoa sheet winch. "We will never get around the island. We'll be headed right for the center of it."

"Just watch," Beau replied with a grin, and then called out: "Helm's a lee!"

As MAYAN completed her tack she was indeed pointed right at the rock cliff in the middle of the south side of Alcatraz. People ashore and on the ferries started to point at us and pull out their cameras. We were only six or seven boat lengths from the cliff and going fast. Our friends from out of town were worried.

But, Skip did what Beau knew he would. He had judged it perfectly. The ebb tide continued to push MAYAN upwind at over three knots. It runs especially strong along this southern cliff. "Keep the bow down, Beau." Skip called out. "You'll clear by two boat lengths."

Often referred to as The Elevator, the tide along this cliff is legendary. It is also extremely difficult to judge just how much a sailor can count on it. MAYAN did clear the southwestern tip of Alcatraz by two boat lengths as Skip made himself helpful by coiling lines and pointedly not looking at the island as it rushed past. 

MARTHA, not knowing the local conditions, had stood on a while towards San Francisco. There she tacked only to discover that the ebb tide and pushed her a long way west and she was badly overstood. The rest of the race was a romp back to Knox Buoy as both boats eased sheets and reached along with spray flying everywhere.

Wayne had brought his movie camera along that day, and just recently provided us with a beautiful video of the race. A special thanks to him for his efforts and a reminder that all of us who cherish these old wooden boats need to keep guys like Wayne going strong. You can find the race video at this link, and please visit the Maritime Preservation Trust for more information on caring for these lovely old boats. 

Testing The Manual Bilge Pump

Yesterday we wrapped up the rebuild and re-plumbing of the Edson 11" Manual Bilge Pump. It was time to give it a test!

We blocked off the limber holes to isolate the water in one section of the bilge between MAYAN's deep floor frames. Then took the freshwater flush hose from the engine room and ran it in reverse to fill that section of the bilge with saltwater. Matthew manned the pump handle and in the attached video you'll see that he has no trouble draining the bilge with the 30-gallon per minute pump working against the 7-gallon per minute flow from the hose.

After the test, we connected a freshwater hose to the input hose and filled the system with fresh water. No need to let seawater sit in the pump. That said, apparently, seawater has been sitting in that pump for decades without hurting it at all.

The video is YouTUBE HERE or just click on the video below.

We also tested the engine-driven Jabsco 60-gallon/minute bilge pump which ran perfectly. It emptied the bilge so quickly that the crew spent quite a bit of time waiting for the bilge to re-fill. We've only run the engine at 1,000 RPM so far, which is below the maximum RPM for the pump. As a result, we were only seeing about 80% of the pumping capacity expected.

Our neighbor, the Columbia-50 XANTHIPPI, has hauled out for a paint job. This has allowed us to test the engine-driven pump in the slip. The outlet for the bilge water from this pump is located near the waterline, and when we engage the pump bilge water is sprayed all over the dock and into XANTHIPPI's slip. We washed the dock down completely after the test, happy that we'd waited until the slip was empty!

These tests are run annually to ensure that the pumps are in good working order.

:Winter Projects: Crew Training: Flooding - Part 1

MAYAN Going Cruising

The following is a bit dry and instructional compared to our normal posts. If crew training and dealing with a sinking vessel aren't interesting, we'd suggest moving along to other posts.

In Part 1 we cover the tasks which need to be done when the boat is found to be flooding. We have also arranged them in order of importance, to best utilized the relatively short time one has before a serious leak can get dangerous.

In Post 2, we will cover various techniques we've learned over the years which can be used to stop flooding. As always, we're constantly looking for new ways of dealing with problems. Please feel free to email your thoughts to SchoonerMAYAN@gmail.com

Having been aboard a few boats which were trying to sink, the MAYAN crew is focused on including training for this eventuality in addition to a host of other training programs including Person Overboard, Fire, and Collision. All of these are in addition to the regular sailing practice and training that we'll be running in the spring. Each of these major training areas will be documented here and a handout will be given to the Crew as they go through the training.

Note: Let us start by saying that these instructions are designed to work best aboard MAYAN. Your crew may or may not find these suggestions useful. We'd recommend writing up your own set of instructions based upon the characteristics of your own boat and crew. More importantly, these instructions are NOT a substitute for attendance at a US Sailing Safety At Sea or US Power Boating class or any other official training. They are solely our own opinions and the way we do things aboard MAYAN.

FLOODING: Part 1

Prioritization of Tasks - It is critical to rank order the tasks by importance, ensuring that the highest priority tasks are attended to as quickly as possible. While this sounds rather obvious, it is surprising how rarely a crew is prepared to triage a problem they face. Below is a prioritized list of actions that need to be taken as soon as it is determined that the boat is flooding. At some point, while working down this list, the problem will be discovered and in almost all cases will be resolved. It is almost always safer to stay aboard MAYAN even if she were partially flooded.

1. Determine the source of the water: While this sounds silly, in our experience some crew will immediately start attempting to operate the radio, launch the life raft, or start pumping rather than organize themselves to identify the source of the water. In a boat that is the size of MAYAN, the source may be difficult to find initially. We identify search areas and crewmembers who are responsible for searching those areas. Four Crew Assigned to the following search areas:
• Engine Room - Because there are numerous thru-hulls and pipes here, it is the highest probability source of a problem including both salt and pressure freshwater leaks. 
• F'o'csul & Head - Possible collision or raw water intake leak, holding tank failure, shower sump failure, pressure fresh water leak. 
• Galley - Sink outflow, pressure fresh water leak. 
• Main Saloon - Manual bilge pump outflow, 12v Electric bilge pump outflow, leaking freshwater tank, leaking freshwater pressure pump
2. Assign Crew to Deal With The Leak: An appropriate sized and skilled team will be assigned to deal with stopping the leak. (This topic will be covered in Flooding: Part 2) Typically, this is no more than three crewmembers as space is typically limited and only one person can be positioned directly at the leak. The other members of the team will be running for parts, tools, supplies of various sorts. Also, some repair techniques require crew to work from the deck or even the water. Appropriate safety equipment and techniques should always be considered.
3. Assign Crew to Pumps and Communications: With the leak identified, the skipper will then assign one crew to the VHF radio to stand by for instructions and NOT send out a message until told to do so. Two crew will be assigned to the pumps:
• Manual Bilge Pump - Located in the main saloon. Suggest a strong crewmember
• Engine Driven Bilge Pump - Located in the engine room along with its clutch control.
• VHF Radio - Note the Longitude and Latitude of MAYAN. Pull the emergency radio procedure Cheat-Sheet from the Log Book. Perform a radio check to see if anyone is within range and responding. Standby the VHF Radio. DO NOT ISSUE A MAYDAY until ordered to do so by the Skipper.
4. Assign Crew to Abandon Ship Team: Only on the orders of the Skipper, execute the following steps:
• VHF Radio Crew - Start MAYDAY calls.
• Grab Bag Crew - Locate the secondary EPIRB, in the master stateroom, and bring it to the Nav-Station. Locate the Grab Bag in the hanging locker aft of the Nav-Station. Place the secondary EPIRB and one handheld VHF into the Grab Bag. Ensure the Grab Bag is sealed. Move it up onto the deck amidships near the Liferaft. Secure it to the mainmast.
• Life Raft Crew - Ensure that the raft is ready for launch. DO NOT LAUNCH without a direct order from the Skipper.
• Deck Crew - Secure MAYAN to the greatest extent possible: sails down, hatches, portholes, sea-cocks closed and wheel lashed.

Practice The Tasks - It is best to practice the tasks and (where possible) have crewmembers cycle through the various tasks to ensure that in the event of a problem, all the available crew can execute all the important tasks. While some crew is better suited to certain jobs, like a large grinder operating the manual bilge pump, flooding typically happens in foul weather and not all crew may be available.

MAYAN will gear up for spring practice which will cover all these tasks.

As always, please feel free to contact us by email at SchoonerMAYAN@gmail.com

Winter Projects: Bilge Pumps

This winter the projects aboard MAYAN are primarily of the "Once Done You'll Never See Them" category. So far engines have been services, minor leaks have been fixed, some rigging work has been completed at the masthead, and the one exception is that we're nearing completion of the annual varnish binge.

Today's post is about bilge pumps, a topic only a sailor could love, and one often neglected until the water is up to one's knees.

MAYAN has a small 12-volt bilge pump which is for clearing out the water when the washup-technician (me) spills the pasta water. As a result, there are two other pumps to deal with a serious leak.

Ideal 11" Manual Bladder Pump 30-Gal/Min

The first is a manual Edson pump with a 4' handle which will move 30 gallons of water per minute activated by even a small crewmember. On the right is the Edson pump stripped down. Because it is solid bronze, even after constant service from 1947 it is still in great shape and only needed new rubber bits.

The second is a 60 gallon per minute Jabsco pump belted to the Yanmar generator engine through a clutch.

While pumps almost never save a boat with a serious leak, they do buy time for the crew to address the issue and stop the water from coming aboard.

A key problem with a serious leak is that every bit of rubbish in the boat, under the bunks and along the inside of the hull flows into the bilge and will clog the intake of the pumps. Often, pump intakes are buried at the bottom of the bilge where the crew can't get to them to clear the blockage.

Engine Driven Pump Pick-Up Under Saloon Sole

The first step with MAYAN's pumps was to relocate the pickup to a place where a crew could easily reach the intake even if there were three feet of water in the boat. This required moving the pickups to the bilge beneath the main saloon sole.

The second step was to build a screen (sometimes called a Strum Box) which will keep rubbish from clogging the intake, and once the inevitable clog occurred, to allow the crew to clear it easily.

PVC Screens for Bilge Pump Pickup

The picture above shows the bilge beneath the Saloon sole. It is easily accessed by lifting a hatch in the sole. This is the inlet of the 60-gallon per minute engine-driven pump with it's 2" hose leading to a 10" long length of schedule 40 PVC pipe, and the screens. The entire screen can be removed when it clogs (It will clog!) and replaced by the spare screen tied to the hose in the picture so it won't wash away. The crew can then clear the clog by removing the end cap on the end of the PVC pipe and returning it to the bilge as the spare.

All connections are hand fit, as this is on the suction side of the pump and the use of a hose clamp would make it impossible to swap in the spare or clear the screen.

Once we've finished all this work, all the hoses and screens will be laying in the bilge for years, hopefully never to be used except for testing and training. We'll post an example of the training program in a future edition of the blog.