Shore Leave, or Why We Love the Plaza

Bumbo's crew hit the town for drinks and a showing of the underrated John Carpenter flick "They Live" at Atlanta's Plaza Theater last week. This was the Plaza's marquee for the night. (Click here if you haven't seen the movie.) Photo courtesy of the theater.

New Gear!

We recently replaced the aging stainless-and-resin maintackle and sheet with a new, 3/8-inch line and composite Ronstan block -- a birthday gift from Mrs. Matt, who knows the way to a man's heart. The cam cleats on the block also have a slight angle to them, making it much easier to let the main in and out from the helm. The new rig has performed admirably in two outings, including this one in moderate air in early November.

The Font of Terror

After some wailing and gnashing of teeth, Bumbo's name is now sportily emblazoned on the port quarter, using a stencil cut by Matt's brother Paul. First attempt on the starboard side came out a bit smeary after paint oozed under the stencil:



Sure, it has a cool, Halloweeny effect, but it's still a botch. Our friend Graham, who helped do it right on the port side, says it shouldn't be too hard to fix, however.

The port side was done by using a marker to trace the lettering from the stencil, then Matt and Graham (reviewing his work below) painted in the outline. The result: Way more better.



For you graphics geeks, that's 504 point Hultog, small caps, at 10 point expanded spacing -- the font of terror on the high seas.

Full pool ...

... or close to it. After a lengthy drought, Bumbo's home at Lake Lanier is just a foot and a half below its full pool level of 1,071 feet above sea level. Here's a view looking back at shore from the dock this past Sunday:



And the same view in December 2007:



The lake hit is lowest point right around Christmas at just over 1050 feet -- nearly 21 feet below full pool.

PBR is OK for Hot Day

As promised, we did some empirical research into what beer is good for a hot day:

Now PBR is hell and gone from my favorite beer, but it chills nicely and fits in the gimbal well enough.

Ship's log: Dog days

The sailing gets slow in these parts during August, when temperatures are typically in the low 90s and winds are light. But even a crappy day on the lake beats a good day in town. Saturday was a dog-day excursion to be sure, with barely a puff or two hitting the high single digits. But Bumbo managed to make way at two or three knots during most of her three hours out of the dock. Unfortunately, we didn't spot the ham boat. But we had a lively debate over what beer was best in sweltering conditions, developing several hypotheses that will be tested in ensuing weeks.

What do you get when you cross pirates and MST3K?

From Craig's list:

Modern Pirate production in the style of MST 3000. SAG rates. Auditions will take place on Saturdays on a sailboat on Lake Lanier leaving from the Forsyth side of the Lake. Unusual characters and those good at improv are welcome. Send at least 3 pics no larger than 300k each, a short bio and other relevant info.

* Location: Lake Lanier & BVI's
* Compensation: According to SAG - compensation starting at 3rd audition
* Principals only. Recruiters, please don't contact this job poster.

I currently have a hitch in my get-along so maybe that counts as unusual character...

Northeast Passage

Ship's log, supplemental: The return of near-normal levels to Lake Lanier -- which had been down 20 feet at the worst of a three-year drought -- and favorable southwesterlies allowed Bumbo to make a passage rarely accomplished under sail. With George at the helm and Matt spotting from the bow, Bumbo sailed behind Three Sisters Island, off the northern shore of the lake, and out into the Chattahoochee Bay area. Bumbo is nothing if not a bold explorer.

Ships log: Blood on the decks!

Matt smashing his finger dorking with the outboard did not presage the excellent day sailing we had after he numbed the pain with some ice on the finger and Fat Tire in the gullet. We rigged a new method of hoisting the repaired Dobbshead (although it doesn't look like it, this is the flag). The blood on the deck was sacrifice enough for old Neptune, and he shared a great day with us. Freshening winds saw us reef the genny. The reef helped, but we could have profitably set the working jib at one point, but we thought that heaving to to muck about with a sail change might interfere with the enjoyment of our Dark and Stormys... Their enjoyment was enhanced by an encounter with the beautiful cutter Wraith. The Westerlies that had feted us all day were still worthy of the reef after 5, but we forced ourselves to head back to the slip. We matched our motorless sail out of the slip with a sail-in around 7. What a glorious day aboard Bumbo!

Bumbo! The recipe ...

Our namesake drink begins with a semi-sweet simple syrup, made by heating 12 oz water, two teaspoons of sugar and 1 teaspoon of ground nutmeg -- the fresher the better. In a shaker, combine the syrup with 6 oz dark rum. Strain and pour over ice. Serves four.

Ship's Log 13 June 2009

Wow, what a day! Got to the marina a little after one and the wind was stiff and ideal for a sail out of the slip. The sail out of the slip was less than ideal, however. Rigged genny and main, but soon put up working jib. Bumbo is very sensitive to trim and responded well to the right set of sails. We were soon tracking down boats to windward. We made it most of the way to the dam by 3:30. Winds were shifty, but remained stout through out the day. Encounters with S/Vs Tardis and Wraith -- beautiful boats both. Returned to slip under sail and made up for launch with a gentle, step off of boat landing.

Excursion 6 June 2009

We made it on up to Bumbo just before noon. Winds were light and variable from the north east. Bilge pumped dry in very quickly and we were underway after a light lunch of fried dinosaur and chopped vegetables. We got in a couple of hours of pretty good sailing, smoked a Hunter 235 (not that's saying a whole lot) and were smoked by a mylar sailed racing boat of undetermined heritage, but I'm guessing of two-digit PHRF rating (not that that's an excuse). Ran the jib halyard around to the starboard side, but we still need to flip the main and jib halyards. Dobbshead flag suffered damage needing repair. No cameras aboard.

The Santana 25

LOA: 24.58'
LWL: 19.50'
Beam: 7.82'
Draft: 4.08'
Sail Area: 262 sq feet
Displacement: 4,050 lbs
Ballast: 1,800 lbs
Builder: W. D. Schock Corp., Corona, Calif.
Designer: Shad Turner
Production run: 1973-77
Number built: 160

Whoohooo!

Lots of folks say the best days of a boat owner's life are the day he buys it and the day he sells it. Well, those folks are full of shit. The best days are the ones like this October 2008 afternoon.

Before and After

Here's Bumbo being hauled out of the water in April 2007, after about six years in Lake Lanier; and below, up on the hill after her bottom job.




Here's what the bottom looked like after a thorough pressure washing.



Surprisingly, despite the years between overhauls, there were only a couple of spots of blistering in the fiberglass. And if you're in the area and need some work done, we highly recommend Wes Compton, who did the bottom job for us.

Tied up

Bumbo at the dock after a mid-2007 overhaul that included new bottom paint, improved rigging and refurbished brightwork and rudder. Click for a larger picture.

Sailing Vessel Bumbo

Bumbo is a Santana IOR 1/4 tonner, sometimes called a Santana 25, boat 98 built 1974 by W.D Schock. She's a fine sailor, weatherly and dry. I imagine that in her day, she could have competitive boats calling for her PHRF 222 to be adjusted down to some more humane number. Alas, those days are in Bumbo's past. When we get some pictures, we'll get them posted.