Black Butte Sail & Swim: That Delta Breeze is Cool!

Story by Mark Barr

The Butte Sailing Club's scheduled event for Sunday, August 21st was a departure from the old recipes we've tried in the past. Instead of meeting at the regular time of 10:00, we opted for an afternoon and evening sail. For a change of pace, the event was scheduled for 2:00 PM 10 miles west of Orland at Black Butte Lake. This Army Corps of Engineers Reservoir typically gets an afternoon delta breeze which blows from 2:00 until dusk. The event was billed on our web site as a perfect opportunity to practice capsize recovery and man overboard drills.

We arrived at the boat ramp to find two other boats already parked in the boat ramp parking lot and two catamarans down on the beach raising sails. There was a 5 mph southerly breeze already blowing when I arrived with my wife Kelly and my boys, Chris and Grant. We paid the $4 day use and boat ramp fee (a pretty good deal compared to Oroville Lake's $9 fee) and rigged our Thistle. The launch situation was a good one, with a single well padded aluminum dock facing straight out into the wind. Once on the water, we played "tag" with the other boats, visiting and taking pictures each time we crossed tacks.

From L. to R. are: Tony R. (Hobie 14), Jody C. and Jane C. (Flying Junior) and Lloyd L. (C-15).

After Exploring the lake for about an hour, four of the five boats present headed for the swim cove half way up the lake. We all beached our boats on the soft shoreline and took a leisurely swim for the next hour or so. We even took a group photo while in the water. The swimming conditions were close to perfect. The kids had diving practice, seeing how deep they could go and still come up with a hand full of gravel (to prove they had reached the bottom). Some of the adults had a friendly competition to see who could hold their breath the longest under water. The winning time was Commodore Barr, lasting 2' 10" before arising gasping. (I've always known I was a big windbag.)

In the photo on left, Paul and Kelly visited while Tony sailed into the cove to beach his Hobie 14.
In the center photo, a bunch of us posed for a swim group shot (Click on photo for higher resolution image.)
Photo on right shows the 4 boats beached on the soft shore of our favorite swim cove.

After our swim, we eventually sailed out onto the lake and enjoyed the day. Jane and Jody did their capsize drill in Jane's Flying Junior. Jane later said that righting the boat was easier than she had expected. They were soon up and zooming again, with their suction bailers draining their boat dry in about 15 minutes. We later spotted Paul Melcon jumping off his boat without warning, so his brother Mark could have a realistic man overboard drill. Of course, they completed the maneuver quickly and efficiently. They had obviously practiced this move before.

Kelly and my boys decided it was our turn to do the capsize drill in our Thistle (our first time after owning the boat for almost 3 years). We were sailing on port tack about 200 yards upwind of the Buckhorn beach (in case we encountered problems, at least we could drift in with the on shore breeze and sort things out). I trimmed the main in tight and stepped to the leeward side of the boat, resulting in a slow decent of the leeward rail under water. The water poured in and swamped the boat and the mast hit the water (all in about 5 seconds). We all splashed safely in and each of us checked in verbally. Kelly and Grant easily climbed up on the centerboard (only a foot or so above the water level) while I swam around to the other side and released the mainsheet and jib. As soon as the sails were un sheeted, the boat began to roll slowly upright. As it came up, I swam in over the leeward rail and grabbed our bailing buckets. Soon Chris was in the boat with me and we commenced bailing. It only took about 3 minutes to bail it down enough to pull the rest of my crew into the boat. We then sheeted in the main and sailed away slowly with two of us continuing to bail. When the water in the bottom of the boat was down to 6 inches deep, we opened the suction bailers and let them finish the job of emptying the boat. It all went very smoothly. In this 5-10 mph breeze, the boat was dry about 15 minutes after the initial capsize. I'm sure that we could improve that time, but I was pleasantly surprised at how easy the whole process was. I may do it again while the water is so warm and get photos of the whole process. I recommend everyone practice this drill. What you learn in the process could save your boat or even your life!

Paul and Mark Melcon (photo left) sailed over after the capsize drills were over. That Prindle catamaran really flies.
As the shadows lengthened, we all had an informal tailgate party in the boat ramp parking lot.

If you couldn't make it to this event, don't worry. There are plenty of sailing opportunities coming up on the BSC schedule. You can find the schedule in the upper left corner of the BSC's home page under "Upcoming BSC Club Events" or just click here. Our next club event will be the Big Dog's race or Oroville lake on Saturday, September 3rd. We will launch from the Spillway Boat ramp around 11:00. The "Big O." is only about 30 feet down from the full level back in June. It is still beautiful. If folks do not want to race, we may make it a cruise instead. Hope to see you there.