Welcome CPYC Cruise to the Cruise Information Package!

First in the package we’ll cover where Westpoint Harbor is and how to get there. This will include directions by Land and Sea. In the second part of this package I cover this years rules for the chili cook off competition.

Disclaimer: Well, we live in a litigious society and that has been known to really irritate those of us with at least a little common sense. It seems that in order to write and distribute this package, I need to first write pages and pages of text that essentially say “don’t do something stupid getting to the cruise and if you do it ain’t my fault!”.

Having read lots of manuals I’ve come to know that tradition says I have to start with a cartoon drawing which illustrates that you should not be doing whatever this is all about in a bathtub.

I’m unsure how you would get to the cruise in a bathtub… but you probably get the idea. If you were really as stupid/ignorant/silly/unlucky as the legal disclaimers tend to assume, well, you probably should give up navigating a boat anyhow.

Here are some general rules to consider while cruising:

1) If you see a bird standing on one leg in the water while travelling by boat, it’s probably shallow where the bird is – carefully consider whether you draw more water than the bird…

2) If you see the bird while driving to the cruise location, well, uh, you may already be in trouble as you seem to be following the directions for boats instead of cars.

All information in this package is intended to be helpful, but neither the author nor CPYC is taking any responsibility for you, your actions or any karma deficiency you may have.

One if by land, two if by sea: Here are the directions to Westpoint Harbor (from their web site):

Directions to Marina

Westpoint Harbor 1529 Seaport Blvd, Redwood City, CA 94063 37.30.872 N 122.11.636 W (650) 701-0545 Harbor Master: Mark Sanders

By land: Travel north or south on Highway 101 to Redwood City, and take the Seaport Boulevard exit east towards the Bay. Keep to the right, and Seaport Boulevard will end at a stop sign in front of (office park). Turn right at the stop sign and go four blocks, looking for boat masts. Westpoint Harbor is on the right side at 1529 Seaport. Westpoint Harbor is half-way between and San Jose Airports.

By sea: Travel down the South , staying in the main shipping channel. Pass under the San Mateo Bridge, and enter the Redwood Creek Channel going towards the (depth 30 feet). At Green channel marker "13" turn left into (12 feet), traveling one-half mile to the entrance to Westpoint Harbor. Docks are A through F starting from the northwest. Redwood City is a deep- water port and the channels are well marked.

Here’s the map for you road travelers (attendance by car via asphalt slough is fine. Come on down and join the cruisers for Saturday evening) :

If you are still following that bird (I don’t know how you did that but I’m impressed) it may look like this:

And ye old magic nautical parchment looks like this: It’s a long trip for this cruise, about 10nm, so that’s more motivation to be well stocked with grub for weekend.

Here is an overview of the cruise:

And here is a closer look at the channel into Redwood City and Westpoint Slough:

When I asked about the harbor entrance, the harbor master had this to say:

“Entrances to the harbor and to Westpoint Channel are dredged to 9 feet at MLLW so you should not have a problem, but its always better to come in at mid-tide or higher because the channel meanders.”

I know that begs the “what are the tides that weekend” question:

Your cruise leader is currently planning on taking Calypso down on Friday 4/19. If you want to go a day early, or stay a day later, that’s ok for this cruise. You’ll just be charged berth fees for the extra nights.

If you do want to go Friday, please let me know ASAP ([email protected]) as I may not have the final berth assignments until just before I leave and you could end up arriving Friday before Calypso (Gentleman Jack seems to make it a point to arrive everywhere before Calypso does….).

Here is a map of the harbor:

We’ll probably be in this area; Dock F, west side, odd number slips.

Dock power: Westpoint Harbor was designed for big boats and power on the docks is double 50 amp 125/250 volt (i.e. these are the 125/250 combination outlets, not the more common 50A 125v only outlets found around the Bay area). For those of us less thirsty for power, the 40-44 ft slips we will be in also have 30 amp outlets. Part 2: The Chili Cook-off Competition

First of all you have to understand that no messing around will be tolerated. This is serious business and is the continuation of a venerable tradition that dates back to the early days of PAYC (but these days it’s mostly an excuse to get together with friends over a pot luck dinner. Editor: Sush, they’ll catch on if you leave this in.) and anyone not taking this with the appropriate amount of decorum will be keelhauled.

You can start by having the skipper and crew become familiar with the differences between Chili, Chilli and Chile. There could be a pop quiz at any time.

Background: For many years the traditional cruisers chili cook off was held in Redwood Slough. We’d pick a weekend with moderate tides and raft up in the slough for a chili competition and pot luck dinner. The anchorage that was often used is just about where the entrance to Westpoint Harbor is today… so CPYC is going to make our first cruise to the new Westpoint harbor and combine it with the Chili Cook off.

Here’s a link to the Westpoint harbor information: Westpoint Harbor

Westpoint is still being built out, and we’re hoping to all be grouped together in slips on one of the new docks. Given the spring time frame, we expect good weather and will be making use of a unique feature of the harbor for the pot luck dinner gathering: party barges…

The harbor master has offered to move 1 or 2 of the party barges to the center of our dock area so that we can use them as “pot luck central”. The barges are quite nice and have both propane BBQs and heaters. If our luck falters and the weather is really bad, we’ll relocate to the upper floor of the club house.

Cruiser’s Chili Rules:

 Cruiser chili has to be prepared aboard to qualify for competition. The idea was that these are recipes that you can make while cruising, so simple is good. Good flavor also counts – so use your judgment to balance simplicity and savory tastes.  0-10 points are awarded by the Judges for flavor, texture, aroma, and presentation style. Judge’s have been known in the past to be influenced by subtle, intangible qualities such as being able to sample the Chili with a sip of their favorite beverage.  A little bit of recipe prep before the cruise is (maybe) allowed (it’s up to the judges, it could cost you points). o An extra point for being able to show that you started with home raised meat for your recipe. Please do all butchering before the cruise.

 Negative 5 points for emulating one year’s cruiser that tried to open cans of a supermarket concoction and pass it off as original recipe... (that boat has been struck from our memory and shall not be named least the chili god’s be angered and they in turn rile up the weather gods).

 One extra point for a recipe made on the Cruise Leader’s boat.  Two extra points if you are a new CPYC member this year and this is your first CPYC cruise.  One extra point for having your picture taken with Mr. Tiki.

Judges will be picked by T. Tiki (drafted from attendees and other high ranking officials). TT’s Judge picks will be announced at the last moment (this prevents unscrupulous cooks from researching bribes prior to the event).

Prizes will be awarded for 1st, 2nd and third places. Possession of a prize and $5 can get you a reasonable cup of coffee.

Pot Luck:

Post judging, we’ll be sharing the various entries in a pot luck dinner. Each cruiser will be bringing a side dish of some type and you can each bring your favorite beverage.

Cruise Communications: Cruise Leader: David Bagby Vessel: Calypso

Call Calypso on vhf 72 when entering Redwood City channel for docking instructions etc.

Calypso cell: (650) 242-2722

Any other questions, please feel free to ask.

Dave