Chip Ford's 1974 Catalina 22 Restoration Project
Sail #3282  l  Marblehead, Massachusetts

Happy Birthday “Chief Hiawatha Frostbite”!

Sailing Season ‘08 is over ...
even for John Graichen and Malacass

December 6, 2008

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Description

As he approached I watched what appeared to be some confusion across there.  Then I saw him drop sail and come to a rest.

After about fifteen minutes of inaction, I called him on my cell phone to find out what was happening.  Hey, what do you know?  There are no docks for him to tie up to -- they were taken out some time ago!  I decided to drive around to Winter Island in case he needed a hand.  He didn't think he would, but would sure like me to take some photos of him trailering out.

About twenty minutes later of driving through Salem I arrived.  John had a plan, sort of.  He'd tied Malacass to the closest mooring he could find (fortunately he had plenty to choose from, it being December and all), paddled ashore, and moved his truck and trailer down to the end of the ramp.

He paddled back out to bring Malacass in to the ramp.

Now this is where John's sailing minimalism gets a little extreme for my taste:  He didn't bother with the outboard that's given him so much trouble that it probably wouldn't start again anyway.  Instead, "Chief Hiawatha" planned to tow his sailboat in to the ramp and trailer using the canoe!  C'mon, that's a bit extreme in the extreme methinks!  While he was on his way out to Malacass, I moved my Blazer to the top of the ramp, left it running with the heater blasting.

What a sight!  He should have been wearing a seagull-feathered headdress.  He just lucky it was dead calm or he'd never have pulled this off.

He tied Malacass to a piling (where the face dock used to be, before it was pulled out for the winter) until he could back his trailer in.

Back at the ramp with his faithful canoe pulled aground and out of the way.  Note the tide at 2:00 pm is three hours past dead low, not the best time for trailering out but better than an outgoing tide.

Instead of a solid trailer tongue extension, John's devised one using chain that worked very well.  His custom-improvised rear-wheels chock also was impressive:  It lifts when he pulls the truck forward.  On a ramp this steep, chocks are essential.  That's my warm and cozy Blazer sitting at the top of the ramp.

A closer view of John's chain extension with the trailer's jack wheel down.

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It's never-ending ... but Sailing Season '08 has ended!

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