2012:
We purchased Chameleon on the 31st day of March, 2012 from a gentleman living in Las Vegas NV. The young Ensign and new Captain made the two day trip down and stayed in the Las Vegas resort, Club 36. She was in the Lake Meade Yacht Club’s mast up storage yard. We had intended to take her out on Lake Meade for sea trials, however the winds were blowing at 60 knots and a small craft advisory had been issued. The state park had even cancelled all ferry runs for the day. After a full day of inspecting as best we could on the hard the deal was struck and Chameleon had new owners.
We purchased Chameleon on the 31st day of March, 2012 from a gentleman living in Las Vegas NV. The young Ensign and new Captain made the two day trip down and stayed in the Las Vegas resort, Club 36. She was in the Lake Meade Yacht Club’s mast up storage yard. We had intended to take her out on Lake Meade for sea trials, however the winds were blowing at 60 knots and a small craft advisory had been issued. The state park had even cancelled all ferry runs for the day. After a full day of inspecting as best we could on the hard the deal was struck and Chameleon had new owners.
April 1st, 2012: We returned the next day to pick her up at the former owner’s house and set out on the 1500 mile drive to return home. We made it as far as Kingman AZ when I noticed the trailer tires beginning to split upon inspection during a fuel stop. We had stopped at a full service station so I had them put on a new set of radials along with new chrome wheels since the old ones were in sad shape and heavily rusted. Our original plans that night were to stay at the Flagstaff KOA and camp in the boat, however, once we arrived we discovered the forecast called for a low of 22* that night and we could not keep the cabin temperature warm enough to prevent hypothermia so we opted to stay at the local Fairfield Inn.
April 2nd, 2012: As we leave Flagstaff behind us the only obstacle in our course today is the weather. We have encountered strong winds the entire day which first created a dust storm that became a full fledged blizzard once we entered New Mexico. After travelling several hours through the snow it warmed enough to become a torrential thunderstorm.
The weather followed us all the way to our stop for the night in Amarillo TX. The folks at the Red Roof Inn were eerily friendly, to the point where we began to wonder if they were going to let us check out in the morning!
April 3rd, 2012: What should have been our final day of the trip… Smooth sailing all the way to Wichita KS. A stop on the toll road for fuel, leg stretch and a quick trailer inspection which revealed black grease all over the left rear trailer tire. Hmm. Must have blown a grease seal. It is an old trailer after all, no big deal. But wait, the wheel is at an odd angle and I can see the spindle in the hub! The guts are GONE, including the crown nut! Someone forgot to replace the cotter pin when they repacked the bearings and now the axle is toast. UNBELEAVABLE! I have no chain with me to secure the axle so we call the highway service guy and he slings the axle so we can limp back to Wichita where we stay at a spectacular Best Western while we await the trailer shop to open in the morning. The room is comfortable and the facility is impressive in size and things to do. I almost don’t mind the delay in plans!
April 4th, 2012: We rise early and grab breakfast at the Country Kitchen which is part of the Best Western “Resort”. Everyone is very friendly and enjoyable. We then limp the few blocks to Northcutt Trailer Service where we are the first customers of the day. The guys were extremely knowledgeable and receptive to ideas on how to get us back on the road as quickly as possible. We determined that since these were custom axles manufactured exclusively for Macgregor we would cut both axles out and replace them with standard ones that parts are available for almost anywhere. They had three guys on our job and got our axles swapped and out the door in about 4 hours! I may just send them a Christmas card this year! Their service and craftsmanship were exemplary. Tis good to finally be home!
April 11th, 2012: I’m excited since today I am going to get the boat registered and tagged for our state and can take her out for our first sail this weekend! But wait a second… The DMV lady is telling me that I must have a Certificate of Number card that has to be kept on board at all times before I can put her on the water and that won’t be sent out for 30 days! In this age of instant electronic transfers, who came up with this brilliant idea? Oh well, lots of time for cleaning, waxing and inspecting, hmmm.
April-May 16th, 2012: Still waiting on the pocket card, it finally came on the 16th. In the mean time we applied several coats of wax after a good scrub down. I discovered the centerboard cable was frayed and the line for the gin pole was short and not the correct type so I called up my new best friends at Blue Water Yachts, told them what I needed and they had it shipped out to me the same day!
April 11th, 2012: I’m excited since today I am going to get the boat registered and tagged for our state and can take her out for our first sail this weekend! But wait a second… The DMV lady is telling me that I must have a Certificate of Number card that has to be kept on board at all times before I can put her on the water and that won’t be sent out for 30 days! In this age of instant electronic transfers, who came up with this brilliant idea? Oh well, lots of time for cleaning, waxing and inspecting, hmmm.
April-May 16th, 2012: Still waiting on the pocket card, it finally came on the 16th. In the mean time we applied several coats of wax after a good scrub down. I discovered the centerboard cable was frayed and the line for the gin pole was short and not the correct type so I called up my new best friends at Blue Water Yachts, told them what I needed and they had it shipped out to me the same day!
May 29th, 2012: We finally catch a break in all the wind we’ve had this spring. The morning dawned calm and it was a pleasant temperature outside. Perfect conditions for a first sail except for the fact that it is Memorial Day. I’m not too keen on dealing with all the other boats I assume are out there but still, I want to get Chameleon on the water. A friend calls me up and says he’s taking his Jetski out so I tell him to let me know what the conditions are once he gets there. About an hour later I receive a call telling me there are only a few boats out and most of those will probably be heading in by the time I get there. It’s go time! I call up my brother-in-law and tell him my plans and he is eager to meet me out at the lake to lend a hand on our first sail. We arrive in the parking lot as a few boats are pulling out. It takes 25 minutes to get set up. Not too bad considering we only practiced putting the mast up twice before so we wouldn’t look like complete newbs at the ramp! The only issue I foresee is we have arrived late in the day and our wind is dying rapidly. Still, there is no way I’m turning back now. We squeeze what we can out of the 2-3 knot breeze and at one point we were cruising at a whole 1.1 knot! Ironically, when we turned the radio on for the first time that day, the song “Don’t Rock the Boat” by Hues Corporation was playing. Everyone got a good laugh at that! Wind or not, it was an amazing experience! We got to enjoy several hours of each other’s company, popped the top on a bottle of Champaign and performed a short re-commissioning ceremony. The oldest Ensign was very content with the nest she created in the V-birth where she spent a good hour or so writing under the open fore hatch. It was almost dark before we pulled out. Everything performed as it should and we received a lot of compliments on our new boat.
August 5th, 2012: This has been the hottest summer I can remember. The last 6 weeks have been consistently in the triple digit range with no rain whatsoever. We have finally caught a marginal break in the heat today with highs in the low 90’s. You know it’s bad when that feels comfortable. Anyrate, it’s a doable day so off to the lake for only our second time out. Setup took about the same amount of time but we haven’t actually had a chance to practice so we are probably a bit rusty. I have never had to wait so long to use the boat ramp at this lake. Every idiot and their brother is here trying to take advantage of the cooler day and they of course have no clue as to what they are doing much less boat ramp etiquette. There is a guy with a 1960’s something (Glasstron?) cruiser blocking the dock while he goes to get his vehicle. The crew refuses to move the boat to the other side even when I back down into the water and it is obvious my intention is to launch. I finally pull over to the opposite dock once a large pontoon is through loading up. The guy behind me waiting to launch even tried to explain to him why he should move but he had none of that. Once in the water the Honda was a bit difficult to start. Yes I did have the lanyard key in this time! I’m still learning the idiosyncrasies of an outboard motor so it could just have been me. Also could be stale fuel. It’s treated but has been in the tank since I bought the boat. May just have to do some motoring next outing to burn that tank up.
All the idiots seem to have a pull out time in the late afternoon. After 1700 hrs the lake cleared out and we had it mostly to ourselves except for a couple fishing boats. The wind held a steady 7mph until the sun went completely down. After that, we had to fire up the Honda and head back in. Had a great time and got some good pictures. That’s something I completely forgot to do on our first outing. All in all, it was another perfect day on the lake. All systems seem to operate as they should and it is incredibly relaxing to just drift along with the wind. I will say that the guys on the forums don’t exaggerate when they say Macgregors are hard to dock. I would have had it tied up the second try if I had the boathook handy but it was in the cabin so we had to go around again. Next time I will leave a rudder in the water along with some centerboard. That is supposed to help in low speed situations. Also the boathook will be in the cockpit to quickly snag a cleat.
All the idiots seem to have a pull out time in the late afternoon. After 1700 hrs the lake cleared out and we had it mostly to ourselves except for a couple fishing boats. The wind held a steady 7mph until the sun went completely down. After that, we had to fire up the Honda and head back in. Had a great time and got some good pictures. That’s something I completely forgot to do on our first outing. All in all, it was another perfect day on the lake. All systems seem to operate as they should and it is incredibly relaxing to just drift along with the wind. I will say that the guys on the forums don’t exaggerate when they say Macgregors are hard to dock. I would have had it tied up the second try if I had the boathook handy but it was in the cabin so we had to go around again. Next time I will leave a rudder in the water along with some centerboard. That is supposed to help in low speed situations. Also the boathook will be in the cockpit to quickly snag a cleat.
October 20th-21st, 2012: We decided it was time to experience a little bigger water. After our young Ensign’s volleyball game, we left home and headed to Stockton State Marina where we slipped the boat for our first overnight! We arrived late and with the sun setting fast we decided it best to just motor around the rather large marina behind the sea wall instead of investigating the rather large, unfamiliar, lake body in the dark. There was only a quarter moon out, so visibility was less than optimal. It also coincided with the much hyped but little seen Orionid Meteor Shower which was supposed to rain bits of the famed Halley's Comet on Earth as we passed through the comet’s path. After sitting in the cockpit watching the stars until well past midnight, we may have seen all of 4 meteors between us. Still, when you can comfortably sit outside after dark this late in October, one cannot complain. The weather simply could not have been any better for the lake. With temps in the high 70’s on Saturday and low 80’s on Sunday with south winds 7-10 knots it just can’t be beat! The Admiral fixed a dinner of chicken and black beans with corn in the galley. The galley worked surprisingly well for the limited space available.
After much rearranging of the cabin we all settled into our berths for a somewhat interrupted sleep. I spent the summer making new cushions throughout the cabin but now have added the mattresses to the “need to make better” list. 3” of 15 year old foam does not provide these old bones with enough support for a comfortable night’s sleep. I did awake at sunrise to find a completely dry and still floating boat however, so the day is starting off good! After letting the crew sleep in to about 9:00 we stopped by the marina for a good breakfast. With all our appetites satisfied we cast off from the slip and motored out past the seawall where we raised the main and unfurled the genoa catching a light wind to chase our adventures. It was a lot of fun to be on a lake where sailboats far outnumber motor boats and none of them under 25’. Maybe the water was a wee bit too nippy for the Hobies and Sunfish. The sky was overcast but the water calm as we cruised past a couple nice sized islands. I’m sure these are favorite places for picnics in the summer. They appear approachable to the North with cliffs to the south that just seems to invite people to jump from them. Even as we closed on the islands we were still in 60+ feet of water. It was tempting to go ashore and explore but time was running short so we came about and headed back to the marina. The wind had picked up some on the open water and we were making over 3 knots until getting back into the sheltered areas of the lake.
We pulled out of the lake and made ready to trailer Chameleon back home. By the time we got on the road it was around 16:00. A little later than I hoped but it was hard to leave such scenery and fun behind. I’m sure we will return again for hopefully a longer stay. We stopped in Nevada on the way home for fuel and dinner. We ate at a quaint little diner called White Grill. They still have a lunch counter and have probably been part of the community for at least 50 years. They serve all the traditional diner food and everything was really good. We arrived home about 20:00. Just time enough to unpack everything and grab a shower before retiring for the night to get a start on the new week ahead. This weekend, life was good.
November 3rd, 2012: It’s a beautiful day for early November. The sun is out, its 57 degrees with a steady 11 knt wind. This will be our final sail this season and even though we are getting a late start due to our young Ensign’s volleyball game we plan to enjoy the afternoon. By the time we arrive at the lake it is already 15:30 and we begin rigging the boat. The lake is almost vacant except for a couple pontoons out. The water level is extremely low and I have to back down to the end of the dock before she even begins to float off the trailer. Once past the no-wake buoys we cut the motor and raise sail. The wind is nice and steady and we only sail under the main. The Admiral and I both decided not to hassle with the genoa this trip. The wind is out of the north which makes for a fun downwind departure from the marina but a tedious trip back since you have to sail directly into the wind. We make several tacks across the lake working our way back north but it isn’t long before the wind acquires a bite to it. The sun is setting and a chill begins to set in. Luckily the galley is stocked with hot chili that we packed into two thermos bottles. My hands are almost numb so the Admiral takes the wheel while I spoon up a piping hot dinner for everyone. It feels good to be out of the wind momentarily. The sun has set at 18:14 and we pop the nav lights on. While we intended to be out later the cold has also set in and we decide to drop sail and pull off the lake. We have pulled out, dumped the ballast, made ready to trailer and are home by 20:30. The only casualty of the day was the VHF coax. I forgot to disconnect it before moving the mast forward to its travel position and it separated at its connection point. I’ll look at it tomorrow in the light but I don’t think it will take much to reconnect it. Other than that, our last sail this season, while short, was very enjoyable. This may be a very long winter even though it is predicted to be mild! Let’s see, approximately 147 days until next season. Yes, a long winter indeed…