The Summer sailing season is on it’s way and we are receiving a great deal of interest in MARTHA”S racing events.

If you are interested in Classic Yachts or have always wanted to race on a Classic here is your chance.

Martha close hauled ist across the finish line

We are fully booked for Swiftsure,  a Northwest iconic race event in Victoria BC,    there are  only 2 bunks left for the CLASSIC MARINER REGATTA in Port Townsend,  one of the countries most beautiful sailing towns and  3 bunks left for the Captain Raynaud International Schooner Race “CRISR”.

Anyone interested should check out the trip descriptions on our website,    http://www.schoonermartha.org/

specific trip descriptions.

Join Us in 2013

Race # 5 was a tough race for MARTHA and her crew,  light winds and a true windward/leeward course.

This was the first race that we flew both kites “the spinaker and the golliker,”    the crew did a great job of sail changes and gybing both sails.  A wind hole opened up near the tower by Marrowstone Island and we had a time of it trying to make it back to the finish.

16 boats sailed in race 5 MARTHA crossed the line in 9th place and corrected to 5th.

Race #6 was just as light with a 30 minute race postponement. MARTHA had a great start and kept the momentum going all the way to finish,  15 boats participated and MARTHA finished 5th and corrected to 4th.

SO after 6 races MARTHA is tied with PEGASUS with nine points and the next boat is SIROCCO with 20 points. All and all we are proud of MARTHA and her OCEAN crew members for a job well done.

It is also stunning to have MARTHA tied with PEGASUS a modern ultralight race boat.

WHITE CAP RACE  #4

A while back we wrote about MARTHA and sail training with youth and I thought we would re visit this  topic for this post.

MARTHA is competing in the White Cap Race Series organized by the Port Townsend Sailing Association and our crew is comprised of students, parents and teacher Daniel Molotsky from the OCEAN class of the Port Townsend School District along with some of our race crew.

The students are having a great time and are learning a lot about physics,  wind power,  math,  race rules,  team work and  leadership all from the thematic conveyance of SAILING.

There are endless intersections of math,  science and art contained in sail training and the students are immersed and engaged in  what they are experiencing;  it has relevance!

Race #4 had a windward/leeward course with 2 times around,  everyone did well and we finished 4th across the line out of 12 boats. We will see how we correct soon.

Here are a few shots of the crew working MARTHA along.  Thanks to Craig Wester and Michael Delagarza.   See more at the PTSA website

MARTHA has been involved with youth and sail training since 1996 and we have a good sense of how to inspire students to lean into their lives.

Kids like things that are real and have real world consequences,  all people no matter how mature want to belong to something they feel proud of;   it is of great importance we provide something wholesome for kids to discover and belong to.

Here is a great shot of MARTHA at speed to weather.

Photo by Michael Delagarza

We will report with race results as soon as they are available.

OCEAN school students are seeing a lot of exciting,  fast sailing conditions  which requires  attentiveness and skill;   the demonstration of which provides reward and satisfaction.

Wind at the start was 18 to 20 knots with higher westerly gusts with a single reefed main, stays’ls and jib we had a good start and made for the weather mark.

At the mark rounding we set the fisherman stays’l and powered up on a deep reach to the leeward mark and rounded neck and neck with ANNIE TOO.

A close reach to the next mark had us rail down and seeing boat speeds in the mid to high 9′s,    we reeled in everyone except PEGASUS XIV;   she is fast and well handled.

Crossing  behind Pegasus XIV at the finish we ended up correcting into first place, just ahead of Wizard,  once again the  OCEAN students rise to the occasion.

We should have some photos of the race soon, stay tuned.

sail covers post race

Last week we tore a rent into the mainsail when we were deep reefed, the main is 12 years old and is getting a bit soft.

We have repaired and fortified the leech several times over the past 3 years and,  well the hand writing is on the wall,  so to speak. Thank you NWSails for the loft space to repair!!!!!!!!!

As we look at our sail inventory we realize that the newest sail, the fore stays’l, is 7 years old and the oldest is the fisherman stays’l at 14 years old.

HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?  Time does fly by when you are having fun!

The good news is Challange sail cloth has agreed to provide sail cloth at a generous discount,  Sean Rankins of North West Sails will donate design and loft space,  Carrol Hasse of Port Townsend Sails has agreed to donate computer plot cut table time and Dr Art and  Mary Jo Atkinson have made a donation to help build a new fisherman stays’l.

So we are seeing an amazing out pouring of community support for MARTHA and her sail training programs by the maritime community that we belong to.

So we are ready to launch a fundraising campaign to make all this happen,   if you are interested in supporting Martha and the Sail training Programs she offers,  please donate to the cause!  Any amount is welcome and together we can make a good thing happen.

Go to the DONATE button on our website or mail a check to the Schooner Martha Foundation P.O. Box 1811 Port Townsend, WA 98368

The OCEAN students came an extra evening this week to practice knot tying and sailing skills; they are gearing up for race 3 of the series;  stay tuned for the results.

No kidding about White Caps.

Race #2 proved to be blustery,  cold and a little rain;  wind S to SE 15 to 20 knots.

When we shook out the deep reef from last weeks race we found a tear in the mainsail out in the leech caused by the deep reef pennant.

What to do?   Well we sailed on and the tear stopped up against a batten pocket;  things went well and the crew did a good job of keeping up with the many maneuvers and transitions “gybe and tacks” to keep us  in the running.

MARTHA was the 4th boat across the finish line and corrected to 2nd place, with a 1st in race one and a 2nd in race two we are in first place in the series with three points overall.

The Mainsail is in the loft for repairs, more on that later.

Here is a link to the results.  http://ptsail.org/2013/04/12/white-cap-2013-race-2/#more-5717

Well,  the White Cap Series lives up to it’s potential for the first race.

Students from the Port Townsend School District alternative  “OCEAN” Class did a fine job of making the best of a very feisty SE wind.

We had an on board dockside training day and two under sail training days to get acquainted before the racing started.

On racing day by 1400hrs the wind was West 6 to 8 knots with a partly cloudy sky, so at 1630  the crew prepared to get underway.

MARTHA was under sail by 1715 hrs and the wind shifted to the NE 6 to 8 knts, then shifted SE 8 to 10. By 1735 hrs the fisherman staysail was down and MARTHA was deep reefed and charging along rail down.

Awesome racing and good boat handling by the crew,  as Captain I must say I am very proud of the the way our OCEAN students took heavy weather sailing in stride.

We witnessed boat speeds of 9.9 knots on the way to the finish line and in first place with ANNIE TOO right behind.

Check out MARTHA’s Face Book Page for more info.

Also go to the Port Townsend Sailing Association web site.  http://ptsail.org/

After a trying two weeks MARTHA launches on a perfect spring day,  bright sun shine, light wind and warm temperatures.               A very auspicious beginning to the 2013 season, we are all looking forward to a warm sunny Summer of sailing.

We also want to thank  the volunteers and businesses  that made all this happen.  Hats off to  Doug Jones, Bill Paine, Will Patrick, Holly Kays, Mary d’Arcy, Laura Krouse and Day Boat Works.   Dave Carruthers of Admiral Ship Supply donated this years bottom paint, Marshals Cove Paint donated the topside paint, Pettit Paint donated the Flagship Varnish and the Port Townsend Shipwrights CO-OP donated the use of staging.

Martha had an easy time slipping into the ways for the travel lift to pick her Monday late morning.   The experienced crew of the Port of Port Townsend did a fine job of gently lifting her and blocking her up.

Our space is near the ever-supportive Port Townsend Shipwright’s Co-op, and we are grateful to Dave Griswold and all the folks there for their  friendly nature and professional abilities.  This year they are donating use of their staging which is very helpful.   Looking for a short 2 week turn around with paint and a thorough check over.  Let us know if you would like to come by and put some hands-on time on Martha while she is out of the water.

We are honored to announce that the artist Mark Heine has created a limited edition of fine art prints of a stunning oil painting he made of Martha.  All profits from each print sold, go to funding the work of The Schooner Martha Foundation

Each hand-signed and numbered reproduction is printed using archival inks on the finest quality, heavyweight acid free paper. Included with each print is a signed, embossed certificate of authenticity and the painting back label story.
This edition will be limited to a maximum of 400 prints. Framing is not included.

Visit Mark’s page for complete details, including how you can purchase the original oil painting!

Martha Downwind, by Mark Heine