NUTS & BOATS
The monthly newsletter for to-be and already-are cruisers
Volume 3, Issue #5 - May 15, 2005
Publisher: Trish Lambert
www.takehersailing.com
(C) P. Lambert 2005
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IN THIS ISSUE
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OUR PRIVACY POLICY
MY LEARNING CURVE IS YOUR OPPORTUNITY!!
I am in the midst of reformatting the Take Her Sailing cruising booklets, specifically the hard copy versions. It’s become obvious (as I’ve learned more about self-publishing) that the layout is too dense. There needs to be more white space to make the booklets easier reads. So I’m back at the “drawing board” to do the reformats.
Thing is, I have a box of hard copy booklets on my shelf.
And with the actual information remaining the same between the old and new formats, it’s a downright shame to waste perfectly good books.
So, instead of ditching them, I am offering the booklets I have on hand at my cost. If you’ve been thinking about buying one, two, or all three of the THS booklets, now is the time. All three books are spiral bound soft covers. Get a taste for the valuable information contained in each by getting more details on each book.
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#1 - Cruising on a Boat: Joining the World's Largest Village
(List price - $13.97) SPECIAL PRICE: $8.75 plus $4.50 shipping
#2 - Messing About with Boats, Part 1: Choosing a Cruising Boat
(List price - $14.97) SPECIAL PRICE: $9.50 plus $4.50 shipping
#3 - Messing About with Boats, Part 2: Equipment, The Macro View
(List price - $15.97) SPECIAL PRICE: $9.97 plus $4.50 shipping
SUPER SPECIAL
Buy all three booklets from my on-hand stock
for
$24.95
plus $6.00 shipping
NOTE: All shipping costs are within the U.S. Contact me for shipping costs outside the U.S.
IMPORTANT! This special only applies to the booklets I have in the box on my shelf. There are less than twenty copies of each—once they are gone, this special price will no longer apply. So don’t delay! If you want one, two, or all three of these booklets, now is the time to buy!!!
A CRUISER'S EYE VIEW
The Monday Morning Crew Person, or 20-20 Hindsight by Skip Randall
A recent sailing experience reminded of the saying that goes something like, “Experience is a hard schoolmaster; he gives you the test, then gives you the lesson afterward.” I crewed aboard a friend’s boat—a sturdy 34-foot medium-displacement racer—on a 100-mile offshore race in the Gulf of Mexico off the Florida panhandle coast. The mylar main sail was fully-battened and the 155% deck-sweeping genoa was rigged on a roller furling system.
I was impressed with all the racing yacht equipment. There were shiny oversized winches, an hydraulic adjustable backstay, boom vang, cunningham, and the all control lines led aft through rope clutches to the cockpit. The lines themselves were sexy—that tight weave, low stretch, expensive type favored by the racers, all color-coded in bright purple, yellow, blue, green, and red. The stand-out was the not-so-sexy roller furling line along the starboard rail—a dirty white braid of uncertain vintage.
Offshore winds were blowing 25-30 knots on race day, with gusts to about 35, and seas were running six to eight feet. The downwind first leg was wet and exhilarating as we surfed down wave faces at 9-plus knots. We rounded the leeward mark as night fell and tightened up for the upwind beat. The wind and seas did not moderate as the evening wore on; if anything, things were deteriorating.
Our brains shifted into “storm mode” and we donned our foul weather gear, preparing for a moist night. We reefed to double-reefed main and partially-furled jib. Our attempt to run the engine in neutral to charge the batteries failed—the engine wouldn’t start. (We figured out later that we had shipped sea water into the tank through the vent, which is halfway up the side of the cabin.) So we hunkered down, beating to windward under reefed sails.
Suddenly there was a loud bang, followed by the roar of a wild flogging of the jib. The boat suddenly heeled severely. Adrenaline pumping, the skipper and crew jumped to action. After bearing off the wind and investigating by flashlight, the reason for the crisis became apparent: The jib furling line had parted just aft of the drum. As a result we were drastically overpowered, with the boat wallowing over in the gusts, burying the bow, and sweeping the deck with green water.
So there we were: no engine, low batteries, and a hard to control boat. We also had no jacklines, no EPIRB, no life raft and no other jib sails (like a storm jib or 100% jib). No one was willing to go forward in the conditions, so we decided to control the boat as well we could from the cockpit, tack to windward, and mark time. We knew we had to quit the race and put our attention on our own safety in challenging conditions.
By noon the next day we were within range to make the entrance to Port St. Joe. The winds were still pretty strong, in the mid to high 20s, and we were all exhausted. Once sheltered in the lee of the peninsula, we blanketed the jib and got it down. With the boat flattened out, we siphoned off the water in the diesel, changed the filters, and got the engine going. We proceeded on to Panama City, where I disembarked with a lot of food for thought.
That evening, after a shower and dinner, I went over the experience in my mind. As things turned out, we were not in imminent peril, but we could have been in different circumstances. In fact, it could have gotten very ugly. Had the wind built to, say, 40-plus knots, the jib might have blown out, or it could have caused a knockdown. We were about 35 miles offshore in the wee hours, had not seen any other craft in the area, had no engine and low batteries, and VHF transmissions would have been futile.
I think the first lesson I took away from this experience is: Don’t take anything for granted. The furling line had been overlooked and neglected on that boat, and, given its function, that was a mistake. When I got back to my boat, I checked my furling line out. It looks OK, but it’s at least 10 years old. Before I go offshore, it will be replaced, and I’ll get the good (expensive) stuff.
Second, we should have had jack lines and offshore PFDs with attached strobes for night time work. Without these safety features, no one could prudently go forward to attend to the problems when they cropped up.
Third, always be prepared for foul weather, no matter what time of year it is. It was spring and the weather had been in the 80’s daytime and 50’s overnight, so I hadn’t packed for cold weather. But the temperature got down to 44 that night, and though it didn’t rain, I got thoroughly soaked with spray. My medium-weight jacket and pants just didn’t cut it. I got really cold, shivering at times, and was probably close to real hypothermia. I have proper cold weather gear stowed on my own boat, but it did bloody little good while out on someone else’s boat.
So, as the Boy Scout motto goes: BE PREPARED. I have added the following items to my mental check list: Check the furling line, and replace it if it’s the least bit suspect. Take those heavy foulies along, even in the spring. Rig jacklines when going offshore, even if only on a coastal cruise or race. And don’t be afraid to speak up if I have safety concerns when on someone else’s boat…it’s MY butt on the line out there!
