Sailing Adventures - OR Are you Nuckin Futz??

[captedteach]

Over the years I have had SEVERAL great days on the water - More than most 'Lake sailors'  I would venture to say.  For me those wonderful days just melt into one another and at the end of it all no one just stands out. HOWEVER the days that end up as Extreme Sport Days stick in my mind for years.  In the next few post I'm going to tell a few of my best personal stories of Extreme Sailing  Here is the first and I hope you enjoy

SeaSlug is a 16ft monohull that as you can guess from the name is a bit slow. It was a swingkeel boat that someone had modified to a shoal fixxed keel. In wind less than ten knots it was Horindously slow esp when compared to my beachcats.  HOWEVER SeaSlug is a GREAT teaching boats and one of my friends was really wanting to learn to sail so SeaSlug goes in the water on a fairly mild (about 70*) Sept afternoon with a little cooler of brew hahas. Leaving the marina with the wind at our backs we sailed out into the lake in a comfortable 12-15knts - SeaSlug is really liking this and making good time across the lake  My friend is at the stick and grinning from ear to ear as in just a few hours he has the WHOLE concept of sailing. The wind has been building during our trip out and we now are in 15-20knts with waves in the 2-3ft range - and just starting to whitecap when we decide to head back to the marina.  Tim does as I tell him and we round up to a heading close to SW and the ease of going down wind is now gone.  The bow of SeaSlug is now punching thru the waves and sending spray over the deck in such a continuous plume that it seemed like it was raining just on our little spot of the lake.  Tim is doing a great job driving the boat thru the swells and keeping boat speed up and I am doing my part by sitting on the rail using my 200 +/- lbs to keep the boat flat and tending to the jib sheet.  This is where SeaSlug came alive - the little boat was really fun to sail in this type of wind and sea. The hull shape reminded me of a little Americas Cup boat and as she busted each wave open sending the spray into the air and cascading back to cover us it just emphasized that - I was absolutely have a blast!!   It was during this that a few things happened all at once and just capped off the day as one to remember for the rest of my life.  One - my beer was getting close to empty so I turned it up to get the last swallow. Two - We topped a wave Three the wind had a slight lull

NOW think about this  I've got my head tilted back as I'm sitting on the rail in close to 20knts finishing off my beer the wind has a slight break easing the pressure on the sails and we are rolling off the back of a wave.  Next thing I know is I'm hanging on to the rail getting drug thru the water and laughing my ass off - matter of fact I'm laughing so hard I cant get back in the boat and I still have my beer can.  This is the only part of the day that Tim got worried (although he was laughing pretty hard too) because he was not sure if he could get back to me if I let go.  SO there I was getting drug thru the water laughing because I had fallen off of a boat and Tim is doing his best to drag my but back onboard.  I just had to hang on for a secong and stop laughing so I could climb back in.  Once I got back in the boat I realized that 70* and 20knts of wind is kinda chilly when your wet so the t-shirt hit the cockpit sole and I airdried as we sailed back in.  That evening as I typed this tale for the first time on the sailing site I belonged to at the time  I realized that my face hurt from smiling so much - even now as I'm typing this I can feel the tingle of a deep smile in my cheeks.

If any of you live in the Navarre Beach area of FL you may see SeaSlug out on the bay as she now belongs to two kids that live there.

CaptTeach

[Captain Smollett]

 :)

Great story.  While we all probably CLAIM the 'peace' of sailing draws us to it, I bet more than one of us has fond memories of those hard driving legs close hauled in a Fresh Breeze.  I know I do ;) .

On one such day, my wife wedged herself in tight on the foredeck while we worked to windward in about 18 kts.  What a blast.  I think it was the first time she reallly, really enjoyed sailing.

[captedteach]

My next two adventures kinda go hand in hand so I'll put both of them here

I had been wanting a beachcat as I could not stand having to miss half of the party as I sailed SeaSlug across the lake at our usual pace of 2.5 - 3knts and its 5 miles across to the beach.  I picked up a little yellow Hobie 16 and one Monday I rode out to the Marina and drug the boat out of the shop where I had been cleaning it up for the last few days.  I got the boat all rigged up and hit the water with my cooler and lifejacket about 3pm telling my mom I would be home just after dark.  I sailed over to the dam then headed for the beach to see how long it would take to sail over on the weekend.  Winds were fair and the lake was flat so I was making good time.  I was sitting on the Starboard side and really enjoying the speed when I looked at the water rushing past the hull and checking to make sure the bow was not about to plow under to cause one of those 'P' word thingies when I noticed what looked like a crack just forward of the pylon. This is only about 30minutes into my sail. I eased the sails so I could take a closer look. As SOON as the pressure was off the hull it folded in - everything in front of the pylon took a hard right which released all the rig tension.  WELL Let me tell you folks if the rig aint got no tension on it, it falls down!!  Of course my life jacket was attached to the tramp and the cooler was in the kewl little cooler rack and I was standing on the tramp trying to get the rig down with out it causing anymore damamge to my boat.  Once the rig was secured I looked around - I was closer to the beach than the marina but not much and the walk around is a LONG FREAKIN way not that it mattered much since I dont think I can drag me and my boat the 2+ miles to the closest shore. The wind is blowing out of the east so I'm drifting right toward the dam - as long as the boat stays afloat I'll make it.  I get my life jacket on and take stock of the cooler - I have a few beers a few bottles of water  about three Mtn Dews and two PowerBars. With it being Monday afternoon no one is on the lake - at least not this far out so I'm kinda stuck.  As the day passes into evening I know that my mom will be coming to the marina to see if I've made it in yet and all things will be good.  As the moon rises and darkness is truly upon me I'm starting to wonder where in the heck are the rangers - I dont have a watch but it was getting dark about 8:00 at that time of the year. Slowly but surely I'm making it closer to the dam and as I watch points of land slip past I'm guessing that in another hour I'll hit the base of the dam and from there it will be a four mile walk back to the marina.To stay somewhat warm I'm wrapped in my sails - my stores in the cooler are all still there.  FINALLY  I hit the dam and drag the boat above the line of waves so it does not get banged up any worse - I'm worried more about the rig than the boat. After a bottle of water and a powerbar I climb the dam and the first person I run into is a Park Ranger - I had not gotten in the truck good before my mom pulled up.  When she found out that my boat had broken and I had been floating since WAY before dark she was PISSED.  She had started calling the Rangers about an hour after dark when she rode to the marina and saw my truck and trailer still at the shop.  They told her I was probably on a beach drinking a beer with some girl and they didnt have enuff manpower on mondays to put a boat in the water.  SOoooo I made a phone call and got a friend to meet me at the marina and we went around to another boat ramp and salvaged my boat - It was now 1am.


SO the very next day - little bunny foo foo running thru the forrest  Oh wait thats another tale

About two weeks later I had picked up another H16 hull and swapped all my parts from the wrecked boat to the new boat.  Gil Page and I decided that this Monday would be a great sailing day (BTW - I ran the marina so Mondays were my day off)  He had someone that wanted to go sailing that day - CaptHook  Chris had lost a hand in an industrial accident.  This was GREAT day the wind out of the west around 12knts - Hobie 16s love this. I'm sailing one up and Gil has Chris the one armed bandit on his boat Hull Flying is the sport of the day seeing who can keep it up longer.  After SEVERAL runs along the darn we decide to go to a beach for a break and a beer  Gil falls off and heads dead downwind wing and wing I'm having fun going fast so I'm gybing and screaming off reach after reach even flying a hull over Gils transoms.  We are still in the shadow of the dam so visability kinda stops right there  At the end of one of my runs I'm getting ready to tack when a HUGE cloud comes rolling over the trees and I feel the wind change and a sudden temp drop - Well that wind change was just enuff to make me capsize as I tacked.  It was then that I found out the one thing I forgot to put on the new boat - the righting line.  Gil saw me go over and was there is just a few minutes He sent Chris sailing off in one direction as we rigged a line and righted the boat.  Once we had the boat up I sailed down to Gils boat and he jumped onto it. We had decided to go to Natural Beach to wait out the squall since it was the best location due to wind direction.  As we sailed toward the beach, the winds picked up and up and up clocking the whole time. I got to about the same location I was when the other boat collapsed and was absolutley hauling ass - 23knts EASY - which btw is also about terminal velocity of a H16. I'm on the back cross bar doing my best to keep the boat flat and then I'm soaking wet and wondering where in the heck is my boat. I was about 50ft from it and it was full turtle. I swam back to the boat and righted it - then it went right back over so I righted it again - and again. The Fourth time I kept it on its feet  Gil sailed by and we picked a new location to go to  - Wind now in the 40knt range and a beachcat is not the best boat for that.  I had not traveled more than 400yds when I pitchpoled again - I got the boat up and kept it up then pointed as close to the wind as I could - Now North and COOKING. I made my way to a rocky beach as lightning started to pop all around. Gil had lost his jib just as I pitched the last time - I saw the clew plates leave just before I went over.  It was about 5minuets after I beached that I saw them sneaking around the point.  We got his boat parked next to mine and all three of us got into a depression in the cliff to hide from the wind, rain and lightning.  The wind was so strong that it blew the lake flat - not a single wave over 6in on the whole lake.  Once everything died down we put the boats back in the water and sailed home to find the Rangers getting ready to put in.  All that wind was courtesy of a Tornado that went through town and windspeeds of 85mph were clocked at the Ranger Station.

[captedteach]

While this adventure seems a bit tame after the Tornado it was that adventure that made me not think twice about even going out on this day.

Damon Linkous and I were at Juanas Good Time Regatta in Navarre Beach FL.  I had traveled down with Damon to possibly sail on another boat as pick up crew. Damon was looking for crew but someone lighter than me - Our combined weight is close to 500lbs or 205lbs over minimum race weight for Damons boat.

Fri night we do the welcome party and scout out boats for me and crew for Damon but when the sun rises on Sat the wind is kickin pretty good - enuff so that the really hot boats are talking about not racing (thats the SuperCat 22s, Hobie Miracle20s, Tigers and Foxes, and the Nacra 6.0s)  The race committee says the race is a go and I tell Damon that I'm for it if he wants to race his boat.  SO with 500lbs of crew on a Hobie 18 Magnum we head for the startline in 20+knts for a distance race of 30miles.  The first half of the race is down wind and we are MOVING  We pass the cruising class in the first hour - they start 30 minutes before the beachcats.  Heading to the pin we  feel like the wind is picking up a bit and are kinda worried about a capsize when we head back up. The Pin comes and goes and we are still on our feet but now the heavy tacking begins.  As we worked our way back on several occasions I had an errant sheet decide to wrap around my leg from the HOT side of the blocks. This was not fun as I had to blow off the sail and re sheet to get free and keep my leg attached.  Winds were over 35knts at the pin and we finished the day in one piece but it was 5hrs of hard core sailing - the next day we found out that all the DNS got points for 7th place so half the fleet had only 2pts more than us and they didnt even race - This kinda pissed me off as I thought they should all get LAST place points for the number of boats registered instead of LAST place for the number that hit the course.  That day at least four H16s were broken beyond repair and another boat lost its rig  It was still a great race weekend