Fun in the wind.

[okawbow]

Our club had it's annual "Whale of a Sail" this weekend at Carlyle Lake in southern Illinois. With the remnants of IKE headed our way; I expected an interesting sail. Just raising sail in the high winds and chop singlehanded was an adventure. About halfway through the races, a line of strong gusts came in, capsizing many boats, destroying sails, and leaving many people in the water. One sailor radioed they were abandoning their boat, due to too much water coming in. Everyone was accounted for, but some boats were worse for wear. At the docks, boats coming in under sail, were crashing into docks, seawalls, and other boats.

I noticed that most of the racers had sails with no reef points. Instead, they had to let their mains luff. They surely caused damage to their high priced sail in those winds. It's not that unusual for us to get lots of wind in our area. Most people here just don't go out in 20kt or higher winds. I make it a point to go out in higher winds when possible. It's good practice for when I might be unable to avoid bad weather. I get to learn the limits of my boat, and practice handling waves and being overpowered. Better to find out a little at a time, than all at once by accident.