Laura and I went out for a short practice yesterday (wednesday)...and you will appreciate this THart... we paired off with Gerard Loose (sp). Our practice was uneventful but we were in ultra conservative mode. Another team was not so fortunate. While sailing downwind they stuffed and the crew got free and while tumbling forward got released from his trap and was quickly away from the boat. This caused a capsize and the skipper got separated from the boat. Fortunately the skipper felt the crews broken trap brush by his hand and was able to grab it and used it to get back to the boat. He was able to right the boat and began searching for his crew. After 45 minutes of searching he headed to the beach to get help. While all this was going on the crew saw that he was being pulled out to see and began swimming for a buoy. He was able to reach the buoy and climbed onto it and was found by another team a little later.
Because of the hurricane 6 weeks ago they are short on security boats and there is a rumor that they may not do the round the island race on Sunday, it will depend on the conditions.
It is very difficult sailing and we are just hoping to get through the regatta without our own mishap.
I'm down at St. Kitts this week. The breeze is on today. I'm seeing 20-25kts easy this AM.
Best of luck guys. I'll be with you in spirit!
Dave and all, sail safe and smart, sometimes the turtle does win
so that would mean gusts could hit 30 kts? yowsa
where's that dang reefing line?
Day 1 is in the books. They kept us close to shore in fairly protected water. I'll post the course on Facebook, I am Jake Domingo.
The first mark was set against the hills of the bay which provided flat water but very unpredictable winds. The bottom mark was set in the lesser protected water and with a lot of seaweed. As expected the skilled sailors did well and the less skilled not so much. Several boats capsized before, at and after the reach mark making a sketchy rounding an intense affair. Our main goal today was to sail clean and learn. We almost got through the day clean. Our first downwind rounding of the second race the boat directly in front of us got hit by a puff and flipped Laura and I were able save it but in the process we could not get low enough to avoid there main and our dagger board when through it and shredded it as our boat came down. Both sailors are OK and Laura spoke the the skipper about the incident and all is well, Muma is a class act boys and girls. She has been on a steep learning curve and has been killing it. When she finally replaces me with someone younger stronger and smarter, you b1tches are toast!
Don't worry Dave, no one could match your wit, charm, and timeless good looks...
Good luck down there, hope you guys have a great time!
Is that your stage name?