One day last summer my friend and i sat on 3 Rooker Island, about 5 miles north of our home beach. He looked up from his beer and said,
look at those storm clouds! If we were smart we would head home.
I replied,
Ok, another beer it is!”
We actually beat the storm in. We had my Hobie 18 on the beach when he then said,
let’s go out and play on my Dart". Since he is an accomplished sailor and I know Darts handle big wind well (and I was properly lubricated), I agreed.
We watched all the kayakers coming in. Saw all the other catamarans coming in and even ignored a fellow cat sailor on the beach who warned the radar was really bad and he was taking his cat home. The last sign was a cute bikini clad kayaker calling us crazy for going out….
Well as we played in the 25+ gusts, and shot a rooster tail seemingly OVER 10 feet, all we could do was smile. Then it got ugly! We were now in 35-40 gusts and heading back to the shore. We were going VERY fast and he said to me, “HOLD ON” this is gonna be ugly!”
We drove p the beach at full speed…. About 1000 feet south of our launching area. Quickly dropped the main and jib and started to carry the sails back to our car area. IT WAS WILD, and we made it… Very exhilarating.
Here is where I messed up. As I walked back to my Hobie (that was rocking like crazy, ready to ghost fly a hull on the beach) I was concerned about my jib. I had troubles with it previously and was worried it might unfurl (as I had not tied it up when I went out on the Dart). As I touched the cleat, to make sure it was snug…. It popped open and my jib flew out. It flapped violently and louder than a rock concert. It was shredded in seconds. Bye bye matching sails.
I had to sit on the bows to keep the boat from flying away (or so it seemed). I decided I had better drop the mast… but Mother Nature wouldn’t play. Lightning exploded all around us, and I couldn’t get near the adjuster plate to undo the forstay.
Well,… it took 6 people but we get her on her side. Got the forestay off and dropped the mast. All the while the shredded remains of my jib were flapping wildly.
The rain and lightning forced us all to sit in cars. About 45 minutes later it calmed down enough for my friend and I to go get the Dart we had left down beach. A bolt of lightning exploded right behind us and across the sky. We both turned around (without saying a word) and went back to sit in the cars to wait longer.
The beach was strewn with cats on their sides, upside down and my shredded jib (sure wish I tied that up).
Well live and learn. Now I always tie up my jib. I will listen to friends who have seen the radar. Respect storm clouds a little more. And am happy I am here to sail another day.
Thats what makes the 16 so much fun in my opinion. The fact that you are ripping along at a very nice pace and never even see the pitchpole coming. You're checking out your nice rooster tail one second, and face first into the water the next! Having to always worry about pitching is what keeps me on my toes.
In my opinion the best way to say,
hey that is a really dumb idea
is to say
Hey dude, I don't think I would be caught dead on this tin can tri
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hey that is a really dumb idea
is to say
Hey dude, I don't think I would be caught dead on this tin can tri
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Problem is, I couldn't say anything...that project is beyond words....and all I can manage is to run as fast & far away as possible, screaming my head off.
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Most people are pleased to get advice when you explain what they are doing will cost them dollars down the track.
I saw two young guys filling the hulls of their cat with water. I couldn't help myself and wandered over to ask why. They said they were leaving it on the beach and water ballast meant it wouldn't blow over. When told about osmosis they pulled the bungs, dried it out and tied it to a tree.
Sometimes though others won't take advice if you hit them with a fencepost. New owner of old cat enlists our help to set up on beach and then asks how to sail it as he hadn't had a prepurchase test sail. We said go out 200 yards and come back, then do it again. Stay close to shore so if you get in trouble someone can assist you. We said we will watch you. A short time later he disappears around the point of the bay as the breeze fills in apparently racing another cat. Hours later people start leaving the beach but we walk to the point and see the cat on its side drifting further offshore. I convince a returning fisherman in a tinny to head out and we eventually find the cat sailor sitting on one hull, a big lump on his forehead and being violently sick. He has no idea or the strength to get cat upright or to keep it upright in the breeze, or get back to shore with one rudder and the rudder bar torn off. We get cat upright and tow him in, pack up his gear and he disappears. Soon after there is a For Sale advert in the paper. I bet he's never gone near a cat since and tells his friend 'They're dangerous and unpredictable, look what happened to me!