Last night it was my turn in the rotation for RC duty at my clubs Thursday night race series. Most of the boats racing a large monohulls with a bunch of portsmouth boats and a couple cats thrown in the mix. By 6:15 we had our course set, and the start line in place and were waiting for 6:30 to begin the rolling starts that take 30 minutes to get through. A Nacra 5.8 was sailing around waiting for the start an capsized just prior to 6:30. He was single handing and unable to right the boat on his own. He was drifting slowly downwind with many other boats sailing around him, but none offering any assistance. There was nothing I could do at this point as I was responsible for getting all the starts off on time. I kept an eye on him to make sure he stayed with his boat and he seemed to be doing fine. At 7pm when we were done getting all the starts off, we pulled anchor and hurried down to him to assist. By this time he had gone turtle and a large sailboat was attempting to assist. We took over from the sailboat and sent them on their way. We attemted to right the boat by using the tying a line to the mast base and attempting to right by pulling the boat bows over the stern as I have learned this is the correct way to assist a turtled cat. The mast was full of water and the boat would get to pointing straight up and then flop back on its side and return to turtle. Things got scary....the only place on this body of water deep enough to go turtle is the main shipping channel into the port. A LARGE tanker was coming up the channel, a rather frantic conversation took place. Do we get him off the boat get out of dodge and hope the tanker doesn't run over his boat, or do we give it one more shot? We opted to go like hell and drag him out of the channel. We made it out of the channel and away from the path of the tanker. The boat was still turtle with a mast full of water. We took one more shot at righting him and with the committee boat at full throttle (big diesle on about a 24 foot work boat), it slowly came upright. The main was torn to shreds, but other than that, the boat was intact. We towed him back to the beach left him safely there.
lessons learned.....
1. Don't single hand a boat you can't right yourself.
2. Don't rely on others to help you in case you need it. I was very dissappointed at all the other boats out there that just sailed around him without offering any assistance. This would have been a non-issue if someone had helped him right prior to him going turtle.
3. The boat is not worth your life. When it comes down to it, get out of trouble and worry about your boat later. It can be replaced.
There are a million things I can add to this later when I have some time, but my main question is, was your boat the only power boat resource on the water?
If so, count your blessings that he flipped it before the start, stayed with the boat and stayed where you could see him. This could have turned out much, much worse.
Mike
Yes, we were the only powerboat on the water. I did notice a couple running up towards the port and ramp area, but either did not see, or chose not to assist the cat.
Idea: If in that situation again (mast full - boat wants to be turtle), put a float on the mast i.e. a large fender of two.
Just wondering if bows over stern is the preferred method on beach cats or only larger cats and trimarans?
That is why I now carry this with me. I am now sailing small lakes with just a few of us and we may not have help readily available.
http://www.murrays.com/mm5/merchant...
I would rather be safe than sorry!!
Doug
I prefer to have my mobile phone with me. It could be helpful if I am seperated from my boat.
Cheers,
Klaus
Klaus,
try this once. Jump into the sea upwind of a safe landing place like a beach with no big surf and well within swimming range, or swim some small distance out. Try using your phone or a replica with real buttons while lying in the chop or waves. Try to have a meaningful conversation of about 2 minutes without getting the phone soaked. Remember that you are not likely to be separated from your boat unless there is some wind, so try it a summer day with some wind and chop. Unless you have some really special precautions, I would save the phone in its waterproof package until I was back on land.
I have helped right Tornados who have gone over with big holes in their masts. We towed them sideways until the mast was accesible from the boat and then had boat no. 2 grab the mast and let it drain a bit. Then we towed them sideways and 'threw' the stick upwards to get it started. Once the centerboards got some grip they came up, but crew had to be really alert and hang on to the mainbeam to stop it from going over the other way. The mast is really heavy when it is full of water after a turtle!
2. Don't rely on others to help you in case you need it. I was very dissappointed at all the other boats out there that just sailed around him without offering any assistance. This would have been a non-issue if someone had helped him right prior to him going turtle.
3. The boat is not worth your life. When it comes down to it, get out of trouble and worry about your boat later. It can be replaced.
Totally agree
my Nacra 5.8 seems to turtle very quickly. What can i do to help prevent that?
Put it under water... see where bubbles are coming from. Seal the heck out of those areas with silicone.
Or
Have your mast in the shade on a hot day. Put it in the sun... soap it up. Seal the smack out of where it is bubbling.
or
look at every single fitting on your mast and if there is a question smear the hell out of it with silicone.
or
hobie bob it
One of the last times I went out sailing I capsized and there was so much wind on the bottom of the tramp it was pushing the mast under and once the sails were in and it was drifiting it pushed it down more. I was really worried about turtling there although the bay were I was was probably not deep enough to go completely turle. That would lead to a problem with damage to the mast if it did hit the bottom. The mast came back up easily. I haven't looked specificly for holes in my mast byt putting it under water, etc... but I did look around soecificaly for issues and goobered areas up that I was a little concerned about. That being said... I think there is some styrofoam in my mast though.
Make sure your mast does not have any leaks is the first place to start. If the issue presist and you are like me, being prone to going over, you may want to consider a fixed float or a tetherable float that you can send up/down the mast after the boat is turtled.
with the 5.8 it has the ring and hook system. how can i lower the mail sail if it turtles, and then send up a float? or am i hosed on that point.
You would have seperate line on the side of the mast for the float. The sail you would leave alone. You should check the mast for leaks first. You might be surprised to find it does leak and how much less likely you are to turtle when it is not filling with water.
I'm glad nobody was injured - pity nobody would help early enough.
The preferred method in this case IS bow over stern. I have seen two catamarans - one a Supercat 21 and the other a large Mystere, attempt to be righted over their sides with masts full of water. Both boats suffered a good deal of hull damage from the tow line as it tried to right from the side. Having water in the mast really works against you especially given enough time to fill completely.
Here in the UK after you have completed your RYA Power boat level 2 certificate (which is mandatory prior to driving any Club safety craft) you can then attain your Safety boat certificate. During this additional course the RYA prescribed method for up turning a turtled Cat is from the side. The safety boats toe rope is tied to the Cats righting line which should be fastened to the mast foot and around what will be the high hull (windward once the cat is upright). The complete length of he toe rope must be longer than the mast our somebody will get a nasty headache if the Cat flips. Once this has been done the safety boat uses enough throttle to turn into the wind and then applies more throttle to eventually get the cat on it's side and then into the upright position.
At Mumbles we wouldn't hold a race unless there is at least one safety boat on the water plus committee boat.
What Mark said. I did the same course a while back and recovered turtled cats since then. As our safety boat lines are equipped with carabiniers so I simply loop the line over the front beam and pass it over the hull and pull sideway. Works fine for small cats even with a full mast: been there, done that. Just watch where the line goes and that it is not in a position to slice a hull or a crew. Have the crew try to sink the lower stern while you pull the line with the safety boat to get it back to the side, it helps.
Bow over stern is the only way to get a tri back up, I never had to recover one yet but as we have a couple of small tri on the parking lot I asked. It's also the right way to get a big cat back up, but things that big don't sail on our reservoir anyway.
As for safety cover *nobody* sail on our reservoir if there is not a safety boat present manned by a trained safety coxwain with up-to-date first aid training. The racing team get their own separate boat(s).
When Righting fails due to mast filling with water, you can release a shroud, and tie the mast to the boat, right it, haul it aboard and await a tow. Hopefully save your life, and the boat.
I had to break down the boat. we were on a lake with no power boats allowed. My crew was at the help and his inexperience came through. the boat turtled quickly and well, it was time to break it down. it was a good experience, but one I hope not to repeat.
A radio is better. Phones are one to one. Radios are one to many.
Any radio recommendations? We had some range difficulties in last year's Border Raid, while cellphones turned out to be quite useful for some competitors.
Sounds like you did exactly what you should, Good job.
As Race Commitee you had the right to PROTEST all other competitors for failure to render assistence as perscribed in the International Yacht Racing Rules. This is one of the fundamental rules in the very front of the rules book!!!
ALL BOATS/ SAILORS MUST STOP AND RENDER ASSISTENCE OR CAN BE DISQUALIFICATION FOR FAILURE TO DO SO.
I would have DSQ'd the Whole Stinking Fleet!!!
Harry Murphey
H18mag/#9458, Fleet54/Div11
P19mx w/spin /#86, CRAC
Well, there are tons of things that come to mind after reading just the first post, and more after that...
In terms of what were your options as RC, there are many and I certainly am not going to second guess your decision to run a race. If this were an essay question on a USSA exam, I'd probably answer it like this...
The RC was limited to one power boat. I would have made the fleet aware of this at the skippers meeting, and make a point that we would be
extra generous
with redress for sailors that help one another. Can't force them, but we can try to sweeten the pot.
The boat capsized before the first start. The sailor stayed with the boat. At the time of day for the start, one is faced with a limited amount of daylight to be able to run any races if the starts are delayed.
There are three options at this point:
1. Ask a specific boat in the last class to start to help him NOW.
2. Run the starts while keeping watch on his progress.
3. Postpone and help him yourself immediately, with the high likelihood that there will be no racing.
I would have done #1 and #2 in the situation as described. If the boat that assisted was affected in their race, I would have filed for redress for them. No jury in the world would deny this.
If the requested boat didn't render assistance, and the sailor was separated from the boat or appeared injured, I would go immediately to #3.
Believe it or not, my rationale for #1 come from Boy Scouts about 20+ years ago. If you're in a first aid / CPR situation with a crowd of people, never say
someone call 911.
Everyone will stand there looking at each other and assume someone else will do it. The better thing is to point to one person and say
YOU, call 911.
Anyway, that sums up that part.
As for the rescue operations, I think you did exactly the right thing. Drag the capsized boat out of the way of the tanker to avoid damaging two boats (and who knows what else)...
If there is imminent risk of collision, get on the radio to the other boat, Coast Guard, or anyone that will listen to slow them down. As you probably know, it takes some boats a few miles to stop or effectively turn. In limited water, this gets very tricky.
Once out of the way, I agree with Brian, dismast the boat. You can pull a pin or just cut a wire. Either way, get the mast disconnected (tie it to something so it doesn't go to the bottom), and get the sails down and stowed. You should be able to right the boat easily now, then pull the mast (it WILL be heavy) onto the righted boat and tow it all in.
BTW, I totally agree with your lessons learned list.
Mike
How do you right a turtled boat when the mast is off? <img src=
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My anchor is a Danforth in a padded bag which clips to my tramp. But I use it to stay off the beach when I go for a coffee or walk etc.
The Tornado guys here when turtle take the line over the hull and across the bottom to the power boat and pull it over sideways. I am told the critical point is when the boat starts to right that the power is lessened quickly.
Well Mary, I never tried this firsthand, but was out overnight once (solo, turtled and dismasted), and as soon as the mast came free, I gave up trying. I've told lots of people that story over the years, and several have told me that it's far EASIER to right a boat from turtle without a mast (less resistance from the sails, etc.).
I would think that the procedure is the same as righting a cat in general, especially with a power boat. With the mast missing, one would tie onto the dolphin striker (yes, this will probably bend it depending how it is tied, but that's a problem to be dealt with after you get the mess back to shore).
And to clarify a few comments about righting with a power boat, the best procedure that I have seen is as follows. Get the capsized boat perpendicular to the wind. Tie one end of the tow line to the mast base / dolphin striker, run it out under the deck of the windward hull (which is under water), run it across the bottom of the turtled boat to the power boat (which is setting up on the downwind side of the capsized boat). On the power boat, run the line around a cleat 1/2 TURN, and have the power boat crew HOLD the tow line, but DON'T TIE OFF. The idea here is, you want the cleat to help the crew hold the line so they aren't pulled overboard, but they need to be able to release it instantly. Have the capsized boat's crew sit or stand on the leeward hull, holding the righting line.
The power boat slowly goes down wind to get the slack out of the line. When the slack is out, everyone needs to brace for action. Apply power directly downwind to pull on the line while the crew is pushing the leeward hull down with their weight. As soon as the boat starts coming over (the windward hull is vertical and coming downwind), the power boat crew releases the tow line, and the capsized boat is now righted.
Obviously, it is essential that the tow line be free of knots, shackles, caribiners, thimbles, etc. so it doesn't get hung up when it needs to be released. If the line isn't released, the boat will re-capsize downwind because you can't relieve the power fast enough with just the engine, especially if the waves aren't working in your favor (been there, done that).
Hope this helps, it sounds more complicated than it really is.
Mike
I am familiar with the procedure when you have a powerboat. I thought a couple of people were talking about the crew themselves righting the boat with the mast disconnected, and I did not know that was possible.
Mary, While I am happy to say I never did it, my thinking is that it would be the same as righting the boat normally, except as Mike said, you wouldn't have the resistance of the sail and mast.
Post deleted by PTP
Those are people that have never tried it. If you get into a turtle situation... keep the mast and sails connected. The platform is very stable without a mast. It is much more stable when upside down.
I have multiple experiences with a turtled platform and no mast. Not a good situation. You need the mast and sails to act like a sea anchor / lever. The hulls drift downwind while the mast and sails drag slower. This causes the boat to roll onto its side. Then you can right it.
Without the drag and lever of the rig... it is very difficult to right. Even with a power boat. Try to flip over the hull platform on dry land. It is not easy to lift. Much, much more difficult in the water as the downside hull slips away from the lifting force. You have to trip it somehow as explained in an earlier post.
By far the easiest assisted righting is done by another boat lifting the mast head while the capsized boats crew rights as normal.