I had to steal that line form the old Commander Cody song. It was hot yesterday, winds 15-20 mph with some gusts up to 25. I remember getting advice to stick to 5-10 mph when starting out. After 17 days on the boat, I now want at least 12 solo, & 15 with a buddy!
No one else around so I went solo. The big decision was to put on a harness. I have had daughters/wives/friends out on the wire, but never myself. None of us had ever done it before, so I figured it would be safer if I stayed on board & let them get used to being trapped out, the blind leading the blind.
There were a few seadoos & boats around my bay so I decided to go for it, man what a ride! It took a couple of times up & down the 4 mile bay to figure out what to do with the lines, how long I needed the stik, & trap line adjustment before it got comfortable, so then I got cocky. Went outside the bay to get more consistent winds & did a 9 mile reach. On the way back the winds strengthened, with some good gusts. I love how you can "feel" the gust & instantly make an adjustment before you go swimming. I still have some tiller tug, especially on a starboard tack, & was experimenting with moving fore & aft to change the helm feel. A gust hit & I slipped a bit of sheet, & headed up. As it passed I pulled on the tiller to regain course, & ALL H.E.L.L. broke loose. The rubber end cap on my new ariba stik pulled off! My first reaction was denial, followed by EJECT EJECT. Quickly realizing I wasn't in a jet I thought, you can save it. The only thing good that can be said was I still had hold off the cap as I counted fish & extricated myself from hook/shrouds & mainsheet.
Rigged up the righting bag, & couldn't budge the mast, which was underwater to nearly the hound. I found walking onto the bows or stern had no effect on the orientation of the boat, so I decided to try & swim it around, thanks to an unknown poster for that idea. It turns out swimming it in whitecaps is as easy as swimming by yourself. I was preparing for a struggle, but as long as you go in the direction of the leading edge of the mast it was literally a 30 second job.
I left the jib cleated, as once the boat got 45* into the wind, the jib lifted the mast nearly to the top of water. The boat drifts pretty good in that wind, so I pulled myself down the fore stay to the hull, jumped on & hiked out with bag. The boat came up in only a few seconds. Next time I dump solo, first move will be to get the mast upwind, then I'm going to try righting it without the bag.
Sorted out the mess & flew hulls for another hour. I'm now looking forward to going 20 miles or more to the other side of the lake. I can see hanging on the wire for over an hour.
Question: do you guys play the sheet or head up when smallish gusts threaten to tip you?
I also wanted to thank Turbohobo, Wolfman, Erice, Hullflyer, Yurdle, Pbegle, Windvane 335, Coastrat, & Lawrencer 2003 for convincing me to buy the 5.7 as my first Cat.
Also many thanks to Philip, Andrew & Ron, among others for technical advice that allowed me to figure this beast out, & get it rigged back into seaworthy condition,(though I think Philip is a pathological liar as so far no hordes of naked chicks have come over to see my Nacra )

PS I know I have forgotten some who gave valuable advice, sorry, you know who you are. Thanks Damon, without this forum, I'd probably be maxed out with a Hobie Wave.
Man what a ride!



edited by: Edchris177, Jul 27, 2010 - 11:51 AM

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Hobie 18 Magnum
Dart 15
Mystere 6.0XL Sold Was a handful solo
Nacra 5.7
Nacra 5.0
Bombardier Invitation (Now officially DEAD)
Various other Dock cluttering WaterCrap
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EC that is great stuff! Sounds like you are having a blast! I'm glad you were able to get that boat, it is one sweet ride. A Wave wouldn't have suited you. And thanks I hope I've helped you out.

I always wear a harness and am clipped in when I go solo even when I don't hike out. I'm just a chicken that I will get thrown from the boat and it will take off without me.

D.

--
Dave Bonin
1981 Nacra 5.2 "Lucile"
1986 Nacra 5.7 "Belle"
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
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Quote

Question: do you guys play the sheet or head up when smallish gusts threaten to tip you?

Glad you had a good ride.

I have the sheet wrapped around my hand a couple times, so when a gust comes I drop one or two 'wraps' and point up wind a little bit as well, but only as much as needed. I feel like I lose speed pointing up, and lose power letting out the sheet, so I do a little of both.

--
Rob
OKC
Pile of Nacra parts..
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25 kt.+ winds = my favorite sailing days! being heavy pays off then.

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Check out "Prindle Sailors" on Facebook!
bill harris
hattiesburg, mississippi
prindle 16- "BLUE RIBBON"
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Quote

Question: do you guys play the sheet or head up when smallish gusts threaten to tip you?

If I am trying to go up wind I turn up. If I don't need to be any higher up wind, I will play the sheet. If you are constantly playing the sheet, let out the traveler a couple of inches.

Quote

though I think Philip is a pathological liar

You catch on fast!!!



edited by: skarr1, Jul 27, 2010 - 05:22 PM

Know exatly how u felt with the rubber end cap in your hand and the tiller extension falling slowly away, down the tramp as the hull lifts higher and higher untill it goes past the point of no-return. Some sticks have a cork ball on the end, I'm not sure how they are attached, I just use the bare stick now after my episode. It would be nice to have some kind of stopper on the end of the stick though, any suggestions would be welcome.

--
TurboHobo
H14T
H16
P18
G-Cat 5.0
P16
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Good old Canadian Hockey Stick Tape!!!

--
Dave Bonin
1981 Nacra 5.2 "Lucile"
1986 Nacra 5.7 "Belle"
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
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getting out the wire solo with some solid hull flying time really is the best buzz in cat sailing, esp. soloing a 2crew boat

when sailing upwind i usually find heading up is the best way to keep control of boat during a gust, for a small movement of the hand on the tiller you get greater de-powering of the entire rig by turning the boat up and stalling the rig sail. also when going upwind it lifts you a little closer to your destination, however speed seems to drop more than by just playing the sheet. and the higher the hull lifts the more tug you'll need on the rudder

my tiller popped apart yesterday while i was on the wire but fortunately not flying too high and steady wind and the hand controlling the sheet worked automatically to bring the boat down safely

in a race against faster boats, or as fast, you'd probably be better off playing the sheet

of course on a reach you have to play the sheet as trying to turn the rudders won't stall the entire rig quick enough to stop you from going over

going to weather on the wire solo i find myself trapped right up behind the main beam but reaching at terminal speed on the 5.2, 15?knots, i find i need to get back to the rear beam to help stop the boat tripping over the very deep leeward bow

yesterday had a good few downwind runs and am getting closer to being able to wildthing the boat. re-rigging the traveller to 2to1 has helped controlling that for the initiation of the downwind hull fly





edited by: erice, Jul 28, 2010 - 09:52 AM

Edchris177

(. . . so far no hordes of naked chicks have come over to see my Nacra )

EC, you got it all wrong. They are not naked when the come over. They get naked while sailing on the boat. I'm sure as hell ain't gonna show you how its done. Sheesh . . . .

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Philip
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Edchris, you sound like you are getting the disease. The extreme hullflyers addiction. That's great, you'll be a junky in no time!

I have the sheet wrapped around my hand like yurdle does. When Getting pushed too high I release some sheet, when the hull starts to fall I tighten. After some practice and confidence you'll be able to fly a hull 1/4 mile or more with the right wind.

I never point up to bring the boat down, I just sheet out. In a panic from a very strong gust I will dump the line, but I recommend trying both ways and doing what your most comfortable with. Have fun and keep the stories coming.