Hey sailors,

Did anyone else on the east coast get out during Hurricane Irene's visit? I got out in Jordan Lake in Chatham County, NC. Went out solo mid-day last saturday. Wind was amazing...20-25 mph constant, 30-35 mph gust. Was out for a few hours, spent a quarter of the time righting my boat. Capsized 5-6 times, one really good turtle. Thank god for water tight bags, I needed the extra 70 lbs of water weight to get my Nacra 5.0 back over. Just wanted to know if I was the only one crazy enough to give it a shot. Friends and family advised against it, went out anyways, lived to tell the story. Post your stories of how you harnessed natures fury in the passing of Hurricane Irene.

we (dunedin fl) were blessed with 15-18 wind on friday
20-25 sat and sunday

we also had lots of wind this fri and sat (and today is upper 20's)

I went out as the forecast was 15-20 but was pretty dissapointed as it never got above 8 or so.

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Greenville SC

Offering sails and other go fast parts for A-class catamarans
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Went out yesterday and sailed in the remnants of TD Lee. Wind, 20-30 with Gusts at 35+. The lake is shallow so a lot of 3' - 4' white caps about 6' apart. Spent a lot of time with my eyes closed because of severe spray - even with my solid tramp. Need to get some goggles. My son and I made a 400# crew, never went over, but since that was the first time out for me in those conditions, I was not pushing the limits. Not interested in going over in that kind of chop.

We attempted a tack back into the beach area and I was unable to get the boat turned. Furled the jib and tried to turn into the wind-unseccesful. Attempted to manually pull the main through the wind and gybe around - only to catch wind and take off like a rocket. Ended up with a tow in. Got more to learn about sailing in these conditions. Ripped the jib in a couple spots.

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David
Memphis, TN
'84 Hobie 18
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Portsmouth RI had 20kts on Friday 8/26 prior to Irene. Steady SSW. No crashes but too much sail for 170lbs solo sailor, Lots of fun up wind, sheeted tight and trapped out, good practice for survival conditions. 25kts on 9/3 and 9/5 but after 3pm down to 17kts and down to 10kts by 4pm. After a summer of 10kts I feel much better about being out there in heavy conditions. I still feel above 20kts is not ideal and likely to have several crashes. Monday the 9th, I had 5 total capsizes 2 were doubles. Very embarrassing to brush off assistance every time you crash. I take about 10-15 min to right from a crash, is this typical solo. Getting the righting bag set up and put away is a real pain.

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See you on the water
2003 Bimare 18HT solo Sailor
Formerly P-19MX solo sailor
Portsmouth RI
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As far as the bag goes...I dont have an official "righting bag". I use a watertight bag that I use when i go paddling in the spring time. As physics would have it, bags that keep water out also keep water in when it is in already. My bag holds 35 litres, about 6-7 gallons. At 6 lbs per gallon, thats about an extra 40 lbs. I am just able to right my boat with the 200 lbs that me and my water bag make up combined. It takes a while, and yest it is embarassing having power boats and well weighted sailboats alike passing and offering assistance. However, I am a stubborn individual and feel bad ruining someone else time on the water by forcing them to help me with my mistake, so I rough it. Would have liked to have someone else there with me, but no one else had the gall.