JUNE 14, 2016: PLENTY
OF WIND I HEAR
The traffic was insane on the way to the harbor and the wind
was strong to say the least. Leading up
to this evenings sail many of my crew were occupied with other duties. Vacations, regatta committees and just not able
to make it. I was wondering how I was
going to sail in so much wind with minimal crew. I had a very experienced sailor joining me
for the first time and the always trusty Stefan was also at the boat. The prospects of three of us holding the boat
down in all of this wind seemed dubious.
I hear it was a wonderful sail with a lot of wind. As it turned out, while everyone was out
sailing and having fun, I was reacquainting myself with the employees at the
emergency room after an accident while leaving the slip. Every accident seems incredibly stupid
looking back on it. Just like analyzing
your tactics in a race, reviewing events leading to an accident can improve
your odds of preventing repeat errors.
Every sailor has their routine in doing things. There is no right way or wrong way as long as
it works. For me, when I leave a slip I like to give a lot of throttle. This helps deploy my folding prop and gets
the boat moving in very little time.
Once the boat is moving, I find I can idle the engine and put it in
neutral. This minimizes the effect of
prop walk and a moving boat is always easier to control especially in heavy
winds like we had this night. These
finer nuances of how I operate my boat could be a surprise to someone who has
never sailed with me. What with being
late because of traffic, I did not apprise my crew of my procedures. Long story
made short, I ended up in a position where the dock line hooked onto the stern
cleat with my finger trapped. I could
not figure why it was hurting so much and finally decreased throttle and put
the engine in neutral. What concerned me
was that the finger caught was my ring finger.
Though the gash was deep there was no swelling. My wedding band could
become a tourniquet if swelling started.
My main goal was to get the ring cut off. Not exactly the time to be considering a
night sailing. I am the only one to blame and I am very lucky that my stupidity
caused my injury and that no one else was hurt. Ring cut off and 4 stitches was
the penalty I paid.
The lesson I learned was to always inform your crew how you
do things on your boat. The way I
operate my boat could be characterized as erratic to the uninitiated, but it
works for me. Plan and discuss
everything beforehand just like you would do for a mark rounding on the
course. It is no time for surprises
especially if short on crew.
Other things I have learned over the years. When I first got my boat someone placed an
old cooler which we used as a step to get on the boat. It worked for a while until a crew member
disappeared into the water as the cooler collapsed as I was leaving the slip. Lesson
learned: Use items for their intended purpose.
We always try to center my martec prop. It is critical to put the transmission in
gear to stop the shaft from freewheeling, otherwise fingers can get mangled.
On Pair A Dice, the mainsheet trimmer always announces
“SAILING BY THE LEE” since accidental jibes are possible. This lets everyone know to keep their head down. Also mainsheet trimmer announces when gybing
“JIBING! HEADS DOWN!”. All crew should
be aware of the point of sail when returning to the cockpit from the
foredeck. If the boat is in the middle
of a tack or jibe and you are behind the
mast on the windward side of the boat, you are in a dangerous position. It is
very easy in the excitement of racing to forget the most basic safety rules.
Boating can be very fun, but it is not without it’s danger. I would like to open this for a group
discussion. Please comment with things
you have learned about safety.
Phil Worthen Memorial Event:
Sailing Pair A Dice made it out for the Phil Worthen
memorial on June 12. It was incredible
to see about 30 boats out and another 30 surfers paddle out for this
event. Phil certainly affected a lot of
people and will be missed.
Monterey and Back regatta:
We are one month away from one of my favorite regattas. July 16 and 17 is when the Monterey and Back
regatta is being held this year. Talking
to the regatta organizers, they would like to see the Catalina group
represented in this regatta. With enough
boats, we could have our own class established for this race. I did this race last year and will attest
that it is very fun. The Monterey Yacht
club hosts us and Monterey is a beautiful venue to sail to and back. Lets talk this up with other Catalina owners
that you know.
Sailing Pair A Dice
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