posted October 16, 2005 04:53 PM            

I was up early Saturday morning waiting for it to get light. By 7:00 it was raining a little and there was some breeze. I got Scotted up, packed a lunch and loaded the boat. But the wind had died and the lake looked like glass. It was time for a 3rd cup of coffee. There was another false start about an hour later, but I finally got out on the lake at 9:30. I reached south to Bon Echo rock and got myself trapped between the 400ft cliff and the west shore. (Vector arithmetic: to sail 3 knots in a 5 knot breeze at 45 degrees to the apparent wind, a boat would tack through a full 140 degrees.) When I finally clawed out of the bay, the lake had turned rude. At the lake’s widest point, Sapphire got laid up on her port rail. Everything in the cabin and the lazarette was skidding to the low side. The mainsail was free but I couldn’t reach the jib sheet. Water was coming into the cockpit.

My screen-saver includes a photo of a J-24 sinking bow first with the crew still clinging to the transom. I pictured my Sandpiper as someone’s screen-saver. The sales brochures claimed that a Sandpiper would float when swamped. I was not convinced that would be true of a 30 year old boat.

The boat rolled back up, I bore off and with the sails fluttering Sapphire surfed to the shelter of the windward shore. I spied an ambulance cruising on the lakeshore. Maybe someone had seen the horrendous broach and had called 911. I didn't need the rescue service. I needed a laundry service. I dropped sail, started the outboard and made for home. It was humiliating, disgusting and disappointing. It was only 1:30. I had a couple of drinks and took a nap.

I woke up at 12:30am Sunday and went outside to check the weather. There was a breeze but nothing like the gales of Saturday afternoon. The moon was 1 day shy of being full. The low clouds were sailing by. The lake was sparkling. I got dressed, rigged the boat and sailed from the dock.

After about an hour, it started to rain. This made for nervous sailing: the next puff could be the squall that would sink us. There would be no rescue boat in the middle of the night in the middle of October. But the rains passed without incident so I stayed out until I started to get a chill.

I sailed to within 30 metres of the dock, turned up into the wind and ran to the foredeck to furl the headsail. I got back to the tiller before we sailed up onto the shore and I took the boat back to windward. The main came down easy and we drifted to the dock.

By 5:00am it was again too windy to sail. I went to bed.

posted October 18, 2005 04:33 AM            

Then a few weeks later, we may be able to ski.

posted October 19, 2005 09:36 AM               

We were a bit late getting under way and just before pushing off the weather took a drastic turn. In the span of about 5 minutes it went from a nice sunny day, to clouds, to drizzle. Right on cue after Lynn said; "My the barometer has really dropped", we looked up to see a squall line comming down the channel. Wind at around 35 knots and the rain was torrential, blowing sideways; then it turned to hail.

If we hadn't slept in we would have been right in the middle of it. Our neighbour had left earlier and was fortunate to have made it to port just before the storm hit.

posted October 24, 2005 07:51 PM               

A few comments on boat floatation: Over the last 40 years, I've been fortunate to belong to several fine sailing clubs across the country. Many of them had mandatory floatation tests before you were allowed to race. Although always a bit of a hassle to do, in hind site it's a great idea. Boats would be capsized or flooded and had to float with the crew on board for usually a half hour.

My Finn initially floated fine but after 10 minutes began to sink. The tanks had small leaks. The addition of foam blocks corrected the problem. I could have been in serious trouble if I hadn't found out. During one race I capsized 6 times while running dead downwind. (Finns death role a lot easier than Sandpipers.) It was an exhausting day but the boat kept coming back up.

Our Lasers tested fine, but others being tested the same day took on water making them hard to right and slow to sail.

Our International 14, originally owned by Dick Rose of Seattle was a beautiful craft. It passed the test flawlessly.

The Kitsilano Yacht Club in Vancouver made their Star fleet do floatation tests.

The point I'm trying to make here is if at some time you're going to be sailing in remote areas that could prove stormy. (most of us?), perhaps it would be a good idea to do your own floatation test. It might make the difference between an uncomfortable day on the water and a tragic one.

posted October 25, 2005 01:12 PM               

It boils down to how a Sandpiper will respond in a knockdown condition. Is it a keel boat or is it a centreboard? If it responds like a keel boat, your approach is correct. After a knockdown the weight of the keel will right the boat. Usually before it fills with too much water.

If however it responds like a centreboard you could well end up capsized trying to pull the boat back up with your weight. If that's the case, knowing you have good floatation would be important because you might be upside down or on your side for a while

posted October 25, 2005 07:05 PM               

The average Sandpiper with it's high boom that won't drag in the water is very forgiving. In a real blow we've usually found Shortwave rounds up before taking on water. She doesn't even round up if you get the main out fast enough.

On performance boats with running backstays, etc. you've got to pay close attention to the boat. The whole crew does. If you're sailing short-handed in such a boat you should depower the whole rig and reduce sail, really no matter what the weather is like. If you don't that surprise gust will get you sometime. When racing on 8 metres, everone carries a knife to quickley cut stuff loose. Our International 14 had a very fast setup to depower the rig in heavy air. Lynn could release the mast ram, let out the traveller, ease the boom vang, tighten the cunningham while tacking. We'd be ready for the heavy stuff before I even got out on the trapeze. She could do the same in a gust while reaching before water started coming over the side. This ease of control would often give us another 10 to 12 boatlengths before other crews levelled their boats. When you're as lite weight as us, you've got to be fast.

D'Arcy, Shortwave

posted October 27, 2005 11:20 PM               

That being said, at some point you're going to get caught out there. I would suggest that when the wind is quite strong (doesn't have to be a gail or anything, just a good solid breeze), you go out and practice reducing sail while sailing. If you have slab reefing, try it. If you have several different sized jibs, change to a different headsail. You might also do the same exercise at night if you're planning a night passage.

When I was a serious racer, we practiced a lot; tacking, gybing, sail changes, starts, sailing upwind, etc. It stands to reason that as serious cruisers we should practice the things that will improve our cruising ability. You'll increase your confidence through the improvement of your sail handling skills. It's fun working towards being a classic "Old Salt".

posted October 28, 2005 07:23 PM            

Negligent events of Saturday, October 15:

Sapphire had been modified beyond her original design without consulting with a Naval Architect nor other competent person.

Sapphire’s mainsail was 42% larger than the stock Sandpiper mainsail and had been caught with the 135% genoa set in extreme conditions. There was no reefing nor furling gear rigged on neither the mainsail nor the foresail.

The forward hatch was not latched. It was being used to stow halyards. There was no hatch cover for the main companionway. Some floatation materials had been removed from the hull.

The only weather information had been garnered from a FM music station on the day prior to setting off.

Exemplary events on Saturday, October 15:

Hull and deck modifications to Sapphire were more in compliance with the Offshore Racing Council Special Regulations with regards to cockpit volume, cockpit drain capacity and companionway flooding height.

The low boom position shifted the centroid of the sail plan downward to a point lower than on a stock Sandpiper. Despite the increase in the mainsail area, the helm remained balanced.

The floatation materials that had been removed were deemed to be water-logged. Air-trapping features had been built into the modified hull.