Hello All
We made the plunge and purchased a twelve year old Nacra 18 this summer. My wife and I have sailed a lot of things with sails (old school, new school, big and small) and this boat is the best thing ever... Very fun, very challenging.
So I'm going to do a "Fat Amy", get it out of the way and admit that we went about this completely the wrong way. This is our first cat, we didn't take any lessons (there are very few cats where we sail) and we're sailing it a place known for gusty conditions. I figured we could probably crack the code based on our previous sailing experience. Probably not a perfect plan given that I'm writing to y'all while recovering from a spiral fracture (with two new titanium screws near the ankle).
To the point, me and a buddy pitchpoled the boat during a severe squall and I broke my leg. It hit very suddenly - we sail out of Ghost Lake near Calgary, AB and when a low pressure front comes through, conditions can change in less than 15 minutes. We didn't get a windspeed, but I think went from 5-10's variable to +20 in a few minutes.
Buddy was driving her and was on a broad reach, but when I saw the weather changing, I asked to take the helm. The wind came up, and by instinct, I pointed her downwind to a run. The rest, as they say is, history. We accelerated, the bows drove in and we pitched. Buddy got the classic toss, landing about 20' from the boat.
I, however, didn't. I landed close to the boat, but managed to break my leg in the process. I am, however, not sure how I broke it. So in the interests not going to hospital every time I capsize this boat, what did I do wrong? (beyond the obvious suggestion "bought the boat", please - I'm hooked and my wife hasn't made me sell it). I've read about a couple of other catamaran-related leg breaks but can't find any specific reasons why.
I thought I must have struck the mast, but the hospital folks said it wasn't a strike, but a twist. My current theory is I must have wrapped the main sheet with my leg when we changed helmsmen. Any theories?
Of course, it would have been better if we hadn't pitched in the first place - the new agreed-upon procedure is to head upwind, take our chances and capsize in the traditional way. That way we can, at worst, fall into the sail as opposed to being jettisoned ...
Other learnings:
* Practice those capsizes - we didn't and while I was surprised at how easy this boat is to right, it would have taken some stress out of the process if we had practiced more.
* Pay attention to the weather report. I read it that day and glossed over the severity of the weather change. Keel boats around us reported being "on their sides" and apparently someone drove a cruiser up on a nearby dam in a similar incident the next day.
* Wetsuits, lifejackets and a crash bag. We got this right and despite a sunny warm day, we had all the armour on. When I surfaced, I knew that we had flares and other signalling gear in a dry bag strapped to the tramp. Didn't use'em but glad they were there.
* Stay cool. The rest of the incident actually went quite well. Once I realized that I couldn't stand, we took our time figuring out how to get the boat back up and to the dock with some muscle provided by a passing windsurfer. We had tons of offers to evacuate (from nearby keelboats), but once we thought it through, we declined because we knew we could get the boat back safe and sound.
Thanks!
Dave
Pitchpole = Spiral Fracture: Tips for next time?
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Posted: Dec 01, 2012 - 10:31 AM
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Posted: Dec 01, 2012 - 01:30 PM
OOOOOOOWWWWWWW!
Dave, sorry to hear about your experience on your Nacra. No, I won't advise you to sell your boat or anything of the sort. Cripes, if I stopped doing everything I'd ever been injured from, I wouldn't have much left I could do (including working at my job!) I'm not giving up my boat. I won't advise you to give up yours.
I never did break a bone on a pitchpole, but I think you've got the right idea: First, figure out how not to pitchpole. Unfortunately, expect to pitchpole a fair bit while figuring this out. The first year I had my P-16, we pitchpoled practically every time we went out. It wasn't because we were doing anything wrong, mind you. We were just testing that edge so we'd know exactly where it was. One of the best things we did was to add some small vinyl tape tabs to the inside edges of our bows. I forget the exact locations, but one was our high mark and one was our low. The idea was to keep the surface of the water between those two marks. If we could see the bottom mark, we needed to shift weight forward. If we couldn't see the top one we needed to shift weight aft (and fast!) These are useful on every point of sail, not just when running. I don't know if it would've prevented your pitchpole. When you're standing on the transom and you can't see your bows, you can't shift any more aft.
Something else we did was to figure out ways to depower the boat fast. On a keelboat you do this by changing sails. On a beach cat you kinda can't do that. No cabin full of sail bags. And most folks don't tend to reef, either. (Few contemporary cat mainsails even have reef points.) But changing the set of the sail can do a lot to dump the power from a catamaran. If all else fails, change the point of sail, go into irons, and ride it out.
I like your list of other learnings. That's a pretty sane set.
Tom
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Tom Benedict
Island of Hawaii
P-Cat 18 / Sail# 361 / HA 7633 H / "Smilodon"
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Posted: Dec 01, 2012 - 05:23 PM
spiral fracture is caused by turning your cat up to 11!!! congrads dave! if only you would have had surgury and pins/screws/plates/titanium rods inserted and then you put the x-ray image on the mainsail! i think you just named your boat... and yes, the correct answer is upwind, loosen the travelor and main and sail with the jib only...much more reasonable
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bill harris
hattiesburg, mississippi
prindle 16- "BLUE RIBBON"
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Posted: Dec 01, 2012 - 06:46 PM
Dave, good luck with the recovery buddy, i broke my femur in a lowish speed motorbike accident about 2 years ago. I, like you, was not exactly sure how it broke. My head and opposite side of my body took the brunt of the landing.
Edited by matt922 on Dec 01, 2012 - 06:58 PM. -
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Posted: Dec 02, 2012 - 07:59 AM
Interesting spot, I didn't know there was a sailing community on that lake. I grew up in the hot dry S W Alberta, spent more time in Waterton than Banff, & though Waterton Lake is a good size it is too bloody cold for much swimming!
We sail a Nacra 5.0 & a 5.7(just under 19'). I found it very hard to PP the 5.7, as long as you get your weight towards the rear. Trap out as far back as you can get, & have your crew right with you.
The shorter 5.0 will PP, if whipped hard on a broad reach. Last summer I was sitting as far back on the hull as I could get, it lifted 3 times, but the Nacra has good forward flotation, and as long as I released some sheet, (I was already traveled out to the hiking strap) it came back down.
I have experienced what you went through,(not breaking the leg)the boat lifting its stern, & by turning further downwind, power drops...the stern comes down, speed drops way off. Once the fear subsides a bit you can steer back onto a faster line. I think the experienced racers have to be good at staying on this line, if they don't/can't they are not going to win at the higher levels.
I find that many sailors can hold speed on a beam reach, few can sail well downwind. (I'm not saying I'm good at it, I would be massacred by the experienced racers)
It is an exciting point of sail, fast, but I only do it when the wind is in a more steady state. In the extreme gusts you must experience in a lake located in the Chinook belt, & that close to the mountains, it will be a challenge. If you only had to deal with velocity changes the problem would be more manageable, but when it moves 90* or more, then back, you are going to do some swimming. Many years ago I remember being at that tiny grass airstrip in Banff, the wind socks at each end were pointing AT each other.
If you are sailing downwind it can be difficult to head up to dump power, it just takes to much time. As you turn you have to pass through a position of more power, before you start to head up, & it is easy to go swimming.
The telltales will show instantly if you are going to dump, or increase power as you start the turn. If I sail downwind in strong winds, I keep it quartering from the rear,(telltales on the bridal at 90* to hulls) & you can dump power & prevent a PP by releasing sheet/traveler. However in 90* wind shifts all bets are off.
If you had a foot under the hiking strap it would be easy to experience a twisting moment, however I don't believe you have to "twist til it breaks" to experience a spiral fracture. Decades ago a buddy jumped off a small bank into a swimming hole, the water was not deep enough & when his foot hit bottom he sustained a spiral fracture. Hope your bones are younger than mine & heal quickly.
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Posted: Dec 03, 2012 - 10:13 AM
Was this your forward leg that broke?
Spiral fractures are usually a combination of simultaneous twist and compression at 90ish degrees to each other.
All it would take is having your ankle rotated and strike your heel hard on anything- boom/mast/hull/crossbar/crew's head.
A pitchpole offers more than enough force to do this.
This is going to raise some comments, but turning downwind in a big blow is half of exactly what you should have done. The other part is to RUN aft. This is easier if you are on trapeze, but necessary regardless. Turn downwind while you are moving back and slack your sheets to twist your sail.
When you choose to turn upwind instead, you are risking capsize. Few cats tack quickly, and if you are coming up from a broad reach you have a long way to go before you are close to the wind, basically turning your entire mainsail into a billboard at beam reach to meet the big blow you are trying to avoid. Turning upwind works for monohullers because the boats turn so quickly.
Yes, turning upwind can work on a cat, but I can't over-emphasize the importance of controlling your boat with crew weight. Cat sailing- nevermind racing- is not a passive activity. You gotta move that rail meat (you and the crew) to balance the boat.
Edited by klozhald on Dec 03, 2012 - 09:14 AM.
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Sheet In!
Bob
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Prindle 18-2 #244 "Wakizashi"
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AZ Multihull Fleet 42 member
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Arizona, USA
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Posted: Dec 03, 2012 - 10:53 AM
HUH?
upwind in heavy/gusty conditions i would suggest you furl the jib, travel out 6"-16" and sheet the main in hard. -
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Posted: Dec 03, 2012 - 11:24 PM
think about it...which point of sail do you want in oh s#@t wind conditions?...any thing but close hauled/pinching powers up the boat way too much, this is true for power boats/air craft carriers also. ride the storm out going into the waves, you don't want to be broadsided or have waves coming over the stern. mono/cat/tri doesn't matter, your main sail has mucho more horsepower than the jib and with reefing not an option while underway on beach cats, the "storm jib" is the safest way to go. even if the wind is over 40 mph, you will only be sailing @ about 6-8 mph with the jib...and if your still freaked out, then you can backwind the jib and shove the tiller over to the leeward side and the boat will stay in a stalled position constantly pinching, the boat can't tack through the eye of the wind and it can't fall off to catch the wind. your jib is you best friend in winds that you can't sail safely in. not to mention that the jib keeps the boat stable(not rocking for and aft). the fully battened main stays safely chiiling over the lee hull, you still have to play the jib if it's really, really honking because it can flip you if your not careful...try it sometime! it takes a lot of stress out of sailing when you know you can cope with extreme stuff.
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bill harris
hattiesburg, mississippi
prindle 16- "BLUE RIBBON"
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Posted: Dec 04, 2012 - 05:39 AM
The OP, Dave, said he was on a 12 year old Nacra 18. They were only making the Inter 18 then, I'd like to see you try to backwind a self tacking jib.
Dave, what boat do you own?
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Ron
Nacra F18
Reservoir Sailing Assn.
Brandon, Mississippi
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Posted: Dec 04, 2012 - 06:01 AM
still not following you on this:
are you saying to drop the main and sail jib only or are you saying let the main sail (and traveler) lose and luffing and sail only using the jib ?
don't forget he said he was sailing in gusty conditions, not steady, heavy air -
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Posted: Dec 04, 2012 - 09:34 AM
if you can't backwind the jib then don't worry about that option, just sail with the jib close hauled and let the main all the way blown...you will slowly sail into the wind/waves. this works in all kinds of wind, steady-gusty-high-low. try it sometime in regular wind. now if the circumstances don't allow you to sail close hauled(obstructions, etc.) then head up long enough to drop the main and lash it to the boom as she comes down with the mainsheet then sail any direction you want with the jib. mind you i'm talking about survival conditions with crew...solo would be very tricky to do that. there is a sailing term for the backwinded jib/helm to lee technique(old timers disease kicked in) that i can't remember now, if you do any blue water sailing it's a must know along with the storm jib technique. you don't wan't to be broadsided/over the stern in heavy seas...bad mojo. you can see big gusts coming unless it's blinding rain or night time cloudy w/no moon...it useually isn't foggy if it's blowin that hard. like i said earlier, the jib can still flip you when the winds top the 40's.
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bill harris
hattiesburg, mississippi
prindle 16- "BLUE RIBBON"
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Posted: Dec 04, 2012 - 09:54 AM
Heaving to / Hove to -
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Posted: Dec 04, 2012 - 10:04 AM
removed
Edited by MN3 on Dec 04, 2012 - 10:32 AM. -
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Posted: Dec 04, 2012 - 06:38 PM
Dave,
... first ... glad you are safe and healing up.
... second ... chicks dig scars, bones heal, glory is forever (but put on youtube anyway)
... third ... I think we have the same boat. I have a 1997 Nacra Inter-18 (based on your desc)
More on point 3 ... I have learned this boat is a finicky beast. The I-20 is the same boat w/more sail and 2 ft more bows, now you know why. In a blow, downwind is a razors edge. The mast sits about a foot forward of newer designed F-18s. The hulls are wider and she planes off above 18kts. I know first hand as well, you can tack, head down, settle in, take off like a bullet, and pitch pole in about 20 seconds total. You cannot get forward on this boat downwind.
Consider raking your mast back (one forestay chainplate hole at a time). Nacras generally have little mast rack, but you might be straight up and down. This will cause the bows to dig constantly. After raking the mast, she will feel a bit more ass heavy in light/medium air and up wind, but while trapped out, you just get way forward. If it's not wavey you can practice getting water at the midpoint on the bow upwind. The boat should be so balanced a head nod will change the attitude of the boat. Downwind the crew is behind the skipper. One foot on the corner, one foot at the beam. I throw the tiller extension behind the boat and just use the tiller.
Lemme know if you are in the Chicago area. I'd be happy to take you for a sail, altho I do like to go out when its windy.
--Norm
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Edited by nhanson on Dec 04, 2012 - 07:39 PM.
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Posted: Dec 05, 2012 - 01:06 PM
Great vid! .. -
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Posted: Dec 05, 2012 - 09:36 PM
The video is well done! Audio is excellent, well chosen. Worth checking out.
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Time to try ownership with Nacra 5.7
Port Clinton, Lake Erie Islands, Ohio
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