Heard three loud noises while sailing the other day (Long Post)

Went out last Saturday. The water is definitely getting cool, not a single other boat in sight. I was wearing a full wetsuit on a warm sunny day, so that helps lots. Weather was calling for 50 clicks (30 mph), but standing on my dock, it looked just perfect, more like 20-25 clicks (12-15 mph). My wife wasn't into it, so off I go solo. I aimed to exit our somewhat protected bay & into the open chuck on a fast broad reach. I no sooner cleared the point when I realized it was NOT 25 clicks, the bloody wind was howling out there, solid whitecaps everywhere. Time to change battle plan to close reach.
I had a good hours sail, all the while thinking this really is too much wind to solo, I need to go on the un diet, or find more sailing buddies.
Was going to head home & decided to make one last run. I'm not quite sure how, but I slid to one side of the tramp & rolled the Cat, in slow motion. Slow enough that I had time to shout every curse word I knew (1st loud noise)as I really did not want to go swimming that day. Man, did that boat drift, I now know how one poster ended up in the middle of the sea, sans Cat. Had I let go there is no way I could have swam fast enough to catch it, though I was only appx 2 km (just over a mile) from shore, & with PFD & wetsuit could have swam to safety.
I got it mast into the wind,but couldn't quite get it to come up. Flipped the righting bag over, filled it, mistake #1, if you are almost able to right it solo, just use a gallon or two of water. Hike out, BAMM, she lept to her feet, so fast in fact that I missed the Tarzan grab, & with nary a pause she kept right on going, over on the downwind side. With the sail acting as a sea anchor it turtled in seconds.
Noise #2, much more loud profanity. Wrestled her back on her side, mast again into the wind, righting line with attached bag now under the boat & a real bytch to pull it out against the drift. Finally got that problem fixed, a gallon of water in & pulled her up. This time I was ready, Tarzaned the V brace, braced a leg over the beam & flipped myself aboard. I'm amazed I stayed up right as the now dragging bag had turned us well off the wind. The mainsheet had tied itself in a knot, & worse the slack lines between the blocks had tangled to where I couldn't release the main. I headed up with the jib & flipped the S hook out of the mainsail clew. I was now down to only 2 problems, first the dragging bag was out between the hulls & kept turning me to a beam reach, whence the jib would pull like mad, & second, I had to get on the very downwind corner of the tramp to get hold of the bag, coming close to flipping again.
I finally released the jib totally & let it flog like mad, got hold of my collapsing line on the bag & hauled it up between the tiller tie bar & rear beam. I drug it as far as I could & secured it with a short piece of line, then started getting the boat sailable.
Finally got things straightened out & headed for home. The sail sounded funny, looked up & one long batten is hanging halfway out of the pocket, allowing the leech to vibrate. Somehow the little plastic gizmo at the end had broken off. I was worried about the batten ripping through so sheeted out right to the shroud, keeping just enough tension so it wouldn't fall out. This made for a rather fast reach home. Man was I glad to round Vic point into the more protected bay. Looking up the readings from the weather buoy it showed 40, gusts to 50 clicks, (24-30 mph) while I was there.
Sailed directly onto my neighbors 20' beach, dropped the rags & got his son-in-law to help drop the mast.
I heard the 3rd noise on the way in, it was a Fat Lady & she was definitely singing! Done like dinner for this season, my traveler is jerry rigged,both rudder bungies now shot, battens need fixing, tramp retightened, mast ball is showing cracks, & sail needs a few stitches.
Of course a few hours later the place was dead calm, you can see a lady in a rowing scull. I grabbed several cold Grolsch, sat on the dock & contemplated my first season of Beachcat sailing. I put in 40 days, all in all it was way more fun than my Invitation ever was. My cat looks sad sitting on the lift sans mast, rigging, rudders. Time for dissasembly & winter storage.
http://www.thebeachcats.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=77442&g2_serialNumber=2&g2_GALLERYSID=73c7393c97247f563698ec38a50d6991



Edited by Edchris177 on Oct 21, 2010 - 01:23 PM.

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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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well,...you went out with a bang! that will leave an image burned on your mind all winter...

last year about the same time we were sailing to horn island in 25kt winds/5-7 seas and heard a couple of "noises" on the way out. about 1/4mile from the island "BANG" the mast comes down! we were imediately racing back into the boiling sound torwards the saw grass wasteland of west alabama. highly motivated, we steped the mast and used the jib halyard to tie off the forestay. we jibed her around and with the main only sailed the most blistering broad reach surfing the huge swells i have ever sailed! when we hit the beach we felt like supermen...then the reality set in. torn jib, broken forestay pigtail, hole in starboard hull(happened at the landing spot), and a whole bunch of other repairs that i suddenly realized i "needed". done for season.

the memory of flying hulls through 5-7' waves head on haunted me all winter. its the high i'm still chasing(minus the mast blowing down).

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prindle 16- "BLUE RIBBON"
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You could not have made that up. Boy when things go to pot they do in a hurry.

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Nacra 5.2
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Edchris177I grabbed several cold Grolsch, sat on the dock & contemplated my first season of Beachcat sailing. I put in 40 days, all in all it was way more fun than my Invitation ever was. My cat looks sad sitting on the lift sans mast, rigging, rudders. Time for dissasembly & winter storage.


Great write up and a perfect example of the old saying "bad days make good stories". icon_lol

Glad to hear how well you handled your "series of unfortunate events" which could have gone a lot worse if you hadn't kept your head and been prepared.


  • PFD - Check
  • Appropriate clothing (wetsuit) - Check
  • Out Solo but prepared with righting bag - Check


Congratulations on completing your first year, hope it's the first of many.

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Damon Linkous
1992 Hobie 18
Memphis, TN

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Edchris177, well written and entertaining. 40 days sailed in first year? Wow! Good luck
Very nice story.

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Todd Elozory
H18
H21SE
Hobie Mirage Tandem Island
Catalina 22
Thonotosassa, Florida
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I lied, I checked my journal, only did 39 days!
I am very fortunate to have full time pay for what amounts to a part time job. With kids either working or in University, it leaves me ample time to hide out from the Honey Do List & do things i really want to. My wife cringes when I take up another hobby, as she knows I will pursue it like a savage til I get past the beginner stage. Early in my career, when I flew floats & skiis in the far North (as in north of 60* Lat,Alaska,Greenland & such) I worked 9 days a week, 5 weeks a months . So, yeah, I'm selfish now, it's all about me!

I kept a journal of each day sailed, what worked & what didn't. It also helped me to develop a standard operating procedure,(SOP) much the same as we use to get a big jet ready to go. By continuous improvements & tweaks to the SOP, I can now run a "mental flow" each time I go out, solo or crewed. Everything gets done in the minimum of time, & more importantly things don't get forgotten. Several times early on, I made rookie mistakes that cost me, time, money & dings to the boat.
I sailed some days with main only, & one windy day with jib only, just to see how it would handle, & in order to better understand what the jib actually looked like & how sheet tension affected its shape. I was quite surprised to find how fast it would go under jib alone, & by sitting towards the lee you can fly a hull, albeit briefly. If a brisk walk is 3 mph, I estimate I was doing better than 10 mph on a reach, though upwind suffers badly.
I'm off til Nov 15 now, & waters to cold to sail, Grrrrrrr. Wife strongly hinted that I install the central vac at the cottage. (It's only been sitting in the crate in the garage for 3 years now, what's the rush?, surely more planning & engineering would result in a better project) icon_smile



Edited by Edchris177 on Oct 25, 2010 - 12:29 PM.

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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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Great reading!! edchris, you be a strong sailor to have gotten thru that!! Marlin

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Marlin
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