No one else around so I went solo. The big decision was to put on a harness. I have had daughters/wives/friends out on the wire, but never myself. None of us had ever done it before, so I figured it would be safer if I stayed on board & let them get used to being trapped out, the blind leading the blind.
There were a few seadoos & boats around my bay so I decided to go for it, man what a ride! It took a couple of times up & down the 4 mile bay to figure out what to do with the lines, how long I needed the stik, & trap line adjustment before it got comfortable, so then I got cocky. Went outside the bay to get more consistent winds & did a 9 mile reach. On the way back the winds strengthened, with some good gusts. I love how you can "feel" the gust & instantly make an adjustment before you go swimming. I still have some tiller tug, especially on a starboard tack, & was experimenting with moving fore & aft to change the helm feel. A gust hit & I slipped a bit of sheet, & headed up. As it passed I pulled on the tiller to regain course, & ALL H.E.L.L. broke loose. The rubber end cap on my new ariba stik pulled off! My first reaction was denial, followed by EJECT EJECT. Quickly realizing I wasn't in a jet I thought, you can save it. The only thing good that can be said was I still had hold off the cap as I counted fish & extricated myself from hook/shrouds & mainsheet.
Rigged up the righting bag, & couldn't budge the mast, which was underwater to nearly the hound. I found walking onto the bows or stern had no effect on the orientation of the boat, so I decided to try & swim it around, thanks to an unknown poster for that idea. It turns out swimming it in whitecaps is as easy as swimming by yourself. I was preparing for a struggle, but as long as you go in the direction of the leading edge of the mast it was literally a 30 second job.
I left the jib cleated, as once the boat got 45* into the wind, the jib lifted the mast nearly to the top of water. The boat drifts pretty good in that wind, so I pulled myself down the fore stay to the hull, jumped on & hiked out with bag. The boat came up in only a few seconds. Next time I dump solo, first move will be to get the mast upwind, then I'm going to try righting it without the bag.
Sorted out the mess & flew hulls for another hour. I'm now looking forward to going 20 miles or more to the other side of the lake. I can see hanging on the wire for over an hour.
Question: do you guys play the sheet or head up when smallish gusts threaten to tip you?
I also wanted to thank Turbohobo, Wolfman, Erice, Hullflyer, Yurdle, Pbegle, Windvane 335, Coastrat, & Lawrencer 2003 for convincing me to buy the 5.7 as my first Cat.
Also many thanks to Philip, Andrew & Ron, among others for technical advice that allowed me to figure this beast out, & get it rigged back into seaworthy condition,(though I think Philip is a pathological liar as so far no hordes of naked chicks have come over to see my Nacra
)PS I know I have forgotten some who gave valuable advice, sorry, you know who you are. Thanks Damon, without this forum, I'd probably be maxed out with a Hobie Wave.
Man what a ride!
edited by: Edchris177, Jul 27, 2010 - 11:51 AM
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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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