This has got to be the most frustrating race of the year for me ;-) We did not finish!!! The weather conditions were awesome. Nice swell and great training for me. I finally figured out, with Nathan's advice, how to make sure that these nasty little waves would not slow the boat down to a near stop (anything that has the word 'slow' in it sounds pretty annoying to me in a race).
Perfect wind conditions. Wind picking up in the afternoon, the 20-25-30 range promised. This is a range that Elise absolutely loves. Took a little while to settle down into a groove, but we were doing a pretty good job (I since talked to the Wetsu skipper and he said that we were sailing along the whole time, they couldn't get rid of us) at keeping up with the rest of the fleet. We were on the north side of the course, pretty nice navigation, basically, bang on the islands. After more upwind distance than what we did at the double-handed lightship, I was not feeling tired at all. I figured out a way to stay pretty relaxed so as not to use up a lot of energy just to stay in place in the waves (I must say that we weren't falling so badly so my butt was a lot less sore too). All in all, I was definitely becoming more used to the conditions, operating in a more efficient manner and truly thoroughly enjoying my time out there.
Except that as we were getting very very close to the mark (Nathan estimated about 30 minutes or so), I got seasick. Not sure why. Maybe because of the fact that I was a) jetlagged, b) tired as my flight had been delayed and took longer than usual, c) everything was last minute preparation despite the wonderful help from Nathan who did as much as he could on his own before I got back, including food shopping. As a result, I didn't even think about taking something against sea sickness which is something I normally do before an ocean race. I don't often get seasick but it is so easy to prevent in my case as one non-drowsy medication seems to be working great that there isn't much downside to taking it. Also perhaps drinking a heavy to digest orange juice wasn't the best move ever. I have definitely never been seasick on the bay. Feeling sick isn't so much what bothers me. I remember times when I was seasick but still trimming sails on the low side - and one time when I took a nap for a couple of hours and ended up totally fine after that... - and you get some respite from time to time and I can use this time to do stuff. Frankly, after cancer treatment, a little vomiting appears pretty benign. For weeks, I felt that I was permanently seasick without stepping on a boat :)
Also, something that works great for me if I get seasick is to just take the helm. So long as I hold it, I am pretty good. Only problem is that my weight shifts down which is annoying for speed if I need to stay on the low side. I am not sure if I have shared that with you yet but everything that contains the word 'slow' in a sailing race feels quite irritating to me.
So initially, I was just really annoyed because it was killing our speed. The problem this time around is that I was also feeling very very sleepy and much worse, I became very cold very quickly, as in within seconds. I wasn't wet underneath my foul weather gear (a little wet butt but really not much) and I wasn't cold sitting on the rail in the wind. I was wearing a synthetic base layer, a warm fleece and a spray top that was pretty effective in cutting off the wind. I was colder even when I got off the wind. The weirdest thing. I took the helm but I was still getting colder so I decided to pass it back to Nathan to stay off the wind. Everything seems to slow down in my body. I was even past shaking...I could see the islands and all I was thinking was "hang on, the minute we turn downwind, you'll get warm again - and I knew that the upwind movement in these conditions are the worst, downwind with speed and surf, sea sickness wasn't going a problem at all" - however, since I wasn't getting any warmer and I was feeling dangerously colder and colder, Nathan proposed to turn around...HALF AN HOUR SHY OF OUR MARK!!!
I was feeling SO sorry for Nathan, and SO SO SO frustrated. I was having a great time, the waves were a ton of fun, the wind was absolutely great, Elise was zipping along (OK, I didn't like to see this Santa Cruz 27 zoom past us but we were taking steps to remedy that situation), I was starting to fantasize over the 25 mile downwind with France...I couldn't think of a better way to do the Farallones. The only downside was that due to some miscommunication, the bottle of wine was in my apartment, not on the boat...
I just tried to get warm very quickly. The minute we turned around, it helped a lot of course as we were off the wind, traveling with it. I also wrapped myself up in Nathan's foul weather jacket and tried to lay down at the bottom of the cockpit (not a great move initially for sickness reason) to get to the warmest spot of the outside of the boat. Yet it took me nearly an hour I think to warm up. After the last bout of sickness, I started to feel fine also from that point of view (which I knew would be just fine from experience) and I was coming back to life. I did a bit of driving. We didn't set France because for a while Nathan was handling the boat alone and then I wasn't sure if I should mess around with small line jobs or not and I should really get this practice at the bow, as opposed to the driving downwind. In hindsight, it would probably have been just fine but I guess that I acted conservatively...
Still feeling sorry for Nathan, sorry for myself and generally hating Poseidon. That was a bit of a downer. I since learned that a ton of boats didn't finish, including Red Sky. Another Express 27 had a problem with their mainsail so they had to turn around too, and apparently one other person got really sick and incapacitated on another boat. Maybe the complex wave pattern on that day was particularly bad for a certain type of person?
The only good thing is that it is always good to break the seasickness taboo, and you can argue that it would be part of a training. It is a fact of a sailor's life. The people who absolutely never become seasick are rare. And it is super hard to predict. I have been in worse conditions without being sick (on similar size bumpy boats), and in much calmer conditions and sick...(and I usually never experience seasickness). Like I said, on the Pac Cup, I will plan on being sick at the beginning and take measures against it so I can still operate and hold my place.
Anyway, bitter pill for me to swallow, despite Nathan's good-humored response. So I need to get back out there pretty soon and tame the Farallones before the Pac Cup in similar conditions.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Solar Panels
Generating power is a big problem for us on a small craft with no inboard engine. It is also super important, if only from a safety perspective. We need power to fun our navigation lights at night, we need power to check in on the radio every morning or to call the Coast Guard if anything goes wrong. The SSB will consume a lot of power. We have handheld GPS, VHF and satellite phone (rental) but it would be nice to run off of the main GPS which will be connected to the battery.
We will also run the autopilot and that will be a major draw. We want to have a laptop to run navigation software, weather info viewer, etc...so we need to figure that one out too. Cabin lights will also be important but not critical as we have flashlights, etc...that run on batteries. We don't actually have to turn them on.
Our radar reflector is a piece of inert metal so it doesn't require any power. The electrical piece is Nathan's job. He is working on calculating our daily energy budget. If we understand our consumption needs, we can match it with supply, leaving plenty of spare power just in case. Nathan will write about this later.
Our solution is to use solar energy and two batteries. The panels will be able to charge the batteries during the day and we will use up the power at night. We are hoping for some sunny days then, which is a reasonable guess. We are replacing every single light with LEDs as it makes a huge difference in terms of power requirements (they draw nothing and run forever). We will leave with the batteries topped off and we will make sure that even if we get fog on the way out of the city, we will have enough power to run the lights. The way our wind instruments are mounted (at the stern) for the autopilot, using it upwind may be tricky as there will be a lot of disruption in wind flow right off the mainsail. So we may not run it in full wind mode during that time. Trimming the jib may also not be as important on that point of sail so the driver could drive and trim the main/adjust the backstay without the need for the autopilot.
In terms of solar panels, we just bought this marine kit:
We also have two slightly smaller panels and a tiny little one. We are thinking of using the tiny one as a direct battery for our audio system - no energy storage required. I doubt that the person off watch will appreciate audio at night anyway...
We will also run the autopilot and that will be a major draw. We want to have a laptop to run navigation software, weather info viewer, etc...so we need to figure that one out too. Cabin lights will also be important but not critical as we have flashlights, etc...that run on batteries. We don't actually have to turn them on.
Our radar reflector is a piece of inert metal so it doesn't require any power. The electrical piece is Nathan's job. He is working on calculating our daily energy budget. If we understand our consumption needs, we can match it with supply, leaving plenty of spare power just in case. Nathan will write about this later.
Our solution is to use solar energy and two batteries. The panels will be able to charge the batteries during the day and we will use up the power at night. We are hoping for some sunny days then, which is a reasonable guess. We are replacing every single light with LEDs as it makes a huge difference in terms of power requirements (they draw nothing and run forever). We will leave with the batteries topped off and we will make sure that even if we get fog on the way out of the city, we will have enough power to run the lights. The way our wind instruments are mounted (at the stern) for the autopilot, using it upwind may be tricky as there will be a lot of disruption in wind flow right off the mainsail. So we may not run it in full wind mode during that time. Trimming the jib may also not be as important on that point of sail so the driver could drive and trim the main/adjust the backstay without the need for the autopilot.
In terms of solar panels, we just bought this marine kit:
| The Sunrise mobile solar kit is compact and simple to install. Provide basic DC power for lighting, laptop computer and water pumping. It can provide up to 325 watts in 5 hours of sunshine. | |
| 1 | Kyocera KC85 watt solar panel |
| 1 | Set of flush mount panel mounts for roofs #6900401 (we'll have to see if we can adapt this for a stern mount) |
| 1 | Sunsaver SS-6-L-12 |
| 50' | 10/2 flat wire 50' roll #9910200 |
| | Wiring Diagram |
We also have two slightly smaller panels and a tiny little one. We are thinking of using the tiny one as a direct battery for our audio system - no energy storage required. I doubt that the person off watch will appreciate audio at night anyway...
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Acronyms
DNF - Did Not Finish
DNS - Did Not Start
DFL - Did Finish Last
DNA -Do Not Ask...
Got some questions...
DNS - Did Not Start
DFL - Did Finish Last
DNA -Do Not Ask...
Got some questions...
Lightship races
Monday, March 24, 2008
Elise at the Lightship race
Nathan drove the last leg before the finish and I did foredeck then. We swapped back and forth sevreal times (I did the start). Amazing - the wind velocity increased by 10 knots in seconds! The wind direction also shifted as we sailed some 70% of the race downwind.
Web Site:http://www.mariahseyesphotography.com/Online Gallery:http://www.pbase.com/meyesphoto
Brian and Red Sky
Also from Mariah's Eyes.
Web Site:http://www.mariahseyesphotography.com/Online Gallery:http://www.pbase.com/meyesphoto
Nathan did the Pac Cup on Red Sky a few years back.
Results from Crewed Double-handed lightship race
| AIL # | SKIPPER | BOAT NAME | BOAT MODEL | RATING | FINISH | ELAPSED | CORRECTED | PTS. | COMMENTS | YC |
| 67 | Bill/Nick Moore/Gibbens | Shenanigans | Express 27 ODR | 129 | 15:05:01 | 5:00:01 | 4:47:12 | 1 | | SFYC |
| 28050 | Ray Lotto | El Raton | Express 27 ODR | 129 | 15:09:53 | 5:04:53 | 4:51:52 | **sr | Protest Noted | STFYC |
| 40428 | Chris Gage | Ergo | Express 27 ODR | 129 | 15:23:39 | 5:18:39 | 5:05:02 | **sr | | |
| 77539 | Michael Bruzzone | Desperado | Express 27 ODR | 129 | 15:30:05 | 5:25:05 | 5:11:12 | **sr | Protest Noted | SSS |
| 33842 | Mike Reed | Magic | Express 27 ODR | 129 | 15:36:32 | 5:31:32 | 5:17:22 | **sr | | EYC |
| 68 | Mark Lowry | Xena | Express 27 ODR | 129 | 15:36:48 | 5:31:48 | 5:17:38 | **sr | | RYC |
| 11 | Dan Pruzan | Wile E Coyote | Express 27 ODR | 129 | 15:37:36 | 5:32:36 | 5:18:24 | **sr | | EYC |
| 101 | Nathalie Criou | Elise | Express 27 ODR | 129 | 15:43:55 | 5:38:55 | 5:24:26 | **sr | | STFYC |
| 77 | Larry Levit | Strega | Express 27 ODR | 129 | 15:52:09 | 5:47:09 | 5:32:19 | **sr | | RYC |
| 18355 | Joe Balderrama | Archimedes | Express 27 ODR | 129 | 15:52:16 | 5:47:16 | 5:32:26 | 2 | | EYC |
Nice Big Daddy Pix by Mariah and Jon
Their Web Site:http://www.mariahseyesphotography.com/ Online Gallery:http://www.pbase.com/meyesphoto
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Working on speed
Our first season was a lot about putting the basic in place, both in terms of equipment as well as crew maneuvers. We have done a pretty good job at that. Now it's time to get boat speed up. I noticed that we had problems pointing with the #1 in light air, and maintaining good boat speed relative to the rest of the fleet with the #3 in heavier air.
A great aspect of the E27 fleet is that everyone is very open to sharing their expertise. I guess that the more boats move up in capabilities, the better off the fleet is as a whole. It will make racing much more interesting for everyone. So the owner of Xena gave me some great tips and helped me understand what might be causing Elise to be slow. Here are a few things that we will change in the very near future...including full-crewed lightship race.
For the boat we will:
- maintain low halyard tension on the #1 to optimize the combined draft of genoa and mainsail
- tune up the rig tension (using fleet's preferred settings as a reference)
- get the speedo to work (this means hooking it up to the battery...)
and as a team we need to:
- hike out more, think twice before leaving the rail...and try to do most activities from the high side. Or in light winds, be very attentive to weight distribution to keep a 7-10% heeling angle
- have the bow person call out traffic and waves to avoid maximum disruption caused by the nasty choppy Bay lanscape
- have the trimmer or the driver play with the backstay upwind - perhaps more so than with the main sheet and traveler.
- practice tacks to make them a lot faster both with #1 and #3 up
Some of the regular Elise's crew are also running to be part of a race program. There's something wonderful in going through this learning curve together.
A great aspect of the E27 fleet is that everyone is very open to sharing their expertise. I guess that the more boats move up in capabilities, the better off the fleet is as a whole. It will make racing much more interesting for everyone. So the owner of Xena gave me some great tips and helped me understand what might be causing Elise to be slow. Here are a few things that we will change in the very near future...including full-crewed lightship race.
For the boat we will:
- maintain low halyard tension on the #1 to optimize the combined draft of genoa and mainsail
- tune up the rig tension (using fleet's preferred settings as a reference)
- get the speedo to work (this means hooking it up to the battery...)
and as a team we need to:
- hike out more, think twice before leaving the rail...and try to do most activities from the high side. Or in light winds, be very attentive to weight distribution to keep a 7-10% heeling angle
- have the bow person call out traffic and waves to avoid maximum disruption caused by the nasty choppy Bay lanscape
- have the trimmer or the driver play with the backstay upwind - perhaps more so than with the main sheet and traveler.
- practice tacks to make them a lot faster both with #1 and #3 up
Some of the regular Elise's crew are also running to be part of a race program. There's something wonderful in going through this learning curve together.
Double-Handed Lightship race
Nathan will do a race specific writeup but I wanted to share some thoughts. I will focus on Elise's race and what I learned that will help me during the Pacific Cup. Today was the crewed lightship race and we carried daisies (the flowers) out to the lightship and dropped them in the water as we rounded the mark.
First, big surprise but Elise has to be the most uncomfortable ride you can get upwind. It's bumpy and even something as simple as taking off your pants requires a lot of energy and creative thinking. Not sure how pouring hot coffee will work...
Second: with quite a bit of breeze and on any point of sail, Elise is quite a handful if you concentrate on getting her to go fast. And there's no stopping...it will be a very tiring experience, day and night. I was completely wiped out at the end of the race, and I was trying to imagine just coming up on deck for my shift in the middle of the night.
Also, yes, it can get warm if you are just driving but it gets really hot if you start doing things and this may trigger seasickness or just make you feel very uncomfortable.
I will take the motion sickness patch. This works GREAT for me. I was on the verge of being seasick (downwind and when the wind died!) so my movements were very slow. I was fiddling with lines, setting the chute and I had to take short breaks often before completing my task. The main reason for this was lack of food. When I am very hungry, I get seasick on land...
Having food supplies up with you in the cockpit is a great idea. Saves you going down below just for a bag of chips or an apple. Especially if you are double-handed. I didn't eat anything during the race, but after a day of wind, sun and at times irregular wave patterns/sea - while actively trimming and driving to get the boat to move as fast as we could possibly do, I was tired, irritable and frustrated. I messed up a spinnaker hoist right at the beginning of our last leg (a foul halyard), I messed up a maneuver that I have done millions of time., and millions of time right. Just because my brain wasn't paying enough attention to details, and because I wanted to go fast. It was a race after all. The faster the spinnaker goes up, the sooner we will get to a higher speed range.
I loved the waves - it was quite a roller-coaster at some point, until we exited the current in the main channel, the waves became similar to the familiar choppy waters you get in the summer on San Francisco Bay. Sometimes, Elise would get suspended in mid-air for a split second and then come banging down on the water on the other side of the wave. I had to keep a hand on the lifeline because I realized that I was falling slower than Elise was. This made for a pretty sore butt...fiber glass landings are not pleasant. Quite tricky to drive upwind on the waves, they throw you all over the place and create micro wind spirals that can take you by surprise. Studying the wave pattern is definitely helpful in steering more effectively.
Here's another recommendation that I got from Nathan: double-handed, just take your time, check your lines and only when you feel everything is clear, go ahead and complete the task at hand. Recoveries are slow and they also drain you of any remaining energy very fast. It is better to wait a few extra seconds and get it right.
I completely trust Elise. She's a solid light boat, she handles waves very well (at least compared to other small sailboats I sailed on), she is an absolute blast downwind. But this is going to be one wet ride...Even the cabin won't stay dry for very long. Some of the waves ended up landing in the bilge soaking a few pieces of gear on their way down.
I have read a lot of articles about the awry weather conditions on that day but frankly, it didn't seem to be super wild out there. The waves were nicely spaced out, the wind was far from the heavier winds we get over the summer, there was no fog, clear visibility all around. I am not a Pacific Ocean expert but I never felt that these were conditions we couldn't handle, and even race in. If anything it was a great ride, full of nice and safe excitement.
Nathan (the skipper for the Pacific Cup as he has a lot more experience with this - my experience of the Pacific Ocean is very centered around unusual fishing/whaling techniques) and I have different goals. It is my first Pacific Cup so there's a lot for me to learn. Just getting to the finish in a reasonable time would be a major achievement for me. Nathan on the other hand, wants to race the boat as hard as he can. I don't know if my "hard racing" matches his. Probably not. I don't believe that I have misled him in any way but reality really sank in during that race. I really think that I can learn to perform as well as he does in those conditions. We will practice as hard as we can...but I missed an entire season so even when it comes to getting to know Elise, Nathan is ahead of me. It is honest to make sure that the other person doesn't develop unrealistic expectations...it can also be a problem if the objectives of the people on the boat don't quite match. In our case, the intent is the same. I will race as hard as I can - and if we can get a great position at the finish, I will be the happiest person on Earth. Maybe the solution is to see this maiden voyage as the real practice for the next Pac Cup? I don't know. I felt really sorry and sad for Nathan after that race, even though he reiterated that he was having a lot of fun with this program and knew where I stood in terms of Pacific crossing experience double-handed.
Anyway, I had never raced Elise double-handed out in the ocean before. So Nathan and I had a celebratory glass of champagne back at the club.
First, big surprise but Elise has to be the most uncomfortable ride you can get upwind. It's bumpy and even something as simple as taking off your pants requires a lot of energy and creative thinking. Not sure how pouring hot coffee will work...
Second: with quite a bit of breeze and on any point of sail, Elise is quite a handful if you concentrate on getting her to go fast. And there's no stopping...it will be a very tiring experience, day and night. I was completely wiped out at the end of the race, and I was trying to imagine just coming up on deck for my shift in the middle of the night.
Also, yes, it can get warm if you are just driving but it gets really hot if you start doing things and this may trigger seasickness or just make you feel very uncomfortable.
I will take the motion sickness patch. This works GREAT for me. I was on the verge of being seasick (downwind and when the wind died!) so my movements were very slow. I was fiddling with lines, setting the chute and I had to take short breaks often before completing my task. The main reason for this was lack of food. When I am very hungry, I get seasick on land...
Having food supplies up with you in the cockpit is a great idea. Saves you going down below just for a bag of chips or an apple. Especially if you are double-handed. I didn't eat anything during the race, but after a day of wind, sun and at times irregular wave patterns/sea - while actively trimming and driving to get the boat to move as fast as we could possibly do, I was tired, irritable and frustrated. I messed up a spinnaker hoist right at the beginning of our last leg (a foul halyard), I messed up a maneuver that I have done millions of time., and millions of time right. Just because my brain wasn't paying enough attention to details, and because I wanted to go fast. It was a race after all. The faster the spinnaker goes up, the sooner we will get to a higher speed range.
I loved the waves - it was quite a roller-coaster at some point, until we exited the current in the main channel, the waves became similar to the familiar choppy waters you get in the summer on San Francisco Bay. Sometimes, Elise would get suspended in mid-air for a split second and then come banging down on the water on the other side of the wave. I had to keep a hand on the lifeline because I realized that I was falling slower than Elise was. This made for a pretty sore butt...fiber glass landings are not pleasant. Quite tricky to drive upwind on the waves, they throw you all over the place and create micro wind spirals that can take you by surprise. Studying the wave pattern is definitely helpful in steering more effectively.
Here's another recommendation that I got from Nathan: double-handed, just take your time, check your lines and only when you feel everything is clear, go ahead and complete the task at hand. Recoveries are slow and they also drain you of any remaining energy very fast. It is better to wait a few extra seconds and get it right.
I completely trust Elise. She's a solid light boat, she handles waves very well (at least compared to other small sailboats I sailed on), she is an absolute blast downwind. But this is going to be one wet ride...Even the cabin won't stay dry for very long. Some of the waves ended up landing in the bilge soaking a few pieces of gear on their way down.
I have read a lot of articles about the awry weather conditions on that day but frankly, it didn't seem to be super wild out there. The waves were nicely spaced out, the wind was far from the heavier winds we get over the summer, there was no fog, clear visibility all around. I am not a Pacific Ocean expert but I never felt that these were conditions we couldn't handle, and even race in. If anything it was a great ride, full of nice and safe excitement.
Nathan (the skipper for the Pacific Cup as he has a lot more experience with this - my experience of the Pacific Ocean is very centered around unusual fishing/whaling techniques) and I have different goals. It is my first Pacific Cup so there's a lot for me to learn. Just getting to the finish in a reasonable time would be a major achievement for me. Nathan on the other hand, wants to race the boat as hard as he can. I don't know if my "hard racing" matches his. Probably not. I don't believe that I have misled him in any way but reality really sank in during that race. I really think that I can learn to perform as well as he does in those conditions. We will practice as hard as we can...but I missed an entire season so even when it comes to getting to know Elise, Nathan is ahead of me. It is honest to make sure that the other person doesn't develop unrealistic expectations...it can also be a problem if the objectives of the people on the boat don't quite match. In our case, the intent is the same. I will race as hard as I can - and if we can get a great position at the finish, I will be the happiest person on Earth. Maybe the solution is to see this maiden voyage as the real practice for the next Pac Cup? I don't know. I felt really sorry and sad for Nathan after that race, even though he reiterated that he was having a lot of fun with this program and knew where I stood in terms of Pacific crossing experience double-handed.
Anyway, I had never raced Elise double-handed out in the ocean before. So Nathan and I had a celebratory glass of champagne back at the club.
McGyver sailing
One topic at the seminars was about fixing stuff that goes wrong. For example, how someone may use a banding tool to reconnect the boom to the mast, how to rig an emergency rudder, etc...Anyway, that was kind of cool. Nathan is an engineer so that's his second nature. It is interesting to note though that this is the kind of things that you want to feel comfortable doing as your safety, performance may be at stake if you don't. So don't hesitate to get your hands dirty!
CPR and First Aid
Nathan and I took a CPR and First Aid class too. I saved the dummy's life quite a few times...Unfortunately, a lot of what the EMT was saying was along the lines of:
"do this until the pro medics arrive at the scene"
If you are 1,000 mile offshore, who's going to get to you within minutes?
Still some useful info about what could get into a first aid kit. And now we have beautiful certificates :)
We had done Man Overboard practice down in Half-Moon Bay and we will probably continue on a regular basis. We have dedicated a small fender for the task....
"do this until the pro medics arrive at the scene"
If you are 1,000 mile offshore, who's going to get to you within minutes?
Still some useful info about what could get into a first aid kit. And now we have beautiful certificates :)
We had done Man Overboard practice down in Half-Moon Bay and we will probably continue on a regular basis. We have dedicated a small fender for the task....
Safety at Sea seminar
This was the second seminar we attended earlier this month. Talks about some of the typical things that might happen at sea...and sometimes how to deal with it.
1) fire: high school preso about the fire triangle (oxygen, heat and fuel), and a little fire extinguisher instruction...
2) An MD (also a ship's medical officer) showed some really really gross pictures of a lot of limps that have gone wrong...Dislocated fingers....I had to keep my eyes closed as I started to feel really sick.
3) Hypothermia is a big problem at sea, especially in our regions, so the doctor explained how you can gradually get the person to warm up by putting your body against his or hers.
4) Sea sickness: definitely take sea-sickness tables on the liferaft (and a book...). I just assume that I will be seasick at some point. There are useful things to know.
- going below deck can cause you to become seasick, if that is the case, ask someone else to do little chores below. It should be better if you actually lie down (apparently the up-and-down motion is worth for our stomach).
- if you become seasick, other that asking your other crew to just kill you right then and there -it is helpful to take the helm as it seems to reconcile what your brain things is moving and what you see moving.
- if seasickness is part of body adjustment, it should last more than 3 days...
- always have something in our stomach and keep a few salty crackers from time to time
- don't overhead
- no alcohol
- look at the horizon.
- If you see it coming, stop the work you are doing (unless it is super urgent) and go back to it in small chunks of time to avoid really getting seasick
Seasickness can become a problem if you can't hold fluids as you are at risk for dehydration. Hopefully, it will never get that bad!
- The patch works wonder.
5) Flare demo (again...) - in heavy wind and rain...Like fireworks really.
6) Introducing SSB and emergency numbers, EPIRB, satellite phone (another hint: get the Coast Guard's phone number and store it on the satphone. If your SSB goes down, you can use that phone to talk to someone...but 911 or Channel 16 won't work too well...
7) grab bag: prepare your grab bag with everything you want to take with you on a liferaft, including IDs...medication you may have to take, etc...
8) other random demos of water makers, lifejacket operation and servicing, EPIRBs, etc...
I didn't learn much during both these workshops but Nathan won a book at the raffle :)
1) fire: high school preso about the fire triangle (oxygen, heat and fuel), and a little fire extinguisher instruction...
2) An MD (also a ship's medical officer) showed some really really gross pictures of a lot of limps that have gone wrong...Dislocated fingers....I had to keep my eyes closed as I started to feel really sick.
3) Hypothermia is a big problem at sea, especially in our regions, so the doctor explained how you can gradually get the person to warm up by putting your body against his or hers.
4) Sea sickness: definitely take sea-sickness tables on the liferaft (and a book...). I just assume that I will be seasick at some point. There are useful things to know.
- going below deck can cause you to become seasick, if that is the case, ask someone else to do little chores below. It should be better if you actually lie down (apparently the up-and-down motion is worth for our stomach).
- if you become seasick, other that asking your other crew to just kill you right then and there -it is helpful to take the helm as it seems to reconcile what your brain things is moving and what you see moving.
- if seasickness is part of body adjustment, it should last more than 3 days...
- always have something in our stomach and keep a few salty crackers from time to time
- don't overhead
- no alcohol
- look at the horizon.
- If you see it coming, stop the work you are doing (unless it is super urgent) and go back to it in small chunks of time to avoid really getting seasick
Seasickness can become a problem if you can't hold fluids as you are at risk for dehydration. Hopefully, it will never get that bad!
- The patch works wonder.
5) Flare demo (again...) - in heavy wind and rain...Like fireworks really.
6) Introducing SSB and emergency numbers, EPIRB, satellite phone (another hint: get the Coast Guard's phone number and store it on the satphone. If your SSB goes down, you can use that phone to talk to someone...but 911 or Channel 16 won't work too well...
7) grab bag: prepare your grab bag with everything you want to take with you on a liferaft, including IDs...medication you may have to take, etc...
8) other random demos of water makers, lifejacket operation and servicing, EPIRBs, etc...
I didn't learn much during both these workshops but Nathan won a book at the raffle :)
Friday, March 21, 2008
Pieces of 'Daisy' Found
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/03/21/BAR8VO5F8.DTL
Large pieces of missing sailboat found
Friday, March 21, 2008
Scuba divers located significant pieces of sunken wreckage from the missing 31-foot sailboat Daisy in San Francisco's main shipping channel about three or four miles outside the Golden Gate on Thursday, but they did not find the vessel's missing skipper.
The Coast Guard, aided by divers from the San Mateo Sheriff's Department, identified large portions of the vessel's deck, cabin, mast and rigging submerged in 63-feet of water - not far from where the sailboat had last been sighted Saturday afternoon during an offshore charity race.
Investigators said the wreckage confirmed that Daisy met catastrophe on the race course, but there was no sign that it had collided with a commercial freighter, or other object. "It's a significant event in the case," said Capt. Paul Gugg of the Coast Guard, "(but) we were unable to determine cause from what we saw."
What happened to Daisy and its two-man crew remains a mystery. The boat's skipper, retired neurologist Matthew Kirby Gale, 68, of Mill Valley, is presumed to have drowned at sea or expired from hypothermia. The body of his crew member, Anthony Harrow, 72, of Larkspur, was found washed ashore Sunday near Half Moon Bay - still wearing a life vest.
After the Coast Guard cutter Sockeye used side-scan sonar Thursday to help locate the wreckage, the sheriff's divers descended beneath the choppy seas, examining the debris with less than 3 feet of underwater visibility in about 2 knots of current.
Gugg said the sloop's mast was detached - suspended above the shards of cabin and deck, and held in check by wire rigging. Divers, who left the debris in place, found no evidence of a fire or explosion and no indication that the boat has been hit by a larger vessel. But the wreckage showed that the ship's wooden cabin, teak deck and fiberglass pan - or cabin foundation - had been separated from the older vessel's fiberglass hull and keel.
"It appears that the hull and cabin top and pan delaminated. We did not see the hull," Gugg said. "Did it delaminate and sink, or did something happen when it was blown over and sunk and subsequently delaminated? We'd be speculating to say that it came apart first."
Many disaster theories
Any number of things could have led to the disaster. The boat may have hit a channel marker and taken on water so quickly there was no time to call for help. One or both sailors may have been washed overboard. The boat could have been capsized, pitch poled or dismasted by last Saturday's fierce swells and high winds. Or, a breaking wave could have torn a hatch loose or demolished the cabin.
Thursday's underwater search was just one part of a broad investigation by the Coast Guard into the disappearance of the fiberglass sloop. Investigators have also interviewed boatyard workers, ship captains and race officials.
Ships in the channel
Investigators have identified three incoming ships and one outgoing freighter that transited the channel Saturday afternoon and evening when Daisy vanished during the 27th Annual Doublehanded Lightship Race. Three cargo ship captains have been questioned about whether they saw the missing sailboat, and the bows of their ships have been inspected for evidence of a collision. The fourth vessel will be inspected when it arrives at its next port.
The Coast Guard has also inspected seven channel markers outside the Golden Gate for any sign of a recent collision with Daisy, a white boat with green trim. Gugg said there was "no evidence at first blush" of a collision with the buoys, but investigators plan to re-inspect them.
And Coast Guard investigators have questioned electronics experts and other contractors who performed recent work on Daisy to get a better gauge of the vessel's condition before its sudden disappearance.
Built in the early or mid-1970s, Daisy had undergone a recent overhaul at a Sausalito boatyard. But it is unclear whether a marine surveyor had examined its structural integrity in recent years.
Among the lines of inquiry being pursued by investigators is the apparent lack of communication between the regatta organizers, the race participants and Coast Guard officials. That may have delayed the Coast Guard response, officials said.
What can't be known
It is impossible to know whether an earlier search for the Bay Area sailors might have saved them, Gugg indicated. Daisy could have sunk in a few seconds or minutes, leaving the sailors little hope of rescue. Or, they may have clung to their swamped boat and fought for their lives for hours.
One thing is clear: regatta organizers did not contact the Coast Guard after the boat failed to finish the 25-mile offshore course and after its race committee had tried repeatedly to contact the vessel via marine radio.
Regatta officials for the Island Yacht Club of Alameda, which sponsored the event to raise money for cerebral palsy, said they had no duty to alert the Coast Guard, even though more than two hours had past since the last boat to complete the race had crossed the finish line near Marina Green at 2:45 p.m. Race organizers expected the race to be over by 4 p.m., but the official time limit for finishing the race was 7 p.m. - a liberal deadline in case of light winds.
No distress report
When asked why the yacht club's race committee had not called the Coast Guard, race manager Joanne McFee said: "That is not our responsibility. That's the responsibility of the family. We would only call the Coast Guard if we had been apprised of a boat in distress. There was no report of a boat in distress, therefore there was nothing to call the Coast Guard about."
McFee said race officials began hailing Daisy on VHF radio channel 72 at "around 3:15 p.m.," and continued to call the boat every 15 minutes or so, but there was no response. She said that a colleague also called Gale's wife to ask whether she had heard from her husband.
"If we were notified earlier, we certainly would have responded earlier," Gugg said. "We didn't hesitate to act when we were notified."
The wife of Daisy's skipper notified the Coast Guard at 6 p.m. on Saturday, expressing concern that she had not heard from her husband and that the boat had not returned to its Sausalito slip. She told the Coast Guard that race organizers had informed her that Daisy was last seen at 1 p.m. in the vicinity of "3" buoy, which is about 5 miles west of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Coast Guard officials tried unsuccessfully to hail Daisy by marine radio, and issued an "urgent marine information broadcast" to advise nearby vessels that the sailboat was overdue.
Organizers contacted
They also contacted race organizers on Saturday evening, who confirmed that Daisy was overdue but were unable to say whether the boat was equipped with either a life raft or an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon that could emit a distress signal.
The Coast Guard launched an extensive search, employing an HH-65 Dolphin helicopter that arrived in the search area at 9:30 p.m., followed by a 47-foot motor lifeboat at 10:15 p.m., an 87-foot coastal patrol boat at 10:53 p.m., and a C-130 Hercules aircraft at 11:35 p.m. - searching through the night for the missing sailors.
On Sunday morning, a Coast Guard vessel found pieces of debris floating west of the Golden Gate Bridge some miles southeast of where Daisy had last been sighted. The debris fit the description of having come from Daisy. Earlier reports that what the Coast Guard thought might be a portion of Daisy's rudder turned out to be a piece of its cabin.
The Coast Guard called off its search late Sunday, after concluding that Gale could not have survived hypothermia from prolonged exposure at sea.
'Slow-time Charlies'
Lucie Mewes, commodore of the Island Yacht Club, which sponsored the regatta, said that although the race organizers did not personally know the two lost sailors, they were heartsick over their loss. But she also referred to the sailors as "slow-time Charlies" because they were racing in a slow-rated vessel.
"I know that I didn't call the Coast Guard," Mewes said. "I didn't have their phone number. Now, I do."
Gugg said the Coast Guard's investigation is continuing, but the agency may not have the resources to look further for the boat's sunken hull and keel.
"I'm uncertain that we're going to investigate the exact cause," he said. "I don't know how much safety of recreation vessels would be advanced by a robust investigation of this event. But we're going to be continuing to look for debris. And we'll be doing what we can to get a good handle on the condition of the boat. I haven't ruled out going back to dive on the wreckage."
E-mail Jim Doyle at jdoyle@sfchronicle.com.
Big Daddy Day 2
There weren't very many Expresses at the Big Daddy - better maneuvers but appalling upwind boat speed during the round the buyo races. It looks like our rig is tuned differently (remember the mast was down at the boatyard). Day 2 was actually meant to be a double-handed practice so we weren't planning on doing well. Lack of rail meat, we had to downgrade to a #3 (the smaller jib) when everyone else could carry a #1 (genoa) - and we had to do this on the upwind which meant no headsail for a while. Our set was great, the wind died close to the finish (that's us about the finish up there) but there was a very decent breeze upwind and on the reach leg from Alcatraz to the entrance of Racoon Straits. We need a TON of practice still. It's not about sailing the boat safely. It is about sailing the boat FAST, for days (and night) during the Pac Cup.
Spring Keel Day 2 - Racing Pictures
Oh yes, I just found an excuse!! We were short-handed in both races!!!
Spring Keel
There are good days and bad days. Even on Elise believe it or not. Everything felt wrong at the Spring Keel's first race. We didn't seem to be 'with it'. Slow start, difficulties to point, slow maneuvers, slow moving around the boat, a round up...and when we got to the windward mark, it was still attached to the boat that carried it - there were a few mishaps with the race folks on the water - two boats rounded the mark right before us and the boat started to move forward (not just keeping up with the current, it really did move forward) We had started our turn, touched the boat (since they were the mark, it was equivalent to touching the mark and we had to do our 360 penalty donut turn. We even messed up the docking :)
The second day was more like a race, we were starting to get back in the swing of things, we had some good boat speed, but still, not quite our usual selves...
And guess what, the results are there to prove it!
It was such a beautiful weekend though!
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