You don't have to look that far to find some very tried and true open water long distance beachcat safety equipement requirements. Simply take a look the GT300 and Tybee 500 for safety equipment requirements.

Mike why don't you guys just take those and have US Sailing put their seal of approval on them? Also who in US Sailing has the open water, long distance, beachcat sailing experience that could review and add value to what has already been established by the beachcat community?

US Sailing is us, not them. You get what you put into it.

What I'm suggesting isn't simply an equipment list, but a guide as to what the best practices are, and why. While buoy racing is a different discipline, lessons from the distance racers would still be valid.

I never said to have anyone at US Sailing write or approve this. The best people to write this are the various beachcat distance race sailors. The MHC, which is part of US Sailing, could arguably be the best place to tie this together across events and classes.

Or, we can sit around, make jokes, and complain that no one at US Sailing listens to us, gives us anything, or takes us seriously.

Your choice.

Mike

The only time I hear from USS is when they want money. I give the money because USS does a very good job training race officials. Beyond that, I'd just as soon be left alone.

Let the guys doing distance stuff put their safety requirements in the SIs.

Okay I'll see you on the other side Mike I hope you enjoy the ride.

In the meantime I'm going to go with what has worked for the GT and Tybee sailors.

I'm trying to fix that. Besides, you don't get the email updates?



My response wasn't directed at you personally. There is no shortage of people here asking what US Sailing does for its members.



Good point. The only time a sailor would need to know any of this stuff is if they're in the middle of a distance race.


Mike

No, I don't get email updates.

I do enjoy the rules discussions and explanations from the judges and wish there were more of them. I also understand the judges are volunteers.

Yeah. Don't worry about the helmsman - save the bloody mast!

Anyone know what the depth was?

The depth on the ocean side varies greatly along key largo. While it may have been deep enough to turtle the boat, that may not have been possible. There is a boat from this race a couple years ago where a crew member was seperated. A veteran distance racer was left aboard his N20 (same boat as this incident). He tried, unsuccessfully, to turtle the boat. The buoyance in the mast was too great to get the boat to go turtle.

Funny how that works. There have been times I've tried to turtle a boat, and I just would not go. I've also turtled a boat and it had been so windy and rough that it wouldn't stay.

I concur. East of Hawk's Channel could be deep enough, but a lot of times you're hugging the shoreline in 15-20 feet of water, so a 32' mast probably won't turtle very well.

I wish I were a cartoonist! I have a vision of two guys in waist deep water balancing an N20 on it's mast tip... It might be funnier in 15'!

25 feet is the max inside the reef. A broken stick is what you'll get if you try to turtle your boat.

We basically did that in the 2010 Tybee. Harness strap gave out which through a series of circus acts caused us to gybe, flip and immediately go turtle. We were on the upturned tramp and when the mast went straight down, we were also on top of a wave . When the wave passed we were sitting on a platform 3' above the water. We quickly got it beyond 90, then slowly righted it.Shattered the halyard crane.
One lesson to be learned here is don't hangon to the boom or stand on the mast after the boat has flipped unless you want to turtle it. We were having a really good run when this happened with one boat (Mischa) in front of us, so basically the whole fleet went by us and no one saw us. A couple of teams said we just vanished. So if you choose to turtle your boat, it's not a guarantee you'll get it unturtled (we barely did) and you WILL be very hard to spot.
Another time in the Hogs Breath ,crew fell off boat flipped and I managed to right it alone( It's gotta be breezy) and get back to my crew before a good samaritan made chum out of him with his boat prop.
There's alot more stories but the bottom line is you have to do whatever you can with what you've got.
I'd be interested in someone testing this drogue theory to see if it slows the boat ENOUGH for a heavily laden swimmer to catch it.I have my doubts.

"we were sitting on a platform 3' above the water"

That's worthy of a T-shirt.

"There's alot more stories.." They're worthy of their own thread and maybe a book.

Posted a video interview on www.SailSeries.com

What about the day when Doug Foote, Dirk Lundquist, and others would race 18m2s from Gulfport Yacht Club, MS to Pensacola Beach - that's 120 nm, singlehanded, in the GoM, prior to our fancy cybernetic toys we have today?

Maybe seamanship plays a role, and if not, I am sure the court will sort out the horror.

I think it would be better if one person could right the boat. A simple righting bag, The crew rescues the boat then goes for MOB. The inflatable sausage is a great idea.

I sail with a 7lb fortress (light) and a large righting bag. Upon capsizing I throw the anchor and rig the bag. Even if the anchor doesn't bite it seems to add enough drag to help the bows point into the wind.

The drogue also helps the boat point into the wind unless the current is VERY bad.

Where are inflatable sausages available?

Dave