Geoff,

I suspect the notice of cancellation is already in the mail!

<img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif" alt="" />

Actually, I am an agent. Most recently with State Farm. Life insurance can't be cancelled like other types of coverage. There is a 2 year contestability clause but after that if you die they pay, period! So if your planning suicide, buy a policy, wait 2 years and then have at it.

Not being a life insurance salesman (we can all dream, can't we???) I would disagree.

Material misrepresentation is grounds for cancellation, if memory serves.

I believe the questionnaire asks questions related to your lifestyle. Don't lie and tell them you are a librarian with no outside activities.. They might have issues if your corpse is attached to a ripped parachute.

I guess I better fess up about being a part time Human Cannonball.

When was the Narca 5.2 built, early 80’s? Is it a good idea to take out such an old boat in such extreme conditions? Too bad but I’d presume it was not a big financial loss and certainly not worth risking ones life over. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

my first cat was a 1976 5.2, which is still in action at my club. New sails, new traveler track and one new hull later, but boat and rigging seem rock solid. One hull had a bolt rip up from the beam strap, but it was probably something I did while diassembling and reassembling to put the new tramp on. Im trying to convince the current owner to buy my F18 mast and sails and rev it up a little. It did have a spin on it back in the early 90's, but it was a poor designed spin(hey it was the 90's) and I didnt know any better, so I got rid of it. Anyway, good boats, probably stronger than what we get today.

Todd, you saying you didn't enjoy that day as much as I did??? <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> It sucked, but making ~60 miles in just over two hours was ok (till the storm hit)! I think we were just ahead and ~1/2 mile to windward of you when that happened b/c I remember seeing you all get LAUNCHED (think silhouetted against the sky) and thinking, "oh f*ck, hope they're ok". We saw you all up and moving otherwise we would have "attempted" to go back. Was that around Oregon Inlet?

I've been out in 20+ NUMEROUS times, 25+ well above average, 30+ ~20+ times on numerous boats from leaners to cats. I would consider myself someone who excels in big air as is one of the skippers I sailed with (also a big air specialist) before moving to UT. His words, "I can't trust you, you don't care what the wind is, you'll go out, lol". We did quite well in the nasty stuff. When it gets that way, there is a difference between those who can and those who try. (this is going to put in the same boat as Maugen, but..) If you get scared, you are going to act scared, you are more likely to get hurt. Composure is very important in these situations.

I've been out in some WILD hairy sh*t, but.... the vast majority of those times was to race. One race in particular in Ft. W (Bob cat posted a/b this one), we had a couple of waterspouts pop up and it got wild. Sadly, this was the decision making process, "what is the boat in front doing? racing, what is the boat behind doing? racing, so, we're racing too". Peer pressure is a biotch.

I can only think of a couple of non-racing times on a cat that I've gone out when most people would have stayed in. That being said, I would not have gone out that day on that boat. IMHO, breaking the boards would tell me that probably had them 100% down and that would be a mark of inexperience in itself IMHO. (flame away)

I hope most took my post in jest...but I too have recently found myself pulling back when conditions get extreme and dropping out of "race mode" a little earlier than I would in the past. I started sailing with the philosophy that "the existence of a limit cannot be determined without exceeding it" - but when we got into off shore gonzo blasts in last year's Tybee and this past Steeplechase, I found myself pulling away from the trigger a bit...and I think I've backed off just a ~little~ too much recently - including the Tradewinds regatta (we stayed fast, but I didn't push any crossings....then again, it wasn't my boat, etc.). There's a lot of psychology to this stuff. "Racing" in heavy conditions on a boat prone to capsize is a fine line between skill level and at what point you stop racing. I guess I've moved on to the 'sneak up on the limit' philosophy as of late.

Wuss (just kidding)

I had Brian say one day, "we need to slow down, we're going to break the mast" Learning where that edge is important, but... it's always changing, different on each point of sail and of course varies with the conditions. Like shooting at a moving target while blindfolded!

Agreed. I approach sailing in rough conditions like so:

I try to determine a variability percentage in how much power the boat can take before problems develop. This number depends on wave state and the strength (not frequency) of the wind gusts and our skill level and physical condition on the boat. In very flat water and steady winds, that can be 1% variability. In heavy waves and/or really gusty conditions, that can be as much as 30% (like this past Steeplechase). Once I kinda get my head around that number, I then try to push the boat right up to it. So, if the waves are pretty good size and the wind is relatively steady, my variability might be 10% so I'm going to try and run with about 90% of my available speed. I could probably live at 95% for a while but eventually that variability is going to get me. When you get bow sizzle on a Nacra 20, you are usually inside that variability.

The trick is that the REALLY experienced guys (Kenny, JC, Lohemyer, etc.) have both the skill and the experience to get this variability number pretty high because they can identify a potentially capsizing condition quickly an react skillfully - they are also able to adjust that number after every wave (whether they know it or not).

Now do you see what light air distance racing days are good for?

What's wrong with "torque it till it strips, then back it off half a turn"? <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Or Mosley's line; "I cut it twice but it's still too short".