| Re: Bad accident, what to look out for?
[Re: bbeardb]
#59385 10/18/05 06:02 PM 10/18/05 06:02 PM |
Joined: Jun 2001 Posts: 12,310 South Carolina Jake
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 12,310 South Carolina | That's really hard to say - I would recommend using a camera to take photos from inside the hulls through ports. If you don't already have forward ports, I would install them to look at the front bulkhead and beams.
Jake Kohl | | | Re: Bad accident, what to look out for?
[Re: bbeardb]
#59386 10/18/05 08:34 PM 10/18/05 08:34 PM |
Joined: Sep 2003 Posts: 264 Long Island, NY gregP19
enthusiast
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enthusiast
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 264 Long Island, NY | I'm surprised you were able to step your mast and set your sails in that kind of wind. I definately wouldn't go out when the gusts are in the triple digits. In gusts of 107mph you should be able to fly at least two hulls. In the future, if you go out in that kind of air you should look out for pieces of buildings, flying cars and pets. These types of projectiles can get caught in your shrouds or tear you sails ruining a good day on the water. You're the man in my book.
G Gove
Blade #728
Long Island, New Yawk
| | | Re: Bad accident, what to look out for?
[Re: gregP19]
#59387 10/18/05 08:43 PM 10/18/05 08:43 PM |
Joined: Apr 2005 Posts: 473 Panama City, Florida Redtwin
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Posts: 473 Panama City, Florida | I'm assuming that was a summertime microburst. Where do you sail? We've had some very docile days turn into nasty boat trashing weather quick. Luckily, I have never been caught out on my boat when these cells come through. I usually have my kids with me and I don't take any chances with gusty wind or worse... lightning.
-Rob V. Panama City Nacra 5.2 Rob V.
Nacra 5.2
Panama City | | | Re: Bad accident, what to look out for?
[Re: bbeardb]
#59388 10/18/05 09:05 PM 10/18/05 09:05 PM |
Joined: Mar 2005 Posts: 2,074 Northfield,NH USA bullswan
Pooh-Bah
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Posts: 2,074 Northfield,NH USA | If I do get back on the water. I'm still kinda freaked out about the whole thing. NO. Really? Why? All you need is your little dog, Toto and you've got a movie deal. WOW.
The nice part about being a pessimist is that you are constantly being either proven right or pleasantly surprised. - George Will "It's not that liberals aren't smart, it's just that so much of what they know isn't so" -Ronald Reagan | | | Re: Bad accident, what to look out for?
[Re: bullswan]
#59389 10/18/05 09:11 PM 10/18/05 09:11 PM |
Joined: Jun 2001 Posts: 3,906 Clermont, FL, USA David Ingram
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Posts: 3,906 Clermont, FL, USA | If I do get back on the water. I'm still kinda freaked out about the whole thing. NO. Really? Why? All you need is your little dog, Toto and you've got a movie deal. WOW. someone had to say it.
David Ingram F18 USA 242 http://www.solarwind.solar"Do or do not. There is no try." - Yoda "Excuses are the tools of the weak and incompetent" - Two sista's I overheard in the hall "You don't have to be a brain surgeon to be a complete idiot, but it helps"
| | | Re: Bad accident, what to look out for?
[Re: Darryl_Barrett]
#59391 10/18/05 11:25 PM 10/18/05 11:25 PM |
Joined: Jun 2005 Posts: 8 bbeardb OP
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Posts: 8 | Ok, so I knew I should have put a disclaimer up, but I thought fellow sailors wouldn't accuse me of trying to sail in 70 mph winds.
The official news report was 70 mph, people on the beach had wind meters, I heard 86 and a gust of 107.
The story that follows is rather long:
I was at Lake McConaughy in Nebraska. Except for the fact that I only had this boat about a week, I usually sail (when I had a boat before this one) in Colorado. Here, you have to either use "storm" wind or "evening" wind. That's pretty much the main time we have wind. This time at McConaughy i was trying to use some nice evening/storm wind. It was nothing out of the ordinary, but a very nice wind good for flying hulls. Not more than 1 minute after leaving the shore the wind picked up really bad. I could not turn the boat into the wind (I wanted to drop the main) no matter how hard I tried. The jib was furled. I had the sheets out as far as they would go but the howling wind flipped us about 2 miles from shore. I couldn't turtle the boat as I had a mast float, but honestly, I wasn't expecting it to get as bad as it did. My friend swam out to the end of the mast to disconnect the main so if we did flip it the main would come down (remember, still hoping for the best.) well the wind caught the tramp and flipped the boat again. My friend ripped off the mast float. I swam out towards the end of the mast to try and get him and finish the job he was doing.
I don't remember much after this. but the boat just started to "cart wheel" away and my friend said. I think I held onto the mast, it bent, hit me on the head or something, I don't know. All I know is that I woke up on the boat with the wind literally howling, 4 - 7' waves, mist all around, half my mast laying across the hulls with the other half in the water, and my friend nowhere to be found. I was convinced I was dreaming as it was literally like something out of a movie. So I sat there for I maybe 10-15 minutes before I realized I was getting cold, and you don't get cold in a dream. I freaked at that thought because if it wasn't a dream, where was my friend? I started screaming for him, and after a few minutes I saw him crest a wave. He told me to stop yelling, he couldn't hear me and finally got to the boat. He said was really loopy and he had been swimming for 10-15 minutes at least. He thought he was going to spend the night out there. I regained my senses after a bit and we tried to get back to shore.
About an hour later (it's dark, and has been for a while) cars on the shore start shining lights out to the water (finally my friends on shore do something) and a punk kid on a jet ski came and rescued us.
On shore a 20 cart wheeled away, slammed into a trailer and ripped it's hulls in half. Tents blew away, a motor boat by us sank, campers blew off their jacks, it was insane.
My friends on shore said they thought a tornado came through it happened so fast. complete sand storm.
So only damage really so far is a taco'd mast, ripped sail, and some punctures in the side of my hull where the mast was dragging.
I'm glad the thing bent and stuck in the water. If it hadn't been for that, my frined never would have caught up to the boat. It was a nice sea anchor. Made it hard to get to shore though.
Funny about the girlfriend. Her name is Keri. Close to Katrina, eh? | | | What to look out for?
[Re: bbeardb]
#59394 10/19/05 07:44 AM 10/19/05 07:44 AM |
Joined: Oct 2005 Posts: 5 Fort Walton Beach, FLORIDA HOBIE_CATs
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Posts: 5 Fort Walton Beach, FLORIDA | [color:"blue"] Hey There BBB One suggestion is that you verify the Squareness of the boat by taking measurements diagionally to help determine if the cross bars have been torqued. [/color] [color:"black"] Also lift the front end of one hull and see how much lift (looseness) there is with the frame. [/color] [color:"purple"] Sailing in all weather conditions may provide some skills benefit for when sudden storm situations arise and you get caught out on the open water. [/color] [color:"black"] Best to you and glad you are able to be sailing again. [/color]
MORE WIND . . ... ,-_/)
Paul
| | | Re: Bad accident, what to look out for?
[Re: bbeardb]
#59395 10/19/05 08:51 AM 10/19/05 08:51 AM |
Joined: Jul 2001 Posts: 364 Andrew
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Posts: 364 | Besides squareness also check for excess toe-in or toe-out of the hulls, which should be parallel. I beach-crewed for a good friend of mine who was in the disastrous Worrell 1000 start at Jensen Beach in 2001, and ended up sailing 800 miles with enough bend in the main beam that the bows were 4" closer together than the sterns. We checked so many things, and replaced so many parts, but somehow missed that little detail (for ten days!)
Andrew Tatton
Nacra 20 "Wiggle Stick" #266
Nacra 18 Square #12
| | | Re: Picture of the cartwheeling 20
[Re: MauganN20]
#59399 11/11/05 04:15 PM 11/11/05 04:15 PM |
Joined: Oct 2003 Posts: 248 Colorado SteveT
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Posts: 248 Colorado | That's my boooat... (spoken with my best Forest Gump accent)
The wind estimate is correct. One second it's sporty with a 25 mph breeze and the next it's nuclear. The storm came racing across the lake blowing sand and mayhem, catching everyone off guard. The sand screw holding my 20 down was no match for the 100+ mph gusts that tore it free. It was nearly a total loss. I managed to save the main; it was stored in the sail tube on the trailer. Luckily I have insurance and it replaced the boat and paid for damage to two fifth-wheel campers. Even more lucky is no one was hurt when my boat when tumbling down the beach. It's scarry to think what kind of punishment this thing would have dished out on someone unfortunate enough to get in the way.
To the guy with the damaged 18: Don't throw in the towel. Contact me or someone else on the Fleet 61 board and we'll put you in touch with Steve Cooley who can help you determine if your boat is in safe condition.
H-20 #896
| | | Re: Picture of the cartwheeling 20
[Re: bbeardb]
#59401 04/11/06 01:38 AM 04/11/06 01:38 AM |
Joined: Mar 2006 Posts: 66 Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA ReefedOne
journeyman
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journeyman
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 66 Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA | Beard, you suffered the worst Big Mac Attack I've ever heard of! Damn that's scary! Please report back on your H-18's aftermath.
I had many a fun and hairy time out there when I lived in the Boulder-Denver area, but never one approaching that extreme... DAY-UM!
Even in "normal" times it's foolish to head to McConaughy without at least 4 good sand screws. On at least 2 occasions that I remember, those of us who "screwed our boats to the beach" had a great 3-day weekend, and those who didn't had broken boats and went home p*ssed.
Still, that NIGHT WIND can be great fun when there's a full moon, and someone to man the shore lights! | | |
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