Could Be worse, Joe:
10 or 12 years ago I was in a 100 Statute Mile overnight race called the
Albemarle 100. It was about 2 AM, I was steering and 1 crew on deck trimming
the spin while we went downwind on a very broad reach with the ½ oz. spin up in
5 or 6 knots apparent.
Every once in a while there would be a puff and the apparent would come forward
and get to 8-9 knots or so. Boat would start to round up and I’d push the wheel
down to keep the boat on track through the puff. It happened several times. It
was quite satisfying – even exhilarating.
Then came a bigger puff. The apparent got to 12 or 13 and the boat was rounding
up hard. I pushed the wheel down as normal, but the boat kept rounding and the
boat started to broach. Apparent kept climbing towards 15-16, and I pushed
harder.
Then I felt the flow detach from the rudder and it swung to the stop. I had
about enough time to think “OH, F**----“ as the boat went to about 45 degrees
of heel (I swear it felt like more!), the spin exploded, and the boat snapped
back to having the mast vertical (there’s a big ass righting moment on a 38-2,
especially after I added the keel bulb) on a course almost 90 degrees to
starboard of our original one.
My SO at the time (I hate to call her the Admiral) came blasting up the
companionway screaming like a banshee. Seems she’d been in the head… the
extreme heel had caused the bolts on the toilet seat to snap so she fell back
against the side of the compartment… then when the boat snapped upright she got
sling-shoted right through the door on the head. Man, was she pi**ed!
But, at least, she didn’t give a rats patoot about the almost new racing
spinnaker I’d just destroyed.
Rick Brass
Washington, NC
From: "Della Barba, Joe" <[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]> >
To: "[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> "
<[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> >
Sent: 12/19/2019 11:23 AM
Subject: Re: Stus-List JAM vs Spinnaker Racing
During an informal race up the Chester with a C&C 40 it was just my wife on
board with me managing the chute. We had to harden up to a beam reach for a
section of the S-turning river right when a big gust hit and launched
red-white-and-blue nylon confetti all over the river :(
I had the unenviable task of informing my wife those bits of nylon were going
to cost more than what her car was worth to replace.
On the plus side all the luff tapes held, we had an empty triangle still flying!
Joe Della Barba
Coquina
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