Cool. Sounds like you did everything you could in the time you had to do it and did it well. Plus you had a boat that could take it as long as you ‘helped her out’. I like to refer to such a boat as one that is smart enough to withstand some crew errors and tough enough not to come apart in rough conditions. I always considered my former Pearson 28 and my current C&C 36XL/kcb to be smart enough to survive her owner’s mistakes—of which there have been many! Charlie NelsonWater Phantom
Sent from the all new AOL app for iOS On Tuesday, July 25, 2023, 12:23 AM, Randy Stafford via CnC-List <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> wrote: Hello Listers, Just for fun I’ll share an old sea story. Actually a new lake story. A week ago tonight I got caught out on my 30 MK I in 54 knots under full main and 155% Genoa, on Chatfield Reservoir. It was outflow from a downburst over downtown Denver probably 15 miles to the north; a storm cell I never even saw in part because of the dam on the reservoir. Colorado Sail and Yacht Club was holding a practice race. About an hour before the start, some strong gusts capsized the whole Flying Scot fleet. Crew in the water were rescued by other boats including Park Rangers, and the Flying Scots had to be towed back to the launch ramp half-submerged, to be pumped out. Then we started a keelboat race at about 7:05. The first leg was downwind in about 10 knots from the west. After rounding the leeward mark the wind started building and veering ultimately 90 degrees. I saw it coming, but didn’t have time to shorten sail, and I had no way of knowing it would build to 54 knots. When the gusts started to hit from the port side, I had water over the starboard cockpit coaming three separate times, and saw 50+ knots on my MFD when I could chance a look at it. At some point the wind veered enough that we had to tack to stay on course for the next mark, and then I was heeling 45-50 degrees to port. This all happened in a matter of two or three minutes. We had little choice but to luff completely, and furl the genoa. Some five minutes later the gusts started dying down and we were able to sheet the main back in. In the meantime I’d run the blowers in cast we had to start the A4, drive into the wind, and douse or reef the main. All on board kept their composure, and my boat suffered no real damage. But it was a pretty wild five or ten minutes. When it was all over, my max TWS page on my MFD said 53.7 knots. A guy on board captured part of it on video, including the mist over the water that only appears when it’s blowing that hard. And I’m grateful once again for the stiffness of the 30 MK I. I’ve sailed her in wind that strong a couple times before, but the difference was I knew in advance the wind was blowing, and was under double-reefed main only. We’ve had some pretty active weather in Denver this spring & summer. Cheers, Randy Stafford SV Grenadine C&C 30 MK I #79 Please show your appreciation for this list and the Photo Album site and help me pay the associated bills. Make a contribution at: https://www.paypal.me/stumurray Thanks for your help. Stu
Please show your appreciation for this list and the Photo Album site and help me pay the associated bills. Make a contribution at: https://www.paypal.me/stumurray Thanks for your help. Stu
