Blow Up at Sidney

[hummingway]

It was blowing pretty good last night and she still giving it a pretty good go. There's some pretty nice boats on the rocks around Tsehum Harbour today. At least one looks like a write off. The Auxiliary got someone off at least one sailboat before it drifted off. Hope where ever you are you are safe and warm and your is snugged up and secure

[Stillraining]

We have gusts to 41 here at the house right now Hum...I expect you have way more then that.

Whidby Island NAS is clocking 52

Call me crazy but I wish I was out playing around in it somewhere.

[GeoPowers]

Some crazies went racing today... And got dismasted, sunk, and injured:
Pacific Northwest Boating News: Injuries, damage and sinking boats as storm slams into Northwest racing fleet | Three Sheets Northwest

[jrd22]

A tug anchored in the bay at Anacortes reported 65-70 knots. All of San Juan County was out of power for a couple of hours. USCG Bellingham was reporting winds exceeded their limits so you were on your own if you got in trouble. Wild day out there.

[Stillraining]

It was definitely time to stop racing and prepare for battle.

I hope everyone is safe and accounted for.

[Surveyor]

Did the organizers of the event not see the weather report for the day? I am answering my own question if I say yes. Maybe its how youz guyz roll up there. Crazy geoduck eatin rain lovin hard rockin 3 sheets to the wind rowdies!

[hummingway]

I hear three tugs got loose at Ganges Harbour and started taking out everything in sight. Not a good harbour when it's coming from the south.

[Stillraining]

Here is some of the carnage.

Updated: Wind pummels Vancouver Island, sinking boats, delaying ferries, leaving thousands without power

Were down to about 13 knots here at the house now...A 24 hour start delay would have been prudent....hind sight is 20/20

[GeoPowers]

Originally Posted by Stillraining

...
Were down to about 13 knots here at the house now...A 24 hour start delay would have been prudent....hind sight is 20/20

Really? We just had a 40 kt gust here at the marina, still blowing strong- when the boat actually shakes you know it's a little bit windy out. Kinda fun to watch the wind instrument!

From what I read, I'm speculating the race went on because 1) It has a reputation it has to uphold as a rough and tough race and 2) It was a qualifier for the Transpac this year.

Opps- I meant Vic-Maui, not Trans-Pac!

[Stillraining]

Down to 4 to 11 kts right now....funny how we have our little micro climates around here isn't it...

That's what makes forecasting the weather such a bear cat around here...

I cant fault the race comity for there decisions...it was a big boys race with big boy risks....Each Skipper is his own commander and should decide along with the crew for themselves...

I also don't feel this should be a black mark on the race or a need to sanction limitations but I bet there will be those to make it so.

There were lessons learned...don't need rules to remember them.

[hummingway]

It's up to every skipper to make the decision to cast off lines.

[savoir]

Originally Posted by hummingway

It's up to every skipper to make the decision to cast off lines.

Those words should be posted on the wall of every yacht club, but they never will be, not when it's easier to sue the club.

[Stillraining]

FWIW...Iv had the pleasure of sharing a couple beers with these two posters from SA.

I think they put it in perspective very well....as well as suming up mine.

Posted Today, 04:59 PM

Originally Posted by Wunhunglo

You are a little mistaken. We had rounded Sisters and were on the beat back to Balenas with 3 reefs and storm jib, doing just fine when the coast guard called and said the race had been abandoned. The Coast Guard was kept informed of our status en route. We proceeded to straight to Nanaimo. After sailing towards Balenas, the wind died to 25knots on the nose and continued to drop to about 5knots within 5 miles of Nanaimo. We contemplated heading straight back to Vancouver, but heard various buoy reports of 35'sw to 50''s towards Vancouver and further south and went into Nanaimo for the night. We arrived at 23:00 slept and had a great beam reach in 15knots of wind back to Vancouver.

There have been a lot of comments slagging off the race committee or others saying that those that took part were fools. Bollocks ... putting it mildly.
The decision is with the skipper to have the right boat, the right gear as required, and crew that have the right experience, and finally the wisdom to know when they can't honestly admit to being capable of doing the event and keep the crew safe.

It is clear that you could have gone around the entire long course with a storm jib and been fine. Some chose to fly a chute long after they should have dropped it and put up a smaller headsail and still be belting along at 15+ knots in control. A lot of local boats don't have proper reef points or enough heavy air working sails of the right size; some think you're a ***** for reefing. Well it's that mind set that's ****** up. Not the race committee.

It's the decision of the skipper. Period. What needs to happen is for some skippers to take the safety and survival aspects more seriously and put equal effort into getting around the course in one piece and not entirely grip it and rip it as you might for a day sail. It is after all "offshore racing".

Kinetic is equipped for going offshore. It's been to Sydney, done the Syd Hobart, and sailed back to Vancouver. You have to give credit to a skipper like David Sutcliffe for leaving no stone unturned when it comes to preparing the boat and crew for an event like this and making the right call when it comes to a priority on crew safety, preserving the boat, and sailing the course. In the end, we had a blast.

The boat has 3 reefs in the main, the usual number of headsails: 1,2,3 & 4, reacher, blast reacher, a new orange #5 and storm jib and trysail + various chutes. It's all been used and tested well before this event. There are safety inspections of personal gear, crew attend safety and survival at sea, life raft and and marine medical courses. It's sometimes regimented but if you want to get through a race like that last Southern Straits, you can't piss around with bar-room bravado.
Bottom line is the crew gained another great experience of a tough race executed without a lot of drama. Our primary goal was to get around the course safely. Winning or losing was irrelevant. If we had a good result , great. It was a true test for a lot of the crew doing the next Vic-Maui.

We started a few minutes late, but decided to put one reef in and use the #3... got out into the harbour and hoisted a small chute. That was OK for a mile or so.... we saw the rougher water further out and decided to drop early and stick with the #3 and 1 reef. Once we were out into the 35 gusting 40, we put in another reef and changed down to the #5 and doing 12 to 15 knots.

We headed for Vancouver Island looking for the forecasted veer which didn't happen as much as forecast. Along the Island shore, it was 40 to 45 with occasional 50's. We tacked around instead of gybing and headed towards Lesquiti. Half way across, it was up to solid 45's with gusts to 50+ and confused crossing wave trains. The boat was doing steady 15's and some nice rides at 18knots. Looking ahead, there was nothing but spume and smoke on the water. We put in a 3rd reef and changed to a storm jib.

NOTE: offshore race boats should put lazy jacks on for safe and quick reefing. I've heard some dumb-ass comments from some sailors that lazy jacks are for shorthanded cruising boats. Fine... keep thinking that crap. Lazy jacks makes racing in those conditions faster and safer because putting in a reef is a no brainer and you don't have a lot of slab from the reef thrashing around while some crew tries to stand on the coachroof getting it organized, with a risk of falling to the lee rail.

Wind was now up to 50 gusting 58 and change... and doing about the same speed. We went down wind on angles that avoided being too deep and chicken gybed about 3 times on the approach to Sisters. Visibility was perhaps 2 miles or less and the wind was solidly 55 gusting higher.
(we had experienced similar conditions crossing the Bass Strait on the delivery back from Hobart and had a good feeling about the boat being capable)
We rounded Sisters after 15:00 and started the beat back to Balenas. It was a tough beat against short and very steep waves and being blinded by stinging spray, while taking some green ones.

In any event... I was a great experience and morale booster for the crew, particularly a couple that had not been out in that.

The coast guard can be rightfully pissed off, at boats out there that shouldn't have been. They also did an incredible job with the rescues in extremely difficult conditions.

**** sometimes happens to the best boats, but **** definitely happens to those that don't give a **** and give lip service to prep and safety.

Did anyone hear that laughable radio call from one boat asking RC if the coasties could take an injured crew off so they could keep racing. What kind of BS is that? They were within 1 mile of a harbour just after the start and there was only one call. Retire for the safety of the crew member, but no...they kept sailing past a couple of miles. Fark...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FWIW Boomberries is a Woman.

Quote:
Originally Posted by

Originally Posted by Boomberries

19-January 07 Location:West Coast, Canada Posted Today, 05:09 PM

Quite the day on the water yesterday ... Although we sustained some very minor damage and lost some stuff overboard, it was all in all a very good experience.

First off I will say I am very relieved that all the crew on Incisor are okay. That is a well sailed boat with a great crew of experienced sailors, and I'm very glad they are safe. I know there were other minor injuries on other boats, and I wish everyone a speedy recovery.

Seems there are heated opinions on both sides of the fence about whether the RC should have called the race. I feel strongly that no matter what, it is the Skipper who makes the decision to race and who ultimately bears responsibility for his crew and boat. I agree with Slacker, This was not a RC issue. Having said that, I think it was prudent that the RC abandoned the race when they did. The system did not let up as soon as expected and most boats had withdrawn. Besides, who wants to win by attrition?

If someone thinks their boat, their sail inventory, their crew is not up for a race like that, then they should stay home ... and they should be proud to make a prudent decision. We should support our sailing community to do what is best for themselves. What is good for one boat may not be the same for the next. We sail a huge variety of boats, and not all are equipped with similar sail inventories, skipper and crew experience etc ... Likely there were boats out there racing who were not well prepared and maybe this wil make them think twice next time, before we get regulated to the letter when we can and can not race.

Who is going to make the rules as to when a RC should call off a race? If the RC calls off a race because of winds exceeding 30 or 40 knots, and damage and injuries occur in winds less than that, whose fault is it then? People (skippers) need to take responsibility for themselves and make decisions based on how prepared they feel their boat and crew are. However, knowing that we were expecting a system, it would be nice to have the option to delay a race start by up to about 6 hours for example to allow a system to pass through.

The meteorologist at the Skipper meeting gave a very thorough and accurate forecast. I was impressed, as were many others. The only thing that changed was the system stalled for a few hours more than expected; and the winds were approx. maybe 5miles/hr more than predicted. It was not "heavy" wind at the start at all. The start area is protected and everyone should have known the pressure in the Strait would be higher than in the Bay. We ALL knew what was expected out there.

I have sailed and raced in more wind and bigger seas, and yesterday the experience was a good one to add to the resume. Getting experience in conditions like yesterdays is a huge learning tool and confidence builder and if I (or anyone) stayed home every time it was expected to blow 30 or 40 knots, one would miss out on a lot of excellent sailing and learning opportunities. I am very fortunate that the crew I sail with are very calm, experienced and are comfortable sailing in heavier wind.

I would not do a race in conditions like that unless I had full confidence in my skipper, my crew mates and the boat. Even then, there are no guarantees that all will be well. That is the sport of sailboat racing.

Having the correct sail inventory, a safe, reasonable attitude, a deeply experienced crew and a well maintained boat should get you through it for the most part.

And I agree with you wildangels ... some will be pissed off no matter what.

And people who sat at home & are passing judgment on what others decided to do, ought to hold their comments for a while.

[SurferShane]

The SE winds up here at Gladstone were fairly blustery over yesterday arvo. Heading south I had the pleasure of lying a-hull in the capping slop trying to fix a gearbox/throttle problem somewhere off Bustard Head from where I could watch the Brisbane to Gladstone racers fly past with the wind up their stern.

[Solitude]

6 boats broke anchor in yesterdays April 8th storm at Kits. 3-4 on the beach, 2 on the rocks.