[LG-list] race damage

Mon Aug 11 16:55:56 CDT 2008

Dialogue that only happens in the mind of the single-handed skipper:
crew: "Wind hole at two O'clock!  Do we want to consider tacking?helm: "Ready about!"

From: bill at tourexpo.comTo: rodgervoss at yahoo.com; jdcd1 at verizon.net; lg-list at lake-george.comDate: Mon, 11 Aug 2008 13:26:31 -0400CC: amir.mujezinovic at ge.com; Tsailor at aol.com; preese125 at earthlink.net; spencer at nycap.rr.comSubject: Re: [LG-list] race damage

From: Rodge Voss [mailto:rodgervoss at yahoo.com] Sent: Monday, August 11, 2008 8:17 AMTo: JOHN DICKINSON; Lake George RacingCc: Sam Walters; Nate Dickinson; Spencer Raggio; Bill Dutcher; John and Susan Brodie; Paul ReeceSubject: Re: race damage

Single-Handed Race on Sunday.
Nice first leg of the race Cut Loose. You were first around Canoe followed by the 2 J/22s. We saw a couple of lightning strikes over Diamond Point going upwind and then halfway downwind all hell broke loose. Those gusts must have been over 35 and the lake turned to all white caps! I thought at that point to gybe and head back in before it got worse, but it was already worse!
Double Trouble informed me he was heading back home before the start with the impending storm. He was the smart one. After the weather mark I went up to my foredeck of Spirit considering putting up my spinnaker to catch those in front, and then heard Jako luffing his sails. I looked back just in time to see him rounding up and the Laser pitch-pole over in the gusts of wind ripping down the lake, so I jumped back onto the tiller and pointed my bow square down. I saw Cut Loose round up and I thought he was going to take out Catchin' Js. I saw Joy round-up and then luffing hard with no steerage, heading for Long Island.  
*** Joy's round-up was, uhhh, semi-planned. 
Closely following Cut Loose dowwind, I chose to not put up the spinnaker (good decision) and  while I saw others spinning out, Joy stayed (sorta) straight, down past Hogback, and then headed toward Long Island in search of a less windy place to jibe or tack.   Headed dead downwind, with vang and backstay on hard, and main pulled partly in to reduce the effective sail area, she was planing hard, and rocking a lot, but not quite out of control. 
Starting to tack near the Long Island bluffs, in somewhat less wind (maybe 25), I forgot that the vang had to be released so the boom could rise as the boat laid down ~ 80 degrees while rotating through a reach on her way to tack.  So I had to spring fwd and blow the vang.  While I did that, for about 20 sec Joy was out of control, laid down, water rolling into the cockpit, but as soon as vang was off, the boom rose, and she staggered up into the wind and did a very noisy, unseamanlike tack onto port.
After tacking onto port and somehow getting the vang on hard again, with traveller down and jib partly luffing, I figured I might as well try to finish the race, which I did.
I couldn't point my boat down to Hogback after my gybe and ended up missing the turn. I finally got the rudder to grab and got it going downwind on a plane! I had a rooster tail in the back and the waves were blasting off my bow. I was almost to Cotton Point when I tucked along the west shore long enough to get my genoa down and head back to the club under main. My genoa window was shattered but all else was okay with me.
Tarrant hauled-out at the club to see the damage to his boat. The bottom of the keel was pretty bad. He wasn't able to steer away or tack so he ended up into the rocks at Long Island. The keel was grinding away on the rocks as he took a bow line and tied it to one of the docks. He was in the water holding it off until Jon Brodie came over and pulled him out. Whomever called Yankee or if Brodie was on-watch over us, Tarrant told me to thank you for the rescue. 

*** John's son, Sam, told me that he & his Laser also ended up on the Long Island rocks.  After pitchpoling, the Laser's tiller was broken, so he drifted there.  Congrats and thanks to Jon B for his ready assistance.  He may have not been called, and just saw the situation developing.

Once back at the club, we found out all of these details and learned Joy was the only boat to finish the shortened course. It was a case of survival in those winds and just keeping the boats on their feet and us from flipping overboard. With the sight of lightning strikes early in the race the RC should have abandoned the race in my opinion. After the cell passed it calmed down nicely and it never did rain. Nevertheless it was a race that will go down in the history books and one we will talk about more I'm sure. 

*** I'd bet that when they saw the lightning, the RC figured to just shorten the race to once around.  In the growing wind, we'd have been back to the line in 5 - 10 min.  I'd like to see some system whereby RC boats got a call from the club when lightning gets near Warrensburg.  (Or used an I-phone or some other portable device which could connect with Wunderground's radar, like what's on the screen in the Club office.  That would give us more time to react.

I'm very glad that no one got hurt.  Hardware can always be fixed.

 Bill  

Rodge

rodgervoss at yahoo.com   Cell: (518) 788-0697 
Website:  www.DCSprofessionalinspections.com
(518) 869-9411  11 Venezio Ave. Albany, NY  12203

----- Original Message ----From: JOHN DICKINSON <jdcd1 at verizon.net>To: rodger Voss <rodgervoss at yahoo.com>Sent: Monday, August 11, 2008 7:07:47 AMSubject: race damage

What a rush!  Did you hear how bad John's boat was damaged? I felt I should of helped him but had my hands were full. By the time I got Cut Loose to bed he was motoring into the bay. 
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