Knock Downs

[smackdaddy]

Holy crap! How did I ever miss this thread???? Oh - it was out before I became a member of Sailnet.

sgk, if you're still around - I'm stealin' this for BFS. It's way too good. Awesome work, dude. Who says Cruisers can't throw down?

[Bene505]

Smack,

Thanks for resurrecting this thread, otherwise I would have missed it. Just got caught up and I'm wishing for more.

Any other knockdown stories out there?

Regards

[tommays]

Well

On J24s with the old style fathead chute and the heavy air in Greenport i lost count of how many times we submerged the windex


Now in Northport with the new style chute were they took all the area out of the head and there is so much less wind most of the time just some mild broachs

[smackdaddy]

And let's not forget Sway's and TJ's debacle on the Great Lakes. Fine sailing that!

[CharlieCobra]

I had another but it was in a Venture 21 so it don't really count.

[Bene505]

Why wouldn't your Venture 21 count? I was thinking about relating my Victory 21 spinnaker broach.

[CharlieCobra]

Cause it's something you expect in a boat like the V-21. It's light, a bit tender, has a swing keel and while more stable than a daggerboard dinghy, it's still fairly easy to knockdown. Then again, when it's your first knockdown ever, I reckon it's scary enough.

[bigcj39]

Got knocked down in a creek about 100 ft from 3 shores.Was in front of Tides Inn in Carters Creek off Chesapeake Bay in my Hunter 34.I saw a cloud coming up behind me and turned around and headed for a pole to tie up to.Well did not make the pole by about 30 ft and then it hit.No sails up just motoring.Hail,rain and wind could not see 2 feet.Before its over we were blown about 400 ft and into grass.I look up and there is a house about 30 ft from me.Well had to call Boat US and get towed out.Bill was over 1k.Glad I had insurance.

[NICHOLSON58]

I raced a Heritage One-Ton for 18 years on Lake Erie out of Cleveland. With an 8-man crew we can usually avoid the time lost due to knock down. The only part of a knock down we 'feared' was when it might happen to another boat to leeward. The knock down is always followed by a round-up into a hapless windward boat. We once did a jibe-broach with the main prevented, and a kite and blooper up in 35 knots of wind. the mast was pinned to the water at the lower spreaders until we got rid of the preventer. I rate it as exciting but no big deal. We were always prepared to race. Keep away from things that move; always use a proper fairlead; wear floatation. We also used double sheets and guys with a puller string for take-down of the kite. You can use the lazy guy as a chicken sheet to stabilize the kite if you start the death rolls. Use the lazy guy it to choke down the kite and stall the top of the spinnaker. The load drops dramatically and you can recover quickly when things settle.

[theartfuldodger]

This thread has been around a for a couple of years now, had never thought sharing my experience would generate such interest. I've been sailing now for 5 years, and look back on that experience and have come to realize that was when I kind of graduated from trying to learn how to sail and what to expect, to sailing and realizing every moment is different and that I deal with it as it comes. I'm thankful for the experience as it also has made me respect the sea and her personalities. Being here on the East coast of Newfoundland these past almost three years, where the sea and weather change in munites has helped as well.