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Knock Downs

104K views 280 replies 90 participants last post by  Barquito 
#1 ·
Being that I experienced a knock down this pass season, was wondering if anyone else has had such an experience. I've always been fearful of such a think, as was told wasn't really experienced at sailing unless had been through one. Well for me it was a real rush once it was over, as didn't really realize the whole experience until it was over. It happened of Cape George in the Northumberland Sound.
 
#271 ·
No written story. Just got back to St. Mary's, GA two weeks ago after dodging "Rafael" and "Sandy" on passage through the Carribean. I was so homesick after being away from the U.S. for 2 years and 8 months that I took a big chance and sailed back during hurricane season (rounded Grenada and headed North on October 15th). Very bad idea and I was extremely lucky to have gotten only storm force winds and not worse (at least the storms up here were warm and not an icebox like the Southern Ocean in April). Home is the sailor home from the sea. Ron on "Ferrous"
 
#276 ·
If you can manage 2 wives, there is no storm you can't handle.

Owning a Hobie, I put foam in the mast, so it would float. It did prevent the boat from turning turtle. I've often wondered about an inflatable bladder that attaches to the mast that would inflate when it hit the water, in the same way a life vest inflates. This would limit how far the boat would tip, and make it much more likely to right. While some felt the rig would not handle it, Ian Farrier was in on the discussion and felt it was a valid idea. I have to think if the primary buoyancy was near where the shrouds attach, the load would likely be less than the initial impact of the mast hitting the water. Most of what you need is to prevent the mast from "digging in" as the boat is pushed leeward. I wonder if that type of design would have helped WingNuts or the 26X that flipped where 2 kids drowned.
 
#278 ·
Had a knockdown last summer on lake St. Claire while racing single handed on my Hunter 216 couple of hundred yards from the finish. Like many who posted here, it was quick but felt that everything was happening in slow motion. Masthead didn't touch the water but almost skimmed the water. I braced my feet on the vertical edge of the leeward seat and grabbed the windward railing with one hand to make sure I stay on board while steering with the other hand. As it went down, it stopped almost as if someone hit the breaks, I kept thinking "this is not bad" she handled the knock valiantly, a minute later once all the wind spilled out she came back up and proceeded to the finish. This was my first knock down while single handing. Once it was over, I felt alive, excited, and gained considerable trust of my vessel. It became my trusted companion.

Happy sailing...

S. M. Momjian
Grosse Pointe, MI
 
#280 ·
We were knocked down 3 yrs ago on our first coastal sail. So as I tell this, I already know I wasn't being very smart due to very little sailing experiance.

We had just got our Chrysler 26 bought in Norfolk Va and had to sail it to Oriental NC about 190 nm. We set sail 1st of March and the weather seemed like we were going to have a pleasant trip. Not more then 2 hours into the trip and the 9.9 outboard died due to tring to unground another boat. Oh well we had never put a motor on the Chrysler 22 we lake sailed and the wind was with us so we continued on. Took the Virgina cut figuring we wouldn't beable to sail the dismal swamp. Made it to Coinjock before noon after being invited to stay at the Norfolk yacht club (nice group). The dockmaster at the Midway marina had told us that a nor-easter was coming and should be in the area by midnight so did we want a slip? Well the tide and wind was with us and I figured we could make it across the Albermarle sound to the Alligator river because we were already a day behind. It was nice and warm when we started out and hit the Albermarle but didn't last long. The waves might have been 1 to 2 feet with 10k winds, within what might have been an hour the waves got to 4 to 5 foot with 15 to 25k winds. I had the main reefed and tried to turn noth to shore but the ways and wind wouldn't allow it so I had my 1st mate give me the heading for the Alligator river because it was getting hard to see anything past the compass. Then it got worse and the sliders snapped taking out the main so I pulled a small amount of jib tring to keep our heading. While all this is happening I was getting soaked thru and hit by waves comming over the back of the transom and frozen to the bone. as soon I had already lashed my right arm to the hard dodger because it was the only way from sliding around the cockpit. I open the jib the boat turned quick and the boat went over. My poor 1st was trown from one side to the other and said she could see the water thru the port. We recovered quickly and was lucky we had very little on the inside yet so nothing got broken. yelling back and forth was the only way we could communicate she told me she was calling for the Coast Guard to come get her. We were out there for 4 hours before they found us and told us the conditions were 10' waves and 40k sustained 65k gust and even they couldn't head north to Elizabeth city their home port against the wind and waves in the rescue zodiac.
I told the wife that we could sell the boat and go back to lake sailing if she wanted but to my surprise when we found the boat the following afternoon and she jumped aboard ready to continue to trip.
 
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