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Trailer Sailor Blues

1K views 8 replies 4 participants last post by  Minnesail 
#1 ·
I needed to pull my boat Saturday so I could bring it home for some cleaning and minor maintenance in advance of a week up north with family.

The forecast was for a high winds, and a terrible thunder storm to hit between 6pm and 7pm. They were predicting hail and lightning and possible tornadoes, the works. All the stations were warning about the storm, there were frequent updates on the radio.

We sailed as long as we could. I think it was the highest winds I've had that little boat in! I was really wishing for a second reef in the main, but we made it work. The airport reported sustained 27 knots with a gust to 38 knots at 4:53pm, I think it was that gust that finally convinced us to head in.

Then the race was on to get the boat on the trailer and the mast down before the deluge hit!

It was too windy for any of the other boats to be sailing, so there were plenty of people hanging around the dock who rushed in to help.

We tied four dock lines together to make one long line from the stern of the boat to the dock. Two guys handled that to keep the stern from blowing off, and we eventually had three guys in the water wrestling the bow of the boat to get the keel lined up with the slot in the trailer. Waves and spray and wind! We finally got it on the trailer and got the mast down safely despite the strong crosswinds.

Then the front came through, the wind shifted, rain drops started to fall, and…

Nothing.

We got like six drops of rain. The storm completely passed us by. The wind dropped to a calm 10 knots and it turned into beautiful sailing evening. If I had just waited two hours I could have driven the boat onto the trailer by myself, instead of needing a team of workers to wrestle it against the wind.

C'est la voile.
 

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#2 ·
I needed to pull my boat Saturday so I could bring it home for some cleaning and minor maintenance in advance of a week up north with family.

The forecast was for a high winds, and a terrible thunder storm to hit between 6pm and 7pm. They were predicting hail and lightning and possible tornadoes, the works. All the stations were warning about the storm, there were frequent updates on the radio.

We sailed as long as we could. I think it was the highest winds I've had that little boat in! I was really wishing for a second reef in the main, but we made it work. The airport reported sustained 27 knots with a gust to 38 knots at 4:53pm, I think it was that gust that finally convinced us to head in.

Then the race was on to get the boat on the trailer and the mast down before the deluge hit!

It was too windy for any of the other boats to be sailing, so there were plenty of people hanging around the dock who rushed in to help.

We tied four dock lines together to make one long line from the stern of the boat to the dock. Two guys handled that to keep the stern from blowing off, and we eventually had three guys in the water wrestling the bow of the boat to get the keel lined up with the slot in the trailer. Waves and spray and wind! We finally got it on the trailer and got the mast down safely despite the strong crosswinds.

Then the front came through, the wind shifted, rain drops started to fall, and…

Nothing.

We got like six drops of rain. The storm completely passed us by. The wind dropped to a calm 10 knots and it turned into beautiful sailing evening. If I had just waited two hours I could have driven the boat onto the trailer by myself, instead of needing a team of workers to wrestle it against the wind.

C'est la voile.
Lucky you have a dock and a group of helpers. I have concrete ramp on a mostly deserted beach. The nearest ramp with a nearby dock....?????? Maybe 15 nautical miles of which half is out on the ocean.
 
#4 ·
Not a bad story :)
Here is my trailer sailor blues story:
Last week I went sailing on my 14' dinghy with an old salt keel boat sailor. It was a windy day with big gusts to maybe 30 mph. He did not know how to keep his fat bottom balancing the boat so eventually we tipped over and did a full turtle. I managed to drag him from under the overturned dinghy at the very last moment. I righted the boat with the help of a passing powerboat folks but we lost the rudder (was not tied up and sunk like a rock).
I blame myself for all of this. I should have been more forceful requesting him to move faster even as he did a lot of sailing in his days and is an older guy with bad knees. I should have de-powered the main faster, and I should have tied down my rudder.
We got a tow from the powerboat people (I have no motor on that boat). What a shame...
And man, I do miss that rudder...
 
#5 ·
Shame about the rudder!

I've sailed in a 16' boat with an older guy with knee issues. I used the hiking straps and leaned way out instead of making him switch to the high side with every tack. Of course that was on a nice calm day, no 30 mph gusts.


While I was taking my mast down a 14' centerboard sailboat capsized at its buoy! I guess a little bit of its jib unfurled and that caught enough wind to send it over. The same group of helpful people that jumped in to help me tried to right it, but it was too wavy and windy. I guess they got it later that night after it calmed down. I didn't ask about the rudder.
 
#7 ·
While I was taking my mast down a 14' centerboard sailboat capsized at its buoy! I guess a little bit of its jib unfurled and that caught enough wind to send it over. The same group of helpful people that jumped in to help me tried to right it, but it was too wavy and windy. I guess they got it later that night after it calmed down. I didn't ask about the rudder.
Looks like a great bunch of people. Must have been blowing real stink that day.
Usually I sail alone. When wind pipes up there is not much room for error on these smaller boats. I have a trapeze wire on mine but I rarely use it as I don't race. Still, sailing these dinghies is a bit athletic and if you can't move fast, you will be in trouble sooner or later.
But when we were sailing real fast the old dude had a big grin on his face and kept saying: "We are hauling a*ss!"
If I did not lose my best rudder it would have been a great day, going turtle and all.
 
#6 ·
Having "experienced sailors" along on YOUR boat never seems to be what its cracked up to be. They are experienced on THEIR BOAT, and in the conditions they have sailed in. In your boat they may be complete novices. And if you know your boat really well, even if its just book learning about the characteristics of your boat from other people who have sailed it, you may be the real experienced of the two.

I had some old guy on my boat on the second time I went out. When I secured the mooring by putting the pendant loop through the center hole and then around the two horns, the experienced sailor says, "Wow, that's how it goes. I always just wrapped it around." I said, "Didn't it come loose?'. He said, "Sho-nuff, too many times, I lost my pendant, and found myself drifting somewhere I didn't want to be."

Go figure!
 
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