[Rhodes22-list] What Should I Have Done Differently?

[stan]

Mark,

sailing with the Rhodes IMF in 30 knot winds is great fun - call me and we 
will go over it.

ss


----- Original Message ----- 
From: <mputnam1 at aol.com>
To: <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
Sent: Tuesday, February 19, 2008 8:08 AM
Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] What Should I Have Done Differently?


>
> Great advice, thanks Dave.
>
> - Mark
>
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>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: David Bradley <dwbrad at gmail.com>
> To: The Rhodes 22 mail list <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
> Sent: Tue, 19 Feb 2008 12:49 am
> Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] What Should I Have Done Differently?
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Mark, you've probably gotten your fill of advice by now.  One thing I
> would add...   once I'm clear of my slip I disconnect the steering
> mechanism from tiller to motor while still motoring.  Does your
> outboard have a pin to lock it in position?  The tiller will be 300%
> lighter in your hand, and you can then unfurl the sails, kill the
> motor and be underway, raising the motor when you're ready.  I use the
> steering mechanism only when I'm in a tight area.
>
> Dave
>
>
> On Feb 18, 2008 12:55 PM,  <mputnam1 at aol.com> wrote:
>>
>> Hello everyone,
>>
>> I am hoping you can help me learn from my sailing experience today.  I 
>> know I
> must have done some things wrong, but maybe I did a few things right 
> because I
> was able to get back to the harbor safely in the end.  Let me describe 
> what
> happened and then ask a few questions.  And let me apologize in advance 
> for not
> getting all my nautical terms right … I'll do the best I can.
>>
>> My R-22 is kept at the Washington Sailing Marina on the Potomac River, 
>> just
> across the river from DC.  The weather this morning was unseasonably warm 
> with
> winds in the 15-20 knot range with gusts up to 29, according to the coast 
> guard
> weather report.  I knew a cold front was approaching and that it would get
> windier as the day went on, but it was around 11am and while I was a 
> little
> uncertain about going out, it was one of those rare weekdays when my lack 
> of
> work intersected with wind on the water.  So I decided to try and see if I 
> could
> handle it and learn something at the same time.  I had thought I'd read 
> enough
> on this group about how to handle the boat in windier conditions – I 
> wanted to
> put some of that knowledge to the test.
>>
>>
>> I was single-handing the boat and motored out of the marina and down the
> Potomac to where I usually head for the center of the river before killing 
> the
> engine, hauling it up and unfurling the main.  Before I killed the engine, 
> I
> noted that the water was choppy, but there were no white caps.  I resolved 
> to
> myself that if I began to see white caps, I'd head home.  I pointed into 
> the
> wind, killed the engine, hauled the engine up and only let out a little 
> less
> than half of the main (having read so many posts on this group about being
> conservative in windier weather) and it almost immediately got out of my
> control.
>>
>>
>>
>> The boat swerved into a beam reach and began tipping over, so I let out 
>> the
> main sheet to try and keep the mainsail from tipping me over.  Right then 
> I
> noticed that white caps had appeared (great timing on my part).  The clew 
> and
> the foot of the main sail was thrashing around, with a good amount of 
> airspace
> between the clew and the boom.
>>
>>
>>
>> As an aside, I've never quite understood what is supposed to keep the 
>> foot of
> the sail close to the boom besides just securing the sheet.  In these 
> stronger
> winds, the main was actively pulling away from the boom.  Am I perhaps 
> missing
> some key component to keep the bottom/foot of the main sail in tighter 
> proximity
> to the boom?
>>
>>
>>
>> Because I had let out the main sheet to try and control the heeling, I 
>> could
> not reach the line to furl the mainsail back into the mast.  The line was 
> out
> over the water.  So I was having to try and pull the boom back into the 
> cockpit
> to get a grip on the furling sheet … which, of course, led to more 
> heeling.  And
> when I pulled on the line to furl the main, it wouldn't furl.
>>
>>
>>
>> And, most disturbingly, with so much wind filling the small amount of the 
>> main
> that was out, I just couldn't furl the sail.  It wouldn't budge.  I also 
> noticed
> that more of the main seemed to be inching out.  I thought I had secured 
> the
> main so it wouldn't further unfurl, but I don't remember if I had and I 
> don't
> remember checking it in all the hullabaloo.  It never fully unfurled, 
> thank
> goodness, so maybe I had secured it to some degree.
>>
>>
>>
>> Anyway, every time I tried to point the boat into the wind, it didn't 
>> help
> give me more slack to furl the main.  It was noisy as hell, of course, 
> which I
> expected.  But I didn't get the slackness necessary to furl the main.  And 
> the
> boat didn't want to stay pointed into the wind, which I found a little
> surprising.  I thought sailboats, when pointed into the wind, stayed 
> there.  But
> I guess I learned otherwise today!
>>
>>
>>
>> I eventually put the motor back in the water, cranked it up and powered 
>> into
> the wind.  The swells had increased to the point that the engine was 
> coming up
> out of the water on every swell, but at least I was seeming to make 
> progress.  I
> then somehow pulled hard enough on the furling line to be able to furl the 
> main.
> I don't know how I did it, but I did.  At this point, I noticed that my 
> tiller
> to engine linkage was not working.  The 8hp Mercury motor I have only has 
> one
> latch to hold the cowling onto the engine and it was failing with the 
> severe
> pressure on the cowling, and the cowling was being ripped off the engine. 
> I had
> to use the engine tiller to point the motor.  I tried to disengage the 
> linkage,
> but in the frenzy of the moment, I wasn't able to do that.  So I just 
> continued
> steering by using both the boat's tiller and the engine's tiller.
>>
>>
>>
>> I eventually made it closer to the shore where the wind wasn't as severe, 
>> and
> was able to disengage the tiller linkage and made it back to the dock.
>>
>>
>>
>> So here are my questions:
>>
>>
>>
>> 1) First, the most basic question -- whenever I go out on 5 knot days, I 
>> make
> little progress on the water.  And if 15-20 knot days are too much, it 
> seems a
> narrow window indeed that I am able to sail in.  Is this the case?  Is the 
> R-22
> a boat that should only go out in 10-12 knot winds in order to best enjoy 
> it?
>>
>>
>>
>> 2) What should I have done differently when the half unfurled main 
>> immediately
> got out of my control?  Should I have steered the boat DOWNwind?  Would it 
> have
> been easier to furl the main if I had done that?  Or is steering the boat 
> INTO
> the wind and the chop the right thing to do?
>>
>>
>>
>> 3) Is there something I should be doing differently so that the clew of 
>> the
> mainsail doesn't get pulled so far away from the boom in windy weather? 
> It
> seemed very loose and uncontrollable.  This was one of the two most
> disconcerting parts of the experience (the other being the inability to 
> furl the
> main).
>>
>>
>>
>> 4) In a worst case scenario where I can't furl the main (especially if 
>> it's
> fully unfurled) in strong winds, should I just try to motor to shore with 
> the
> main flapping away and catching wind?  I didn't know in the situation I 
> was in
> if the imperative is to a) try and furl the main first or b) to just get 
> myself
> out of the windy area of the river even if it means motoring with the main
> unfurled.  I was afraid that if I tried to do option b, that the boat 
> could tip
> over if I was going in a direction that was putting the main into a 
> position to
> be able to tip the boat.  In retrospect, I'm now thinking that it's 
> possible to
> motor with the main unfurled, as long as the main sheet is fully out and
> allowing the main to go wherever it wants to go.
>>
>>
>>
>> 5) Has anyone else with the tiller/engine linkage had a similar problem 
>> in
> strong wind situations?  The cowling only has the one latch on the back of 
> the
> engine (furthest astern) and this one latch was clearly a weak point in
> situations of stress on the linkage.  If I'm going to be relying on this 
> linkage
> in bad weather conditions, do any of you have any advice on where and how 
> I can
> get more latches put on my cowling?  OR should I not attempt to use the 
> linkage
> in stronger winds?
>>
>>
>>
>> 6) What should be the role of the motor in these situations?  Is it the 
>> first
> thing to engage to get the boat pointed in a particular direction?  Or is 
> it the
> last thing to resort to?  Should I be able to furl the main without using 
> the
> engine?
>>
>>
>>
>> I have to tell you, it was very disconcerting to have trouble furling the
> mainsail.  I have loved the innermast furling main up until this point … 
> but
> pulling with all my might on the line was doing nothing.  It just refused 
> to
> budge.  I still don't know quite how I was able to get it finally furled. 
> It
> must have had something to do with engaging the motor in the process, but 
> I
> don't know for sure.
>>
>>
>>
>> For anyone out there who is reading this and considering purchasing the 
>> R-22,
> please know that I think this is a marvelous boat.  The inner-furling mast 
> is
> something that I've been very happy with up until today and perhaps it's 
> all a
> function of this being too much wind for the boat.  Or too much wind for 
> me, a
> relatively inexperienced sailor.
>>
>>
>>
>> I don't know for sure the best way to learn how to sail in weather like 
>> this …
> especially if I feel I have to go back to the dock as soon as there are 
> white
> caps.  Maybe there is someone out there who is experienced in this sort of
> weather AND knows the R-22 who can tutor me on-board in just this sort of
> weather, but finding that person would not be easy.  But I am ready for 
> any and
> all suggestions.
>>
>>
>>
>> Thanks for reading this very long email and I look forward to any and all
> advice … including "stay the hell out of 20 knot wind weather."  Maybe 
> that's
> the root of the problem, but it seems easy to imagine that going out in a 
> 10
> knot day could easily turn into a 20 knot day with gusts in no time at 
> all.
>>
>>
>>
>> Thanks everyone,
>>
>>
>>
>> - Mark P.
>>
>>
>>
>> ________________________________________________________________________
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>
>
>
> -- 
> David Bradley
> +1.206.234.3977
> dwbrad at gmail.com
> __________________________________________________
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>
>
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________________________________________________
> More new features than ever.  Check out the new AOL Mail ! - 
> http://webmail.aol.com
> __________________________________________________
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