RE: Twisted Seagull swamped!
Well Bruce, there must be some cosmic law that determines the inevitability of the improbable swamping. That yours occured in a relatively unobserved site is what is unusual about the event. Two years ago at the Mohone Bay Wooden Boat Festival races, where we were racing with the windsprints and light schooners, I manage to swamp our June Bug just 5 minutes to race time... while still tied to the dock...with what appeared to be the entire population of festival goers looking on. My confidence in JB's supper stability had caused inflated confidence in my balancing skills. I tried to step around the mast by tipping it to one side while I did a tight rope act along the forward gunnel. ALMOST made it. Amazing how fast she filled. I considered faking a heart attack, but figured cardio paddles might be a bit risky in my soaking wet condition. Loved your narative, though. Please give me the URL for the messabout site, again. Meant to bookmark it, but forgot. As I mentioned to you before, our daughter's wedding on Sept. 6 sort of pre-empts our getting there. But since the wedding is happening in Eganville, we (or I) might possibly slip down on Sunday morning to meet folks and their boats if they're still around. I intend to have a couple of Volkskayaks (Jerry Gladwin design) on the roof of the car, so water visits are possible. Would love to meet you and other Bolgerados in person, so clear directions to messabout site will be appreciated. Stay dry.
jeb, who never sets out in ANY boat now without a drybag loaded with towel and complete change of clothe, on the thermally menacing shores of Fundy
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
jeb, who never sets out in ANY boat now without a drybag loaded with towel and complete change of clothe, on the thermally menacing shores of Fundy
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
--- "Bruce Hector" wrote:
happened to me too.}
The weight of my body is
more than the weight of my
boat. And controlling the
center of gravity in the
boat amounts to controlling
how I sit and move around;
which is easy to forget and
to screw up.
> Well it finally happened.Lesson to learn, {it has
>...as I swivelled around...
happened to me too.}
The weight of my body is
more than the weight of my
boat. And controlling the
center of gravity in the
boat amounts to controlling
how I sit and move around;
which is easy to forget and
to screw up.
Well it finally happened.
Yesterday evening, at sunset I rowed Twisted Seagull around the front
of Kingston into a 1 foot chop on top of a 2 foot swell. The wind had
been blowing from the SE all day around 15 knots and Lake Ontario had
160 miles from Niagara to build it up to a steep little swell when it
rounded Prince Edward Point. When I headed out from the inner
causeway around 8:00 pm the wind had changed to be from the North and
died down to about 5 knots, so I thought I could handle it. I knew TS
could. Beautiful row, she almost surfed coming down the swells. A guy
in the Kingston Yacht club commented that I had "a good compromise
between floation and friction", which I thought very apt. As I was
showing off in their bay. Intentionaly pausing for a few seconds
between strokes to let TS glide about 20 yards between pulls as I
inspect the club members yachts. Then I pulled aroun the point past
the Martello Tower into the teeth of the swell. I had about a mile
and a half to go to get to my objective, The Ports Tavern. Where I
planned to reward my efforts with a pint of Smithwicks upon arrival.
Out here, about a hundred yards from shore on the south side of the
city, the swell was a tad higher and the chop might have been a foot
and a half. TS loved it, happily bouncing up the crests and burbling
down with a slap as her flat bottom met the net one. Every so often
there'd be the usual set of three waves, all bigger and steeper than
the rest (does anyone know where these come from? They always come in
threes, about a minute apart, in all sea states.) and TS would
joyfully leap and toss her way through them without complaint. I
passed the prison and turned into Portsmouth Olympic Harbour, secured
TS under a bridge to a float and went into my "local" for my point.
Because last night wasn't when I dumped TS!
This morning, the alarm went off at "O dark 30" and by 6 am I was in
TS with a full thermos of Tim Horton's best (not very good, but there
were no other choices. I wasn't going to rise 15 minutes earlier to
brew my own!)and heading downtown to the Kingston Marina where I'd
left my truck last night. Almost no wind, and Lake Ontario was as
calm as it ever gets. Nice row into the sunrise. Past a lady swimming
off the city water purification plant's dock, passed three long
distance swimmers in wet suits and skull caps, one had some kind of
paddle on her hands. Cool, a neat way to increase your swimming
thrust and use up a few little plywood scraps.(I'll make some today)
As I rounded the Confederation Basin's breakwater I turned around and
moving the oars to the 'fore sockets I rowed facing forwards the last
mile to work some different muscles. Made me wonder why anyone would
pay big bucks for a fancy front facing rowing gizmo when all you have
to do is turn around! Anyhow this return trip went off without a
hitch, ....
because I didn't dump her in front of the city and embarass myself
before the fine citizens of Kingston.
But as I entered my secluded little slip in the Kingston Marina, in
an inlet only 10 feet wide, calm as a billiard table, no wind
whatsoever as it's below a 5 foot bank, I had to end my forward
facing rowing display so I could tie TS up stern first.
That's where it happened.
At 7:20 am as I swivelled around on the centre thwart, I put to much
weight on the starboard gunwal and TS shipped a ton of water and
soaked me, the cell phone, the Rust Check money bag and all my
clothes, wallet, and stuff in a deluge of seaweed and water. I'd have
gone completely over if the channel had been wider or deeper, but at
the point where I thought "Oh S#*T, I'm going swimming!" TS bumped
into the bank and I was able to shift my weight back to the centre
line. If it'd happened anywhere else I'd have tipped her turtle for
sure. So now I'm soaking wet, and poor Twisted Seagull is full of
green water, slime and weed up to the level of the thwarts, and she's
not liking it at all. About 40 gallons is sloshing around and now
she's tippy as all get out. I carefully keep my considerable weight
on C/L and secure her to the dock. The half hour I had in hand before
work for breakfast dissapeared as I drove home and changed.
If only I had the excuse of being drunk, it would have been a
sobering experience.
Bruce Hector
http://www.brucesboats.com
Sipping a decent cup of Italian roast in your friendly neighbourhood
Rust Check Centre in his clean, dry non-rowing clothes and slop free
suede loafers I never wear.
Yesterday evening, at sunset I rowed Twisted Seagull around the front
of Kingston into a 1 foot chop on top of a 2 foot swell. The wind had
been blowing from the SE all day around 15 knots and Lake Ontario had
160 miles from Niagara to build it up to a steep little swell when it
rounded Prince Edward Point. When I headed out from the inner
causeway around 8:00 pm the wind had changed to be from the North and
died down to about 5 knots, so I thought I could handle it. I knew TS
could. Beautiful row, she almost surfed coming down the swells. A guy
in the Kingston Yacht club commented that I had "a good compromise
between floation and friction", which I thought very apt. As I was
showing off in their bay. Intentionaly pausing for a few seconds
between strokes to let TS glide about 20 yards between pulls as I
inspect the club members yachts. Then I pulled aroun the point past
the Martello Tower into the teeth of the swell. I had about a mile
and a half to go to get to my objective, The Ports Tavern. Where I
planned to reward my efforts with a pint of Smithwicks upon arrival.
Out here, about a hundred yards from shore on the south side of the
city, the swell was a tad higher and the chop might have been a foot
and a half. TS loved it, happily bouncing up the crests and burbling
down with a slap as her flat bottom met the net one. Every so often
there'd be the usual set of three waves, all bigger and steeper than
the rest (does anyone know where these come from? They always come in
threes, about a minute apart, in all sea states.) and TS would
joyfully leap and toss her way through them without complaint. I
passed the prison and turned into Portsmouth Olympic Harbour, secured
TS under a bridge to a float and went into my "local" for my point.
Because last night wasn't when I dumped TS!
This morning, the alarm went off at "O dark 30" and by 6 am I was in
TS with a full thermos of Tim Horton's best (not very good, but there
were no other choices. I wasn't going to rise 15 minutes earlier to
brew my own!)and heading downtown to the Kingston Marina where I'd
left my truck last night. Almost no wind, and Lake Ontario was as
calm as it ever gets. Nice row into the sunrise. Past a lady swimming
off the city water purification plant's dock, passed three long
distance swimmers in wet suits and skull caps, one had some kind of
paddle on her hands. Cool, a neat way to increase your swimming
thrust and use up a few little plywood scraps.(I'll make some today)
As I rounded the Confederation Basin's breakwater I turned around and
moving the oars to the 'fore sockets I rowed facing forwards the last
mile to work some different muscles. Made me wonder why anyone would
pay big bucks for a fancy front facing rowing gizmo when all you have
to do is turn around! Anyhow this return trip went off without a
hitch, ....
because I didn't dump her in front of the city and embarass myself
before the fine citizens of Kingston.
But as I entered my secluded little slip in the Kingston Marina, in
an inlet only 10 feet wide, calm as a billiard table, no wind
whatsoever as it's below a 5 foot bank, I had to end my forward
facing rowing display so I could tie TS up stern first.
That's where it happened.
At 7:20 am as I swivelled around on the centre thwart, I put to much
weight on the starboard gunwal and TS shipped a ton of water and
soaked me, the cell phone, the Rust Check money bag and all my
clothes, wallet, and stuff in a deluge of seaweed and water. I'd have
gone completely over if the channel had been wider or deeper, but at
the point where I thought "Oh S#*T, I'm going swimming!" TS bumped
into the bank and I was able to shift my weight back to the centre
line. If it'd happened anywhere else I'd have tipped her turtle for
sure. So now I'm soaking wet, and poor Twisted Seagull is full of
green water, slime and weed up to the level of the thwarts, and she's
not liking it at all. About 40 gallons is sloshing around and now
she's tippy as all get out. I carefully keep my considerable weight
on C/L and secure her to the dock. The half hour I had in hand before
work for breakfast dissapeared as I drove home and changed.
If only I had the excuse of being drunk, it would have been a
sobering experience.
Bruce Hector
http://www.brucesboats.com
Sipping a decent cup of Italian roast in your friendly neighbourhood
Rust Check Centre in his clean, dry non-rowing clothes and slop free
suede loafers I never wear.