[bolger] Storm Petrel story
Following up on my post in the "Heavy Weather Boats" thread, I have
added Marc Lander's sail sketch and the message contaning the story
below to the Storm Petrel folder in the vault, but I just had to share
this with all of you directly. Keep in mind that his boat has a
non-standard, spritsail sloop rig, so his handling comments do not
necessarily reflect on the standard lateen-cat design.
Enjoy,
Matthew
[Extract from a private e-mail to me by Marc in July, 1999]
Here is a little sea story for you:
I went out a week ago Sunday, in defiance of small craft warnings in
"Northern SF Bay". That was a little nebulous to me, so I figured it was
North of me. It turns out that the SF Bay bridge seems to be the
dividing
line, at least it was that day. It was blowing .5 to 1 knot below the
bridge, and by the time I was ready to go home, it was 25 knots,
gusting to
30 a quarter of a mile away on the North side of the bridge!
Having given up on my not so trusty outboard ( it came with the boat and
was mostly dead when I got it, according to the mechanic who pronounced
it
dead) it was sailing all the way home against an incoming tide. As
usual,
the wind and 2-3 foot swells were coming from the same direction, which
meant take the swells abeam or let the sail luff frequently.About
halfway
past the West side of Treasure Island, I realized that I was was making
no
headway and decided to tack and go back South of the bridge. The boat
had
other ideas. It never tacks very quickly, and would not at all this
time,
esp since I was not making way at all. Gybing did not seem prudent and
the
swells were relentless and frequent. What to do?
I was a little scared, but never worried, mostly due to my confidence in
the stability of the boat, and thanking God and Bolger for that little
keel
below. )BTW, mine seems to be thinner than the 3/4" Bolger spec'd). I
finally sheeted in a bit, and after several attempts, sculled and used
the
swells to tack the boat and scuttled back, mainsheet between my legs to
calmer waters. In 10 minutes it was back to 0-1 knots of wind while
dodging
a container ship on its way out.
I made it home, safely, slowly and muttering about the demise of Mr.
Johnson, and the loss of my good cushion but was quick to remind myself
that it was a small price to pay for an "educational" adventure.
Otherwise, I came home with a bruise or two, and more confidence in my
sailing ability and my boat.
Amazingly, I was still fairly dry by this point, and in the end had only
shipped about half a gallon of water into the cockpit. You have to work
pretty hard, or get a big gust to even get the rail in the water. I've
read
that hard chine boats only heel so far, then just sit at that angle. In
my
experience that is true, even in the typical SF Bay 17-20 knot Summer
breeze. I sailed a Snipe last March and liked it a lot, but would not
feel
confidant in one during the Summer here. On my Storm Petrel, no wetsuit
is
required. I wear a windbreaker and old cotton pants, which usually have
a
wet butt by the time I get home, but that's the worst of it. The wind
here
has been unusually strong, 15-20 kts is normal, 30 is a bit much! I'm
looking forward to predicted "normal" wind this month.
The big lesson for me in this adventure, besides respect for the
elements,
is that the boat is not nearly as nimble as its sleek, modern
counterparts.
This means that I must sail more conservatively, and anticipate farther
ahead than I would if sailing a Snipe or JY15. The college sailing club
nearby has a small fleet of these, and several times people have sailed
up
to me to admire my boat. Must be that bright orange sail with the funny
shape. Then they zip off, leaving me a little wistful that I can't move
as
quickly as they do. Later, I count my blessings when the weather gets
heavier.
I can't count on a quick tack to stay out of harm's way, which can be
dangerous if I don't keep an eye out. The boat will often gybe easier
than
tack, but it isn't always safe to do so. I have not tried (or measured)
the
jib yet, but will do so when the wind calms down a bit.
added Marc Lander's sail sketch and the message contaning the story
below to the Storm Petrel folder in the vault, but I just had to share
this with all of you directly. Keep in mind that his boat has a
non-standard, spritsail sloop rig, so his handling comments do not
necessarily reflect on the standard lateen-cat design.
Enjoy,
Matthew
[Extract from a private e-mail to me by Marc in July, 1999]
Here is a little sea story for you:
I went out a week ago Sunday, in defiance of small craft warnings in
"Northern SF Bay". That was a little nebulous to me, so I figured it was
North of me. It turns out that the SF Bay bridge seems to be the
dividing
line, at least it was that day. It was blowing .5 to 1 knot below the
bridge, and by the time I was ready to go home, it was 25 knots,
gusting to
30 a quarter of a mile away on the North side of the bridge!
Having given up on my not so trusty outboard ( it came with the boat and
was mostly dead when I got it, according to the mechanic who pronounced
it
dead) it was sailing all the way home against an incoming tide. As
usual,
the wind and 2-3 foot swells were coming from the same direction, which
meant take the swells abeam or let the sail luff frequently.About
halfway
past the West side of Treasure Island, I realized that I was was making
no
headway and decided to tack and go back South of the bridge. The boat
had
other ideas. It never tacks very quickly, and would not at all this
time,
esp since I was not making way at all. Gybing did not seem prudent and
the
swells were relentless and frequent. What to do?
I was a little scared, but never worried, mostly due to my confidence in
the stability of the boat, and thanking God and Bolger for that little
keel
below. )BTW, mine seems to be thinner than the 3/4" Bolger spec'd). I
finally sheeted in a bit, and after several attempts, sculled and used
the
swells to tack the boat and scuttled back, mainsheet between my legs to
calmer waters. In 10 minutes it was back to 0-1 knots of wind while
dodging
a container ship on its way out.
I made it home, safely, slowly and muttering about the demise of Mr.
Johnson, and the loss of my good cushion but was quick to remind myself
that it was a small price to pay for an "educational" adventure.
Otherwise, I came home with a bruise or two, and more confidence in my
sailing ability and my boat.
Amazingly, I was still fairly dry by this point, and in the end had only
shipped about half a gallon of water into the cockpit. You have to work
pretty hard, or get a big gust to even get the rail in the water. I've
read
that hard chine boats only heel so far, then just sit at that angle. In
my
experience that is true, even in the typical SF Bay 17-20 knot Summer
breeze. I sailed a Snipe last March and liked it a lot, but would not
feel
confidant in one during the Summer here. On my Storm Petrel, no wetsuit
is
required. I wear a windbreaker and old cotton pants, which usually have
a
wet butt by the time I get home, but that's the worst of it. The wind
here
has been unusually strong, 15-20 kts is normal, 30 is a bit much! I'm
looking forward to predicted "normal" wind this month.
The big lesson for me in this adventure, besides respect for the
elements,
is that the boat is not nearly as nimble as its sleek, modern
counterparts.
This means that I must sail more conservatively, and anticipate farther
ahead than I would if sailing a Snipe or JY15. The college sailing club
nearby has a small fleet of these, and several times people have sailed
up
to me to admire my boat. Must be that bright orange sail with the funny
shape. Then they zip off, leaving me a little wistful that I can't move
as
quickly as they do. Later, I count my blessings when the weather gets
heavier.
I can't count on a quick tack to stay out of harm's way, which can be
dangerous if I don't keep an eye out. The boat will often gybe easier
than
tack, but it isn't always safe to do so. I have not tried (or measured)
the
jib yet, but will do so when the wind calms down a bit.