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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

Catalina 25 Specific Forum

Heading under the Bridge - a bit of a concern

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bbriner
Captain

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349 Posts

Initially Posted - 12/09/2006 : 19:00:00

Last Sunday we were having a pretty nice day so off I went sailing. I noticed from the tide tables that it was ebbing all afternoon so I decided to head up north against the ebb tide so i could ride it back (in case the wind died). Since it was such a nice day I decided to go up to San Rafael bridge and then head under the bridge and around Red Rock Island - about 15 miles round trip. I hadn't been up there in quite a while and I was alone so why not? Half way there the wind did a near 180 on me - switching from the SW to North, which meant I was now heading upwind against the ebb tide. Still, ok by me.

Well I hadn't actually checked the speed of the tide... turns out that last Sunday was a nearly full moon so the tide was quite strong - a predicted maximum of 4 kts (max ebb) just when I was heading into San Pablo straight! I was only making about 1.5 - 2kts headway so I decided (after having gone under the bridge) to head across the channel and then duck under the bridge on the other side of Red Rock.

Heading across the straight I started noticing how fast I was being swept sideways - towards a bridge tower. I got a bit nervous so I headed up but was making very slow progress - but enough to get some distance on the tower. Once I gained distance on the tower I bore away and headed across the channel again, then turned downwind.

Now I'm going downwind and my sails are luffing and my GPS is reading 7 kts! I feel like I have very little steerage and I'm being carried towards another bridge tower.... yikes! I decide to head back upwind to give myself more time to put together another game plan. After a while I said 'ok, this is it' and I sailed across the channel, now trying to regulate my speed better (while being swept 'downstream') so that just as I got halfway between two towers I could turn downwind and 'shoot the gap'. This is while keeping in mind that you really want to stay away from those damn towers when the water is moving this fast because you can get sucked right into them - that is what was making me so nervous - they're pretty big and intimidating.

Well, I made it and had fun sailing home with a freshening breeze and a gigantic tide pushing me along. I was doing about 8.5 kts with no problem.

Moral of the story? Know your tides and be real careful of bridge towers!! You can bet I'll pay more attention next time.

Bill B
Wind Dancer
#4036 84 SR/FK
San Francisco Bay

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John Russell
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3444 Posts

Response Posted - 12/09/2006 : 19:45:01

Glad you're OK. Given your little two step with the bridge, your boat is appropriately named!

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Johnny Whaler
1st Mate

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30 Posts

Response Posted - 12/09/2006 : 21:01:01

Being a 50/50 (1/2 power boater and 1/2 sailboater) I felt your pain before and swore off sailing only to find my self out of the trouble spot and happy as can be again!

Nothing better than 250 HP behind a 22' center console in a river. The only thing that comes close is ripping along at 8.5 in a C25!

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ClamBeach
Master Marine Consultant

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3072 Posts

Response Posted - 12/09/2006 : 22:06:49

A bit scary indeed. With a big ebb here at the Humboldt Bay entrance you're only making 1 knot against the tide at C25 hull speed. I've known two other sailboats here that have been tangled up with fixed channel markers on a big tide.

One was lucky, they just suffered some scrapes on the hull and a tweaked spreader. The other boat lost their whole rig. ($$$) It never ceases to amaze me how fast things can happen at 6 kts.

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Derek Crawford
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3321 Posts

Response Posted - 12/09/2006 : 22:51:14

6 knots = 10.2 feet per sec. Or 1 boat length every 2 1/2 seconds!

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britinusa
Web Editor

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USA
5404 Posts

Response Posted - 12/10/2006 : 08:11:44

Thanks for the reminder..
Any good links to tide tables?

Paul.

Edited by - britinusa on 12/10/2006 08:12:25

ClamBeach
Master Marine Consultant

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3072 Posts

Response Posted - 12/10/2006 : 09:58:07

Online tide tables... ask and ye shall receive.

http://129.252.79.73/tide/index.html The graphical displays are really nice.

Another useful site: http://www.sailflow.com/

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djn
Master Marine Consultant

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1561 Posts

Response Posted - 12/10/2006 : 10:02:24

Don't have to be concerned with that here in the Great Lakes.....just ice!. Cheers.

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britinusa
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5404 Posts

Response Posted - 12/10/2006 : 17:08:58

Thanks Bruce, they are in my favs now.
We have that option on the GPS but being able to plan ahead is great.

Paul

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gnorgan
Admiral

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USA
563 Posts

Response Posted - 12/10/2006 : 23:44:33

Saturday night while watching the Christmas Parade of Lights our entire raftup (4 boats) did a 180 sitting on one anchor (Jim Baumgart's set) due to the sudden change in tidal flow (we think).
We were anchored near the Mission Bay Drive bridge so that was a concern only for awile until we realized we were still solidly anchored. Sad part of this was I had joined the raftup on the parade side of Jim's boat but about 30 minutes later as the parade was about to begin, the tide turned and I ended up on the opposite side having to look through the rigging of the other 3 boats!!! Not really a problem....we could still see all the boats. Just a funny "turn" of events, that's all

[I made 500 posts with this one]{Alright!!! I made Admiral!! Yippee!!

}

Edited by - gnorgan on 12/10/2006 23:46:38

John Russell
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3444 Posts

Response Posted - 12/11/2006 : 08:22:53

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by gnorgan
 
[I made 500 posts with this one]{Alright!!! I made Admiral!! Yippee!!

}
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

There's an old military tradition that says the newly promoted buys the drinks for the entire club! So, congratulations!

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gnorgan
Admiral

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USA
563 Posts

Response Posted - 12/12/2006 : 23:38:04

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">the newly promoted buys the drinks for the entire club! So, congratulations!
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Okay, the drinks are in my fridge.....I just drank another "Fat Tire Ale". I think I may run out before anyone gets here

Let's go sailing!!

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