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Hard going on the Chesapeake!

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Steve Milby
Past Commodore

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USA
5902 Posts

Initially Posted - 08/27/2012 : 07:28:34

Saturday we had a charity race in Solomons Island. Last year my best friend beat me, and then crowed about it all year, so I had to knock him off this year. I got to the starting line with only about two minutes to raise the mainsail, but my crew got it up, and we were off! We nevertheless got a good start. The wind was blowing about 18-25, and we badly needed a single reef, but my crew wasn't familiar with the boat's rigging, and we were losing a lot of time just tacking the boat, so I decided that trying to tuck in a reef would be tantamount to conceding the race, and by feathering the boat to windward, I was still beating my friend. We struggled around the windward mark, and on the way back I saw that my friend had struck his sails, and I knew he wouldn't have done that unless he had a major problem, so I sailed close by him and he waved for assistance. His rudder failed, and he couldn't steer the boat, so I asked him if this means I won the race between the two of us, and he agreed that it did, so I took a tow line and towed him back to Solomon's, where we stayed the night. On Sunday, we left Solomon's with him in tow, for the trip to our marina, about 15 miles up the Bay.

My original plan was to tow him into the marina dead slow, let go of the tow line, and let him grab a piling with a boat hook, and then maneuver his boat into a slip by pushing and pulling the boat from pile-to-pile with the boat hook. As we were arriving we saw a big, black, ugly looking cloud forming and heading our way, and the wind was rising. I told him I changed my mind and decided it was too dangerous to try to enter the marina under tow in worsening conditions, so we anchored his boat outside, and I saw a fisherman tending his crab pots, who agreed to take my friend off his boat and take him into the marina. Meanwhile, I also anchored my boat in the Bay outside the marina, because I didn't think it was a good idea for me to try to dock my 35' boat singlehanded in high winds. While this was all happening, a sailor in a sailboat of about 22-25' tried to leave the marina and was blown onto the stone jetty. After 15-20 minutes, a power boat owned by the marina towed him off, and then towed my friend's boat into the marina. After awhile, the storm blew over, and I raised my anchor and returned to my slip. I didn't like the thought of being anchored in the Bay on a lee shore in a storm, but had confidence in my ground tackle, and was glad to see it pass by quickly. Nevertheless, not knowing how bad it was going to get or how long I was going to be there, I went below and took a Dramamine, in case it turned into an all-nighter. After getting the boat into her slip during the lull, then the rain came big-time. I heard we got 6" of rain, and the gravel parking lot at the marina had ruts about 9" deep in places. This morning, it feels like every muscle in my 70 year old body has been strained and I can barely move, but the sun is out

, and we both got back with no injuries and no damage, so, life is still good!

Steve Milby J/24 "Captiva Wind"
previously C&C 35, Cal 25, C25 TR/FK, C22
Past Commodore

Edited by - Steve Milby on 08/27/2012 07:32:22

Derek Crawford
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3321 Posts

Response Posted - 08/27/2012 : 08:16:29

Steve - you are now qualified as a Corinthian Sailor!

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Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9081 Posts

Response Posted - 08/27/2012 : 11:06:13

So if he wouldn't concede the race, then what?

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Steve Milby
Past Commodore

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USA
5902 Posts

Response Posted - 08/27/2012 : 12:08:34

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Stinkpotter
 So if he wouldn't concede the race, then what?

<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">My sailing buddy would probably still be adrift at the mouth of the Patuxent River, pleading hoarsely for help in his weakening VHF!

Actually two race committee boats arrived on the scene right as we took him in tow, so he had ample help.

By the way, Most of the time I towed him in the conventional manner, with a line from my transom to his bow chock, but when we got into the sheltered harbor at Solomons Island, we put lots of fenders on my starboard side, and lashed him to my starboard side, in the same manner as if we were rafting together. We couldn't do that where it was choppy, and we had to be careful to offset our masts, so the rigs didn't get tangled, but when we got to the dock where he was going to stay Saturday night, I could maneuver him up very close to it. Without a rudder, he couldn't steer it at all after I set him loose, so I had to be able to get him very close, so he could get a line on a piling, before I let him go. It worked great. It completely changed the dynamics of my boat under power, and the boat didn't behave the way it normally would, as you can imagine, but it allowed me to place him where I needed to, and, after I set him loose, my boat was free of the load and could maneuver normally again.

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Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9081 Posts

Response Posted - 08/27/2012 : 14:14:37

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Steve Milby
 ...we put lots of fenders on my starboard side, and lashed him to my starboard side, in the same manner as if we were rafting together... It completely changed the dynamics of my boat under power, and the boat didn't behave the way it normally would...<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">Three tips for anyone else doing this (side-by-side towing):

1. Use two spring-lines and two breast lines (bow and stern). The spring line from your the towing bow to the towed stern will do most of the towing. The other spring is for stopping if necessary.

2. Position the towing boat substantially aft of the towed--not centered side-by-side. This will improve steering by the towing boat considerably.

3. Adjust the bow and stern breast lines to align the keels of the two boats so they aren't fighting each other for direction. This is especially important when two curved sailboat hulls are positioned as in 2. above.

Edited by - Stinkpotter on 08/27/2012 14:16:49

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