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It's ironic that my first contribution to the digest is made when the =
reason for joining was within a whisker of lying on the seabed. But then =
I am (possibly) one of the few Brit subscribers and we have had =
something of a hand in the invention of irony (and, I suppose, the dear =
old Potter!)
By way of background, I sail my Potter (1989 vintage and one of the last =
produce by the West Wight builders on the Isle of Wight) on the East =
coast of England (52.2N 1.5E). I keep her moored in a tidal creek called =
the Butley River which joins the River Ore which in turn empties into =
the North Sea about 5 miles from my mooring.
This past weekend (the one I had planned to take her out for the winter) =
an Atlantic depression rolled through and gave southerly force six on =
the 24th. On it's skirts however a little wave depression blasted =
through around midday raising the wind strength to 7 gusting 8. for two =
hours. The Potter remained on the mooring during this time, or so I =
thought.
What actually happened, so runs my theory, was the wind strength held =
the boat at 90 degrees to the river flow and as the waves mounted she =
broached, was overwhelmed and the eye on the mooring line slipped off =
the forward cleat and she was off upriver.=20
Come Monday I discovered the Potter stuck on the end of a jetty on her =
beam, held fast by a strong ebb flow. Without warning, whatever was =
holding her parted, and she was off at 4 knots towards the sea. I was =
able to catch her in a small rowing dingy and get a line on but couldn't =
drag her into shallow water. The Potter turned turtle eventually and by =
chance got stuck in an eddy at the confluence of the two rivers. The =
situation was saved by the appearance of ferry man Brian Rogers (God =
Bless him) in a powerful motor boat.
To return to Mike Stallings point about recovery of a swamped Potter I =
can tell you the following:
I lost almost all buoyancy (below cockpit flotation was not installed - =
confession!!) as the forward buoyancy compartment had taken in water. I =
would strongly suggest pressure testing this forward compartment for =
integrity.
With aft buoyancy installed I think you would stand a chance of getting =
the top of the centreboard case clear of the water level but you would =
need to ensure the efficiency of the non return valve in the cockpit =
drainer and have ideal weather conditions.=20
I was able to right her from the complete capsize position fairly easily =
but, with so much water on board, she was very unstable and went over =
again a couple of times before we got into shallow water.
We had to rely on beaching as the stern was not breaking the surface =
when upright. As soon as she grounded on the falling tide I was able to =
bail her out using a large bucket.
Weather conditions now were ideal - flat calm air temperature 55 F water =
temperature 40 F. The recovery would have been impossible if colder/ =
windier/ rougher - I was wet through and pretty exhausted by the end (5 =
hours later!).
Damage is limited to a snapped top section of mast and the sorry sight =
is now sitting on the trailer in my yard. I will report on the success =
of reviving a Yamaha Malta after 24hrs total immersion.
If there is a lesson here it is don't put yourselves in harms way - =
recovery in conditions that would cause a Potter to capsize would be =
impossible to manage unaided and a grisly experience with powered =
support.
Mid-week sailing in Corpus Christi? Yes please!!
Mervyn Hall
Far & Few
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