I just wanted to put this out to everyone who has been posting on the
sailing mishaps/I learned about sailing from that type of threads: THANK
YOU!!
I got my Potter in Nov of 99 and have not got out on it nearly as much as I
would have wanted to. However, when I do go out I feel so intimidated and
any little snafu or miscalculation makes me feel like a pure idiot.
Speaking only for myself, I appreciate the more expert in the clan for
telling their stories. I know it makes us newbies feel better about our own
"near hits and misses".
Kristin Hammit
P15 Maria Kristina
Dallas, TX
----- Original Message -----
From: Lars S. Mulford <mulford@bellatlantic.net>
To: <WWPotter@egroups.com>; <ecpa@egroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, May 04, 2000 7:14 AM
Subject: [WWP] Re: Unmanned sailboats are fast!
> solarfry@aol.com wrote:
>
> > Isn't is amazing how an unmanned sailboat can sail twice as fast as a
manned
> > sailboat? Makes you wonder... Hmmm.... Many of us think we can swim
after it
> > if we fall overboard...
>
> East Coasties and Webgang:
>
> SF's comments above remind me of two stories.
>
> The first was when I had my first Hobie 16 and took it to Rehoboth Bay to
sail it
> (and learn to sail it, admittedly). After rigging and launching, I was
surprised
> at how easy it seemed to be to sail this multihull. I darted about the
northern
> end of Rehoboth Bay, ocassionally flying a hull. After about 2 hours and
my head
> swelled to maximum proportions (with me proclaiming myself the king of
natural
> sailors) I headed down the bay and began darting and chasing other boats.
VERY
> bad idea. When a large powerboat came out of the canal that connects
Rehoboth
> and Indian River Bays, I decided to get behind it with the idea of
overtaking
> it. As I passed through the first part of its wake, I had no problems and
the
> wind actually picked up enough for me to fly a hull. The 2nd part of the
wake
> was another story. You can see where this is going... The waterbound
sponson
> dug in when I began to plow through the wake and my heretofore "solved"
sailboat
> showed another side of itself by pitchpoling and throwing me completely
off the
> boat, in front and to the right. Then from the water, I got to watch as
my only
> partially pitchpoled Hobie 16 hung for a moment and then slid back nice
and
> proper on its haunches. As I moved over towards it, the wind caught it
just
> enough that it headed up slightly and began sailing beautifully back
across the
> bay roughly to the point where I launched it. (Good thing I had my PFD
on.) I
> swam across the bay, reaching the shore so tired that I could barely
support my
> own weight. The boat had beached itself one beach above where I had
launched so
> after catching my breath, I had the humiliating experience of walking the
boat
> back to the launching area, to the bronx cheers and absolute delight of
the 5-6
> other Hobie sailors there. "Hey Mulford! Nice sailing! Oh wait, you
didn't do
> it, did you!" "Yo Lars! Looking good on that last tack! Next time join
your
> boat in the fun!" Yadda, yadda...
>
> The 2nd experience comes to mind was when I launched from Cherry Beach in
> Sharptown, MD along with Francis Duranza, another P15 sailor. I hadn't
had
> "Always" for too long at this point. I had volunteered myself and
"Always" for
> taking some developmentally disabled adults out for a first time sail.
That part
> of the day went absolutely beautifully, with my new crew enjoying
themselves and
> the art of sail. The counselor who accompanied the folks did not sail but
> elected to remain on shore. So when we came in and beached, I asked the
> counselor to hold "Always" while my crew and I walked over to the dock to
help
> Francis bring his P15 in. Francis comes in and while I'm helping to tie
him up
> and secure his boat, I realize that someone is standing right behind me.
I turn
> and see the counselor, now behind me and observing what I'm doing. I ask
them
> nonchalantly that if they are over here watching me, who is holding and
watching
> my boat? The counselor turns to where "Always" should be on the beach and
I hear
> an audible gasp... At this point, I already knew... Without even having
to
> glance at the beach, instead I cast my gaze out into the Nanticoke River
where
> there is "Always", sailing on a broad reach downriver. This is a
particularly
> beautiful point of sail for "Always" and I was caught up in the beauty of
it
> momentarily before I remembered that she was sailing herself. Francis had
left
> to go to his car and when he came back, he too saw "Always" sailing away
> downriver. Before I even had a chance to discuss things with Francis, he
was
> running to the end of the dock, shedding clothes all the way and then he
leaped
> off the end of the dock and began swimming strongly downriver toward
"Always".
> Thinking that this was not a good idea at all, especially since my boat
was
> looking as if she wanted to sail downriver for quite some time, I sent the
> counselor to head up into town to fetch one of the local "county mountys".
While
> they were gone, the wind shifted and my boat compensated on her own but in
doing
> so, was now heading for the opposite shore, where she grounded in
lillypads and
> mud. Francis made it over to her and after struggling a bit to get on
board,
> sailed her back up to the dock as pretty as you please.
>
> So it doesn't matter what your sailing skill level is, or how many years
you've
> sailed, etc. Sometimes, stuff just happens. The trick is to roll with
it, learn
> from it, don't dwell on it but don't forget it either. These things
almost
> always seem to make you a better sailor (and perhaps a better person) from
the
> experience.
>
> And hey SF? You betcha unmanned sailboats are fast! WAY fast!
>
> --
> "Sea" ya!
>
> --Lars S. Mulford, President
> East Coast Potter Association (ECPA)
> Come visit us at http://members.tripod.com/~SpeedSailor
> "Forgive, and live. Life is worth the challenge of living." --LSSM
> "Love is good; Love hurts; Love sustains; Love remains." --LSSM
>
>
>
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