Ok, folks, here's my confession:
I was launching near the mouth of a very small river (the sammamish
"slough") planning to head out into Lake Washington, in my 1988 p-15. I
was motoring out the slough when i glanced at the jib sheets, realizing
that i hadn't knotted them. I continued to look down at the sheets, trying
to knot them using my free hand, when........THUNK! I had motored into a
bunch of blackberrie bushes on the bank. It was September, the berries
were very ripe. Suddenly, in the flash of an instant, my yellow potter had
turned into...a blackberry surprise!
Fortunately, the bushes stopped my boat from really smashing hard into
anything. After a few expletives, I proceeded to clean the deck off, by
eating the blackberries. And the stains came off while sailing upwind on
the lake.
It did teach me a very important lesson:WATCH WHERE YOU ARE GOING AT ALL
TIMES....
Ken Silverman, lorax-15, Bothell, WA
On Thu, 4 May 2000, Bill Piper wrote:
> Kristin and others,
> I wish to second your thank you to all of the people with the good
> stories. And Kristin, intimidated? I still haven't gotten mine wet (I've had
> it for about a month now). My back has been giving me more trouble so I've
> been holding off launching it for the first time. I'm very intimidated. It
> is nice to hear that others have problems and can solve them and smile about
> it later. I have to get mine in the water SOON!!! Thank you all for making
> this new comer feel comfortable.
> Bill Piper
> WWP15 #2082 "Day Dream" ing (and that's all I've been doing)
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Kristin Hammit" <ispania@prodigy.net>
> To: <WWPotter@egroups.com>
> Sent: Thursday, May 04, 2000 2:05 PM
> Subject: [WWP] Glad to know I am not the only one.......
>
>
> > 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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