The things you have done, but wish you didn't on a sailboat.

[noelH]

Usually don't sail much in August.  Over the past few seasons the winds have been light to absent.  Guessing heat domes and the effects of western forest fires might be influencing the frontals. 

The trend continues. So far, only two days sailing this August. Missed one F3-4 day.  Went windsurf foiling with a windsurfing friend and wing foiling friend. Could be the only day to wind foil this month based on recent trends.
 
Day one.  Improper attachment of the jib clew soft shackle.  Hard to do. But I did it. Not once, but twice.  Hoisted the main with one reef in. Hoisted the jib.  What the heck.  Boogers. Walking up to the foredeck on Vela in lumpy seas is not fun. Twice.  Rest of the day was uneventful. Typical August winds.  Gusty. Waves of upper F4 to low F5 winds, but the lulls were weak F3 in lumpy seas. Keeps you awake at the helm.

Day two.  Was yesterday. Ugggg weekend line up at the ramp. Hoisted sail around 1100, after waiting in the ramp line up for ? minutes. Life on a nice weekend day at the Marina.  Nice solid F3 with sustained gusts to mid F4 WSW veering NW once out of the Bay.  Five sails in the Bay. Couple white blips S. of Basswood Is. Many power boats.  Deep broad reach across the Bay then a reach to the mouth of the Bay. Few more boats hoisting sails out of Pikes, Port Superior, Bayfield, and Madeline Is marinas.  ~1230 reached the mouth of the Bay. Too many sails to count. Nice.
 
Everyone must have seen the recent wind forecast.  For whatever it's worth or not worth. Dismal winds forecasted for the next 10 days.  Like single digit "breeze".

Back at the marina ~1700. Buggers. Line up to pull out. Doesn't help that a powerboat did not pull up on the long ramp pier.  Assumed it was pulling out. Nope.  They started unloading gear. Dufus. Pull up to at least allow another boat to dock. After hovering around for an extended time I pulled out of the line up to allow couple large power boats in.  Didn't feel comfortable sandwiched between the ramp piers and couple monster boats. Some not so nice words came out of my mouth when they questioned me whats going on at the ramp. One of power boats did have a loud horn. Hour later. Loading Vela onto the trailer. Still evil thoughts drifting through my thoughts.   

Last day sailed in July I forgot to drop the rudder.  Made for an interesting moment or two as I shoved off from the pier. Motor is locked to straight only.  Luckily I had my boat hook out just in case.

 

[Doug SC]

Public boat ramps!

One very hot day midsummer I meet three fellow trailer Sailors (they didn't make the change over to here) at Lake Wylie. We had a good day sailing. We enjoyed a really good day sailing. One spent the night on the lake and two left before me; while I kept sailing. Sailing into the ramp a fast speed boat pulled in front of me when I was close to the dock and I had to veer off and sailed away. The launch has two ramps, but the other side of the dock had a guy working on his outboard with the boat on the trailer backed down into the water. So, I dropped sail and started my small outboard doing small circles to hold my place. When the dock was free, I headed back to the dock, but a girl was siting where I needed to go with her legs hanging into the water and a boy was fishing there. I had to ask them to move, and they didn't pay me any attention. The second time I said if you don't move, I might run into you. They reluctantly moved giving me the look as did the parents. By the time I pulled the boat out dropped the mast and was ready to travel I had finished off all my water and was lightheaded from the sun and heat. It was like everyone at the dock thought they had priority over a boat needing to take out.

The speed boat that cut in front of me put me in a bad mood and the rest conspired to keep it there. My mood might not have deteriorated as much if it hadn't been so dang hot. I'm sure what I was mumbling shouldn't be repeated. It is great to have the two ramps at the club where I do most of my sailing these days. Being able to keep the mast up and not having to trailer the boat home is a big plus.

[Riley Smith]

I'll have to admit that fellow that launched when I was pulling my boat out awhile back sort of got under my skin. He didn't tend his boat well and the POS skewed and tried to hit my boat just before I climbed on the pier. And it was a bona fide POS; the greasiest, trashiest, NASTIEST thing man has ever tried to traverse the brine with.  I fended it off and realized dude was an idiot and I was above all that. Just barely. I will say there was scorn written all over my face, but no words passed.

(You have to consider this is a concealed carry state and you BETTER act nice).

[noelH]

Not only power boats, but trailer sailors can be more than clueless. 

A few seasons ago returning from a day of sailing a sailboat launched using the ramp on the long pier. Of course being clueless they didn't pull to the end of the pier to allow other boats to launch or come in.  Don't remember if the the first transitional bay was open.  The "avatar" image is Vela sitting in the transitional bay at the end of the ramp long pier. Most pull off and tie off out of the way and then go park their vehicle and trailer.  Not only were the dolts blocking the ramp.  They proceeded to load their sailboat with gear.  Then sit....  I realized they didn't have a motor.  Assuming they forgot it at home along with their brains.  Too tight to launch under sail from the ramps. There is a reason why the Washburn City Marina requires motoring in and out.  Thompson's West End Washburn Boat Club ramp allows and is relatively easy to depart and come in under sail. Where NorthCoast Community Sailing launches their Opti, 420s.... You learn to depart and come in under sail. Wrong marina dolts.

So.... I pulled back out of the marina just in case they decided to give it a go under sail only.  Didn't want to get hit. Or move out of the way into the shallows and ground.  I've done that before avoiding intoxicated power boaters and being a dolt.  Hoisted sails and just drifted around for awhile.  Eventually they found someone to tow them out to the now glassy waters of the Bay. Clueless people.

At least they cannot power launch or load:). 

I've done a few stupid things at the marina. The grounding in the shallows. Unknowing dropped the stern docking line until it wrapped around the propeller.  Torqueedo has a load sensor that auto stops the motor to prevent damage. Another incident where I almost needed the boat hook to fend off hitting other boats. Couple years ago when my balance was real off due to idiopathic SSNHL I fell into my boat. Luckily straight towards the boom to catch my fall, but with enough momentum to bang my head on the boom.  Good thing for the furled mainsail and Tilly hat to pad the blow. Over the years the local live aboard smile when they see me.  Bit of dockside entertainment.

Hopefully will not become as brain dead as the power loaders and boaters that are ramp etiquette clueless.

Vela is a small and light sailboat.  Luckily I can just get deep enough on the ramp to have the trailer wheels in front of the large steel plate that sits sort of dead center bridging the hole in the concrete ramp. The concrete ramp seems to be tilting to starboard. Vela now sits a bit cockeyed by a couple degrees on the trailer after retrieving.  One of the large power boats that I let pass noted that the ramp seems more than slightly tilted.  Guessing the deeper you go the more tilt from the undercut below the concrete.  Waiting for the day when a larger boat's trailer causes the steel plate to cave in.  Plate is a temporary bandaid.  Marina manager noted they will have to increase the daily and season ramp fees to offset the high costs of repair.  My suggestion.  Do as what Vail Resorts (aka Epic pass) and Alterra(Ikon) have done.  Raise the day passes so high that purchasing the Epic or Ikon pass is more economical.  Money up front to help pay for ramp fees.  Mega expensive day pass for the rest.

[pgandw]

My single handed mast raising and lowering has been an adventure in learning - enough to keep my ancient brain thinking "how can I avoid this stupidity next time?" Surprisingly, the mast has survived pretty much intact my repeated attempts to destroy it.

1. When DW said her knees were no longer good enough to feel safe in our 19ft Mariner, I realized I was going to have to come up with a single handed mast raising system. Took a trusty 2x4 for a gin pole, mounted a trailer winch, put a T-nut with threaded insert to fit convenient hole in front of mast, added eye to hold forestay, and eye to attach jib halyard, and thought I was set. Trailered from North Carolina to Connecticut for the 2023 Mariner Rendezvous. Started to step the mast in Connecticut. The mast swayed sideways, which caused the gin pole mast jaw to snap, and the mast and pole came crashing down. Luckily nobody was parked next to me. Bent a turnbuckle toggle on the port shroud, which I was able to replace at Defender Mariner 15 min away.

2. On the way to Connecticut, discovered northern states (Delaware, NJ, NY) were incapable of correctly tolling EZ-Pass towing a trailer. All defaulted to charging me the max toll, which was $58 on the George Washington Memorial Bridge. This took a couple of weeks of writing and e-mailing NY, NJ, Del toll authorities to get the correct toll charge and the excess charges reversed. Turns out the solution was a separate transponder for towing a trailer, which must be in a Faraday cage in the vehicle when not in use. Yes, I neglected the Faraday cage on my 2nd trip to Connecticut, and got double tolled by NY at the Hudson River bridge!

3. Again, on the way to Connecticut, I discovered NY doesn't care much about maintaining the pavement on their roads, especially around NYC. I was passing through NYC on the freeway in evening rush hour traffic. Hit a pothole that scared the mast right out of the rear carrier notch and the mast was dragging off the right side of the boat and trailer. Was sort of able to pull off onto a sort of shoulder and put the mast back in position. A year later, for the 2024 Rendezvous, I managed to launch the mast out of the rear carrier notch once again in New Jersey. I now very securely lash down the mast at both fore and aft supports. I now go around NYC, and avoid the NJ Turnpike.

4. But my mast foibles were not over. Having replaced the gin pole with a reinforced (at the jaws) 2x6, and had provisioned for baby stays, I thought I had solved world hunger. I had even installed a mast plate under the mast step to provide a lower mounting point for the boom vang and any other lines I wanted to run back to the cockpit. Had pulled the boat on trailer on July 4th in NC 90/90 (heat/humidity) at around noon time, and was ready to lower the mast. Gin pole, baby stays in place. Forgot to move the main downhaul cleat up the mast slot; it was sitting at the mast base. As the mast lowered, the cleat caught the mast plate and jammed itself into one of the holes on the plate. Nothing would move, the mast would not go up or down. Finally applied sufficient force to get mast base out of tabernacle, and of course the mast crashed down. Mast plate was bent (still is), and sliding cabin hatch cover was cracked (repaired).

5. Last but not least, forgot my electric outboard makes no noise when it is on. Hove to - my normal method for raising sails - but forgot the motor was still in forward. So instead of heaving to, I was fore reaching at a rather good clip. Before I could get the main raised, I had engaged the mast in the cypress branches on the far side of the creek, with the centerboard and rudder striking submerged cypress branches. Took about 5 minutes to break the branches, showering myself in cypress needles in the process. No real damage except to my ego, and my enjoyable day out on the water.

true confessions
Fred W
Stuart (ODay) Mariner 19  Sweet P

[Riley Smith]

We used to get a couple of hours in sailing the Escatawpa River near my house. We'd launch and head upwind (in case it started dying) and then make the downwind back to the ramp as a reward. So I decided that I'd play with the centerboard. All of the OTHER times I'd put it down and forget about it, but for some reason I got curious. You know what they say about Curiosity!

We were on our downwind and I'd heard you can increase speed with the board up, so I pulled it up. Nothing happened as it really don't matter on a catboat, and the boat handles exactly the same on a downwind so I left it up for a while. We enjoyed the downwind and finally came upon the point near the ramp, and I wanted to cut it as close as possible to give us the correct angle on the tack to the ramp. I forgot to lower the board.

The result was absolutely no rudder control when we started to tack. She just kept barging ahead. Before I could get the board down we'd ran up into the marsh and were stuck. Not my best moment by far. It wasn't a big deal other than embarassing. We pushed right off and made the ramp and ended the sail. Now SOP is keeping the board down at all times unless it starts bouncing off the bottom.