Conference unifix::sailing

    re: .0
    
    Congratulations on your preparations and success with the 
    storm. Would you elaborate on your anchors relating to scope,
    chain and the angles that you set them relative to each other?
    
    I also survived without damage in Fairhaven on a slip at the
    shipyard. Tied things down well, removed the dodger and wrapped
    the head sail and the main with line.
    
    Joe

    One of the reasons we wanted shallow water was to have a large scope.
    on the anchors.  From the bow cleats to the bottom we had about 7 ft.
    before any surge.  We put out 150 ft of line, about 20 to 1 scope.
    This reduced the pull and also the chafing due to a smaller angle
    at the bow.  I have 10 ft. of chain on all anchors even though
    less is recommended.  The two smaller anchors were about 80 degrees
    to the left and right of the main one.  They pulled if the wind 
    shifted or if the boat oscillated on the main one.
    

    I'm curious about one thing: how do you think your boat would have
    faired if the wing shifted substantially?  
    
    Bob

    I rode out Bob on my boat in Edgartown Harbor. I was heading for Nova
    Scotia and decided to stop in Edgartown Saturday to let the storm
    go by. (Very glad we did).  
    
    The things my wife and I learned was we were not prepared. I added a
    line to the mooring chain, set out an anchor stripped the boat
    and stayed on to motor into the wind. 
    
    The mooring I was on was against the Chapaquidic shore so we had
    protection from everything but a wind from the south. After about three
    hours the wind did go South and that was when everythin happened. Boats
    broke loose and flew through the harbor hitting others on the way to
    the beach.
    
    I am going to add for next season is two 20-30 foot lengths of 3/4
    line with thimbles and shackles to attach to the mooring chain. Most
    boat broke away because the did not have additional protection. I will
    also have lengths of rubber hose to use as chafing gear.
    
    I put out an anchor, but in the wrong place. I was primarily depending
    on the mooring. Next time I will put out multiple anchors, covering
    all potential danger areas.
    
    We left our Avon inflated, wrong move. It flew through most of the
    storm spinning around and hitting the stern pulpit. Next time I will
    deflate it so it is just bouyant. It would then be a good raft to hang
    onto if one had to leave the boat due to damage.
    
    Motoring into the storm only works until your prop get fouled with
    weeds. Mine ended as a big ball of grass which took a number of dives
    to cut away.
    
    One 47 footer hit us bow-on just aft of the cabin, cutting the
    hull/deck joint, destroying a stanchion and breaking a life line.
    However, by motoring I was able to duck around two other boats which
    came at us.
    
    I made the decision to stay with the boat based on a previous experince
    when I anchored in Lake Tashmoo, and the fact we were close to shore. I
    feel I could of reached shore safely in the case of a hit which would
    have sunk my boat. I am sure if I hadn't stayed with the boat it would
    have broken loose. 
    
    Some of the boats were left with sails on, particularly roller furling.
    Most roller furling rigs ended up with rags. Another boat left a main
    on under its cover. The cover came off, the sail went up the mast,
    flailed around, and the mast broke. The sail went into the water, and
    the additional pressure from wave broke the boat from its mooring.
    
    We didn't get to Nova Scotia, but we did learn a bit more, and were
    able to sail in the Cape area for the rest of my vacation. 
    

    My experience aboard my J40, Hidden Valley, is described in 1776.38 and
    has some "lessons learned" there as well.
    
    re .0, I agree that hurricane holes have advantages over a harbor, at
    least if you have adequate ground tackle.  Don't think for a moment
    however that you are safe from dragging boats!
    
    re: .4 We deflated our dinghy somewhat and lashed it to the cabin top. 
    A few other boats also did this.  Most however just tucked it up close
    behind the stern.  I didn't see any dinghys flying in the wind;
    although our wind in Maine was only 60K not the 100+K you all suffered
    through.  Perhaps two lines from the port and starboard towing rings of
    the dinghy to the stern cleats of your boat would have been more
    stable.
    
    Our strategy also was to motor into the wind if necessary also, but we
    never needed to.  Never though of dodging dragging boats via engine.  I
    suppose there is some danger of you snagging his rode or vice versa. 
    The nylon rodes near us extended out at only a small declining angle
    and could have been snagged quite easily.
    
    Setting spare anchors to supplement a mooring might work if they didn't
    foul on nearby boats and moorings.  It's hard to see how this wouldn't
    happen in a crowded mooring field.  I suppose you could hand set your
    anchor(s) near your mooring as a contingency to breaking loose from
    the mooring itself.
    
    One thing I noticed after Bob was that many boats in harbors had their
    pulpits smashed down.  I presume this happened because the boat
    continually had its bow pushed deep into the water.  I wonder if the
    pulpit could be protected by any of the following techniques:  (1) add
    weight to the bow so it came up more slowly, (2) use halyards to
    provide vertical support above the pulpit, or (3) add vertical support
    below the pulpit by making a wood (or some other material) support for
    the horizontal bars of the pulpit.  Anyone have experience here?
    
    -gayn
    
    

    So, did anybody else catch the Allison ... story on network TV last
    night? It was about a pregnant woman's survival on a life raft for 11
    days with her two crew members after their boat went down in Hurricane
    Bob.
    
    Anybody out there see it and decide to plunk down the bucks for a new
    EPIRB and GPS?
    
    John H-C

��    So, did anybody else catch the Allison ... story on network TV last
��    night? It was about a pregnant woman's survival on a life raft for 11
��    days with her two crew members after their boat went down in Hurricane
��    Bob.
    I thought it was entertaining, but with quite a bit of
    'poetic license'.   Just before they were overtaken by
    Bob, they were 30 miles east of Cape Hatteras.  And,
    that was their planned location!   They were right on
    the storm track, and all they did was wait for it; when
    they're home, they probably hope for phone solicitors.

    Last week on ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT, there was a short 'making
    of...' about the movie.  They had a half-dozen BIG stage
    hands just off camera making the boat pitch and roll.   And,
    a big tank of water overhead, for those crashing waves. 

    The scenes while they were still on the boat were inside in a
    pool, and the raft scenes were off a beach.

��    Anybody out there see it and decide to plunk down the bucks for a new
��    EPIRB and GPS?
    A solar still, or a reverse-osmosis desalinator would have
    been handy.   Maybe a fish hook or two.  Some epoxy that will
    harden underwater.   And of course, common sense.

    re .6:
    
    A bunch of things come to mind, most of which should have been in an
    abandon-ship bag, or easily spotted on a pre-departure check out.
    
    An adequate number of SOLAS flares, parachute and handheld.  Signal
    mirror, first aid kit, food, water.  An SSB, so a distress call could
    be heard beyond the range of a VHF.  An EPIRB for the sloop, and
    another for the raft.  A current certificate for the raft's service...
    
    Where was the raft stowed?  I don't remember seeing it when the boat
    was first shown at the dock.
    
    These people left on an offshore voyage with less of an equipment
    check out, and less of a crewmate check out, than I would be
    comfortable on a daysail on the ocean.
    
    The movie reminded me of the type of cartoon I used to see, in which a
    picture was shown, with a number of things which were wrong.  The
    cartoons were labelled "What's wrong with this picture?"  This movie
    could have paraphrased that name.
    
    djc

    I too thought there was quite a bit of license taken with the movie.
    In fact, it was so unconvincing I shut it off shortly after they got
    on the raft.
    
    The crew seemed awfully cavalier about the approaching weather.  Except
    of course the crew memember who tried to remind they had a pregant
    woman on board and should be so flip about riding it out.
    
    The scenerio reminded me of a horror movie whereby  everybody KNOWS
    there is a monster in the basement... but the stupid actor INSISTS on
    going into the basement alone, with no weapon, etc. etc. In this movie
    they should have KNOWN hurricanes are nothing to fool with yet they
    'went into the basement anyway'.
    
    Jeff
    

    Here's what amazed me about the show:
    
    How much money that USCG search must have cost. 
    
    In situations like this, does the captain of the vessel have to pay the
    USCG for its services?
    
    John H-C

>    In situations like this, does the captain of the vessel have to pay the
>    USCG for its services?

No, the coast guard doesn't charge for search and rescue. It's probably not a
good idea for them to charge for this, since it would provide a powerful
disincentive to call the CG when you're in trouble, and cause you to delay
your call much longer than you should.

Over the past three years, we paid for some of this stuff through "user fees".
Even without user fees, I think it's fair to say that most boat owners are
in the middle and upper tax brackets, and contribute quite substantially to
government operations, including the Coast Guard. I like the idea that they'll
be there for me when I need it, and I don't mind paying for them to rescue
various nut cases in the mean time. After all, if and when they do pick
me up, it'll likely be because I did something stupid or foolhardy!

--RS

    Anybody going out in a boat (especially offshore) has IMO a moral
    responsibility to equip the boat and conduct themselves (good
    seamanship) in a manner which makes the need for a rescue as unlikely
    as possible.  One should head out to sea with an independent frame
    of mind.  That is, plan as if rescue services didn't exist.  Its
    immoral to expect others to risk their lives saving your butt because
    you didn't plan well.
    
    Jeff

    Did I miss something John?  Do you have an earlier entry that says the
    same thing?  If so, and I missed it sorry for being redundant.  Oh
    yeah, sometime back there I think I do remember your saying that.
    
    Well, I am certainly glad we agree John.  Smile
    
    Jeff

    Great Idea....but what about the whales?
    
    How do you prepare for an amorous humpback?
    
    Not go?
    
    Even when you do everything right it can go wrong.

    Whales etc.... I suppose its like anything in life. Life is risky and
    when on the ocean the risks are increased.  So, you prepare for any
    reasonable contingency (whales aren't one of them) and take your
    chances. Or maybe you could do something to make the underbody of
    your boat less sexually attractive to whales?  Maybe a retracting
    propeller? Smile
    
    Jeff

    
    	YeahbutYeahbut... I've sailed thru whales in the Stellwagen Bank
    and was nowhere NEAR as nervous as I get on Rte.128 (or fill in your
    favorite road here).
    	Statistics would probably agree. 
    	I think the rathole here is a supressed frustration at having to go
    to work every day and not having the time and $$$ it takes for a
    transatlatic. I have a book of crossings in small boats- one guy I'll
    put in the nut category was a german doctor- he survived a crossing in
    a canoe, so he repeated it in an inflatable!
    	My point being, Monday armchair quarterbacking with a brewski in
    hand is easy, and of little value to those who really play.
    
    	Dr. 2� Freud.

    For the (if only partially serious) question about Whales, we often
    turn on our depth sounder when near them in order to warn them that
    someone with a different sound is nearby.  I am not aware that the
    sound is particularly aphrodisiac though so I run that risk.
    
    I believe though that the depth sounder thing works well as a humpback
    did a big dive right off the bow one time when I turned it on.  

    Partially serious, but in 1990 and especially in 1989, there seemed to
    be a significant number of trans ocean racers and cruisers that
    sustained substantial damage from being "rubbed"  but a whale. 
    
    memory only at work here.  maybe there is a way to query some database
    somewhere and find out just how much of problem one can expect.