BoatBanter.com - View Single Post

wrote:
I tried not to blame them too much as I think they did have a good time
until they realized they had screwed up by going out in open water and
I do want them to sail more.

At least they realized they screwed up.

It also sounds like the boat may have been partly to blame,
if the hull had a lot of water sloshing around inside, that
would seriously reduce it's stability and would also make it
steer oddly.

You are correct, we have never sailed a Laser or towed small boats.

It's kind of a specialized sub-set of sailing, and
generalizing small boat skills to big boats works pretty
well, unfortunately it doesn't go the other way!

In 20years of sailing and running aground nearly every day I go out
(normal for these parts), I have never needed to be towed off so I had
no idea of what the concerns of the towing boat might be.

My concern isn't just towing but any sort of assistance...
MOB recovery, capsize, towing etc etc. A friend of mine was
killed by a speedboater who had no clue what he was doing,
and I've come closer than I like to think about a few times.

OTOH I should acknowledge that many years ago, a speedboat
with some skiiers happened by on a windy day when a friend
and I had (thru our own stubbornness) broken a key part of
our racing class dinghy and could not recover. This boat
stopped & asked if they could help, and I asked them if one
of them would be willing swim over to our boat and lend a
little muscle to get the rig set back up. Yes and yes and we
went on to participate in a race later that day. Thank you
folks, wherever you are.

But I have also had motorboats try to help with rescues,
including a wildlife officer one time, who were a big hazard
themselves. A few years back, on a sunny spring day, some
friends and I were sailing & by chance one of us had a
wetsuit on. A young couple with a daysailer capsized and
could not right the boat. The water was cold and several
motorboats were trying to help but not accomplishing
anything. I sailed up, asked them to get out of the way, had
a brief argument (hampered by the rising wind) with the
wildlife officer which was settled by him backing up to
prevent me from coming alongside (he thought I was trying to
ram him, and became quite agitated). We pulled the lady out
of the water, she was freezing. One of my crew jumped in to
help right the other boat (I offered to go myself), which it
turned out not only had water in it (inside the double hull,
like that Laser) but a broken centerboard pivot. With a
little more weight & properly applied muscle, the boat was
pulled rightside up again with a brif pause at 90 degrees to
get the mainsail down. They sailed in under jib, all ended well.

I think the MiniCups may have given my son ( a known risk taker, unlike
his dad) too much confidence.

The Laser has a lot more horsepower (and it's total blast)
but it also has some quirks like catching the mainsheet
under the transom corner.

BTW, the Laser was half filled with water when finally hoisted onto the
dock. I think the mast step may be cracked.

That happens... it's fixable though.

... This Laser has not been
sailed in 10 yrs at least and I had to replace all of its hardware.
So, after looking over the torn sail, I will try to find a used one on
e-bay.

It may be cheapest to just buy a 2nd hand one in sailable
condition.

In retrospect, I get a good laugh out of the fiasco and tell my son
that it is the fiascoes we remember with fondness years later, nobody
remembers the perfect trips.

Oh I remember the good ones, don't think I've ever had a
perfect one... but you're right, the fiascoes tend to stick
with us... scar tissue and all that... lessons learned!

... Fortunately, the water felt nice, not
cold.

And that's a good thing. Cold water is a bigger hazard than
many people realize.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King