On Thu, 27 Jan 2011 21:25:34 -0600, CaveLamb
wrote:

Jessica B wrote:
On Thu, 27 Jan 2011 19:32:07 +0700, Bruce
wrote:

On Wed, 26 Jan 2011 12:45:51 -0800, Jessica B
wrote:

On Wed, 26 Jan 2011 20:07:49 +0700, Bruce
wrote:

On Tue, 25 Jan 2011 18:33:15 -0800, Jessica B
wrote:

On Wed, 26 Jan 2011 07:02:08 +0700, Bruce
wrote:

much snipped
Sorry, but I didn't understand even 1/2 of this. Maybe one should not
go sailing if you can't deal with the issues that come up, short of
being run over by a tanker or something?
Sounds pretty simple. Can you deal with a tsunami arrives with no
warning and kills some 5,000 people in your immediate area? A 60 MPH
squall that hits you at night?

Of course not. A couple of things occur to me. First, I thought a
tsunami was only dangerous near land.

The wave front may only be a few inches (or feet) high depending on the
depth of the water where you are.
But they can move at amazingly high speeds. I've even heard near supersonic.
So the amount of energy involved can be equally amazing.
Enough to roll your boat. Or bust off the keel.

From what I've read, nobody even knows a tsunami happens in the ocean.




If that's the case, then how
could it do damage to a boat that's sailing offshore? Second, it seems
like you should be able to handle high winds. Wouldn't you be prepared
for that? Why are you sleeping when there's a storm going on?


Believe it or not, sailing can be very tiring.
After a while the body is depleted and you just shut down.

Ok, but wouldn't you have someone to take over while you sleep? If you
get that tired, then maybe you need a shorter trip in better weather!

Most of the boats abonded while racing are later found floating - intact.
They were abandoned because the crew was exhausted to the point of having
no other choice.

No other choice than what? If the boat is still floating, why did the
people leave?

The crew is almost ALWAYS the limiting factor.

I believe you.

If that's the case, then how
could it do damage to a boat that's sailing offshore? Second, it seems
like you should be able to handle high winds. Wouldn't you be prepared
for that? Why are you sleeping when there's a storm going on?

Believe it or not, sailing can be very tiring.
After a while the body is depleted and you just shut down.

Ok, but wouldn't you have someone to take over while you sleep? If you
get that tired, then maybe you need a shorter trip in better weather!


My boat sails 6 or 7 knots.
Weather can move in many times faster than that.

With modern weather forecasting we can pick our "window".
But that's no guarantee that the weather guessers will be right

The only perfectly safe way is to not go at all.
And that's just not acceptable.

The oldest prayer at sea still applies...

Dear Lord, my boat is so small,
and Your ocean so big...

Most of the boats abandoned while racing are later found floating - intact.
They were abandoned because the crew was exhausted to the point of having
no other choice.

No other choice than what? If the boat is still floating, why did the
people leave?

The crew is almost ALWAYS the limiting factor.

I believe you.


--

Richard Lamb
email me:
web site: http://www.home.earthlink.net/~cavelamb

On Thu, 27 Jan 2011 23:49:45 -0600, CaveLamb
wrote:


If that's the case, then how
could it do damage to a boat that's sailing offshore? Second, it seems
like you should be able to handle high winds. Wouldn't you be prepared
for that? Why are you sleeping when there's a storm going on?

Believe it or not, sailing can be very tiring.
After a while the body is depleted and you just shut down.

Ok, but wouldn't you have someone to take over while you sleep? If you
get that tired, then maybe you need a shorter trip in better weather!


My boat sails 6 or 7 knots.
Weather can move in many times faster than that.

With modern weather forecasting we can pick our "window".
But that's no guarantee that the weather guessers will be right

The only perfectly safe way is to not go at all.
And that's just not acceptable.

The oldest prayer at sea still applies...

Dear Lord, my boat is so small,
and Your ocean so big...

Most of the boats abandoned while racing are later found floating - intact.
They were abandoned because the crew was exhausted to the point of having
no other choice.

No other choice than what? If the boat is still floating, why did the
people leave?

The crew is almost ALWAYS the limiting factor.

I believe you.

Richard... but you and your boat should have a margin of ability
several multiples of what "normal" wind would be wouldn't you? Does a
squall last so long that you would give out after a few hours? If so,
perhaps it's best not to go... as you said.

In article , Jessica B wrote:
No other choice than what? If the boat is still floating, why did the
people leave?

Try this on for size, and then Google for participants own reports: URL:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1979_Fastnet_race

I don't believe the people in this race were not prepared, nor the boats
in poor condition. The crews were just exhausted, and in fear for their
lives.

Further reading: Sydney to Hobart, 1998.

Justin.

--
Justin C, by the sea.

On 1/28/2011 7:01 AM, Justin C wrote:
In , Jessica B wrote:
No other choice than what? If the boat is still floating, why did the
people leave?

Try this on for size, and then Google for participants own reports:URL:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1979_Fastnet_race

I don't believe the people in this race were not prepared, nor the boats
in poor condition. The crews were just exhausted, and in fear for their
lives.

Further reading: Sydney to Hobart, 1998.

Justin.


And just after that report came out, the price of a Contessa 32 doubled!
G

In article , Gordon wrote:
On 1/28/2011 7:01 AM, Justin C wrote:

Try this on for size, and then Google for participants own reports:URL:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1979_Fastnet_race

I don't believe the people in this race were not prepared, nor the boats
in poor condition. The crews were just exhausted, and in fear for their
lives.

Further reading: Sydney to Hobart, 1998.

Justin.

And just after that report came out, the price of a Contessa 32 doubled!
G

I was going to comment on the Contessa myself, but I thought it might
detract from my point. I've looked at a lot of boats (on-line) and I
haven't found many with a stability curve that comes close to the
Contessa. I'd love one, there's one in a slip just a long from me and
she's in lovely condition, I admire it every time I pass. My wife wants
a Rustler 36, we don't have the budget for either, but you'd get several
Contessa's for the price of one Rustler :-(

Justin.

--
Justin C, by the sea.

On Fri, 28 Jan 2011 15:01:50 +0000, Justin C
wrote:

In article , Jessica B wrote:
No other choice than what? If the boat is still floating, why did the
people leave?

Try this on for size, and then Google for participants own reports: URL:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1979_Fastnet_race

I don't believe the people in this race were not prepared, nor the boats
in poor condition. The crews were just exhausted, and in fear for their
lives.

Further reading: Sydney to Hobart, 1998.

Justin.

From what I read, most of the deaths happened due to abandoning the
boats. Maybe if they had stayed with the boat.... ?

I don't believe the people in this race were not prepared, nor the boats
in poor condition. The crews were just exhausted, and in fear for their
lives.

Further reading: Sydney to Hobart, 1998.

* Justin.

From what I read, most of the deaths happened due to abandoning the
boats. Maybe if they had stayed with the boat.... ?


Fastnet Disaster of 1979

Interview with Bill Burrows, Chief Engineer Royal Navy Lifeboat
Institution. Retrieved three disabled sailboats in a 21 hour rescue
during the fatal 1979 Fastnet Storm.

“… Look, you get 300 Yachats in poor weather and you’re going to have
some trouble, almost certainly. But the majority of the trouble was
hysteria created by the situation and by inexperienced crews. And that
it was. They were blaming rudders and such, but none of those rudders
would have snapped if they had put drogues out and storm jibs and run
before the weather. They were under bare poles, most of them, and they
were getting up on the seas. And the seas were about 45 feet. Not what
we around here call big.

They got up on these seas and they were running. When the boats were
starting to broach, what the helmsmen were doing was hauling on the
rudders to stop them from broaching. They were putting too much bloody
strain on the rudders, and they had to go.

Yes, I know they were racing sailors, not cruising men, but that’s no
excuse. We went out that night and we passed a little old hooker sort
of thing with a family of kids aboard and they were going away to
Ireland with no trouble at all….”

(The Yacht, April 1987)


What was the most successful design in the history of Sydney to
Hobart?

Bob

On Sat, 29 Jan 2011 14:01:23 -0800 (PST), Bob
wrote:

I don't believe the people in this race were not prepared, nor the boats
in poor condition. The crews were just exhausted, and in fear for their
lives.

Further reading: Sydney to Hobart, 1998.

* Justin.

From what I read, most of the deaths happened due to abandoning the
boats. Maybe if they had stayed with the boat.... ?


Fastnet Disaster of 1979

Interview with Bill Burrows, Chief Engineer Royal Navy Lifeboat
Institution. Retrieved three disabled sailboats in a 21 hour rescue
during the fatal 1979 Fastnet Storm.

“… Look, you get 300 Yachats in poor weather and you’re going to have
some trouble, almost certainly. But the majority of the trouble was
hysteria created by the situation and by inexperienced crews. And that
it was. They were blaming rudders and such, but none of those rudders
would have snapped if they had put drogues out and storm jibs and run
before the weather. They were under bare poles, most of them, and they
were getting up on the seas. And the seas were about 45 feet. Not what
we around here call big.

They got up on these seas and they were running. When the boats were
starting to broach, what the helmsmen were doing was hauling on the
rudders to stop them from broaching. They were putting too much bloody
strain on the rudders, and they had to go.

Yes, I know they were racing sailors, not cruising men, but that’s no
excuse. We went out that night and we passed a little old hooker sort
of thing with a family of kids aboard and they were going away to
Ireland with no trouble at all….”

(The Yacht, April 1987)


What was the most successful design in the history of Sydney to
Hobart?

Bob

Hi Bob... well, I don't know...

Hi Bob... well, I don't know...


Halvorson design: Freya 39