With all the recent discussion about wind and wave estimates, I have to pass
along this experience.

It's blowing hard here in Maine today. I went out to the airport to check my
plane and was glad I did. The cabin cover had come loose and was beating
against the sides. The heavy, insulated engine cover had blown right over
the nose and let the oil door pop open. The plane had walked forward even
though chocked. Pushing it back against the wind took real effort. When the
tie downs slacked as I pushed it back, the plane started dancing and
bouncing hard against the ropes. I put a second tie down rope on the tail
and noticed that just the distraction of the wind in my face made it hard to
untangle the line and tie a knot as efficiently as normal.

It was pretty sobering to watch the control surfaces slating and moving even
though they are all secured with gust locks. The tie down area sounded like
a bunch of elves were banging tin cans flat as the rudders of the many
planes with casual owners slammed back and forth in the wind. As I walked
back, the wind was strong enough that I had to lean forward slightly and
push against it. I realized that I will be sailing again in a few short
months and thought, Wow! This was all happening on firm, solid, asphalt.

When I got back inside, I got out my cell phone and dialed the weather
number in the control tower. "22 gusting to 32" and this is measured 50 to
60 feet up in the clear air above the wind gradient. I'll bet there are a
lot of sailors, probably some in this newsgroup, who have never seen 30
knots of wind while out on the water.

--

Roger Long

"Roger Long" wrote in message
...
When I got back inside, I got out my cell phone and dialed the weather
number in the control tower. "22 gusting to 32" and this is measured 50 to
60 feet up in the clear air above the wind gradient. I'll bet there are a
lot of sailors, probably some in this newsgroup, who have never seen 30
knots of wind while out on the water.




Really? It happens regularly here in NZ. It's not hard to manage in
coastal waters but with a swell it gets nasty. Reef down big time and hold
on tight.

Dan

Most wind to date: 55k southwester. Double reefed main, reefed staysail,
beam reach, boom dragging in the water. Euphoria. In a Westsail 32. (Wet,
all right, but no snail that time.)


"Roger Long" wrote in message
...
With all the recent discussion about wind and wave estimates, I have to
pass along this experience.

It's blowing hard here in Maine today. I went out to the airport to check
my plane and was glad I did. The cabin cover had come loose and was
beating against the sides. The heavy, insulated engine cover had blown
right over the nose and let the oil door pop open. The plane had walked
forward even though chocked. Pushing it back against the wind took real
effort. When the tie downs slacked as I pushed it back, the plane started
dancing and bouncing hard against the ropes. I put a second tie down rope
on the tail and noticed that just the distraction of the wind in my face
made it hard to untangle the line and tie a knot as efficiently as normal.

It was pretty sobering to watch the control surfaces slating and moving
even though they are all secured with gust locks. The tie down area
sounded like a bunch of elves were banging tin cans flat as the rudders of
the many planes with casual owners slammed back and forth in the wind. As
I walked back, the wind was strong enough that I had to lean forward
slightly and push against it. I realized that I will be sailing again in a
few short months and thought, Wow! This was all happening on firm, solid,
asphalt.

When I got back inside, I got out my cell phone and dialed the weather
number in the control tower. "22 gusting to 32" and this is measured 50 to
60 feet up in the clear air above the wind gradient. I'll bet there are a
lot of sailors, probably some in this newsgroup, who have never seen 30
knots of wind while out on the water.

--

Roger Long

On Fri, 24 Dec 2004 09:17:42 -0800, "R.W. Behan"
wrote:

Most wind to date: 55k southwester. Double reefed main, reefed staysail,
beam reach, boom dragging in the water. Euphoria. In a Westsail 32. (Wet,
all right, but no snail that time.)

Hey, don't they start to move properly at that windspeed? G

Just kidding: I have great respect for a boat that Ferenc Mate can't
insult and that survived The Perfect Storm without a crew (google
"Perfect Storm and Katana" for the REAL story...never leave the boat
except to step up into the liferaft!)

R.

Hey! That's my quote

An incredible proportion of abandoned vessels are later found floating.
They may be waterlogged but they are a lot more solid than a liferaft.
Schooner Curlew 1962 is another famous example.

--

Roger Long


"...never leave the boat except to step up into the liferaft!)

R.

I didn't get a hit on that google suggestion. I know the real story and
have met some of the people involved but I would enjoy reading the account.
Can you provide a link?

--

Roger Long


Just kidding: I have great respect for a boat that Ferenc Mate can't
insult and that survived The Perfect Storm without a crew (google
"Perfect Storm and Katana" for the REAL story...never leave the boat
except to step up into the liferaft!)

R.

Katari - and the original author removed it from the web. You'll have to do
some extra research to find the story - but, aside from it's being very
defensive and self serving by the captain who let the two girls get on the
radio, it's a pretty good read.

L8R

Skip

--
Morgan 461 #2
SV Flying Pig
http://tinyurl.com/384p2

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you
didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail
away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore.
Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain
"Roger Long" wrote in message
...
I didn't get a hit on that google suggestion. I know the real story and
have met some of the people involved but I would enjoy reading the
account.
Can you provide a link?

--

Roger Long


Just kidding: I have great respect for a boat that Ferenc Mate can't
insult and that survived The Perfect Storm without a crew (google
"Perfect Storm and Katana" for the REAL story...never leave the boat
except to step up into the liferaft!)

R.

Oops. Satori...

http://world.std.com/~kent/satori/

--
Morgan 461 #2
SV Flying Pig
http://tinyurl.com/384p2

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you
didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail
away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore.
Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain
"Roger Long" wrote in message
...
I didn't get a hit on that google suggestion. I know the real story and
have met some of the people involved but I would enjoy reading the
account.
Can you provide a link?

--

Roger Long


Just kidding: I have great respect for a boat that Ferenc Mate can't
insult and that survived The Perfect Storm without a crew (google
"Perfect Storm and Katana" for the REAL story...never leave the boat
except to step up into the liferaft!)

R.

On Mon, 27 Dec 2004 21:42:15 GMT, "Roger Long"
wrote:

I didn't get a hit on that google suggestion. I know the real story and
have met some of the people involved but I would enjoy reading the account.
Can you provide a link?

My error: Katana's the name of another boat that hit a storm and lived
to sail again. The boat's name was "Satori" and here's the relevant
link:

http://world.std.com/~kent/satori/

R.

With the benefit of some professional involvement in sailing vessel safety
and accident investigation, I found his account quite convincing. I would
fault him only for failure to control the use of the radio.

--

Roger Long



"rhys" wrote in message
...
My error: Katana's the name of another boat that hit a storm and lived
to sail again. The boat's name was "Satori" and here's the relevant
link:

http://world.std.com/~kent/satori/

R.