2012 Texas 200 completed - Rough sail

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2012 Texas 200 completed - Rough sail

Postby jeadstx » Mon Jun 18, 2012 3:28 pm

I completed the 2012 Texas 200, and somehow I'm still alive. Several "what if" questions from several post can now be answered. I didn't have as easy a time as last year, but my DS2 survived the 200 mile sail up the coast. My new rudder head/tiller worked very well and kept the rudder blade out of the mud while beached in shallow water. Last year my rudder head broke due to the blade not being allowed to get high enough.

After we launched the boat at Port Isabel on Saturday the 9th, we noticed that the starboard spreader was broken, hadn't noticed it while putting up yhe mast. I had a spare with me and with some help it was repaired. We started sailing Monday morning with 31 other boats. In the early afternoon we had a mishap. We were running basically downwind on a starboard tack, the wind was near 20 knots coming from our stern starboard quarter. Waves hitting us the same way. Suddenly we got hit squarely broadside by a large "rouge" wave. This was not the wake of a large boat or ship, none were around. We got hit by the trough and the rise of the wave started to capsize us to starboard where the wind was coming from. I suddenly saw my cousin Bill fall out of the boat. I had time to yell "Bill", then I fell out backwards. The boat righted itself and started to sail away. I somehow, and I don't know how, grabbed the stern. I tried to turn the rudder and head the boat into the wind to stop it. I looked around for Bill who was about 500 yards away. I yelled and waved for help. Another boat saw me wave and headed for me. After some effort and the failure of my self-rescue device they got me aboard. It was then I noticed Bill's life jacket was in the boat. Scanning the water, we noticed another boat had already pulled Bill out of the water. They got Bill over to us. Bill and I drifted for about 15 minutes before raising the sails and continuing on. What a humbling experience.

By the time we got to Port Mansfield, our first night's camp, the wind was up to about 25 knots. It proved to be a hard harbor entry, but we made it. Tuesday was a fairly easy sail, lighter winds. A couple boats ran aground on the shallow side of the Intracoastal Waterway (Ditch). We got to the camp at Happ's Cut without incident. Wednesday, the fleet was still 32 boats. We headed for the Padre Island Yacht Club near Corpus Christi. Winds were 15-20 knots, light for the Tx200. We passed another boat that had gone aground. When we arrived at PIYC the wind had strengthed and was out of the east. PIYC has a east-west narrow channel to get in and out of. We had trouble with the channel, ran aground and finally had to get a tow to the docks. At PIYC we had a dinner provided, hot showers, and were allowed to sleep in the club house for the night. Thursday's sail was going to be the first of our navigational challenges. First sailing across Corpus Christi Bay, the down the Corpus Christi Channel, past the ferries at the state highway crossing, then up Lydia Ann Channel, around Mud Island to our camp at Paul's Mott. We made it to near Paul's Mott when disaster struck.

Bill was at the helm again, I was navigating with GPS. The wind was coming straight from where our camp was going to be. We had to sail a way out from camp due to a reef, causing us to tack our way into camp. We were on a port tack when I noticed the starboard stay was off the chain plate. I moved to the starboard side and grabbed the stay. The clevis pin was caught on the chain plate. I got the pin in and yelled to Bill to release the main sheet to level us out until I could get a cotter pin in to attach the stay. I knew we might be in danger of loosing the mast if we tacked without the stay in place. He didn't release the main. I looked over to him a second time to release the sheet, he leaned to starboard. That's all it took, we went over. I came up under the sail and got out from under it as soon as possible. The floatation in the mast head worked, didn't go turtle. As I moved to the centerboard, I yelled to Bill to release the main sheet and the come to the centerboard to help me right the boat. I waited a while, then moved around to the cockpit side to find what was taking so long. I uncleated the main, then looked for Bill. He was swimming for shore. I went back to the centerboard. Got up on it once, but slide off. Plan B, wait for the boat to swamp more and try righting again, get in, bail and sail. While I worked on Plan B, the first rescue boat showed up. I waved to them and asked if they were enjoying themselves. Before rescue could proceed, they had to take pictures. Andy Linn then dove in the water to assist me. With his help we righted the boat. Boat wasn't completely swamped, but full of water. Those 60 pool noodles did their job. Boat was taken under tow, I had them just drag me to shore since my boarding method had failed on Monday. Bailed the boat once we were close to the beach. Someone got a split ring in the clevis pin for me. Once the cockpit was empty, we opened an inspection port and water gushed out. In the capsize I lost several things from the cockpit, VHF radio, small electric cooler, battery attached to my solar cell. Solar cell still works, bed boards and oars stayed with the boat. We didn't loose anything in the cuddy cabin due my hatch that I made.

Even tho the boat swamped, she stayed afloat with the pool noodles in the bilge, I also had about 100 empty water bottles (with lids on) in the bilge from the 2011 event. I found that in the swamped condition the CB uphaul hole is below the waterline. It needs something stuffed in it to stop water flow. Remember this boat was heavily loaded for this trip with camping gear, clothing, and supplies. We still had about 5 gallons of freash water on board. The posts asking if the boat will stay afloatif swamped can be answered as yes.

Thursday evening there was a wedding of a couple that met on the 2009 Tx200. Andy, the man who made a magnificant dive into the water to help me right the boat was the minister. He had come down from Oregon to sail in the event.

Thursday night was not a good nights sleep. Almost everything I had was wet from the capsize. Even my "dry bag" got water in it.

Friday morning we headed for Seadrift and the end of the trip. We sailed a little causiously for the first couple hours, reefed main only. We later put up the jib. I took the helm for the sail accross San Antonio Bay. We got into Seadrift without incident, well we did have to dodge a dredge in the channel, but it wasn't difficult.

Friday evening was the "end of event" shrimp boil, we headed home Saturday. Time to work on a new re-boarding system.

John
1976 Day Sailer II, #8075 - Completed the 2011, 2012, and 2013 Texas 200
1952 Beetle Boat Swan Catboat
Early Rhodes 19
1973 Mariner 2+2, #2607 - Completed 2014, 2015 and 2016 Texas 200
1969 Day Sailer I, #3229
Fleet 135; Canyon Lake, Texas
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Postby Scott Mulford » Mon Jun 18, 2012 8:22 pm

Glad you got through it in one piece.

Congrats for completing and persevering!
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Postby GreenLake » Tue Jun 19, 2012 2:10 am

Congrats, and hope you don't mind that I moved your thread.

Looks like you had, what's called an "exciting" time!
~ green ~ lake ~ ~
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Postby K.C. Walker » Tue Jun 19, 2012 11:49 am

I love reading about people participating in these challenges. It's definitely vicarious "pleasure"? :-)

I think that it reinforces my thoughts that I am a fair weather sailor.

Congratulations and thanks for the great write up!
KC Walker, DS 1 #7002
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Postby jeadstx » Tue Jun 19, 2012 2:14 pm

After one of these events you tend to know your boats capabilities and any weaknesses very well. I plan to write up a full report and submit it to the Day Sailer Quarterly again.

Winds this year were lighter in general than last year, but it can still be a long trip.

for those that get on Facebook, pictures and discussion of the event are under the "Texas 200 Sailing Club".

John
1976 Day Sailer II, #8075 - Completed the 2011, 2012, and 2013 Texas 200
1952 Beetle Boat Swan Catboat
Early Rhodes 19
1973 Mariner 2+2, #2607 - Completed 2014, 2015 and 2016 Texas 200
1969 Day Sailer I, #3229
Fleet 135; Canyon Lake, Texas
jeadstx
 
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Joined: Tue Jul 08, 2008 11:10 am
Location: Dripping Springs, Tx

Postby TIM WEBB » Tue Jun 19, 2012 10:38 pm

Lookin' forward to the writeup John!

Makes my experience at the FL 120 seem like a walk in the park ... :oops:
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Postby ChrisB » Wed Jun 20, 2012 7:54 am

TIM WEBB wrote:Makes my experience at the FL 120 seem like a walk in the park ...


Amen to that. Guess we should quit complaining about that Saturday morning now, huh?

-Chris
Chris B.
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Postby K.C. Walker » Wed Jun 20, 2012 8:08 am

Because you mentioned capsizing twice and that your cousin Bill did not un-cleat the main, I decided to to look back at your photos. I noticed that you have the original sheet tackle. I ABSOLUTELY HATED THAT SET UP!! After a couple of near capsizes and generally being scared whenever I went out in fun high wind, I replaced it all. I have a nice big ratchet block on the centerboard trunk, mounted on a swivel base with a up facing cam cleat. This is light-years better for capsize prevention because your reaction time is next to nothing. For higher wind situations I also have a second 40 mm ratchet block on the boom. With the two ratchet blocks engaged I can easily handhold the sheets in any wind situation and this is a huge improvement for capsize prevention. Also, installing hiking straps would be a huge improvement. Another nice thing about ratchet blocks is that even if you do cleat, the tension is reduced so that it's a snap to un-cleat. I use ratchet blocks on my jib, as well, which I think is a great improvement but not as essential as setting up the main.

I often sail single-handed in high wind situations. I seldom reef because I am somewhat of a thrillseeker (I used to love windsurfing). Also, the truth is when the wind gets too intense I tend to go home. These boats are light and responsive which means everything happens much faster than on a keelboat. For me, the improved tackle on the sheets and the hiking straps improve safety because I am able to respond quickly to the boat and the weather.

I realized that the Texas 200 is more of a camping trip than a day sailing thrill ride, where you can go home after a couple of hours of intense sailing. However, I think you would absolutely love the improvements. Of all the upgrades that I've done to my boat, which have been quite a few, I would say that installing ratchet blocks is the number one improvement for sailing in higher wind and especially gusty situations.
KC Walker, DS 1 #7002
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Postby GreenLake » Wed Jun 20, 2012 10:58 am

I second K.C. on the ratchet. I replaced The forward block on the boom with a ratchet that has an "auto" mode, that is, the ratchet mode will not be active when then load is too light, which helps in light winds and makes it not necessary to decide when and whether to activate the ratchet.

(I've always had a cleat that was facing up, seems original to my DS).
~ green ~ lake ~ ~
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Postby K.C. Walker » Wed Jun 20, 2012 11:36 am

I don't know what era the down facing original cleats on the main are. Mine was obviously original and seemed to match those on the DaySailer 2 of the same vintage, mine's a ‘74.

I think an auto ratchet on the boom would be better than my switchable. I've got a 75 mm switchable Harken on the centerboard trunk, I know, overkill, but I got it cheap off eBay. That one works so well that I almost never turn on the one on the boom, having that one auto and set for a fairly high tension would be perfect. I find that I use the centerboard ratchet turned on unless it's very light air. The grip is nicely controlled.
KC Walker, DS 1 #7002
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Postby ChrisB » Wed Jun 20, 2012 1:19 pm

I guess at some point ODay saw the sins of their ways and changed back to upward facing cam cleats on the mainsheet. My DSII has an original setup and I pull slightly upward on the sheet to release it from the cams. They are angled in such a way that I typically use downward pressure with my foot to lock the mainsheet into the cams. I can see how the ratchet blocks could make life much easier though. Sounds like another line item on my long term "to do" list.
Chris B.
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Postby jeadstx » Wed Jun 20, 2012 1:31 pm

KC, I haven't had a problem with the main sheet myself. When I capsized in March of 2010, it was all my fault and my hand was no where near the main sheet to release it. In fact, in the 2010 capsize if you could do something wrong, I did it that day. Learned lessons from that one.

My cousin Bill's sailing style is in part what led to the capsize on the Tx200. He sailed a Catalina 25' keel boat with the sheet release in the stern. I should have paid attention to it earlier, but I didn't. We were under sail about 8-9 hours every day, then camping at night. On this trip, Bill tended to lay back against the transom and not keep a hand near the main sheet unless he wants to make an adjustment. Last year we had higher winds and he kept tabs on the main sheet better. This year he was more confident of the boat and didn't. When I'm at the helm, my hand is on the main sheet 90% of the time or where I can easily get the main sheet. Bill's position at the helm did not allow for a quick response in an emergency. He also didn't seem to realize how minor weight shifts would effect the boat. I guess the difference between a centerboard boat and a heavy keel boat. It just didn't seem to occur to him that leaning to the low side would not have good results.

Last November I raced the boat (poorly) in winds that where 20 knots plus with full sails and did not capsize the boat. I did put the rail under water twice, filled the cockpit with water, but did not capsize.

I'll look into the main sheet system suggested by you and Greenlake. Ordered out replacement spreaders from D&R. I was hoping to get some pictures of the capsize, but I think the camera taking those pictures was damaged. The two feet of foam I put in the mast head worked well. Learning more lessons from the capsize.

John
1976 Day Sailer II, #8075 - Completed the 2011, 2012, and 2013 Texas 200
1952 Beetle Boat Swan Catboat
Early Rhodes 19
1973 Mariner 2+2, #2607 - Completed 2014, 2015 and 2016 Texas 200
1969 Day Sailer I, #3229
Fleet 135; Canyon Lake, Texas
jeadstx
 
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Location: Dripping Springs, Tx

Postby K.C. Walker » Wed Jun 20, 2012 3:14 pm

Chris, can you imagine having to use your toe to release the cleat in a panic? That's the way my boat was! :-)
KC Walker, DS 1 #7002
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Postby ChrisB » Wed Jun 20, 2012 4:08 pm

KC,

I fully understand why you changed that! I would have capsized many times by now if my mainsheet had that configuration. Obviously the person at ODay who bought those "upside down" mainsheet blocks had never sailed a centerboard boat where quickly dumping the mainsail is crucial to avoiding an unplanned swim.
Chris B.
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Postby TIM WEBB » Thu Jun 21, 2012 10:13 pm

The Red Witch had the original "pull up to release" Seaway (I think?) mainsheet cam cleat, but the sheaves (plastic - Delrin?) had gotten so cracked and brittle and worn out, that I replaced the whole stand up block with the Garhauer (sp?) one that D&R now offers, that has the "upside down" cleat. At first I didn't like it, because it was backwards from what I was used to, but I've come to like it better. I've always used my foot on the sheet, just now I use it to release instead of set. I find that when sitting on the rail, it's easier to sheet in without popping it completely loose, but if I need to dump it, I just give it a good stomp ...
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