Aloha all,
Well another fantastic event for the KSC group. A very big thank you is in order for Captain Howie, our outward-bound leader, who always is an inspiration to us all when it comes to getting out and exploring with our cats and our friends. Howie secured the camping permits for this busy weekend from the DLNR office downtown.
Click this link (or cut and paste it into your browser) to see the Kokokahi Kahana Bay Camp Over Photo Album: http://homepage.mac.com/chrismargaret/PhotoAlbum9.html
Seven boats started the adventure and six made it to Kahana bay. The list of participants included:
1. Chris Laletin & Jiah
2. Wiltz and Peter
3. Graceson and Kinyata
4. Dan Jenkins and Andrea
5. Paul McKimmy and crew
6. Mark McKenney and Connor
7. Cap’n Howie with Katrina and Jess
Only three mishaps on the event. First was Mark and Connor flipped while heading out by Chinaman’s hat. Greceson assisted and his crew Kinyata jumped in to help they right the FX-1. And our beloved wild man himself Wiltz was the second: Wiltz. Wiltz and I were racing down wind offshore of Kualoa ranch when Wiltz's crew's trap line snapped, and he was handling the mainsheet while Wiltz steered. Peter’s only connection to the boat was the mainsheet so he hung on causing the sail to tighten up as he was dragged along. This was compounded by the fact that Wiltz boat has Lee helm so the boat carved off the wind and, as you would expect, up and over the Prindle went tossing Wiltz into the ocean to join his crew. The wind was strong and the cat quickly was pushed over into the turtle position. Wiltz and his crew's gallant efforts could not right the boat as it blew towards the reef and rolling breakers. Realizing the inevitable, Wiltz pulled a side-stay pin and released the mast to avoid it smashing into the reef as the boat neared shallow water. Chris and Howie were standing by but unable to offer any assistance as the situation grew dangerous with the approaching reef. It was a group decision to contact the Coast Guard and report the situation. The chopper responded along with an RIB and they plucked Wiltz and his crew from the worsening conditions as the cat approached the rollers.
Wiltz and his crew Peter were very lucky to avoid any injury and the cat sustained a broken dolphin striker and shredded mainsail. Pretty minor considering the gravity of the situation. A big Mahalo goes to the fire department that responded and they even carried Wiltz's boat across the highway and put it on the front lawn so it could be retrieved by trailer. We did not get any photos of the mishap to share with you. His Prindle is already back at the club in its normal spot and will wait for replacement parts. Luckily, Wiltz has a nice H16 to use while waiting for the parts.
Then once all was safe and all the other boat secure on the beach, onto the camp-sight and party. Several other folks that did not sail down did join in the Kahana location with some sleeping over and others not. Chuck and Mimi brought lots of beverages and we tried hard to consume them all but were unsuccessful. Margaret will bring these to the next club clean up. Howie, our outward bound team leader, designated Graceson as the premier fire starter and he lived up to the task marvelously. Everyone participated and contributed to the dinner fixins and we had everything from Kuhuku corn on the barbie to bratwurst and sauerkraut. My vote for best meal goes to Mark and Connor as they prepared a five star stir-fry pretty enough for a magazine cover. We all got a big kick out of Dan and Andrea because they were testing their new ultra light mini stove, preparing for a Molokai run with Howie, and even though this stove was pretty high tech, their diner wasn’t ready until long after we all had moved onto serious beverage consumption around the fire.
Sunrise came early and Team outward-bound, Howie, was first up and rearing to go. The rest of us struggled to shake off the foggy hangovers and start another fantastic day. Sunrise was picture perfect as you will see when viewing the photo album page. Margaret, our awesome road crew and photo journalist for the event, arrived early with the truck and assisted everyone get their stuff loaded to be transported back to the club. It sure is nice having all your camping stuff delivered and returned. Another big thanks to Margaret.
Howie along with Paul was first to shove off on the two Getaways. Mark (FX-1) and I (H-20) were the next pair off. The wind was perfect and was coming pretty straight into the bay so it was a pinch to get out. Mark had to tack a few times. We ran very far out lining up for a single tack upwind toward Kaneohe. We both tacked over and began the slog upwind into the big seas. Katrina and I (H-20) continued to distance Mark and Connor for quite some time. Actually, when we were ready to head into Chinaman’s hat, we felt that Mark was so far back that he must have problems so we headed back all the way to the Kahana bay entrance to find that Marks had broken a shackle that connects the traveler to the mainsheet so he was unable to sail at all. As a well prepared sailor, he had spares and performed the repair out there in the big seas and off we went towards Kaneohe. We arrived just in time to watch the start of leg two of the Round-the-island regatta that was beginning at the inside mark at Chinaman’s hat. Ted, Peter, and Web were on the Reynolds 33 and looking like they ware going to have a fun day. Greceson and Dan were last to head out. They were greeted by a school of dolphins that circled their boats while they sailed to Secret Beach and continued to party with homemade Bloody Mary's. I picked up Margaret at the club, we sailed back down to Secret beach join them for a bit.
All in all, this was a very exciting and enjoyable trip for everyone, even Wiltz. Looking back on the events there are several very important items all of our sailors must think about every time you leave the beach for a sail. And this doesn’t really matter if you are staying inside or going outside. Obviously, going outside presents far greater risk as Wiltz will tell you.
Always inspect your rigging including the trapeze hardware. A 50 cent piece of rope that parted in Wiltz trap wire was the cause for his several thousand dollar catamaran repairs. Not to mention that the rescue department was sure to inform Wiltz that their efforts with a helicopter, a dozen men, and two boats cost the taxpayers many thousands of dollars. All for a 50 cent piece of rope.
The VHF radios did not work to contact the coast guard. We were more than 5 miles from their nearest base so our little antennas would not put out enough signal for them to hear us. I used my cell phone to contact 911 and get connected to the coast guard. The dry pack I keep my VHF and cell phone in will keep them dry but in the noise of the wind and waves, I had to remove them from their secure pouches to be able to hear well enough to communicate. Make sure you turn the volume up to its fullest on your cell phone before putting it into the pouch. My VHF is waterproof and well worth the extra dollars for this feature.
Your emergency equipment, radios, phones, spare parts should not be stored inside your hulls in the port and cat bag. Once Wiltz boat was turtle, he was unable to get to these items. They were totally useless to him. You must keep your most important items in your life jacket. I keep my cell phone in the dry pouch in my breast pocket of my jacket. If I lose my boat, and I am alone in the water, I have my phone with me. Remember, you can be pitched from you boat and it can blow away from you faster that you can swim.
We practice the buddy system for these off shore club events for obvious reasons. Both Mark and Wiltz tip over’s were assisted by fellow club members. In hindsight on my return trip, I should have stayed closer to Mark and not allowed such a span form between us. Once Wiltz boat was turtle, it only took a short distance to loose sight of his hulls in the swells. Had Mark turned over, I was too far away to assist or relocate him.
Mark carried spare parts, shackles, which allowed him to make the necessary repairs while at sea. It is the simplest items that work loose or unscrew at the worst times. Mark had several spares which was fortunate because he did drop the first one overboard in the rough seas and had to use his second spare.
Tune your boat properly. Wiltz was aware that his steering was “lee helm” and he chose to sail with this dangerous tuning rather than correct it. When you drop your tiller, your boat should begin to head up into the wind. It should NOT bear off down wind. Should you fall off, if your boat bears up, eventually it will come into irons and stall. If it bears away, it will pick up speed and likely flip when it gets broadside to the wind and by then it will be far out of reach.
During Wiltz rescue, Howie and I remained close by for over an hour flogging in the big seas. Howie had two crew on board and both got seasick. I had Jiah on board, and she had not eaten breakfast resulting in very low reserves and she quickly became very cold even with her wetsuit on. Hypothermia is quick to set in even in the warm conditions of the day. Once this happens, you can not rely on your crew to be at their best. Had I had a tip over with Jiah so cold, I wonder if we would have been able to perform well enough to right the boat. Always fuel you body before adventuring off shore. I will start to carry energy bars on board for emergencies.
Last but not least, all of you should perform emergency procedures under controlled conditions. By this I mean, flip your boat in a safe place with assistance near by, use your righting systems to make sure they work the way you expect and fix them if they don’t. My suggestion is to have your righting lines (I use two) in place and ready to deploy without having to tie or untie any knots. I strongly recommend having two righting lines, one for the skipper and one for the crew. Sharing a righting line is not realistic in the rough seas we observed. If you don’t have a float on your mast, you really ought to turtle your boat to see if you are able to right it.
Oh, and the good lessons..........
Bring plenty of food and beverage and be ready for a really great time. It doesn’t get any better than this.
CL
Vice Commodore
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Chris Laletin, Vice Commodore
PO Box 2823
Aiea, HI 96701
Hawaii email: laletinc001@hawaii.rr.com
Photo Album Web Page:
http://homepage.mac.com/chrismargaret/
