Jake,
If the picture Dan used comes after this one, that means the guy stayed on the boat through the submarine impression he is doing here. How did he do that?

Did you ever see David Letterman do the velcro suit skit? I don't even think that would have worked.

I can only imagine...that's one hell-of-a wave - but it's amazing what adrenaline can do. There were what? 11 teams that tried to launch that day and only 2 made it through those waves. There was a sandbar located a little further out that presented a second break to get through too.

That last sandbar was a third break, and what wiped out our team. As near as we could reconstruct, the breaking wave went through the tramp, ripping it off. It took a loooong time for our boat and sailors to get back to shore, and we worked well into the night rebuilding a boat.

As far as "sticking" to the tramp in that picture, keep in mind that they're pulling more than 1 gee as the boat is climbing through the wave, and the front beam is deflecting much of the force that would sweep the deck. That feeling is one I call "elevator UP!"

I'm glad nobody was hurt that morning - oh, and four boats, I think, made it out. The Canadian team subsequently wiped out in the re-entry at Cocoa and had to rebuild a boat with the rest of us... and it seems like one team dropped out somewhere in between checkpoints...

Here is the report from the Race Director, May 8, 2001:
"5 boats successfully made it through the surf line at start -- Alexander on the Bay, Guidant, Outer Banks, Dinghy Shop, and Fully Involved.

"The Race Director halted the launch after numerous boats were destroyed in the surf. The remainder of the boats will be trailered to Cocoa Beach, FL checkpoint, and the race will continue with proper recogniton for the 5 teams that successfully launched this morning."

This is the orginal. It was taken, from the sky, just before they were going over backwards in the surf. I saw a different picture and thought I would share that with you.

Later,
Dan

Goosebumps and cold shivers.....

Ha ha, that's freakin hillarious! Walt took hat picture overhead in Cocoa Beach the day after we put the boat back together after we lost it in Jensen in '01. The waves weren't bad in Cocoa, but as we went out I looked up and this nasty face was comin right for us! I grabbed around the front crossbar and held on for life. Unfortunately, Jay was swept off of the back by the wave and had to body surf in. Luckily, the mast didn't go bang like it did in Jensen, and with the help of the other teams ground crews we made repairs (only a few broken battens) and went back out. They took video of it too from the chopper. There we were just cruising along in the shot and the next second it was all over. Good times indeed.

So, you're the poor guy... Nice ride. I can't believe you stuck on the boat. You're like spiderman or something.

In the second pic that Jake posted, are those your legs sticking out of the surf to the right? Or maybe that is Jay making his exit?

JC is just a --Freak of Nature.

Hey Sunny,
Yep those are my legs. As I grabbed the crossbar, in an effort to keep as much weight forward as possible I brought my feet in front of the daggerboard wells. Too bad Jay didn't make it in the picture. He's kinda shy, oh and he was a few feet under whiteout. In one of the shots in she sequence you can see something that resembles his feet, but that's about it.

That's great! I am impressed that you could think 'keep weight forward, hang onto the crossbar and throw my feet in front of the daggerboard' I would be thinking 'me gonna die'
LOL.

Just kidding (I hope) Time and experience will tell.