Steeple Chase

Craig VanEaton and I sailed his Supercat 20 tall rig from Miami YC to Gilberts yesterday in 25 - 27 KNOTS gusting to 28 - 30, straight downwind. Survival mode, everything max depowered, nothing left to do but keep crew weight back and steer, rough ride.
Today is supposed to be the same or greater winds, but more of a reach, it will be interesting to see who starts, who finishes and who survives!

Been watching the weather. Can't wait to see the news on this one... fingers crossed for no damage and no injuries. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

Okay, here's the story so far.
18 boats registered. 10 boats actually started. 9 boats went under Card Sound Bridge.

Here is the order going under Card Sound Bridge:
1 ARC 22 with Eric Roberts and Dave Weir
2 Nacra 20 Accelerated Chaos with Chris & Nate Titcomb
3 F-18 Capricorn with Olli Jason and Patrick Gilles
4 F-18 Nacra with Mike Krantz and Dave Lennard
5 Nacra 20 Team Tybee with John Casey and Kenny Pierce
6 Nacra 20 with Jake Kohl and Frank Moore
7 Hobie 16 with Michael Siau and Lindsay Young
8 Nacra 20 (not sure who)
9 Nacra 20 Cat in the Hat with Larry Ferber and Dale Larkin

The race got started almost an hour late because there was a tremendous wind-driven current going under the Jewfish Creek Bridge against the boats. It took 10 minutes for them to (almost) all get under, with lots of honking from the backed up car traffic, because the bridge normally has a five-minute maximum limit on opening.

Two boats were not able to make it through the bridge before it closed, so Rick White and Chip Short, on the "committee boat", took them under tow and were going to wait until the bridge could open again.

Unfortunately and ironically, right after the bridge closed, there was a car accident right in the middle of the bridge, so they had to wait until the cars could be pushed or towed off the bridge.

By the time they were finally able to get through the bridge and get to the starting line, it turned out they were not really late, because boats were still tacking up Jewfish Creek in the current.

Meanwhile, I had called the Coast Guard earlier to alert them about the race, and the officer on duty said, "Can't you do this race some other day?"

Current weather says 25-30 knots, gusting to 35, out of the northeast. Sounds like perfect spinnaker conditions. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

It is going to be interesting to see how the Hobie 16 does in these conditions, compared to the bigger boats.

Mary,

Didn't you guys register the boats? Could the unknown Nacra 20 be John McLaughlin?

Anything new? *gnaws on nails*

"What do the papers say?"

Here is a preview of our new young gun, Mike Saiu this happened off Tavernier Creek. They were honking pretty darn good and just behind the leaders. They had the boat back up and running in no time. These folks are true hardcore sailors. Bunch of I20s backed out, but NOT THEM!

Ninja EDIT:
Photo was taken by: Mike Hill
Moto boat Owner was John Kocol

How did you get that picture! <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" /> You guys are tougher than I am! Just lookin' at their bare feet and I'm freezing!

Thanx for the pic Robi, got any more? Craig and I avoided that situation more than ahandful of times yesterday...whew.

Just to clarify I did not take the picture. I am just posting it for Mike Hill. He went out with a friend, and took some photos.

Here is one of our friend Jake and Frank. When these pics were taken, the wind was blowing 23 knots with gusts to 27 knots (wind speed taken from Molasses Reef NOAA station).

Steve,
John McLaughlin is not here. That was just a report from some people who watched the boats go under Card Sound Bridge, and they just didn't happen to get an I.D. on one of the boats.

John,
Gnaw no more. All the boats are in and accounted for. Seven actually finished. Olli Jason/Patrick Gilles (F18) pulled out at Ocean Reef, probably because Olli was pretty tired after being in the water for an hour after being separated from the boat and Patrick was pretty tired from righting the boat and not being able to keep it righted. A good samaritan on shore came out and rescued Olli and reunited the team and somehow got the boat to shore behind a house.

Kyle Kandt and Ed Furry (N20)pulled out at Port Largo after breaking their mast and limping along for a ways with something jury-rigged.

There was some tense time while the Coast Guard looked for Larry Ferber/Dale Larkin (N20, Cat in the Hat), because his Epirb was going off. Larry finished at the beach, and it turned out he didn't even have his Epirb with him, because he had inadvertently left it on the dock at the Caribbean Club. Apparently, somebody must have picked it up and thought it was something that plays music and started pushing buttons.

Anyway, I haven't posted anything until now because I have been busy listening to lectures from the Coast Guard and the Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

Any updates?

Heck, I forgot to tell y'all -- in first place on corrected time for the first day are the youngsters, Mike Siau/Lindsay Young on the Hobie 16.
2. ARC 22, Eric Roberts/Dave Weir
3. Nacra 20, Team Tybee, John Casey/Kenny Pierce
4. Nacra 20, Chris and Nate Titcomb
5. Nacra 20, Jake Kohl/Frank Moore
6. F18, Mike Krantz/Dave Lennard
7. Nacra 20, Larry Ferber/Dale Larkin

Thanks for the updates.

Just got off the phone with Krantz.

Apparently, upwind to the ocean was just fine, but then as soon as they got to the waves it got "nuk-cleeear". They pitchpoled 4 times before they decided to pull the main down and sail under jib alone - 12 knots DDW under jib only they said.

Everyone flipped at least once according to him.

Isn't that MR. Krantz to you. If it ain't it should be. Watch your manners boy.

Who is this Cat Fever guy? I don't know that he's been around any races lately to remember everyone's names <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

We are a trifle concerned about the usefulness of epirbs, since the Coast Guard supposedly had coordinates but could not find it at a famous bar in Key Largo. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Wow! This ain't for Lilly Livered sonomabitches, these guys are hard core! Great job just makin' it!

I've got a huge 10 minute video of all of us trying to get through the Jewfish Creek bridge...should be linked shortly at www.teamseacats.com

I remember the names that matter, and you are???

Eric,
Can you describe your sail settings for running downwind under these conditions?

Dave

10 bucks says Trey hits the bridge in his first Steeplechase. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

Well, there are three bridges available to hit. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Hey Dave,
for the majority of the trip we were traveled about halfway out and I was keeping a good amount of tension on the main, jib was soft set. Once it picked up we traveled all the way down and tried to keep some tension on the main. We found the jib really helping to enough provide lift at the hulls to drive through the gusts without pitching.

I couldn't make that bet.

Hobie 16! I should have brought my boat (m6.0) and as crew my grand mothers bequethed Belgian party parrot "Sookie" .Since I have no sense of direction I'll take a box of Epirbs ,setting them off as we are cartwheeling down the course in third or fourth place. C'mon boys step up the pace a little.D'ont take that crap from the 16...................Good Job.. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

In those conditions, the 16 happens to be the best tool in the box. Plus, Siau more and more is showing he has the talent and attitude it takes to win. People will remember this year and say "I wish I'd been on a 16."

Mary - thanks so much for the reporting - it was good to know everyone was safe. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

That's for sure. Thank goodness for Preference by Loreal, because I'm sure I have more gray hairs after yesterday.

Niiiiiiice!
Way to go guys!

Any thoughts about establishing a more sheltered course for heavy air?

I think staying on the bay side might have reduced your cosmetics bill! <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

That'd be like shortening the Boston Marathon or running the Daytona 500 in Go-carts.Kinda takes the point from it.
Todd

Mike Siau from SYRACUSE, NEW YORK

Mike in action at the Madcatter!!

[color:"red"] [/color] 204 [color:"red"] [/color] [color:"blue"] [/color] 204 [color:"blue"] [/color] [color:"orange"] [/color] 204 [color:"orange"] [/color]

OOps <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

One more of Mike at The North American Champs with my 10 yr old on the front

They've probably all been called due to bad weather.

But, I'm kibbutzing from home! Had I been there I would have been with the half of the fleet that opted to DNC.

Tom:

Great photo! Did you see the one from yesterday? A pattern is emerging!

Yeah, sort of like running the Worrell 1000 up the Intracoastal on the inside. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

It's your hair!! <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Better mine than yours. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

How could Mike possibly be in first place on such a
Low Tech
Out dated design
Pitch pole machine ??

Wait,I remember..... The Nut on the Tiller. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />
Not bad for a Northeast Pond Sailor

Great job Mike, Hope it's still blowin.

Maybe he will open some eyes as to what a well sailed H16 can do.

I don't know what you're trying to do here, but I don't think anyone has ever disagreed with the fact that the H16 is a good boat in the right conditions. Throwin the bait out there eh?

That is a radical pitchpole in the picture on the first page of this thread.

Good job though.

Yes but they finished the race, and they finished well.

The kids ROCK! We want more pictures.

Okay, the first boat around the mark at the Sheraton (now some other name) was Tybee (John Casey/Kenny Pierce). The second boat was ?? (sorry, it's a kid at the beach sports place, and he is not a very good observer. But at least he is calling in.) I'm guessing the second boat was the Titcombs on Nacra 20.

Third boat around was the F18 with Mike Krantz/Dave Lennard.

Eric Roberts/David Weir on the ARC 22 are out because they dismasted.

So now we are down to six boats coming to the finish, one-third of the initial fleet.

Pretty soon I will have to leave to get over to the beach with some food for the early arrivals.

Wow what a wonderful thread, folks! Thanks Mary for the reporting and thanks to everyone for your reports, comments, and photographs! I really enjoyed reading it and finding out hat everyone is accounted for.

To the participants: Way to go, you tough and rough catsailing fanatics! Sorry about the snapped mast, the one hour of team separation, and the various pitch poles. Hard core!

Tom, can you help me with a definition for "204 204 204?"

Was the PLB found? Will the owner be receiving a citation for a $10,000 fine? Was the U.S. Coast Guard pissed off? Will the finder of the PLB be offered a reward?

My gps has a start up screen that says "call for reward" and it brought my gps back to me once.

Great photos People! I'm looking forward to viewing Jake's video.

GARY

Okay, Gary, is that a picture of the REAL you? <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Yes they do, and so does the boat. More pictures indeed.

No gray hairs for me today. The wind is down, and all I have to worry about is people disappearing in quicksand if they get stuck on mud banks. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Gary - "204" is a tribal chant, first heard at the dawn of time when Tommy had lots of hair (check out the Hotline pics).

<img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Definition of 204, 204, 204

Tad,

I think Pat is pulling your chain <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" /> Kinda thin skinned for someone who dishes it out preety good <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />

We're just proud of our utes from 204. Mike is one hell of a sailor.!!!

See y'all at Tradewinds!!!!!

[img]http://www.hcana.hobieclass.com/sit...sland/Rhode%20Island/pages/IMG_6959.html[/img]

That is Susan's old boat that Mike brought down with him from CNY!!!!

Before we all start hailing the H16 as the ultimate but sadly unrecognized racing cat, shouldn't we first switch from CORRECTED time results to ELAPSED time results.

You can race a bath tub and still win the race if its handicap number is right. Still wouldn't make the bath tub anything other then a bad racing boat.

Wouter

Now thats funny! Where did you find that one?

Any boats on the beach yet?

I finally got more on the story about the mysterious epirb that the Coast Guard could not track down during the Steeplechase.

Larry Ferber had misplaced (lost?) his life jacket with his personal epirb, so for the Steeplechase he brought a larger epirb that he normally uses on a bigger boat.

This epirb got stuffed in the back of his big tramp bag that was also stuffed full of lots of other mysterious stuff that sailors carry on their boats.

After they left the beach, his crew looked in the tramp bag to check for the epirb but could not see it because of all the stuff in there, so they thought it had been left at the launch area, and they did not even know it was with them.

At some point during the race it self-activated. Since it does not make an audible, apparently it was going off for hours until they cleaned out their tramp bag after finishing at Anne's beach and found the epirb and saw it blinking.

Why did it go off? Larry says that particular epirb is not supposed to go off until it is at least 4 l/2 feet underwater. So he surmises that it happened because of the volume and velocity of water being taken over the bow. The tramp bag got full of water that could not drain out, so he thinks the pressure built up in the tramp bag to the point where the epirb activated. He said the tramp bag was cram full of water.

The interesting thing is that, even though that epirb is supposed to provide GPS coordinates, the Coast Guard could not find Larry's boat, which was fine and heading for the finish line at Anne's Beach.

Meanwhile, we were all worried about Larry and Dale, and the Coast Guard was searching for them.

A Coast Guard officer from Key West called me to tell me about the epirb going off, but he did not sound overly concerned. He said, "I know catamarans capsize and then get righted, so it probably got activated and didn't turn off." This attitude concerned me, because now I was worried that they wouldn't be searching for him.

Another Coast Guard person called me later and told me that they did have coordinates from the epirb at one point,"but those were old coordinates."

The only thing I can think is that maybe parts of the Keys are in a "blind spot" -- just like many cell phones don't work in certain parts of the Keys.

Anyway, it is a concern for at least four reasons:
1. That the epirb did not seem to help for locating Larry's boat.
2. That the epirb self-activated but Larry had no way of knowing that, since it does not make a sound.
3. The Coast Guard spent a lot of time searching for no reason.
4. If there are false epirb signals like this, maybe the rescue agencies will not them seriously when they are REALLY serious.

Larry says the personal epirb that he normally carries on his life jacket can only be activated manually, and that is what he will be carrying from now on.

However, I am still curious why the Coast Guard could not get coordinates and could not find him. Maybe it is because we are in the Devil's Triangle?? <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif" alt="" />

How's 'bout some results, Official or not we don't care.

You guys are pretty demanding. I did have to feed the sailors before feeding information to the masses. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

Well, only six sailors finished the whole race. Seven started this morning, but Eric Roberts/David Weir on the ARC 22 broke their mast early on this morning on day 2. Haven't heard the story yet, but eyewitness report that it was definitely a break rather than a simple dismasting.

Results on corrected time:
1 John Casey/Kenny Pierce (Nacra 20)
2 Michael Siau/Linday Young (Hobie 16)
3 Chris Titcomb/Nate Titcomb (Nacra 20)
4 Mike Krantz/David Lennard (F18)
5 Jake Kohl/Frank Moore (Nacra 20)
6 Larry Ferber/Dale Larkin (Nacra 20)

Overall winners on elapsed time were Casey/Pierce with elapsed time of 8:33:44 for the two days.

It was upwind all the way today.

We're (I'm) a tough crowd. Appreciate the updates for those of us unfortunate enough to not be there.You always come through for us, now that Rick fella... <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
Todd

Way to go Mike and Lindsay!

Way to go Cat in the Hat! The Tybee is Yours! The Tybee is Yours!

Hats off to all the Cats who started this race....better men than I.

2nd on a Hobie 16 , are they allowing that boat in the TB then.

Hear, hear! I wholeheartedly agree.

GARY

Korz, dude, I was just setting it up for Wouter's grand entrance :P

Mary,

With regard to the EPIRB, (I should probably research this a little - I know some work with stationary satellites) but I believe they work periodically as a satellite screams across the sky. It gets the information from the EPIRB and sends it to the emergency services. Naturally, there would be some delay in this information getting to the Coast Guard and if it is periodic in nature (because of the satellite orbits), if Larry was still moving at 15knots, by the time they got to where the signal said they were, they would be long gone. That's probably why they had difficulty finding them.

That might explain it. So if the satellite doesn't happen to be around when your epirb starts going off, I wonder how long it is before they DO get the signal and the coordinates at the CG station? Could make a difference between life and death; right?

I just assumed that when you set your epirb off, somebody starts receiving that signal immediately (along with the GPS coordinates). Is this a dangerous assumption?

Please DO do some research on this.

Maugan,

I was replying to pbisesi post not yours. So if any credit is to be claimed then ...

But I will always reply in the way I did to things as written by pbisesi. Irrespectibally whether somebody is fishing or not. Because when untruths and halve truths are repeated often enough while remained unchallenged then eventually they will be seen as truth itself.

Presenting the other viewpoint perpetually is indeed a thankless job, but somebody has to do it. Who better then myself to do it, it is not that my good rep is suffering from it ! <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Wouter

You got me.



I did say:


When describing the Hobie 16.
That of course is not true.

Thank you
------------------------------------------------
Congratulations to everyone that sailed the event.
Any good stories from the competitors?

Here is some wind information from a weather buoy in the area.

http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/show_plot.php?station=mlrf1&meas=wdpr&uom=E

Pretty daunting wind there. I looked at the forecast and decided that 25 knots was too much for me out on the ocean side. It just wasn't worth tearing things up for a race that probably was going not going to be much fun.

I got out on a big power boat on Saturday and snapped some pictures. It was quite a beating we took on the powerboat. I'll try to get the pictures posted in the next few days. That shot of the H16 was pretty lucky. Nice of him to provide me with such a good photo op.

Even without sailing it was still a lot of fun seeing everyone down there again. Unfortunate about 2 broken masts in one event. We got out on Saturday and chased some of the competitors around. We are now looking forward to tradewinds.

Mike Hill
www.stlouiscats.com

Ok, this is what happened to me in a similar situation with an EPIRB.

2002 Worrell.
When I took Chris Sawyer's place on the boat, he was big on safety. We had three EPIRB's on the boat, two hand held (one on each person), and one 406 satellite EPIRB (on the boat).

The hand held (121.5mHz) EPIRBs send out a radio signal that is picked up by satellites and APPROXIMATES your position. The 406 EPIRBs have an embedded GPS that sends coordinates along with a serial number to the satellites for a MUCH more accurate location. If you do it right, you register your 406 EPIRB and they know who that serial number belongs to. As soon as they get a signal and serial number, they attempt to contact the owner.

In addition, there is a delay in the transmission of the data from satellite to ground, so rescuers are NOT looking at real time data. However the newer 406's are MUCH more accurate than the old 112mHz ones. I think from what I've read there is an ~1/2 hr delay between signal and the people on the ground getting the data. Estimated guess is that given this is a global system, there are no "dead spots". Since you have to have a minimum of three satellites to triangulate a position for the 121's I would think that satellite coverage is not an issue.

During the second night leg of the '02 Worrell, the 406 fired off. It was EASY to see b/c it had a bright strobe on it and was BLINDING us. It was supposed to only fire if it was submersed a certain depth as well, but... regardless, it went off. I tried to turn it off, but... to no avail. As soon as we hit the beach, I ran to the hotel room and took it apart to disconnect the battery. I immediately tried to contact the Coast Guard via VHF, but ended up having to call them. They had received the broadcast and sent a search flight out. I was told that they received several data points that showed us to be moving at ~25kts to the north in the vicinity of Cape Romane, therefor they guessed it was an accidental firing as the EPIRB was moving at a sustained rate of speed.

Since I had called, confirmed the serial number of the EPIRB and it's status, there was no problem/charges. They did say, however that had I not called, the "case" would have stayed open for an additional 24 hours past the last signal received and another flight might have gone out.

That is right, the Coast Guard will launch on every EPIRB signal, mayday call or flare sighting.

Ok, actually, I misspoke with regards to the older EPIRBs.

"Older EPIRBs did not contain the GPS receiver, so the GOES satellite received only a serial number. To locate the EPIRB, another set of satellites (like the TIROS-N satellite) orbiting the planet in a low polar orbit could pick up the signal as it passed overhead. This would give a rough fix on the location, but it took several hours for a satellite to come into range."

If equipped, the search aircraft can also "look" for the signal from the EPIRB as they fly.

From the USCG:
http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/marcomms/gmdss/epirb.htm

I am going to start a PLB thread. Please see my posting here.

GARY

Before anyone jumps on me....NO...I didn't actually compete....BUT I did leave the beach with the intent to compete. And in hind sight I very much regret pulling out when I did. However since folks are asking for personal accounts, I'll be happy to share mine (and Robi's...my crew)

We pushed off the beach with the other 11 boats and made it to Jewfish Creek Bridge in nothing flat where we commenced with playing in the current for the first time in my short (4 yr) sailing career. Very interesting to be sailing upwind while actually moving backwards!! Once the bridge opened it was pure mayhem trying to get through. Hat's off to Team Tybee as they were positioned properly and shot through first attempt. Everyone else had to try multiple times and a couple had to be towed through after we REALLY pissed off all the drivers waiting for the bridge to be lowered! After we played bumper boats a couple of times we figured it out and Robi rowed his tail off as we were the 3rd boat to actually make it through. (feeling good about now!!) We then proceeded to tack over 30 times to get up Jewfish Creek to Barnes Sound and again...made it out 3rd...however seeing Team Tybee flip in the creek and the sight of the conditions in Barnes sound tempered our "feel good" substantially. We went out into the sound and tried to park, found ourselves slowly pushing upwind as we waited for the rest of the boats and the starting comittee to arrive. For the first time in my sailing career, I had serious concerns about falling off to sail back downwind to get back below the starting area. About this time a small microburst was coming through with a bit of rain, merely intensifying the situation and as we pulled off to go back down we stuffed the hulls pretty good several times even though we were quickly very deep and all the way back on the beam. (of course I am screaming to Robi...WEIGHT BACK, WEIGHT BACK!!!) At this point I am thinking "and this is on the INSIDE!!....wait 'till we get out of Angelfish Creek!!" This is the point where I decided it would be wise to pull the plug and quickly did so. After talking to others I think EVERYONE was thinking the same thing at that point in time...at least everyone who had made it out of Jewfish Creek by then. I know Ollie specifically was deciding to ditch, but shortly after (as Robi and I were already headed back down Jewfish Creek), the microburst cleared, the sun started to peek out, and he decided maybe it wouldn't be so bad and reversed his decision to ditch. Frankly, had I been positioned where Ollie was (at the mouth of the creek...calmer) and seen the clearing, I probably would have reversed as well and gone ahead with the race....

We got back after pitchpoling just off the beach in Blackwater sound, and scrambled to drive up to Card Sound Bridge to catch the other boats going through. We got up there a little late as all boats were already through and most were into Angelfish Creek. That was when the SERIOUS REGRET set in for me for having bailed....

In retrospect, after hearing all the other accounts that evening, I think we could have handled it just fine barring any catastrophic failures. (one of my other decision points was hearing all the horrendous noises coming from Lucille (my boat)!!!) Yes we probably would have gone swimming a time or two...but MAN...THE STORIES We'd have to tell!!! Now I'll have nothing but regret until the next time fate and planning line up again for similar conditions!!

Congrats and Hat's Off to all who started the race, and apoligies to Robi (my crew) for a DNC! <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

JL

Jake.... I'm looking for the Video man.... <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

<img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> Sorry you had to pull the DNC, but it's a good story anyway!

Thanks...I got the sense Robi was relieved but dissapointed as well. It's a tough thing we do....figuring out just how far to push ourselves beyond our comfort zone, but that's the only place we can learn our true capabilities and be satisfied that we have given it our all!

JL

It's coming...I should be home this evening to upload it (we're still traveling right now). I've got some personal synopsis at www.teamseacats.com

There should be no regrets in pulling out of that race. We questioned our sanity on several occasions.

Rounding down was certainly tricky and there was one occasion where we were getting pushed to close to a key on the ocean side and had to round upwind so we could sail away from land a little and bear away again. There was no way to sustain sailing above 5-10 degrees within dead downwind or under 15 degrees of close hauled. In that stuff, you feel trapped - sails are all the way out, the main is rubbing the shrouds (probably got some damage there), battens are s-curving, the jib is banging back and forth because you're so close to dead downwind and, given that we were both crammed as far back on the boat as possible, we were half panicked with the potential to have a surprise gybe in a puff that would send the boom across at the speed of light.

Oh, and to help the boat round down slightly more safely, pull the boards up and ease the jib from an upwind setting. The boat won't bite the water so hard with the boards almost all the way up and will reduce the tendency to lift the stern and dig in the bows. With the jib drawing a little it will help the turn go faster but too much jib will put additional pressure on the bows. Enter the turn with speed to keep good flow over the rudders and turn hard.

Mike,

If you need somewhere to host the images, I'll be glad to help.

Jake,

Excellent description of the downhill ride! It's like sitting on a guided rocket with no ability to apply any breaking system, all you can do is steer that thang!

hi everyone.
It was great fun (and a bit scary) racing w y'all this weekend. For everyone that went, yeah we had a blast and fortunately everyone ended up ok. For everyone who made a wise decision not to go, don't beat yourself up, bc you only got 1 you, and thats never worth a race (no matter how hard it is to convince yourself of that). Anyway re my epirb, I did lose my handheld one (BreakOutAnotherThousand) so I brought my "desktop" unit (a 406 w built-in gps). We actually (miraculously) never did flip (slow conserv. sailing) yet the pirb was in my spin bag which got hi powered drenched and this must have set it off. The coast gaurd told me it only went off briefly and hence never sent gps coords, just an id (it takes about 15 mins. to send first coords). so that being said, makes u feel better about their not locating us (which we fortunately didn't need them to do). On the other hand, when i emptied out my spin bag on anne's beach, the pirg was flashing so either it was intermittently off and on (the first signal had gone out 2 hours earlier) or it was not transmitting properly. Of further interest, once it was out of the bag 2 minutes it dried out and shut itself off automatically. Bottom line, its nice to have a pirb, but try not to need it cause it may not be enough to bail u out.

Look forward to seeing everone on the distance circuit this spring.


lf

did the coast guard make you pay them for going out to look for you?

My laptop died when I tried to turn it on to upload the video lastnight. I'm trying to recover it now (corrupted registry when coming back up from standby). There are other copies - so all will not be lost if I can't get the computer back up. I just can't get to them right now.

Kewl...patiently standing by.... <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

JL

no. actually, w/ further reflection, the original cg officer I spoke to said he had coordinates, but the one i spoke to yesturday said they didn't. since they were already out there for the larger sinking boat and then the f-18 crew, I guess the add-on hassle didn't get their bevy up for cash hit. (fortunately). as per the prior epirb account from 2002, it seems if you keep them updated asap, they r more forgiving.
lf

Just want to say thanks for the terrific thread! I've scarecely(?) been on line for the past week, and to find this thread this morning was just great! I didn't notice the Patriots loss, but this stuff really gets my attention. Some of you managed to getme LOL with your accounts and comments! I was of course rooting for Chaos. They are the "local" team after all for us New Englanders. But there was such a great group of sailors in this event, I found myself chanting "Seacats! Seacats! Seacats!" and then "204! 204! 204!" Eric, if I'd known what you guys were going through I would've been praying. Cat In The Hat, after Tybee, I think we all have become your fans! My left coast brother Gary's questions are typically relevant for ocean voyagers, safety oriented stuff that benefits all of us if we think about it, ( and we should!) And no that's not Gary in his avatar doing the wavey thing. Gary, the "204!" is Hobie Fleet 204 in upstate N.Y. I had the pleasure of meeting Pat, Diane, and their daughter Sarah, and Sue Korz at the Hobie 16 Nationals. I don't know if there is something special in the water up there, but they are one of the most successfull, and fun fleets in the country! Pat and Sarah sailed together in the H16 Nationals. She went back out after the day Hobie Alter Jr. and at least one other boat lost their masts. It blew, and it rained! And the children of 204 didn't quit! Mike S. is a 204 sailor. Yahoo Mike and Lindsey!!! On the topic of the weather, and worrying, Mary I'm glad I was unaware of what was going on. I think I would've lost what little hair I have left! (I'd be happy if it just turned gray!) While we're here, I'd like to say I've been out in similar conditions on Hobie 16s, and there's no boat I'd rather be on in that situation. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Video is up - thanks to Robin Strickland and Wendy Anon for taking it!

Great video! Many thanks to all of you.

Yeah, I had actually decided to bail before the start when the visibility dropped and we couldn't see the bridge any more. This being our first time there I had counted on atleast being able to see where we were supposed to go. But once it cleared we decided to start the race and sail to the outside and see how the conditions were figuring we could always sail back on the inside.
So we started and actually had a great time sailing upwind in the big breeze. We also thought we had set the jib so we could furl it for the downwind if needed.

When we got to the outside we thought the waves weren't as bad as I had thought they would be. The winds were still very gusty though so we decided to furl the jib but it would jam about half way thru so after about five minutes of being parked we gave up on it and just left it out. We made the turn downwind and hoisted the spinnaker and started booking downwind. Unfortunately due to the wind direction we started to get too close to the shore so we ended up taking the spinnaker down pretty soon and started sailing under main and jib. I think we sailed about 6-7 miles when we got hit with a gust that pitchpoled us. We righted the boat and sailed on a (wild) close reach for probably about a mile or so to get away from the shore. What happened next is something I still can't quite explain.
When we made the turn downwind the boat accelerated from right under me and I simply slipped off. The HUGE mistake was that when I fell I still had the main sheet but let go. Should have never done that!
The boat ended up flipping but there was no way for me to catch it. It's amazing how fast the boat drifts on it's side. Pat even got the boat righted once and was headed back to me when another gust blew him over. After that he was cartwheeling down and away from me. About half an hour later I couldn't even see the boat so I knew there was no way he could see me.
Lucky for me, Pat turned on the epirb and called the Coasties on the cell phone. Turns out that they were not seeing the epirb signal but they had a plane in the air which ended up spotting him. At that point these two guys working on their house on shore saw the plane circling and spotted Pat standing on a flipped boat. They went and got him and started looking for me based on how the CG plane was circling. It was only about a minute after the plane spotted me in the water when the boat actually found me as well. They took us back to our boat and we righted it and sailed it to their cove where they had a boat ramp. At that point I thought it would be too much to try to make the finish line before dark. Not to mention I was exhausted.
A scary experience for sure... I spent about an hour in the water and I thought my only chance was to try to make headway to the shore about two miles away but I did not seem to be moving too fast and the problem was that some of the waves would break over me so I would have to stop swimming and use my arms just to keep my head above the waves. My drytop took on some water making me heavier and I just couldn't decide whether to take it off so I could swim better. Thing was taking it off meant taking the lifejacket off first and risking losing it.
Learned quite a few lessons that day. Will carry a personal epirb during the next distance race for sure (have to make sure it works though). Given the same conditions, I would do that race again though. I don't think the conditions were that terrible. And if we would have dropped the jib, I think we could have sailed the whole downwind just fine.
It's a fun race in the breeze - just need to hang on!

Olli

Not to hijack the thread, but this is exactly the kind of incident that prompted me to start the thread on tethers and such.

From my experience this year - you may have intended to hold on to the mainsheet but you would not have been able to do so (I know I couldn't), and you might have injured yourself if the sheet was wrapped on your hand. Recent issue of Practical Sailor has an article on tethers and a little experiment about being dragged by a tether at 6 or knots and found it be a dangerous experience. I'm starting to think a short tether to keep you on the boat is a better answer...

Jake, that video made me rofl.

Thanks for posting that.

Sure bring that up again! <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

I'd be interested in hearing from the H16 sailors. How they feel their boat compares to the newer, bigger designs; how they feel about "big" air and distance racing in general. Also, the logisitics problems they encountered.

Jake, that video is awesome, especially the narration. What a pain in the butt that must have been. Great perserverence in continuing to attack.

Eric Arbogast already posted some details from our Friday adventure so some of this is repetition but here it is:

TEAM CYBERSPEED STEEPLECHASE STORY
The weekend story began at the Miami Yacht Club Friday afternoon. Eric Arbogast was not able to race that weekend and volunteered to sail the boat down to Key Largo with me. We were not the only boat to make the sail, Jamie Livingston was making it on a Tornado with his niece. We got there as they were about to shove off.

The sail started with decent but shifty and manageable wind. There were some gusts but nothing too out of control. We stayed to the West of Biscayne Bay because there was a little more wind there and we were able to pick up lifts. We stayed to the West until it got shallow and we had to gybe out to deeper water.

As we approached Arsenic Key, the wind started picking up and the bows starting to burry with all the sails let out. We decided to follow the channel markers so we would not run aground and lose our rudders. The wind continued to pick up and we had a key gybe to make after Arsenic. We held off making the gybe until we passed the wake of three big boats that were following each other. As we approached their wakes, we got a huge gust and blasted through the wakes. As soon as we cleared the wakes we had to gybe because we were running out of water. To prepare for the gybe we have been centering the traveler and sheeting the main minimize the sail transfer during the gybe. We were in the biggest winds we had seen so far and the gybe seemed to go well until traveler jammed and we were starting to pitchpole. I don't know how we were able to save it but we managed to pull it off.

After that we were basically on a partially guided missile. It was a struggle to head up enough to stay in the channel but we managed despite numerous near pitchpoles and a couple surprise gybes. As we approached Jewfish Creek, I looked at the GPS and we were timed perfectly to make the 5:30 bridge opening. The GPS ETA was 5:31. We tried to hail the bridge tender on channel 16 but got no answer. We still had good speed going through the creek but now it was manageable. As we approached the bridge, it was obvious the bridge was not going to open in time so we put our "Plan B" into effect and turned upwind and put her in irons on the east side of creek grabbing onto some mangroves. We hailed the bridgetender on VHF Channel 9 and because he did not open the bridge at the scheduled time he gave us an early opening and wished us luck for the following day.

After discussing the sail, Eric and I figured that if it were any rougher or more wind, we would have been beyond the limits of the boat. We already approached it a few times.

When Rob Behrend arrived we discussed tactics for the race. The wind was predicted to be higher on Saturday so we called Eric Roberts who was sailing an ARC 22. The ARC 22 has the same rig and is two feet longer. Eric was running his mainsail reefed and explained how to reef our mainsail.

The sun did not come up until just before 7am and it was raining. We made a halyard pigtail to reef the mainsail but we had a lot of problems getting it hooked at the top of the mast. Eventually we put the boat on it's side with help from Kenny Pierce(Team Tybee) and hooked it manually. The pigtail was a little too long. We ran out of downhaul and needed to sheet in the main more but we were block to block.
We did not have time to change it and make the bridge opening so we went with what we had.

We were a little late getting to the bridge but there were still a lot of boats trying to get through the VERY strong current. We almost made it out but we missed our one shot and the bridge closed and we got a tow out.

Once out of Jewfish Creek we looked at how the sails were reacting to the heavy gusty winds and I determined that the sails had about a 25% chance of making it through the day reefed the way they were. Rob said that was a bit optimistic. We did not like the odds and turned around to head back to Gilberts. It was a hard decision to make and I had to go through a period of disappointment but it was the right decision. After a short period of time two more boats joined us at Gilberts and we swapped war stories. There were four boats that made it out of the creek and chose not to start.

I'm glad you mentioned reefing the main, after reading all the war stories from the event, I'd been very curious if reefing was even doable on a high-aspect rigs like these. Happy to know it is workable.

Thanks for the story! <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Excellent video!

Because I opted not to sail on Saturday, I was at Gilberts to watch the boats go under the bridge. As good as the video is, it really does not do justice to just how swift the current was going under the bridge or the amount of effort required by the crews to get under the bridge. Someone needs to ask the Cat in the Hat guys how they managed to sail past all the other boats and under the bridge without tacking on their first attempt. Good job guys.

According to the video, that was team tybee :P

And it was all Kenny.

That video was like:

JC and Kenny go through at the beginning of the video. Well after they went through, Cat in the Hat sails through no problem.

OIC. MY BAD.

And again, and again, and again...

So, how is the wing? And, did you notice Jim's repeated cameo in the movie? Just when you think "well Jim's finally through" there he goes back under the bridge to try again! <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> Can't wait to hear him describe it...

Thanks for the video Jake!! Great entertainment!!

A couple of observations (and a couple of guesses):

First both Tybee & Ollie (Capricorn) made it through AS the bridge was going up. While Tybee has experience here, this was Ollie's first time. Granted, Ollie was smart enough to recognize and follow Tybee's lead, but I suspect the wind did bend differently (as suggested in the clip) once the bridge was up, possibly making it more difficult on the rest of us.

Secondly, it became obvious quickly that you HAD to approach from the far side with as much speed as possible WITH a strong paddle. We realized this after our first failed attempt (sail #1003). Our second attempt was successful thanks to that approach.

Third...Cat in The hat did NOT start from the far shore, but was sucessful (I "think") because they went through in our lee (current wise) and thanks to some strong paddling.

BTW...I still have some of Jake's blue gel coat on my Stbd bow from that failed first attempt!!

It was crazy to be certain!! <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

JL

Holy smokes. This time last year he was putting that mess on the boat. I could see him cringe when they ran that beauty up on the beach <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

The Steeplechase is, as crazy as it is, my favorite race of the year. That's why you get so many Northern folks making the crazy drive down there for the fun.

Every year I've done the Steeplechase there has been something different to talk about.

I was there in '98 when most of the fleet got demolished. I ended up looking for a lost sailor for most of the day after I lost track of him trying to pick him up.

I sacrifice a lot of cash and hassle trying to do this race every year. Thanks to lot's of folks who helped me get there this year.

We were listening to the weather radio on Friday and they were calling for 20-25 knots on Saturday. This didn't motivate me to put my boat together. My crew had never done a distance race and I don't think had really considered that I might actually pull the plug and not go out. My crew I think was getting a little pissed at me screwing around and not putting the boat together. Finally I decided I'd get it together and be ready in case the forecast was wrong. Forecasts are never right anyway?.

At one point on Friday they were calling for 15-20knots and I started to think that we would do the race.

We got up Saturday morning and turned the radio on only to hear 20-25 knots gusting to 30 knots. Also there were some showers in the area. I knew this was way past the fun factor and decided to bag it. While I might have survived it I wouldn't have had fun. Also my equipment could have been destroyed. My crew isn't experienced enough to handle the boat by herself in that much wind. The other thing that I was really thinking about was what if the weather is a little worse than predicted. Even if only for a short time 40-50 knots can make a really bad day.

I'm happy with my decision. It was the right decision for me and my crew. No reason to go out and kill myself and my crew.

We hooked up with an old friend of mine and went out on his powerboat to grab some pictures right at the Tavernier Creek. Neat seeing everyone go by. Funny that the wind and waves when we were out there didn't seem that bad. None of the N20's were running chutes when they went by us. All of them were just in survival mode. Krantz and Lennard were the only ones running their chute when they went by.

The amazing thing was how close the H16 was to everybody when it went by. I couldn't believe how he was right on the heels of all the boats. Ahead of a few boats. We saw the reefed Supercat go by and not 10 minutes behind them were Team Tybee. Then Accelerated Chaos, Seacats, H16, then Layline.

The pictures I took are up on Jake's website at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/teamseacats/sets/72157594412944888/

It really did blow 20-25 with gusts all the way to 30. Everyone went over that did the race at least once. I talked to the H16 skipper, Mike Saiu, and he said that I caught his 5th pitchpole with the picture. I asked why he was so far out when he went by and he said that everytime he Gybed he pitchpoled. He was trying to minimize the Gybes. I did see one gybe without a pitchpole so I think he was exagerating a little.

[img]http://static.flickr.com/131/318995784_6d5035412e.jpg?v=0[/img]

By the way if you ever get to Tavernier creek the little marina by the drawbridge makes the best spicy cuban I've ever had. I'll be back for one of those for sure. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

Sunday was pretty dull it only blew 15-25 knots. They finished pretty quick. We went out on Sunday and played in the bays and the cut a little. It was a really nice day. Right at the verge of what we can handle. We passed Tybee and Accelerated Chaos in Grouper Creek. I even caught Kenny paddling a little in there. The cuts were really easy with the extra wind and the direction.

Quite a bit of mayham and damage. Two broken masts. 1 seperated crew. We were listening to the Coast Guard and they were seriously active looking for people during the race. I could hear the epirb going off in the background when they transmitted information. I could hear the plane spotting the crew in the water. It was all very Deja vu of '98 for me. Luckily this year the wind wasn't blowing directly offshore like it was that year.

Out of 18 that came down to do the race only 6 finished. My hat is off to those harty soles. See you next year.

Mike Hill
www.stlouiscats.com

Hi Stuart,

Yeah, I bought Bill and Eric Roberts old boat which is a Supercat 20 Tall Rig. The mast is 38 1/2 feet. By reefing it you turn it into a short rig. Looking back, I should have brought my short rig sail and used that. Next day we have good wind, I am going to fit the short rig sail so we will be better prepared.

Eric Roberts ran their ARC 22 reefed and were first to the beach.

The deal was that you just had to get a puff at the right moment and have a clear run across the span of the bridge to get through. If you watch Cat in the Hat, you see them get good acceleration when they're about 2/3 across the span. Early on, you see us get a great high speed run at it but were left without much air when we got 1/3 the way across. Paddling like a mo-fo didn't hurt either but you still wouldn't get across without a good puff at some point under the bridge.

Thank you Jake, for that Video

I was thinking that if you could get one hull out of the water it would be much easy to pass that obstacle,

Last regatta we had here it was light wind, The crew traped to the leeward side lifting the Hull out of the water,
that made the boat go a lot faster.

I could hear a voise in the background of the video giving their own prospective on every thing, encouraging the teams... that made the video more enjoyable to watch

Watching the teams trying so hard on the video is one thing but if you could only feel the stiff wind that was right on thier nose and that current... It was really strong. You couldn't help but try to 'will' them through.
David Strickland's wife Robin took the video.

Wendy:

Send me email link. Hope all is well? Still haven't spent any time on 4.3

Doug
dsnell4 at houston dot rr dot com

Wendy, Nice job rooting them on. I thought it was torture just to watch the video! Makes me shudder just to think about it. Really admire those guys! PS: you owe us some more stories of your boat...