Big Wave and Swell Experiences

Guys:

What is your fondest big wave or swell experience? I am not sure where it was I think it was Galveston back in the 80's when we use to have regatta's there. The wind had been blowing stink for 3 weeks, then dies to about 5-8 mph the Sat of the regatta. We had 6 to 8 foot wave to go out through. It was a bitch trying to get enough speed between the waves. The waves would break over your head as you HELD on for dear life at the front crossbars. More than a few went over backwards and snapped mast are rudder system off boat. There were 12-14 foot rollers once you got out passed the break. It was scary as all you could see was the top third of your competitors sails as we crossed on the course. Cary and I would be trapped out going to weather and as we came over the top of the wave the boat would go 3-5 feet in the air, and we would be TOTALLY weightless for 2-3 seconds!!!!!. Then the bows would SLAM into the trough of the next wave and almost pitch pole only to pop out and do it all over again. I STILL have those memories in my head. Wish we had cams back then to catch it.

Doug

We got air in the GT last year going over a wave that was atleast a 15 footer doing about 25 knots. I thought for sure the boat was going to break apart on impact but only the windward rudder kicked up and locked itself because I was holding the tiller when I got detached from the boat. We were weightless for long enough to go through a few scenarios in my head as to what might happen when we land. I still can't believe the toughness of the N20 after that day.

Going down a 15 foot face in Tres Palmas Puerto Rico, man what a rush! Surfing owns

Yea Lee we did it in the old butt bucket days. The family jewels HURT for a week

Doug

I believe it was the 1984 Hobie Midwinters East in St. Augustine, FL. A good stiff breeze and large swells.

As we went upwind double trapped, when we reached the crest of a wave, the Hobie 16 would slide sideways as there was not enough boat in the water.

Good Times!

Jack

I met a Wave in 1999 while stationed in Greece that could pick up a forklift. She was big and mean....(and didnt look like the girl in the picture)

To protect the guilty, no names will be used here, but I was sailing on a blue N20 (that is not the Cat Fever boat) a couple years ago. We were motoring along upwind, double trapped. The skipper of the boat calls "Wave!" to prepare for the "impact". I look around the LAKE we are sailing on (yes, I know, some lakes have big waves, but they are typically reffered to as "Great" lakes, not "Hartwell") for some sort of rouge tsunami only to see a bass boat wake gently lapping the hull. Only through the masterfull seamenship of my fearless skipper did we manage to get through the wave unscathed.

At Performance Race Week in 2004 at Tybee, we had big waves and big breeze. I can remember coming off the top of 6-8 footers and getting the entire F18 airborn and slamming into the next wave. It was fun upwind, but downwind we pitchpoled too many times to count...

That doesnt sound fun up or downwind...

OK here is my more serious post, it certainly wasnt my fondest sailing memory but it is my most memorable wave story:

Last fall in the gulf.. i was turned around (while on the wire) by the current, wind and waves all in different directions as i left the Clearwater Pass

Over i went!

I was being pushed close to the breaker wall... and a friend was trying to grab my mast tip to lift it up... but instead just kept slamming into it (3x)...

I finally got the cat up! and the jib filled (i couldn't reach the blocks to uncleat them from the water) and the boat took off (without me on it). I had to pull myself up the righting line... I was exhausted!

When i tried to steer away.. found out the mainsheet was wrapped around rudders, traveler, etc...

I missed the marker (thanks god) and untangled the lines, and started the 6 mile sail north to home (Dunedin Causeway).

The waves weren't huge... but the frequency we get here sometimes is brutal.

I would dip the bows so far in (riding the wave down) that my spin hoop would be underwater... and as i came up... the pole would flex down with the water weight and would ROCKET water 15' up (only to rain down on me). Thats if i had time to ride the wave... most of the time i would crash into the next wave before i was done riding the current wave.... arggggggg!

The spin bag was so full that all the 1000 pinholes shot water out like a Greek fountain.

This went on for about 1hour.

I was ready to find a new hobby.

Sailing at the Dart 18 Euros in 1986 in Katwijk Aan Zee; Massive surf, waves were so big, sailing up wind you had the impression you were doing really well as you could only see a few boats; problem was that if you were at the top of a wave, you could see the other boats on top of waves, if you were at the bottom, you could see nothing. Wid at the bottom was about 15 kts; 30 on the wave tops.

In the penultimate race my crew broke his arm and I sailed inthru the surf and 100m up the beach.

I was 18.

I'll never forget it.

That wasn't fun. I broke my mast in that crap that day. They were too short and steep to be fun. You would roll down one and crash into the next. I did everything right short of turning up to capsize and still broke my mast that day.

Fun was a Michigan St. Joe regatta. Blowing 15-25 that day straight down lake Mich. We rounded A mark and could hop a wave and point straight to C and then turn back 90 degrees and hop the next wave. That was a fun day. I don't remember the year maybe around 2000.

Monterey Bay (2001?) sailing as crew on a H-18. Boat flips in front of us gois full turtle crew separates. Help the crew back to his boat as chase boat arrives. We get back to the race and are in 7th place at the mark. Turn the mark and second set if waves to hit is HUGE. We turn down the face of the wave and get propeled straight down wind. Me on the Front x bar and Josh steering we surfed the roller all the way to the gate. Back in first place roll the gate and off to the finish.

HAHAHAHAH! Who was THAT idiot!?

I remember that week very well! I had a brand new Nacra F18 and was stressed about watching that leeward daggerboard re-enter the water with the boat moving sideways through the air after clearing the top of every wave. What a wild week. Mike taught us a bunch about fast double handed sailing that week.

I remember that. I've got pics somewhere. Monterey is deep, so the swells just roll. That day there was a 10-12 groundswell from the NW if I remember. And wind chop on top of that. Pretty fun. I almost pitchpoled the Hobie Skiff!
J

Jensen beach 2001 Worrell 1000.
Big waves, onshore breeze and lotsa broken carbon and spirit.
Todd

JC has a cool overhead picture of his boat punching through a wave in the full vertical position.

off the hook

It was like this and rang your bell every time you landed that weekend. Jewels got a workout that regatta. BUT we finished 2nd.

http://www.wildwind.co.uk/ww/video5.html

Doug

If the conditions were right Monterey Bay could be counted on for some huge swells. If you caught one just right it was a E Ticket to the lee mark.

In 87 or 88 just west of Pensacola. We started with6-8 ft swells and then the wind and the current broke them up into what looked like a bunch of 3-10 ft moving hills.

It was a blast. Sailing was like running through the woods with hills and valleys. You could sail through the valleys or jump off the top.

The 3rd or 4th time I went out, I took somebodys karate instructor girlfriend on a N5.8. I started jumping off the tops until my crew told me if I hurt her, she was going to kick me so hard, a valued part of my body was going to come out my mouth.

By the time I found better crew, the hills turned into chop.

Not a cat story, but my favorite ocean swell one.

99 or 2000 Coastal Cup somewhere near Monterey heading south on a pitch dark night, I say to Billy (my name for a French guy named Guillome, cuz I couldn't pronounce it), "why is the water in front of the boat glowing?" We're both really tired a don't know where the red and green light in the water could be coming from. It gets really bright and the boat (an Express 27) goes from 17 knots to 0 in about five feet as the stern lifts out and we pirouette onto our side.

The glow was from the bow lights going into the wave in front of us -- My wife and other sleeping crew got an eticket ride from the pipe berths aft to the forward bulkhead.... I remembered to carve across the troughs a bit more after that.

Good fun. I miss CA ocean sailing sometimes.

On one of my first sails on the 5.8 I went off Adelaide, the wave frequency was jump one 8ft wave, go through the next. This shot was from the video cam and shows us when we had had enough and were virtually stopped but the wave broke over us. It took about a week to decide it was fun. About 2 months ago a 32knot blow made 10ft chop on the same 5.8 off Robe, the sails and mast are still out at sea that wasn't fun..
regards

The worst surf I ever went through was at the start of Round Texel 2005, I sailed it 2-up on a friends FX-One.
I dont think I have ever seen so much damaged boats at a single event, we where lucky to only have a broken batten and some bruises.
Checkout the gallery (click on Volgende for the next page):
http://www.photoos.net/cgi-bin/wspd...esen=35&xmlac=nl&tpl=&page=2

Man that's some rough stuff.

Was it this one? Can't tell for sure if that's an FXone or a Fox



edit- clicked the next photo and it is a Fox

Fox/Marstrom hybrid.

Launching through the surf at the 07 F18 Worlds.

The swell and waves on the course ran at different angles to each other and different to the breeze which made it hard to get into the groove, particularly on port tack up wind or starboard down, taking waves head on on these tacks.


Below we launched on day one. I noticed Andrea Francolini on the beach with the camera on us, so had to launch it over the last set of waves.

I bought both these images in the largest print available

Sail Melbourne, Sandringham Victoria always gave wild rides. Big breeze, big waves.

Which parts came from Marstrøm? I thought that was Mitch Booths "Super Fox" carbon monster.


Steve, awesome photos! You should have one of them tattoed to your back

It was an all carbon fox.

What a waste of carbon.

I guess the carbon could have been used make more of those overly heavy Nacra 20 masts and then sold at enourmous expensive to anyone unfortunate enough the break one. Another waste of Carbon?

I don't see it as a waste to try something different (a carbon fox), or to try and get out throught the surf even though you may not make it. A carbon fox protoype would be cheap compared to developing the moulds for a new 20ft hull design.