Catsailor.com

Hiram's Haul is This Weekend!

Posted By: cyberspeed

Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 10/24/11 10:05 AM

Make your reservations and get your costume ready for a fun weekend of sailing and partying at Captain Hiram's. If you don't want to wear a costume, there is plenty of eye candy to look at. Even if you don't want to sail, the party at Captain Hiram's is worth it.

Hiram's Haul is a 30 mile catamaran sprint down the Intercoastal waterway to the quaint, old Florida town of Sebastian and Capt. Hiram's for the first party. Spend the night and enjoy Capt. Hirams or any of the other cozy watering holes. Return the next day with another 30 mile sprint to Performance Sail and Sport for the 2nd leg and overall trophy presentation and party.

The logistics are easy. The race starts and finishes in the same place so all you need to do is pack a bag for Saturday night and throw it on one of the trailers heading to Captain Hiram's. Shuttle is provided to and from the midway point to Captain Hiram's.

If you are racing, please register so Scott and Dior knows how many are attending.

Related Websites:
Endurance Series >>>
Performance Sail & Sport >>>
Event Registration >>>
Registered Teams >>>
Posted By: ThunderMuffin

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 10/25/11 02:06 PM

Forecast is looking sporty! "Breezy" is mentioned in several of the ones I'm reading :P

Sunday looks to be upwind.
Posted By: David Ingram

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 10/25/11 05:42 PM

And they just told me I'm 6 days a week and on call for second shift until 11/13! The downside of surviving a layoff...thank you sir.

Wouldn't you know it, the first time in years the forecast looks promising.
Posted By: ksurfer2

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 10/25/11 05:50 PM

No pain 'till Steeplechase?
Posted By: waterbug_wpb

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 10/25/11 07:38 PM

Karl, bring the GD GPS this time! That M-20 doesn't like "sporty".

NE 20+ sounds like you'll be testing the bow bouyancy a bit
Posted By: orphan

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 10/25/11 07:38 PM

I don't know about promising but it could be interesting.

Saturday: Scattered showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 81. Windy, with a north northeast wind between 15 and 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Sunday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 80. Windy, with a northeast wind around 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph
Posted By: David Ingram

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 10/25/11 08:02 PM

Originally Posted by orphan
I don't know about promising but it could be interesting.

Saturday: Scattered showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 81. Windy, with a north northeast wind between 15 and 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Sunday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 80. Windy, with a northeast wind around 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph


Dude, it will be flat water. You can be freaking superman if the water is flat. You just don't want to find the bottom at 22kts +, it would most certianly leave a mark.


Posted By: David Ingram

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 10/25/11 08:05 PM

M-20 isn't going...
Posted By: waterbug_wpb

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 10/25/11 08:32 PM

wind map shows promising news:

Saturday starts out NNW around 12 kts, and will continue to clock eastward all day. Noon (1600 GMT)NNW wind 15kts+ gusts straight down the pipe

Sunday shows stronger breeze around 15 - 18kts from ENE, which will be a beam reach if this map is right. Wind shows almost perpendicular to shore.

That sure beats all day on the nose!

Me thinks someone might break the course record this weekend....
Posted By: waterbug_wpb

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 10/25/11 08:39 PM

Of course, the other wind forecast map shows the tropical storm going right over my house Saturday so this might be a busy weekend....
Posted By: David Ingram

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 10/25/11 10:34 PM

Saturday/Sunday... light and variable.

You heard it here first!
Posted By: cyberspeed

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 10/26/11 12:31 AM

Anyone bringing costume for Saturday Night or just people watching? That tree was amazing last year.
Posted By: ThunderMuffin

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 10/26/11 02:23 AM

Ehhh accuweather is saying that on Saturday its going to be gusting to 36 and on Sunday to 35. If its doin that crap I may have to sit it out. I want to have fun, not kill myself.

The forecasts elsewhere are more moderate so I have faith.
Posted By: David Ingram

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 10/26/11 12:22 PM

Originally Posted by cyberspeed
Anyone bringing costume for Saturday Night or just people watching? That tree was amazing last year.


Yes, I'm going as a photographer for Maxim magazine with the ID to prove it. I worked a deal to get the weekend off so I'm basically F!@ked for the two weeks after Hirams so it better not get moved!

The tree Craig, that's what you remember? Really? You'll want to check your man card at the door this year.

BTW, it was 2 years ago.
Posted By: ksurfer2

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 10/26/11 12:23 PM

http://www.iwindsurf.com/windandwhere.iws?regionID=226&siteID=543&Isection=Forecast+Graphs

From iWindsurf. Looks like a great weekend!
Posted By: waterbug_wpb

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 10/26/11 12:56 PM

good to see the models are starting to reach consensus.

Remember, those are near-coastal wind forecasts. Cut about 5 off since we're in the intracoastal.

Flat water, high teens, spin run and beam reaching. Git er done!

I don't have a man card but might sneak in to the party. Is there a theme besides "full monty"?
Posted By: David Ingram

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 10/26/11 04:51 PM

Originally Posted by ksurfer2


SWEET! But will it be as much fun without the Hyannis seastate?
Posted By: ThunderMuffin

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 10/26/11 05:30 PM

Originally Posted by David Ingram
Originally Posted by ksurfer2


SWEET! But will it be as much fun without the Hyannis seastate?


I know that I'm wearing my Barz regardless of the sea state.
Posted By: cyberspeed

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 10/26/11 09:50 PM

Originally Posted by David Ingram
The tree Craig, that's what you remember? Really? You'll want to check your man card at the door this year.


The wife and kids are coming this weekend. I am just getting my story straight ahead of time. Good thing she doesn't read any forums.
Posted By: waterbug_wpb

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 10/27/11 01:14 PM

Hey, there's $1000 USD up for grabs at that costume contest Saturday.

Break out those panties...uh Under Armor, Mark!
Posted By: David Ingram

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 10/27/11 02:31 PM

Son of a B@#$, the forecast for Saturday and has taken a significantly softer tone. Tad I blame you!

Jay come on! Remember back in the day when you were straight. Those were good times weren't they? Except for the red head you were into... she could scare anyone onto the other team, is that what happened?
Posted By: orphan

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 10/27/11 02:41 PM

Still lokks sporty. This is NOAA for Grant(about half way).

Saturday: A 50 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 81. North northwest wind between 5 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Sunday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 79. Windy, with a northeast wind between 15 and 20 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
Posted By: David Ingram

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 10/27/11 03:02 PM

Originally Posted by orphan
Still lokks sporty. This is NOAA for Grant(about half way).

Saturday: A 50 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 81. North northwest wind between 5 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Sunday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 79. Windy, with a northeast wind between 15 and 20 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.


Saturday it's not forecast to start building until after 1, so we'll get an hour (probably less) in the building breeze. We will be well into our second beer by the time it even starts to approach "sporty" and I use that term loosely here. Maybe I can talk Scott into a third start that is later in the day for the old people and the ladies, you know when the breeze is on.
Posted By: waterbug_wpb

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 10/27/11 07:07 PM

Originally Posted by David Ingram
Jay come on! Remember back in the day when you were straight. Those were good times weren't they? Except for the red head you were into... she could scare anyone onto the other team, is that what happened?


Good times, they were.... I will always be jealous of you sailing couples that can manage to hold a relationship through the challenges of racing.

Oh, and I gave up my man-card (and waistline) years ago for the tax deduction, but still have a healthy respect for supporting single-moms, and commend you, sir, for your outstanding generosity in that respect. You truly give till it hurts, and we should all learn from your fine example.

AND for the rest of you bi*$s, bring it SATURDAY! You'd better have your A-game cause I don't get out much from under my rock and when I do, it's scary. GO-TIME!

Posted By: ksurfer2

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 10/27/11 07:21 PM

I ain't bringin' no stupid GPS.....so don't follow me.
Posted By: Team_Cat_Fever

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 10/28/11 12:13 AM

Originally Posted by ksurfer2
I ain't bringin' no stupid GPS.....so don't follow me.


You didn't lose it did you?
Posted By: ksurfer2

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 10/28/11 01:58 AM

Hey....Don't make me go all Ricky on your a$$!!!!!
Posted By: Jake

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 10/28/11 02:16 AM

Originally Posted by ksurfer2
Hey....Don't make me go all Ricky on your a$$!!!!!


Holy $uc$! That's hilarious. I'm making a shirt.
Posted By: Team_Cat_Fever

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 10/28/11 02:19 AM

Karl,
I guess that means you'll start making excuses , and lots of 'em. Little Ricky is good at that, Fo Sho. " Heeeeey Luuuuucy, have you seen my excuse book?" I do believe he has taken the crown from Tad.


Jake,
If you make all the shirts and hats you say you're gonna ,you may end up a tycoon but you'll never leave the printer.
Posted By: ThunderMuffin

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 10/28/11 02:47 AM

Quote
Tad I blame you!


Ill gladly take the blame for inspiring mother nature to turn the forecast into something less than a blowout.
Posted By: ksurfer2

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 10/28/11 12:08 PM

Originally Posted by Jake
Originally Posted by ksurfer2
Hey....Don't make me go all Ricky on your a$$!!!!!


Holy $uc$! That's hilarious. I'm making a shirt.


XL for me, Beth would like a small.
Posted By: David Ingram

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 10/28/11 12:54 PM

Looking a bit better than yesterday (depending on your perspective)

http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClic...mp;site=all&unit=0&dd=0&bw=0
Posted By: ThunderMuffin

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 10/28/11 04:05 PM

FFS - this vendor is killing me.

I was hoping to wrap up a huge project yesterday, but thanks to a vendor's inability to successfully install a bunch of SSL certificates (or document the fact that they were needed in the first place) I'm now looking at a long night of work that may turn into a long weekend of work.

I can't buy a vowel.
Posted By: pgp

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 10/28/11 09:38 PM

I hope you guys have better weather than we've had today. Constant drizzle and no wind at all.
Posted By: ThunderMuffin

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 10/28/11 09:42 PM

Have fun guys. Boss told me that since the project isn't complete that I need to work on it through the weekend.
Posted By: David Ingram

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 10/29/11 09:27 PM

We had lot's of rain this morning and no wind and 30 minutes before the spin fleet started the breeze showed up. Karl and I had our usual battle with Matt and his brother in law right there. Karl got by us at the second bridge and we played catch the rest of the day but Karl must have pissed off lady luck because one mile before the finish Karla spin bridle broke and folded his pole. That put us in front with Matt bearing down on us bit lady again chose us with Matt finding a rock right before the finish causing a nasty pitchpole and some damage. The forecast says sporty tomorrow.
Posted By: ksurfer2

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 10/31/11 02:19 PM

Awesome event, my only complaint (other than the broken spin pole), was the lack of scenery at the costume party.

Thanks to Scott, Dior, Warren, Amy, and all the others who put this event on.

Oh.....JC's old course record is now toast.

New record: 31 miles in 1 hour 34 minutes 17 seconds!!!!
Posted By: Anonymous

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 10/31/11 02:24 PM

That's not a course record, just one way
Posted By: ksurfer2

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 10/31/11 02:50 PM

I'll take that!
Posted By: waterbug_wpb

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 10/31/11 04:22 PM

Well, seems our old friend Capt'n Hiram teamed up with Scott & Warren to cook up a double helping of near fantastic conditions for both spin and non-spin boats.

At this fourteenth running of the event, the Weather Channel was pretty much flat-wrong AGAIN about conditions, and it was weather underground that came closest to the time/direction/strength of the wind.

I would suspect there were a few butterflies in the stomach of the lighter crews after the weather channel broadcast an insane amount of wind (I believe I saw one forecast at 25+ with gusts over 30 from a “death reach” angle). As a member of a crew with a total weight more than the boat we would be sailing (N20 “old yeller”), I wasn’t as concerned with the strength as much as the direction. With our near quarter ton of crew weight, a nice spin run would be ideal against these puny little boats and their fly-weight crews.

The rigging area was busy, despite the steady rainfall. It was a family reunion of sorts, with many notables and perennials making an appearance despite the forecast. The sociable portion of the event would have to wait as the clock ticked toward the Prep flag, and Warren is no PRO to be testing the meaning of “be punctual”.

The wind was slowly clocking around to the north and beginning to build by the start of the non-spin fleet at 11:00am. As the horn sounded, the non-spin fleet took off toward Hiram’s with no incidents and a good angle. Our turn was next, and the clouds were beginning to break indicating the frontal boundary would soon be upon us. I glanced around to find several H-16s with spinnakers rigged and Kent Cooper set up to singlehand his I-17. Yeah, good luck with that!

This event would be my teammate’s first adventure with his N20 in anything more than 12 mph breeze, and he was looking forward to finally not having to sit on the hull while everyone else was double trapped around him. Coming from a Prindle, it was also his first distance race using a spinnaker, as Macho Man was mostly a bob-fest with a close reach near the end. I could see his excitement tempered with a bit of trepidation, and I knew this race in particular was perfect for him: Near flat water, land on all sides, straight run south.

So with my trusty Target $4.25 egg timer (with large display, big buttons, and loud beeps for old farts) counting down, we lined up in front of Performance Sail & Sport. Nervous glances were shot about as the jibs flapped noisily in the building north breeze. The countdown was on! 3..2..1 and Forrest gave the boat a healthy shove, almost sending it off without me (did I mention he’s a big dude?). Game on!

It’s always fun to see who makes the “crazy” move first. In this case, it would be who sets the spinnaker first, and when. Prudence would dictate to pass under the Eau Galle causeway first, then set up the spin. That never happens, and there was one notable year when a F-16 sailor who will go unmentioned (Matt) pops the spin, gets hammered, and practically pitchpoles under the main span of the bridge with about 10 other boats within spitting distance with no option to go around. I didn’t know he could say the “F” word that many times in 3 seconds.

Once we got our wits about us and realized (1) the wind wasn’t going to waste us like the weather channel said and (2) “everyone else was doing it”, we set the spin and shot the main span of the first causeway. We lined up in the pecking order and started to get in sync with the somewhat “spicy” puffs, which tested my crew’s ability to remember to drive off when hit with the spin up. One blown gybe forgetting this rule and we did our little “dolphin encounter” between bridge 1 and 2. Another good point about the N20, even weird pitch/flips take longer to execute than on the midget boats. Probably took a good 5 seconds to go from “downdowndowndown” to “crap” and finding a spot to climb over the high side.

While the process of righting the boat was short, it took a while for Forrest to get situated, snuff the spin, and position himself to correctly right the boat while I gave instructions from the upper daggarboard perch I had found (I am “high maintenance”  ). A fouled spin sheet later found him having to circle back and pick me (and my hat) up. A lot of firsts for us during this “maneuver”: First time he flipped with spin up, first time we used the righting line, first time I have been separated from a boat (good thing I had my phone, a PFD, and a shoreline within ½ mile).

Fifteen minutes is a lot of ground to make up in a race that ended up lasting little more than 2 hours, but we were having a grand time doing it. The wind had built a bit to middle teens with puffs, and the leaders had outrun the frontal boundary and were forced to contend with lighter airs. So we dialed up and started gaining ground again.

The big fat spin on Old Yeller proved to be an asset, allowing us to drive almost straight down the river rather than the endless zig-zagging we saw the puny boats (and their flat-cut sails) engaged in. That looked like a whole lot of work as we trucked past the various boats down the line with GPS speeds topping 22 mph. When all was said and done, I believe we placed fourth over the line on Saturday. A “Haul” it was….

CARNAGE REPORT – surprisingly little damage in what turned out to be idyllic downwind conditions. A broken spin pole mentioned before on Mr. Bonifait’s boat and a notable F-16 sailor (A.K.A “Curb Feeler” from another daggarboard incident in a prior Hiram’s) proved that epoxy and rocks don’t mix, but do make for good photo opportunites at the finish.

The party at dinner Saturday night was a bit subdued from years past, most likely due to the forecast for near nuclear conditions on Sunday. The midget LITTLE boat group was having their usual salad and diet water to keep their anorexic shape, while we dined on the ½ kg. deep-fried bacon & cheese burger. I had them put a piece of lettuce on there just so the rest of the table wouldn’t cry themselves to sleep. Oh, and the peanut-butter chocolate cheesecake was good, too. I had two.

Judging from the bar tab and the loss to UGA by the Gators, it looked as if the local Law Enforcement would sleep easy knowing they wouldn’t have to respond to noise complaints, activities involving farm animals, or pole dancing in hotel lobbies (Public Service Announcement – please support single moms). Pulling excuse #37 – my kids can’t witness this sort of debauchery because I can’t afford the therapy bills, I hit the pillow at a downright respectable hour with a wary eye to the flag flapping loudly in the building breeze.

My first clue that Sunday would be “zesty” was all my sailing gear had blown off the railing where it was perched to dry out the evening before. The temperature was cooler, but still “hot” for you northerners (low 70’s F) so the front had continued on south but the clouds had remained. I could see steady whitecaps on the river from my hotel room. I received a verbal summary of the weather channel’s forecast: The front was backing up and we would be looking at 25+ with gusts out of NE. I checked my WU source, which showed a bit more conservative conditions (19 holding until 15:00 hours and then 16). Either way, good times were indeed ahead.

The non-spin fleet found solace from the wind before the start to leeward of a spoil island behind the starting area. Genius, I thought to myself. Definitely beats drifting around with the sails flogging for 10 minutes. Kent, the consummate sailor, joined us with his I-17 and was surprisingly upbeat considering he’d be driving all by himself with lots of lines to handle, but I guess he did it Saturday with the spin up, so he’s pretty good at handling himself. But today was probably 5-10mph more breeze.

And we’re off! Right on time again thanks to Warren our PRO. A sketchy start for us trying to dial in the boat all while avoiding the rocks Matt found for us yesterday and figuring out which place to shoot eastward to get into the main river area. Choppy conditions from the Sebastian Inlet fetch made for a wet first setup being low-trapped and it took us a minute or two to find good sail settings. I chose to drive this day because there was no practical way for my string-beany arms and sunken chest to saw the main all day. And, Forrest makes one hell of a splash-guard. I called for some mast rotator on, and was told that the line pulled through entirely. Oops. Guess we can try this with the rotator off, since sending anyone to the low side at this point would surely spell some sort of disaster. So, downhaul on, daggers ½ up, traveler down, and away we go.

Not much to say about Sunday, since it went by so quickly. Mr. Bonifait was on fire, attempting to vindicate himself for having taken a hacksaw to his boat the afternoon before. Ding was in “marriage saver” mode, preferring to be a bit more conservative in order to avoid the beating he’d take from Precious if he fell off the back. She’s a trooper on par with the best, and I’d sail with her anytime (I do believe she helped me beat Ding in a regatta once) but discretion is the better part of valor. He gets man-card bonus points for that. Curb-feelers was dialing in as well, but once we hauled our 445 lbs out on the wire, it was all over but the whining.

Yes, it is possible to slack the WINDWARD shroud in 18 mph breeze, just in case you want to know. And the “outdated” platform hauled the mail straight and true despite questionable sail trim which we didn’t have time to correct in the 120 minute run up the 32 mile course. Only once did I feel the gen-1 rudders start to cavitate when we were hearing the 22 knot hum, and it was probably because we needed to sit a bit further back on the bus. As soon as I find that cable, I intend to download our GPS track to see how fast we really went in some of those puffs. It felt like we were skipping across the water a few times between the bridges.

And if this sounds like a marketing pitch for the N20, it is. As “outdated” as some find the design & sail plan, it’s still a well thought-out boat that handles a wide variety of crew weight, weather, and racing formats. It’s a downright shame that they don’t make them anymore. I think it discriminates against middle-aged fat guys. Isn’t there a law against that?
Posted By: mini

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 10/31/11 04:43 PM

Craig posted the video from Day1

Look about 4 +min into it. Some sorry butt 20C pitch has nothing on this.

www.sailseries.com

Posted By: ksurfer2

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 10/31/11 04:52 PM

Originally Posted by waterbug_wpb
Well, seems our old friend Capt'n Hiram teamed up with Scott & Warren to cook up a double helping of near fantastic conditions for both spin and non-spin boats.

At this fourteenth running of the event, the Weather Channel was pretty much flat-wrong AGAIN about conditions, and it was weather underground that came closest to the time/direction/strength of the wind.

I would suspect there were a few butterflies in the stomach of the lighter crews after the weather channel broadcast an insane amount of wind (I believe I saw one forecast at 25+ with gusts over 30 from a “death reach” angle). As a member of a crew with a total weight more than the boat we would be sailing (N20 “old yeller”), I wasn’t as concerned with the strength as much as the direction. With our near quarter ton of crew weight, a nice spin run would be ideal against these puny little boats and their fly-weight crews.

The rigging area was busy, despite the steady rainfall. It was a family reunion of sorts, with many notables and perennials making an appearance despite the forecast. The sociable portion of the event would have to wait as the clock ticked toward the Prep flag, and Warren is no PRO to be testing the meaning of “be punctual”.

The wind was slowly clocking around to the north and beginning to build by the start of the non-spin fleet at 11:00am. As the horn sounded, the non-spin fleet took off toward Hiram’s with no incidents and a good angle. Our turn was next, and the clouds were beginning to break indicating the frontal boundary would soon be upon us. I glanced around to find several H-16s with spinnakers rigged and Kent Cooper set up to singlehand his I-17. Yeah, good luck with that!

This event would be my teammate’s first adventure with his N20 in anything more than 12 mph breeze, and he was looking forward to finally not having to sit on the hull while everyone else was double trapped around him. Coming from a Prindle, it was also his first distance race using a spinnaker, as Macho Man was mostly a bob-fest with a close reach near the end. I could see his excitement tempered with a bit of trepidation, and I knew this race in particular was perfect for him: Near flat water, land on all sides, straight run south.

So with my trusty Target $4.25 egg timer (with large display, big buttons, and loud beeps for old farts) counting down, we lined up in front of Performance Sail & Sport. Nervous glances were shot about as the jibs flapped noisily in the building north breeze. The countdown was on! 3..2..1 and Forrest gave the boat a healthy shove, almost sending it off without me (did I mention he’s a big dude?). Game on!

It’s always fun to see who makes the “crazy” move first. In this case, it would be who sets the spinnaker first, and when. Prudence would dictate to pass under the Eau Galle causeway first, then set up the spin. That never happens, and there was one notable year when a F-16 sailor who will go unmentioned (Matt) pops the spin, gets hammered, and practically pitchpoles under the main span of the bridge with about 10 other boats within spitting distance with no option to go around. I didn’t know he could say the “F” word that many times in 3 seconds.

Once we got our wits about us and realized (1) the wind wasn’t going to waste us like the weather channel said and (2) “everyone else was doing it”, we set the spin and shot the main span of the first causeway. We lined up in the pecking order and started to get in sync with the somewhat “spicy” puffs, which tested my crew’s ability to remember to drive off when hit with the spin up. One blown gybe forgetting this rule and we did our little “dolphin encounter” between bridge 1 and 2. Another good point about the N20, even weird pitch/flips take longer to execute than on the midget boats. Probably took a good 5 seconds to go from “downdowndowndown” to “crap” and finding a spot to climb over the high side.

While the process of righting the boat was short, it took a while for Forrest to get situated, snuff the spin, and position himself to correctly right the boat while I gave instructions from the upper daggarboard perch I had found (I am “high maintenance”  ). A fouled spin sheet later found him having to circle back and pick me (and my hat) up. A lot of firsts for us during this “maneuver”: First time he flipped with spin up, first time we used the righting line, first time I have been separated from a boat (good thing I had my phone, a PFD, and a shoreline within ½ mile).

Fifteen minutes is a lot of ground to make up in a race that ended up lasting little more than 2 hours, but we were having a grand time doing it. The wind had built a bit to middle teens with puffs, and the leaders had outrun the frontal boundary and were forced to contend with lighter airs. So we dialed up and started gaining ground again.

The big fat spin on Old Yeller proved to be an asset, allowing us to drive almost straight down the river rather than the endless zig-zagging we saw the puny boats (and their flat-cut sails) engaged in. That looked like a whole lot of work as we trucked past the various boats down the line with GPS speeds topping 22 mph. When all was said and done, I believe we placed fourth over the line on Saturday. A “Haul” it was….

CARNAGE REPORT – surprisingly little damage in what turned out to be idyllic downwind conditions. A broken spin pole mentioned before on Mr. Bonifait’s boat and a notable F-16 sailor (A.K.A “Curb Feeler” from another daggarboard incident in a prior Hiram’s) proved that epoxy and rocks don’t mix, but do make for good photo opportunites at the finish.

The party at dinner Saturday night was a bit subdued from years past, most likely due to the forecast for near nuclear conditions on Sunday. The midget LITTLE boat group was having their usual salad and diet water to keep their anorexic shape, while we dined on the ½ kg. deep-fried bacon & cheese burger. I had them put a piece of lettuce on there just so the rest of the table wouldn’t cry themselves to sleep. Oh, and the peanut-butter chocolate cheesecake was good, too. I had two.

Judging from the bar tab and the loss to UGA by the Gators, it looked as if the local Law Enforcement would sleep easy knowing they wouldn’t have to respond to noise complaints, activities involving farm animals, or pole dancing in hotel lobbies (Public Service Announcement – please support single moms). Pulling excuse #37 – my kids can’t witness this sort of debauchery because I can’t afford the therapy bills, I hit the pillow at a downright respectable hour with a wary eye to the flag flapping loudly in the building breeze.

My first clue that Sunday would be “zesty” was all my sailing gear had blown off the railing where it was perched to dry out the evening before. The temperature was cooler, but still “hot” for you northerners (low 70’s F) so the front had continued on south but the clouds had remained. I could see steady whitecaps on the river from my hotel room. I received a verbal summary of the weather channel’s forecast: The front was backing up and we would be looking at 25+ with gusts out of NE. I checked my WU source, which showed a bit more conservative conditions (19 holding until 15:00 hours and then 16). Either way, good times were indeed ahead.

The non-spin fleet found solace from the wind before the start to leeward of a spoil island behind the starting area. Genius, I thought to myself. Definitely beats drifting around with the sails flogging for 10 minutes. Kent, the consummate sailor, joined us with his I-17 and was surprisingly upbeat considering he’d be driving all by himself with lots of lines to handle, but I guess he did it Saturday with the spin up, so he’s pretty good at handling himself. But today was probably 5-10mph more breeze.

And we’re off! Right on time again thanks to Warren our PRO. A sketchy start for us trying to dial in the boat all while avoiding the rocks Matt found for us yesterday and figuring out which place to shoot eastward to get into the main river area. Choppy conditions from the Sebastian Inlet fetch made for a wet first setup being low-trapped and it took us a minute or two to find good sail settings. I chose to drive this day because there was no practical way for my string-beany arms and sunken chest to saw the main all day. And, Forrest makes one hell of a splash-guard. I called for some mast rotator on, and was told that the line pulled through entirely. Oops. Guess we can try this with the rotator off, since sending anyone to the low side at this point would surely spell some sort of disaster. So, downhaul on, daggers ½ up, traveler down, and away we go.

Not much to say about Sunday, since it went by so quickly. Mr. Bonifait was on fire, attempting to vindicate himself for having taken a hacksaw to his boat the afternoon before. Ding was in “marriage saver” mode, preferring to be a bit more conservative in order to avoid the beating he’d take from Precious if he fell off the back. She’s a trooper on par with the best, and I’d sail with her anytime (I do believe she helped me beat Ding in a regatta once) but discretion is the better part of valor. He gets man-card bonus points for that. Curb-feelers was dialing in as well, but once we hauled our 445 lbs out on the wire, it was all over but the whining.

Yes, it is possible to slack the WINDWARD shroud in 18 mph breeze, just in case you want to know. And the “outdated” platform hauled the mail straight and true despite questionable sail trim which we didn’t have time to correct in the 120 minute run up the 32 mile course. Only once did I feel the gen-1 rudders start to cavitate when we were hearing the 22 knot hum, and it was probably because we needed to sit a bit further back on the bus. As soon as I find that cable, I intend to download our GPS track to see how fast we really went in some of those puffs. It felt like we were skipping across the water a few times between the bridges.

And if this sounds like a marketing pitch for the N20, it is. As “outdated” as some find the design & sail plan, it’s still a well thought-out boat that handles a wide variety of crew weight, weather, and racing formats. It’s a downright shame that they don’t make them anymore. I think it discriminates against middle-aged fat guys. Isn’t there a law against that?


Holy crap Stank....are there Cliff Notes to this novel????
Posted By: pgp

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 10/31/11 05:14 PM

Good read, thanks!
Posted By: pgp

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 10/31/11 05:28 PM

Great video!
Posted By: waterbug_wpb

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 10/31/11 06:35 PM

For karl:

We went that way really fast. Then we came back

De end
Posted By: Matt M

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 10/31/11 06:39 PM

Originally Posted by waterbug_wpb
For karl:

We went that way really fast. Then we came back

De end


Don't you mean Karla? Afterall lady luck broke Karla's pole
Posted By: David Ingram

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 10/31/11 06:53 PM

Originally Posted by Matt M
Originally Posted by waterbug_wpb
For karl:

We went that way really fast. Then we came back

De end


Don't you mean Karla? Afterall lady luck broke Karla's pole


Hey, I'm impressed that post is as readable as it is considering I posted it using my phone and I might have had a rum drink in me. Maybe Karla was a typo maybe it wasn't, it still works nicely don't you think?

Posted By: David Ingram

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 10/31/11 06:55 PM

Originally Posted by ksurfer2


Oh.....JC's old course record is now toast.

New record: 31 miles in 1 hour 34 minutes 17 seconds!!!!


Hey tough guy, did you do that all by yourself? How about some props for the guy that was pulling strings for you.
Posted By: ksurfer2

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 10/31/11 07:06 PM

Dave's right.....Mark was an animal on the strings and Sunday was all about the string puller, I just held the tiller straight. Props to him and especially to Sweetness for stepping up and sailing with Dave freeing up Mark to sub in for Beth who was sick.
Posted By: waterbug_wpb

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 10/31/11 08:35 PM

Just watched that video of the hacksaw and the spin pole.

That is wrong....on so many levels.
Posted By: tback

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 11/01/11 12:23 AM

Anyone have results with elapsed times and corrected times?
Posted By: Team_Cat_Fever

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 11/01/11 02:11 AM

Originally Posted by mini
Craig posted the video from Day1

Look about 4 +min into it. Some sorry butt 20C pitch has nothing on this.

www.sailseries.com


That was wicked violent. Seems that stuff always happens on a nice,fast, bearaway.
Posted By: waterbug_wpb

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 11/01/11 02:49 PM

Yeah, video of Matt's pirouette is definitely an "agony of defeat" kind of shot...
Posted By: ThunderMuffin

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 11/01/11 03:24 PM

I cringed when I saw that as I hoped that beautiful boat of Matt's wasn't too damaged.

Is that an "undocumented rock"?
Posted By: waterbug_wpb

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 11/01/11 05:32 PM

Originally Posted by Undecided
Is that an "undocumented rock"?


well, it was until you watch the video...

it was your kind of race, dude... thrill ride both days.
Posted By: ThunderMuffin

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 11/01/11 05:41 PM

I know.

I was at my desk on Saturday from 9am till 6pm working.

I was walking around like a defeated man all weekend, moping to myself.

But when the boss tells you that your project had to be working by monday, and its friday, that leaves little room for wiggle.
Posted By: waterbug_wpb

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 11/01/11 07:35 PM

http://www.metatube.com/en/videos/1...Ahead-And-Come-In-On-Saturday/player.swf
Posted By: Mlcreek

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 11/04/11 05:50 PM

Final Results. Second day video is up also;

Overall

Race Day 1 Race Day 2
Skipper/Crew Boat Sail # DPN Elapsed Time Corr. Time Elapsed Time Corr. Time Total Corr. Pos.
Karl Langefeld/Mark Herendeen F18/Infusion 676 62.4 2:17:34 3:40:28 1:34:17 2:31:06 6:11:33 1
David Ingram/Kathy Ingram F18/C2 USA242 62.4 2:13:07 3:33:20 1:43:16 2:45:29 6:18:49 2
Matt McDonald/Dan Jarretti F16/Falcon 2256 63 2:16:04 3:35:59 1:48:40 2:52:29 6:28:28 3
Forrest Lockliear/Jay Roth I20 US645 59.3 2:21:02 3:57:50 1:42:08 2:52:14 6:50:04 4
Kent Cooper N17U 10 66.7 2:38:43 3:57:57 2:07:35 3:11:17 7:09:14 5
Steve Craemer/Jim OLeary H16/Spin 105333 73.9 3:11:41 4:19:23 2:15:44 3:03:40 7:23:03 6
Peter Holman/Will Holman H16 104580 76 3:38:19 4:47:16 2:22:23 3:07:21 7:54:36 7
Dick MacDonald/Linda MacDonald N5.8 910 66.6 3:19:53 5:00:08 2:08:00 3:12:12 8:12:19 8
Mike Hadley/Angie Hadley Hget 3 83.3 4:17:15 5:08:49 2:36:02 3:07:19 8:16:08 9
Dave Norvel/David Norvel jr. H-18 15722 71.4 3:38:44 5:06:21 2:26:33 3:25:15 8:31:36 10
Kristen Beggs/Terry Ball F-16 733 63.3 3:28:39 5:31:11 2:00:27 3:11:11 8:42:23 11
Jim Mcewan/Drey Willis Hget 7 83.3 4:24:47 5:17:52 2:51:50 3:26:17 8:44:09 12
Ed Crittenden/Lori Mahoney Hget 8 83.3 4:09:32 4:59:34 3:39:36 4:23:38 9:23:11 13
George Harrison/Jeanne Duce H16/Spin 112310 73.9 3:00:42 4:04:31 4:01:40 5:27:01 9:31:32 14
Frank Dawson/Will Moore N5.2 2 72.1 3:02:20 4:12:53 DNS 15
John Ferrentino/Ken Lotze H18Mag 9118 71.4 4:34:36 6:24:36 DNS 16



Non-Spin

Peter Holman/Will Holman H16 104580 76 3:38:19 4:47:16 2:22:23 3:07:21 7:54:36 1
Dick MacDonald/Linda MacDonald N5.8 910 66.6 3:19:53 5:00:08 2:08:00 3:12:12 8:12:19 2
Mike Hadley/Angie Hadley H-Getaway 3 83.3 4:17:15 5:08:49 2:36:02 3:07:19 8:16:08 3
Dave Norvel/David Norvel jr. H-18 15722 71.4 3:38:44 5:06:21 2:26:33 3:25:15 8:31:36 4
Jim Mcewan/Drey Willis H-Getaway 7 83.3 4:24:47 5:17:52 2:51:50 3:26:17 8:44:09 5
Ed Crittenden/Lori Mahoney H-Getaway 8 83.3 4:09:32 4:59:34 3:39:36 4:23:38 9:23:11 6
John Ferrentino/Ken Lotze H18Mag 9118 71.4 4:34:36 6:24:36 DNS 7
Posted By: Dan B

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 11/05/11 02:42 AM

For any who would like to see the photos from the race check the following link.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/big_ds_images/
Posted By: cyberspeed

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 11/05/11 05:16 AM

Good Stuff!

Now we need to see Brian Karr's video. I know he got some good footage and his editing skills are a lot better than mine.
Posted By: TheManShed

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 11/06/11 02:56 PM

Great job Craig. Would have been fun to have made the race. Cold up here in New Jersey!
Posted By: cyberspeed

Re: Hiram's Haul is This Weekend! - 11/08/11 01:18 AM

Hi Mike,

Man what great sailing conditions. By the end of the weekend, I was really sorry I was not out on a boat. Spin run down and a beam reach back up. Doesn't get any better than that.

I redid the Day 1 video adding the start and music.I have been dealing with a lot of family issues along with work. I want to do a highlights and photo gallery but having trouble finding time.
© 2024 Catsailor.com Forums