Re: Yacht Design Considrations (Chris C) (Was Bill Lapworth and Jack Jensen)
--- In Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com, "Bruce Stirling" <bruce@...> wrote:
>
>
> > mtkennedy1 wrote:
>
> It went over in a jibe broach and stayed down. I had to climb the cockpit
> backrests to get to the high side and release the vang. It came back up and
> away we went.
>
> .
> Mike, and others,
>
> I really enjoy reading your tales of adventure on the high seas. I read
> them to Debbie and it scares the hell out of us trying to imagine being in a
> similar situation. But help me out here, what does "releasing the vang" do
> to help get the boat back up?
The boat rolls over and jibes but the main is held by a vang-preventer. When you are
running near dead-down, there is a risk of accidental jibe. If it is windy, a jibing boom can
knock you overboard or even kill. I was in a rare windy Newport Beach race in the late
eighties where a guy on another boat was knocked in the head by a jibing boom in about
25 knots of wind. They hauled him out of the water but he was dead. Probably drowned
and was unconscious when he went in.
We had rigged the multi-purchase vang as a preventer by attaching it to a pad eye near
the rail. Even in a boat with a rigid or hydraulic vang, we rig a preventer when running on a
broad reach.
Anyway, the boat jibed and went flat in the water. The wind was holding the mast down
because the main was up in the air and pushing us down. We were side-on to the wind
which was about 25-30. I had to get to the vang-preventer and release it so the boom and
mainsail could fall down and let the mast come up. To do that, I had to climb the cockpit
by grabbing the backrests. It took about a half a minute but it seems longer at the time.
The newer boats are so fast that you rarely get the apparent wind aft of the beam. That's
why the asymmetricals work on them. Even in the Choate 40 we never trimmed the pole
much aft of 45 degrees. The true wind would be 150 but the apparent about 90. We were
doing 15 knots in 25 to 30 knots of true wind. A Yankee 38 wouldn't go over 12 no matter
how hard it blew. The main was trying to go faster than the hull, hence the squirrel chase.
I'd read somewhere about immediately swimming
> to the top of the mast with a lifejacket to keep the boat from going turtle.
> I've never experienced trying to right a boat after laying her over, not
> even a Hobie. I once thought that a good thing, but I envy your
> experience.
Once is enough. Mike Jr is the expert on dismasting and I hope it stays that way.
Mike Kennedy
Conquest Cal 40 # 96