Received: from hplms26.hpl.hp.com by opus.hpl.hp.com with SMTP (1.37.109.8/15.5+ECS 3.3+HPL1.1) id AA27942; Thu, 16 Jun 1994 15:52:11 -0700 Return-Path: <robertn@corsair.esd.sgi.com-DeleteThis> Received: from sgigate.SGI.COM by hplms26.hpl.hp.com with SMTP (1.36.108.4/15.5+ECS 3.3+HPL1.1S) id AA02990; Thu, 16 Jun 1994 15:54:09 -0700 Received: from relay.sgi.com (relay.sgi.com [192.26.51.36]) by sgigate.sgi.com (8.6.4/8.6.4) with SMTP id PAA19424; Thu, 16 Jun 1994 15:48:24 -0700 Received: from corsair.esd.sgi.com by relay.sgi.com via SMTP (920330.SGI/920502.SGI) for @sgigate.sgi.com:wind_talk@opus.hpl.hp.com-DeleteThis id AA29728; Thu, 16 Jun 94 15:48:21 -0700 Received: by corsair.esd.sgi.com (931110.SGI/930416.SGI.AUTO.esd) for @relay.sgi.com:wind_talk@opus.hpl.hp.com-DeleteThis id AA07778; Thu, 16 Jun 94 15:48:14 -0700 From: "Robert Novak" <robertn@corsair.esd.sgi.com-DeleteThis> Message-Id: <9406161548.ZM7776@corsair.esd.sgi.com-DeleteThis> Date: Thu, 16 Jun 1994 15:48:13 -0700 In-Reply-To: Will Estes <westes@usc.com-DeleteThis> "Re: lucky to be alive today" (Jun 16, 10:24am) References: <9406161714.AA00716@usc.com-DeleteThis> X-Mailer: Z-Mail (3.1.0 22feb94 MediaMail) To: wind_talk@opus.hpl.hp.com-DeleteThis Subject: Re: lucky to be alive today Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
On Jun 16, 10:24am, Will Estes wrote:
> Subject: Re: lucky to be alive today
> Wow, sounds you suffered the ultimate doomsday scenario for a windsurfer, or
> at least pretty close.
>
> Facing the middle of the channel and the arch in the San Mateo Bridge,
> where were you located? So that the rest of us know, where is this
> maintenance boat located?
I swam to the east side of the main span. right where the pilings start.
There is no place to climb up east of where the pilings start. Keep in mind
that it's also barnicle city. I was really scared to swim near the pilings
because the surge is so intense and you can easliy get slammed.
I hope nobody needs this info:
1. the power switch is located inside the engine compartment on the aft deck of
the maint.
2. the left right cabin window can slide open with a little convincing.
3. the Coast Guard can be reached on channel 16 and you'll need to switch to 22
for further communication.
>
> If you were really concerned that the tide would change on you quickly,
> why didn't you swim toward shore, at least until you got out of the channel
> and onto the mud flats (I think the border for the channel is right around
> where the channel marker is located). The tide is a little less there
> because the water is shallower.
I was on the far side of the channel and the wind and waves were forcing me to
the east side of the bridge.
I wasn't sure how far the mud flats were east of my position. Actually I was
in no position to fight the waves anyway. As it was the waves were capping on
me. Any attempt swim sideways to the wave would have taken a lot of energy.
I was also thinking about how long I would last in the water. My wetsuit was
only 2mm. I'm not sure how long I would last before I was too cramped up to
keep swimming or tread water.
I was lining up one of the power towers behind the bridge with the bridge to
get an indication of wether or not I was making forward progress or if the tide
had started to ebb and was pulling me back into the channel. If I was getting
pulled out I would see no other alternative but to head for the mud flats on
the east side of the bay.
>
> I've read in one of the local windsurfing guides that the vicinity of the
bridge
> itself has a lot of pilings. Are these distributed uniformly along the
> length of the bridge, or are there more in a particular area of the
> bridge?
>
>
> 'Robert Novak says:'
> > 4. tether the mast to the board.
>
> I've always wanted to do this this, but any time I try the rig starts to
> twist the line around the mast base, and it ends up restricting how much I
> can turn the mast. What is the proper way to do this?
>
> Based on discussions we have had on rec.windsurfing, I get the feeling that
> this board-running problem isn't the only danger in sub-4.5 wind. There
> are reports of the entire rig tumbling end-over-end in really high winds.
> To be honest, in 3.9 conditions I would almost be tempted to tether the
> *board* to my *leg* the way a surfer does. It would be dangerous if you
> needed to ditch the rig during a big jump, but maybe you could get one of
> those retractable dog tethers that would automatically go out 30 yards when
> stretchted. Then you could fetch the board back in once you landed. But
> at least you would never lost the board.
>
> Does anyone know where you can get one of these retractable dog tethers?
> I've seen them in mail-order catalogs, but I can't remember which ones
> now.
>
>
> > I'm so lucky that I was able to get to the bridge before the tide changed.
>
> I would say you are just lucky, period. A very scary story.
>
> --
> Thanks,
> Will Estes Internet: westes@usc.com-DeleteThis
> U.S. Computer Saratoga, CA 95070
>
>
>-- End of excerpt from Will Estes
-- -- robert novak 415-390-2603 -- robertn@corsair.esd.sgi.com-DeleteThis -- -- "It's a dog eat dog world and I'm wearing milkbone underwear" -- - Norm Peterson
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