"Mission control, we have a problem"

From: Justin Gordon (justin@booza.mcm.com-DeleteThis)
Date: Wed Sep 13 1995 - 16:06:20 PDT


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Date: Wed, 13 Sep 1995 16:06:20 -0700
From: justin@booza.mcm.com-DeleteThis (Justin Gordon)
Message-Id: <9509132306.AA25463@booza.mcm.com-DeleteThis>
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To: wind_talk@opus.hpl.hp.com-DeleteThis, jr@booza.mcm.com-DeleteThis, amir.khosrowshahi@gs.com-DeleteThis
Subject: "Mission control, we have a problem"
Cc: justin@booza.mcm.com-DeleteThis
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Crissy report, Tue.
Good wind on a big sail and big board, fog came in around 6:30, shutting
down the wind on the inside. It was a good session until...

Until yesterday evening, I felt completely safe at Crissy on my Sputnik 285 and
a big sail. Even if the wind dies, I have been able to sail back to
shore in almost no wind. I often sail to dark and sometimes and I am
the last one to shore.

At about 7:10 last night, I was about a half mile out from Anita Rock.
There were a couple of sailors still out, but none anywhere near me.
With darkness falling, I was intentionally sailing pretty close to shore.
I went for a port tack, fell, and then to my horror, saw that my rig
had separated from my board. It was still windy enough that somebody
could tow me, but I had to find somebody. Luckily, Dianne Portnoy(?) saw
me, sailed over, and decided that her 4.7 would not be large enough to
tow me. She managed to find Adam Darieau, a proficient racer, who was sailing
a 6.3 VX and a floaty Mike's Lab. He sailed out to me. I had already
tied the base of my sail to my tow plug at the nose of the board. With the
extra cord, Adam started to tow me. At first, the sail was floundering on
the sides and underneath the board, creating tremendous drag. I managed
to lay the boom on the top of the board, with the base up a the nose of the
board. This helped greatly.

Not only did I break down minutes before dark, but I found out today that
it was at peak ebb of 4.3 knots! Adam managed to tow me just west of the old
Coast Guard station, where I swam the last 50 yards in complete darkness.
I was very happy when I stepped on solid ground. :-)

Just then, a coast guard boat appeared. They asked Adam if he would be okay.
Adam sailed back to Crissy in the dark, against the ebb!

As I walked east down the beach toward the parking lot, I could see a car
pull into the Coast Guard parking lot. It was Dianne. She gave me a ride
back Crissy. We were a bit worried about Adam, but he quickly arrived safely.

If this accident had happened 15 minutes earlier, when I had made a few reaches
out toward the north tower, what would have happened? I could have ended up drifting
in the darkness and fog to Point Bonita. By some fate, this did not happen.

Also, I was lucky that I was carrying safety line. Without this piece of line,
which weighed less than a couple ounces, and fit inside the pocket of my harness,
the tow would have been impossible.

I looked closely at my base. The bolt which holds the rubber hour-glass
broke. I've only used this base a bit over one season, and not
all the time.

Has anybody else had this bolt break?

How could I have prevented this?

Is there any way to self rescue when this happens? I thought about tying the base
to the mast track, but with darkness within 15 minutes, I choose the tow.

What is the preferred placement and attachement for the rig when being towed.
Once I got the boom on top of the board, drag seem minimal. However, this position
was a bit awkward. With only one piece of rope, I don't know if I had any
option.

What is the best safety kit? Should I make my own or buy a pre-built one?
Where is the best place to buy a water-proof strobe? I think that I might want to
carry one of these in the future.

Lastly, many thanks to Adam and Dianne. By looking out for each other, we
avoid a potentially hazardous situation.

Justin

-----------------------------
Justin Gordon
195 lb., Bic Saxo 265 (71L), F2 Sputnik 285 (115L),
Sailworks Bravo 5.5 and 6.0, Prisma 6.8

email: justin@mcm.com-DeleteThis _/_/_/_/_/ _/_/_/_/ _/_/_/_/_/
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