Re: Rescuer Rescued

From: Allen H Zimmermann (allen.zimmermann@gte.net-DeleteThis.com)
Date: Thu Jun 12 2003 - 16:28:37 PDT


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From: "Allen H Zimmermann" <allen.zimmermann@gte.net-DeleteThis.com>
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Subject: Re: Rescuer Rescued
Date: Thu, 12 Jun 2003 16:28:37 -0700
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any marine store (like West Marine)
----- Original Message -----
From: <daddy@ilovemaggie.co.uk-DeleteThis.com>
To: "Multiple recipients of list WIND_TALK"
<wind_talk@opus.labs.agilent.com-DeleteThis.com>
Sent: Thursday, June 12, 2003 3:35 PM
Subject: Re: Rescuer Rescued

> flares ... where do you shop for them...online? -----Original
> Message----- From : Lev Brouk <levb@yahoo.com-DeleteThis.com> To : Multiple
> recipients of list WIND_TALK <wind_talk@opus.labs.agilent.com-DeleteThis.com> Date
> : 11 June 2003 23:08:21 Subject : Re: Rescuer Rescued
>
> >Honestly, I do not why kiters would go to Crissy alltogether... I
> had >windsurfed there for over 2 seasons quite regularly, and IMO
> it's got >to be superdangerous, if not so much for kitesurfers
> themselves then >for all vessels around them. And it can't even be
> that much fun! With >the irregular offshore wind, the wind strength
> difference between all >the different \223zones\223 there, the
> choppy waters... > >I guess, in the San Francisco area there aren't
> that many nice long >sandy beaches with sideonshore winds and no
> currents, so it almost >forces the kiters to launch where they
> shouldn't. I live in France now >and here for the most part they go
> to miles-long beaches with >side-to-sideon winds, and you never see
> them going more than a few >hundred feet away offshore. > >And why
> would they? They don't need to since they don't need to work
> >upwind as hard as most windsurfers, they don't need the stronger
> winds >on the outside, and the smooth water between the waves seems
> a better >playing ground than the chop outside. > >I hate
> regulating beach usage where it comes to watersports, but maybe
> >this is a rare case where a \223no kite\223 sign would be
> appropriate? > >Disclaimer (to avoid blame :-). I do not even live
> in SF any more, so >I may not know the extent of kite beach
> shortage. BTW, I do a bit of >kiting myself, and I think I do have
> an appreciation for the issue. > >- Lev > >--- Eyes4Hire@aol.com-DeleteThis.com
> wrote: >> I was windsurfing from Crissy Field yesterday. I was
> just about a >> mile inside the Gate when I came upon a kitesurfer
> who was unable to >> fly his kite due to lack of wind. He was in
> the shipping channel >> and there was a large tanker coming inbound
> toward the Golden Gate >> Bridge. It was hard to gauge the ship's
> exact path, but it looked >> like there was good chance that the
> kitesurfer would be harms way. >> I dropped my sail and pulled out
> my radio to make a general >> broadcast warning shipping in the area
> to keep an eye out for the >> down kitesurfer. I was on wave gear
> and barely had enough wind to >> keep myself moving in the light
> wind. A few racers came by on their >> larger windsurf boards, but
> none of them were confident that they >> could tow the kiter to
> shore in the light wind. The current was >> flooding and there was
> no way that this guy would be able to swim >> back to the San
> Francisco shore before the current took him on >> toward Alcatraz
> and Treasure Island. I got back on the radio on >> channel 16 and
> hailed the Coast Guard for assistance. The >> dispatcher responded
> immediately and said they would send help. It >> wasn't clear if
> they had dispatched a boat yet, but I could see a >> 47' Coast Guard
> rescue boat moving near the Marin shoreline. The >> rescue boat was
> so far out of position that I assumed they were >> handling another
> call. I rebroadcast our position repeatedly over a >> 10-15 minute
> period to make sure that they knew we were drifting. >> During this
> time the flood current was pushing us to the east and by >> know
> were a couple of miles inside the Gate. The Coast Guard rescue >>
> boat eventually worked its way up to the Golden Gate Bridge and >>
> seemed to be moving in a search pattern. I hailed the Coast Guard
> >> on channel 16 and asked to be switched to channel 22 in hopes
> that I >> would be operating channel as the rescue boat. Once I was
> on >> channel 22, I was able to talk directly with the skipper of
> the >> rescue boat and guide him in on our position. Once the
> rescue boat >> clearly had the kiter in sight, I radioed and advised
> them that I >> would start heading for shore immediately since the
> current and the >> light wind were going to make my return to shore
> very difficult if I >> waited any longer. I had already drifted
> over a mile while I stayed >> with the kitesurfer to make sure they
> could locate him. The skipper >> told me that they would prefer to
> bring me ashore since there was >> heavy vessel traffic in the area.
> I told the skipper that I would >> start toward shore and asked that
> he catch up with assist and me if >> I was having difficulty. I
> stuffed my radio in my wetsuit and >> started sailing for shore.
> Almost immediately, I could tell that >> the light wind and the
> current would prevent from hitting the shore >> anywhere within a
> mile of Crissy Field. I turned back toward the >> kiter. The
> rescue boat had arrived and they were already at work >> loading his
> gear. I stood off at a distance of about 30' and tacked >> my board
> back and forth, waiting for my turn to load up. I had not >> made
> any further radio call since I was using both hands to sail. I >>
> assumed that my return to the scene would have made it clear that I
> >> was accepting the offer of a ride to shore. They finished
> loading >> the kiter and I started heading for the starboard side of
> the rescue >> boat where the crew had pulled the kiter up. As I was
> nearing the >> side of the boat, I heard the 450 horsepower engines
> revving up and >> the boat started moving away. At first I thought
> he might be trying >> to reposition the boat, but as he moved
> farther away, it was clear I >> was going to be on my own. I
> immediately let go of the sail and >> dropped to my knees. I waved
> my right arm from side to side >> intending to indicate that I
> needed help. The skipper happened to >> look back just at that
> moment. He raised his arm and waved a >> friendly goodbye as the
> boat picked up speed. At this point I >> realized I should have
> waved both arms to more clearly have >> indicated distress, but it
> was too late. My momentary chance had >> passed. I reached into my
> wetsuit and pulled out the radio. I >> broadcast a call on channel
> 22, advising the skipper that I needed >> assistance. There was no
> reply. I tried again. No reply. I tried >> channel 16. No reply.
> I tried for five minutes to get a response >> from the Coast Guard
> or anyone at all. No reply. I finally >> accepted the fact that
> the radio had failed. By know I had been >> pulled so far to the
> east that I wasn't sure I'd make the City even >> if I ditched my
> rig and swam for it. It seemed ironic to me that I >> might be the
> one to swim home after dark even though I was far more >> prepared
> than the kiter I had stopped to help. I was glad I had a >> strobe
> light since there wasn't much day light left. I took a good >> look
> around and over my shoulder I spotted the \223heavy vessel >>
> traffic\223 that the skipper had referred to. A cruise ship was
> headed >> outbound from the City toward the Gate. Because of the
> Coast Guards >> elevated port security, two Coast Guard vessels were
> escorting the >> cruise ship. I pulled out the one flare in my
> safety pack and >> hurriedly pulled the safety cap off. I wanted to
> get the flare off >> before while I was still somewhat in the
> forward view of the nearest >> escort vessel. I tugged the firing
> chain and the red flare shot up >> into the sky. I was surprised by
> how high it flew and how long it >> burned. It seemed like the
> performance was better than advertised. >> I watched for a minute
> or two and there was no response. I was >> hoping that their port
> security mission didn't preclude the rescue >> of stranded
> windsurfers. I figured that they might be worried that >> I was a
> diversion of some sort. After a couple of minutes, the >> smaller
> rescue boat peeled off and turned in my direction while the >>
> larger and more heavily armed cutter stayed alongside the cruise >>
> ship. The smaller boat was a rigid hull inflatable with a three-man
> >> crew. When they arrived they were very friendly. They radioed
> for >> assistance and told me that they would stand by until the
> original >> rescue boat returned since their boat was too small to
> handle my >> gear. After about five minutes in the water, the
> original rescue >> boat returned. With four crewmen helping me out,
> we were able to >> get my gear onboard quickly. They held my sail
> across the bow of >> the boat with the clew pushed up against a
> bulkhead. The skipper >> powered up and headed for Crissy Field at
> full throttle. As the >> wind pushed on the sail, the sail wanted
> to flutter with the clew >> downwind, but the tail was trapped
> against the bulkhead. As the >> wind sail pushed into the bulkhead,
> a fitting on the bulkhead tore a >> small hole through the monofilm.
> I climbed up the ladder to the fly >> bridge and asked the skipper
> if he could ease the throttles back so >> that the sail wouldn't be
> damaged any further. He was glad to >> accommodate me, and I
> finished my adventure with a leisurely ride >> back to Crissy Field.
> >> >> Peter >> >> [HTML file part2 deleted by listprocessor] >> > >
> >
>
> -- Personalised email by http://another.com



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