Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Strange Sinking Feeling


I have a strange sinking feeling. No, not literally sinking. Just an inkling that today I'm going to discover that something really bad happened to my boat at the weekend.

The weather at the weekend was awful. High winds and driving rain. There was a slight reduction in the wind on Sunday afternoon and apparently half a dozen hardy souls actually went Laser racing at Newport. But not me. I stayed at home.

Yesterday evening I received an email from the fleet captain...

The wind gusted into the 50s on Saturday night and knocked more than a few Lasers off their dollies. A few were tossed quite a distance and sustained some serious damage. At least two were all but totaled. By the time the Laser fleet had arrived the parents of the Opti kids had put the boats back on their dollies. So we don't know exactly which boats were damaged. If you can, get down to Sail Newport during the week and give your boat the once over... the word is 12 or so boats were off kilter.

Uh oh. I need to pay a visit to Sail Newport today and check my boat out.

I have a strange sinking feeling that I'm not going to like what I find.

18 comments:

Simon Jermy said...

Good luck. Hope your boat is still in one piece!

JP said...

Good luck - sorry for whoever's boat got damaged.

Sam Chapin said...

Yes, we had one blow off th dollie and hit a tree= big hole in the boat. Depends on what it hits.

We have three folks that tie the boats down to ground anchors. Pain for the rest of us because they are not easily moved.

Maybe if they werre all tied to dollie, that would give a better base. Question of better protection if the whole thing rolls?

Look for a place a little more protected from the wind?

Take that baby home and hang it in the garage.

I think it lite in a snow bank and is just fine!

Tillerman said...

Thanks Sam. At my previous frostbiting club we used to tie all the boats down to concrete blocks, but not here. I was wondering about whether tying it to the dollie would help... a bit of extra weight and at least it won't land on the bottom of the hull after taking flight. My boat is pretty much in the middle of the boat park that is tightly packed with Lasers, so it is as protected from the winds as it can be... unless of course some other boat went flying and landed on it.

I think your last advice is the best. Next year I will keep the boat at home, which also gives me the flexibility to sail at another nearby Laser fleet on Saturdays if I want to.

pfb360 said...

Best wishes on a finding your boat in a favorable condition!

O'Docker said...

I wouldn't go down to the boat just yet.

Today, the sons of St. Patrick will be finding other salves for their fears and anxieties.

Perhaps, you should join them.

callsign222 said...

I don't know what year your Laser is, I'm guessing it's probably newer than older...

Let me just say I lost my 1970 era (#194) boat off the roof of my car pulling a U-turn. She came sliding off the roof, took out my side view mirror, bounced, rolled upright, and looked very indignant at me as I came jumping out of my car.

Except for some cracked sections along the rail, she was sound. Resilient!

I hope you find your boat cocooned in a bubble of protection! Good luck!

Pat said...

Just do as we do.

If you put 1900 pounds of lead on the bottom of your boat, then you should have no fear of the wind tipping the boat and dolly over... or if it does, then the whole neighborhood has bigger problems.

Now you might get a strange sinking feeling about your boat's performance, but, hey, all boat adjustments involve a few tradeoffs, do they not?

Fungod said...

Let us know the status of your boat! Hope she is fine.

Baydog said...

What's the verdict, Tillerman? Hopefully nothing more needed than a little windex or rubbing compound.

EscapeVelocity said...

Hope all's well. No fun having your boat get wrecked when you're not even on it.

bonnie said...

Oh dear. Good luck, hope all's well or at least fixable.

Such a nice weekend forecast too. I started agitating for a Saturday cruise today & already have 3 takers!

bowsprite said...

how is she? how is you? all well, I hope!

Tillerman said...

Thanks to everyone for your concerns. My boat is fine, thanks.

bonnie said...

Oh, good!

JP said...

Good news!

O Docker said...

Whew! Close call. I hope you didn't drink a lot of alcohol for no good reason.

Tillerman said...

I never drink a lot of alcohol for no good reason. There's always a good reason.

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