Ian McColgin
07-05-2009, 05:00 PM
One delay after another - rain slowing work on Marmalade, weather preventing another boat’s launch keeping us from raising the repaired mast, even a friend’s wedding kicked back getting free of Marmalade’s spring spa at the Mill Pond. Which I don’t mind as Pease is the nicest place to hang about futzing with boats.
So we failed to get ready in time to sail to Cotuit to Friday’s Oyster Harbors Club display. We had a chance to get to Hyannis for Saturday if we could get an early enough start and if the wind was at all nice. Well, we - GoodPhil and I delivered by Linda so our vehicles could be at the other end - got to the yard at 0830 but getting the new head stay finally settled - rigging cutter not up the job so had to hacksaw free hanging 3/8” 1x19 and other little details. At 1220 we were finally ready to call for a bridge opening at 1300. A good number of other boats decided to join our time and we made a nice parade out. July 4 - two solid months from our May 4 arrival.
The wind was glorious, at Near Gale (Force 7, wind about 30 knots) perhaps a tad too glorious. And right down out rhumb line out of the west. We saw lots of boats get out into Chatham Roads, take a bounce or two, and cut back. About half way to Harwich we saw a lovely little open boat, maybe 16’ gaff rigged, flying to Chatham. The wind was up and down in different places at different times and I got plenty of practice un-reefing and re-reefing between three tucks, two, for a bit only one reef and back and forth
I will write elsewhere about the design of my new lazy-lift system. I had some trepidation as to whether it could really take the stress and it surely does. It also makes the reefing part so much better.
So it was getting on to 1700 and we weren’t even at Bass River and I’d not finished hooking up compass and running lights and and and . . . So we diverted into Bass River. About half way down the line of buoys outside the jetties we saw three heads in the water, a swamped kayak, and one floating kayak with peddler. They agreed they needed help so I swung into the wind to drop sail, got the motor on, and made a PAN call.
It’s important to provide the right call with good information. PAN PAN PAN is a serious emergency but the threat to life while real is not immanent. These folk were all wearing PFDs, active and staying with the boats so while they needed help they were not a east of Dire Straights. You never know who will hear what, how clearly, how well transmissions will last, and how many will jump into the conversation, so it helps to give all information in order and repeat twice before concluding with “Over.” All responders and all real sailors keep pencil and paper by the radio so if anything interesting comes on the air it can be copied, just in case that’s a last transmission.
In this case I gave the location - 100 yards east of the Bass River channel about half way out the run of buoys outside the jetties. I gave the situation - one sunken kayak, three heads in the water, one kayak afloat attempting assistance, all people in PFDs. I concluded that we were moving east into the shallows and how to spot us - white cat boat with fat white mast.
As we eased into the shallows east of the channel two emergency responders, one from Dennis and one Yarmouth, answered our call and said they were on the way. Just after that we started dragging the board in the shallows. As I was cranking it up I saw the rescue craft come out the channel and turn east our way. I radioed I’d get on deck an point. The kayaker also saw the rescue craft and flagged with his paddle. So with help on the way, we turned back to the channel and proceeded in.
Luckily one of the boatyard crew hailed us from a dock - post race party - and was able to give Good Phil a ride back to her car. His cousin and uncle identified a mooring we could hook on and I had a generally placid night.
Got up and left Bass River at 0600. Nice enough I started with full sail but gradually shortened to one reef then two. The wind was a little less relentlessly out of the west and we made better time, arriving at Hyannis Port at 0900.
Nice first summer sail.
So we failed to get ready in time to sail to Cotuit to Friday’s Oyster Harbors Club display. We had a chance to get to Hyannis for Saturday if we could get an early enough start and if the wind was at all nice. Well, we - GoodPhil and I delivered by Linda so our vehicles could be at the other end - got to the yard at 0830 but getting the new head stay finally settled - rigging cutter not up the job so had to hacksaw free hanging 3/8” 1x19 and other little details. At 1220 we were finally ready to call for a bridge opening at 1300. A good number of other boats decided to join our time and we made a nice parade out. July 4 - two solid months from our May 4 arrival.
The wind was glorious, at Near Gale (Force 7, wind about 30 knots) perhaps a tad too glorious. And right down out rhumb line out of the west. We saw lots of boats get out into Chatham Roads, take a bounce or two, and cut back. About half way to Harwich we saw a lovely little open boat, maybe 16’ gaff rigged, flying to Chatham. The wind was up and down in different places at different times and I got plenty of practice un-reefing and re-reefing between three tucks, two, for a bit only one reef and back and forth
I will write elsewhere about the design of my new lazy-lift system. I had some trepidation as to whether it could really take the stress and it surely does. It also makes the reefing part so much better.
So it was getting on to 1700 and we weren’t even at Bass River and I’d not finished hooking up compass and running lights and and and . . . So we diverted into Bass River. About half way down the line of buoys outside the jetties we saw three heads in the water, a swamped kayak, and one floating kayak with peddler. They agreed they needed help so I swung into the wind to drop sail, got the motor on, and made a PAN call.
It’s important to provide the right call with good information. PAN PAN PAN is a serious emergency but the threat to life while real is not immanent. These folk were all wearing PFDs, active and staying with the boats so while they needed help they were not a east of Dire Straights. You never know who will hear what, how clearly, how well transmissions will last, and how many will jump into the conversation, so it helps to give all information in order and repeat twice before concluding with “Over.” All responders and all real sailors keep pencil and paper by the radio so if anything interesting comes on the air it can be copied, just in case that’s a last transmission.
In this case I gave the location - 100 yards east of the Bass River channel about half way out the run of buoys outside the jetties. I gave the situation - one sunken kayak, three heads in the water, one kayak afloat attempting assistance, all people in PFDs. I concluded that we were moving east into the shallows and how to spot us - white cat boat with fat white mast.
As we eased into the shallows east of the channel two emergency responders, one from Dennis and one Yarmouth, answered our call and said they were on the way. Just after that we started dragging the board in the shallows. As I was cranking it up I saw the rescue craft come out the channel and turn east our way. I radioed I’d get on deck an point. The kayaker also saw the rescue craft and flagged with his paddle. So with help on the way, we turned back to the channel and proceeded in.
Luckily one of the boatyard crew hailed us from a dock - post race party - and was able to give Good Phil a ride back to her car. His cousin and uncle identified a mooring we could hook on and I had a generally placid night.
Got up and left Bass River at 0600. Nice enough I started with full sail but gradually shortened to one reef then two. The wind was a little less relentlessly out of the west and we made better time, arriving at Hyannis Port at 0900.
Nice first summer sail.