Association Forum - Hitting the wall

Assn Members Area · Join

Home.

Association Forum

Ships Store

Cruising

Racing

Technical Tips

Photo Gallery - New

Boat Search - Updated

Manuals & Brochures

Swap Meet

Links

Officer Flag Line & Staff

Bylaws & Constitution

Members Area

Join the Association

Notice:
The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.

Association Forum

Username:	Password:
Save Password
Forgot your Password?

All Forums

Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

General Sailing Forum

Hitting the wall

New Topic

Topic Locked

Printer Friendly

Author

Topic

Renzo
Admiral

Member Avatar

USA
621 Posts

Initially Posted - 12/16/2007 : 12:55:35

I quoted from another discussion and posted here separately because I didn’t want to hijack the original thread or interfere with it’s important sentiment of thanking the troops.
<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">The problem with political posts is that we are all so ignorant and naive that we cannot actually add to the knowledge base through our opinions, and that makes upsetting others who disagree with us pointless, which quickly becomes mean-spirited. One thing I am certain of is that we would all have a great time sailing with any of us, and would welcome any of us to be our guest given the chance.

Merry Christmas guys.

Frank
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Right you are Frank and I just happened to have a story called "Hitting the Wall" in this month’s issue of the Clinton River Catalina Association’s newsletter that I think illustrates your point. So here it is as my Christmas, stocking stuffer, gift to the asociation. Click on the link below and scroll down to page #3

http://www.crcasail.org/catscan/cats0712/cats0712.pdf

L.Caricchio
ZINGARA – Sail #4222
C25 Fleet Captain-Fleet#3

Navigo Ergo Sum
https://www.createspace.com/3613985

Edited by - on

britinusa
Web Editor

Members Avatar

USA
5404 Posts

Response Posted - 12/16/2007 : 13:43:19

Great article. Oh how often we get those reminders on this forum.

Keep em flowing!

Paul

Edited by - on

Steve Milby
Past Commodore

Members Avatar

USA
5890 Posts

Response Posted - 12/16/2007 : 13:46:46

Great story, Renzo! It makes you wonder, though, why the freighter wasn't using his horn to alert them. It's scary to think that he might not have seen them either. Maybe he was absorbed in a good discussion, too.

By the way, do you think you can get the recipe for those martinis? That must have been a drink you'd just die for!

Edited by - on

delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

Members Avatar

USA
4479 Posts

Response Posted - 12/16/2007 : 14:03:41

Nice story, and even if I'm not a big fan of martini's, sounds like a good recipe to have on hand.

I've never had a tanker sneak up like that on me, but I have gotten in between a barge & it's tow. The irony was, the skipper of our J92 was almost certainly the owner of both the barge and it's cargo that was about to run us down. Fog and darkness at the end of a very long day of racing can be pretty frightening. The worst part of it was, we had two other boats trailing us because our skipper was an old salt & everyone knew it, so they thought following him in was a good idea. We never actually saw or heard the tug boat, we only saw the towline hissing through the water, and the slap of waves on the barge bearing down on us. We managed to simultaneously get the hell out of dodge and communicate to the guys behind us to do the same. Fortunately we were all motoring, if we'd have been sailing, I'm not sure we'd have made it.

Edited by - on

1981capri
Navigator

Members Avatar

USA
175 Posts

Response Posted - 12/16/2007 : 14:09:18

Yes, Thanks for posting that link to your newsletter. Some interesting reading for a cloudy Sunday afternoon!!!

Reminds me of the first time I went out on the Columbia River with a friend of mine who has sailed on the river for years. I asked him if there was anything important I should know about sailing on the river and he said there are just 3 thing I can tell you that are important.
1.Watch out for barges.
2.Watch out for barges.
3.Watch out for barges.
Other then that just get out there and see what makes your boat go. Later he admitted that when he first started sailing on the river there was two occasions that he got 5 toot horn blasts from a barge he had not seen. As one was passing and we were tacking back behind it I heard him muttering something about the death star and may the force be with us.

Edited by - on

Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 12/16/2007 : 14:55:40

Nice piece of writing and a great graphic--all from one of our own! You sailors might not be able to relate to this, but I recently installed an honest-to-God rearview mirror on Sarge--a ski mirror--to help keep me aware of my backside, since my new kind of boating tends to require much more intense attention to the water ahead. (It really is a different mode of piloting--things come at you in a hurry.) Perhaps your friend's calm was based on determining that the bearing to the bow of the freighter was drifting aft (relative to you), which means you're gonna cross him. In any case, WHEW!! I learned long ago that big ships close on you a lot faster than you think.

Edited by - on

johnsonp
Admiral

Members Avatar

USA
606 Posts

Response Posted - 12/16/2007 : 15:00:47

This is called hitting the wall.

paulj

Edited by - johnsonp on 12/16/2007 15:03:50

britinusa
Web Editor

Members Avatar

USA
5404 Posts

Response Posted - 12/16/2007 : 16:55:15

OUch!

Paul

Edited by - on

Renzo
Admiral

Members Avatar

USA
621 Posts

Response Posted - 12/17/2007 : 09:05:51

The Martini recipe as quoted from another Cap'm Jim story
<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">After just one of Cap'm Jim's patented, "Death Valley Dry-Torpedo-Juice Martinis" I was usually ready to damn, ram or slam any torpedoes that might come our way. The recipe for these caustic cocktails was as follows: a liberal amount of the cheapest Gin that Jim could find, poured slowly (so as not to spill any) over exactly one ice cube (enough to cool, but not dilute, the Gin) and the word “Vermouth” whispered softly over the rim of each plastic cup to lend character and distinction to the mixture. Olives were optional, but Jim felt they, severely and unnecessarily, reduced the volume of gin in the glass. <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Steve - Thousand foot lake frieghters can't see anything closer than a half mile in front of their bow because of the angle of view from the bridge in the stern. Also if they blew their horn for every small boat that looked like it might get too close on the crowded shipping lanes of the Great Lakes they wouldn't have time for anything else. So your'e pretty much on your own.

Paul - I second the Ouch! and can you tell me what you were drinking when you did that!

Edited by - on

Steve Milby
Past Commodore

Members Avatar

USA
5890 Posts

Response Posted - 12/17/2007 : 10:22:36

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Renzo
 Steve - Thousand foot lake frieghters can't see anything closer than a half mile in front of their bow because of the angle of view from the bridge in the stern. Also if they blew their horn for every small boat that looked like it might get too close on the crowded shipping lanes of the Great Lakes they wouldn't have time for anything else. So your'e pretty much on your own.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">At the Chesapeake Bay Bridge on weekends, there may be a dozen different fleets racing on race courses set up all around the approaches to the bridge, and it's a real challenge for the big guys to get through without taking out a small racer who thinks he can make it across the freighter's bow. Several years ago, the Coast Guard cited a racer who had a close call with a freighter at that location, and, as I recall, he was fined $10,000. I guess they wanted to send a message. Two years ago, I saw one freighter that I'd estimate blew his horn 30 times before the small boat got out of his way. The small boat continued to hold his course and speed, rather than starting his engine and getting out of the way. Unbelievable!

Edited by - on

Renzo
Admiral

Members Avatar

USA
621 Posts

Response Posted - 12/17/2007 : 13:41:40

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">I saw one freighter that I'd estimate blew his horn 30 times before the small boat got out of his way. The small boat continued to hold his course and speed, rather than starting his engine and getting out of the way. Unbelievable!<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Kinda like a flea thumb-wrestling with an elephant

Edited by - on

dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 12/17/2007 : 14:11:04

With my marina being about a mile from the freighter channel, I can attest that even in broad daylight, a 1,000 ft laker can sneak up on you if you aren't paying attention. Until I safely cross the channel to open water, I'm constantly looking for freighters as they can pop out unannounced from the somewhat sheltered Livingstone channel.

Edited by - on

John Russell
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
3444 Posts

Response Posted - 12/17/2007 : 16:54:11

We (I

) have an issue with ferries more than the big ore boats in our channel. The planing ferries like to come through the narrowest part of the channel at speeds that insures they keep to their schedule. I know we have to give way to vessels with reduced maneuverability, but where does it say they can't slow down to a reasonable speed before entering the channel. Neptunes law of gross tonnage wins, of course.

Edited by - John Russell on 12/17/2007 16:55:21

jerlim
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
1484 Posts

Response Posted - 12/19/2007 : 08:19:00

PLEASE tell me this is a fictional piece, if not, I think the point is being missed here - this guy is not only reckless but a fool. First to be drinking that hard while under way and then having no remorse and brag about it. I like martinis as much, if not more, than the next fellow (shaken NOT stirred) but we wait till we're done for the day. Poor judgement is one thing, but the flippant attitude is what really galls me. Too bad he didn't get busted for impairment. Jerks like this make it unsafe for all of us on the water.

Edited by - jerlim on 12/19/2007 08:19:59

Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 12/19/2007 : 08:53:16

(Pssst: Jerry... You're talking about Renzo...)

Edited by - on

Ben
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
1234 Posts

Response Posted - 12/19/2007 : 13:40:31

Something I don't get is "For the next few minutes, Cap'm Jim and I sat sipping our drinks and watching events unfold."

Granted, I've never had the opportunity to be in the way of a freighter, but it seems to me if they have a few minutes at hull speed to sit around with a drink, they should have enough time to tack and get the heck out of the way. I know when I'm at hull speed, I cover a bunch of water in a few minutes.

Edited by - on

Renzo
Admiral

Members Avatar

USA
621 Posts

Response Posted - 12/19/2007 : 14:12:12

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"> (Pssst: Jerry... You're talking about Renzo...)<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Pssst: Dave... Jerry was talking about Cap'm Jim

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"> PLEASE tell me this is a fictional piece, if not, I think the point is being missed here - this guy is not only reckless but a fool. First to be drinking that hard while under way and then having no remorse and brag about it. I like martinis as much, if not more, than the next fellow (shaken NOT stirred) but we wait till we're done for the day. Poor judgement is one thing, but the flippant attitude is what really galls me. Too bad he didn't get busted for impairment. Jerks like this make it unsafe for all of us on the water.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Jerry - Yes it is a partially fictional story based on a real event. But the point that I think your are missing is that the dangerous distraction was caused by the socio-political ranting of one of the sailors not the consumption of alcohol. (when they crossed paths with the freighter they were on the first martini and only a total of two martinis were consumed in the entire story) If you go back to my first post in this thread you will see that I referenced this particular story in support of a posting by Frank Hopper regarding the nature of political rants getting out of hand and detracting from the sailing camaraderie of the forum. I'm sorry if the story offended your sense of political correctness regarding boating and alcohol, and I agree that heavy drinking should be reserved for dockside as you suggest. However you should realize that others may disagree with you just as vehemently and hold that no one should ever indulge to excess or in fact some may strongly feel that no one should drink alcohol any amount. Personally I hope that people, especially sailors, can lighten up a bit from time to time and accept each others differences as long as they are not extreem. If sailors can't agree to disagree and still sail on the same vessel then we are all doomed.

Edited by - Renzo on 12/19/2007 14:14:59

Renzo
Admiral

Members Avatar

USA
621 Posts

Response Posted - 12/19/2007 : 14:25:30

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Ben
 Something I don't get is "For the next few minutes, Cap'm Jim and I sat sipping our drinks and watching events unfold."

Granted, I've never had the opportunity to be in the way of a freighter, but it seems to me if they have a few minutes at hull speed to sit around with a drink, they should have enough time to tack and get the heck out of the way. I know when I'm at hull speed, I cover a bunch of water in a few minutes.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Ben - Once you are half-way it's just as far back as it is forward and as was pointed out in the story, when you tack, even a perfectly executed tack, you loose speed and if you bobble the tack you stall the boat and loose even more time. It's kind of like the old saying "it's too late to drain the swamp when you're up to your ass in alligators"

Edited by - on

jerlim
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
1484 Posts

Response Posted - 12/19/2007 : 14:48:30

Renzo - Many thanks for the clarification. I completely understand how a good rant can be completely distracting, in sailing and just about anything else. And your closing point is well made, we forget that there is more that unites us than divides us!

Edited by - on

Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 12/19/2007 : 15:27:17

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Renzo
 <blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"> (Pssst: Jerry... You're talking about Renzo...)<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Pssst: Dave... Jerry was talking about Cap'm Jim<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">I'm glad you took it that way.

Edited by - on

Renzo
Admiral

Members Avatar

USA
621 Posts

Response Posted - 12/20/2007 : 07:48:21

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Dave Bristle
 <blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Renzo
 <blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"> (Pssst: Jerry... You're talking about Renzo...)<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Pssst: Dave... Jerry was talking about Cap'm Jim<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">I'm glad you took it that way.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

That's the only way I could take it Dave. Cap'm Jim is a fictionalized character in a series of stories that are based on an old friend who incouraged me to get into the wonderful world of sailing many years ago.

Edited by - on

Topic

New Topic

Topic Locked

Printer Friendly

Jump To:

Association Forum

Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.