[Rhodes22-list] Around The Tip Of The Mitt
Roger Pihlaja
cen09402@centurytel.net
Sat, 28 Sep 2002 00:56:14 -0400
This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
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As many of you know, I have a friend named, Dan who owns a 42' sailing =
catamaran. For the last two seasons, Dan has kept his catamaran at =
Jerry's Marina on Tawas Bay, which is an arm of Lake Huron. For winter =
storage this year & next summer's dockage, Dan has worked out a package =
deal over in Pentwater, MI. Pentwater is a small inland lake connected =
to Lake Michigan by a very old (dredged out in 1883!) manmade channel. =
Of course, the only way to get the cat from Tawas Bay to Pentwater was =
to sail it there. This voyage involved a trip north up the west coast =
of Lake Huron, to the Straits of Mackinac, & then back down the east =
coast of Lake Michigan to Pentwater, a total distance of about 350 nm.
Dan & I had talked about this trip about three weeks ago. It was =
supposed to take about 4 - 5 days & we were going to double-hand it. =
Fall is a much better time to make this voyage than spring because the =
water is still relatively warm as opposed to just barely above freezing =
in the spring! Then, at the last minute, Dan's Father-In-Law & a friend =
from Tennessee showed up & wanted to help crew the boat. Dan decided to =
turn the voyage into a "boy's night out" family-only outing & I was no =
longer on the crew roster.
They left Tawas Bay on Sunday Morning, 09/22/02. On Monday afternoon, I =
got a desperate cell phone call from Dan. They were still on Lake =
Huron, in between Cheboygan, MI and Mackinaw City. His two crew were =
both seasick & hypothermic! There was no way they wanted to continue. =
We made plans to exchange crew in Mackinaw City. I threw some gear =
together, had my wife take me over to Dan's house, & drove his =
Father-In-Law's Ford pickup up to Mackinaw City. I got there about =
22:30. Dan's crew were all packed & ready to leave. They were cordial =
enough around me, but the tension in the air was crackling like static =
electricity! They didn't even drive back to Sanford. MI that night. =
Instead, they took a motel right in Mackinaw City & drove back to Dan's =
house the next day. I didn't want to embarrass my friend by asking any =
questions that night & we just went to bed. The entire story came out =
over the next three days on the trip down Lake Michigan. I will respect =
Dan's right to family privacy by not going into the details, but suffice =
it to say his in-laws probably won't be going sailing anymore!
Tuesday morning dawned with a 30 knot west wind & 6' - 8' waves roaring =
right up the Straits of Mackinac! For a time, the State Police actually =
had to close the Mackinaw Bridge to traffic because of the wind. Dan's =
cat only has two 10 bhp outboard engines. There was no way we were =
going to make any progress dead to windward in these conditions. =
Instead, we stayed put in Mackinaw City. We made some repairs on the =
150% genoa & the reef points on the mainsail. (Don't ask, it's the =
in-law thing!)
NOAA weather radio predicted the wind would die down overnight & shift =
to the south at 15 - 20 knots & waves 3' - 5' by Wednesday morning. =
During the day on Wednesday, it was predicted to steadily build to 25 - =
30 knots & waves 6' - 8'. We departed Mackinaw City at 05:45 & hoisted =
the 100% working jib & full mainsail. It was the 1st time I've ever =
sailed under the Mackinaw Bridge at night. Only a few of the buoys =
marking the shipping channel are lit & we kept a sharp watch lest we hit =
one of them. The Mackinaw bridge is awesome anytime, but a little =
frightening to approach at night. The temperature was about 40 deg F as =
we departed & the air was damp with a light morning mist. I was wearing =
polypropylene insulated underware under my foul weather gear, gloves, & =
woolen stocking cap.
About 20 nm west of the Straits of Mackinac, there is a rocky shoal =
called Gray's Reef. There is only one safe passage thru Gray's Reef & a =
1/2 nm wide channel that's well marked by lighthouses on each end & =
intermediate channel marker buoys. I was driving & we were averaging 10 =
knots, sometimes peaking at 12+ knots as we surfed down the bigger =
waves. By this point, the waves were 4' - 6'. Dan's cat actually =
handles 12+ knots quite nicely, throwing two big roostertails out behind =
it. But, it does start to bounce a bit & catch a little air off the =
bigger waves. We were both thoroughly enjoying the ride when we heard =
this "clunk - splash" sound. "What was that?", I asked. Dan answered, =
"Oh probably just the garbage sack of empty cans on the aft trampoline." =
I replied, "OK, as long as it wasn't a hatch cover or something." At =
this point, Dan looked at the transom on the port hull & noticed the =
hatch cover on the rudder post compartment was missing! We looked =
astern & saw the 2' X 2' square white hatch cover still floating, but =
rapidly receding behind us. We debated for what seemed like an =
eternity, but was probably only 15 - 20 seconds, whether we should =
attempt a recovery. Finally, we looked around to see that there was no =
traffic all the way to the horizon from each end of Grey's Reed Passage, =
& executed a man overboard maneuver - an emergency gibe at 10 knots in =
4' - 6' seas & 20 - 25 knots of wind, in the middle of a narrow shipping =
channel! Roller coasters are going to seem tame from now on! Dan's cat =
doesn't have roller furling, so we couldn't get the sails down in real =
time to have any hope of finding & recovering the tiny white hatch cover =
amongst the sea of white caps. We got the engines started. As we =
roared back to the spot where the GPS said the hatch cover went over, we =
both searched frantically. Finally, we'd gone back about 200 yards past =
where it had fallen overboard & we turned back around. As we were =
coming about, I spotted the hatch cover about 100 yards over to =
starboard. But, with the sails still up, we couldn't get over there. =
So, we had to get into position upwind of the hatch cover & make another =
run at it. But, the seas were so heavy that Dan wasn't able to scoop it =
up in a big fishing net as we passed by. We tried again & failed again. =
By this time, Dan was getting pretty tired, so he took over the helm & =
handed me the fishing net. On the 4th attempt, Dan brought us right =
down on the hatch cover. I was laying on the front trampoline, hanging =
over the bow from my harness with the fishing net in both hands. The =
bow was pitching up & down a good 3' on each wave & I was getting =
thoroughly sprayed down in my foul weather gear. At the top of the =
cycle, I couldn't even reach the water with the fishing net. I thought, =
"This is going to have to be perfectly timed because I'm only going to =
get one shot at it." At the bottom of the next wave, I shoved the =
fishing net into the water in front of the hatch cover & let the next =
upward pitch of the bow carry the hatch cover into the net & out of the =
water. At the top of the wave, the hatch cover shot upwards out of the =
net, but I scooped it out of the air like it was a big white butterfly! =
As I made my way back to the safety of the cockpit, I yelled to Dan over =
the wind & waves, "You owe me a beer for that one!" The rest of the =
trip over to St. James Harbor on Beaver Island was fast, but =
anticlimactic after that experience. The wind was averaging 25 knots & =
gusting to 30 knots with waves 4' - 8' as we turned the corner to enter =
St. James Harbor. We watched the storm build & pass thru the area thru =
the windows on the cat's bridgedeck cabin as we lay safely at anchor. =
Then, after lunch on board, we both took a nap in the afternoon. From =
anchor up in Mackinaw City to anchor down in St. James Harbor, including =
all the frogging around in Grey's Reef Passage & searching around St. =
James Harbor for a suitable spot to drop the hook required almost =
exactly 5 hours. The rhumb line distance is 40 nm, so we averaged 8 =
knots! I guess I should point out that Dan's cat is custom made, so you =
can't just order up a new hatch cover for it. The transoms have a =
classic "sugar scoop" profile & the top surface also has a crown so it =
drains water both ways. The hatch cover is molded to fit this compound =
3-D curvature & would be a very difficult piece to duplicate at home. =
Dan was extremely pleased we were able to recover it. We celebrated our =
good fortune & teamwork that evening on shore with a fancy dinner at the =
Beaver Island Lodge.
NOAA weather radio predicted that a fast moving cold front was going to =
pass over northern Lake Michigan late Wednesday night. Behind the cold =
front, the wind was supposed to shift to the north - northeast at 15 - =
20 knots with waves 3' - 5' on Thursday morning. We departed St. James =
Harbor at 06:00. Apparently, the cold front stalled out over Lake =
Michigan because the wind was still out of the southwest at only 10 - 15 =
knots with waves 1' - 3'. At about 08:30, the repaired 150% genoa =
ripped out in a different spot & this time the tear was nearly 10' long! =
I told Dan the problem was not really with his in-laws, the sailcloth =
had simply reached the end of its useful service life & it was time for =
a new sail. We put the 150% genoa away, put up the 100% working jib, & =
started the engines in order to keep our speed up around 5 - 6 knots. =
We putted along at 5 - 6 knots all day until about 16:00. Then, the =
wind suddenly shifted around to the northeast & the temperature dropped =
about 10 F deg in a matter of about 20 minutes. We both said, "YES!" =
We quickly hoisted the spinnaker, shut down the engines, & our speed =
increased to 8 - 9 knots. We broad reached like this until about 20:30. =
After dark, the wind died down to 5 -10 knots & got sort of flukey. =
Although we were about 2 nm offshore, I think we were getting wind =
shadow effects from the high sand dunes along this part of the Lake =
Michigan shoreline. Anyway, we were both too tired & it was too =
mentally taxing to keep the spinnaker inflated in the dark under these =
conditions. So, we put the 100% working jib back up. Our speed dropped =
back down to around 5 knots. At around 00:00 on Friday morning, the =
wind dropped even more & we had to fire up one engine in order to =
maintain 5 knots. We tied up to the State Harbor of Refuge dock in =
Pentwater at 04:00 Friday morning, after about 22 hours at sea. The =
rhumb line distance from St. James Harbor to Pentwater is about 125 nm, =
so we averaged about 5.2 knots. After we hoisted the spinnaker, Dan & I =
each single-handed the boat in 2 hour shifts while the other rested, =
cooked, ate a meal, used the head, etc. The autopilot did a reasonable =
job with the 100% working jib & mainsail as well as under power, but =
couldn't react quickly enough & with the proper technique to keep the =
spinnaker inflated. I tried fiddling with the tuning parameters on the =
autopilot (Hey, I'm a chemical engineer - we can never leave a =
controller alone!), but I couldn't get it to reliably steer with the =
spinnaker. So, in the end, we had to manually steer while flying the =
spinnaker.
After tying up in Pentwater, we both crashed until about 09:00 Friday =
morning. Then, we got up, made breakfast on board, cleaned up the boat, =
& used the shower facilities on shore. Dan's wife, Mary, picked me up =
in their car about 12:00 & drove me back to Sanford. We left Dan at the =
cat in Pentwater so he could make arrangements to have the mast =
unstepped & get the boat prepped for winter storage. Hopefully, he'll =
be home Sunday evening.
Roger Pihlaja
S/V Dynamic Equilibrium
=20
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As many of you know, I have a friend = named,=20 Dan who owns a 42'
sailing catamaran. For the last two = seasons, Dan=20 has kept his
catamaran at Jerry's Marina on Tawas Bay, which is an arm = of Lake=20
Huron. For winter storage this year & next summer's dockage, = Dan
has=20 worked out a package deal over in Pentwater, MI. =
Pentwater=20 is a small inland lake connected to Lake Michigan by a
very old (dredged = out in=20 1883!) manmade channel. Of course, the
only way to get the cat = from Tawas=20 Bay to Pentwater was to sail
it there. This voyage involved a=20 trip north up the west coast
of Lake Huron, to the = Straits of=20 Mackinac, & then back down
the east coast of Lake Michigan to=20 Pentwater, a total distance of
about 350 nm.
Dan & I had talked about this = trip about=20 three weeks ago. It was
supposed to take about 4 - 5 days & we = were=20 going to double-hand
it. Fall is a much better time to make=20 this voyage than spring
because the water is still relatively = warm as=20 opposed to just
barely above freezing in the spring! Then, at the = last=20 minute,
Dan's Father-In-Law & a friend from Tennessee showed up = & wanted=20
to help crew the boat. Dan decided to turn the voyage into a = "boy's
night=20 out" family-only outing & I = was no=20 longer on the crew
roster.
They left Tawas Bay on Sunday = Morning,=20 09/22/02. On Monday
afternoon, I got a desperate cell phone = call from=20 Dan. They were
still on Lake Huron, in between Cheboygan, MI and = Mackinaw=20 City.
His two crew were both seasick & hypothermic! = There was no=20 way
they wanted to continue. We made plans to exchange crew in =
Mackinaw=20 City. I threw some gear together, had my wife take me =
over to=20 Dan's house, & drove his Father-In-Law's Ford pickup up to
Mackinaw=20 City. I got there about 22:30. Dan's crew were all =
packed &=20 ready to leave. They were cordial enough around me, but
the = tension in the=20 air was crackling like static electricity!
They didn't even drive = back to=20 Sanford. MI that night. Instead,
they took a motel right in = Mackinaw City=20 & drove back to Dan's
house the next day. I didn't want to = embarrass=20 my friend by
asking any questions that night & we just = went to=20 bed.
The entire story came out over the next three days on = the trip=20
down Lake Michigan. I will respect Dan's right to family = privacy
by=20 not going into the details, but suffice it to say his in-laws
probably = won't be=20 going sailing anymore!
Tuesday morning dawned with a 30 = knot west=20 wind & 6' - 8' waves
roaring right up the Straits of Mackinac! = For a=20 time, the State
Police actually had to close the Mackinaw = Bridge to=20 traffic
because of the wind. Dan's cat only has two 10 bhp = outboard=20
engines. There was no way we were going to make any progress dead =
to=20 windward in these conditions. Instead, we stayed put in =
Mackinaw=20 City. We made some repairs on the 150% genoa & the reef
points = on the=20 mainsail. (Don't ask, it's the in-law thing!)
NOAA weather radio predicted the wind = would die=20 down overnight
& shift to the south at 15 - 20 knots & = waves 3' -=20 5' by
Wednesday morning. During the day on Wednesday, it was=20 predicted
to steadily build to 25 - 30 knots & waves 6' - 8'. = We=20 departed
Mackinaw City at 05:45 & hoisted the 100% working jib & = full=20
mainsail. It was the 1st time I've ever sailed under the Mackinaw =
Bridge=20 at night. Only a few of the buoys marking the shipping =
channel are=20 lit & we kept a sharp watch lest we hit one of them.
The = Mackinaw=20 bridge is awesome anytime, but a little frightening
to approach at = night. =20 The temperature was about 40 deg F as we
departed & the air was damp = with a=20 light morning mist. I was
wearing polypropylene insulated = underware under=20 my foul weather
gear, gloves, & woolen stocking cap.
About 20 nm west of the Straits of = Mackinac, there=20 is a rocky
shoal called Gray's Reef. There is only one safe = passage thru=20
Gray's Reef & a 1/2 nm wide channel that's well marked by=20
lighthouses on each end & intermediate channel marker = buoys. I=20
was driving & we were averaging 10 knots, sometimes peaking at 12+ =
knots as=20 we surfed down the bigger waves. By this point, the waves
were 4' = -=20 6'. Dan's cat actually handles 12+ knots quite nicely,
throwing = two big=20 roostertails out behind it. But, it does start
to bounce a bit = & catch=20 a little air off the bigger waves. We
were both thoroughly = enjoying the=20 ride when we heard this "clunk
- splash" sound. "What was = that?", I=20 asked. Dan answered, "Oh
probably just the garbage sack of empty = cans on=20 the aft
trampoline." I replied, "OK, as long as it wasn't a hatch = cover
or=20 something." At this point, Dan looked at the transom on the
port = hull=20 & noticed the hatch cover on the rudder post
compartment was=20 missing! We looked astern & saw the 2' X 2' square
white hatch = cover=20 still floating, but rapidly receding behind
us. We debated = for what=20 seemed like an eternity, but was
probably only 15 - 20 seconds, whether = we=20 should attempt a
recovery. Finally, we looked around to see that = there was=20 no
traffic all the way to the horizon from each end of Grey's = Reed=20
Passage, & executed a man overboard maneuver - an emergency gibe at =
10 knots=20 in 4' - 6' seas & 20 - 25 knots of wind, in the middle of
a narrow = shipping=20 channel! Roller coasters are going to seem
tame from now on! = Dan's=20 cat doesn't have roller furling, so we
couldn't get the sails down in = real time=20 to have any hope of
finding & recovering the tiny white = hatch=20 cover amongst the sea
of white caps. We got the engines = started. As=20 we roared back to
the spot where the GPS said the hatch cover went over, = we both=20
searched frantically. Finally, we'd gone back about 200 =
yards past=20 where it had fallen overboard & we turned back around.
As we=20 were coming about, I spotted the hatch cover about 100 yards
= over to=20 starboard. But, with the sails still up, we couldn't get
over = there. =20 So, we had to get into position upwind of the hatch
cover & make = another run=20 at it. But, the seas were so heavy that
Dan wasn't able to scoop=20 it up in a big fishing net as we passed
by. We tried again = &=20 failed again. By this time, Dan was
getting pretty tired, so he = took over=20 the helm & handed me the
fishing net. On the 4th attempt, Dan = brought=20 us right down on
the hatch cover. I was laying on the front = trampoline,=20 hanging
over the bow from my harness with the fishing net in both = hands. =20
The bow was pitching up & down a good 3' on each wave & I = was=20
getting thoroughly sprayed down in my foul weather gear. At = the
top=20 of the cycle, I couldn't even reach the water with the fishing
= net. I=20 thought, "This is going to have to be perfectly timed
because I'm only = going to=20 get one shot at it." At the bottom of
the next wave, I shoved the = fishing=20 net into the water in front
of the hatch cover & let the next=20 upward pitch of the bow carry the
hatch cover into the net & = out of the=20 water. At the top of the
wave, the hatch cover shot upwards out of = the=20 net, but I scooped
it out of the air like it was a big white = butterfly! As=20 I made
my way back to the safety of the cockpit, I yelled to Dan over = the
wind=20 & waves, "You owe me a beer for that one!" The rest of = the
trip=20 over to St. James Harbor on Beaver Island was fast, but
anticlimactic = after that=20 experience. The wind was averaging 25
knots & gusting to 30 = knots with=20 waves 4' - 8' as we turned the
corner to enter St. James Harbor. = We=20 watched the storm build &
pass thru the area thru the windows on the = cat's=20 bridgedeck cabin
as we lay safely at anchor. Then, after lunch on = board,=20 we both
took a nap in the afternoon. From anchor up in Mackinaw = City to=20
anchor down in St. James Harbor, including all the frogging around in
= Grey's=20 Reef Passage & searching around St. James Harbor for a
suitable spot = to drop=20 the hook required almost exactly 5 hours.
The rhumb line = distance is=20 40 nm, so we averaged 8 knots! I
guess I should point out=20 that Dan's cat is custom made, so you
can't just order up a new = hatch cover=20 for it. The transoms have
a classic "sugar scoop" profile &=20 the top surface also has a crown
so it drains water both = ways. The=20 hatch cover is molded to fit
this compound 3-D curvature & would be = a very=20 difficult piece to
duplicate at home. Dan was extremely pleased we = were=20 able to
recover it. We celebrated our good fortune & teamwork = that=20
evening on shore with a fancy dinner at the Beaver Island=20 Lodge.
NOAA weather radio predicted that a = fast moving=20 cold front was
going to pass over northern Lake Michigan=20 late Wednesday night.
Behind the cold front, the wind was = supposed to=20 shift to the
north - northeast at 15 - 20 knots with waves 3' - 5' on = Thursday=20
morning. We departed St. James Harbor at 06:00. Apparently, = the
cold=20 front stalled out over Lake Michigan because the wind was
still out of = the=20 southwest at only 10 - 15 knots with waves 1' -
3'. At about = 08:30, the=20 repaired 150% genoa ripped out in a
different spot & this time the = tear was=20 nearly 10' long! I told
Dan the problem was not really with = his=20 in-laws, the sailcloth
had simply reached the end of its useful service = life=20 & it was
time for a new sail. We put the 150% = genoa away,=20 put up the 100%
working jib, & started the engines in order to keep = our=20 speed up
around 5 - 6 knots. We putted along at 5 - 6 knots all=20 day until
about 16:00. Then, the wind suddenly shifted = around to=20 the
northeast & the temperature dropped about 10 F deg in a matter = of
about=20 20 minutes. We both said, "YES!" We quickly hoisted the =
spinnaker,=20 shut down the engines, & our speed increased to 8 - 9
knots. = We broad=20 reached like this until about 20:30. After
dark, the wind died = down to 5=20 -10 knots & got sort of flukey.
Although we were about 2 = nm=20 offshore, I think we were getting
wind shadow effects from the high = sand=20 dunes along this part of
the Lake Michigan shoreline. = Anyway, we were=20 both too tired & it
was too mentally taxing to keep the spinnaker = inflated=20 in the
dark under these conditions. So, we put the 100% = working jib=20
back up. Our speed dropped back down to around 5 knots. At =
around=20 00:00 on Friday morning, the wind dropped even more & we had
to fire = up one=20 engine in order to maintain 5 knots. We tied up
to the State = Harbor=20 of Refuge dock in Pentwater at 04:00 Friday
morning, after about 22 = hours=20 at sea. The rhumb line distance
from St. James Harbor to = Pentwater is=20 about 125 nm, so we
averaged about 5.2 knots. After we hoisted the = spinnaker, Dan & I
each single-handed the boat in 2 hour shifts = while the=20 other
rested, cooked, ate a meal, used the head, etc. The = autopilot did
a=20 reasonable job with the 100% working jib & mainsail as well as
under = power,=20 but couldn't react quickly enough & with the proper
= technique to keep=20 the spinnaker inflated. I tried fiddling with
the tuning = parameters on the=20 autopilot (Hey, I'm a chemical
engineer - we can never leave a = controller=20 alone!), but I
couldn't get it to reliably steer with the = spinnaker. So,=20 in the
end, we had to manually steer while flying the = spinnaker.
After tying up in Pentwater, we both = crashed until=20 about 09:00
Friday morning. Then, we got up, made breakfast on = board,=20
cleaned up the boat, & used the shower facilities on shore. =
Dan's=20 wife, Mary, picked me up in their car about 12:00 & drove me
back to = Sanford. We left Dan at the cat in Pentwater so he could =
make=20 arrangements to have the mast unstepped & get the boat prepped
for = winter=20 storage. Hopefully, he'll be home Sunday evening.
Roger Pihlaja
S/V Dynamic Equilibrium
&nbs= p;
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