by Cathy
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| Look at all the Optis, the next generation of sailors. |
The wind was from the south-east and in the 10 to 20 mph range. Nine Butterfly sailors dwindled to five in the last race for a variety of reasons. For me, it was just too much wind! The women made a good showing again, with Pam beating Nancy in the first 2 races. And both of them beating me and Laurie being the only one of us to make it through all 3 races. Go Laurie!
Meanwhile, before racing started we had a capsize. An empty bleach bottle at the top of the mast will help make it easier to self-rescue but even then it is not always possible. In this case, the bottle was missing so not much time to get the boat up and the committee boat had to help out. But it went really well, they got the boat up and running very quickly and before you know it, we were set to start the first race again. Way to go - Jim and Larry!
Note: once the mast and sail are under the water, the sailor will likely not be able to get the boat up by pulling or even standing on the dagger board. However, holding onto the dagger board can keep the mast from digging into the mud which does make the rescue go much easier.
Below I describe what I saw but feel free to comment if something seems incorrect or if you have something to add. Let's make the capsize/recovery process as easy and safe as possible and share any tips that we have.
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| The start sequence stops since a boat has capsized. Since the mast and sail are under water - the committee boat will need to help. |
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| Committee boat gets the ladder ready, but the sailor decides to stay in the water. |
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| Larry positions the boat while Jim grabs the fore-stay. |
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| Jim lifts the mast out of the water as Larry drives the motor boat alongside the Butterfly starting to point it into the wind. |
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| Larry drives the boat around and Jim stabilizes the boat so the sailor can get in. |
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| Sailor gets in while RC continues to stabilize the boat until the sailor is ready to go again. |
Otherwise, in racing Doug, Paul, and Gary all got one of the top 3 places in the various races with Burton getting some 4ths. It was a great day on the lake but the wind just kept picking up and after the Butterflys came in, the Optis stayed out and those kids are tough! Then a "fun race" began with some of the WRBC sailors. With that much wind hopefully the "fun race" sailors made it to the dam and back with no mishaps. It's springtime in Texas with great sailing in between the storms!
