second solo

6/24/2006: 4 hrs: The wind was blowing out of the west about 5-10 mph. I started off with just the main to get warmed up. Then I stopped, took a brake because I didn’t have gloves and my hands were hurting from rope burn while holding the rope that controls the main. After I rested I rolled out the jib and kept the main up for another repeat from the day before.

It was one explosion after another. An explosion is when I don’t do something right and things go wild and the panic level moves rapidly towards 10. I needed to rest so I turned into the wind and throw out the anchor. I put my mask and snorkel on, jump in and try to settle down, regroup and go back at it. I’m in the water looking at the bottom moving by like I’m on a scenic tour!

I instantly think I’ve come untied from the boat. I always tie a rope to the boat and hold onto it when I jump in the water, especially when the wind is blowing hard. I look up real fast and I’m still tied to the boat, I quickly look back at the bottom and it’s moving by very fast. My mind cannot compute what is wrong. I look up ahead and the anchor is on the bottom. I look back at the bottom and then it hits me like freight train, the anchor isn’t big enough!

I pull myself to the front of the boat swim down to the anchor and frantically try to stick it in the ground. I end up plowing a trench about 50 yards long before I can catch it on a rock. So much for relaxing and regrouping.

I want to sail, but I’m tired and frazzled. I decide to sail with just the jib. The little front sail. It’ll be a good learning experience to see how much the jib actually pushes the boat without the main sail. I pull the stupid anchor up and set the jib and we’re off. I’m kicked back in the back of the cockpit next to the tiller, just steering the boat and relaxing. Everything is cool. Perfect.

The wind picks up and the boat starts heeling on it’s side. I’m amazed and I climb on the side and hike out over the edge to balance the boat. The next thing I know, I’m looking at my center board, hauling butt! I’m going about as fast as I was with the main, I’m not relaxed.

When you tack with the jib you have to release a rope on one side and tighten a rope on the other side. So I got to tack or I’m going to slam into No name key. I release one side and Wham! Both ropes pull out of the cleats that hold them and are now flapping in the wind off the tip of the jib, 8 feet from the boat. It looks like I got a 20ft x 8ft white flag telling everybody for 3 miles, that I surrender. The biggest explosion to date.

I have to throw out the anchor and get everything reset. I had forgotten to tie knots at the end of the ropes to keep them from coming out of the cleats. By this time the frazzle factor is 8/10.

Now the wind seems to be getting stronger and I just want to go home. I set the jib again and start hauling butt! I start heeling over and hiking out as far as I can and I’m still going over. I try to release the sail, to take the force of the wind off the sail, but it’s not releasing. I try to steer into the wind, but the wind keeps pushing boat down wind. I’m going over! Water starts pouring in the side of the boat and I slide off the high side of the boat towards the cleat holding my jib sail rope, which is in the water by this time. I release it and the boat falls back level, with about 10 gallons of water in the cockpit. Then something happened and start tipping over the other way. I’m not sure what I did to stop it, but when I started thinking again I was spread eagle in the bottom of the boat with the panic and frazzle factor pinging on 10. That explosion was similar to a nuclear bomb.

I throw the anchor out, regroup and then whimper my way back home. My electric motor gets tangled in a plastic bag and stops working at the mouth of the canal. There are 2 large floating PVC pipes blocking the canal to keep grass out. They swing open, but usual with the force of a motor boat pushing them open. My motor doesn’t work now and I’m trying to paddle the 18’ sail boat through this gate and guess which way the HOWLING wind is blowing.

The story of my life, ‘Paddling Against the Wind’, will be the title of the book. The dock where I keep the boat isn’t the last one on the canal, but it is 20 feet from the last one. So I was thankful for that and that I made it back without any damage and a TON of learning experience.