[Public-List] Knockdown in an Alberg 30

[Gordon Laco]

We once put a spreader into the water while spinnaker reaching and  
pushing the boat too hard -

there was a gust (we were blasting along to leeward of the land) and  
we got laid down.  I eased the main but the boom was in the water  
before much pressure came off that sail.    I called cast off the  
spinnaker sheet but a kink jammed in the block... I then called to run  
the spinnaker guy in order to ease the pressure on that sail that  
way...it jerked out a foot or so then nothing more happened.  Thinking  
it had jammed too I yelled to my son Pete who was up at the mast to  
cast off the halyard.  From under the mainsail (we were way over by  
this time, dragging sideways with water foaming into the cockpit) I  
heard his calm voice call back "Uh, can't just now."   I learned later  
he was standing on the shrouds, which were horizontal and deep under  
water.    I looked behind me and saw our visiting friend Lynn holding  
tight to the spinnaker guy with all her strength.  I said 'that looks  
like it hurts, why don't you let go?"  She did, the spinnaker  
collapsed and the boat came back onto her feet.  All this took less  
time to happen than to tell, and was going on as we were crossing the  
finish line.

'Can't, just now' delivered in a deep slow voice during any sort of  
emergency is a family joke now.

I was interested to note that the companionway was out of the water  
even with a spreader immersed.

It's all good fun!

Gord #426 SUSPRISE



On 12-Jan-10, at 10:53 AM, crufone at comcast.net wrote:

>
>
> Hello,
>
> Has anyone on-list suffered a complete knockdown (masthead in the  
> water), not just a blow over, in an Alberg 30?  Perhaps our friend  
> Robert Birk? who is currently circumnavigating can add something here.
> What happened? What broke and what didn't? If you would please  
> recount your experience.
>
> My sailing waters will be the Great Lakes. I assume that if I sail  
> long enough I will at some point get knocked down and would like to  
> know if the boat is capable of surviving a knockdown.
>
> I have read with keen interest Yves Gelinas' recount of being rolled  
> in the Southern Ocean. This extreme test lead us all to up-sizing  
> our chain plate bolts. What about the mast beam, how does it fair  
> during a knockdown?
>
> Michael #133
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