[Public-List] First time at the Syronelle
Gordon Laco
mainstay at csolve.net
Tue Jun 24 08:26:53 PDT 2014
My wife grew up at St Hilaire - and I hear Champlain is wonderful. You're
too far from me to race in the evening though!
Gord
426 Surprise
(Midland Ontario)
On 24/06/14 11:22 AM, "Eric Chavigny" <eric.chavigny at hotmail.com> wrote:
> We got her at the Marina Sieur the Champlain on the Richelieu river. We are
> at 1 miles on the Us border, so intend to get some experience the Champlain
> Lake.
>
> Eric
> #541
>
>> On Jun 24, 2014, at 11:19, "Gordon Laco" <mainstay at csolve.net> wrote:
>>
>> Hello Eric -
>>
>> Where do you sail Dimanche Matin?
>>
>> Gord #426
>> (I really want to try to instigate A30 racing here at home now...)
>>
>>
>>> On 24/06/14 11:16 AM, "Eric Chavigny" <eric.chavigny at hotmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> Hi folks,
>>>
>>> Thanks for the story. i can only imagine how stressfull it was. I just
>>> bough
>>> A30 Dimanche Matin hull number 541 and we got the mast up last weekend. As
>>> it
>>> is my firts boat I was quit nervous.
>>>
>>> I will take your advise in checking more then twice the knots and having the
>>> mind clear before undergoing such task
>>>
>>> Eric
>>>
>>>
>>> A30 Dimanche Matin
>>> #541
>>>
>>>
>>>> On Jun 24, 2014, at 11:07, "Gordon Laco" <mainstay at csolve.net> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Thanks Mike - so I have to come to Annapolis to hear your story? That's
>>>> not
>>>> so subtle coercion!
>>>>
>>>> We'll try to make it happen.
>>>>
>>>> G
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On 24/06/14 10:58 AM, "Meinhold, Mike J." <MICHAEL.J.MEINHOLD at leidos.com>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Gord
>>>>> Thanks for sharing the story and your self-analysis. That's a benefit to
>>>>> us
>>>>> all. That's an awful thing to experience, especially imagining how much
>>>>> worse
>>>>> it could be. (If you don't know my parallel story I will tell you next
>>>>> year
>>>>> with a rum in my hand)
>>>>>
>>>>> I replaced my spreader "roots" or tangs and can provide them to you for
>>>>> models
>>>>> if that helps.
>>>>>
>>>>> I had a great time at the Syronelle and enjoyed sailing against Surprise
>>>>> and
>>>>> socializing with her skipper and crew
>>>>>
>>>>> Mike
>>>>> Rinn Duin 272
>>>>>
>>>>> Michael J. Meinhold
>>>>> Senior Naval Architect, Leidos, Inc.
>>>>> 4321 Collington Road, Bowie, MD 21076
>>>>> michael.j.meinhold at leidos.com
>>>>> 301 352 4734 office 240 350 6974 cell
>>>>>
>>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>>> From: Gordon Laco [mailto:mainstay at csolve.net]
>>>>> Sent: Tuesday, June 24, 2014 09:38 AM
>>>>> To: Alberg 30 Public List -- open to all <public-list at lists.alberg30.org>
>>>>> Subject: Re: [Public-List] First time at the Syronelle
>>>>>
>>>>> It's my own club! I think I'll make an opportunity to go and talk to them
>>>>> directly. A friend doing his term on the board was present so I reckon
>>>>> there will be something official too. I can't order a flogging alas...
>>>>>
>>>>> I'll say again - the racing was great and it was wonderful to see some of
>>>>> you folks.
>>>>>
>>>>> Gord
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>> On 24/06/14 9:33 AM, "John Birch" <Sunstone at cogeco.ca> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Sorry to read you were so shabbily treated by a few inconsiderates.
>>>>>> Suggest
>>>>>> you write their Club Board.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Touching someone else's mast - 6 dozen of your best boson, and lay into
>>>>>> it
>>>>>> man.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>>>> From: "Gordon Laco" <mainstay at csolve.net>
>>>>>> To: "Alberg 30 Public List -- open to all"
>>>>>> <public-list at lists.alberg30.org>
>>>>>> Sent: Tuesday, June 24, 2014 9:16 AM
>>>>>> Subject: [Public-List] First time at the Syronelle
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Hello friends -
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Well our first participation in an Alberg 30 regatta is behind us.
>>>>>> Surprise
>>>>>> is home at her jetty at Midland Bay Sailing Club now (not quite safely
>>>>>> but
>>>>>> more of that later).
>>>>>>
>>>>>> First, let me say on behalf of my crew Clint Nielsen (with the Viking
>>>>>> tattoo
>>>>>> on his arm) Steve Parm (who can almost reach the spreaders without
>>>>>> strain)
>>>>>> and Peter Laco (my eldest son) that we all enjoyed ourselves immensely.
>>>>>> We
>>>>>> had no idea how we¹d measure up as a racing crew in a One Design fleet...
>>>>>> We¹ve done well racing PHRF here but we¹d never been up against an Alberg
>>>>>> 30
>>>>>> in fighting trim, let along a mob of them.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> It was great to see other boats Olike us¹. Alberg 30¹s are quite
>>>>>> capable,
>>>>>> shippy looking sailing vessels; the way sailing yachts should look. We
>>>>>> kept
>>>>>> saying to each other when on various points of sail ³wow, I guess that¹s
>>>>>> what we look like². This reminded me of my brother in law¹s comment
>>>>>> after
>>>>>> visiting Holland, homeland of his parents: ³everybody looked like me;
>>>>>> tall,
>>>>>> awkward with receding hairlines....²
>>>>>>
>>>>>> The moments before the first race on Saturday morning were filled with a
>>>>>> degree of tension... I had no idea how it would go. We finished fourth
>>>>>> but
>>>>>> were starting to calm down and do what we do. When we got to the start
>>>>>> sequence for the second race, we¹d designated JAZZ as our target to beat
>>>>>> and
>>>>>> set ourselves to start aggressively with her. The action in the last
>>>>>> moments was every bit as exciting as anything I¹ve ever experienced.
>>>>>> It¹s
>>>>>> great when crossing swords with an expert you can both trust each other
>>>>>> not to do something un-ethical or dangerous... So you can push. An
>>>>>> opportunity appeared in the last seconds and we started in a very good
>>>>>> position. we managed to stride away from the others but with JAZZ in
>>>>>> close
>>>>>> combat all the way around the course... But she nipped us with apparent
>>>>>> ease
>>>>>> during the run to the finish. Second in that race was our best finish.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> The rest of the races were in lighter air, some with a chop that I was
>>>>>> used
>>>>>> to during the days we lived and raced in Toronto, but I guess I¹d lost
>>>>>> the
>>>>>> knack of dealing with. We had difficulty keeping SURPRISE moving and my
>>>>>> attempts at casting the dice didn¹t pan out. We were very pleased that
>>>>>> our
>>>>>> worst race, third on Saturday I think, was also one of SAM¹s best, so our
>>>>>> team mate dragged us up enough that we finished fourth overall in the
>>>>>> final
>>>>>> reckoning.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Somebody asked me Owhat happened to you guys¹ after the first day all I
>>>>>> can say is the chop in the very light air was difficult for me and I
>>>>>> think
>>>>>> I
>>>>>> became frustrated and wasn¹t making good decisions with regard to
>>>>>> tactics.
>>>>>> During our best race, aside from still being optimistic, there was enough
>>>>>> air that we were sailing in the area of 4.5 to to 4.7 knots most of the
>>>>>> time
>>>>>> we had enough air to keep SURPRISE trudging along and we were able to
>>>>>> keep
>>>>>> up. A skipper I sailed for and learned a lot from once told me Olight
>>>>>> air
>>>>>> sailing is what really separates the good from the not so good racing
>>>>>> skippers...¹
>>>>>>
>>>>>> It was a great experience. I told my wife when I got home yesterday that
>>>>>> the regatta combined the two elements that make yacht racing fantastic.
>>>>>> We
>>>>>> had great battles out on the water; with good sportsmanship... And
>>>>>> comradeship and cooperation in the evenings. I learned a lot and with
>>>>>> luck, may be a more consistent threat to the leaders next time.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> So Sunday afternoon came. With John Kitchener¹s and other¹s help we
>>>>>> lowered
>>>>>> the mast onto SURPRISE¹s deck and motored away to the commercial marina
>>>>>> for
>>>>>> hauling out Monday morning. On the way across Toronto Bay we crossed
>>>>>> paths
>>>>>> with an Alberg 30 named MADRIGAL III which I recall racing against when I
>>>>>> crewed in SURYA, an A30 which won the Syronelle when I was a boy back in
>>>>>> the
>>>>>> early O70¹s. I thoroughly approved of her colour scheme and told her
>>>>>> skipper, who turns out to have owned her since she was new (same colour
>>>>>> as
>>>>>> SURPRISE).
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I slept by myself in the boat and by mid morning Monday we were on the
>>>>>> boat
>>>>>> transporter and rolling up to Midland. Two hours later we were in the
>>>>>> water
>>>>>> in Georgian Bay again. Last night we motored over our Club¹s mast crane
>>>>>> and
>>>>>> that¹s where things began to go wrong.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> The yacht transporter had brought our mast over to the club so we
>>>>>> wouldn¹t
>>>>>> have to carry it off the boat very kind of him. Upon arrival we found
>>>>>> a
>>>>>> bit of a disturbance going on... An old member with a drinking issue was
>>>>>> in
>>>>>> the fourth hour of trying to raise his mast and was in an altercation
>>>>>> with
>>>>>> a
>>>>>> responsible member who was trying to intervene to resolve their tangled
>>>>>> rig
>>>>>> and get them out from under the crane and clear the dock. When we
>>>>>> arrived
>>>>>> with SURPRISE on the tractor trailer rig, the difficult member accosted
>>>>>> me
>>>>>> shouting Oyou can¹t launch that boat here!¹ I thought he was kidding so
>>>>>> said with a laugh Osure we can, it¹s only 10,000 lbs, I¹ll use the high
>>>>>> jib²
>>>>>> (normally only used for masts) Then I realized what was going on and
>>>>>> tried
>>>>>> to explain I was only dropping off the mast... He wasn¹t listening. We
>>>>>> put
>>>>>> our mast on horses and left.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I went by an hour later to see if the crane was available and found the
>>>>>> difficult member gone, and another yacht I¹d never seen raising her
>>>>>> mast...and my mast (complete with new genoa on the furler) thrown on the
>>>>>> ground; my horses under their mast. I asked if they¹d done that, they
>>>>>> said
>>>>>> yes. I said Olet¹s put it back up again please¹...they complied with
>>>>>> poor
>>>>>> grace.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I went home for supper and when I came back found the mast on the ground
>>>>>> again with the masthead only on a block of wood. Not very nice. Feeling
>>>>>> cranky, but with the help of friends we began the process of stepping a
>>>>>> simple job. We had the mast over the boat horizontally about five feet
>>>>>> up
>>>>>> (the jetty is high) and were beginning to raise it. Then a remarkable
>>>>>> thing
>>>>>> happened. The knot I¹d tied for the crane hook sling line, which I
>>>>>> thought
>>>>>> was a bowline, began slipping and apparently in slow motion snaked itself
>>>>>> out and we dropped the mast diagonally across SURPRISE.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I was holding the heel of the mast and received quite a wallop as the
>>>>>> heel
>>>>>> bucked upwards when the mast landed on the cabin top and the head went
>>>>>> down
>>>>>> into the water. We all stood still for an instant... What an
>>>>>> embarrassing
>>>>>> and potentially very dangerous incident. Damage? Only slight luckily.
>>>>>> The
>>>>>> mainsail, bundled on the boom and laying on deck, took most of the
>>>>>> landing
>>>>>> impact. The portside lifeline, somewhat slack without the shrouds
>>>>>> spreading
>>>>>> it, took the rest. Mysteriously the starboard spreader was broken off at
>>>>>> the tangs, which were bent. I didn¹t see this happen but reckon that the
>>>>>> sling line must have snaked around the shroud/spreader and for an instant
>>>>>> bore the weight of the mast before breaking and letting the mast complete
>>>>>> it¹s fall. If that is what happened, I reckon the spreader contributed
>>>>>> to
>>>>>> the relatively soft landing the mast made across the cabin top.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Looking back on the mast raising operation, I considered the cascade of
>>>>>> events that led to the accident. The RCN trained me to watch for such
>>>>>> things as part of the Bridge Resource Management regime of thinking the
>>>>>> Navy
>>>>>> uses; regardless, I didn¹t see any of the signs. They taught us that one
>>>>>> can be on the road to trouble long before one is aware that the cascade
>>>>>> has
>>>>>> started
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I was tired. I was upset by the drama happening at the mast crane when I
>>>>>> arrived at the club. I was further upset by the behaviour of the people
>>>>>> who
>>>>>> put my mast on the ground (new members it turns out probably didn¹t
>>>>>> know
>>>>>> any better) The result? I tied a bad knot. I remember checking it but
>>>>>> obviously didn¹t really look at it and feel it as I normally do. That
>>>>>> is
>>>>>> the only explanation I can offer for the sling line releasing. I don¹t
>>>>>> believe it is possible for a bowline to snake through itself as we all
>>>>>> saw
>>>>>> that one do. I tied it with a long tail, so we all had time to see it
>>>>>> go.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> We¹re lucky the mast wasn¹t higher...we¹re lucky we didn¹t have the mast
>>>>>> vertical with people on the boat kneeling to shoot the pins in to secure
>>>>>> the
>>>>>> shrouds and stays when it came down. I am very lucky nobody got hurt, I
>>>>>> would have been responsible for what might have been a tragedy. I am
>>>>>> lucky
>>>>>> the damage isn¹t worse.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> So, the ending not withstanding, it was a terrific weekend. I¹m sorry
>>>>>> the
>>>>>> explanation of the accident seems to have overshadowed the good stuff
>>>>>> but
>>>>>> I¹m still getting used to the idea that it really happened!!!
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Gord
>>>>>> Surprise 426
>>>>>> (yes, I will race with you folks again.... Can¹t wait)
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>>>>>
>>>>>
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