[Public-List] First time at the Syronelle
Gordon Laco
mainstay at csolve.net
Tue Jun 24 08:29:44 PDT 2014
There is a very good article about seamanship in WoodenBoat magazine about
just what you're talking about, Dominic.
Here's the link: http://www.woodenboat.com/lessons-bounty
I sit on the board of Tall Ships America - as seamen this article struck
chords with all of us.
Gord
On 24/06/14 11:24 AM, "Dominic Amann" <dominic.amann at gmail.com> wrote:
> Your story was very instructive. It fits with my own experience and a
general
> theory of mastery. There are three stages along the growing mastery
root with
> respect to accidents.
1. Learning - competency is low, but attention is very
> high, so accidents
do occur, but not as often as one might think.
2.
> Competent - one has become confident, the basics are all known,
attention
> starts to drift, accidents happen.
3. Mastery - along with the basic
> competence, one has had a minor mishap or
two, and has learned "constant
> vigilance".
Of course, tiredness can cause accidents even in stage
> 3.
Personally, I am more nervous as a passenger with drivers who have
> never
had an accident - and especially with those who think they are very
> good
drivers.
On Tue, Jun 24, 2014 at 11:19 AM, 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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--
>
Where there is a shell, there is a way...
Dominic Amann
M
> 416-270-4587
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