Surfski Knowledge Base

Re: heavy today
Larry Goolsby
01/04/09 #5622

I left Marine Park with DJ at about 2:15 today. The wind was only about 10 mph as we stood in the parking lot chatting with Simon. There were whitecaps out by the buoy but it was pretty calm around the Park. We headed out and by the time we reached the Point, the winds were increasing extremely fast. At this point, cooler heads would have said 'Lets turn here', but DJ and I decided to go down to the tunnel before turning.

Once past the point, we were temporarily out of the heavy wind and proceeded only a little further before the wind came up stronger than before. I turned in towards shore hoping for some shelter but I still stayed about 30 yards out because I knew that there was an eddy going against me if I was too close. All of a sudden, my boat lifted up and pivoted towrds the opposite direction and I remember thinking to myself that this meant that it was a good time to turn (DJ said he thought it was a good time to turn also). The strong gust continued long enough to roll me and the boat over with the boat rolling over the top of me. I felt the boat on my leash (I was under water briefly) and then there was no tension on my paddle. I surfaced and watched as my boat rolled away in slow motion.

I was sitting there in the water contemplating swimming for the boat by using the paddle as a swimming aid but the wind was too strong to attempt this. I yelled to DJ (who heard me) and started swimming towards shore. DJ had difficulty getting his boat to turn in the wind and finally made it over to me and asked what I wanted to do. I told him that he should head in and I was going to swim on in to shore. He circled around once staying near me making sure that I was making progress while swimming with a paddle and pogies in one hand. I thought about hitching a ride on the back of DJ's boat but I was only doing a 30+ yrd swim and I didn't want to risk two people in the water. The swim was actually quite easy. I was wearing wetsuit pants and a splash top with the Mocke PFD. The Mocke PFD worked really well for swimming. Took me about 5+ minutes to get to the rocks along the railroad tracks and I started the walk back to my car.

I could see my boat about 200 yards away rolling across the water and I was already thinking about what color my next Special was going to be. I wasn't cold but my fingers were numb (they are always numb). Along the way, I saw Dan W. heading out towards the Point by himself and I yelled for him to turn back. The wind and water made so much noise, I don't think that we heard what each other was saying. A moment later, a Coast Guard rescue boat came around the drydock so I pulled out my radio and hailed them with an instant response. Told them about my boat and its location (between them and the buoy) and they set off after it finding it immediately. They called me back and said that they would meet me at the dock along the ferry terminal.

By now, it took two people to load each of DJ's and Dan's boat onto their rigs. DJ and I changed quickly and headed for the ferry terminal. I was later thankful for DJ going with me because there was no way one person could have handled a boat in the ferry terminal parking lot. My guess was that the winds were gusting well over 40 easily. The Coasties were real nice and one asked if I ever knew of Gip Bowen and I said no, and then he said that he was an ER doc and both DJ and I said 'You mean Bip, and we both work in the ER'.

Things I learned:
1. Mocke vest good.

2. Wetsuit pants good.

3. Velcro attachment for leash unreliable. Worked the last 100 swims but this time it didn't. Might have been the way I attached it that time but I need to find a totally reliable link (my good leash was on my R at home).

4. Radio saved my boat, great insurance for a low price.

5. When blowing big, stay close to shore. I felt good in the water and actually contemplated having DJ tow me to my boat. The swim was not on adenaline or panicked: actually sureal in those conditions

6. Having a buddy that keeps an eye on you gives you peace of mind. Had we been further offshore, I could have rode the back of his boat in.

7. Save yourself and let the boat go. Consider what color your new boat will be. If you get your old boat back, you are real lucky.

8. Pay attention to forecasts. We knew a strong wind was coming, we just didn't expect it to arrive all at once.
Larry G.

Re: heavy today
Larry Bussinger <lbussing@…>
01/05/09 #5623

It was hard to read this one Larry. I'm really, really glad you got to shore. Some things come to mind. I found myself paddling this weekend with two people who had “forgot” to bring their leash. This should be as manditory in your mind as bringing a paddle. Velcro is not a good attachment system and neither is a plastic clip. Bip very well may have been wearing a lease but threw it away after it failed and then got in his way while swimming. A front is exactly that, its a wall of wind. When the forecast says 40 kt. anticipate it happening all at once. Larry B

Re: heavy today
Jeff Hegedus <jhegedus@…>
01/05/09 #5624

And don't forget the routine gear check; after yesterdays excursion, I finally put my big rudder on, and discovered that the rudder yoke screw (V10)was loose, and I could have lost the rudder. I always keep the screws real tight, and I don't know how it loosened. Also fyi,for those who don't like leashes, I understand that, some time after Bips incident, his leash was found in the closet, at home.

Re: heavy today
Larry Goolsby
01/05/09 #5627

Larry….Your post was almost identical to my wife's speech only you post was a lot nicer. I have always liked my leash system and it has held very well up until this event. I spoke with Shaun and we decided that we are going to modify our leashes by getting rid of the velcro and replacing it with a piece of webbing with a locking buckle. This type of buckle won't come undone unless you specifically thread the webbing back through it.
Thanks
LG

Re: heavy today
John Rybczyk
01/06/09 #5629

Having recently purchased a leash, and I bought a “good” one according to those that I asked, I was struck by how flimsy the velcro strap was. We could take a lesson from surfers. My surfboard leash (in fact most surfboard leashes), have a wide, double overlapping velcro strap. Hard to describe, but I could show it to you. It's bomb proof. It's easy to put on, I've never had one come off, even in the nastiest surf. Might be a better solution than a buckle. Buckles can come off too if you don't fasten them right (ask any climber). And, if you do fasten it right, it's hard to take off quickly. Especially if it's cold.

Re: heavy today
kathleen petereit
01/06/09 #5633

This is what I have done with my Huki leash and it's pretty bombproof if you have the lockhole option. I cut off about 2 inches on the end of the calf velcroe attachment and looped it through my lockhole very snugly. It takes a lot of effort to get it off when I want to remove it. There's no way it would pull off if I dumped unless it broke where the metal attachment is. On the other end I have attached a heavy duty brass clip from the marine shop which then attaches to the front of my lifejacket. I always rinse the metal attachment points on my leash when I rinse my vhf and ski after every paddle to avoid corrosion.

Kathleen

Re: heavy today
lori & beau whitehead
01/07/09 #5635

I mentioned the surfboard leash closure awhile ago & was poo-pooed for not knowing what I was talking about. I only use leashes by Bullies. You could pull me behind a truck by it… it won't come undone.

Re: heavy today
Dale McKinnon
01/08/09 #5645

It's not simply the force of the pull that makes a leash fail. The contributing factors of failure of any item of equipment are:
repetitive use, failure at aggregated stresspoints, salt water corrosion/oxidation on any metal parts, the effect of salinity and wear on velcro and other synthetic fabrics/materials, and the mental maps of human being. By “mental maps” I mean assumptions and expectactions… (about anything).

What reduces the eventuality of a leash failing (ALL leases will eventually fail), is the true usability designed into it for specific uses, attention and maintenance by its user and periodic replacement. Or simply not using a leash…