Tuesday, June 07, 2005

Rough Waters

On the way home from camping we stopped for breakfast in Sauk City. Although we were dirty and probably quite smelly, the folks at Leystra's Venture Restaurant served us still with a half-hearted smile and tender greetings.

Back in the Mad City the weather was beautiful. I headed down to the lake right away and rigged up a board for windsurfing. At first glance it looked to be light winds from the South. Once I cleared the mooring field there were pockets of anything from 20-30 mph gusts of wind out on the water. Like other windsurfers out, every so often, a powerful gust would knock me into the lake if not already being thrown off by the capping, choppy waves. The Southerly wind made it incredibly hard to come in and it took me almost an hour to reach the pier.

After taking a short break to catch my breath I joined a 420 lesson heading out. The instructor, John, had paired us up so that each boat had a seasoned sailor and a novice. I was paired up with Kyle who had joined the club only a month ago. Though John was very much hesitant about taking us out on a heavy wind day, he felt that it would be a lot more fun to learn on the boats rather than talk theory in the classroom. However, learning out on the water in heavy winds could very well lead to a matter of survival John warned.

Kyle and I were the first to take our boats out and quickly picked up speed. We blazed by the mooring field and headed out to picnic point. Once we got out far enough we put the 420 in the safety position to wait for the others. With such gusty winds even the safety position took a lot of adjustment to keep us steady.

Once the group met up we let our sail out and began sailing again. In every bit of speed increase the crash against the chopping waves became more intense. At one point in a jibe the nose of the 420 dived into the lake and we took in enough water to fill the boat. Here we were sinking and floundering in water. The wind was relentless in tossing around our mainsail so we had to take it down. With the hull almost completely in the water we had to do something real quick. Kyle and I grabbed the hiking straps and leaned out to tip the boat on its side and let the water pour out. Once most of the water cleared we had to instantly jump back onto the other side before the boat could capsize completely.

With the immediate problem of sinking out of the way, we had to get the sail back up in such heavy conditions. Although we had bailed out most of the water, the swells slamming us hard were slowly beginning to fill the boat. The jib in front was getting enough wind to push us further out into the lake. I made a decision to try turning us around as to face Hoofers so that if anything were to happen at least someone would see us. For the moment, the primary concern was to get our mainsail back up. I took to the stern to balance Kyle's weight at the bow.

Still, the winds slapped us around while waves slammed us hard starboardside. From the rear I saw the bright yellowish orange light of the sun riding the wave reflection with the sounds of the swirling wind all around. The flapping mainsail struggled on the uphaul in the fierce wind but we managed to get it up. My God, this was one of those sailing moments that makes you or brakes you.

With the mainsail up we could sail back in. On approach we found out that the other boats in our group had taken in too much water as well. Even John's boat was nearly un-sailable before he took it in. The other boat had capsized before they could steady it enough to get back. In the end, John was right about it being a matter of survival, however, we learned a lot about rigging up in heavy winds while on the water. I could not have asked for anything more.

Fry-O-Meter
Activity: 3 | Energy: 3 | Friends: 3

A 420 with the Sunsetting

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