Small Sailboat Adventure

I had an interesting day today. I took my little 10 foot sailboat out on the lake by my place. The wind was fairly weak, but enough to let me move around the lake. It was changing direction a lot though.

At the far end of the lake I picked a bad time to tack. As I shifted to the other side of the boat, the wind did a sudden shift. Now I'm sitting on the down wind side and the boat is leaning over due to the change of wind direction. Not a good combination in a little boat. Over we went.

Now I'm in the water and the boat is pretty much upside down. Not a big deal. I've righted small boats before. I easily manage to get it back right side up, but the sides are barely above the waterline, maybe by an inch. The mast had filled with water. That is a lot of water up there in the air. Not for long. Over we go again.

OK, so we go through the procedure again. This time I try to pull the mast up slowly so it can drain. Up, Up, Up, Oh No, Too Far! Over we go again.

"Keel Up" now has real meaning for me.

Now I hear a power boat coming. By the time my rescue boat arrived, I had the boat right side up again. I gladly accepted their help as the pump was now floating about 50 feet away. I would have had to swim for it. More than likely the boat would have rolled again while I was away.

So as I held the boat upright, they bailed with a 5 gallon bucket. Turns out I had met one of them last year while bicycling on the trail near here. Small world.

And wouldn't you know it. While I get the boat ready to sail again, the wind dies completely. I was left rowing all the way across the lake. Fortunately my rescue boat had retrieved my oars.

I learned a few things:

1. I need a bucket in the boat to bail with. The pump I use for the kayak just doesn't cut it. I'd still be out there with the pump. And the bucket needs to be tied to the boat so it doesn't float away.

2. Don't take your wallet sailing.

3. Don't take your cell phone sailing unless its in a waterproof container, of which I have several. It's currently out in the sun drying. I've activated my old phone for a few days to let the new one dry for a few days before I put the battery back in. I did manage to take the battery out while in the water from the first rollover. And hang onto my white hat and my glasses. I lost some line (rope) however as nylon doesn't float.

4. It might be a good idea to see if I can seal the mast. It occurred to me just now that all the other little boats I rolled had wood masts.

5. Watch how you shift your weight while sailing.

In the end, it was kinda fun. I was never in any real danger, although it would have been a long swim to shore if I had to do that. Yes, I had my life jacket on. The water was great, warm. A nice cool down on a hot day.