Fellow Listees,
Thought I would share this sobering reminder with the rest of the C-27 gang,
There but for the Grace of God ....
Tehlin
"GUSTY"
Note: forwarded message attached.
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Hello, I am forwarding this note from Bruce Niederer in relation to a near
miss out on the bay this weekend.
We all can use a reminder that it only takes an instant and out on the water
and you can have a tragedy. Let us all use this incident as a wakeup call
and encourage using Lifejackets, especially when wearing foul weather gear,
and to know your MOB procedures.
EJ VanSickle
989-496-6923, Mobile: 859-3418
>From Bruce Niederer:
To all SBYRA and BCYC sailboat racers and Saginaw Bay boaters and fishermen:
I've been racing sailboats a long time, about 30 years, primarily in Saginaw
Bay but all over the Great Lakes. This past Saturday, May 17, 2008, I
participated in one of my favorite rites of spring - the start of racing
season. Excitement and anticipation fueled our crew of 7 as we prepared
Jester, a C&C 99, for a fun day of racing. It was sunny and windy as we
headed out to the starting area - a perfect combination for great racing -
20+ knots of breeze with waves out of the NW at 3 - 4 ft. with the
occasional rogue a foot or two bigger.
At the start of the first race we hardened up on the weather and climbed to
the high side hiking hard taking a few cold showers as the waves drove up
the hull powered by the wind to douse us all. Getting that first spray of
cold water in your face is akin to taking communion for avid sailboat
racers, manna for the soul, as Jester worked its way to the first weather
mark. We raced our way around the course without incident finishing only a
few seconds behind our competition, and we shortened sail to re-organize the
boat then grab a quick sandwich and re-hydrate ourselves before the start of
the second race.
Having now shaken out the cobwebs of the off season in the first race, we
discussed and implemented some changes to boat handling and strategy so we
could improve our speed around the course. We were all focused on racing and
found ourselves leading the fleet as we rounded the last mark and headed for
the finish line. One last jibe and we would be golden. But in our excitement
we forgot to follow the most basic of safety rules. That first cold spray
should have been seen not as an anticipated rite of spring but should have
served as yet another warning that the Bay is often a cruel and dangerous
mistress. With water temperatures in the low 50's it should have been a
no-brainer.
Everyone should have been wearing their life jackets.
As we attempted to complete our jibe to the finish the foredeck crew had
trouble getting the spinnaker pole back on the mast and as the crew worked
to make it right, in the blink of an eye, the bowman was flung off the boat
and into the rough, icy water of the Bay. We threw our MOB (man over board)
gear into the water immediately as the chute came down on deck. We were
going about 10.5 knots when Tommy went in and managed to turn the boat
around in 5 or 6 boat lengths. With the engine running and the main still up
we circled back and looped the Lifesling around him, just like bringing the
tow rope back to a waterskier. Tommy had been in the water now for 4 or 5
minutes and was in serious trouble. The cold water was sapping his strength
fast and he was already exhausted from treading water. His foul weather gear
was tightened around his boots and he couldn't kick them off which makes
keeping your head above the water extremely hard. He hooked his arm in the
Lifesling as it came to him and barely had enough strength left in his arms
to hang on as we reeled him in and pulled him onboard. To say he was shaken
is the essence of understatement. If he had been in the water any longer
than a couple more minutes the outcome of this emergency could easily have
become a disaster.
It is a testament to the integrity of the racing fleet out that day - Rush,
Medicine Man, and Indigo - whose crews all dropped their sails and moved in
to be available to help and assist in Tommy's rescue and recovery. For
Tommy's part we got him below and out of his wet gear and wrapped in a
blanket and he quickly recovered, but as we motored in, a storm front passed
through bringing rain and gusts of wind up to 50 knots that lasted for 20
minutes or more, while we all quietly and soberly contemplated what could
have happened.
We all took note of the fellow sailors who perished in Chicago last fall.
Cold water and a moment's inattention or a bad decision can breed a disaster
in an instant. We should have known better. We dodged a bullet this time -
something that will not be lost or forgotten by the crew of Jester for a
long time I can assure you.
Bruce Niederer
Fleet Captain BCYC Main & Jib Fleet
Tech Advisor/Chemist
Gougeon Brothers, Inc.
100 Patterson Ave., PO Box 908,
Bay City, MI 48707-0908 U.S.A.
fax: 989-684-1287
West System toll free phone:
866-937-8797
Proset toll free phone:
888-377-6738
url: www.westsystem.com
"...Where ever we want to go, we'll go. That's what a ship is, you know.
It's not just a keel and a hull and a deck and sails, that's what a ship
needs - but what a ship is? What the Black Pearl really is...is freedom."
Cap'n Jack Sparrow
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