Hi Gilbert
Sounds like a "memorable" voyage, I sail a Monty 17 in Galveston and
Matagorda Bays,
and know how fast the waves can kick up in these Bays. (Shallow water +
large open area)
I found the best way to control my boat is to drop the Jib, it handles rough
conditions
very well this way, & easier than furling.
Wayne
----- Original Message -----
From: "Gilbert Landin" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "'For and about Montgomery Sailboats'"
<[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, July 28, 2005 10:53 PM
Subject: M_Boats: crossing the bay
Well I finally got the chance to cross Corpus Christi Bay. I have been
doing
"little" backyard sails 2-3 times a month for the last year. Checking the
rigging and tuning sails, at most 2 hour mini-sails. So I decided to cross
the bay to "La Bahia" marina in Ingleside-on-the-Bay, roughly a 20+ mile
upwind sail in a Bay that averages 12-14 feet in depth. Not to mention a
45'
deep Port channel that leads out to the Gulf of Mexico, busy with large
tanker and barge traffic. It started out with a motorsail in 5 knot winds,
did this for the first hour and I got almost 1/2 way out when the wind
picked up to 15 knots. I was ok but soon spotted a line of ominous clouds
gathering behind me and coming my way. Trying to avoid a panic later on, I
diligently thought I should reef before I needed to. After about 3
accidental jibes I finally was able to get her to hove to, only she was
abreast to the waves at about a 90 degree angle to the wind. Of course I
couldn't reach the reef points so I fired up the motor and plowed her into
the wind. I was then able to reef the main and settle down for the wind
increase. It was 96 degrees in the shade, problem was there was no shade.
That was a big concern since without a bimini top you just broil big time.
It took me two hours to beat up the channel the last hour with motor
support
since the traffic increased as I got closer to the turn off channel. I was
using paper charts and a gps (meridian marine w/ navcharts) you really
cant
use those tiny screens, they are ok for general purpose but if you are
single handing in a strange place and concentrating on boat traffic, you
need a chart where you can see the big picture at a glance. I finally got
to
the marina where upon docking a beautiful girl on a "Dolphin Tour" boat
greeted me with a "That's a nice boat". "This old thing" I replied
modestly.
I gratefully took my cooler and sat in the shade. Now I could concentrate
on
the charts and see where I had just come from. Finishing my lunch, Jim
Johnson a local liveaboard came over to say hello and point out a couple
of
short cuts. I felt very good that I had finally made a "big" voyage. After
another half hour of visiting it was time to go. The wind was now a steady
17 knots luckily it was now coming off my stern. I took the short cuts and
when I was once again in open waters, the next adventure began. The wind
was
to overpowering to sail anything other than a very close haul or a broad
reach, not to bad except for the 3-4 ft waves that would push you into the
wind and then heel you over so bad the rudder would loose its bite for a
split second. That went on for a long time until I got my rhumb line to
point me in the direction of my home port than I was running for about 10
miles, finally I could relax my grip on the tiller and get circulation
back
into my fingers. I made it home but was shell shocked the rest of the
evening. Next morning I felt like I had been run over by a truck and the
truck backed up and ran me over again. I decided I did not like going out
with this boat in these conditions, problem is that this were normal
condition here. The boat handled beautifully and my confidence level for
its
capabilities have increased. She could have taken on more wind and waves
and
I would still have still felt safe.
Gilbert Landin
Montgomery 17 Sagita #49
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