I picked up the S-to-S today, and there we were again. Some people will do anything for attention. Thanks for the great photo of our boat in last year’s Toliva Shoals. I do not think we will make this year’s, and not in Freedom, for sure.
There is a long story about how it happened, but the short version is overconfidence and short crew. We were sailing from Quartermaster to Des Moines. Intent on getting to the start on time, so we put up the main, reefed. Big mistake: the second reef was not run, and it seemed too breezy to safely run it underway. Downwind, we briefly considered setting a chicken chute for practice, then declined, since we were already surfing at about 13 kt. Expecting less wind in the harbor area we got just the opposite, as the wind seemed to pick up the closer we got.
We should have turned left, but it seemed like then we would get back to the starting area about the Fourth of July. I got distracted passing two boats under power also trying to make the harbor, then asked for the main to come off. In the excitement, the reef line came loose, the main went up more, and we really took off toward the shoreline. I turned left, the only way the boat would turn. At first we missed the Fishing Pier, but caught the backstay on a water spigot. This stopped the boat, turned on the water, and in a flash we were under the pier.
People were running even before we hit. When it was clear we could not free the rig, we bailed with a lot of help. Then the crowd freed the rig, and the boat settled down on the line we rigged before bailing out. So many people helped during and after the crash that we lost track, but the mast came off in record time, in two pieces. We were told that as we approached the wind was at 45 kt.
In hindsight, I am going to modify my general rule of setting more sail than I think I need downwind, and less upwind, to: set only what you can reasonably take down, especially when your focus is on eating breakfast, and not sailing. Do not sail a fractional rig boat with only one reef rigged.
At this point, the boat is a constructive total loss with hull damage and the obvious rig damage. The engine also blew up from idling too long during the rescue. We had it in gear full throttle during the event. We had some scrapes, but no serious injury. We all had PFDs on, and that was a good thing, as there is no time and possibly no way to put one on when it is too late.
We got the Duamish Head gearbuster award of the day, plus a T-shirt, and a lot of sailboat-pier stories for consolation. I am, pretty bummed out about the boat, but we will be back ASAP, next time a little better prepared.
Jon Knudson, Freedom 10