Wingkeel, look at all the ruckus you stirred up with your screwing around in your pool! Of course this is just what we WaterTribers thrive on, and I would have been better served if I had paid a lot more attention to this forum while I was sinking my 12 foot canoe-trimaran coming off the beach after breaking my leeboard at the start of the NCC 2014. Water intrusion, pumps, sealed compartments, boat-handling, practice in all conditions, and sea-survival tactics all were considations as I evolved from sailor to u-boat commander. Chief did his best to talk me out of launching. Even offered me credit on the next event (Hey, Chief! I was holding out for that two for one offer)! Once the water goes in, you really start to have fun, and it is hard to get back to the ramp with a couple of hundred pounds of water and a 4 inch leeboard aiding your sailing. I will confess, my over-riding concern was, "Dang, I wonder if I can re-launch with just the canoe parts and paddle 100 miles before the Sunday deadline and still get my finishers paddle!"
And then there was WildBlue back on the beach with his Sirocco 15 jauntily anchored about 20 feet off the beach. Golly, that was a big boat! Three feet longer than my canoe and at least 2 feet wider! Plenty of room for two guys if I can only talk him into the benefits of having an extra pair of hands to row down the Harlowe Canal! Being the competitor that he is, WildBlue was caught up in the adrenaline surge that competition brings on and perhaps unwisely agreed to carry at least 300 pounds of ballast around the entire course for the next 48 hours! I may have a great future as a motivational speaker because WildBlue got so sick of my constant chatter, carping, comments, and general lack of sailing abilithy that he could not wait to get my fat, happy posterior off of his boat soon enough!
In a way, adding a crewmember is a means of self-rescue. Sharing the load, even in an tiny day-sailor was a tactic that worked for our team and we accomplished just what we set out to do! Namely, not sink, and to get our finisher's paddles! We had a great adventure, sailed hard, shared experiences, and developed tactics to increase our speed and to cope with some extremely interesting sailing circumstances. WildBlue said he has never seen so much water inside his boat so bailing was an ongoing experience with pumps, sponges, and enything else that came to hand. Navigation was spotty as his iron centerboard threw off both our magnificent compasses and those islands pretty much look alike if you haven't sailed off Cedar Island previously! Navionics as a phone app was magnificent while in use. Great time with it, right up until my power plug corroded in that saline environment and fused completely into uselessness! Whatever you buy related to marine electronics make sure your connections last longer than 17 hours, although there was some comic relief and outstanding outbursts of profanity when the extent of corrosion revealed itself. We had charts, two GPS units, and four Mark 1 eyeballs to operate with and we had great fun calmly discussing just where we were out in the dark and dreary!
WildBlue asked me at one point if I was getting tired at the helm! "Nah! I feel good. Why do you ask?" Then he told me I had been at the helm for 3 and 1/2 hours. Imagine that! And I had not hit anything, or sunk yet! The pleasures of the sea and having outstanding company were really driven home during the NCC 2014 and sailing with WildBlue was a joy and a privilege! His sense of humor and comaradery made this challenge a delight as we hit 7.8 knots on the Neuse River, as we hit negative .5 knots drifting backwards using our mighty SUP paddle in the Harlowe Canal at 1 a.m., and we won't elaborate on the situation at CP 1 after failing to find a toilet conveniently located and struggling out of a dry suit in the dark! You can't buy memories like that at any price! You had to be there!
So what does this reminiscence have to do with self-rescue? Hell! I don't know! I talk too much (just ask WildBlue)! WaterTribers are all nuts anyway! But we are exceedingly innovative nuts with a high-survivability factor and inveterate tinkers and thinkers. We enjoy the challenges thrust upon us and every Challenge brings new and interesting situations that we thrive on. We carry our battered bodies and busted boats homeward while savoring that inner glow of personal accomplishment. Then we go out an endulge in orgies of maritime self-abuse and degradation preparing for the next hoedown with our fellow Tribers! We waste lots of money and time on activities that are ultimately only an excertciser in self-aggrandizement! What for? All I know is that when WildBlue and I took some down-time on the beach to let the wind settle a bit I got to check out my fire-making skills and had a wonderful little bonfire. I got to talk to people who are legendary in innovative boat designs and drool over their creations right in the parking lot and campground at Cedar Key as they lovingly explained design successes and failures with anyone willing to make the effort to listen. I saw feats of sailing, boat repairs, massive amounts of cooperation between people who had no other connection other than being WaterTribe! And I even got that 95 percent of my busted leeboard that drifted away from my crippled canoe on launch back from Kayakman7 after the conclusion of the event.
One last thing about self-rescue! While putting my boat back on the trailer I watched WildBlue tow his Sirroco 15 daysailor 2 miles down the beach to the cut so he could row to the campground dock, take it out, and then relaunch at the alternate launch ramp on the back of the island. What a competitor! Along the way he ran into the wild horses that inhabit the Carolina Islands These are not pet-the-pony types you see at the local fair! These babies are wild! The big stud horse took umbrage at this intruder towing a bright yellow floaty thing through the waters of his island and approaching his mares! WildBlue humorously related the epic staredown that ensued between the participants and his retreat to somewhat deeper waters while cautiously moving on with his merry tow! Another successful encounter with wildlife and definitely within the realm of self-rescue topics. Well done, WildBlue!
