# Bad Day on the bay



## PalmettoSailor (Mar 7, 2006)

Well I haven't yet found a suitable new boat for my wife and I and now it looks as though we may have lost our ride for the racing season.

We had two incidents on Sunday, with the same boat in both cases. The first involved a collision, damaging the teak rub rail on the boat I was on, but apparently the smaller boat that hit us took a fortunate bounce and was not hurt. Later, shortly after the start of the race, the same boat tacked right in front of us and we very nearly crushed it.

In the first case we were clearly the burdened vessel, but I think our lookout was not as sharp as it should have been, as we were short experienced crew, and the experienced folks we had were helping two neophyte racers in challenging conditions for teaching a rookie (winds gusting to the mid-high 20's and 3-4' seas). We were preparing to do a practice tack. I was on the windward rail preparing to free the working sheet, while the other experienced crew member was working with one of the new guys to get the lazy sheet on the winch. Apparently, the skipper focused on them for too long and missed seeing a starboard tack boat approaching us. The skipper of the other boat was intent on claiming his rights and never made the first effort to avoid us, hitting us bow on, in the starboard cockpit adjacent to the helm. Being that it was around a 2000lb boat hitting a 18000 lb boat, he pretty much bounced off. I was looking down at the time and by the time I looked up at the commotion, it was all over. I never even felt the impact.

The later incident occured as we were approaching the layline with the fleet around us, again everyone on a port tack. The boat leading our fleet got knocked on its ear by a gust, so I was focused on spoting the gusts and working the traveller and mainsheet to keep us on our feet. Even so, we were likely somewhat overpowered and limited in our ability to bear off in a gust due to weather helm. At that point, the same boat we'd collided with earlier tacked to cross in front of us, just as we were hit by a strong gust. I'd let the traveller all the way to leeward as we were hit by a strong gust and as I looked back I saw the skipper realize we couldn't bear off to duck the now starboard tack boat, so he heaved the wheel to windward and threw up his hands, as it was all he could do. I just caught sight of the B25 directly under our bow, as we made a violent windward turn similar to broaching, but intentional, and then got knocked nearly flat by the backwinded genoa. I went from being on the windward side to waist deep underwater in a matter of seconds. As soon was we recovered our wits, we retired from the race. Everone was pretty shaken, because we knew we'd have cut that boat in half it we'd made contact that time. It looked like a Miata in front of a big rig truck.

I suppose the skipper of the B25 feels he allowed adequate room for us to tack out of his way, but self preservation would have prevented me from tacking in front a much bigger boat unless I was damn sure I could clear his bow if he continued on course. I think it would be better to file a protest than put your crew in peril. 

At any rate, the crew is thinking the Admrial will be revoking racing priviliges so I may be looking for a new ride if I want to race this season, which is a shame. Its club racing. There is no point in damaging boats and putting people in real peril for a Sunday club race.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Sorry to hear that... it sounds like the gung-ho captain of the B25 really needs to learn his colregs... Even though he was on starboard tack in the first instance, he still is obligated to DO EVERYTHING POSSIBLE TO AVOID A COLLISION...which it doesn't sound he did. 

As for the second incident... tacking that closely in front of a larger boat is pretty dumb.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

It does sound like a bad weekend all around with lots of lessons to be learner. I'm willing to bet the other skipper learned nothing though.


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## PalmettoSailor (Mar 7, 2006)

I can't speak for the skipper or crew of the other boat, but I've run the event over and over in my head thinking about what I might have done to avoid the situation. 

I'm still pretty new to sailing and racing and I've come to the conclusion that on this day, my situational awareness pretty much stopped at the lifelines. For the most part, I was not focused on anything other than the tasks on deck, and working with the newer crew, to the exclusion of nearly everything else. I was completely unaware of the first incident until it was history, and the second incident was just a flash realization before all hell broke loose. I've already learned "one hand for the boat, one hand for yourself", and now I've learned "one eye for the task, one eye for the bigger picture". 

When bad things happen on a sailboat, they happen unbelievably fast, so everyone needs to do their part to make sure the skipper isn't distracted and to help them maintain their awareness to avoid a bad outcome like we experienced, even with a good skipper.


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## nolatom (Jun 29, 2005)

Reduced to its essentials, it's a port-starboard. If your skipper retired from the race, evidently he didn't think B25 tacked too close. You're approaching the windward mark. If you're fetching and B isn't, then you know he's going to tack sometime. In a race, if you tack onto starboard and gave enough time and room for port to clear, whether starboard can cross port's bow or not is indeed a self-preservation issue, but irrelevant under the racing rules (and the Colregs) B25 was right in the second incident, at least the way you've told it.


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## Jeff_H (Feb 26, 2000)

While I am not saying that the skipper of the B25 was 100% right, he's not, I certainly can see why the collision occurred. In heavy air like yesterday, the boats are heeled over making it hard to see under the mainsail, its hard to have anyone leave the rail to look below the mainsail, especially on a small, light weight boat like the B25, and closing speeds are much faster than in even moderate air. As a result, the boats on starboard take fewer moments to keep track of burdened boats than might be ideal, assuming, perhaps incorrectly, that their only obligation is to hold a steady course so that the burdened boat can gauge how to duck orf pass them. They may not have been asserting their rights, but may never have seen the burdened boat coming until the last second and may have been so overpowered that a quick enough turn-down wasn't even possible. 

From the fact that they did so little damage and the boats did not interlock, my guess is that they did try to alter course. Without altering course they probably would have ended up with thier b ow solidly in your cockpit with their rig captured by your backstay. 

I'm surprised that you are still out there for the second incident. Having fouled another boat sufficiently to have damage, your skipper should have retired. 720's don't apply when there is collisions with damage. 

After the first incident, your skipper should have been much more alert and assigned someone to provide a proper watch. Part of being alert is to watch other boats that are near enough to cause an incident closely enough to anticipate when they may change course in a way that puts you at risk. Assuming that the jib-trimmer is not in the cockpit at this point, as mainsail trimmer, you are in the best position to keep a look out and keep the skipper informed and are also often in a position look under the boom as well. The crew on the rail should be calling gusts. You have enough to do watching the helm and keeping tabs of your position on the water relative to potentially privileged boats. 

The B-25 has an obligation not to tack too close to allow the burdened boat to prevent a collision nin seamanlike manner. It sounds like he did that since no collision occurred. Even though your skipper was forced to make a last minute panic tack it sounds like with a proper lookout (one tracking nearby competition) the panic tack could have been avoided. 

After the last incident with your boat, I would have expected the B-25 skipper to eye your position carefully, decide he could clear you one way of the other and be very prepared to hail you well in advance. That said, on windy day, that hail would be hard to hear. If I were him, I would also have expected you to be keeping a much more careful look out than the first time, which apparently you weren't or you would have seen him coming. 

Lastly, if your skipper was able to throw a panic tack and still miss the B-25, there is a good chance that you would not have hit the B-25 even if he had proceeded but after the last incident, your skipper panicked and crash tacked.

Respectfully,
Jeff


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## chucklesR (Sep 17, 2007)

I'm missing something maybe.

You were on a port tack as was the B25, the B25 tacked and crossed your course so you were to windward of him - you couldn't fall off and go behind him because of what? Too much weather helm? Then you were indeed over canvassed and on a port tack, burdened by his starboard. Two strikes. The third is not watching and reacting to the other boats around you, two seconds timely falling off would have sped you up _and_ put you behind hiim, or better yet on his tack you could have done an immediate tack and put him in you wind shadow.

I agree the B25 skipper was aggressive, perhaps inappropriately aggressive for a sunday club race; he also had the starboard tack on you; and that's called tactics, it's what's he out there for - out skippering the other boats by making them do things they don't want to do. Assuming it's a PHRF race the only way he's going to beat bigger boats is to outsail them by manuveur and careful attention to what he's doing and what you are perhaps not doing.
Your boat could benefit from a tactician - someone doing nothing but watching what is going on and with the direct ear of the helmsman.

I am no expert, ya'll feel free to school me. This isn't COLREGS, this is bouy bouncing and you are looking for advantages some of which mean causing the other guy a disadvantage (unwanted tack, force off the line) I don't aggressively race my Gemini even in my club races because it's not as manuvuerable as the mono's and I don't want to get caught in a pre-race scrum at the start lines - but I do love to watch the others do it.


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## PalmettoSailor (Mar 7, 2006)

To be clear, the B25 was slightly ahead of us on port tack prior to tacking. Their whole crew would have been in a much better postion to see us before they started their tack to starboard than our crew as to see them. FWIW, the B25 had a reef in the main and partially furled headsail. They didn't seem to be having any difficulty manuvering.

We were most definintely the burdened boat in the first instance and arguably so in the second, and acknowledged as much. I was on the high side coaming where I could reach the traveller and mainsheet. At the angle of heel were were at, the only thing I could see from my position to leeward was water, but as I acknowleged, I wasn't paying as much attention as I should have to the big picture.

You may be right Jeff, and for whatever reason it seemed our whole crew was off our "A-game", but if the skipper had been wrong, we very easily could have killed people on the smaller boat, so I think a measure of panic was warranted.

I do appreciate the good feed back everyone is giving. My point in posting was not to assign blame but to gain from others insights how to make things better next time (hoping there is a next time). I feel you often learn more from your failures than your victories.

edited to address Chuckles question. Yes were were over canvassed and yes in the gusts there was too much weather helm to duck the guy. If we weren't in a big puff at the time the other boat tacked, we probably would have had room to duck behind him.

One last point. It was still 15 or more boat lengths up to the lay line. None of the other boats ahead of us had yet tacked so the B25's tack was something of a suprise as they most definintely would have to tack again before the mark.


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## E38 (Nov 30, 2006)

My guess is that in the 2nd instance, you could have ducked if you had quickly eased the main way out instead of easing the traveler down. I bet the traveler was already off a bit due to being overpowered in the high winds. Dumping the main would have allowed the jib to help pull the boat down. By the time you dropped the traveler down, it was probably too late to go for the main release as it sounds like the helmsman was already throwing the helm over.


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## Jeff_H (Feb 26, 2000)

I am not trying to throw stones at your skipper. We have all been in his shoes where we, as helmsmen needed to make a snap decision and we may not have made the right one. Its easy to sit here with the luxury of hindsight and say, he may have crashed tacked unnecessarily. That was not the point of my post at all. It was more to talk through items to be considered in response to your comment, _" I've run the event over and over in my head thinking about what I might have done to avoid the situation."_

We have all had _'bad days out on the Bay."_ The good news here is that no one was hurt and the damage sounds repairable. Race boats are simply very complex tools, and tools can be fixed.

Lastly, as I tell the folks who work for me, don't beat yourself up, there are plenty of folks out there that will beat you up for free. ;-)

Good luck out there and be safe,
Jeff


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## chucklesR (Sep 17, 2007)

Like Jeff said, don't beat yourself or the skipper up, it happens.

I learned a long time ago that hindsight is almost always 20/20. 
Translated to my boat, The Admiral can almost always see I'm backasswards.
and
If I was right more often than wrong I'd probably be up there on the line mixing it up.


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## jimmyb116 (Feb 20, 2007)

I f your area is like mine the racing is very competitive, even the local around the cans, it sounds like the conditions were too much for the new crew and you should have called it a day.


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## T34C (Sep 14, 2006)

I'm going to assume that the gust that was preventing you from ducking B was a header and B was tacking in the hope of taking advantage of it. 

While it goes without saying that it was the skippers fault (it always is). I think in this case if he couldn't see the other boat from the helm, he should have asked you to move to a position where you could both sheet and watch the other boat. As Jeff mentioned, your position as main sail trimmer was the best suited to help keep an eye on other boats to leeward. 

Where was the genoa trimmer? Were you cross sheeting the genoa or was the trimmer on the leeward side? If they were on the low side, they should have had an eye on B as well.


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## T34C (Sep 14, 2006)

As mentioned earlier, many sailors / skippers have been there and done that.

I was the bow man on a j22 in a heavy weather race. While aproaching the lay line to the windward mark on port tack, we managed to over look a tiny boat coming accross on starboard (tiny meaning a Tartan 10). We also had to crash tack to avoid a collision. The boat was completely knocked down with me left hanging perpendicular to the mast. We recovered and went on to finish the race, but it certainly does get your attention.

I personally find it highly valuable to de-brief and talk thru these sorts of things. It helps make everyone better as a result.


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## PalmettoSailor (Mar 7, 2006)

Lots of woulda', coulda', shoulda's on my part and the skippers part. I technically wasn't assigned as mainsail trimmer, but was in the best position on the rail to handle the traveller, so I that's what I was doing. I honestly don't know what happened with the mainsheet trimmer. Me being on the traveller may have lulled them into inattention or they may have been off balance and down on the leeward side. 

To that point we'd been fine easing the traveller to stay on our feet. It was just a few seconds when all the factors came togther in a bad way. While I was keenly watching the water and boats ahead and to windward for advance notice of the gusts, I never attempted to catch a glance to leeward. Since none of the boats ahead that I could clearly see had yet tacked, I sure didn't expect a boat just ahead of us to leewward to tack so I was also lulled into a type of inattention.

Its somewhat odd that we faced none of the worries we left the dock with that day (ie we were thinking more of being miseable from rain than worrying about a crash).


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## Sabre66 (Feb 3, 2007)

1) Overtaking boat needs to keep clear.

2) Tacking boat needs to keep clear until he's established his tack.

3) Next time dump the sheet, In windy conditions the traveller should have been all the way to leeward already.

4) You guys should have retired after the first incident.

It's all a learning curve. But you need to keep it safe. Maybe next time you should worry less about winning( I know that sounds stupid) and more about practicing tactics and boat handling.


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## PalmettoSailor (Mar 7, 2006)

Sabre66 said:


> 1) Overtaking boat needs to keep clear.
> 
> 2) Tacking boat needs to keep clear until he's established his tack.
> 
> ...


As a discrete final word, the idea of taking it easy and rolling in some sail was suggested both subtly and not so subtly by the most experienced crew member (other than the skipper) on board, but the idea(s) was vetoed.

In hindsight, I'm sure the skipper wishes he'd heeded the concerns of his most experienced crew member, that discretion would be the better part of valor on a heavy wind day when you're short of experienced crew. At this point of my sailing evolution, when I'm the 3rd most experienced person on a boat, things are getting thin. ;-)


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