Where WhimSea Takes Us

With leaden skies, thunderstorms forecast, a decent 15 knot breeze and seas of 1-3 feet, WhimSea and crew slipped the docklines. The tasks for the day were originally to do some whiskerpole work, stand abbreviated watches to get used to having an available four man crew, do an MOB exercise, rig and use the preventer stay system and watch some training videos. We got all of it done excepting the whiskerpole work and I was pretty tempted to do that.

Since we had moderate seas it was nice to get some helm time in with the newest members of the crew, Michael and Matt. Sailing downwind is probably the more tiring of conditions especially as the seas pick up and start playing with the boat. It's more taxing physically and difficult to be able to keep the course and wind directions more constant. The forecast was calling for the wind to diminish in the afternoon but while we had it we sailed towards Duluth on a broad reach. With the crew in training mode and a bit of an abbreviated crew in the first place, it didn't make sense to pole out and run deeper.

The preventer stays worked awesome! What we did was to connect a line to the first mainsheet bail, run it to a shackle connected to the toe rail even with the aft lower shroud and ran it aft to the cockpit and aft cleat. The line floats so if it goes over the side we shouldn't have to worry too much about prop fouling (might as well make it as idiot proof as possible). It's also a bright yellow so while cluttering the decks a bit more it's still easy to see. Since it's run aft to the cockpit there's no more leaving the cockpit to secure a preventer. In the past we had used a dockline that we tied to the toe rail. Doing that involved so much more effort and opened us up to the possibility of an accidental gybe (even more likely when considering the helmsman's activity lookin' around during the preparation). With this in place the stay can be unsecured but still held by one of the afterguard while everyone else is on station. It's sweet!

We were figuring on sailing in the Duluth entry, doing a beam reach through the harbor and then beating back to Knife River. About 2:00 or so we hove-to and had lunch. Deb had made us the most excellent sandwich relished by the entire crew, thanks again Deb!! Seeing as how the wind was diminishing fast and the lake lying down it seemed best to start heading back. I don't think we sailed more than five miles when the wind deserted us entirely. We fired up the engine and took everything down to motor back. We did get wet though on the way down and a bit on the way back from some rain but nothing too bad. Never once did the rumble of thunder make itself heard.

After getting back we worked on hoisting an MOB aboard. During the last cruise we outfitted the boom-vang with quick release shackles (with a breaking strength of over 3300 pounds). When I had last replaced the vang line I did so with the idea that I would use it as a hoist, for getting stuff off the boat in the fall when she's on the hard, maybe bringing our dingy on the fore-deck with the whisker pole and spinnaker halyard and using it as an MOB hoist when attached to one of the reefing bails on the boom.

Our cockpit lifelines detach allowing for an easy embarking/debarking process. I had originally thought the easiest way to get a person aboard, considering our three feet plus of freeboard, would be to detach the lifelines, connect to the MOB and do the hoist. Now here's the rub. If a person is in cold water, and I mean water below 45 degrees Fahrenheit, after 10 minutes their capacity to even do rudimentary things is diminished to the point of non-existence. Having a hook and a hoist is not going to do anything for the crew in the water if they can't help themselves (and that's not even considering they were injured in the overboard incident). We worked on two scenarios, having a harness with D rings and having just a lifesling.

In the harness scenario if the MOB could connect the d ring to the hook, no problem. If not, no dice. If we were doing the lifesling with no D ring we could haul and connect the hook ourselves but with the tackle and the length of line, we would run out of hoisting space before the MOB was still mostly in the water. We learned that with our freeboard there is no way for someone on deck to connect the hook to someone in the water. Furthermore, now keep in mind it's not necessarily the case that the MOB could even get themselves in the Lifesling, we would not be able to haul the MOB aboard without having three or four guys heaving at the side of the deck without lifelines. Not a pleasant scenario.

Unlike a lot of boats of our vintage (1988), we have a swim platform and ladder. I think in many instances the MOB drill figures that the MOB would be able to use the ladder. In some instances this may be true but doesn't the adage go; 'plan for the worst and hope for the best?' Having the same MOB, putting a person on the platform brought us close enough to hook on to the MOB and hoist and it didn't matter if it was the D ring or the Lifesling. Furthermore, we had some play in the stern pulpits, the closer to the deck we were the better off we were. I think we figured out what we need to do. Now we just need to make sure that the rest of the crew understand what needs to happen when it comes to the process.

Lastly, we watched some training videos. When I bought the life raft we have aboard an instruction DVD was provided. The more familiar someone is with the process the less likely things will be forgotten even in a panic situation. Hopefully that'll help should it ever need to be deployed.

When I sail I typically don't wear a lifevest. We sail in water that has a year round average temperature of 40 some degrees (Lake Superior). The common wisdom up here is that life jackets are merely to help retrieve the bodies. It gives a person a somewhat fatalistic perspective when it comes to lifevests. Karen and I had chanced upon a video on one of the TV channels that was talking about the Cold Water Boot Camp ( http://www.coldwaterbootcamp.com/pages/home.html ) which put people in cold water and examined what happened. It was powerful and the good people there sent me a DVD for me to use in our training. At first the crew watching it were talking over it a bit, but when we got to people's reactions there was no idle chatter, everyone was focussed on what we were watching. The video really gave away this basic take-away - the 1-10-1 principle. If you are the one in the water; take a minute to get your breath under control, you have 10 minutes of meaningful movement in the water and you have one hour before loosing consciousness due to hypothermia. That last part is important - you have one hour before loosing consciousness due to hypothermia. That means that your lifevest will save your life.

A most successful training day.

Posted by Karen A. Brown

It’s pirates weekend so it is sure to be sunny and hot! The day started with Troy and I finishing up the Pirates preparation before joining the rest of the folks gathered to watch Grandma’s Marathon on Saturday morning. I am truly amazed by the sheer volume of people that attend the race every year. The runners start with the wheeled set, then the elite runners, then people come over the hill in a wave of bodies that fills the road to capacity, pushing the sight seekers into the ditches and shoulders along the way. For long minutes people flow out of Two Harbors on their way to Duluth, a seemingly never ending sea.

Afterward we finished the rest of the preparations for the Pirate event and waiting for the noon bell and the start of the day.

Mark and Michael started with their cannons up on the hill near the beach while Troy and Dave loaded up WhimC with a cannon, potatoes, the captains chest and themselves. They were hoping to be able to put WhimSea on anchor between the mainland and Knife Island but the wind was so variable that Troy didn’t like the idea of leaving her out on the water with no one aboard for that long. So instead they rowed Charlie around through the entrance and over to the beach.

While they were rowing over Mark and Michael began firing on them from the beach. It was an awesome spectacle and really got the kids in the spirit of pirate day. Once they made it ashore, the kids all signed up to go a-pirating and Troy broke the group of kids into four distinct teams; Dave, Troy, Michael and Mark would each lead a team of kids around the marina in search of the clues that would bring them to the big treasure at the end.

The kids all had a great time, even though it was hot and sunny (typical). Eventually all groups had gathered their clues and met back at the Clubhouse to determine the finally clue to the main treasure chest. Once they found the main treasure chest, Troy found that he had lost the key and had to go back to WhimSea for a new one. Eventually he and the kids returned with the key and they got the treasure chest open. The kids all got handfuls of booty to enjoy before the chest was packed away for another year.

After all the excitement (and work), Troy and I laid down for a short nap while Karen R along with Mark and Janet shot candy out of the cannons for the kids.

Later that evening, we had a potluck dinner with ribs provided by the club. Troy and I stayed for the dinner then retreated to the beach for some quiet, as well as some shade. I cannot believe how hot it is every year on pirate day.

The next day found us still relaxing as well as working on WhimSea. There were so many preparations to do for the Race and time feels like it’s running out.

Posted by Karen A. Brown

My folks decided to come to the North Shore for the weekend. They arrived early on Friday and spent the day wandering about Two Harbors and generally playing tourists. Saturday morning we met for breakfast at Judy’s before heading out for a bit of a sail. The weather, being spring was typically iffy. We had some wind to take them towards Two Harbors, enough to bring us into the harbor for a quick turn about and back again.

We were heading back towards the marina when the rain hit. It was not long lasting, but did get us a bit wet while it was there. The sky was black overhead and definitely threatening. Mom and Dad went below until it passed, then joined us topside while we motored the rest of the way back to the marina. As typically happens when rain passes, the wind left us with the clouds.

We returned to the marina and visited a bit in the cockpit before heading to the Lighthouse for dinner where we enjoyed a nice dinner.

Mom and Dad left early on Sunday morning leaving us the day to ourselves.