Facebook

Login

Support Sailonline

If you haven't already - join the SAILONLINE YACHT CLUB!

Please also consider making a donation - all amounts are greatly appreciated!

5 September 2010

On request, because many of us wondered what happened to Windswept, the boat our fellow SOLer was crewing on, Chaos has prepared this brief report!! What really happened with Windswept? Our first excitement of the day was on the downwind run to the start when the belt on the engine water pump broke and we had to do a running repair. It was blowing a steady 30 knots so raising the sails downwind with no engine assistance and very little way on was challenging. We made the start and, having decided to do the short course in the Non Spinnaker division, were in the first group off the line. NW wind. Downwind start. The first boat in the spinnaker division put theirs up and promptly broached. Soon the scene behind us was filled with spinnakers as the other divisions started with more broaches. As usual in the Sound when it is blowing the waves were short and steep. We made good progress downwind and set our furling jib wing on wing and with a reefed main started to enjoy a regular surfing speed of 10 knots. Norwalk went by, then Westport, then Bridgeport at record speed for us. We were doing well, making good speed and hanging with the faster boats. The forecast had been for 15-20kts gusting 30ish. Near Stratford Shoals we picked up a great surf and watched our speed reach 11.6 kts, new record for our heavy Cal 33, when a spinnaker boat behind us broached wildly and was pinned down. Before we could get the whisker pole off and reduce sail the gust hit us and the pole snapped. Now we had to tack downwind which meant some hair raising jibing even with 2 reefs in the main and the jib furled. With the waves so steep and close together the boat was rolling and very hard to steer. Somewhere in the process of getting the broken pole off the mast and the boat back under control I cut my leg and was bleeding, so with the forecast calling for the wind to build for the next 6 hours, the skipper made the decision not to break the boat or crew any further. Then came the fun part of finding the nearest sheltered harbour to sit it out. Port Jefferson, on Long Island, would have been a reach and was sheltered but we picked Bridgeport which was upwind but closer on the CT shore so if it turned into having to leave the boat and coming back to get it later we could get back to Stamford easily. If downwind was an exciting ride, upwind was horrible. The boat is 33' and the waves were a steep 5' with about 35' from crest to crest. Perfect for the boat to go over one and crash into the face of the next one. The gusts of 20-30 that were in the forecast were not gusts but a steady 30 with gusts above that. We were on our ear with a double reefed main and much of the jib furled as wave after wave exploded against the bow and hosed the deck and crew. Maybe the boat should be called Waveswept. The three miles to shelter seemed a long way. The 16 miles back to our home port a very long way. Hopefully next year we will get something between a Tropical Storm and a flat calm!

Comments

1 CG says...
Very very glad you made it back safely xxxx

Posted at 12:20 p.m. on September 5, 2010

2 Exmeromotu says...
Phew! Glad you made it to port safely! CAL boats pound like crazy even with moderate chop, must have felt as if the boat were coming apart (holding your breath) with each wave. Regards

Posted at 1:30 p.m. on September 5, 2010

Comments are closed.

Comments have been closed for this post.

Races

Next Race: 00d 00h 00m

Current Races:

Mad Max by Balloon 2026 - Across the Outback


Mad Max Rockatansky doesn’t get to go in a balloon in any of the Legends of the Wasteland, and the Wasteland is not necessarily the Outback of Australia, but Mel Gibson and film director George Miller indubitably are… of Australia, and ballooning as reconnaissance is a main feature of the Mad Max spin-off video game, so here goes: 1500nm in a balloon from somewhere on the edge of the Outback, Goondiwindi, to cross a finish line at Fitzroy Crossing, somewhere on the edge of the Outback!
Race #1974
INFOby brainaid.de
SOL Balloon PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking: BOL - SYC
Race starts: Oct 14th 13:00 Registration Open!
▶ Flash
GO TO RACE

Valdes Peninsula TIMED Race 2026

October finds us on the Argentina coast for the Valdes Peninsula race. A UNESCO World Heritage Site the peninsula is a breeding ground for southern right whales. Sail the luxurious blue water Delphia 47 around a 160 nm course in an attempt to turn in the fastest time.
This is a TIMEDrace so you may RE-REGISTER HEREto try again after finishing a run. You will have two weeks to test your skill and decision making after the race opens.
Race #2066
INFOby brainaid.de
PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking:
TRQ4 - TRCH - SYC
RACE CLOSE: Saturday,
24 October at 23:00 UTC
Race starts: Oct 11th 12:00 Registration Open!
▶ Flash
GO TO RACE

Roma Giraglia Regata 2026

Our eighth race of nine to celebrate all things Mediterranean - fickle winds, history and olive oil – is another buddy-up; this one with the Circolo Nautico Riva di Traiano . Founded in 1984, as the new Traiano yacht Harbour neared completion, the Circola since then has developed into one of the major yachting competition centres in Italy, and next to the 450nm Roma per Tutti (which SOL buddied earlier in the year), the Roma Giraglia Regata is its other headline offshore event. First raced in 2005, the 210nm course takes competitors from Traiano to a rock on the inside of the Ile de la Giraglia off the northern tip of Corsica and back to the Italian mainland for a finish in the bay of Santo Stefano. We’re racing this one in our Class 40!
Race #2058
INFO by brainaid.de
Class 40 PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking: MED - SUPBUD - SYC
Race starts: Oct 08th 16:00 Registration Open!

▶ Flash
GO TO RACE

Arctic Tern - Greenland to Antarctica 2025

Welcome to the fifth leg of our MIG series. Now it's time to race the Arctic Terns, on their migration from Greenland to Antarctica, 8300 NM. This is also part of our monthly Ocean Championship, and as such the first race of OCQ4 2026. This race will be sailed in our Maxi Trimaran. Race #2061
INFO by brainaid.de
Maxi Trimaran PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230 Ranking:
OCQ4 - OCCH - SYC - MIG
Race starts: Oct 05th 11:00 Registration Open!
▶ Flash
GO TO RACE

Cross the Convergence 2026 - Masirah to Chagos


Having crossed, re-crossed and re-re-crossed the Convergence Zones of the Pacific and the Atlantic, we now face our second crossing of the Convergence Zone of the World’s third great equator-spanning sea, the Indian Ocean, taking us from the channel between Masirah Island and the Oman mainland to the Chagos Archipelago. It’s 1900nm and we’ll be sailing our very fine Archer 78, and won’t mention that both locations (of departure and arrival) are heavily militarized and the why’s and what next’s concerning that – mindful as always of SOL Netiquette.
Race #1988
INFOby brainaid.de
Archer 78PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking: CCZ - SYC
Race starts: Oct 02nd 18:00 Registration Closed
▶ Flash
GO TO RACE

Go to race archive

SYC Ranking

  1. Sailonline Yacht Club Member KaSToR
  2. Sailonline Yacht Club Member CriticalHippo
  3. Sailonline Yacht Club Member WRmirekd
  4. Sailonline Yacht Club Member rafa
  5. Sailonline Yacht Club Member rumskib
  6. Sailonline Yacht Club Member Panpyc
  7. Sailonline Yacht Club Member cdhinman
  8. Sailonline Yacht Club Member rthinman
  9. Sailonline Yacht Club Member BRENTGRAY
  10. Sailonline Yacht Club Member Sax747

View full list

Series

Mobile Client

SYC members have the benefit of access to our mobile/lightweight web client!

The mobile client