Hi forecast is for westerly say 10-15. If it looks like its panning out, I'll be heading the Van Pugh and hope to see others as well.
Probably arrive in the later am.
Randy
—
What happens in a black hole stays in a black hole.
Well, how did your session go today??? What did you sail? I was tempted to go to Galts. When the temp is 60 and above, I'll always consider sailing provided it's windy enough...
mimi
Well, I'm grateful for how it turned out, but it was not the most fun day I've ever had. Started out pretty well on a 9.6, but soon rigged down to 7.2. After a few good runs, I managed to get launched (which doesn't happen often) and much to my surprise when I looked up my board was floating away from me and the sail. I lost no time swimming back to the board. Once there I realized the entire mast track had come out of the board. After using my cb as a paddle I made it back to the sail. I tried to pull the sail up to try to somehow use it to move me back to shore, but couldn't. At this time I began to signal passing boats for help w/o much success. Finally I derigged the sail, mast boom, etc and tried to paddle in. Didn't work well - the wind was too strong. I could have made it to Aqualand in say an hour, but not Van Pugh. Eventually my call for help pulled in a couple fishermen. They decided things didn't look that desperate, and after all they had a fishing tournament to win.
Shortly, Tim Carter came to my rescue. We managed to connect my uphaul, and a short piece of line he had with my adjustaable outhual line and (this is the belive it or not part) he was able to tow me back. Took several tacks and I imagine a lot of grunt on his end, but after about an hour made it to VP. (Surpisingly, this worked pretty well. Not that hard once you get the hang of it. However, its got to be more fun for the towee than the towor.)
Ironically, this day was fairly warm so I took off my hat and gloves, and was only wearing my wetsuit (not my drysuit.) Not too swift. Since I had my gloves in my vest not a big problem, but it does show that when you least expect it, things can go bad in a hurry. In 8 years of sailing I've only had a few problems, none involving actual breakdown.
Even less swift was my lack of a good 10+ foot long piece of line. (I used to always have one in my vest). Would have made life substantially easier. I'll be sure to have that from now on.
So in the end, it was not the day I hoped for, but given the circumstances, I am happy it turned out as well as it did. Like they always say, experience is what you get when you don't get what you want.
Randy
—
What happens in a black hole stays in a black hole.
Wow, the mast track CAME OUT??? I never sailed the Prodigy in enough wind or larger sails to ever put a lot of stress on the board. Was the mast track still attached to the mast base so you could retrieve it? Was the mast track originally glued in? Is the mast track cavity in the board intact? Wow, that is basically still a new board, since it really didn't get an awful lot of time on the water. I wonder if it was a manufacturing flaw that caused it to fail...
More importantly, you are ok after this ordeal. I never carry extra line but will do so from now on base on this experience. The other factor is that when we sail alone (not a good idea anyway), we have to think about the possibility of self rescue and stay closer to shore maybe, especially if the water is cold.
Real bummer about your board. That's a pretty long mast track too. Not just a simple Chinook strongbox installation.
Somebody might be able to take it along on the spring Hatteras trip and drop it off at Fox Watersports. I can do it based on space availability.
Others going are Danny J., Gene M., Andrew B., Mark S., & Doug S. Gene's going for two weeks which would give them the most amount of time for the repair.
You might also want to touch base with Fred D. since he's was/is the Mistral rep. He might have some ideas too.
I think I'll probably start with Eddie, and see if he can fix it. I don't really think fixing it will be that big of a problem, though I want to make sure its done right, so this doesn't happen again. I'll keep your suggestions in mind, however.
The track was not epoxied in as far as I can tell. This is the way it was supposed to be since it was my understanding that it was upgradable to a on the fly adjustable track for racing, so it had to be removable. I still have the track. Anyway, I think the molded anchors failed. I don't think it had anything to do with the size sail on (was only using a 7.2 at the time.) Getting launched can put a lot of stress on the track, but as launches go, I've had far worse. Anyway, aside from an NTSB investigation, I guess I'll never know.
I'm still pretty happy it didn't turn out a lot worse, such as if I'd been sailing alone, in colder weather,closer to dark (or worse yet in the ocean in an offshore wind). Anyway my survival kit is coming together nicely. I now have 2 lines (10 and 15 foot), a swiss army knife, "space blanket", and small flashing light (halloween style) - wrapped in saran wrap as appropriate, plus a whistle (in honor of my sailing instructor from last summer who insisted we all have one). All fits nicely in the back pocket of my vest. I figure I'll head over the REI and see what other "survival" gear I can add.
BTW - long lines are a really good idea, as it made a huge difference in towing. By having a long line, it was possible for Tim to tack his board - would have been impossible otherwise. Perhaps just for fun we should practice towing once in a while.
Randy
—
What happens in a black hole stays in a black hole.
Randy,
Bill's suggestion to contact Fred might be a good idea. He might be able to let us know about Mistral's record of this occurence. My vision with this board was to learn how to sail, then later, retrofit it with the comp mast track for racing. I suppose that uprgrade would probably make the installation more "permanent" with epoxy. I'm curious as to how they would get the mast track out to begin with.
mimi
The track is held in with screws so it can be removed easily. I got an interesting email from Eva, the board repair lady in CA (I think.) She gave me some suggestions on how to fix it. She made the comment that she got 700 boards for repair in her shop last year, but not one Prodigy.
Randy
—
What happens in a black hole stays in a black hole.
Tim checked with Mistral and they were quite surpised by it all. Sounds like a pretty rare event. I think that Eva's (the board lady) suggestion to use 3M-5200 boat adhesive is the best. Sounds like it would be a pretty simple matter to solve the problem with that stuff. She says it has incredible adhesive strenth and related a story about a wench stuck on the top of a boat with it. A 2 square foot of carbon composite from the boat actually broke off before they could get the winch (held with one bead of 5200)off. So it sounds like this may be a minor deal. (If not, then footstrap plugs installed as anchors sounds like the next best way to go.)
Randy
—
What happens in a black hole stays in a black hole.
Randy,
If this "event" is so rare with Mistral, why don't they replace the board or fix it? Maybe they did something wrong in the production line, or maybe it's a stuctural design defect. Perhaps you should take some pictures and email them to Mistral and/or Fred and get some more advice. I'm still baffled.
At any rate, you have a chance to consider a retrofit with the comp mast track before you finalize with the adhesive.
mimi
Well, how did your session go today??? What did you sail? I was tempted to go to Galts. When the temp is 60 and above, I'll always consider sailing provided it's windy enough...
mimi
Mimi
Well, I'm grateful for how it turned out, but it was not the most fun day I've ever had. Started out pretty well on a 9.6, but soon rigged down to 7.2. After a few good runs, I managed to get launched (which doesn't happen often) and much to my surprise when I looked up my board was floating away from me and the sail. I lost no time swimming back to the board. Once there I realized the entire mast track had come out of the board. After using my cb as a paddle I made it back to the sail. I tried to pull the sail up to try to somehow use it to move me back to shore, but couldn't. At this time I began to signal passing boats for help w/o much success. Finally I derigged the sail, mast boom, etc and tried to paddle in. Didn't work well - the wind was too strong. I could have made it to Aqualand in say an hour, but not Van Pugh. Eventually my call for help pulled in a couple fishermen. They decided things didn't look that desperate, and after all they had a fishing tournament to win.
Shortly, Tim Carter came to my rescue. We managed to connect my uphaul, and a short piece of line he had with my adjustaable outhual line and (this is the belive it or not part) he was able to tow me back. Took several tacks and I imagine a lot of grunt on his end, but after about an hour made it to VP. (Surpisingly, this worked pretty well. Not that hard once you get the hang of it. However, its got to be more fun for the towee than the towor.)
Ironically, this day was fairly warm so I took off my hat and gloves, and was only wearing my wetsuit (not my drysuit.) Not too swift. Since I had my gloves in my vest not a big problem, but it does show that when you least expect it, things can go bad in a hurry. In 8 years of sailing I've only had a few problems, none involving actual breakdown.
Even less swift was my lack of a good 10+ foot long piece of line. (I used to always have one in my vest). Would have made life substantially easier. I'll be sure to have that from now on.
So in the end, it was not the day I hoped for, but given the circumstances, I am happy it turned out as well as it did. Like they always say, experience is what you get when you don't get what you want.
Randy
What happens in a black hole stays in a black hole.
Randy,
What board were you sailing? Is it repairable (DIY or professional)?
Bill
Bill Herderich
Sailing the Prodigy board, should be repairable but need to figure out the best way to do it. Probably better to let a pro do it.
Randy
What happens in a black hole stays in a black hole.
Wow, the mast track CAME OUT??? I never sailed the Prodigy in enough wind or larger sails to ever put a lot of stress on the board. Was the mast track still attached to the mast base so you could retrieve it? Was the mast track originally glued in? Is the mast track cavity in the board intact? Wow, that is basically still a new board, since it really didn't get an awful lot of time on the water. I wonder if it was a manufacturing flaw that caused it to fail...
More importantly, you are ok after this ordeal. I never carry extra line but will do so from now on base on this experience. The other factor is that when we sail alone (not a good idea anyway), we have to think about the possibility of self rescue and stay closer to shore maybe, especially if the water is cold.
Keep us posted with the repairs!
Mimi
Mimi
Randy,
Real bummer about your board. That's a pretty long mast track too. Not just a simple Chinook strongbox installation.
Somebody might be able to take it along on the spring Hatteras trip and drop it off at Fox Watersports. I can do it based on space availability.
Others going are Danny J., Gene M., Andrew B., Mark S., & Doug S. Gene's going for two weeks which would give them the most amount of time for the repair.
You might also want to touch base with Fred D. since he's was/is the Mistral rep. He might have some ideas too.
Bill
Bill Herderich
I think I'll probably start with Eddie, and see if he can fix it. I don't really think fixing it will be that big of a problem, though I want to make sure its done right, so this doesn't happen again. I'll keep your suggestions in mind, however.
The track was not epoxied in as far as I can tell. This is the way it was supposed to be since it was my understanding that it was upgradable to a on the fly adjustable track for racing, so it had to be removable. I still have the track. Anyway, I think the molded anchors failed. I don't think it had anything to do with the size sail on (was only using a 7.2 at the time.) Getting launched can put a lot of stress on the track, but as launches go, I've had far worse. Anyway, aside from an NTSB investigation, I guess I'll never know.
I'm still pretty happy it didn't turn out a lot worse, such as if I'd been sailing alone, in colder weather,closer to dark (or worse yet in the ocean in an offshore wind). Anyway my survival kit is coming together nicely. I now have 2 lines (10 and 15 foot), a swiss army knife, "space blanket", and small flashing light (halloween style) - wrapped in saran wrap as appropriate, plus a whistle (in honor of my sailing instructor from last summer who insisted we all have one). All fits nicely in the back pocket of my vest. I figure I'll head over the REI and see what other "survival" gear I can add.
BTW - long lines are a really good idea, as it made a huge difference in towing. By having a long line, it was possible for Tim to tack his board - would have been impossible otherwise. Perhaps just for fun we should practice towing once in a while.
Randy
What happens in a black hole stays in a black hole.
Randy,
Bill's suggestion to contact Fred might be a good idea. He might be able to let us know about Mistral's record of this occurence. My vision with this board was to learn how to sail, then later, retrofit it with the comp mast track for racing. I suppose that uprgrade would probably make the installation more "permanent" with epoxy. I'm curious as to how they would get the mast track out to begin with.
mimi
Mimi
The track is held in with screws so it can be removed easily. I got an interesting email from Eva, the board repair lady in CA (I think.) She gave me some suggestions on how to fix it. She made the comment that she got 700 boards for repair in her shop last year, but not one Prodigy.
Randy
What happens in a black hole stays in a black hole.
Maybe Mistral could explain it...?
mimi
Mimi
Tim checked with Mistral and they were quite surpised by it all. Sounds like a pretty rare event. I think that Eva's (the board lady) suggestion to use 3M-5200 boat adhesive is the best. Sounds like it would be a pretty simple matter to solve the problem with that stuff. She says it has incredible adhesive strenth and related a story about a wench stuck on the top of a boat with it. A 2 square foot of carbon composite from the boat actually broke off before they could get the winch (held with one bead of 5200)off. So it sounds like this may be a minor deal. (If not, then footstrap plugs installed as anchors sounds like the next best way to go.)
Randy
What happens in a black hole stays in a black hole.
Randy,
Let me know where you get this stuff. Sounds like a handy thing to have in the tool box.
Randy,
If this "event" is so rare with Mistral, why don't they replace the board or fix it? Maybe they did something wrong in the production line, or maybe it's a stuctural design defect. Perhaps you should take some pictures and email them to Mistral and/or Fred and get some more advice. I'm still baffled.
At any rate, you have a chance to consider a retrofit with the comp mast track before you finalize with the adhesive.
mimi
Mimi