Sport Today

as my summer in the gorge learning to windsurf comes to a close my
thoughts turn to sailing back at home in California, in the Pacific
Ocean, and San Francisco Bay.  i think i am almost competent enough, but
i do worry about the extra dangers of sailing in the ocean and the bay,
such as being caught in a current out to sea, becalmed, damaged rig,
injured, in a shipping lane, etc.

i sail alone.  that's just the way it is.  i know it's not ideal, and i
do have a couple of friends in CA who windsurf who i know i'll sail with
from time to time but i plan to do alot of sailing, and also to go to
Maui this fall, and most of the time i will be sailing alone.  period.

so my question is if there is any sort of handheld, waterproof VHF
marine radio that anybody would recommend carrying in the unfortunate
event that you end up in a mayday situation.  obviously every precaution
should be taken to avoid needing to be rescued, and i intend to take
every precaution available to me, and i would not radio for a rescue
except in the most dire of circumstances.  nonetheless, i would feel
alot more comfortable having that lifeline just in case.

i have heard of people carrying cell phones, but at my skill level i
spend alot of time in the water, and i don't know if there's a
waterproof cell phone.  it seems to me that a totally waterproof
handheld marine radio would be most appropriate.

i'd appreciate any recommendations.

Hi Chris!

I know that you are seeking information on radios etc which I
unfortunately can't really help you with. Tom from Chicago had some
thoughts on these kind of things in the past so he might be able to
help.

Instead I'm going to strongly suggest you consider spending a day or
two working on solid self-rescue techniques. One thing I learned from
sailing in the winter on the Great Lakes is that there are times when
noone can help you know matter how many calls you make. The ultimate
solution is yours to make. Personally I would much rather be working
actively on my own self-rescue then passively waiting for someone to
answer my call anyway! :)

In this vein, I encourage people to post some self-rescue techniques on
the following:

1) Broken mast
2) Broken universal
3) Broken fin
4) 1 board turns into 2
5) Ripped sail
6) Too much wind
7) Wind drops while on a sinker
8) Ripped drysuit in freezing waters
9) Broken boom
10) Broken legs
11) Broken downhaul/outhaul line
12) Broken harness
13) Broken footstrap
14) Waterlogged mast

Add more if you can think of them. I'll follow up in a few days with
some of the solutions I've come up with.

No disrespect intended.

~Jamie N

Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.

Jamie,

None taken.  I think that's an EXCELLENT suggestion.  For some reason that
didn't occur to me to be more prepared for such continencies.  But of
course that makes very good sense.  Like I said I want to take every
precaution, and I agree with you it's better to be self-reliant than rely
on somebody else to rescue me.

I'll look forward to seeing if anybody has any thoughts on the
contingencies you've listed.  I'll take my best stab at them:

1) Broken mast

All I can think of here is ditch the rig and start paddling?  Maybe keep
the sail, roll it up and tie it up with the downhaul line, and lash it to
the mast foot, perhaps with boom, ditch the mast, and start paddling?

2) Broken universal

Same as above?  Except try to lash the mast to the board as well to save it
(and of course ditch anything that interferes with paddling ability).

3) Broken fin

I have no idea whether it's possible to sail without a fin.  I imagine an
expert sailor could squeak by but I would probably have problems.  All I
can think of is diggin in the windward rail, or if there's enough wind,
sail in the waterstart position using one leg sticking down as a dagger
board?

4) 1 board turns into 2

Ditch everything except the largest piece of the board, preferably the
front end, use it as a kickboard, and start paddling?

5) Ripped sail

If too ripped to sail, ditch it, lash mast and boom to mast foot, and start
paddling

6) Too much wind

All I can think of is trying to sail in the waterstart position but when I
was in this situation the other day I found that any attempt to fly my sail
resulted in it *** to leeward, taking me with it if necessary.  I
added outhaul and that probably helped a bit.  I would be afraid of
detaching my mast to add downhaul for fear of losing my rig, or having
trouble reattaching the mast.

7) Wind drops while on a sinker

Swim it in.  Worst case ditch the rig or de-rig and lash it to the board
(or tow it beind the board) and paddle?

8) Ripped drysuit in freezing waters

Sail in quick!

9) Broken boom

Turn the boom upside down if necessary to get the good side on the windward
side and sail in (but I read here that carbon booms often "explode" when
they fail, taking both sides with them).

10) Broken legs

I don't see how I could sail with even one broken leg or arm.  I guess
you'd just have to try your best or if not ditch the rig and try to paddle.

11) Broken downhaul/outhaul line

If the outhaul line broke you should have enough left over to re-tie and
get back.  I use a four-pully downhaul block and tackel so I have lots of
extra downhaul line too, so I would probably be able to re-rig in either of
these situations.

12) Broken harness

That doesn't worry me too much.  Just sail as long as possible with arms,
using locked out arms and leaning back with your weight.  Rest as
necessary, until you get in.

13) Broken footstrap

I sail without footstraps all the time, since I'm still learning to use
them.

14) Waterlogged mast

I've never heard of a waterlogged mast.  I sure would hate to find myself
in any of these situations far from shore.   If you had two at once, I'm
sure you'd REALLY be hosed.  That's when the radio would come in handy.
Until I become more expert, I will stay near shore of course.  I guess
that's the best solution, regardless of skill level, when sailing alone, is
to not get more than 1/2 mile, preferably less, from shore.

Chris

Attach your life jacket to the rear foot strap. Spread your feet far apart
with the leading foot in front of the mast.

    6) Too much wind

Unhook, sheet out, spill wind, pray.

Get serious!

Typical break below the boom:
Unclamp boom.
Throw away the smaller part of
the lower mast.
Pull mast tip out of the upper sail
luff, through the sail cutout.
Reverse tip and reinsert in luff
upside down, through the sail cutout.
Insert tip in lower mast half.
Reclamp boom at top of remaining
lower mast half.

You now have a somewhat functioning
sail to return to the launch.

When tendon pin comes loose, you can
just reinsert tendon in base and sail
in.  No jumps!

My universals have straps to hold
it together enough to get back.

You might also be able to lash it
back together with spare line, to
get back.

In emergency, get back.  Otherwise
get help and avoid damaging the
board.

With broken tab on E-base fins,
remove fin, put in backwards
and sail back, or just sail back
in as is with fin still attached.

With lost fin, consider using the
harness strapped around rear of board
through footstraps and under board to
serve as a crude drag "fin."

Depending on rig, some can sail without
a fin, on rail, etc., but most likely
only off the wind.

Good to practice this, anyway when
not in trouble.  Good practice handling
spinouts.

Some have sailed in with rear part of
board under their arm.  Will retain
some flotation.  See #3.

Use partial sail, esp. if only one panel.

Flatten sail w. downhaul & outhaul.
Learn to sail overpowered.
Buttsail in, keeping rig low.
Lengthen harness lines and/or
adjust boom to better leverage
your bodyweight and handle the
stronger wind.

Learn to slog your sinker in non-
planing conditions, esp. how to get
upwind.

Learn to do clew first jibes on a
small board in light wind.

Buttsail patiently waiting for a gust,
then waterstart and resume sailing.
(Assuming the water is not a feeding
ground for big predators.)

Improve waterstarting in light wind.
Lower boom clamp first if necessary.

Practice uphauling your small boards.

Make certain the suit does not fill
with water.  Use spare line to reseal
leg or arm above rip.  Remove seal
below the rip by tearing it off if
necessary to remove trapped water.
Waterstart and get back to launch.

Plan your cold weather sailing
assuming this will happen.  Carry
spare line.  Sail with a buddy.
Stay upwind of launch, etc.

Reverse boom or sail back clew first.
Learn to waterstart and sail clew
first.

Use arms to pull yourself on the
board and hope you get help.

One fellow just sailed back with
a broken leg -- too cold to wait
for help.

Learn to waterstart with one leg
on the board, either the rear leg
or the front leg.

Use spare line.  Learn to rig and
and adjust rig on the water.

Use remaining piece(s) to rerig.

Use a long outhaul line, so you
could switch lines in the event
of a broken downhaul.

?
Learn to sail without a harness.
If hook breaks off, watch out for
the sharp jagged ends!

If arms tire, rest by slogging
with feet near mast and sheeted
out.

Sail back.

To uphaul heavy rig, use EZ
uphaul or wrap uphaul around
your harness hook and use your
legs to clear sail from water.
If no uphaul, rig one with a
spare line.

Lower boom if necessary and
use tail of board to help fly
the sail.

Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.

Both Icom and Standard Horizon make handheld waterproof radios and they are
small enough to carry with you.

  LOL  just***in your wetsuit.

--
delete 'xxxx' and '.invalid' to EMail us.

I've got a smart answer for all of them!!

Sail with a friend.

Den

Chris, I take call for our office, so I often sail with at least my
pager. I use a waterproof bag made for cell phones.  I have had no
problems with leaks.

There are several waterproof handheld marine VHF radios available as
well. I would make sure they had a guarantee.

Whether you should go with the cell phone or VHF would depend on
coverage in your particular area. If you already have a small cell
phone, and there is good coverage where you plan to sail, then you just
need the waterproof bag. I think I spent $18 for mine.

Jack

Den,

I anticipated that suggestion in my original post.  Did you not read it?

Let me repeat for you:  "I sail alone, most often.  Period."

If you don't have anything worthwhile to contribute, please don't
respond to my questions.

Chris

Thanks Jack.  How do you carry the bag?  Does it have straps to strap to
your arm or something, or do you just stuff it in your wetsuit?

Great, thanks.  I think in the S.F. Bay and around Santa Cruz (we have a fairly
busy small yacht harbor right in town) there is probably good coverage, but
North of Santa Cruz, e.g. Wadell Creek, I'm not so sure.  I'll have to check
into that, and what the range of these radios is.   I deactivated my cell phone
because I wasn't using it enough but I could reactivate it if I choose to go
with a cell phone over a radio.   It's a tiny Motorola StarTac.  I trust a
handheld waterproof radio more than a cell phone in a waterproof bag because
what if you're in spray or a storm or you just drop the phone when trying to
use it?  On the other hand, a cell phone would probably have decent coverage.
Do you know how far out off shore a cell phone works?

Thanks!

With that attitude, a hand held radio is not going to be much good to you!

I can understand why you sail on your own.

Den

Hi Chris, I can recommend the Icom M1, only water resistant, but it's best
to carry the radio in a water proof bag (not only do you get better
reception for some reason) the radio will float if you drop it.

 Jamie

 Jamie Sanders
Chalkwell Wimdsurfing Club
 http://freespace.***.net/ken.rosier/cwc.htm

 http://SportToday.org/

--

Chris, a VHF marine radio has a range of about 15 miles, channel 16 is the
international emergency channel but is also the call channel. Modern VHF's
have dual channel monitoring, channel 16 should be monitored at all times,
if a distress call is picked up with no response from the coast guard, you
are expected to relay the distress call. "Mayday relay" is the term you
should use, "Mayday" is the international distress call and comes from the
French "save us" . With a VHF the coast guard can get your position if you
transmit for about 30 seconds, I don't think they can do this with a mobile
phone?
There's a new digital system now where each radio has its own signature and
can be tracked by satellite but last I heard the radio's for this system
were very expensive.
You better check if you need a licence and instruction on the use of these
radios, we do in the UK.

 Jamie

 Jamie Sanders
Chalkwell Wimdsurfing Club
 http://freespace.***.net/ken.rosier/cwc.htm

 http://SportToday.org/