Well that was quite an event! I was also out on the river Friday afternoon, but
earlier (between 3-5.
It was howling then too, but I didn’t experience quite the same conditions as
in the aforementioned Chronicle. I’m glad you folks didn’t go over, they
would’ve been talking about it for years at CBI.
Sent from iPhone #
617.364.1507.
Please excuse typos
on elf-size keyboard.
Regards,
Dave Vieira
On Jun 18, 2019, at 8:47 PM, Duane Farrar
<duano@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:duano@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
Hi Sailors,
Below is an account of what Barbara, Denis and I experienced on the Charles
this past Friday evening while getting in some Sonar practice. It was rather
exciting! And a bit wet and wild. Apologies for the attached non-visual graph,
but the second paragraph below gives an accurate summary of the data.
Cheers,
Duane
---
Duane, Barbara and Denis took to the mighty Charles River on Friday for some
Sonar Practice. Barbara, who just started sailing earlier this year and will be
trimming main for the team, was looking forward to learning how to adjust the
mainsheet traveler. However, with winds over 30 miles per hour (MPH) and at
times reaching 40 MPH during practice, fine-tuning of the traveler was not
needed as the team practiced windward-leeward courses. The team also
successfully practiced their skills in not capsizing. The team learned it is
very difficult to capsize a sonar, although Denis was convinced the boat was
not going to come back up after getting knocked over during one very powerful
gust. Newly appointed main trimmer Barbara executed the plan they discussed
before sailing and let the main all the way out. Meanwhile, Duane tried to turn
into the wind to prevent the capsize as he slid off the windward rail and
plummeted towards the water below, fortunately using his left leg as a
preventer against the opposite side of the cockpit. Simultaneously, Denis,
convinced the boat was capsizing, started crawling over to the high side to
stay dry. The cockpit half filled with water, but the mast came back up to a
vertical position, much to the team’s surprise.
The team had set up the course between the MIT dock and the Massachusetts
Avenue Bridge. They left the mooring before 5:00 and returned by 7:00. Wind
readings for that time period taken at the MIT Boathouse are shown on the
attached graph, with the steady, sustained wind in DARK BLUE with peak gusts in
RED. Sustained wind speed was consistently in the 20s, sometimes reaching the
30s. Peak wind gusts were above 30 MPH with a few at 6:00 between 40 and 42 MPH
and a recorded high gust of 47 MPH at 6:30. It was the 6:30 gust that knocked
the team over while they were sailing close-hauled on a starboard tack.
--
Duane Farrar
"In ferrum pro libertate ruebant"
<MIT Wind Chart-IMG_3217.jpeg>
