Topic: JD Roll
On You -tube,a contessa rolled over on the great lakes .
Re: JD Roll
That is very cool. I wonder what year the boat was?
And I guess it went over due to a combination of to much sail and surf?
Very neat video.
Ivan Ross "Morava" #266
Re: JD Roll
I think your correct on the too much sail and the surf did not help. It was great to see them in the cockpit though I wonder how they got themselves out of that mess with the mast in the water. jklee
5 2010-01-07 16:20:28 (edited by john_co26 2010-01-07 16:33:17)
Re: JD Roll
Hey
I don't want to criticize the owner/sailor... There, but for the grace of God, go I etc
With that said I am a little surprised and dismayed to see the boat dis-masted so quickly.
Am I correct in thinking that the boat was far too close to shore and the boat may have been dis-masted not so much because of the knock down and more because of the shallow waters it was knocked down in?
The waves that are breaking are no more than 6-8 feet at the most which suggests very shallow water. Perhaps the top of the mast was "grounded" forcing it to detach from the boat.
I may be stretching here but it almost appears that after the boat is righted it is grounded for a short period of time.
Or, it may be as simple as too much sail loaded up with water as the boat rolls upward. Regardless good to see the sailer hanging in there after the boat right's it's self.
John
Re: JD Roll
It's a tough thing to watch, exciting on one hand, terrifying on the other. I agree, I think the boat was in shallow water and the mast grounded. I also think it looks like the boat grounded after she righted so.... It was good to see everyone still in the cockpit. I'm sure they were in shock. I just hope they made it back in safely. Jim R.
Re: JD Roll
It looks like the port side shroud let go and the rest is a consequence of that...
jose
Re: JD Roll
He had waaayy too much sail up for the wind strength and the sea state. He went abeam to breaking seas, and that will pretty much roll any boat. That being said, to be fair to the fellow sailing the boat, you can't always see breaking seas that are breaking away from you. It's incredibly odd that he wind beam to breaking seas, and I tend to suspect that he didn't see them and the reason he went beam to is that he suddenly realized the situation, (too late), and tried to get out of there, unsuccessfully.
Re: JD Roll
I wondered if the boat touched ground just as the wave struck him, forcing the broach and effectively tripping the boat for the knockdown. And I agree that the mast probably went because it was forced into the lake bottom as opposed to some kind of rig failure. Shitty day for the owner though. Touch wood it doesn't happen to the rest of us...
Re: JD Roll
I had a similar thought to Christopher's: Suspect that the keel struck bottom beam-to, just as a wave hit the opposite side. Thankfully, these boats were built tough. I wonder if other 25-27 footers would have fared so well as this Contessa (de-masting notwithstanding). I'd be interested in seeing the keel afterwords.
"Lolly Jo" #230
C. Paul Carter
Montreal, QC
C. Paul Carter
Montreal, QC
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Re: JD Roll
That close to shore, in those sorts of breaking waves, I wouldn't necessarily consider a demasting a failure. The boat largely survived and can be repaired, and the crew survived apparently unhurt. That's a success, in my books.
The real failure here sadly falls to crew error. They probably shouldn't have been that close to shore in weather like that with that much sail up. I just watched the video again, and feel strongly that the boat bottomed out before she rolled.
Re: JD Roll
Wow! For a newby whose biggest fear is tipping over that was pretty spectacular to watch. But I just love the way she soared up out of those waves....you go girl! Note to self, though: stay away from shore with big crashing waves. Yikes!
Re: JD Roll
totally agree that she touched bottom before rolling, and came back up and was pretty much high and dry for a second or 2....
Re: JD Roll
I wondered if she was on bottom when she came back up or if she was floating. She seemed level so likely floating and if so then I am impressed. Where was the water? It seems to me that most of us would not be prepared for a sudden knockdown -- without the hatch boards in place the boats can fill and sink really quickly. Maybe most of the water was deflected away from the companionway? And do we always dog down the forehatch?
Perhaps this summer I will try an inclining experiment by hanging from a halyard on some very calm day... Any bets on how many leaks I find by the time I get her over 90 degrees? The aluminum rubrail should leak like a sieve...