Someone who needs to join the DS forum

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Someone who needs to join the DS forum

Postby talbot » Tue Sep 05, 2017 3:48 am

This tale of woe was posted by someone from Lake Nockamixon, PA who belongs to the Precision Trailer-Sailor forum. How not to introduce your family to sailing. I hope the guy in the story discovers the DS Association before putting the boat up for sale: --Talbot

So, today it was blowin', so I took out the Force 5. I went past an O'day Daysailer, and it looked like it was low-ridin'. I think I saw a kid bailing with a water bottle. They had the main up, and a trolling motor, and they were heading away from the shallowest "beach" at the lake, pretty much into the wind. They could have been headed back to the marina. If they were using the trolling motor, it was SLOOOOOOW. I went past and I hollered to them, "Are you sinking?" and the woman said, "I think so." So I told them they should turn around and head back to the "beach." I shrugged, can't do much to help another boat when you're in a Laser-type boat. I went off and blasted around with the windsurfers a bit, planing and splashing the heck out of myself. (The water got a heckuvalot colder in the past two weeks. Cold nights, and cold rainy days.) Anyway, I look back over after a while, and I'm like, damn if that isn't a capsized O'day Daysailer. Sure enough, it was on its side, and looked like a life jacket was caught under the sail, so, that's good as it wasn't turtling. The guy was climbing up onto the centerboard, and kept it on its side. Woman and 2 or 3 kids were in the water with orange U shaped PFDs. You know, the crappy ones you don't want to wear as a kid. Well, at least I didn't. Imagine trying to learn to water ski with those stupid things. But I digress. A power boat was coming over. I did my best to hang around slowly, which is hard in consistent 12-15 knot winds. I was like, "Get the kids out of the water. Then tow the boat to Tohickon Beach." The woman stayed in the water, and the guy got off the board to try and get the main down. Boat started to turtle, and the board started going in. The woman pulled it out, and I shouted, "Good, pull it out more and climb up on it!" Boat started to come back to 90º. I guess the guy got on the board, too, and the boat went upright. By that point, the powerboat had a line on, and the powerboat skipper said to me,"I don't know anything about sailboats. You obviously know more the me." At that point, the sailboat guy got in the cockpit and got the sail down, and I told the powerboat to pull them in to the "beach" which is very shallow. I followed along a bit, and saw that they did get it into the beach and grounded. I don't know what happened after that.

Later, as I was de-riging, a guy pulled out his AMF Puffer. I had seen him in the same vicinity as Tohickon under main alone, blasting along on reaches like I had been. He told me he had tacked close in front of the Daysailer, and apologized. The Daysailer guy said, "Oh, it's ok. I don't know what I'm doing, this is our first day out."

Holy crap!
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Re: Someone who needs to join the DS forum

Postby fatjackdurham » Tue Sep 05, 2017 12:39 pm

Hah. Sounds like my kind of story!!!! Glad they were all safe.
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Re: Someone who needs to join the DS forum

Postby Leob1 » Wed Sep 06, 2017 9:51 am

Sounds my first time out, on my Super Porpoise(like a sunfish but bigger). I turned turtle, but was able to get it back up. I also learned a few other lessons that day. And had a nice guy in a Sun Fish sail over to make sure I was ok. Since then, I took a proper sailing lesson, and always keep a hand on the mainsheet.
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Re: Someone who needs to join the DS forum

Postby BaronDaniels » Thu Oct 12, 2017 5:04 am

Man, I guess everyone needs to have their baby steps in sailing. I'm sure the poor guy learned his lesson.
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Re: Someone who needs to join the DS forum

Postby talbot » Thu Oct 12, 2017 2:55 pm

Or else you might get a good price on a DS in SE Pennsylvania. But I checked on Craigslist. Closest DS to Lake Nockamixon is in southern NJ, so maybe they're sticking it out.
--Talbot
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