Received: by zonker.hpl.hp.com (1.37.109.8/15.5+ECS 3.3+HPL1.1) id AA22464; Mon, 19 Sep 1994 02:28:14 -0700 Date: Mon, 19 Sep 1994 02:28:14 -0700 From: Ken Poulton <poulton@zonker.hpl.hp.com-DeleteThis> Return-Path: <poulton@zonker.hpl.hp.com-DeleteThis> Message-Id: <9409190928.AA22464@zonker.hpl.hp.com-DeleteThis> To: 72017.461@compuserve.com-DeleteThis, Fred_Sporon-Fiedler@hpctg.desk.hp.com-DeleteThis, Gerry_Owen@hpctg.desk.hp.com-DeleteThis, Phaman@ccmail.apldbio.com-DeleteThis, Walt_Menge@hp5400.desk.hp.com-DeleteThis, alison@pyramid.com-DeleteThis, cleland@cup.hp.com-DeleteThis, cord@hpoemb.sj.hp.com-DeleteThis, coussens@hplczu.hpl.hp.com-DeleteThis, ghs@hpisod9.cup.hp.com-DeleteThis, jlabat@us.oracle.com-DeleteThis, lenb@ssd.intel.com-DeleteThis, matt@cup.hp.com-DeleteThis, mfabrega@raynet.COM-DeleteThis, missimer@hpisod9.cup.hp.com-DeleteThis, rob_hartman@logitech.COM-DeleteThis, schofiel@sid.hp.com-DeleteThis, sjn@hpisod9.cup.hp.com-DeleteThis, wind_talk@zonker.hpl.hp.com-DeleteThis Subject: Sunday Funday
============ Sun 18 Sep 94
The noon report was dismal, but Luigi and I agreed to wait until
1:30 to make a decision. Surprise, 17 knots at 1:00!
We went to 3rd to hit the ebb tide. It promised to be a bit better than
5.7, but it's late in the season, so to be conservative we rigged 5.7's.
Luigi got out his 8'8 ERock and I got out my Tiga 257 (8'5, I was hoping
for good swell). We launched at 3:00, and planed from close to the
shore. In the channel the wind was not much more, swell 2-3 feet. I
soon decided that the Tiga wanted to be more powered up than this - I
could plane fine, but didn't have enough juice to jump. We decided to
take a few reaches and then go in to swap boards.
One reach took us to the far side of the channel. As we started back,
Luigi was slightly in front when I felt that "soft" feeling on my harness
that I have come to recognize as "one quarter second to boom failure".
This one let go with a crack I hadn't heard before. Lo and behold, I
had broken my mast. My new mast. I just purchased this two months ago
as a safety measure so I could retire an old one. (I had also made a
mistake; this was a Fiberspar World Cup model while I would have chosen
the heavier and stronger Performance mast if it had been in stock.)
I watched Luigi recede at full speed towards the shoreline, not
realizing I wasn't gaining on him any longer. I got up and sat on my
board, and tried to flag other sailors. It turned out that Luigi and I
were way upwind of the pack. He checked for me on the shore, then went
back out sailing, watching for me, but not worried. There was only one
other sailor upwind of me, but I couldn't get his attention. I soon
decided to apply one lesson I learned earlier this year and put on the
hood I always carry. It was 3:40.
After half an hour, it looked like I might not get seen, so I decided to
derig. As I was doing so, Jerry (whose last name I forgot) saw me
(miraculously, since I was off my board) and stopped. I knew we were
too far out for a tow (been there, tried that, didn't work) so I had him
help me derig and then go for the Coast Guard. Whilst derigging, I lost
my sail - it was bobbing by me as I untied the downhaul, gone the next.
Oh well...
And then I waited. I sat on the board some, but discovered that the
board (all 86 liters) was much harder to sit on without the sail attached.
I could see myself drifting north with the ebb.
I tried paddling some, but I figured my paddling speed was probably less
than a knot, probably a half with rests. I was 2.5 miles off 3rd Ave when
I started, so swimming in didn't seem likely to succeed. So mostly
I waited. I saw one boat go by maybe half a mile off that looked like
the SFO rescue boat. I shot a flare, but they didn't see it. About
4:30, a big powerboat came up, and turned toward me, then turned away,
then towards me, and then went by quite close, maybe 300 yards. It was
close enough that I could see that there was no one on the bridge - they
must have been running it from the cabin below, which had much less
visibility. I waved and waved, but no one saw me.
By now I was expecting to see the SFO boat and the SF CG boat arrive. I
kept a watch on the water near where I expected at least the CG to
appear. No luck. I drifted past channel marker "8" (a mile north of
3rd's marker) and it was evident I was drifting further offshore as
well.
By 6:00 I was close to the pair of channel markers 3.6 miles out from
Coyote, but further out - I had drifted about 3 miles. I could tell
from the drive-in movie screens I was in line with the main reach out
from Coyote, and one sailor even came stright at me, but stopped half a
mile away. I would have liked the company, but more, I wanted someone
to tell the Coast Guard how far I had drifted.
I was wondering what was keeping them. Windsurfers drifting out on the
ebb at Crissy in the fog? Two sailboats colliding and sinking off
Alcatraz? Should I not have told Jerry I had a full wetsuit on? What
if he had broken down? Okay, so I had a lot of time on my hands.
I was also trying to think of anything I could do to help myself if I
was out for the night. I had saved my 3' mast stump, so I put my helmet
and flasher light up on that. I attached my boom at the very bottom of
the mast which stabilized both the mast and the board. I sat on the
board when the swell was not too large or I could see any craft at all
nearby; the rest of the time I lay my torso sideways across the board
since this seemed like the best resting position. I hoped that when I
got washed under the SM Bridge causeway around midnight that I could
find a ladder on it. I remembered that the electric towers next to the
bridge do have ladders, but then I'd still need a motorist to notice and
a boat to get me.
At 6:45 I finally saw a Coast Guard helicopter. It took one pass
slightly north of me, then one pass right over me. As it approached I
fired my second flare, with the interesting result that it fired down
(yes, yes, I did have the chain down) and bubbled redly in the water
under my board. They saw me anyway, and I figured my board was history
(but that would be okay for a chopper ride at this point). It turned
out that they just took up station slightly downwind of me and waited
until the SFO boat came up and picked me up about 10 minutes later. That
was the longest 10 minutes of the day, but they picked up my board, too.
I was one happy camper even as I puked my seasick guts out over their
railing.
It turned out that they and the CG boat had been searching since 5:00!
I had drifted over a mile north by then, so they didn't find me. After
a while they called in the chopper to assist. Luigi had kindly kept
my wife informed, and picked me up at Coyote where the SFO boat
landed me.
Observations:
It sure is hard to be seen by other windsurfers, even sitting
on a board. I just got lucky. Really lucky.
It's easier to sit on a board (in swell) with a sail attached.
It sure is hard to be seen by boats, even sitting on a board.
A good ebb can take you upwind quite quickly.
It sure is hard to be seen by rescue boats if they're looking
in the wrong area.
A 4/3 mm steamer and a hood was just enough for 3.5 hours in the
water. I was okay, but felt a bit cold by the end. I would hate to
have been out without the hood. I might have been okay overnight,
but maybe not. (Air temp was 65 to 60; it's been ~56 and foggy since
8 PM).
Sails sink. Even on a 3' mast I might have at least stayed in one
place. This would also have provided much better visibility.
That waterproof VHF radio suddenly looks a lot better.
I owe Jerry a dinner. Can anyone help me reach him?
Thanks are also due to Luigi, Kirk (for reassuring Kate) and of course
the Coast Guard and SFO Fire Department.
Ken "feeling lucky" Poulton
poulton@opus.hpl.hp.com-DeleteThis
"Things fall apart, the center cannot hold." -- Yeats
"Forecast for tonight: dark." -- George Carlin
94/09/18-1150 SFO 67 56 050 6 . 12 30.04 200 sct 250 -ovc
94/09/18-1250 SFO 67 53 320 17 . 12 30.02 200 sct 250 -bkn /grdl
wshft st w
94/09/18-1350 SFO 66 52 330 21 . 15 30 200 sct 250 -bkn /f
bnk w
94/09/18-1455 SFO 65 53 330 18 . 15 29.99 200 sct 250 -bkn /h
alqds f bank n
94/09/18-1550 SFO 65 53 320 20 . 15 29.97 200 sct e250 bkn /h
alqds f bank n
94/09/18-1653 SFO 64 53 320 18 . 15 29.96 200 sct e250 bkn /h
alqds f bank n
94/09/18-1755 SFO 61 53 320 18 . 15 29.95 e250 bkn /few st 9hnd
nw-n h alqds
94/09/18-1855 SFO 59 53 330 14 . 15 29.95 200 sct e250 bkn /few
st 9hnd h alqds
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