RE: Ken goes downwind

From: Manuel Paunet (manuel.paunet@businessobjects.com-DeleteThis.com)
Date: Wed Sep 18 2002 - 12:17:07 PDT

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Message-ID: <3B8B89D5F418D611B1EC00508BB81D7502461CE2@exch-usa-sj06.usa.businessobjects.com-DeleteThis.com>
From: Manuel Paunet <manuel.paunet@businessobjects.com-DeleteThis.com>
To: "'wind_talk@opus.labs.agilent.com-DeleteThis.com'" <wind_talk@opus.labs.agilent.com-DeleteThis.com>
Subject: RE: Ken goes downwind
Date: Wed, 18 Sep 2002 12:17:07 -0700

glad to hear you made it safe

it seems to me a good thing to do when this kind of problem occurs
is to ask someone to get you a new fin.
even if the fin box is damaged, a wobbly fin would do the trick better.
(good to know what fin box your board is using)

aloha

manu

-----Original Message-----
From: Ken Poulton [mailto:poulton@zonker.labs.agilent.com-DeleteThis.com]
Sent: Wednesday, September 18, 2002 1:13 AM
To: Multiple recipients of list WIND_TALK
Subject: Ken goes downwind

Thanks to everyone who was watching and helping me today!

Ken

"Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can
go."
-- T.S. Eliot

============= Tue 17 Sep 02 - 3rd - 5.4,4.4/257 (196#) 4:20-8:00

Too much wind for kites as it started gusty and the channel ramped up to
30 mph! I went out on 5.4 and sailed OPd for the first hour. This was
great fun - the swell got to 6 feet, very nicely formed, even in the
flood. But eventually, the wind was too much to handle. I had a Mr
Toad's Wild Ride back in (whooping all the way) and rigged 4.4.

The 4.4 felt great. I was having a fine time (and thinking a bit
about how to fix the stripped-out second screw on my fin).
But when I spun out and fell in near the far edge of the channel,
I found - oops! - no fin! Nada. Bye, bye. Gone.

This was about 6:00. I tried various drag inducers on the tail of the
board. Kevin came by and helped for a while, as did another guy. Using
the uphaul on the tail sort of worked - I could get going, but would
always spin out after about 30 seconds and have to set up again. I was
going towards shore, but faster downwind in the flood. I could see I
would not get to the shore by sunset. Finally, as I passed Mike (who
was the furthest downwind) I asked him to go in and call the Coast
Guard. I was lucky to have just replaced my leaky old wetsuit with a
new 5/3 at the ASD sale. I decided it was time to also put on the
neoprene hood I carry for emergencies. Having a warm suit was good
but the hood on my head really warmed me up.

Further cycles of slogging and spinning out left me approaching the
bridge pier just west of the shipping channel. I decided that the
westerly wind and flood tide would carry me a very long way before I got
to shore, so I climbed up onto the pier. Once I was standing in the
wooden bumpers, I was holding my board with the uphaul, but I had no way
to deal with the rig. So I detached the rig and bade it goodbye and
pulled the board up and tied it on. I think it's just above high tide,
but not above the waves.

The ladder is inside the boat bumpers. I had to climb thru and jump
back in to get to it. Once I climbed up, there was plenty of dry space
and a place out of the wind. I took out my radio and called the Coast
Guard. I also put on my flasher, which Steve reported was visible from
the launch!

A chopper showed up only 10 or 20 minutes later. I expected to swim
out to where they could safely approach, but they surveyed the pier
and placed their basket on the downwind end. The chopper was dead
steady in the air - very impressive piloting. I climbed in and they
raised me up as away we went! What a great ride!

They let me off at the San Carlos airport. I called my wife, Kate, for a
ride:
    "Can you give me ride to 3rd Ave?"
    "Where are you?"
    "San Carlos Airport."
    "San Carlos Airport?"
    "It's where the helicopter left me."
    "The helicopter?"
    "Yeah, they picked me up off the bridge."
    "The bridge?"
    "Yeah, I had a little problem..."

And even before she got there, Steve showed up to give me a ride!
I later realized I might have passed a message thru the Coast Guard
radio.

And when we arrived at 3rd around 9:00, Dave had packed up my 5.4 and
was waiting by my car! What a guy!

So thanks to everyone for all the help! What a great bunch of people.

Plusses and minuses for the overly analytical:

    -- inadequate maintainance (stripped fin screw)
    + carried hood
    + wore a really warm wetsuit
    + asked for help - at first mostly letting others know I am floundering
    + told Mike to call Coast Guard
    + carried flasher
    ++ carried radio
    - failed to get my 50' line out in time to save my sail
    ++ got myself out of the water
    - but not in the right place

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