Captains Log - Man Overboard and Nude Models

I was invited to sail on a Catamaran this past Saturday and it was a huge learning experience. The weather was great; wind was from 5 in the morning to 20 in the afternoon. There was hardly a cloud in the sky. The sail began at 10AM and lasted until about 3PM. We met Cliff Shaw (Captain) at the Emery Cove Yacht Harbor and boarded his 35.8 foot Catamaran. His Cat is a custom built catamaran named Rainbow. I suspect she was built in the 90’s. The rear had recently been extended from 33 feet to 35.8. She was equipped with dagger boards, Twin diesels and appeared to have all the necessary equipment for a safe sail on the bay.

The captain asked us to put on our life vests and we complied. As it turned out, this wasn’t a bad idea. We motored away from the marina with almost no wind to speak of. One our way out I was examining and familiarizing myself as much as possible visually with the craft. We cleared the end of the last channel markers and continued a safe distance further before turning off the engines. The captain and his crew examined the wind conditions. There wasn’t much wind at all, but we proceeded to bring up the main. We then unpacked the spinnaker and set initially in reverse. I don’t think this mattered much with such light wind, but we soon corrected the issue and continued on.

I guess you never know what you will run into while sailing. Generally it is the wild life that can be amazing. Well, we hadn’t been sailing long as we slowly passed by a rather large and weathered yacht in the 70 foot or so class that had some wild life on it. I had a good view from the front of the Cat, I was the 1^st to notice that some of the passengers didn’t appear to be wearing any clothing. As we approached it was obvious that a photo shoot was in progress. There were at least three almost nude to fully nude women in various positions on the boat. The trip was starting out on a good note. Unfortunately I was nowhere near a camera or pair of binoculars. It appears that our cat could potential be in the background of a few of the photos, although I doubt viewers will be interested in the picturesque background.

We continued on. The wind began to increase and before long we were moving around 5 mph. As we were nearing the point where we wanted to tack the captain suggested we take down the spinnaker and put up the jib. Rainbow is an older cat as is the rigging. It is in great shape, but requires more manual effort then newer vessels. This is a great way for a new sailor to learn and to learn what I will want or not want on my future catamaran.

One of the crew and myself were front balancing on the on the trampoline in still very mild conditions packing the spinnaker,. We were nearing completion when one of the crew, not me, stepped back perhaps to gain better balance and fell back and to the side as he tripped over the low support wire on the very front of the craft. By the time I noticed what was about to happen there was nothing I could do but watch in shock as he was went over the front of the crossbeam and into the cold San Francisco bay waters. A moment later after the shock wore off and a large splash could be heard yelled “Man Overboard”. At this point my assumption is that he would end up floating to the rear of the boat, so I immediately ran to the back of the cat in hopes of catching an arm as he floated by. This didn’t happen. He had managed to reach up and grab onto the cargo net from below. I ran back to the front joined with Captain Cliff. By this time he was making his way to the front of the cat hanging from the net and dragging through the water. I noticed that his self inflating PFD had inflated and it appeared to be choking him or at least very uncomfortable. Never the less it did it’s job and deployed when it contacted the water.

He was a large man, but both the captain and I grabbed an arm and pulled him up as far as we could onto the front cross beam, but it was clear to me that we wouldn’t be able to pull him in this way without help. The captain handed him a rope initially and was asked to float back under the bridge deck to the rear where we could bring him in. He wasn’t going for that and suggested instead that he move to the outside of the cat instead. He must have been concerned as there wasn’t very much bridge deck clearance on this Cat. A small wave could cause him to hit his head I am sure. By this time the cat wasn’t moving too fast and he was drug around the right front of the cat and then down the right side to the rear where he could access the ladder. I was waiting there for him just in case he needed help. I had no idea how cold the water was or if he had lost any strength in the struggle. Never the less he was fine and didn’t need any help. He put a dry pair of clothes on and we continued our sail only to laugh about the ordeal later. We are pretty sure his blackberry has seen its last day though.

This was a learning lesson for all. I asked the captain, “so does this happen often?”. He said it was a 1^st on his boat. After this experience I will be seriously considering the purchase of a PFD, preferable the self inflating variety due to their small size. The vest I was using was for waterskiing and was bulky and uncomfortable. The Captain advised me to pick one up at a boat show as they are usually marked down in price. Sounds like a plan.

We had to maneuver around a couple races and finally came to a stop behind a large island that was blocking the wind. We decided it was a good time for lunch, and relaxed for about an hour taking in the sights and talking about sailing experiences. Soon we were on our way and sailed back towards home. On the way there, the winds had picked up to around 20. The cat hit its max speed for the day at just over 10MPH after a some tuning adjustments were made to the sails.

Watching him park the boat at the dock was fun. I was a little concerned due to the cross wind and with a cat that is so wide there isn’t room for mistakes. He made it seem so easy. As if he had done it 100’s of times. With a combination of forward thrust on the port side and reverse thrust on the starboard side the cat turned on a dime and came to rest just next to the doc allowing an easy exit to secure the lines on the dock.

So what did I learn?

• I learned the basics of sailing a big cat to the point where if needed I could have sailed her home.
• I confirmed my suspicion that I would need a fast cat.
• I confirmed my suspicion that two hulls are better then one as the ride was comfortable.
• I learned of some things that are a must for me when purchasing a cat. The cat has to have a comfortable roomy and protected cockpit area. In SF Bay the wind can be cold so I will require a cockpit that can be somewhat sheltered for the guests to stay outside without the cold wind in their face.
• The same goes for the salon. It must be comfortable and spacious and tall enough to walk from one end to the other without bending over.
• Passengers need to have room to roam or socialize and be protected from the weather if desired and still see out to enjoy the views.
• I also felt that rainbow required two much manpower. Although single handing her was possible it wouldn’t be two much fun after a while. It is a great way to keep the crew involved and to learn though so I really appreciated the experience.
• I confirmed the need to wear shoes with non marking soles. My wife left some marks while climbing up the incline to move from the back to the front.
• Gloves are a must. I had some that did the trick. I brought them not really know why I would need them. Now I know why. We were constantly handling the ropes on this cat.
• I need a hat with a stronger rim to keep the sun off the face and still maintain it’s shape in the strong winds.
• I require a cat that minimizes the possibility of being hit with the boom when coming about (ouch!).

I envision sailing in the bay to be faster, less work, maybe with some music, food and beverages for the guests and maybe some fishing depending on the crew. I am sure there will be some racing where the crew will need to be more serious, but the bulk of my sailing I image will be for fun. I really appreciated Cliff taking us out and look forward to my next sailing adventure.