A couple of weeks ago I posted a question to all sailors about my trip from Long Beach, MS to Madisonville, LA. I got some very helpful information and I appreciate all of the replies.
Now for the story. Last weekend, a buddy and I took on the weather sailing back to Lake Pontchartrain. We were headed due west with a west wind blowing directly in our faces. Needless to say, we were doing a lot of tacking and a long one-day trip was not possible. I found I couldn't sail much closer to the wind than 40 degrees in my H27 (1978).
Along the way, we saw a thunderstorm brewing north of us and headed our way. We decided to take the sails down and motor for a while. We were prepared to throw the anchor if it got too rough. I have a Schafer furling system and for some reason it did not roll the jib up all the way. I went to the bow to get the sail rolled up completely when the motor came to an abrupt halt. I thought it was serious then realized the jib sheets had both fallen overboard and gotten caught in the propeller. My buddy was an ex-commercial diver so I though he was going to tackle the task for me, but he quickly told me I should take a knife with me. It took about 5 dives but I finally freed all of the lines from the shaft.
By this time, the weather was really getting rough and the tiny ship was being tossed. We decided to get into the cabin and bunker down for this really bad thunderstorm. Based on the weather reports, we sustained an approximate wind speed of 60 mph and seas of about 6 feet. Since I had never gotten the jib rolled up completely, we watched pieces being torn off during the storm. The whole ordeal lasted about 40 minutes and I was afraid I would have more damage than just a torn jib. But the boat did just fine.
Since it was getting late, we just motored about 12 more miles to the mouth of the Rigolets (channel that enters Lake Pontchartrain). The train bridge was closed and was not going to open for about an hour. It was getting dark so we decided to anchor there for the night and go through the bride the next morning. All night, we bounced around in about 2 to 3 foot seas. I was afraid the anchor would slip, as the current coming out of the lake was very strong. At first light, however, we found we hadn't moved at all. We got the bridge to open and entered the Rigolets in route to the lake.
Things were going well when we entered the lake, but suddenly we ran aground just south of the I-10 bridge. Luckily we were able to get back in the channel with the motor. I thought the lake was 12 feet deep from bank to bank but I was wrong.
After we got through all of the bridges (I-10, Hwy 11, another train bridge, I started looking for the Causeway (incidentally, for those who don't know, the Causeway is the longest bridge in the world crossing from New Orleans to Mandeville). I thought I would be able to see it after a mile or two but about six hours later I finally spotted it. Of course we still had a west wind blowing and our destination was due west. We were sailing with the main and a storm jib since the geneoa was ripped to shreds.
Looking at the Causeway we saw the rise we could cross. We called the bridge police on the radio and they said the north shore rise was 45 feet and the south rise was 50 feet. Since we were on the north side and I had no idea how high my mast was, I called my wife. She looked it up on-line and told me the mast was about 41 feet. It was a bit uncomforatable but the south crossing was another 20 miles one way and we were ready to end this trip. I motored up to the crossing while my buddy stood on the bow looking up at the mast. I threw it in reverse as we approached to slow forward momentum, but found we had at least 6 feet of clearance.
Now we were home free, or at least we thought so. We were headed to the Tchefuncte River and following the north shore of the lake since my GPS did not have the river on its map. Another thunderstorm was brewing so we were motoring. We found the mouth of the river and attempted to head straight for it and found the depth finder was telling us it was a bad idea. We had to go west of the river to enter through a channel from the west side. We motored into the river with lightening popping all around us.
We finally made it to my slip safely, but for a novice sailor, it was a real adventure.
Tommy
Now for the story. Last weekend, a buddy and I took on the weather sailing back to Lake Pontchartrain. We were headed due west with a west wind blowing directly in our faces. Needless to say, we were doing a lot of tacking and a long one-day trip was not possible. I found I couldn't sail much closer to the wind than 40 degrees in my H27 (1978).
Along the way, we saw a thunderstorm brewing north of us and headed our way. We decided to take the sails down and motor for a while. We were prepared to throw the anchor if it got too rough. I have a Schafer furling system and for some reason it did not roll the jib up all the way. I went to the bow to get the sail rolled up completely when the motor came to an abrupt halt. I thought it was serious then realized the jib sheets had both fallen overboard and gotten caught in the propeller. My buddy was an ex-commercial diver so I though he was going to tackle the task for me, but he quickly told me I should take a knife with me. It took about 5 dives but I finally freed all of the lines from the shaft.
By this time, the weather was really getting rough and the tiny ship was being tossed. We decided to get into the cabin and bunker down for this really bad thunderstorm. Based on the weather reports, we sustained an approximate wind speed of 60 mph and seas of about 6 feet. Since I had never gotten the jib rolled up completely, we watched pieces being torn off during the storm. The whole ordeal lasted about 40 minutes and I was afraid I would have more damage than just a torn jib. But the boat did just fine.
Since it was getting late, we just motored about 12 more miles to the mouth of the Rigolets (channel that enters Lake Pontchartrain). The train bridge was closed and was not going to open for about an hour. It was getting dark so we decided to anchor there for the night and go through the bride the next morning. All night, we bounced around in about 2 to 3 foot seas. I was afraid the anchor would slip, as the current coming out of the lake was very strong. At first light, however, we found we hadn't moved at all. We got the bridge to open and entered the Rigolets in route to the lake.
Things were going well when we entered the lake, but suddenly we ran aground just south of the I-10 bridge. Luckily we were able to get back in the channel with the motor. I thought the lake was 12 feet deep from bank to bank but I was wrong.
After we got through all of the bridges (I-10, Hwy 11, another train bridge, I started looking for the Causeway (incidentally, for those who don't know, the Causeway is the longest bridge in the world crossing from New Orleans to Mandeville). I thought I would be able to see it after a mile or two but about six hours later I finally spotted it. Of course we still had a west wind blowing and our destination was due west. We were sailing with the main and a storm jib since the geneoa was ripped to shreds.
Looking at the Causeway we saw the rise we could cross. We called the bridge police on the radio and they said the north shore rise was 45 feet and the south rise was 50 feet. Since we were on the north side and I had no idea how high my mast was, I called my wife. She looked it up on-line and told me the mast was about 41 feet. It was a bit uncomforatable but the south crossing was another 20 miles one way and we were ready to end this trip. I motored up to the crossing while my buddy stood on the bow looking up at the mast. I threw it in reverse as we approached to slow forward momentum, but found we had at least 6 feet of clearance.
Now we were home free, or at least we thought so. We were headed to the Tchefuncte River and following the north shore of the lake since my GPS did not have the river on its map. Another thunderstorm was brewing so we were motoring. We found the mouth of the river and attempted to head straight for it and found the depth finder was telling us it was a bad idea. We had to go west of the river to enter through a channel from the west side. We motored into the river with lightening popping all around us.
We finally made it to my slip safely, but for a novice sailor, it was a real adventure.
Tommy
