Know when to Quit and Josh the Hero

[kenonstott]

I think we have all hit a point where our bodies are telling us we have had enough but we don’t usually consider it a safety issue. I am one of the worst to say one more round trip. I sailed 5 hours on Friday between 2 lakes and hurt so bad I had trouble sleeping. Then I hit UL Saratoga on Saturday afternoon with wiped out wrists and Lehi meters showing 39 gusting 54. My shoulders were stinging just driving to the lake. It should have been a little prodding that red and blue lights were flashing everywhere as fire trucks, ambulances and county rescue vehicles were madly rescuing boaters when we got there. I did ok the 1st sesh before we got blown off the lake. Then I decided I would be the wind dummy to prod everyone back off the beach. I made the outside jibe although I am sure it wasn’t pretty (I think it is called a 1-handed flag pole jibe or I just call it the carpal tunnel jibe). But then on the inside jibe a huge gust yanked the sail out of my hand just as I spun the sail. A big wave picked up the rig and moved it 20 yards from me. I swam as hard as I could and couldn’t catch up with the rig. I finally couldn’t swim one more stroke. Thank goodness the dike was a reasonable distance from me and I just bobbed along until I washed up on the rocks. I was wondering if the rig would also wash up and bust the board but it missed the dike and was headed for Provo Airport. Thank goodness Josh was watching, ran down the dike to get ahead of the board, and swam out to it. What a hero. And he has been trying to sell me new sails and board. It was my retro rig 1997 HiTech 75L/1996 NorthWave 3.7 and my wife later said at least I wouldn’t have lost much. Maybe I missed an opportunity here. I sat in the car for a while thinking about going out again. How dumb can I get? I called Penny and told her what happened and she bribed me home with an offer of a hot date.

The gist of the long story is if you are tired and the conditions are nuclear, or maybe even less than nuclear, you should consider bagging it and staying alive for another day. If the same thing would have happened on the outside turn it would have taken county rescue to get me back. It was hard to drive away from rare 3.7 winds but it was the sane thing to do. And Hooray for fellow sailors like Josh (and John who seems to save me too often).

[Sarah Ranes]

glad everything worked out well for you Ken, you are safe and have your gear. As you know the same thing happened to me, and John and Manny saved my rig for me also. It just goes to show what a great group we have, and that we always need to watch out for each other. Josh, helmets off to you.....good that you noticed what was going on, and helped out the way you did.

[Marty Lowe]

May I suggest Lincoln beach on the big wind days.
Big swell, and if it hits the fan, you are at the end of the lake
and can walk back from the south shore.(Sal Padre)
I wish I had known how good it was back when I was windsurfing.
Cons; farther distance, and driving through happy valley in the construction.

[jimhornbeck]

I 2nd that Marty. First big day at lincoln over powered on 3.0. did not have much fear ,I new I could walk back. Plus you can rest inside the jetty.Best waves on the lake,not including south sandy. The north end does not get more wind!

[Josh Shirley]

I agree about Lincoln Beach.
Better swell, same or better wind, safer launch.
Sometimes the drive is just too much though.

Ken, thanks for the expressed gratitude.
Josh

[duanekarren]

We have all had our gear blown away and it can be impossible to catch it. Kudos to Josh for paying attention and acting. Thanks Josh, Marty and Jim for pointing out Lincoln as a better place for big winds. I have never been there and will have to try it.