Re: SJ23 in heavy weather

Thanks for all the feedback on SJ23s and heavy weather.. nice to know we are not the only ones to experience something like this, and that others have survived it as well. Thinking about it, if the companionway hatches are closed & locked, and the lazzerete tops fairly well sealed & locked, she should bob like a cork no matter what. If our engine had not started, my next move would probably have been to improvise a sea anchor out of a few old blankets and some lines tied to the bow..

I failed to mention that on motoring home the following day, up the Nuese River and DIRECTLY into the wind/waves, it was still a pretty steep chop - 3 - 4 ft.. so we headed closer in to the shore looking for some protection, only to run aground about 200 yds off shore (the word BRILLIANT from the Guinness commercial comes to mind)! So now were getting beat by these waves in 2ft of water.. putting my 100lb wife on the starboard & grinding the motor does no good.. getting out and pushing is not a relished thought.. next move: throw out the anchor - heave & pull, heave & pull.. 30 minutes later with very soar arms, we finally manage to get freed up, only to have the stern raise up on a wave and stick the rudder in the mud and popping it off the grudgeons.. I barely catch it before its gone.. so we are motoring away from shore, still rough, rudder in the cockpit, anchor on deck, mud everywhere and steering by turning the outboard.. anyone ever tried to attach the rudder in any kind of sea? wow!!! was that tough - took us 20 minutes of wrestling and cursing to get the pins in.. but we did..

moral of the story: when the SH*T hits the fan, SH*T goes everywhere!

The difference between an ordeal and an adventure is attitude

----- Original Message ----
From: Chuck VandeWetering <wwp62@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: sanjuan23@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Wednesday, November 15, 2006 8:53:30 AM
Subject: RE: SJ23 in heavy weather

Doug,

My only SJ23 knockdown experience was similar to yours. I was about to
finish the Around San Juan Island Race, coming down San Juan channel headed
south and cutting across from Yellow Island to Friday Harbor with a
starboard wind but losing my wind as I approached San Juan Island and the
harbor because it was coming off San Juan Island. As I slowly rounded the
point to enter the harbor and cross the finish line (in my usual back of the
pack position) I was racing another boat and was not concentrating on the
source of the wind. It was roaring out of the harbor and hit me at about 40
knots. As I stood on the side of the cockpit trying to steer and dropping
the  150 jib, the mast dipped past 90 degrees but I didn't take any serious
water. It sure did help to clear out the arteries for a minute there though.
But more importantly the other guy won the race.

Chuck Vande Wetering

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