Big Wind

laser161116

New Member
What kind of cool times have ya'll had in big wind? If you've read the 'frostbite' thread you know I haven't had many, but there have been a couple.

One day, it was blowing really hard. I weighed about 110 lbs. and couldn't keep the training sunfish (yes, I know they're horrible) flat, so I went out in an Opti. I was hiking pretty hard to keep the boat flat. This was my first time in an Opti, and for those of you who have never sailed an one, they tack on a dime (I didn't know). So I'm getting ready to tack, and when I turn, the boom came over really fast and caught my life jacket. The boat starts to go over (I really didn't want to tip b/c Optis are like bathtubs), I barely save it but a bunch of water gets in the boat. So I decide that I need to go back in. I bear off and catch a huge gust (not on purpose). The mast in an opti is so far forward that the stern of the boat starts to lift and the water rushes to the front (guess I should have sailed an Opti before I took it out in big wind) I'm thinking, 'no big deal, I'll move back in the boat.' Too late! The boat does a full somersault and I'm in the water faster than I know what happened. The worst part was that all my friends were watching because I was Mr. Macho and went out.
 
I was traping on a 420 for the fist time. It was blowing 25 and we caught a huge header. The boat just tacked and I found myself out on the wire with the boom coming towards me and the boat capsizing. I was cliped in under the middle of a 420 sail for a little bit. It was fun!
 

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