Around the World of Sailing

10 July 2002

Event News: Port Huron Mac Preview
Available on line at:
http://www.torresen.com/news/atwos/2002/jl/0710/ms.htm

For the next two weeks Great Lakes sailors have a mantra-
Mac season. This weekend will see sailors make the first of
two trips up to Mackinac Island. In even numbered years,
Bayview Yacht Clubs Port Huron to Mackinac Race is sailed
1st.

250 boats have registered to sail on the two course options
offered. The longer of the two is the Southampton Course.
This takes boats 253 miles from Port Huron to the NGS
America buoy off Southampton Ontario and then to Mackinac
Island. This is the 3rd year for this course.

The second course is the Shore Course for the smaller boats.
This 204-mile course allows the boats to sail straight up
the Michigan Shoreline to the finish.

There are 11 classes on the Southampton course, 3 of which
will race on a one design/level basis. The others will
use handicaps to determine winners.

The Shore Course has 7 courses, 6 of which will race on a
handicap basis.

One of the race's interesting contest is who might be first
across the line. On the Southampton course there are 3 boats
with PHRF ratings of -69. These are Ollie a 35 foot
trimaran, Denali a Nelson Marek 68 recently returned from
the Bermuda Race, and Pied Piper 2 an Andrews 71 (ex Attitude).
Several of the boats in the Great Lakes 70 class such as
Pied Piper, Holua, and Equation (all at -66) also would seem
to be in with a chance for line honors depending on conditions.

Once the boats reach Mackinac Island some will continue on
shortly after finishing down Lake Michigan. They will then
make a return voyage north bound during the Chicago to
Mackinac race staring the 20th.

Links:
Bayview YC Site
http://www.byc.com/mack02/index.html
Unofficial, Independent Site
http://www.porthuronmackinac.com
Andrews Yacht Design
http://www.andrewsyacht.com/andrws72.htm

Theme Article: Sailing Tools- Filter Wrench
http://www.torresen.com/news/atwos/2002/jl/0710/ms.htm

One of the tasks a conscientious boat owner will have to
perform is changing the lube oil in his engine. Various
marine diesel engine makers recommend different intervals
for this basic service: 100 to 200 hours. If you are in an
area where you lay the boat up for the winter you will want
to change the oil at haul out. This way your engine has
fresh, uncontaminated oil for the winter.

The tool for this job is a filter wrench. Customers often
inquire if they need a specific wrench for changing the oil
filter on a marine diesel. The answer is no. This means
that the same filter wrench you use for you car can often do
double duty on board your boat.

Most sailboat diesels 3 cylinders or under can have their
filters changed with a filter wrench that handles filters
from 2 13/16" to 3 5/32". Such wrenches are available from
auto parts stores, mass market retailers and the Torresen
Marine Ship Store.

This particular tool may not be as impressive as a shiny new
many function multi tool. However, it's a necessity for an
important maintenance job.

Event News: 100 Miler Preview
Available on line at:
http://www.torresen.com/news/atwos/2002/jl/0710/ms.htm

Later this month the M&M Yacht Club will host the 65th
annual 100 miler race on July 27th. Fifty entries are
expected. There will be three Divisions, mono hull, mono
hull main & jib, which will sail a shorter course and multi
hull. PHRF handicaps will be used. The race will start and
finish off Menominee Michigan on the west shore of the Bay
of Green Bay.

The day before the 100 miler, July 26th, is the Fritz
Dubrucq Regatta honoring a Menominee born sailor who served
in the Coast Guard and at one time commanded Coast Guard
Group Grand Haven. As many as 3 short course races will be
sailed. There is also a cocktail party on Friday night within
easy walking distance of the marina.

Experienced sailors know racing areas vary. Some are off
skyscrapers, some are in lakes dominated by powerboats.
The 100-miler course can be fairly described as picturesque.
The course takes you by two islands, down the pretty bluff
inundated coast of Door County, and largely keeps you within
site of land. None the less should a Nor Easter kick up
Green Bay can provide all the challenges of a more open
lake.

For sailors looking for a post Mackinac race while they are
still in racing tune, the 100 miler is a pleasant and
challenging alternative.

Links:
100 Miler
http://www.mmyc.org/100miler.html

News: Boat Smart
Available on line at:
http://www.torresen.com/news/atwos/2002/jl/0710/ms.htm

Boat Smart is a weekly column written by Chief Tom Rau,
Group Grand Haven, U.S. Coast Guard and appears in a number
of newspapers. Chief Rau has been writing and promoting safe
boating since 1986. Many of his columns are taken from real
life experiences from Station St. Joseph/South Haven, where
Chief Rau is currently serving.

"Nitemare"- avoid your own

By Senior Chief Tom Rau, Coast Guard Group Grand Haven, MI

Ike Stephenson, at first, thought it was a whistle. No way,
he mused not in the middle of Lake Michigan, late at night,
amidst a passing squall. He inhaled the heavy marine air,
and turned his eyes to seaward and peered into the black
void.

Others aboard the 39-foot racing yacht, Experience, heard
the whistle and assumed it was an engine alarm. During the
2200 watch change the crew had planned to fire up the
auxiliary diesel to charge the batteries. "I thought it was
the squealing alarm you get when you turn the key switch to
turn on the engine," said Ike.

Then came the cry of 'man in the water'. Standing near the
helm at the boat's stern, Ike watched two horseshoe buoys
with strobe lights hit the water and quickly float off in
the boat's boiling wake. Ike's eyes ran over the deck and
quickly accounted for all nine crewmen aboard. There were
no other boats in the area; their position placed them 25
miles northeast of Racine, Wisconsin. How did the person
in the water get there?

It was a fleeing thought as Ike and his mates responded to
the 'man in the water' alarm. The captain ordered the crew
to drop the sails and clear all lines from the water.
Helmsman, Michael Considine, pointed the 39-foot sailboat
into a stiff breeze, lines slapped against the aluminum
mask, sails flapped in the wind as crewmen struggled to haul
them on deck away from the boat's prop. The engine roared
to life snuffing out deck racket as crewmen quickly secured
the sails and turned eyes to seaward while inhaling the
unfamiliar odor of diesel fumes on open waters.

"I'm not sure who spotted him first, but I'll never forget
the adrenaline surge as we bore down on the man." The
heaving sailboat pitched and rocked dangerously near a
coconut-size head that bobbed and weaved in the tormented
sea. "We had to get this guy aboard, he wasn't wearing a
life jacket and his dark clothing made it almost impossible
for us to see him," said Ike.

Ike and several mates grabbed the bobbing target and yanked
him aboard thrilled by the rescue until he asked" "Did you
get my buddy?"

Again the captain sounded the alarm; again eyes peered into
the blackness. The captain steered the boat towards the
flashing strobes attached to the horse shore ring they had
earlier thrown overboard. Miraculously, they spotted the
second man who was also wearing dark clothing and no
lifejacket. "We missed him on the first pass, but he
grabbed a flashlight from a crewman, which provided a
lighted target to steer for," said Ike. Within moments,
Ike and his mates yanked the second man aboard, who they
later discovered was a former Navy Seal.

Both had been washed overboard off, Nitemare, a 40-foot
racing boat, which was knocked down in 35-knot winds
generated by a squall that had attacked the racing fleet
during the 1994 Chicago to Mackinac race.

Ike, a professional mariner, who has participated in 10
Chicago to Mackinac race, offers this
advice for boaters sailing on Michigan waters at night:

* Carry a personal strobe light.

* Dark clothing should not be worn at night. It is
impossible to see.

* Reflective material should be worn on all night-time
clothing not just foul weather gear.

* A whistle, a light and personal inflatable vest should be
required equipment on all crewmembers during night races.

* Horseshoe buoys and lights are difficult for a person in
the water to reach, due to high winds and large seas.
Strobes are the only things visible. But neither man could
get to the man-over-board buoys due to wind, fatigue and
heavy wet clothing.

* Bowmen and other crewmembers should consider putting on
harnesses before a squall hits.

Ike, I agree with your excellent advice, and from a Coast
Guardsman's perspective I would like to add:

* Beware of a safety harness line. It can drown you as
quickly as it can save you. Unless it offers a quick release
mechanism under heavy strain, or can be quickly sliced with
a knife, a maneuver that can be very difficult to perform as
your mouth and nose are dragged through water while your
lungs rapidly fill with water. I conducted a harness type
drill and know firsthand. My advice- skip the harness and
wear a life jacket with night illumination devices and a
whistle

* After conducting numerous night man overboard drills, I
realized that the life ring or horseshoe with a strobe
attached acts more as a marker to locate the person in the
water (PIW). In most cases, by the time it's thrown
overboard, the PIW is left in the boat's wake, but the
strobe provides a spot on which to steer approximate to the
PIW.

* During Coast Guard man overboard drills, boat crews first
shout man overboard then grab a 75-foot long heaving line
with a float ball attached to the line. In rough seas, the
line can be tossed to the PIW thus avoiding possible impact
with the boat or a prop strike.

* If a GPS is aboard, immediately punch the Man Overboard
(MOB) key.

* As soon as possible, call the Coast Guard on VHF-FM
Channel 16. The Coast Guard will issue an immediate
advisory, which will alert vessels in the area of PIW. They
will then launch rescue units.

* Carry a portable radio aboard. When the squall knocked
down Nitemare, they lost their only radio and thus contact
with the racing fleet and the Coast Guard.

The crew of the sailboat Experience performed brilliantly
under extreme conditions. I salute them all. I want to
thank Ike Stephenson for sharing his rescue of the Nitemare
crew. Boat Smart- avoid your own.

Note: Other Boat Smart columns are on the internet at
www.boatsmart.net, includes Lake Michigan weather and water
temperatures.

Links:
Boat Smart
http://www.boatsmart.net/