Evanston: war zone; contrast
Evanston: war zone; contrast
10:00 a.m. and I have the lights on.
Another line of thunderstorms. Black sky broken only by lightning--typing the word was interrupted by a close strike--and driving rain. This has broken the heat wave, at least for a while, but once again it is not a day to work on the boat, much less sail her.
While there are details that still require attention in the cabin, I have turned my thoughts to sailing gear and talked with a rigger several days ago about jib furling. He is supposed to inspect GANNET and get back to me with a quote, but has not yet done so. Considering the weather, I hardly blame him. This is certainly going to stretch into August. And the season is over in September.
Last weekend a similar line of thunderstorms capsized a 35’ boat in the Chicago to Mackinac Race, resulting in the deaths of the owner and his girl friend. Six other crew members were rescued.
Thanks to the Internet I first learned of this in an email from a reader in Durban, South Africa. Thanks, Chris.
Published reports state that although the storm occurred during the night, the crew saw it approaching on radar, lowered sails and tied themselves on.
The boat was a light sport boat with the deck extending into wings to enable the crew to get their weight out from the centerline. It is easy to see from these photos how strong wind could get under those wings and flip the hull.
Thus far I have not read an explanation why the two people died when six others did not. Possibly they were injured when the boat went over and/or were trapped by their tethering lines, which others cut or untied.
The boat itself did not sink and was sighted a few days later by a craft returning from the race. (Scroll down the page at Sailing Anarchy for the photo under the heading “aftermath”.)
I don’t know that there are any lessons to be learned here, unless one is foolish enough not to take the Great Lakes seriously. From what I’ve read I don’t see anything else the crew could have done, except not be on that boat.
GANNET is a precursor to sport boats; but she is a much sounder design and by reputation excellent in heavy weather--I, who have hardly seen ten knots in her, am not entitled to an opinion. She is so small and low to the water that with sails down the wind would find little to press against.
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Pictures this week about the Space Shuttle’s last flight, and reports that the development of the James Webb Space Telescope, the successor to the Hubble, may be curtailed reminded me of my comments not long ago about the opening of the American west.
While there is the significant difference that individuals could decide to go west, as they cannot decide to go into space--my grandmother, who was born in the 1890s, kept a flattened 10 cent piece that one of her uncles nailed to the heel of his boot when he walked from Missouri to California before she was born--the contrast between the way we faced that frontier and the way we are facing this one is telling.
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During the time it has taken me to write this, the front has passed, rain and wind stopped, and the sky, though still overcast, has changed from night to something resembling day.
Friday, July 22, 2011