New Boat 4 Sled

[sleddog]

Big waves pound the California Coast about once a decade. Last Saturday, when the stern of the Cement Ship broke off, and the SF Bar was closed, was that "once in a decade."

Maverick's pioneer surfer Jeff Clark drove down from Half Moon Bay to Santa Cruz in the morning looking for a place to paddle out. Said Clark, "Biggest swell since 2001, I saw waves breaking a mile off the beach all the way down.”

Although some may argue, paddling out a mile in 20-40 foot surf to catch a wave is basically not possible.

Not that some didn't try. Shawn Dollar caught a wave with a 20-foot face, electrifying the crowd gathered along East Cliff Drive at Pleasure Point. But everyone else who tried was washed unceremoniously back to shore.

“I’ve never seen waves that big at Pleasure Point,” said Jeff Clark.

Veteran big wave surfer Tyler Fox and a group of four friends decided to try something audacious: surf the two miles from Pleasure Point to New Brighton Beach. Fox, a pro big wave surfer, has ridden "Ghost Trees" at Carmel when it was 70 feet, so he knows what it's about.

The five paddled out and into the teeth of one of the afternoon’s larger sets. Said Fox, " “I was farthest out and a set broke another 100 yards beyond me. I got pounded by the first two waves and the third broke my leash.
I was underwater kind of laughing to myself thinking, there is no way I’m going to die at Pleasure Point.”

Three of the five managed to make it out and rode double to triple overhead waves all the way to New Brighton. It took an hour and a half..... Doggies.

[BobJ]

I never quite got the surfing thing - something about having eleventyseven tons of water crashing down on top of you just for fun. But then I'm an accountant.

We were asking a lot of the full-length top roller batten and it didn't last long. They're made of composite now instead of leftover venetian blinds, but they still don't like to bend. So we're experimenting with a vertical top batten and horizontal roller battens for the middle and bottom (all because of the roller-furler). The jury is still out.

[sleddog]

Speaking of sails - For a leg o' mutton, are the battens in Rags' current #3 jib vertical or horizontal?.

Hah, so it was a trick question. "Both vertical and horizontal" apparently is the correct answer for the leg of mutton. I would never post a trick question myself ;-)

As you know, I also have roller furling on my cat. My jib is from an Etchell's 22, and it used to have battens. Battens don't roll up. I got rid of the battens, and surprise, little difference in the shape of the sail. Blasphemous I know. But politely suggest trying your #3 with no battens, and a tad more leech cord tension.

From my point of view, the loss in shape with no battens is offset being able to have a nice tight roll on the headfoil.

[Philpott]

Well, regardless of the technical characteristics of Bob's new jib, it's very pretty.

[BobJ]

Thank you Jackie, but the grey #3 is now five years old. I've been fiddling with the battens for awhile!

It appears Hank Easom is having the same issue with the #3's battens on his beautiful new SERENADE:
Today's 'Lectronic Latitude (scroll down)

Going batten-less doesn't work with these 3DLs - there's way too much leech hook, even with a slack leech cord.

[Philpott]

It appears Hank Easom is having the same issue with the #3's battens on his beautiful new SERENADE:

Hank Easom. Didn't he rig the lovely Kynntana? Where IS that boat? Carliane? Still near Quinn's Lighthouse?

[BobJ]

You're thinking of Hank's nephew Scott, who owns Easom Racing & Rigging. Yes, KYNNTANA spent a few days at Scott's and got some new go-fast bling.

That was awhile back, before the Corian

[Wylieguy]

Hey Bob, I've got an old steel crow bar I inherited from my carpenter father out in the garage (I mean extra boat junk storage area) that looks to be about the same dimensions as your broken batten. I'd be happy to donate it to the cause. And, I'd guarantee that it would never break on you! Probably last thru several new roll-up headsails. What a bargain. Pat ;-)

[BobJ]

I have a hunch the crowbar's bend characteristics won't match the sail design. But thanks.

[sleddog]

Big waves pound the California Coast about once a decade. Last Saturday, when the stern of the Cement Ship broke off, and the SF Bar was closed, was that "once in a decade."
Maverick's pioneer surfer Jeff Clark drove down from Half Moon Bay to Santa Cruz in the morning looking for a place to paddle out. Said Clark, "Biggest swell since 2001, I saw waves breaking a mile off the beach all the way down.”

The physics of breaking waves is a fascinating study, and the California Coast in winter, with Highway 1 near shore for much of its length, is a close-up classroom for surfers and photographers alike.

When Maverick's big wave pioneer Jeff Clark reported he saw waves breaking a mile out to sea as he drove from Half Moon Bay to Santa Cruz last Saturday, I have little reason to doubt him. Generally, waves begin to feel the bottom at a depth of 1/2 their wave length (measured from crest to crest.) When a wave "feels the bottom," friction makes the wave begin to slow and rise up. A wave 200 feet from crest to crest would likely begin to hump up in 100 feet of water.

As the wave slows and rises up, it can begin to break. As the 10 fathom (60 foot) depth contour line roughly parallels the coast a mile offshore, this means the breaking waves Jeff was seeing were generally in the vicinity of 45 feet high. (60'/1.3wave height).

As BobJ sums it up succinctly, "eleventyseven tons of water crashing down."

Here's Santa Cruz Harbor last Saturday. The vertical posts in the foreground are the supports for the old trolley tracks which ran from Santa Cruz to Capitola.



According to surfers who remember these things, last Saturday was a 10 year event. It is a sobering reminder the San Francisco Bar, that horseshoe shaped shoal 2-7 miles to sea, that surrounds the entrance to San Francsisco Bay, is only 25-35 feet deep at low tide. And more shoal at places like the "Potato Patch," (Four Fathom Bank) just west of Point Bonita.

And the 27 foot shoal at the northwest end of SE Farallon Island is where LOW SPEED CHASE met her tragic end in a monster breaking wave in April, 2012.