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RE: Since the rudder could not be pulled to the port side, and I'm guessing I tried to move it back and forth, I'm guessing that it was locked all the way starboard. That might have made it very difficult to do anything except what happened - a turn to starboard.
Thanks or posting your experience – after trying to turn to port.
On the day after Hurricane Earl I went out sailing in Sandy Hook Bay; and shortly after launching I also experienced difficulty in turning to port. I had some rudder control, but I could not to turn to port, and I got myself into some trouble.
The following is a message that I sent to my dealer and local Hobie rep (both great people to work with) about the problem with turning to port, the mistakes I made that day, and the otherwise seaworthiness of the TI in rough seas:
“Hello Jay,
“I receive my Hobie TI order this Monday; everything arrived in good shape.
“I am having a wonderful summer sailing the TI in Sandy Hook Bay – with some rousing sailing experiences.
“My latest parts order was the result of sailing the day after Hurricane Earl. J
“I set sail from the beach of our local Catamaran Club in Atlantic Highlands, the Saturday after the storm. (I counted only three Hobie Cat sailors willing to go for a sail that afternoon.)
“ To be safe I decided to stay close to shore (my first mistake).
“After I launched the TI, and dropping the center board and the rudder, I attempted to install the Mirage Drive while the TI bounced in the chop and swell. Before departure I set the pedal spacing to seven (7). My second mistake was not reading the Mirage manual advisory on how to set the drive when not in position four (4). In my haste the drive was not set properly, although it seemed to be locked, and when I pedaled hard to get away from the beach, the drive rotated forward in the well and in-turn it pulled the aft turbo fin off its post.
“I went to the paddle backup and got far enough out to unfurl a reefed sail. Since I sailed before without the use of the Mirage drive, and since there was more than enough wind available (too much wind later on) I decided to continue to sail without the benefit of the Mirage drive (my third mistake) – but staying closer to shore .
“With a west wind behind me I was sailing down wind in a near broad reach with a significantly reefed sail. When getting closer to the wreck of an old railroad pier I began trying to steer to port to move out further into the bay, but the TI did not respond as it always had in more benign conditions.
“I lifted the rudder and pulled it back down to make sure it was seated properly. While I was doing this the TI began drifting directly for a nearby long dock on my starboard side. Without the ability to turn to port, and in my haste, I tried for a starboard turnaround to get me pointing on a beam reach out into open water. Unfortunately I was moving too fast forward with gusting winds behind be to clear the dock. I totally reefed the sail, tried as best as I could to paddle away from the dock, but the dock won the race – the forward akas and amas hitting the piers thus breaking the shear pins of the rear akas.
“I managed with great difficulty getting the TI out from the tangle with the dock, and brought it to shore. After surveying the minimal damage to the TI, I attempted to install the new shear pins, my fourth mistake was not having the necessary tools to unfasten the spare shear pins on both the akas. I mistakenly thought that they were only set finger tight.
“Fortunately I learned field expedience in my days with U.S. Army, and I began tying the rear aka braces with a tow line, bits of nylon rope, and a tee-shirt. (The last time I had that much adrenaline in my body was when I was in the Army.) I pulled my wounded TI as far away from the dock as I could and pushed off through the waves in the bay.
“Since I was now on a beam reach the TI pulled quickly into the bay, but just barely away from the dock -- but I was still slowly drifting down wind (I forgot to lower the center board that popped up when I beached – my fifth mistake). My next adrenaline rush was when the starboard aka brace came loose from my makeshift fix, the ama folding in, and the west wind still blowing.
“Again, quickly furling the sail. I paddled back to the beach downwind from the dock to doubly retie the failed field fix on the aka brace. Again. I pushed off from the beach on a beam reach (still forgetting to lower the center board.) I was moving away from the beach but still slowly drifting sideways – this time a the rock pile off a jetty protecting the nearby Atlantic Highlands harbor. My thoughts were now racing on what was the problem, fortunately this is when I looked down at the pull handle of the center board.
“Upon lowering the center board the side drift was arrested, I then nearly sat on the rudder and headed for a long beam reach getting me away from shore. I rested on my back, nearly prone, back near the rudder, holding the rear aka braces, and adjusting the sail as best as I could, finally preparing to get back to the beach club.
“When nearly a mile out, and still short of the beach were I launched, I turned around via starboard, and attempted to tack to home port. But I could not tack into the wind, no matter how I tried, the TI could not make any headway -- with the winds really blowing with waves and chop lifting the hull partly out of the water.
“So I made another starboard turnaround, taking another beam reach, going out nearly another mile until my intended beach was a little past perpendicular to my position. Again, another starboard turnaround, and another beam reach, this time with the beach nearly in front of me, I made a beeline for shore.
“The reefed sail was bending in the wind, the TI popping out of the water on occasion after going over a wave, and the port ama bring buried half the time as I headed to shore. By this time I was making no adjustments to the sail, laying low, back over the rudder, just holding on to the rudder control and the starboard aka brace that came loose earlier, watching the shore come closer into view.
“When I finally landed at the beach I slowly got off my TI, and pulled it on to the beach, giving the appearance that I was just landing after another normal sail, betraying the fact that I was happy to be on land.
“Among the many lessons learned is that in rough seas, with winds approaching 30 knots, you cannot make any headway trying to tack into the wind.
”The two things that I definitely did right that day: I was wearing my PFD, with a MMSI registered Standard Horizon VHF radio with GPS tracking, and a May Day distress button at the ready.
“Thanks for quickly filling my order: I’ll be out again soon, probably wearing a Farmer John wet suit and spray top, and much wiser for the experience, but with great confidence in the seaworthiness of the TI.”
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FAQ
If all that happened to me in one trip I would be content to just sit in the bathtub for a few weekends!