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a couple of minutes to choose most fitting pics for sailing story

 

to be fair the top pic probably came from a more recent story, perhaps even from someone in the race 

 

stuff currently running fresher pics

 

1572158153766.jpg

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a couple of minutes to choose most fitting pics for sailing story

 

to be fair the top pic probably came from a more recent story, perhaps even from someone in the race 

 

stuff currently running fresher pics

 

1572158153766.jpg

Yeah Erice, I was on that boat, that pics from he event, but about 4 hours after the wind squalls that caused the issues. We were capsized by a huge squall,  a Ross 780 was also capsized and the keel fell in. A Thompson 750 with canting keel capsized and righted but was swamped. I saw one boat with a broken mast, but by the time we got back to the main ramp, most boats had gone home, there were quite possibly more.

 

On the boat in the pic, We saw the squall coming, after watching a different one take out the Thompson, and started lowering sails, but didn’t have enough time. 3 out of 5 crew ended up swimming in the capsize, the waters about 10 degrees. We started getting picked up after about 10 minutes of sitting on the hull, one crew with potential hypothermia. Someone said they saw wind up to 60 knots, it was certainly over 40 where we were, hard to judge from an upturned boat after that. Spray was being lifted solidly over large areas of the lake, apparently stones were flying around in the car park. There wasn’t much we could do until the wind calmed down, and the boat was well out in the lake and holding position. We were dropped back at shore so the rescue boat could tend others. In the stuff photo, that’s about 4 hours later, the boat self righted with no one around, and was drifting toward the lee shore, slowly as the hull was partially swamped, but main still partially up. We came straight back when we saw it right, we got it under tow, tidied up the sails, bailed for about 2 hours. Boats back on the trailer, no hull, rig or foil damage, outboards running, slight rip on the bolt rope on the main, one rope cut and a drowned cell phone. We feel we’ve learnt more about the boat, and it will be modified more to reduce the likelihood if this happening again, and to reduce the consequences if it does. The work recently done along those lines is why it’s back on the trailer now though.

 

The Thompson got dragged on its side to the beach, aside from likely some gravel rash on the gunwale, it’s ok too. The Ross sustained some damage during the salvage, it was at the bottom end of the lake near the dam, the waves are big and wind funnels down there, but its back on the trailer also. 

 

Aviemore can often be an unforgiving place to race. Forecasting is for the general south Canterbury area, predict wind, windy and all the other online forecasts had wildly different models. Some of which are what happened, not all, the lakes weather is known to be unpredictable.

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I agree. As far as I know, and from talking to police, coastguard and firefighters, there were no injuries. Several people were treated for hypothermia on site, but most of the ones I saw treated got cold while sorting out the Thompson by the beach. No one was taken away by ambulance and all boats are fixable. The event in the past has seen many broken masts, capsizes, boats on the rocks or even sunk. The competitors know what they are signing up for, and most have been going for many of the races’ 26 years. There were about 50 boats out, who all got hit by many big squalls for about an hour, everyone was nearer the bottom of the lake when it hit, heading back to the top, away from any launching ramps, everyone made it ashore safely, all bar 3 with their boats, with those 3 all back by dark. The lake itself is exposed, but there are a few incredibly sheltered small inlets around the lake with launching ramps, that the boats went into.

 

The boat in the stuff pic is the one in my profile pic. Top speed for the weekend was about 17 knots. 

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