Commodore's Notes: Things Change.... maybe we will too?
Well, we've completed another year of the Whataburger Series. The addition of the kites proved to be a great spectator draw. The combination of events at both Cole Park and Worldwinds/Bird Island Basin worked well. I was able to attend the first of the Bird events and had fun sailing with my buddy and fellow CCWA member, Jeff DelaGarza. The day before, Jeff had gone down to Cole Park to sail at one of the race events. He had decided to try his skills at racing. Jeff proceeded to race using his 8'4" Bassett wave board and a Sailworks slalom sail. His performance was simply astounding; he managed an eighth place against better equipped sailors. Unfortunately, we failed to draw more people like him to the events. That is why we must reassess our racing program for the Whataburgers of the future. The decline in "Racer" participation in the organization and production of the events is causing the rank and file, those people who attend the meetings, to seek a change in our agenda for the future.
The club may well be moving more into the Freestyle and Fun event format for the foreseeable future. The recent successes of The Kiting/Freestyle event promoted by Peter Nordby and the Worldwinds/CCWA fun day at Bird Island definitely prove that the Freestyle/Fun events are more capable of drawing a crowd. Although there are undercurrents of discontent with the continuing promotion of dedicated Course racing events, I don't see us abandoning that form of the sport entirely. I believe it will continue as a part of Whataburger events in the future. I have been asking many of the members what they foresee as the future of the CCWA/Whataburger events This is their vision of the future Whatabuger series. Each event would be centered around a day of Freesailing and Kiting. The safety boat will be in place to ensure that all participants are monitored. Course Racing and the organization of that portion of these events will need to be arranged by the Racers themselves. Which means that we need a committee comprised of the Racers to be responsible for putting on any course racing that may take place that day. Rather than have a limited number of sailors on the water, we want as many people playing as possible. We want to show the public the support our sponsor and our membership bring to the promotion of Windsurfing and Kiteboarding in Corpus Christi by producing exciting and fun events. What better way to do that than to provide a day of flying and sailing that the CCWA and Whataburger can be proud of. What a sight all those kites and sailboards will make on the water. Just thinking of the parking problems gives me Goosebumps. We're really working hard to make these changes a reality. We want to start the next season right by sponsoring a special, Saturday September 15, meeting to resolve these changes. We are planning a big day of sailing before the evening party. We want all the out of town kite boarders and windsurfers to have an opportunity to play together with us locals on Saturday and then meet that evening to plan next years events. The evenings events will be limited to new members and active members. This is a chance for everyone to have a voice in the future of the Windsurfing and Kiteboarding in Corpus Christi.
Chip
Editor's Puffs: by
Roy Tansill
Right-of-Way boats vrs boards from the legal
perspectives: With the death of one board sailor
(in Austin), a collision that took 2 feet off the nose of a board here
in Corpus, and innumerable ‘near misses’ the issue of right of way between
boats and boards has again surfaced. Before getting into the official
opinions on this, I’ll subject you to my own which is that right-of-way
in such cases is most relevant to the windsurfer’s heirs. If you
get tagged solidly by a boat while you are on a sailboard, you most likely
had the right-of-way.... but you also could be dead right.
Even a 14 foot power boat will greatly outweigh a sailboard so it behooves
the board sailor to avoid such collisions. That said, the fact remains
that it would be somewhat unlikely that the power boat would be found ‘not
guilty’ in any court appearance that would follow such a collision.
After his April 19, 2001 collision, in which CCWA member Don Cryer
was involved the issue was again locally debated by boaters and windsurfers
alike but neither of those groups are the best source of factual information.
I sought out the opinions of officials who are supposed to enforce the
laws. First I contacted Kevin Marshall, the Regional Commander of
the U.S. Coast Guard, then through an intermediary, the Texas Attorney
General and the response is repeated below. I also tried to get a
copy of the issue of Saltwater Angler in which a local fishing guide
(who was peripherally involved in the 04/19 incident) expounded on his
own version of the law.
The official position of the USCG, according
to Regional Commander Marshall, is that sail powered craft have the right
of way over power boats with the exception of operation in a restrictive
channel where the power boat does not have ability to alter course.
This basic maritime rule applies to windsurfers as well as three masted
square riggers. That rule has been the law since the first steam
powered craft began to ply the same waters that had been, until then, the
sole province of sailing craft. Its a very old International Law
that is not likely to ever be rescinded. Reg. Commander Marshall
was not certain himself about rules regarding kite powered boards but said
he would look into it for us. The Coast Guard does not patrol inland
waters along the Coastal Bend. The state of Texas has that responsibility
in the waters locals most often sail.
To get the State’s perspective on this issue,
the Office of the Attorney General was queried. To date I have no
official response from him but then he might have other more pressing things
to do. That brings this report to an end for now but as soon as I
hear from Austin, I’ll pick this up again and let you know what our state’s
chief legal authority has to say on the topic. There seems to be
a rather wide variety to common sense answers as well. ‘The most
maneuverable should yield right-of-way’ seems reasonable but who decides
at that point just before impact, which craft is. A beginning board
sailor, over powered, and barely hanging onto a wild involuntary downwind
ride is probably no more maneuverable than a boat operated by a person
focused elsewhere. If all parties knew first hand what their opposites
are coping with it would help. Meanwhile, I don’t think it wise to
exercise your R-O-W in any potential collision- the first rule is both
parties do everything possible to avoid a collision. In the unlikely
event that all else fails, its nice to know you at least had the Right-Of-Way.
After you’ve avoided a near collision it is
worth the effort to report the occurrence to local authorities. This
seems to require a boat number and that can be hard to get when you feel
like a deer in the headlights. It seems patrol scheduling is sensitive
to reports of problems. If your eyes are like mine, you’ll know it
was a close call if you can read the boat’s number. Hopefully next
month I’ll have the states perspective. And a major thank you to
the patrol boat that recently spent several hours out at Bird Island Basin.
Your presence is always welcome.
Swimming After Dark
By Guy Racette
On Wednesday, June 20 I was having a really
great time chasing the MORF fleet. Actually only 2 boats ventured
beyond the breakwater due to incredibly good winds that afternoon.
I was on my slalom board with a big fin, and had rigged one of my favorite
sails, the 6.6 Nitro. The mast I was using had seen 4 seasons, but
never having had any problems before, I gave it little thought.
As I often do, I went inside the breakwater
to tune things as the boats prepared to start. I gave them a 10-minute
head start, running the length of the sea wall and tweaking things
to a "hands off" balance. I then headed for the gate and the open
Bay.
Blue Max had a good lead as I tacked over on to
port and headed toward the Holiday Inn Emerald. Back on starboard,
I sailed on a good bit further than I usually do to see if I could more
quickly make ground on this board which is not designed to point very well.
I passed the wellhead known to the Bay windsurfers as the "Little Rig"
and to the monohull racers as No. 2. I recall thinking "maybe it's
not such a good idea to be out this far from shore at 7:00 PM". Sensing
my vulnerability, I tacked very gently and powered up toward shore once
again. "Whew!", I thought to myself. "Now to just be cool and
run closer to shoCCCCRRRRAACK!
I somehow sensed something might be wrong.
I was still hooked in, in the straps holding the boom, yet I was lying
on my back in the water, breathing some of it. I poked my head above
the surface to note the top of my sail folded over the bottom. "This
can't be good.", I astutely surmised. I looked around. I had
gone about an eighth of a mile toward shore past No.2, but was still at
least a mile, maybe two from Oleander. I reckoned the sea wall was
also over a mile away. Some day I'll study the Bay sailing charts.
I reviewed the important factors:
PRO: It was warm and hypothermia would not be an issue
for several hours.
I wasn't bleeding or hurt in any way.
I still had my board.
The wind and current were blowing toward downtown.
I'm not a bad swimmer.
CON: It was going to be dark in 90 minutes.
I was alone.
I was getting seasick rolling around in the swells.
I had no camelback with water as I usually bring for my Wednesday night
sessions.
I was pretty far from shore.
I had no signaling device or reflective stuff on me.
I have to say I talked myself out of panic as I fought the nausea and
started taking my rig apart. Fortunately the mast break did not hang
up in the luff, and everything slid apart easily. I got the sail
rolled tightly and tied it to the universal and footstraps, then lashed
the boom over it and sat on top of everything and tried to use the broken
mast as a kayak paddle. My 22-inch wide board didn't offer much flotation,
however. Aside from being knocked over frequently, I couldn't make
much headway with my lower legs dragging and fighting that much wind.
For a minute there, I thought the Blue Max crew had seen me trying to paddle,
and I gave them my famous four-fingered whistle. Alas they didn't
respond, so I guess they were too far away. I gave them another finger
in case they HAD seen me.
At the rate of like 10 feet per minute, it
became clear I couldn't paddle my board all the way to shore while perched
on top of the sail and boom. I needed to lose the paraphernalia.
I hated to ditch my very favorite sail, so turning back AWAY from
shore, I pushed my board and rig ever so slowly back toward Well head No.
2. Once again, it took a really long time since I was just swimming
behind the board with a truly non-efficient stroke. It had to be
30 or 40 minutes before I got there. That decision probably was the
stupidest one I made that evening, but hey, it's my favorite sail!
Fortunately, there were various handholds
to let me climb on and fling my gear onto the platform For a fleeting
moment I thought of closing a valve or something to make someone come and
check things out. However not knowing if I'd blow myself up,I just
tied the sail and boom to the framework and weighed my chances of being
rescued. Before dark. There being very little chance of that,
I took off my harness and tied the mastbase to the platform as well and
dove back into the water with my board for the downwind paddle to the seawall.
I wished I'd learned to surf.
Lucky for me the jellies were not that numerous.
It wasn't very reassuring to look up and see 3 or 4 gulls circling me however.
"Hey, he looks like he's in trouble. Think he'll die soon?
We could eat him." I had to think pleasant thoughts to keep from
throwing up, which would have been a real treat if the Channel Tigers caught
the sent. "Just keep paddling, we'll get there. Am I talking
to myself? I didn't think so!"
It was about 9:30 when I crossed the breakwater
on foot, then jumped back into the water AGAIN to cross the marina to the
L-head boat ramp, where I knew I could come ashore easily. A really
kind kid at the L-head bait store let me use the phone and drink about
2 gallons of water from the hose outside. Casualties? One 4-year
old mast, a couple scratches on my board, and a few more on my arms and
legs from climbing aboard the platform.
Lesson learned? . Bring a strobe
or a reflector, a whistle, and preferably a friend. Stay closer to
shore and swim less.
Biff
Hydrofoilin’
I've just returned from a few weeks in Florida. I stayed
at a private campgrounds near Navarre (about half way between Pensacola
and Fort Walton). Unfortunately, this summer had very light winds
(generally less than 15 mph) and no rain. When I stayed there last
summer, I had 15 to 25 mph for more than 18 days out of 23. I finally
decided that this was primarily caused by thermals due to 100+ F for more
than 10 days. This summer temperatures were generally less than the
low 90's.
The only real excitement was when a squirrel
got into the refrigerator vent on top of my trailer and ate most of the
wiring going to the controls on top of my refrigerator. Naturally,
the refrigerator quit working until I could repair the wiring. Needless
to say, after I repaired the wiring, I covered the refrigerator vent with
heavy wire (hardware cloth) to make sure that this hungry squirrel could
not get in without a lot of work (and new dental work).
I am attaching a picture that a friend of
mine (Charlie Freeman from Dallas) took of me on my hydrofoil at BIB in
late April. I got more airtime than any of the kite surfers and never
got more than 18" above the water. I hope you are having a great
summer and I hope to see you this fall at BIB.
 |
James’ very innovative hydrofoil sail board in full flight. Many of you have seen this one of a kind board out at Bird. Curious?- it’ll be at Bird again this fall. |
2001 Gorge Games
by Bruce Peterson
Easily the windiest Blowout I've ever done
in 17 years of trying. The wind was a solid 25 at the start and 35-45
at Swell, the Hatch and Wells Is. Fat boys were lit up on their 3.5's
at the Hatch as were drove up to the start. Big fleet of starters
(over 100) with 55 finishers scored.
Dale Cook rode a 5.5 Retro and 9'0" Roberts.
I rode a 6.0 Retro and a 9'0" Roberts. Jace rode a 6.0 Simmer
Free-Zero and a RRD board. Not sure what size kites were used
but I'd guess at 6-7 meter. Cory used his trusty Kiteski delta kite
and water skis. Cory, Flash and Dale broke out to an early lead.
Dale was hanging with the kites down the Home Valley but lost touch with
them in the usual big wind hole at the narrows where Dog Mountain blocks
the wind. I came to a dead stop twice waiting for the next puff to
ride out. Usual psycho gale force downdrafts at Viento. That
was the first trip through warp speed for me, some how I managed not to
fall there. Jace and I diced it out with Jim Bison on his kite.
Found "the zone" for a steady powered dead run all the way down the Swell
City. The "go slow to go faster" technique was definitely working.
Hugged the Oregon shore passing Swell City trying to avoid free sailors
on their 3.0's and 3.5's. My first big yard sale came between Swell
and the Hatch. Bad things happen when you are going as fast as you
can downwind and the spray is still passing you. All hell broke loose
at the channel marker above Well Is. Sheets of spray wreaked havoc.
I think I crashed 10 times getting from the top to the bottom of Wells
Is. The finish line was a welcome sight. Thankfully there were
no barges to dice with.
Cory blitzed the course in record style on
his kite and water-skis. Downwind Dale confirmed his Blowout dominance
with a fourth consecutive win in the windsurfing category. Blowout?
No doubt about it!
Bruce Peterson Sailworks R+D
Renee Hanks Makes Subaru Gorge Games History
at Opening Day Blowout
HOOD RIVER, OR., July 14, 2001 - Renee Hanks of Arcadia, CA, bested
the field becoming the first and only female Kiteboarder to cross the finish
line in Subaru Gorge Games Blowout history with a time of 2:47:45 seconds.
"It was blowing really hard out there, it was kind of spooky," said Hanks.
Kiteboarder Cory Roeseler placed first in
both the overall and kiteboarding competitions finishing in a record Blowout
time of 47:51 seconds, all while racing on a pair of water-skis.
In the Windsurfing category of the Blowout,
Dale Cook won the men's division with a time of 1:00:14 seconds. On the
women's side, Suzie Richards placed first with a time of 1:59:24 seconds.
Of the 95 participants who started the race, 52 finished. Hood River resident
Jim Mason was the final competitor to
cross the finish line with a time of 5:03:12 seconds.
BLOWOUT RESULTS
Kiteboarding Men
Kiteboarding Women Windsurfing Women
1. Cory Roeseler-47:51 1. Renee
Hanks 1. Suzie
Richards-1:59:24
2. Flash Austin-48:29
2. Louise Hammer-2:06:29
3. Jim Bison-56:55
Windsurfing Men
3. Trish Dixon-2:14:40
1. Dale Cook-1:00:14
2. Bruce Peterson-1:04:58
3. Jace Panebianco-1:06:03
The Subaru Gorge Games will air on NBC August
26th and September 2nd check your local listings for times.
Gorge Games sponsors include: Subaru, Nautica, John Paul Mitchell Systems,
Irish Spring, SoBe, National Geographic Adventure, Salomon, EarthLink,
Yamaha, Yahoo! Sports Outdoors, City Sports NW, FullSail Brewery and American
Airlines.
From Anne Phelan via rec.windsurfing
City of Corpus Christi June 15, 2001
Dear Guy Racette:
Thank you for your letter concerning windsurfing within the Marina breakwater. Spinnaker flying, and parasailing devices, are not permitted within the Marina breakwater due to the danger posed by the possibility of this type of device accidentally hanging up on sailboat masts, light poles and other obstructions.
The Marina staff was not correct when they told you that windsurfing and sailboarding were also prohibited within the Marina breakwater. Windsurfing, sailboarding, skiing, etc. are permitted within the Marina complex as long as that activity occurs no less than 200 feet from all bulkheads and to the east side of the “no wake buoys” located within the Marina’s breakwater fairway.
I regret any inconvenience this error may have caused you. If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Marco A. Cisneros, Director of Parks and Recreation, at 880-3464 or contact my office at 880-3220.
City Manager
h:\pr-dir\annes\word\cars\200l\windsurang in marinaOffice of the City
Manager
P.O.Box 9277 · Corpus Christi, Texas 78469-9277 · (361)
880-3220
Ed’s Note: The above is the reply to a letter sent by Guy Racette to City Hall following his apprehension by the Harbor Patrol for the crime of sailing inside the breakwater. He felt he was within his rights to do so and it turns out he was. I’m sure no board sailor will be flagged down by the Harbor Patrol in the near future as long as we abide by the above rules- Thanks Guy, waterproof laminated copies available upon request