United States Naval Academy Sailing Squadron Safety Magazine usna.edu/sailingusna.edu/sailing Spring 2015 The Helmsman Our mission: The United States Naval Academy Sailing United States Naval Academy Squadron directly contributes to the Naval Sailing Squadron Academy’s overall mission of developing future naval leaders. Naval Academy Commander Les Spanheimer Sailing meets this goal by providing Director of Naval Academy Sailing Midshipmen with hands-on leadership [email protected] (410) 293-5601 development through sailing. Naval Academy Sailing believes in not only promoting Lieutenant Commander Laurie Coffey Deputy Director of Naval Academy Sailing leadership development but also a culture of [email protected] safety. With this in mind, we believe that shar- (410) 293-5600 ing firsthand experiences that occur both on Mr. Jon Wright and off the water can lead to a higher aware- Vanderstar Chair, Naval Academy Sailing ness of sailing safety. [email protected] (410) 293-5606 Lieutenant Rob “Jobber” Bowman Special Thanks to the following people for Maintenance Officer, Naval Academy Sailing “The Helmsman” Editor and Publisher their article and photo contributions: [email protected] (410) 293-5634 Tim Queeney editor Ocean Navigator Mr. Frank Feeley Ben Sprague Richard Stevenson Commander Les Spanheimer, USN USNA Sailing website: usna.edu/sailing The Helmsman Page 2 Volume 2, Issue 1 The Helmsman Spring 2015 Naval Aviation has long enjoyed a free exchange Special points of interest: of lessons learned. That tradition permeates every post-flight debrief and is publicly revealed Weather in a bi-monthly Navy & Marine Corps Aviation Safety Magazine entitled “Approach.” Published Sailboat Maintenance by the Naval Safety Center, “Approach” is a col- lection of first-person narrative accounts of Na- val Aviation mishaps, close calls, and lessons Situational Awareness learned. Such is the culture throughout the Navy and Marine Corps that aircrew are encouraged and lauded for submitting frank and honest arti- Preparedness cles that serve as lessons for us all. It is our hope that this culture of open exchange can be spread to the recreational sailing com- Emergency Procedures munity throughout the country. We hope the stories contained within this second edition of “The Helmsman” can serve as lessons in what to do and what not to do. We welcome submissions throughout the year Inside this issue: of other first person narratives (anonymous submissions are welcome). Disaster Averted Pg 4 Let’s get the conversation started and keep safe- ty foremost in our minds as we enjoy the water. Sinking of the Bowditch Pg 10 Commander Les Spanheimer Director of Naval Academy Sailing A Key Approach to Offshore Pg 20 Passage Making Clobbered on the Delaware Pg 24 The Helmsman PagePage 33 Disaster Averted By Frank “Rich” Feeley Rapf (all aged 65 to 67, but fit). This crew had projected tracks splayed An offshore more than 50 Bermuda out from its center. Most rigging failure races plus return passag- headed north to the Gulf es. Rich is a prime mover Coast, but some crossed is handled in Safety at Sea training, the Florida Peninsula so we knew that Lora Ann and moved out into the with team- would be well found and Atlantic, crossing the well prepared for the pas- homebound course late work and sage. In the exhilarating in the coming week. In some friendly reach that was the 2012 fact, this low developed race, she finished third in into tropical storm Deb- help her class to Carina, which by and did follow the less probable track out won the St. David’s Light- into the Atlantic. The return passage after house Trophy. Lora Ann The other prominent the Newport Bermuda has been on the podium feature was a strong cold Race is often a pleasant for six straight Bermuda front moving off the U.S. cruise. It is usually well Races. coast. As it closed in on off the wind and without On Saturday, the day Bermuda in the daily the constant pressure to before our planned de- projections, it squeezed make the last one- parture, the briefing the isobars against the hundredth of a knot or room at the Royal Ber- amoeba shaped western change sails at the first muda Yacht Club was extremity of the Bermu- (or last) possible mo- packed for the presenta- da High. If we left on ment. For me it’s a tion by the Bermuda Me- Sunday, southwest chance to catch up with teorological Service. The winds would increase to old friends in the crew. weather in Bermuda was 25 to 35 knots on Mon- Rich du Moulin needed benign, but the forecast day night as we inter- crew to bring his Express showed two worrisome sected the front — condi- 37, Lora Ann, back to features. In the Gulf of tions Lora Ann had en- New York. I joined him Mexico, a developing low countered many times. It along with two experi- seemed destined to be- would be a bit bumpy on enced sailing friends come a tropical storm, Monday night perhaps, from my college years, and perhaps a hurricane. but preferable to a de- Lee Reichart and Bill A shower of computer The Helmsman Page 4 Volume 2, Issue 1 The Helmsman layed departure that might Atlantic and Bermuda rac- punctured lung, which encounter a developing es, slipped and fell against fortunately were not pre- hurricane later in the the primary jib winch on sent. week. The skipper’s subse- the port side. As we As Lee’s condition quent conversations with a reached farther away from worsened, so did the private weather routing Bermuda, Lee found it weather. Throughout service confirmed the pro- more and more difficult to Monday afternoon and jections, and we left St. move without severe pain, evening, we shortened George late on Sunday af- and by Tuesday as the seas down from the No. 3 jib ternoon. built he was confined to his to the Solent to reefed bunk, the pain buffered by Solent, and from full Oxycodone and Valium. main to one and then Crew casualty (Once home, X-rays con- two reefs. By dusk on Two hundred miles out firmed a broken rib on his Monday night, we were of Bermuda, as the wind left side.) Rich had e- sailing with only the was building, Lee, a veter- mailed his wife Ann, a reg- double reefed main. an of 20 years racing on istered nurse, who advised A small boat that does Lora Ann and many trans- us on the drugs. She also a lot of around-the-buoy gave us the symptoms for a racing, Lora Ann has a mainsail fit- ted with a boltrope and slot — no slides. Her reefs are se- cured by shackling each reef tack to a strop near the gooseneck ra- ther than hooks that tend to re- lease the sail as it is doused. But above the sec- ond reef the luff can blow away as the The Helmsman Page 5 Volume 2, Issue 1 The Helmsman sail drops out of the slot. With one man off near the deck. I yelled “tack” and Bill down, and one having to steer in the big immediately put the tiller down. Lora seas (the autopilot was struggling at that Ann promptly tacked to starboard, put- point), two crew would be hard pressed ting the load on the new windward side, to control the mainsail when doused, so taking the pressure off the port shrouds. we deferred putting up the trysail. This tack brought us into the heart of a Lora Ann sails remarkably well, how- passing squall, sending the wind speed ever, with a double-reefed main alone, well up into the 40s. For the moment, we and we had been through 50 knots with were safe, but we were heading back for this rig on many occasions so we did not Bermuda. Could we keep the rig in the change to the trysail. Lora Ann powered boat, repair it and return to our course on into the night on a close reach at full for New York? speed. As forecast, the winds built to The port lower shroud turnbuckle more than 30 knots. The seas were threaded stud broke when the forged clearly growing to impressive heights, and the self-steering gear could not cope, so we steered by hand. We were almost glad we could not see the full height of the waves. One boarding sea threw the helmsman across the cockpit, but the two men on deck were safely strapped in and Lora Ann held her course. Rich has a strict policy of all crew tethered from the time one begins to ascend the ladder to the cockpit until back down below standing on the cabin sole. There is a big padeye near the companionway for this purpose. The damage By dawn on Tuesday the seas appeared to be running 20 feet, with the wind lower eye cracked. Fortunately the chain- holding the anemometer well up in the plate and barrel of the turnbuckle were 30s. Bill and I were on watch. As the undamaged. At the spreaders, the mast gray light grew, there was a sharp crack, was bent 12 inches out of column but did like a rifle shot. I looked up from my not appear fractured or dimpled. Being cockpit reverie to see the lower wind- so out of column, the compression of the ward shroud flapping free, and the un- rig and seas could bring the mast down supported mast violently flexing from at any moment. The mast would have port to starboard about two feet at the broken quickly if we hadn’t tacked, but it first spreader.