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Responses for ~ Pat Nowak's |
Hi Pat,
Your story is very exciting, especially for one that only owned a 15 foot day-sailor. I did crew on a 21 foot boat for the city engineer in Highlands Park in Dallas for a few years, but we sailed on small lakes. The trill is still relevant. Your story emphasizes the accuracy and timing needed to win. On one of our regatta races, we managed to drop the steel cable for the centerboard through the hull, so that it was hanging straight down from the boat. It came loose from the winch.
It took us a panicked half and hour to figure out to run a line around the boat in two directions and encircled the cable and pull it up on one side. One slip, and we wouldn't have time to make the race. The other boats were already tacking back and forth ready to make a run for the start line.
We managed to snare the cable, tied a line to the end that we had dropped through the center hole and snared it in like manor, and then prayed it would hold together as we tossed the whole mess back in the water. We pulled the line up through the center and the cable held. We secured it with a U-bolt and winched in the loose cable.
The run was at full speed to the start line. We never even looked at the time. We could tell from the other boats it was time to haul. We crossed the start line among the many. We didn't drink champagne that day, but it was the most fun we every had in a regatta.
Jack Wolf
Fox & Quill
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Pat, for someone who has done only a litttle sailing and no racing competitions, I was amazed at how riveting I found Champagne Sailors. You are a great story teller, my friend, keeping the suspense rolling right up to the end. Your sprikling of humor also helped keep my interest.
Great job!
Very best,
Lois W. Stern
author of SEX, LIES AND COSMETIC SURGERY
http://www.sexliesandcosmeticsurgery.com
Email_address: cosmeticsurgery@optonline.net
Sender's_name: Lois W. Stern