Mast and boom: Matching set for emergency dismasting

[Dolfiman]

Don't directly need an emergency mast there, but ± 40 dismastings and more trouble reported (June 16, 2019) on Lake Geneva during the 2019 Bol d'Or Mirabaud sailing race.
Random Picture Thread: post #8527 . . . . .

Yes, may be it is worth to highlight also here on this terrible 2019 Bol d'Or two days ago, statistics not yet established, but from various reports it is said gusts up to 50+ Knots (60 Knots recorded at Le Bouveret), 212 abandons, 40 dismastings as you said, 5 capsizes, several sunk (two keel boats Toucans ?), but fortunately no casualties although the rescue of the crews was epic.
With again this dismasting in live, which shows what happens when the storm progressively reached the boat, instructive ! :

 

[Angélique]

With again this dismasting in live, which shows what happens when the storm progressively reached the boat, instructive !

I've just re-watched the end at 25% video speed from 7:25, the mast (and mounted cam ?) went overboard at 7:28, the shown screen view capsized there . .

 

[JosephT]

That’s a very light rig & vessel for those conditions. Best to reduce sail. Unfortunately, most racers don’t have an “off” button in their heads. It’s all about speed and winning.

 

[Angélique]

More videos of the Bol d'Or Mirabaud 2019 are showing up...

— from the comments —​

‘‘ They did very well not to break anything and ........ win !!! It isn't really a boat¹ but a giant sized dinghy with no ballast. It's skillful, but it doesn't represent sailing². Without the crew this boat would capsize - just realised that it isn't even as stable as a dinghy ! It does however show how strong the wind was as they are actually moving quite fast through the water with only about 3 m² of the mainsail up. ’’

¹ of course it's a boat ! - ² of course this is also sailing !

 

[A II]

Re post #36 - #37:

. . . . Maud did a very nice job on that jury rig. . . . .

Hi Joseph, Maud was well prepared, as was the former owner-skipper of the boat Jean Luc Van Den Heede, and as all at sea should be....

‘‘ . . . . Rigging up her jury rig is what preoccupies her now. She has the moral support of her family and practical advice from former owner and skipper of the boat Jean Luc Van Den Heede, but where it comes to doing the work she is on her own.

She has to shift the 100 kilo boom to the middle of the boat and, somehow, hoist it into the vertical position. Fortunately, Jean Luc Van Den Heede had worked out a system to do this, before he did his round-the-world voyage and Maud has found the required aluminium part on board. She knows, though, that this is not going to be a quick fix. “It will take a long time,” she said “days, not hours. I’ll have to do a lot of thinking out and find tricks to make up for my lack of brute strength".

Maud has been moved and greatly encouraged by the innumerable messages of support she has received and is determined to beat this obstacle. "I’m going to try to eat something to keep my strength up, then I will go back outside, sit in the cockpit and think about the best way to tackle this. Even if it is millimetre per millimetre, I promise you that I will move this boom." . . . . ’’

Bit of a late response, but just came across this bit of info when I looked it up for another post.

 

[sharpii2]

One thing I have thought of, is that the rigging wire is that should fail, not the turnbuckle, not the tang shackle, not the tang, and certainly not the chain plate. I don't know if this is true in a typical dismasting.

But if it is, purhaps it would be a good idea to carry three or four shackles with about a meter of rigging wire swedged in, and about a dozen cable clamps of the right diameter.

This way, if the original stay or shroud parted right at the shackle, one could put the one with the short length of wire in its place, then use the cable clamps to join more wire to complete the jury rig.

Just a thought.

 

[A II]

Often at a dismasting the mast is broken and overboard, then parts of salvaged debris or the boom or another alternative needs to be used to set up a jury mast. Salvage directly what is useful for a jury rig and secure these parts to the boat, and cut loose the rest of the debris so they don't cause further damage. Then hunker strapped down if needed in the bilge and eat and sleep to keep strength up and wait for good weather to set up a jury rig. It's very useful then to be prepared and have beforehand a plan A and B and C, and have the needed parts and means on board to execute the emergency plans when the case arise, whereby probably has to be improvised as well, as in practice there's often a need to deviate from pre-made emergency plans.

 

[A II]

As an related aside here, jury steering and jury rudders came up as an aside on the thread ‘‘Killer whales launch ‘orchestrated’ attacks on sailing boats’’ in the posts #35 to #38. More info about it in the Yachting Monthly article Jury Steering.