Category: Train

Lake trials begin for Manu-o-ku thanks to Sail Sand Point!

On Monday we moved the boat from backyard testing to Lake Washington trials.   After assembling the boat (in just under an hour), we ceremoniously poured some Alaskan Amber over her bows and officially named her Manu-o-ku.  She is named after the Hawaiian word for the White Tern — a beautiful bird with the habit of flying out to sea to feed during the day before returning to land for the night.  So we will travel with a navigator bird flying with us,  our minds remembering our families as we voyage north, braving the Pacific but never straying too far from land.

Thanks to Acting Director Nino Johnson and the Board of Sail Sand Point we now have a great spot to store the boat close to the water this winter/spring.  We really appreciate their sponsorship, as well as the great summer sailing educational opportunities they provide to Seattle (and especially Scott’s kids).

Manu-o-ku settles in to the spot Nino cleared for us.

 

Will KIALOA be our next sponsor? (Please?)

 

The boat ramp <50m away!

 

Looking forward to seeing Nino, Lisa, and Caroline frequently as they keep Sail Sand Point organized and we test and train this winter/spring!

While we’re enthusiastic about training in Puget Sound later this year, the Lake affords many opportunities that will let us learn about our boat and our selves.  The lack of tides removes a confounding variable when we gather performance data on how in Manu-o-ku move and we grow stronger.  The extra-chilly surface temperature lets us test our gear in conditions that are thermally worse than what we’ll find in Dixon Entrance.  And less wintertime traffic will let us practice traveling at night and in flat-water conditions without the risks and complications of busy Puget Sound.

 

Let’s do this!

 

Hypothermia

On Saturday, our friend and survival trainer put us through what he calls a Flickian Challenge.  It’s all part of getting us ready – known by the acronym HTFU.  Kevin took us to Golden Gardens Park in Seattle and put us to the test.  We had incredulous onlookers huddling in parkas, a few lone beach walkers cheering us on, and one wild Alaskan who joined us in the water for a bit (more on that later).

Challenge One was: No eating for 10 hours prior to the challenge.  Then a 15 minute swim in Puget Sound wearing only swim trunks while having to solve math problems (mental acuity testing).  That was the warm up, or in our case cool down to shivering.  The real test came after we exited the water: use teamwork to find wood, make tinder and fire starter, light a fire, keep it together and rewarm yourself with only the pocket knives and flint we had on lanyards around our necks with us on the swim.  We also had a “jump bag” of other emergency supplies we plan to take on the Race.  We resisted the bag for a long time, but eventually Flick ordered us to open it up.

For 1 hour 4 minutes — from entering the water until Kevin stopped the clock — we were wet, cold, shivering, exposed, dirty, struggling and then huddling very close to our fire to rewarm.  We did rewarm and our body temperatures came back up but it was pretty ugly.  We survived and the Red Mill Burgers we scarfed down afterwards never tasted so good.

Screen Shoot from Flickian Challenge #1 video.
Screen Shot Capture from Flickian Challenge #1 video.

After the challenge we spent the next 20 plus hours living on the boat.  More on what we learned from that (also wet) experience, soon…

 

HTFU Taking on the waters in January

It was a cold, cold 15 minutes of attempting to stay in Lake Washington.  No dry suit; just swim suit.

http://youtu.be/CfXhVHdlKQ8

File a Float Plan – www.floatplancentral.org

 

 

We should all fill in one of these before we leave on the R2AK race!  Or any other trip on the water.  How well can your friends and family describe you and your boat from memory after all.  Probably not well enough.  Suspecting that the Northwest Maritime Center will have their own set of information requirements on each entry.  But that is just one event for a few weeks this coming June 4th.

Plans change when you sail/row/paddle small boats.  The weather changes.  The spot you found to camp is just too sweet to only spend one day at.  Or you may be spending the next 6 hours waiting for a tide you got just a bit wrong.  You ran into other like minded small boaters and do an impromptu plan change to travel together.

Those you leave behind ashore may start to wonder where you are.  Sometimes having a fixed plan is just not possible or your tracker beacon stops working (been there!) or your battery dies on your iPhone or there is no signal and  the Find Friends app stops sending (that happens!).

It was almost easier before all those things existed but you did need to add a widow’s walk on top of your house.  Regardless, the basic info of a float plan is a good start as is a broad description of where you will be.  Sometimes getting a little bit lost is exactly what your plan is.  Sometimes the rescuers might benefit by narrowing down the size of the haystack.  From my professional experience as a SAR vessel commander, knowing who and how many on board, size, type and description of the vessel and a general idea of where the over due party might be usually increased the chance of a happy outcome.  We don’t mind searching for you even if all was well.  We chock it up as training.

http://www.floatplancentral.org/

 

USCGFloatPlan

Float Plan