Bhansen97_at_aol.com wrote: > > Bob Volin made some very good observations about motorboats towing other > vessels: they tend to tow too fast, and in general a motorized boat towing > boats in tandem doesn't work well. I think it is time to tell my favorite story about towing. Back in 1990, I organized and participated in a folding kayak race in NYC at the South Street Seaport that involved assembling double Kleppers (no other manufacturer seemed to want to participate), launching from a high dock, crossing a busy East River on a July afternoon (we are too small fry to arrange closure of a river the way cigarette boats can) to Brooklyn to pick up a small replica of the Statue of Liberty (proof you had made it across) and then paddle back, disassemble the kayaks and pack 'em back into their bags. Because of the high dock (about a 4 foot or so drop), I allowed that volunteers could help lower the kayaks for the crews. And that was our downfall. In lowering the boats, some of the volunteers popped the rudder yokes on my double and on another double who were in a dead heat race for the water. That left our two boats rudderless, although we didn't know it with all the adrenalin pumping through our veins. When we hit the 3 to 4 knot broadside current as we came near the ends of the protective piers (I had set the race up for around slack time but we waited for almost 2 hours for a dignity to come to start the race and the person never showed), we both applied our rudders for correction. But with the rudders inoperative we both were pushed up against a bulkhead and became hopelessly pinned side by side by the current. Here is where the towing part comes in. My partner in the front seat panicked and abandoned ship, climbing skillfully up the bulkhead horizontal beams like a monkey. (In his defense, he was staring at the whirling paddlewheel of an excursion boat just 20 feet in front of him and that scared him.) But the other kayak pinning my boat still had a chance to get back into the race. A motorized Zodiac that was supposed to provide some assistance came alongside our pinned boats and offered to pull the other kayak into a position a bit out of the strong current where it could assume racing. A line was handed to the fellow in the back seat of the other Klepper and the Zodiak operator called "Ready!" My mind wasn't working too well because of the mental sag after the adrenalin rush and seeing my partner disappear up and over the seawall. But something struck me as odd about the "Ready!" Where had I heard the term used with that particular emphasis before? It suddenly hit me. That's what a towing boat calls back to a water skier before gunning the engine throttle! Before I could call out "No!" the Zodiak pulled away at full speed. The fellow hanging on to the tow rope was yanked right out of his seat and skimmed across the water for a few feet with a most surprised look on his face. The Klepper went completely on its side but thanks to a great brace by the fellow in front and the stability of that darn boat, it did not capsize. I looked at the fellow in the front seat of the other Klepper and at the empty seat in back. And he looked at me and at my front empty seat. The situation was ready made to team up. But we had been in such fierce competition just moments before that we could not see that clearly and we were all out of the race. ralph diaz -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Ralph Diaz . . . Folding Kayaker newsletter PO Box 0754, New York, NY 10024 Tel: 212-724-5069; E-mail: rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com "Where's your sea kayak?"----"It's in the bag." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Sun Feb 27 2000 - 09:08:52 PST
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