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More on the close encounter between Smiles & Fat City...

I put together a few pictures that show the damage, repairs, and sailing the next day. Here is a link to the file: http://members.cox.net/kneller/Smiles-J30-Voyage-Repairs.pdf

Russell Dunleavy was on the bow and ended up getting catapulted about 4 feet in the air, fortunately coming down in the water clear of hitting anything. He saw the traffic around Fat City & Smiles and had the good sense to dive below the boats preventing being potentially squeezed between them. It turns out he got a nasty gash on the back of his leg that should really have been stitched. He just treated it with alcohol.... administered orally once he got back. The bow pulpit creased where he was sitting and we suspect the sharp edge there is what cut the back of his leg.

I was on the port side of Smiles and when the impact occurred, ended up on by back, head aft with left leg and arm and body in the water. My right foot was curled on the teak rail, and I was trying to pull myself up with the lower lifeline...which was now slack due to the bent pulpit. I managed to pull myself onboard before I saw the stbd side of another boat real close - it's all a blur but I think it was Fat City as Smiles & Fat City almost met again beam to beam.

Once back on the boat I went to the bow so we could drop the sails. It wasn't until the jib was on its way down that we noticed that the head stay had been sheered off in the center of the turnbuckle. Fortunately we were heading off the wind so the main was pushing the mast forward. We took the spare jib halyard, fastened it to the bow and winched it tight to put tension on the rig, preventing it from coming down.

The J/30 community is great in helping to come up with parts and assistance to get back on the water. John was able to get a loaner bow pulpit (it too was already bent and needed repairs). This was bolted with aluminum plates on both sides of the deck to provide support where the deck was destroyed (old hardware pulled through the core). A new headstay made and and delivered by 8:30pm, but we waited until it was light the next morning before sending John's brother Chris up the mast to attach it.

The lifelines were too long with with replacement bow pulpit, so John picked up some of the finest Chinese hose clamps he could find. We used these to stretch and fasten the lifelines to the aft rail. The finish work was completed using a roll of red duct tape. This was used to seal the hole and exposed glass on the port bow, and protect the sharp edges on the hose clamps.

This incident aside, the NAs were a real blast. Thanks go to the Naptown organizers and to John McArthur for letting me ride with the Smiles crew - a great group to sail with. If you have to pick somebody to have a collision with, I can't think of a better person than Carl Sherter! We met at Fat City's "Safe House" the next day after sailing, before heading out to the AYC dinner. The liquid refreshment made the story told from everyone's vantage point much clearer (not).

It was great to put some faces to the names of people I've corresponded with on this forum. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone at the 2008 North Americans on Narragansett Bay to be hosted by Bristol Yacht Club 19-21 September. See you in RI next year!

Bill