Captain's Diary: Sailing Mishap in Gardiner's Bay

I love to sail in Gardiners Bay, and I am guessing I have logged as much time sailing in Gardiners Bay during the last 13 years as anybody. I seem to get out 4 days a weeks, weather permitting, from May until November. I sail a 22’ Catalina with a Furler for my jib sail and a dependable Yamaha 6 hp four-stroke outboard motor.

Last Tuesday , Oct. 9, with winds estimated to be 13-17 mph on my phone app and the bay with 1-2 ft. seas, I left my dock space in Three Mile Harbor for a sunset sail as I do almost every day. The National Weather Service officially forecasted 8mph (SSW) with max wind speed of 15 mph and gusts up to 26mph.

My sailing buddy Todd and I motored out for what we thought would be another sunset sail. As we left Three Mile Harbor, East Hampton, at about 3 p.m. we decided not to do a Sammy’s Beach dip/swim because Gardiners Bay seemed rougher than I anticipated and we turned off the engine and proceeded to let out the jib sail via my Furler.

I then decided to sail toward the bell buoy outside the harbor but quickly, the wind seemed to pick up as did the wave size while whitecaps started forming. We decided to not raise the main sail and while attempting to sail, a huge wind gust and a rogue wave combination somehow broke the forestay attaching the Furler to the mast at the very top of the mast!

Instantly the jib was floating in the rough seas and since the motor was up out of the water we were listing, sitting dead in the water. At first I started to fetch my new sail out of the water when I realized something looked odd. There was nothing holding the mast from crashing down on us. The Furler connected to the mast served that purpose and the Furler with the sail was in the water. I always keep an array of lines/ropes in a cooler nearby the cockpit and found the longest one with the idea of heading to the front and tying a line from the mast to my front cleat. The boat was pitching and rolling in the turbulent bay waters.

Fighting time, I raced to the front and proceeded to tie the line above the mainsail cover level on the mast to the cleat. The boat was rolling and pitching, and at any moment the main sail could fall toward the back, so I had Todd find a safe place. I carefully crawled up to the very front of the boat and fastened the rope to the center cleat. Now the mast was somewhat secure but still I wondered, was the rope tied to low on the mast? Would the cleat not designed to hold up the mast do just that? While I was doing this Todd was gathering the Furler and sail out of Gardiners Bay and securing it on deck, not that easy a feat with both the gusting wind and the rough seas. With mast secure, I lowered the outboard into the water and pulled the cord, and thanks to Jeff Brigg’s expertise, the outboard motor always starts with one pull.

We then navigated under power into Three Mile Harbor where we limped to my dock space. Once there I attached a longer stronger line from above the spreaders to where the forestay attaches to the very front of the boat and is designed to withstand the pressures of holding up the mast, mainsail and Furler.

Lastly, once back safely on land, I called Rudy Ratsep, perhaps East Hampton’s premiere sailboat rigging and repair expert to repair the Furler and to inspect the boat to make sure it is safe to sail. Most likely however my 2017 sailing season may be over, but I have my fingers crossed.