Memorable sailing moments

So what is you most memorable sailing moment???

Apart from every time I race in the big stuff at Sail Melbourne........

1) See ride below..... After first day of racing @ Sail Melb 04 the Tornadoes were all racing to shore dodging 470s and lasers in winds over 25 and waves up to 2.5mtr top to bottom.

One of the Ts put it in after rounding up under kite as a 470 gybed in front of them. Another crew fell of the back of the boat with his rear foot still in foot strap and was draged backwards. Skipper Gybed and put it in to save him.

As seen below we wound it up surfing down the waves. I said to my crew "hang on I am going to see how far we can push it". All I could here from the wire was "Ohhh $hit, f@ck watch that wave" repeated over and over again. As we got closer to the club and in the lee of the breakwater a big gust hit us. My crew threw the kite sheet and we survived for a few more boat lenghts and then ....... my crew lept of the backoff the boat as we went over and landed about 30 feet awayfrom the boat. As I landed I hit the boom with my leg and coul bairly walk after it. Still have a big lump on my leg a year later.

Anyway, knowing my crew was seperated from the boat, I grabed the main sheet and swam of the back of the boat to him and stuck out my leg for him to grab. As he body surfed down the waves and was within a foot of me the boat would surf down the next wave and we would be seperated again. After a few minutes of this he became exauhsted and gave up. I pulled my way back to the boat.... jumped on and retrieved the kite and lent back against the dolphin striker and the boat came up.

My crew difting out in the bay was pased by a Mistral sailor..... He stoped and asked if that was his boat off in the distance. He replyed Yes. The Mistral guy next said "Is there anybody on it". My crews reply was "I f@cken hope so".

Shortly after, another crew droped by and picked him up, returning him to the boat so we could limp in with huge grins on our faces.

2) Sail Sydney 2003, first day, wind 36 knots average gusting to 42 (measured at Airport on the bay) We were the only mad dogs to put up a spinnaker and as we tore down the course very deep we were dodging a wreaking yard of monos. As their crews held on the bows looking up at us with eyes as big a saucers, we shot past at warp speed with our eyes as big as saucers. Every gybe we did we turned the boat only a few degrees and as the sails came accross it would throw up the other hull and threaten to send us swimming. On the second downwind a gust caught us and we did go swimming. My crew was traped on top of the hull as I was pinned under the boat and for the first time in my life, thought I was seriously going to die on a sail boat. Anyway, managed to free myself and get the boat upright and limp back to shore.