Pocketship in the Florida 120

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Pocketship in the Florida 120

Postby Shudoman on Mon May 18, 2015 6:18 am

Last week my pocketship participated in the Florida 120. This year was grueling and out of the 49 boats registered for the event only 4 made the entire trip. I'm happy to say my pocketship was one of them. My crew and myself are battered and bruised and my boat has a couple of battle scars. But the worst of it was a slightly cracked rub rail. This event tested pocketship with many different sailing conditions.

The first day was 11 hours of bob and bake beating against minimal winds and being happy to reach 3 kts. We spent 12 hours covering the 35 miles.

The second day was a blast running with the waves in 12 kt winds and having perfect conditions to do a little surfing. The GPS hit 7 kts on many occasions. We made the 40 miles that day in just over 5 hours.

The third day is a 15 mile trek across Pensacola bay. That morning the crew and I had a discussion on if we should stay at anchor or try to finish. We decided to press on. The winds were forecast for 15-20kts so we set out with a reef in the sail. As we started to cross the bay we were greeted by confused seas that required an active hand on the tiller to keep from being spun around. We buried the bowsprit once and a couple of times we were knocked down so far that the portholes were partially submerged. We made it in about 4 hours of the scariest sailing I've ever done. This is where a majority of the fleet gave up. We arrived at the 3rd nights anchorage with just 11 other boats. Most of those chose to bail out at a marina 3 miles north rather than trying to recross the bay.

The next day the forecast for the bay seemed better and it was. Fine easy sailing in stark contrast to the day before.

PocketShip sailed well and showed how rugged she is. You do start to wonder about all those fillets when the seas become like a washing machine. My hats off to the designer and a call out to the only other home built to finish the event, a Bolger micro named 'Pete'.
Last edited by Shudoman on Mon May 18, 2015 7:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Shudoman
 
Posts: 144
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Re: Pocketship in the Florida 120

Postby craig on Mon May 18, 2015 12:57 pm

Wow, exciting trip! I hope to one day participate in a similar event with my Pocketship. What happened to the rub rail? I hope you didn't bump up against a whale or something haha.

I've never sailed in conditions as rough as you were in. It sounds like the boat handled the wind really well. With the water all the way up to the portholes, it's good you didn't fall out of the boat!

Did you anchor out on the water or beach the boat on land? Flat-bottomed boats have one nice feature: each beaching. Since I only sail on a lake, I can't really see how the boat looks out of the water at low tide. I'm curious if you tried that.

- Craig
Titania, launched January 2015
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Re: Pocketship in the Florida 120

Postby Shudoman on Mon May 18, 2015 1:34 pm

The rub rail was a victim of dock rash.

The first and third night were on beaches that dropped off fairly quickly so we beached the bow and the keel set in the sand to keep her from swinging. On the second night we were on a gently sloping beach so we anchored out a little with a bow and stern anchor. Here is a video of the second anchorage. https://www.facebook.com/william.seyler.5/videos/1121476037868858/

Bill
Shudoman
 
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Re: Pocketship in the Florida 120

Postby John in CC on Mon May 18, 2015 7:09 pm

Hey Bill,
I am about to attempt the Texas 200. My Pocketship is still about a week away from launching. I hope to get it dialed in before June 6 for the 200. I am concerned I don't have enough time but I am giving it my best shot anyway. You need to come down to Texas in a few weeks!
-John
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Re: Pocketship in the Florida 120

Postby Shudoman on Mon May 18, 2015 7:54 pm

Hi John,

Best of luck in the 200. I can't make it this year although I would love to.

Although I launched my PocketShip almost a year ago the only sailing I did with it was on a small lake here in central florida. Sorta got to know the boat a little. However, I consider the FL-120 the real shakedown cruise. Each day brought new conditions and it was obvious that the boat can take more than I can. Everybody loved it. I feel like I'm getting my 15 minutes of fame with so many people coming up to me and asking about the boat.

You'll do fine in the TX-200. The PocketShip seems to draw positive attention, but more than that I've fallen in love with every aspect of her.

Bill
Shudoman
 
Posts: 144
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Re: Pocketship in the Florida 120

Postby John in CC on Tue May 19, 2015 9:27 am

Oyster reefs and shallow water sounds like the two worst obstacles I will encounter...well that and high winds, rough water, sleep, and fatigue. I'll report back in a few weeks!
John in CC
 
Posts: 150
Joined: Sat Jul 05, 2014 10:40 pm
Location: Corpus Christi, TX

Re: Pocketship in the Florida 120

Postby Shudoman on Fri May 22, 2015 3:05 pm

Little eye candy from the Florida 120

Image
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