It’s reassuring to know the Coast Guard is friendly, responsive and willing to help crazy windsurfers. On several occasions I have been very close to calling the CG for Wes… but Sunday it was Wes who finally called the CG for me. Luckily for me, I made it to shore, under my own power, about 5 miles from home, before the cavalry arrived…
It all started when the wind died suddenly, and shifted to the SE. I was South of Three Tree Point on my 7.3, it was raining, stormy, cloudy. With every attempt at getting back to shore I found myself further and further away. At one point I almost decided to swim, but it would be a long swim, about 1.5 miles, against a ripping tide. And I was freezing at this point.
So, I decided to head out to the middle one more time for another attempt at getting back to the point… but, I crashed in the middle, and that’s when Wes called the CG. With the rain and fog blocking his vision, Wes didn’t see me up-haul the sail… I was looking for ANY boat to bring me back to shore.
The GC radioed two tugs in the area that were escorting a tankard. They broke away for the rescue, a CG boat in the area was sent and they fired up a helicopter! About 30 minutes later I landed approx. 5 miles away and the search was called off.
A nice guy in Seahurst let me use his phone, and my windsurfing gear is still in his front yard.
No comments:
Post a Comment