Quote:
Originally Posted by MarkJ
Did we work out what we mean by 'broach'?
We should never, as cruisers, be in a position to broach from sail
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Of course, I asked it as a loaded question based on the transcripts from "this American life"
Ira:
Well, Eric said that one of the big problems began the day before they called for help. Basically they sailed into a part of the ocean called the Intertropical Convergence Zone where they hit some nasty
weather and waves. Not horrible Eric said. You'd expect this kind of thing on an
ocean crossing. But they were getting rained on every 30 to 35 minutes with squalls, waves are going over the boat, covering the
deck. And then-- here's the bad part-- they get broached, which is sailing language for a wave pushed their boat onto its side, just for a few seconds, and then it righted itself.
Charlotte Kaufman
We got knocked over several times. And people have asked Eric, were you scared out there? And Eric always says, no, I wasn't scared. But I was in the
cabin with the girls, and one time our oldest was going to the bathroom by herself-- because she's three, she's almost four, and she want's to do everything by herself-- and when that wave hit it's the scariest sound.
Ira Glass
Because it's just a big bang?
Charlotte Kaufman
Yeah. It's this huge bang. It's like you were in a car
accident. You're expecting to go up and see who just T-boned you. But it was a wave.
Ira Glass
And so you guys are downstairs in the
cabin and Eric is upstairs driving the boat. Is he upstairs out on the
deck when the boat gets turned on its side?
Charlotte Kaufman
Yes. He was definitely on the side decks. But he goes out there clipped in, and we all maintain the
rule, one hand for you, one hand for the ship. So he's always holding on.
Ira Glass
So he's clipped on with straps and stuff, so he can't just go into the
water?
Charlotte Kaufman
Right. Yeah. I think the hardest part for people who don't sail to really imagine about this trip is that you're constantly in motion. You're burning calories just by sitting because your body is constantly fighting to keep you in an upright position. We could never stand still.
When I'm making
food, I have to brace my feet at a really far angle, or I had to wear a belt, a
galley belt, just to stay upright. We would have to-- our youngest daughter, she slept in a little chair, a little kid seat, strapped down in her bunk because, if we had just put her in her berth, her body would literally have been just rolling five inches. Rolling five inches. Rolling, because she was too little to lay spread eagle and brace herself at night to sleep.
Ira Glass
Now, to get broached by itself is not such a big deal. Eric says lots of boats get broached.
Eric Kaufman
Yeah. I mean, you want to minimize it as much as you possibly can. And you probably did something wrong, or you could have been more active on the helm, or something like that. But it's not like, oh, my gosh, this is horrible. No boat has ever experienced this. That's not the case. It's sailing across an ocean. It's what it is. If you don't want to take hits like that, don't go across an ocean.