Had a scenario confront me today .
How do yo sail a boat under a 10 bridge ?.
Even a PDR ?.
What setup would enable me to sail up and down a river , and under 10 ft bridges ?.

Rob J.

Now there's a situation that I'm confronted with often!

Forget "sailing" under the bridge!

In my GIS, I mostly row the first kilometre to the bridge(s), beach the boat on the other side and rig it. I used to sail to the bridges, but I quite like the row.

In the PDR, well I just turn round and come back! On one fine sunny day with a strong outgoing tide and almost no breeze, I thought about capsizing the boat and drifting under them, to go for a sail with the grown up boats, but the breeze filled in just in time to change my mind.

Both boats are 5 minute rig/derig jobs, so it's really no big deal. The PDRacer is so light that you could probably do it standing in waste deep water, but boats have the habit of not doing what you want while you are doing that sort of thing, so it's best on dry(ish) territory.

Derig, and paddle under!

cheers,

P

get out on the trap and heel it right over

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You don't need a lot of good sailing water to spend a few hours afloat in a PDR. The river at midges place has an island in the middle and the deep part is probably about 40 metres wide. To the bridge is about 600 metres whichever way you go round the island. That's a lot of space for a PDR.

Up the other way there is probably a kilometre, but not good for fast sailing beacause of narrowness, fickle wind and some rock shelves about a foot below the surface in places - now they make a big CRUNCH when you hit them with a PDR centreboard. But no noticeable damage.

If the tide was heading in the right direction and there is enough clearance to sneak between pylons I'd just capsize and be washed through - the boat comes up with little or no water aboard and the capsize and right cycle takes about a minute.

If it wasn't I'd decide whether to row or sail down to the bridge and rerig on the other side. It takes about 3 minutes to rig or derig the PDR - Midge clearly hasn't had enough practice yet!

MIK

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Bah! Read again! I said it takes 5 minutes to rig/derig. Rig AND derig.

So I'd be a minute faster than you sonny jim!

Maybe we need to incorporate a de-rig in each lap of the race?

P

To quote a politician regarding the same subject 'dredge under the bridges so the boats have more clearance'

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Stupidity kills. Absolute stupidity kills absolutely.

Did you ever wonder why the middle section of Lake Burley Griffin (where the high Court/Library/Art Gallery) is called the "Regatta Lake" but the sailing clubs are on the other side of the western bridge which is too low to allow most boats to pass.

Figure this scenario.

POLITICIAN - We want to build a couple of bridges across the lake and it will block access to the Regatta lake from the sailing clubs.

SAILOR - Can you build the bridges high enough so out biggest boats can pass?

POLITICIAN - Why certainly - can you give me a measurement.

SAILOR (nips outside and measures a lightweight sharpie mast) - 21ft will do

POLITICIAN - Thankyou (directs public service to build bridge).

Opening regatta - most boats can't pass bridge because the SAILOR in our episode forgot that there is over 2ft of hull under the mast as it's stepped on the deck.

HMMMMMMMMMMMM.

MIK

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Don't be so dmn smug about it!!!

MIK
(

And youll need much more than a minute!

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Hi All

At a Tornado Catamaran Championship a few years ago, somewhere in europe (I'd have to look at another site to be exact) but, all the boats, I think 50-60 of them, had to capsize the boats to get under the bridge to the racing area - everyday.

When I race my greatest aim is to not tip over! And they want you to tip over TO race:eek:

Regards

Matt

My initial comment wasn't quite tongue in cheek. During a recent round the world race, the contestants had to swing their keels and heel over to get under the Bolte Bridge.

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Never paid much attention to the Bolte Bridge but I thought just about anything would fit under it, must have a look later today.

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Thanks for your replies .
Heeling over in this case wouldn't be an option , as the bridge supports are only about 10-12 feet apart.
Rigging and de rigging , and paddling seems to be the way to go , the water is still.
But , just as a matter of interest , is there a sail type that I could use in this type of circumstance , that I could sail under bridges of this hight ?.
Just so that if I was travelling around and had the opportunity to sail a river with low bridges or fences across , I had a sail/mast option that filled that bill ?.
An inquiring mind wants to know !.
Rob J.

What sort of boat are you taking about dopeydriver? I've see a setup on a Sonata 26 (26 foot trailer sailer) which allow the mast to be raised or lowered on the water, and would bring the total height under 10'. It has the added advantage of allowing single handed rigging/derigging, no mean feat with a 30' stick!

Let me know if you're interested, and i'll post some details.

Rob,

Sailing under bridges is a strangely scary thing to do. No matter how high the bridge and how low the mast, from the skipper's perspective you will swear there is almost no clearance!

You could build a traditional gaff rig, then heavily reef before coming to the bridge. This would take about as much time as de-rigging the PDR or GIS, and would leave you terribly underpowered negotiating the bridge.

There are times when good "seamanship" is more important than clever sailing, and going under a bridge is one of them. If I can give any sensible advice for the cruising sailor, it would be to think ahead and avoid putting yourself in a position where you can get into trouble.

A bridge is a great place for trouble. You will find yourself being sucked towards the pylons no matter what the conditions, if there is a current it will be worse. If there is no breeze, you'll be paddling to get away. if there is a breeze, the pylons will interrupt it and no matter which direction you are trying to sail, it will swirl you toward something hard.

Don't get me wrong. It's fun, just don't let it become a "learning experience"!

Having been under a few bridges in my time: de-rigging wins every time!

mingus, we're talking 8 and 16 foot dinghies here, so nothing like the rig weight of a Sonata.

Cheers,

P

Thanks for that P.
Thats why these forums are so valuable , being able to learn from the more experienced.
Points well taken.
Regards Rob J.