Don't want your name here?!!

[SkiprJohn]

Going aground #1. Got stuck in the mud of Fiddlers Cove in Coronado in the late '70s in a Lido 14. Aha!! Raise the centerboard and sail off the goo.

Going aground #2. In '81 I bought my first boat, a Catalina 22 fixed keel, which I sailed in and out of Pearl Harbor quite frequently. At the entrance to PH was what we called a Texas tower which was not an official aid to navigation but was a landmark which everyone used as the unofficial edge of the right side of the channel as you came in. Needless to say I found out the hard way that it was on a submerged rock shelf about 20 feet back from the channel. Luckily I was able to rock the boat back and forth and back off the ledge using my little Johnson 6hp. Embarrassing while sailing with a new girlfriend. Not much damage.

Going aground #3. Same Catalina in '82. Sailed into the narrow channel of Iroquois Lagoon at the entrance to Pearl Harbor. No problem going in the 40 foot wide channel. The problem began after a few beers and wanting to sail out again using the mainsail and no jib. I'd done it before. The Catalina doesn't point nearly so well without a jib so we went up on the rocks on the East side after being a bit slow on a tack. This time I was smart and jumped in the water to push us off. Lessons learned: If your draft is considerably less than your height you might be able to jump in the water and push a light boat out of the grounding situation. Don't drink so much beer. A sloop will point higher on each tack if you use the jib in addition to the mainsail.

Going aground #4. Haven't been aground again since '82.

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha Mark,
I was married to Christie on the Mariner 32 True Love in Rainbow Bay with the Arizona Memorial as a backdrop on Armed Forces Day. There was a gun salute from Ford Island because of Armed Forces Day and of course the weather was beautiful. Our wedding reception was at the Marina Restaurant. Sure do miss that place. Lots of good memories.
The ambiance has changed since the Ford Island bridge was installed.
Regards, --John--

[S/V Elusive]

Hell - I was married at the time - didn't get to do any YC stuffs or go to the Marina Rest. I will revisit my card and check on the size of the widgeons .. and the AF 21 was the Cal 20 ... couldn't remember what it was ... but only the Air Force had one you could take out.

[SkiprJohn]

Missing the Dock #1. After partying for a few hours my friends talked me into going for a sail at about 10PM. There must have been 8 of us on my Garden ketch sailing toward the exit of Pearl Harbor. It got very late, the winds lightened and we decided not to go to Maui afterall. Good decision by the way! All were tired and more than a bit tipsy so back to the dock we went. My usual slip was down a row of about 6 boats and I knew none of the crew was experienced enough to help me tie up so I made for the end of the dock where there was plenty of space. We were coming in just a bit fast so I put the engine control in reverse and gave it throttle. Engine died. Second time same thing. Third time I put it in forward to go around for another landing. Engine died again. Luckily I had gotten a fellow to jump on the pier with a line as we passed by the first time. Our mainsail was up in a flash and we made another slow approach under sail. I called to the crewmember on the dock, "Throw us the line." You guessed it. He threw the whole coil. I was about 10 feet from the dock when I handed the wheel over and swam a dock line to the pier (not recommended). Engine problem was, of course, a sheet wrapped round the prop. Once we were tied up I dove down unwrapped the sheet and by that time decided to just bid my fellow revelers a goodnight and I'd sort things out in the morning. I'm certain that was very good entertainment for my liveaboard friends. No way they could have slept through it.

Missing the Dock #2. After a daysail in the same Garden Ketch we were coming in to my slip in area #9 near the Admiral's barge boathouse. My slip was the windward of two slips past a 35 Piver on the T end of a long dock. All sails were furled because we had been motoring so we knew the engine was running fine. We were approaching the dock at about 3 knots and my usual method was to slow the boat with reverse then give the stern a little kick in using a spurt forward and port rudder. I put the lever in reverse with a bit of throttle. The boat responded by going forward faster, oops. Couldn't believe it so I put it in forward and made a circle ready for another try with more reverse throttle. This time when I put it in reverse and gave it even more throttle it shot forward even faster plus neutral was out too. Now it dawned on me that forward was just fine but reverse and neutral were not. Up went the mainsail, big circle around, slow forward approach with the engine, hit the kill switch at the last moment and I walked the main boom out to port as quickly as I could. Worked like a charm. You probably guessed that the clamp that holds the shifter cable at the transmission had corroded loose. It was an easy fix but really a good lesson. Never trust your landings to extreme throttle either direction.
This also happened to a friend of mine picking up a mooring buoy in close quarters in their Cal 2-30. It was her first sail without her husband onboard on that boat since they bought it. Nearly went on the rocks because of it.

Lesson learned: Check that clamp on the transmission end of the shift cable frequently. Regards, --JohnL--

I see a whole bunch of new votes on the poll, but no new stories. Time to come clean. Tell us what you did

[Alan Wheeler]

Holy Moly, is there what!
Come on fairs fair. You can't poll if ya don't spill the beans.

[S/V Elusive]

Having seen a mess of split beans... I'm not sure that is the answer Wheels ... but, one man's pork is another man's beans!

Alright Thomas, I KNOW you have a recent story or two, being the prolific sailor you are.

[Alan Wheeler]

Just in case you don't follow our "Kiwi speak" "to spill the beans" means to confess about something when you perhaps wouldn't or shouldn't.

[Talbot]

our "Kiwi speak" "to spill the beans"

Not specifically Kiwi in origin, you have borrowed it from UK

Yea, after we yanks thought of it first

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha All,
Obviously we have a forum composed of folks who never make mistakes while sailing, anchoring or at dock. Maybe we should label a thread "Lessons Learned."
Kind Regards, --JohnL--

Not me. I have done almost everything wrong at least once. I am the first to admit it. THere are several stories here under my name

[S/V Elusive]

Many under my name - mostly about Kai, but I've made a few myself.. :::running and ducking:::

[Latitude9.5]

Well I shall share my grounding lol, we were on our recent intracoastal trip, 3 miles from palm island marina, the sky was ugly but there were no marinas near by, they are few and far between in this area. I figure i can skirt this storm, make the marina even though I am in unfamiliar waters. We get right in the thick of it, visibility was nothing and I knew were were close to low tide, however i was not aware that it was one of the lowest tides of the year... of course the towboat captain was quick to point that out. I scope an anchorage with a couple boats in it off the starboard side and figure i'll turn in.... yea right, i hit the sand bar between the anchorage and the ICW, there's no backing off this one with current and storm pushing me up on the bar. We hail towboat, who an hour later calls me on the cellphone and says they can't get their towboat out of the marina closest to our location, they will be about another 1.5 hours out... yes!!! was only a half hour away from tieing up and having a nice evening at the marina and here i am stranded on a sand bar... He finally shows and gets us yanked off, notices i am wearing a APCA shirt and try's to console with the fact that nothing but local knowledge could have gotten me into the anchorage LOL, we BARELEY cleared with him towing me into the anchorage, but we got there and had a decent evening on the hook.

My second "almost" grounding was pulling into Rialto harbor marina, water was apparently low and i cut from the wrong angle, just bumped the keel and was way off the throttle, easily backed yer off.

I've always been an overkill on fire extuingishers, fire is the one thing you definetely dont want to get out of control, I have 4 full size ABC extuinguishers on island girl.

Having started my nautical experience on the west coast (washington state) and relocating to florida it was a bit of change to be 10 miles offshore and still less then 100 feet of water in some cases, I know spots in the puget sound where the depth finder won't register and yer only a couple hundred yards off the beach. It was certainly a bit of an adjustment getting used to the local waters here.

Anyhow you gotta bump yer keel once in a while to knock the creatures off and make sure it's still mounted solid