Don't want your name here?!!

[SkiprJohn]

ALoha Cat,

"The red marker I hear you ask, well that was the tail light reflectors on the fishermans 4x4."

I have on more than one occasion found navigation lights where there really weren't any. Either a traffic signal, red light in a window or just a good imagination. In my case it is fatigue and feeling I need to be somewhere when it really isn't critical.

Thanks for that great story.

JohnL

[Connemara]

OTOH, at least they have twin keels.

Connemara

[cmetrav]

Ok heres a good one for yah.... I am new to sailing and a friend was selling me his Catalina 22, He convinced me that we should go to Anacapa island for an overnighter before I purchase the boat. As we almost arrived at the cove of our choice the winds changed direction and where blowing us to shore. We placed our first anchor then proceeded to loose our second anchor by thinking that the first had come loose due a bad tie off. This was not the case and we lost our brand new anchor. We decided that rather then staying up all night we would return to shore. About half way across the channel... shipping channel at midnight... we lost all power due to some type of short.(we rewired after this.) We where cold and tired and just wanted to get in. We started the motor to try to get in faster and came up to shore(about 500 yards out). Next we got hit by a wave due to a sand bar that we where unaware of and tested the Hull Mast and rigging as well as our own physical fittness. After we righted and got out of the surf we ended up safely in the harbor. My buddy decided to go ahead and stay under full power all the way in as he was cold and tired. Harbor patrol was more then happy to greeet us and thankfully let us off with a warning as we should have had a few tickets, noise registration, no lights etc. I am still sailing her regularly and now check every last system and anchors before leaving the dock.

[BoatTed]

I think this excerpt from my blog site will aptly fit in this forum.


Help! Help! Help! Those cries woke us up at 2:30 this morning. Anne and I got dressed as quickly as possible and went out on the dock to see what was happening. She got out of the boat before I did and yelled back to me, "Call 911, Call 911!!" I responded instantly and got 911 on the phone. A man had fallen into the water, and with rubber boots and winter clothing on was unable to pull himself out and was fearful of drowning. I wasn't strong enough to pull him out, but I was able to hold onto his arm and keep him from going under while help was on the way. Hypothermia was also a real danger. Two large and strong officers arrived in about ten minutes, and they quickly pulled him up and out of the water. An ambulance arrived at about that time and looked after him. He had dry clothes on his boat (a houseboat type), and the paramedics were responding to likely hypothermia. He had probably been in the cold water (but not freezing) for about 15 or 20 minutes and was in pretty rough shape.

What had happened? We don't know, but it's likely he was drunk and had no reason to be going on his boat at 2:30 in the morning. He had his dog with him, and fortunately the dog didn't go in. He doesn't live on the boat, so what was he doing there? Hard to say. Strangely, he had turned one of the dock carts (used for unloading packages from cars) over and had put a small rug on top of it. We have no idea what that was all about, for he certainly didn't need the cart to get on the boat. Perhaps we'll get the story from him at a later date.

For us it was an unnerving experience, a reminder that falling into the water can be deadly, and we must keep our wits about us at all times. I'm shaken, for if we hadn't been there to hold him up and call 911 he would not have survived. Think about that! We are so shaken we have not been able to go back to sleep. There is a slightly humorous side to this story. Our dog Pacha, who has been getting me up in the middle of the night for the last three nights, slept right through the whole incident and three and a half hours later still has not stirred. Go figure.

[zephyr4]

A picture is worth a thousand words.

http://www.cruisersforum.com/gallery...p?i=3165&c=514

I'll skip right to the moral of the story. When all of the adult crew members think that something doesn't look right ("Is that the big rock we are supposed to keep to starboard or is it this other one?") it is a good idea to stop and re-evaluate.

It is also worth explaining to the children that Mommy was not using foul language when she shouted "KEDGE!" immediately after the boat came to an abrupt stop.

[pmartin]

Ran aground on mud/sand bars often enough in the SF delta but only one did I hit a rock pile (5 knots with all sails standing) that was plainly visable ... not paying attention.

We litterally slid our full keel crab crusher up high enough to fall partly over on our bilges and then slid backward into deep water.

Checked for water below and finding non continued to nearest anchorage and dove the bottom. Found a couple of long scrapes that went through the gelcoat but nothing serious enough to haul out. Patched it with SplashZone underwater compound and properly repaired it the next haul out.

BTW, that underwater epoxy putty really worked well. Had to grind it out after being unsucessful at chipping it out of the gouge.

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha Zephyr4 and Pmartin,

Great photos and stories. The photo just made me want to say "ouch."

Thanks,

JohnL

[zephyr4]

It was an abrupt stop, that is for sure. The boat rode up onto a flat piece of limestone, the edge of the slab made the gouge.

[Ruby V]

Originally Posted by BC Mike

There were not enough categories for me to complete. Checked the run aground, hit something, fire on board, but no spot for, broke the mast or sailed upside down. BC Mike C

No spot for going through the Ballard locks backward, either.

[anglooff]

That’s an interesting questionnaire, its is specially pertinent to me as since my recent purchase of a boat, between working out the changes I shall make to the interior layout…explaining to my lady (whom until meeting me ventured only so far from the shore as she could swim back… and to whom a fortune teller told, she would live a long life as long as she kept away from water…. Brave lady actually) that the sea is dangerous and that the old adage that you meet few people who go to sea in little boats, that don’t believe in God is because most at sometime have either been cowed by the immense majesty of the sea, or called his name for help from time to time… That for thousands of years people have done so safely because mainly they learned how to do it correctly with a little commonsense and discipline applied in addition.

However, she asks and asks again many questions of the “what if” type, and I answer them, correctly, I believe. However, while answering them I realized that these answers all came from past mistakes, some I made and others I experienced when I was crewing in different boats. The simple fact is that of those listed only two I need tick, but for the grace of the Gods, all and more I could. My recent lesson, being reminded that my answers stem from past mistakes, is that while ruminating later with the help of a few glasses of good whisky. I realized that those mistakes were mainly due to the fact that I didn’t do what my instinct was telling me to do or not to do as the case may be. When I procrastinate, for whatever reason, it normally comes back and bites me on my ass. It’s only luck and the fact that the Gods protect foolish Scotsmen’s asses (It probably the kilt that gets them) that I have got away with so much…so long. The interesting dichotomy is that as I was away from sailing for quite a few years until recently, those experiences now revisited may finally have borne fruit. I wonder! A point regarding a new questionnaire however…It would be more useful to someone like me if there was a question framed such a ‘ I was a pubic hair away from disaster and I did this……”

Finally, tomorrow I leave Caracas for five days sailing around some Venezuelan islands, although it is in Bertram. Notwithstanding that I shall raise a glass at sunset to all of us who dare to dream and hopefully learn.

Alan

[Starbuck]

Can someone translate that?

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by CaptainJeff

Can someone translate that?

I think it means he's a Scotsman who drinks whiskey - Go Figure - LOL.

My transgression?

Running aground. Here's picture of my "first" tight anchor out. Looked a lot better the night before at high tide. It's an overnight camping trip on a little island near here. The good news was in the morning we practically stepped from the beach to the transom

Technically she was still floating but when we dropped the hook we drifted into the sand bar before I could get steerage. So I had my cherry done

Looking forward to my next mistake - LOL.

[SkiprJohn]

Ruby V,
If you care to respond to "Ballard locks backwards" I'd like to hear the rest of the story. I've only been through them once and only one way.
JohnL

[migot1]

I got a dirty oil mark on my boat. so, early in the mornning at 0600 I lifted the keel and ran aground on a sandy beach. not a soul arroung . got off the boat with a rag , and cleaned the spot. back on the boat I stated the engine..but she did not move... I left the engine running in rev position, and got off to ...push the boat. she moved very fast. I could notget to the ladder .she was sailing astern at 2500 rpm I grabed to bow and stated pushing sideways like hell, now 100 yds from shore...she stated to turn , I let go , grabed the ladder , and very slowly sailed back to the marina... my wife said I was very quite that day...

Mike

[Ruby V]

Originally Posted by SkiprJohn

Ruby V,
If you care to respond to "Ballard locks backwards" I'd like to hear the rest of the story. I've only been through them once and only one way.
JohnL

When I moved to Seattle alone in 1990, I didn't know anyone, and consequently made friends with and spent time with individuals I didn't have all that much in common with. One of them was a stoner attorney I'll call Dick. Dick and I were good friends, encouraged, I think, by the fact that I owned two golden retrievers, he owned two labs and we frequently dog sat for each other. Dick said he liked to sail, and I had enjoyed it in college and was willing to give it a try again, so when he was offered the chance to buy a used boat cheap, we acquired an older Coronado 23 sloop.

Almost immediately it became clear that Dick and I didn't work very well as a team. He was almost always stoned, and since I was working the night shift as a critical care nurse, I was almost always sleep deprived when we took the boat out. Dick stayed at the helm and bawled out orders, I raised and lowered the sails, handled the lines, went below for whatever needed fetching -- basically everything BUT the helm. Nevertheless, the sailing was fun, and we sailed that boat together for about two years before parting ways.

Anyway, on this particular Labor Day weekend, Dick had Friday off and wanted to get an early start on a weekend of cruising on Puget Sound. I'd worked Thursday night (7 PM to 7 AM), slept about two hours and then met him at the boat well before lunch time to get an early start. Since our slip was on Lake Washington, cruising on Puget Sound entailed a trip through the Ballard Locks. The Locks always have hundreds of tourists on the shore, watching the boats lock through and snapping pictures, and this day was no exception. It was a gorgeous day, and the start of a holiday weekend.

It wasn't my FIRST time through the locks (that would be the time we brought a golden and a lab with us, and some joker thought it would be fun to fling a tennis ball at the dogs, neitherof whom even hesitated before going after it. One of them sprang into the cockpit of the next boat, causing all sorts of trauma to their small children and trays of lovely appetizers while the other dog went splash. But that's another story.) I thought I had a handle on how things were going to happen. We were in the large locks, just about the last boat to get in and therefore tied up to the wall with a somewhat larger boat rafted next to us.

The line handlers at the locks tell you not to release any lines until they give the order, and when they do give the order to release your STERN lines FIRST. That makes sense, when you think about the big rush of water going through the locks -- if your stern creeps out before your bow, you can swing around . . . .

Unfortunately, I was sleep deprived and Dick (at the helm, as usual) was probably stoned. When the line handlers told the boat next to us to release their lines, Dick released our stern line as well. The stern started to come around, and I just kind of stood there, frozen. Then hundreds of voices started yelling at me to release the bow line . . . so I did. By then, the stern had swung all the way around, and we were barrelling through the lock backward. Dick sat there looking bewildered and said, "Oh, DEAR. You've really F***** up this time!" THEN he started trying to start the outboard. The outboard, of course, wouldn't start and we just continued out through the locks backward with Japanese tourists filming us for posterity and everyone and their brother snapping away with their cameras. Talk about being embarrassed! Somehow, we managed NOT to hit anything, and the other boats wisely steered as clear of us as they could. The outboard started well before we got to Shilshole. All weekend, we encountered folks who'd seen our trip through the locks, and the pointing at our boat and laughing got old!

That was our last weekend outing on Puget Sound, and by the next Labor Day I was dating my DH and the Coronado 23 had been sold to a construction worker who intended to live aboard with his girlfriend and his pitbull.