Don't want your name here?!!

[Pisces]

Okay, so this is one of those forums you don't want your name on. Try to swallow your pride and then maybe someone else won't make the same mistake. Navigation, problems with gear, crew, docking, etc. Maybe, I'll even get up the nerve to tell my stories . . .maybe . . .

[Troubledour]

This would be a good idea, much like the long tradition of "I learned about flying from that ..." type of short stories.

The one thing that I'll add for now is that flying incidents are always the result of a stack-up of error. A collection of things forgotten, overlooked, done incorrectly, etc. It's usually the little stuff overlooked that pile up into an incident out of control. People being the primary common denominator I'm sure that marine incidents follow a similar profile.

Ok, maybe I should kick it off with my own lesson in why you don't surf cabin cruiser wakes @ 60 mph with a 17' jet boat on a very shallow & stumpy resevoir ... uhhmm, well, maybe not.

Troubledour

[lannen]

My most valuable lesson to date.....

No schedule.

Every time I have had a stressful experience, bad weather, engine failure, torn sail, etc have all had one common thread.

We have got to be there by--------

That was what started the dominoes falling. A time schedule that had to be met. This prodded me to do something that caused my common sense receptors to go into high gear with numerous ignored warnings.

If a schedule just HAS to be met, I stay tied to the dock.

[Troubledour]

Yeop, get-there-itis can be pretty fatal, good point.

Troubledour

[Quinta]

Hey there TB good buddy. Seems to me like your obsessed with doing things the easy way Q

[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

[Troubledour]

largebreastedbeautifulbrowneyedfrecklyredheads are my only known obsession, & they're anything but simple ... but ok.

Troubledour

[Idletime]

I once read "if you think it should be fixed ...fix it" they were right...but we didnt pay attention.. I saw a quick flash against one of the plastic covered shroud on our Catalina 22. Mentioned to my husband what I had read but we couldnt find anything to indicate a wire parting on the shroud and we didnt want to put alot of money in a boat we were going to sell anyways. One strong gust too many and the shroud parted, mast folded, sails went in the water and took the mast over the side. No one hurt, found we could manage under stress and bad circumstances...but it could have been prevented.

[fujiwara takumi]

Troubledour once whispered in the wind:
largebreastedbeautifulbrowneyedfrecklyredheads are my only known obsession, & they're anything but simple ... but ok.

Troubledour

*sigh* I fit that profile but I aint beautiful, I got blue eyes and Im a man LOL!

but redheads do get'cha in a lot of trouble no matter where you are.

[Greg B]

Well I guess I'm pretty boring. I just ran aground and got my self off. Inexperience was the culprit and beer and unfamiliar water and beer and a new boat and beer and get thereitis and beer and a long day and beer and sun and fun and beer. Just the regular boring stuff mixed with beer.

Greg

[Walt&Yvonne]

OK, so we were new to boating, one day we're out around Boca Siega Bay, and we see all the boats going out and around to get to this area we wanted to go. Well Walt, yea we'll blame it on Walt, says why are all the boats going that way ,we should just go this way to get there faster, well....boom we hit sand hard, So then walt says he could jump out and push us off, now we're in a small boat 17', but he didnt figure that when you get out, you have to get back in. Well it took me forever to haul his butt back in. Now we ALWAYS follow the charts, the boats, the channel, whatever!!!!

[Andy]

I would say my worst was exiting a shallow river mouth in Malaysia. I definitely had a case of Get-there-itis because I ignored my tide tables and figured it would all be OK.

It wasn't.

I should have realized when there were no other vessels leaving the rivermouth, I should have realized when the one fishing boat trying to enter the mouth was getting bounced around (on the really shallow sandbar, I quickly found out.) I should have thought about the fact that the tide was pulling out fast, the river was pretty powerful and the mouth was completely unmarked.

So I ran aground and then thought I would just have to wait till the tide came back in. But no, the current was running so fast it spun the tail of my boat around onto higher ground. Then there was another huge tilt and the nose dragged around. I stood horrified as I realized that the boat was being dragged up onto the sandbar. My boat was crab walking to higher ground so that it could lie down and sink in 2 feet of water.

But the story does get better. The sandbar deepend shortly after I went aground. It was only about 50 yards wide. My boat litterally walked 50 yards on it's keel. I would have to say that if I didn't have a ferro-cement boat, I probably would have lost her in that rivermouth.

Oooh rivermouths, unmarked rivermouths, . . . gives me the shivers just thinking about it.

Captain Andy

[Alan Wheeler]

Can we add a heading to our list for Kingfish? titled, "shot out of an Owens Cannon"

[sv_makai]

We were entering Ponce inlet in FL and the charts showed the area with shifting sands. We followed visual but, as we turned over to the marks we hit the bottom. Hard sand @ high tide. We tried to work our way off, but finally for the first time we had to call towboat us.

Not only did he get us off (had to work at it) but he lead us through the maze to the main channel. Local knowledge pays.

[sv_makai]

There must be more good stories out that can provide a valuable lesson. Don't be shy.