Lost my Grounding Virginity :(

[aireus01]

Yes welcome to the club. Its not if you've done but when you will!

[aireus01]

I forgot to add i ran a ground this weekend at Angel Island Friday. Not a big deal that time. But i do remember I've done it three times so far in the ten yrs of owning the boat.

[Jim Cate]

IMO, one needs more resolution in the description "running aground".

There are at least three divisions in that activity: running amud, running asand, or running arock/acoral.

I openly admit to having done all three, some more than others. Nothing to be ashamed about, for it happens to most of us who go where the charts are not so hot, the markers non-existent and the water sometimes murky. When possible, one should perform these exercises at low speed and on a rising tide, but Murphy doesn't agree with this plan at times...

Anyway, Dockhead, nothing to worry about. Your bulb is likely still intact, your boat is still floating, and you had enough sense to bail out of the awful conditions you later found.

Cheers,

Jim

[carstenb]

Here in Denmark we have a saying - "there are two types of sailors - those that have run aground and those that are going to" I am the proud owner of pieces of several mud banks and sand bars - I've planted my flag on both types

[SaucySailoress]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

I had just been saying at dinner the night before -- "I don't want to jinx anything, shouldn't be saying this.............'

Well, you should have known better than.

I'll never forget my first grounding. Or HWMO's last words before we got stuck ("No, we'll be fine", he said, "It should be deep enough"). Or the noodles, tuna and onion which I cooked up... thanks to our emergency supplies.

Of course, it was during a Tuesday night race, so everybody got to know about it!

[Me-and-Boo]

Excellent save. That counts too.

I was able to plow mud and scare some crabs within 20 minutes of splash of Sisu. I also learned my depth sounder was not functioning correctly at the same time.

[simonmd]

Ahh, just like the old saying,

"if ye have tickets to the theatre, the weather is terrible and youre in a shallow harbour at low tide....... take the hint"!

I think that's how it goes anyway......

[rtbates]

It happens...

To swing the bow STRAIGHT off the dock, tie a spring line to the stern quarter, against the dock. Bring ashore, loop around a piling or something and bring back aboard. Put vessel in reverse, as soon as the spring line gets taut the bow will start to pivot off the dock, Continue with reverse application until the bow is pointing in the direction you want. Release spring line and let it run out and back to you. I've swing 40 footers out with less than a foot forward clearance using this method..

[Dockhead]

Thanks everyone for the kind words!

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by rtbates

It happens...

To swing the bow STRAIGHT off the dock, tie a spring line to the stern quarter, against the dock. Bring ashore, loop around a piling or something and bring back aboard. Put vessel in reverse, as soon as the spring line gets taut the bow will start to pivot off the dock, Continue with reverse application until the bow is pointing in the direction you want. Release spring line and let it run out and back to you. I've swing 40 footers out with less than a foot forward clearance using this method..

Thanks for that, but swinging the bow out was not my problem -- I have a 10 horsepower bow thruster. The problem was to avoid bashing my quarter into the quay. If I have just a little room ahead I can move the boat almost sideways off the quay without using springs by turning the wheel INTO the quay and thrusting the bow off while giving a burst of ahead. This is my usual way of getting off a quay or pontoon, especially with wind blowing me on -- it prevents any scraping.

I guess I could have rigged a spring from the bow and pulled against it in astern, to swing the stern out -- the opposite of your maneuver. But with a 16 foot beam, the bow is a long ways (8 feet in fact) from the edge of the quay and I was afraid that as I pulled back against the spring, the boat would move back and make contact with the bridge behind.

Perhaps I could have rigged a line tight at midships, and used the thruster to pull the bow in and swing the stern out, then slipped the line and thrusted the bow back out -- but this is already getting far beyond my modest abilities using spring lines in tight situations.

[speakeasy]

I had just been saying at dinner the night before -- "I don't want to jinx anything, shouldn't be saying this, but I've never even touched the ground in this boat in 10,000 miles of sailing and God knows how many entrances-exits from unknown ports."

That'll do it every time.

[Exile]

Originally Posted by carstenb

Here in Denmark we have a saying - "there are two types of sailors - those that have run aground and those that are going to" I am the proud owner of pieces of several mud banks and sand bars - I've planted my flag on both types

There's a variant to that saying down in the Fla. Keys & Bahamas: "There are only two types of sailors - those that have run aground & those that are lying about it!"

[Exile]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

Thanks for that, but swinging the bow out was not my problem -- I have a 10 horsepower bow thruster. The problem was to avoid bashing my quarter into the quay. If I have just a little room ahead I can move the boat almost sideways off the quay without using springs by turning the wheel INTO the quay and thrusting the bow off while giving a burst of ahead. This is my usual way of getting off a quay or pontoon, especially with wind blowing me on -- it prevents any scraping.

I guess I could have rigged a spring from the bow and pulled against it in astern, to swing the stern out -- the opposite of your maneuver. But with a 16 foot beam, the bow is a long ways (8 feet in fact) from the edge of the quay and I was afraid that as I pulled back against the spring, the boat would move back and make contact with the bridge behind.

Perhaps I could have rigged a line tight at midships, and used the thruster to pull the bow in and swing the stern out, then slipped the line and thrusted the bow back out -- but this is already getting far beyond my modest abilities using spring lines in tight situations.

I've tried to spring off the bow as well as the stern using these methods at various times. My boat has no bow thrusters, btw, and is 47'. Seems like the problem lies in smacking the dock with the other end of the boat. Other than deploying more fenders, any ideas on making this work? Sorry -- this is a thread hijack I suppose.

[rolandgilbert99]

Getting aground is not so bad when it happens at unknown places and not too often, but where I store by boat for the winter, the chanel to the entrance of the marina is shallow and one has to stay at the center and every year in the fall there is a boat that gets aground, year after year and people are getting so fedup having to go and help him with halyards on the shore, every time! This is bad!

[hummingway]

Originally Posted by Exile

I've tried to spring off the bow as well as the stern using these methods at various times. My boat has no bow thrusters, btw, and is 47'. Seems like the problem lies in smacking the dock with the other end of the boat. Other than deploying more fenders, any ideas on making this work? Sorry -- this is a thread hijack I suppose.

Have you tried pushing off straight from midships as you step on the boat with a spring tied to your stern? My boat is smaller then yours at 42 feet but it does have some weight but I have usually found I can get enough clearance to swing the bow that way. Spring from the bow if you're planning on reversing out.