Stupid move in the dinghy

[alansmith]

There were five of us in the liferaft and a manual start motor. We were diving off of Laguna Beach. The swell wasn’t too big going out. We had to haul the liferaft the motor all the dive gear from our trucks down to the beach. that was an ordeal in itself. There was a very strong current running that day. I still remember, visually, 25 years ago what it was like. Guys were literally holding onto the kelp and looked like flags blowing in a stiff breeze underwater 50 feet down The current was that strong. After about 20 minutes of this craziness we decided to surface and go home. As we approach the beach we could tell that this is not gonna be a fun little walk in the park. We stopped to evaluate things. I stored all of my dive gear in my dive bag and zipped shut. I was nervous The plan was to get into position in the surfline and hit it when we could surf in. When we got into shallow water two of the guys in the front would jump out and pull us the rest the way in. I would tilt the motor up and kill the engine. That was my job. Let the games begin. We sat there for maybe 10 minutes gauging the size of the waves and finally decided to hit it. I gave it full throttle and kept the boat perpendicular to the wave. Everything was going remarkably well. We got into the water where the sand was boiling from the recently crashed wave. We thought we were in knee-deep water. Two of the brethren jumped out. I killed the engine. Only to find out, to my horror , that the boys were not in knee-deep water but couldn’t even touch bottom. I looked behind me and to my utter astonishment saw a four footer coming at us. Ass over teakettle up and over she went. Every man for himself pray to God the engine doesn’t hit me in the head. As we were being roiled in the surf. We finally popped up. There must’ve been 600 people on the beach that warm summer day. We were the best pre 4th of July show in town. You couldn’t buy tickets to a Keystone cop’s show even if you paid premium! Screaming and shouting and laughing their asses off at the idiots. It took us an hour to reclaim all of the gear that was strewn along the Surfline. We recovered probably 70% of it. It is a day I will never forget

[sailormed]

Originally Posted by Jaqun

.........Went right down inside the hatch with one leg. I think it was like 6 stitches.

On the leg or the shock absorbers you have hanging?

[Cadence]

I was laying on a floating finger pier polishing the hull. Reach to far and went into the drink. Nothing hurt since I don't think anyone had seen me. It was a hurt to my ego that concerned me.

[Augi]

Originally Posted by SV_Harbinger

Had one of those moments last night getting back on the boat, after partaking in "libations" at the local watering hole. It was flat calm as I approached the boat in the dinghy (Walker Bay 10, with a little Tohatsu 2.5)

I made it along side and got the dinghy tied up on the starboard quarter just like I always do( 2 lines, one from the dinks bow to the midship cleat, and another off the stern to a cockpit cleat) unloaded all the stuff I had in the dink and now it was my turn. I climb myself aboard and figure I'll just let the dinghy bob astern for the night as I'll be needing it in the morning, so I untie the stern line and go to move forward and release the bow line so I can move it back to the cockpit cleat, and no sooner did I untie it I trip on some of the crap I unloaded about 3 minutes previous and drop the darn bow line in the water, then waste time trying to reach for it over the side with my little T-Rex arms, obliviously I couldn't grab it despite doing a sort of a combat crawl along the toerail when DING the light goes off in my head, that I have a wonderful tool onboard for just such an occasion. So I go and grab the boat hook and it's just barely not long enough now as the dinghy has drifted further away by now, so naturally I try really leaning out while holding on to the backstay in one hand and the boat hook in the other, still no good...it's about 2330 and now my damn dinghy is taking an un-approved excursion without me.

Fortunately the wind took it only maybe about 100yds before it went up on the beach. So off go my shirt shoes and pants and in the water I go, swim ashore fire up the ob and come back to the boat again, this time a little wetter...

This one is not about me or specifically a dingy. It is about my father and the oars for the dingy when I was 12 years old.

My father and I set out to go Vineyard Haven Harbor to row out to our Cape Cod Knockabout to go for a sail. My father put the oars in the back seat with the paddles of the oars sticking out of the starboard, backseat window. While driving down a narrow street in Vineyard Haven, the oars struck a telephone pole. I will never forget the site of the broken off paddles lying on the ground at the foot of the telephone pole or my father's choice expletive: "Oh go piss on the Pope".

[alansmith]

Augi, i thought i knew every phrase known to man ....when it comes to vent....but, honestly, i never heard that one before. I learned something new today. thanks, mate.

[sailm8]

My wife and I were riding the dink back to the boat on a really hot day. We decided to take a dip. I tied the painter to my wrist and we went for a swim. I was kind of proud of myself for tying on the painter but forgot to figure out how we were going to get back in the dink. Neither of us is svelt or young so it became a problem. We tried using the cavitation plate on the motor but it was too small for a firm enough purchase. I finally hung from the transom and made an underwater ladder for my wife. With her help from inside the dink I was able to crawl back in. As soon as we got home I screwed a mast step onto the transom to help us old folks get back in.

[oldjags]

I was teaching my teenage son how to row a single scull, and he had just left the dock. He was shakily trying to keep from flipping the whole thing over - anyone who has ever rowed a single scull knows how hard they are to balance! As I was walking back up to the house, I was looking over my shoulder and laughing at his predicament, hoping to see him flip, when I walked right off the edge of the sea wall and into the drink!

He who laughs last laughs best, they say!

[FionaJC]

My "really experienced" new crew stepped off midships, warp in hand, just as I ferry glided to the pontoon against the wind, and did the final flourish. Only to find as I was blown back off that he had both ends with him and the length in between too.

Worst I did was getting into dinghy when it was untied. It went with my legs one way, My arms held on to a mooring warp and my backside was in the water. I hung around literally until I thought it through and used my legs to bring the tender back and climbed in.

Coming out the forepeak once I found my sister at the galley pouring us all a cup of tea, as this was an important task I went up through the forward hatch to the deck so as not to disturb her. Later when walking across the lower fore deck I had one leg suddenly down the unclosed hatch and the other still on deck. I couldnt get out on my own. The lovely bruise lasted months and my elder sister didnt know I knew that many rude words.

Now our son has lost three mobile phones at the same point where we leave the water taxi. The best one was a Nokia, we could here it still ringing for a good 20 minutes at 3metres depth.


I have also seen the inflatable blow to a nearby island when I am holding the wrong rope, same colour as the painter though.


I feel better for the confessional.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by sailm8

forgot to figure out how we were going to get back in the dink. Neither of us is svelt or young so it became a problem. We tried using the cavitation plate on the motor but it was too small for a firm enough purchase. I finally hung from the transom and made an underwater ladder for my wife. With her help from inside the dink I was able to crawl back in.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fi1NN35ifto

[sailm8]

Originally Posted by Jammer

fat chance LOL

[Augi]

Originally Posted by alansmith

Augi, i thought i knew every phrase known to man ....when it comes to vent....but, honestly, i never heard that one before. I learned something new today. thanks, mate.

Not sure where my father picked up that expression. I had never heard him use it before or after, or by anyone else for that matter. The episode with the oars happened in 1968. My father had a varied life including working as a CIA agent in the early 1950's in London. It sounds like it could be a Brit expression he heard somewhere along the line and never had the appropriate moment to use it before or after the snapped off oars episode.

[Caliber40]

So you swam 100 yards at night with a Buz on???!!!!! Alone!

You must be a pretty good swimmer !!!!

[jhulmer]

In my 20s I taught SCUBA diving and ran dive trips for a living. One winters trip was a live aboard dive trip to the Bahamas for 8 days.

We were scheduled to leave on a Thursday evening but engine maintenance delayed our departure from Ft. Lauderdale. Early FRIDAY morning the captain, a friend of mine, asked me to help the crew fend off when we approached the fuel dock. I agreed.

Now, the night before was spent heavily partaking in the FREE rum punch provided by the Charter company as a diversion from our changed schedule. This diversion went on well into the wee hours of the morning knowing we could sleep during the crossing.

One of the crew handed me a very large orange ball fender, that I remember as extremely bright in the morning sun, at lease when I opened my eyes. I looked at this thing and asked were did you get this big orange ball? The crewmember without hesitation said "off a big orange gorilla, where else?".

accepting this answer with a painful grin I heaved the big bright ball over the side and fended as we came into the dock. I had not bothered to put on any shoes or anything that was not my style. I worked the fender down the rail until we were tied off and then tied it off.

As I turned to walk back down the bright white side deck I noticed blood everywhere. I yelled out who's bleeding and the answers was YOU ARE!

I had kicked a steel gusset on the deck and didn't even feel it. That was some really good rum punch! I had to go to the ER for a few stitches. But, as I was getting off the boat, favoring my now bandaged foot, I rolled my other ankle. Damnit boy!

I spent the first three days in the Bahamas layed up with a rum punch in one hand and ice on both feet. I finally hit the water diving but with no fins, doable in the Bahamas. We had several other incidences on that trip, including a fishhook in a passengers nose. OUCH!!!

And that is why I never, never, never, EVER start a voyage on a FRIDAY!

[svfinlandia]

Originally Posted by SV_Harbinger

So I was wondering if anyone else would care to share one of the shining moments of mental lapse?

Here's a good one for y'all -
I had left the motor on the dink when I raised it up on the davits. The next day I decided that I didn't need it again for a while. The motor is an old 2.5 HP two stroke and doesn't weigh very much, so feeling lazy, I decided that I could carefully step into the dinghy, lift the motor off and get back on the transom without getting dumped.
I carefully stepped into the dinghy and got my balance. All good so far. I loosened the thumb screws and lifted the motor off.
The dinghy is a 8.5' Zodiac with an aluminum plate to mount the motor on. The plate is held onto the stern with five wood screws. The plate has a loop at the top to clip onto to raise the dinghy up onto the davits, so now all that is holding the dinghy up at the stern is five wood screws.
When I took the motor off I quickly discovered that it was the motor - not the wood screws - that was doing most of the work to hold the plate on with my weight in the dinghy.
The wood screws pulled out, the stern of the dinghy dropped abruptly and both the motor and I went headfirst into the drink!
It cost me $50.00 for a diver to retrieve my motor.
The next day I put the aluminum plate back on the dinghy with stainless steel through bolts! And, no I haven't tried that trick again.

Al, S/V Finlandia

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by sailm8

My wife and I were riding the dink back to the boat on a really hot day. We decided to take a dip. I tied the painter to my wrist and we went for a swim. I was kind of proud of myself for tying on the painter but forgot to figure out how we were going to get back in the dink. Neither of us is svelt or young so it became a problem. We tried using the cavitation plate on the motor but it was too small for a firm enough purchase. I finally hung from the transom and made an underwater ladder for my wife. With her help from inside the dink I was able to crawl back in. As soon as we got home I screwed a mast step onto the transom to help us old folks get back in.

Oh come on! We know what you went into the water for. We all have been there done that. In days of yore.