Just When You Think You're Safe . . . CRASH !

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by Mr B

Nothing was predicted or mentioned about a wind or change from the south.
The current all ships warning was from the Northwest, and it was in excess of 35 knots and high seas. Starting at approximately 8-00 PM Wednesday night, And I was tucked safely out of it in the inlet,

You did the right thing and like your title says "Just when you think you are safe...CRASH!.

Yep. Got it. Mother nature and all that.

Glad you are OK.

[Wand]

Originally Posted by Bash

In my world, emeritus is a title too seldom earned that affords tremendous respect...

Too seldom earned and too loosely bestowed (in my world too). But go on, change it back - few will ever challenge it.

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by Bash

In my world, emeritus is a title too seldom earned that affords tremendous respect.

You have invested thousands of hours into making this forum what it is. I would urge you to change your title back to Moderator Emeritus. If members fail to appreciate what it means perhaps we can afford to lose those members.

<blush...>

Thanks Bash!

"we don't need no stinking badges!"

[cwyckham]

Originally Posted by Mr B

You didnt miss the point of me anchoring beam on to the wind, I wasnt,

I had my stern to the Bay and my bow to the beach,

The front anchor was to stop the swing of my boat, That inlet is too narrow to allow the boat to swing,
Too close to the rocks on the east side for me to allow for a swinging boat.

There are also big rocks just submerged in that inlet you need to be clear of. So where you park is very critical.

...

Sorry, I obviously got that wrong. The wind that drove you ashore did come from the side, though, right? If so, the stern anchor arrangement is what caused the drag.

Sort of a moot point, though, as you didn't have a lot of other options with limited swing room and a very small place to hide in.

You're right to be feeling a bit beat up on. We're all here trying to analyze everything you could have done to get it perfectly right and not drag. Part of that is trying to learn so we might avoid the same. Part of it is trying to convince ourselves that nothing bad will happen to us because we're all oh so smart.

Truth is, in those conditions, with that crew, after those days of fighting, 80% of us probably would have done worse than you, 19% about the same, and 1% better. You were in an almost impossible situation, one that most have us have never seen. There will always be the perfect scenario that can be found in hours of debate from the warm armchair after the fact, and there is value in that because it increases all our knowledge. But in that situation, when you're in the middle of it all, you did better than most.

The crews ok, the boat will be ok, and we all got to learn a few things. You done good. Coulda done better, maybe, it's hard to tell. But you done good.

[zeehag]

ihave found that unless there is a contradictory current, it is impossible to anchor beam to wind. i am always nose into it ---if the current is greatwr than wind speed, then i find myself in all kinds of awkward angles, but with a good wind blowing, beam to wind means only one thing--- YOU ARE DRAGGING ANCHOR.

[timbenner]

Would an iPhone anchor alarm set at 20' to 30' saved you or a least alerted you in time? I don't use my Raymarine anchor alarm, because it sucks too much electricity to leave on all night. I sleep better with the iPhone anchor alarm on, it's been pretty reliable to date.

[zeehag]

timbenner-- what ever happened to plain old eyeballing the coast anchor watch for the duration of a watch, then sleeping in comfort as you realize your anchor is set and you are going no where. alarms FAIL and you have no way to know until you are in trouble. eyes dont lie.

[timbenner]

Zeehag, I assume that he thought his anchor was set before going to bed. You're right that an all night anchor watch is probably best, but after being up all night, I would be worthless the next day.

You're also right that alarms FAIL. In fact, I have found that the reliability of GPS signals on the east coast of the US have gotten worse every year. My Raymarine GPS and iPhone GPS will go down for extended periods of time - regularly.

What to do? Leave plenty of room for dragging anchor, when ever possible.

[Mr B]

Originally Posted by zeehag

timbenner-- what ever happened to plain old eyeballing the coast anchor watch for the duration of a watch, then sleeping in comfort as you realize your anchor is set and you are going no where. alarms FAIL and you have no way to know until you are in trouble. eyes dont lie.

There was only one crew, ME, My passenger is not young and she drops off to sleep all the time, Both of us know she cant keep awake on a watch, Not even an hour, we have tried it, She failed miserably,
But, Hey, Thats life,
We make do with what we have at hand, and hope fully, if we have done it right, it makes the grade,

Other wise, in the Ocean, Failure can mean death, I am well aware of this,

And dying for me is not on the cards, Hahahahahaahaha So I plan Care fully,

[Mr B]

I posted a video up on Youtube showing the conditions 8 hours after we beached and were leaving the Bay,

Broughton Island Boat Wreck.

[downunder]

Clip of a hammerhead shark caught off Broughton Island - Port Stephens NSW Australia - February 2011.

Hammer Time - Hammerhead Shark Caught Off Port Stephens NSW - YouTube

[nv5l]

MrB, now that you've had a chance to reflect on it, what have you learned, and what, if anything, will you do differently next time? I'm also a singlehander with little experience, so I'm keen on learning all I can before this happens to me.

In particular, I'm curious to know how you ended up there in the first place. Were you pushing too hard to get to your destination? I realize weather forecasts are rarely completely accurate, but isn't that area known for bad weather?

It's almost winter here on the US east coast, and we've had our share of bad weather this year. Luckily I made it down to Florida without any major problems, other than my own incident involving a stern anchor. I'm lucky I didn't end up on the beach myself. It's funny, I rode out a hurricane with the same anchor, but dragged in 50 knots with a stern anchor out.

Hope to see you back on the water soon... Cheers, don...

[webejammin]

Broughton Island Boat Wreck Nov 2011 088.avi - YouTube Is this your U-Tube MrB ? Looks a bit rough but where's your boat?

[Mr B]

Originally Posted by webejammin

Broughton Island Boat Wreck Nov 2011 088.avi - YouTube Is this your U-Tube MrB ? Looks a bit rough but where's your boat?

On the beach right at the start of it, Its very hard to see it on the beach.
And I was not in a very good mood to take piccys,

[Mr B]

Originally Posted by nv5l

MrB, now that you've had a chance to reflect on it, what have you learned, and what, if anything, will you do differently next time? I'm also a singlehander with little experience, so I'm keen on learning all I can before this happens to me.

In particular, I'm curious to know how you ended up there in the first place. Were you pushing too hard to get to your destination? I realize weather forecasts are rarely completely accurate, but isn't that area known for bad weather?

It's almost winter here on the US east coast, and we've had our share of bad weather this year. Luckily I made it down to Florida without any major problems, other than my own incident involving a stern anchor. I'm lucky I didn't end up on the beach myself. It's funny, I rode out a hurricane with the same anchor, but dragged in 50 knots with a stern anchor out.

Hope to see you back on the water soon... Cheers, don...

Hi Don,
I was pushing hard to find a place to get out of the bad weather, I didnt have many choices,
That place was the best of a bad bunch,

The bad weather there is notorious, I think it has the worst weather in OZ, Its just one of those places that cops it all the time,

Reflecting back on it, The only thing I would change is my bloody anchors, They were and are crap.

I was in transit from Fiji, and not using my anchors which came with the boat, Enough to know what they were like in all conditions,
It was not the first time they had dragged, I didnt trust them,

But its hard to buy new anchors at sea.
And not being experienced with the various anchors available,
Which ones should I buy, Would the new ones be just as bad,

The bloke at Forster I was talking to about his anchor, He had a good one, He swung back and forth on the changing tides and did not move, And it is a doozy tide there,
8 knots in or out,
50 feet of Mono hull.

I will get one of those, Rocna, And it was not a very big anchor either,

Leaving Forster, I was going direct to Melbourne, 700 ,miles, and will be tying up at a wet mooring, So wont need an anchor till after that, So I will make one when I get home,

Unfortunately, Tuesday night, I had a storm coming from the north west, took shelter from that, and the steering went, spent Wednesday fixing it, And the anchors dragged there, spent the night awake, I didnt trust my anchors,

Wednesday evening, another storm from the north west, in exess of 35 knots, So I took shelter from that one in a different place, That beach in Esmeralda Cove,

Thursday morning, I got hit from a storm from the south west, I was already on the beach from that one when I woke up.

Port Stephens is only 12 miles away to buy a new anchor, and steering cables, But I had to get there first,
And you dont sail around in a bad storm with a dodgy steering,

Would I do any thing different, No. I did the best at the time and under the conditions I was experiencing,

New anchors is the only thing I would change, Good anchors, and I would not have ended up on the beach,