The stupidest/funniest mistakes you've made?

[Captn_Black]

Originally Posted by OBT

My, then 8 year old, daughter standing on the bow as we came into an anchorage said loudly, "I see land, I see land!" looking around, I said "yes" as we slowly slid onto a mud bank. No harm, just a few minutes of getting off. We then taught her to say "I see bottom".

Captain blaming his fine and entirely accurate (technically, at least in the literary sense) crew? Shame! j/k

[Wotname]

Spent 12 months cruising the Great Barrier Reef (Brisbane to Cairns and back) well before GPS. Feeling pretty confidence of my boat handing and navigation after all that time .

Arriving at my home port on the last day in the dark was a walk in the park, very easy entry with no dangers, calm seas, light winds and well lit deep channel; autopilot working faultlessly...

Didn't need no charts but while still a mile or two offshore I was surprised at the amount of new houses and street lights that lit up the shore line - it had been natural bushland only 12 months before - cursed the land developers as I tidied up the sails and got the lines and fenders ready - I wanted everything shipshape and bristol fashion on my last arrival at my home port and I hadn't used a fender for months!

Had a final long look to seaward as my thoughts drifted over the experiences of the last 12 months of wonderful cruising and then turned back to get ready to enter the channel to the marina only to see I was about to T-bone a very large well lit anchored cruise ship maybe 100 metres in front of me.

The pulse rate peaked and finally dipped below 200 as I took his stern and feasted my eyes once again of the dark natural bushland I knew so well. I entered the marina as quiet as a mouse and cursed my own hubris and apologised to the land developers.

I can see those lights plain as day 35 years later and the phrase "all lit up like a ship at sea" has had a special meaning for me ever since!

[Smokeys Kitchen]

Went to flush out the holding tank breather vent with a hose on our new to us boat, trying to get it unblocked. It was then that I learned the holding tank vent and the fuel tank vent looked the same. I also learned how to get water out of a fuel tank, change racors, and bleed the injectors.

Actually an inexpensive lesson and one that I remember!

[BlueH2Obound]

2nd trip out in our Grand Banks 36, while coming back to the channel into port, the engine begins to stutter and surge. I knew immediately what I had done. The fuel pump was a constant volume pump, with the excess diesel returning to the tank . . . unfortunately, I had it pulling from ONE tank, but the valves set to return to ANOTHER tank . . . so, even though I had ensured that we had sufficient fuel for the days cruise at 3 gph, I was actually removing somewhere around 8 gph from the tank, so the engine quit when the fuel tank became completely full of air! 20 minutes of bleeding injectors, and on our way again. Never made THAT mistake again . . . many others, but not THAT one!

[DaLuz]

Buying a boat.

[AKA-None]

Originally Posted by boatman1

1975, Tampa, Florida, buying an LCM 6 to facilitate a construction project on Lignum Vitae Key in the Florida keys. After looking the boat over and recommending its’ purchase (to the contractor who had bid the job) I set to work changing engine oil, fuel filters and etc in preparation for the run south. Got finished up and commenced to enjoy Tampa as any red blooded 25 year old guy might do. Upon checking in with the boss that evening I discovered that the original owner of the landing craft was awfully angry: he went to use the boat one last time in his ship maintenance business, and that crew lost both engines steaming to where they were bound. Yes, this fool had left the fuel valves closed after my engine maintenance project. I hope those guys ultimately forgave me.

Been there done that but to be fair they should have checked as I should have checked in my case.

[AiniA]

So many ...
Leaving the dock with that big yellow wire thing still plugged in comes to mind.

Anchored near Goat Neck on Naushon Island in Massachusetts. Cruise guide showed an anchorage where we were and we settled in for the afternoon and night with a BBQ planned. Depth sounder showed something like 13' and draft was only 5'. As the tide dropped we realized were aground even though the sounder, with transducer several feet forward of the keel, still showed around 8' of water. We were sitting nicely on a knob of sand at least a foot more out of the water than we should have been. It was a lovely Sunday afternoon and at least half a dozen smallish motorboats came by to ask if we knew we were aground. Tide came back and we relocated for the night.

[leboyd]

Originally Posted by DaLuz

Buying a boat.

Was that the stupidest or funniest mistake?

(Your answer is probably "Yes")

[AKA-None]

New to me boat, first season of setup my myself. I went out sailing and the wind pipes up. Healing way over.
Did I mention the boat is as configured for single line reefing?

Did I also mention there was something I forgot to setup? No? Well yeah no reefing lines. I think you get the picture.

[LittleWing77]

Originally Posted by Kd9truck

Exhausted I started filling the Diesel tank with water, i realized my error within a couple of seconds but it was enough to imprint my brain for life.

Not the stupidest or the funniest, I believe my best work is yet to come.

I've done that, too, KD.

Unfortunately, it was the first day of a week-long RYA Day Skipper course I was teaching. All the students' gear was already onboard and stowed. They had all gone off for quick pitstops and then I could do the safety briefing and we could get going. I was in a hurry and talking to one of the maintenance crew whose face fell as I distractedly stuck the streaming water hose into the diesel fill port.

Auuuugh!

Fortunately, it was a Sunsail base and they had a fleet of boats - so we just had to switch everybody over to an alternate boat - aggravating enough in itself.

(The Marine Maintenance crew never let me forget it though.)

LittleWing77

[LittleWing77]

Originally Posted by dfelsent

On the hard. 30’ sailboat is in the driveway. My first name is David. I have three neighbors with the same name. Dusk. I’m working on the bottom. I hear someone shout “David.” Sounded like trouble and pain. I go to run through the gate into the house.

But I forgot. As I ducked and ran under the boat my waist hit the chain stretched between the two aft jack stands.

I doubled over. As I doubled over my eyeglasses hit the tip of the prop. The glasses deflected the blow, but were thrown off onto the asphalt driveway.

The prop tip cut deeply into my eyebrow.

I bounced off the chain. I landed full flat on my back and smacked the back of my head on the asphalt. I saw stars.

I staggered up and into the house. I called to my wife. “Where are you where are you?” She answered “In the bathroom!”

I ran into the bathroom where she sat on the toilet peeing. My hand was over my eye, and blood was dripping down and out and from under my hand and onto my cheek.

I asked “Are you ok?” She answered “Yes, but you’re not”.

2 hours and eight stitches later I was ok.

Turns out she never called, it was a neighbor calling her son.

Originally Posted by dfelsent

...And my kids wonder why I tell them that the dumbest things I have ever done were done stone cold sober.

David - this was HILARIOUS!!!

But the absent (and essential) part of your story is about how all this damage you accrued to yourself was motivated by your automatic response of helping someone in distress who was calling for help.

That's not dumb.

Warmly,
LittleWing77

[Tingum]

Running a 600 passenger paddle wheeler during spring break. Mate had been driving while I was checking on things. When I took the helm back I did not realize that he had already turned us around. Stuffed it right on sand bar! I called down to the DJ to see if any passengers were injured. He was laughing so hard he could barely answer that they were all piled up 3 deep in front of his booth, said I had cleared the dance floor! I had to give away a round of drinks and asked everyone to move to the stern to get the bow off the sand bar.

[Captn_Black]

Originally Posted by Tingum

Running a 600 passenger paddle wheeler during spring break. Mate had been driving while I was checking on things. When I took the helm back I did not realize that he had already turned us around. Stuffed it right on sand bar! I called down to the DJ to see if any passengers were injured. He was laughing so hard he could barely answer that they were all piled up 3 deep in front of his booth, said I had cleared the dance floor! I had to give away a round of drinks and asked everyone to move to the stern to get the bow off the sand bar.

Lol.. I think I read the NTSB report for that one, or maybe it was another.

[philmarks]

Originally Posted by Kd9truck

Exhausted I started filling the Diesel tank with water, i realized my error within a couple of seconds but it was enough to imprint my brain for life.

Not the stupidest or the funniest, I believe my best work is yet to come.

Bummer! I put 100 gals diesel in the water tanks. So glad it was that way around!


I have too many other tales, and as someone else said wrote on here 'if you haven't been aground you haven't sailed'!

[JPA Cate]

Yes, there's "aground"; and, there's "aground requiring outside assistance". Bad me.

Ann