What's Your Worst Sailing Experience ?

[Hogan]

Originally Posted by Ex-Calif

.... gift" of a collision!

Yeah, racing is a bit crazy...

I used to race cars semi-professionally - "Autocross" - ocassionally at the national level.

Racing brings out both the best and worst in people - I quit when I realized that to feel good, I had to make someone else feel bad. The rules and handicapping system were absurd, and subject to political manipulation.

Bet yacht racing is the same - or worse. I had to laugh at the AC billionaires all lawyered up and battling it out in court for some slight rules based advantage at sea.

Still, I dont regret it, and I made some life-long friends. And even my worst enemies on the track would lend a competitor whatever they needed in the pits to get out and race, and I'd do the same for them.

I resolved never to formally race my boat.

Still, when another boat draws near, I disable the autopilot and ease the sheets till and tweak my sails until I'm sailing as fast as possible.

Old habits die hard.

;-)

[bouncingyellow]

It was sailing solo north and for 2 days I had been green around the gills , being dehydrated and in need of rest , I had two options 1- sail thru the wide bay bar and anchor with rest or push thru to lady musgrave island, I done a few calcs and decided I could make it thru the bar before sunset, following the charted waypoints thru the bar I thought all was going well, unknown to me was the waypoints had been revised since then and I was currently 2.5 ml south of the channel, the sun was very low when things took on a nasty turn, a storm cell from behind double island point hit me like a sledge hammer blowing my front hatch open and instantly turning day to night, with lightning blasting around me I could see huge rollers exploding to my port & starboard and notice my depth of 2.5 m where my chart plotter was saying I was in 8m of water, I turn hard starboard when a wave broke me broadside at this time my wheel spun without any resistance like a roulette wheel ,another wave hit broadside and I remember hanging from the lifeline imagining the mast touching the water, I had decided to clamber below and call mayday, unknown to me I had no voice because of sea sickness ,it would of looked quite comical to an observer I am sure if the situation wasn't so serious, i grabbed the epirb with my thumb under the trigger watching walls of water crash thru the open front hatch, when I decided I would probaly die before help arrived anyway on hands and knees crawling aft thru a flooded bilge I made the quadrant and attached the emergency tiller, sticking my head up thru the aft hatch standing on the tiller I was grateful I was still alive, by my fortunate luck the boat was motoring back out to see, seeing the lighthouse I made my way to the protection of double island point. I learnt a lot that day and am a lot better sailer from it, sometimes you just have to learn the hard way.

[ragzamoto]

I have not had my worst. I am going to keep going till I do then I am going to think about something else to do. But tomorow I am sailing to the Bahamas and I hope it doesnt happen then!

[zeehag]

sailed thru lightning storms in gulf of mexico forever, it seemed, and drifted with broken starter off cedros on the inside for 36 hours--still have to experience worst day of sailing.

[atoll]

paying euro 180 a night in a municipal marina in the med with no facilities.......

[saylor240]

Anytime My wife is on board....Just kidding hunny....No seriously anytime...
1.Prop just falls off while pulling up to dock in heavy current
2.While Moored in quiet little bay winds and waves pick up as she steps on board
3.Even in the dingy we hit a sandbar
4.Even when on a chartered Fishing boat out of Miami heard the Capt. Quote "I have never seen the currents and the waves this bad"

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by ragzamoto

I have not had my worst. I am going to keep going till I do then I am going to think about something else to do. But tomorow I am sailing to the Bahamas and I hope it doesnt happen then!

Coming through Longboat Channel into Longboat key south of Tampa Bay, I had 3 knots of current against me, large waves on the rear quarter but a strong wind that had shifted to the forequarter. The channel tended to be a little turbulent under good circumstances, but that day it literally was like trying to motor through a giant front-loading washing machine.

I really had my hands full at the wheel; my boat is tender. Then the boat we were traveling with suddenly picked up speed and passed us as we approached the bridge, which only opened on one span.

The bridge tender told me to speed up to catch up with them.

If I'd had ONE MORE DAY'S EXPERIENCE I would have said "I'm sorry but my boat is working as hard as she can in these circumstances."

Instead, I pushed the throttle forward ... and the engine overheated. We had to hurry to anchor. Fortunately the current pushed us past the channel marker before we backed into it, but then we were anchored and disabled in a very turbulent -- and busy -- channel.

The good news is that Boat US comes fast under those circumstances.

I ended up having to replace the engine. It was used up, and that was how (and when) it decided to tell me.

It was the first day of a proposed two-week trip to Key West and the Tortugas, but that was as far as we made it.

[stillbuilding]

Originally Posted by bouncingyellow

It was sailing solo north and for 2 days I had been green around the gills , being dehydrated and in need of rest , I had two options 1- sail thru the wide bay bar and anchor with rest or push thru to lady musgrave island, I done a few calcs and decided I could make it thru the bar before sunset, following the charted waypoints thru the bar I thought all was going well, unknown to me was the waypoints had been revised since then and I was currently 2.5 ml south of the channel, the sun was very low when things took on a nasty turn, a storm cell from behind double island point hit me like a sledge hammer blowing my front hatch open and instantly turning day to night, with lightning blasting around me I could see huge rollers exploding to my port & starboard and notice my depth of 2.5 m where my chart plotter was saying I was in 8m of water, I turn hard starboard when a wave broke me broadside at this time my wheel spun without any resistance like a roulette wheel ,another wave hit broadside and I remember hanging from the lifeline imagining the mast touching the water, I had decided to clamber below and call mayday, unknown to me I had no voice because of sea sickness ,it would of looked quite comical to an observer I am sure if the situation wasn't so serious, i grabbed the epirb with my thumb under the trigger watching walls of water crash thru the open front hatch, when I decided I would probaly die before help arrived anyway on hands and knees crawling aft thru a flooded bilge I made the quadrant and attached the emergency tiller, sticking my head up thru the aft hatch standing on the tiller I was grateful I was still alive, by my fortunate luck the boat was motoring back out to see, seeing the lighthouse I made my way to the protection of double island point. I learnt a lot that day and am a lot better sailer from it, sometimes you just have to learn the hard way.

This has to be the most common experience of cruisers sailing north of Mooloolabah and been the cause of more cruises ending than I can tell. Three days rolling behind Double Island Point stops a lot of sailing newbies.

[Joe Burke]

Not sailing but boating. 8 months ago coming home from a commercial dive trip heading from Dusky sound to Riverton on New Zealands most southern facing coast. 30 ft swells 45 knots of wind running down hill on a 65ft boat. I was in the top middle bunk running for and aft 20 ft back from the bow.We came down a wave fast and the boat broached. I was tossed into the air 6 ft off the ground between my top bunk and the top bunk against the port bulkhead. The guy in the bottom bunk looked up at me hanging in the air and as I hung there I watched him roll into a ball in anticipation of me coming down on top of him. The boat snapped back under me and I was slammed into the bulkhead over the top bunk on the port side and landed on the port top bunk. Everything including the contents of the refrigerator and all drawers was in a pile against the port bulkhead. IF the boat had gone over we would all be dead. Sometimes you just get luckyJoe

[sartorst]

Was awoke by green crew telling me a drilling rig was shining a spot light around like they were trying tell them something I stepped into the cockpit looked to starboard in the direction they had pointed Nothing but black no lights no stars nothing but a smell of coal tar, moving more to starboard I see stars 45% and up at that very moment the ship sounds the warning last!!!my knees went limp I say turn right !!!! NO the other right I pushed him aside turned to starboard with no reaction from the helm ,we were in the lee of the ship I almost twisted the key off trying to start the diesel with no glow time and in gear,as the stern of the ship swung very close to us
I could not understand why the ship had not given the warning sooner???? until I looked at the GPS track with the loops and zig zags jibs tacks. The crew had tried to continue sailing in very light air and leftover seas and the noise from the radio was bothering them so it had been turned to 0!

[David M]

Having to work so much that I can't go sailing enough.

[Aruvqan]

I slept through it

Back in the 60s my mum, dad, brother and I were in my grandfathers 30s vintage John Alden 39' sailboat getting ready to go out for the weekend. Everything was all loaded, chow, clothing, whatever dog and pony show my mum decided to drag along for us kids We all hit the rack so we could get a nice early start the next morning. Plans had been made for fishing in the thousand islands.

Camille had other plans for us. Even just the outer rim of winds blew us from where the Sea Gypsy was moored out in Rochester to Kingston. My mom and dad finally went to bed in the wee hours to be awakened by the sounds of the Canadian version of the coast guard tromping onto the deck and pounding on the hatch to see if anybody was on board

in 1971 I got pretty twitchy getting our launch Lil Gyp [Lyman clinker built inboard looked just like this one] from Grape Island off Amhurst Island in Ontario Canada to the summer house on Prinyers Cove near Picton when my Dad fell and broke his arm while we were fishing for perch. One heck of a thunderstorm blew up when we were about halfway home. Dad said later that my hair was standing on end from the static electricity

[Ex-Calif]

Two come to mind.

My dad's company chartered a boat to meet the Queen Mary when she came to long beach in 1967. I was really young. All I remember was lots of boats in close quarters, wat pouring out the scuppers and eventually all the kids being quarantined indoors.

The second was a ride on a 53 foot mono in Manila bay. It was a crewed boat and the skipper/owner really didn't know how to sail. He let me helm and I had the rudder locked to the lee most of the time. I didn't know anything about weather helm at the time but I knew something was wrong. I told the owner several times I had no rudder authority and sure enough we rounded up and almost broached. The "experienced" boat crew didn't have a clue.

[sartorst]

Another one
I was behind a push boat in the ICW pushing 3 big heavy barges for hours in heavy traffic with a depth sounder going off constantly from the prop wash of the tow ,normally they would be passing me , well I decide to pass! it takes much longer to get around than I had expected, engine near max output and temp climbing I finally clear him as another barge approaches from the other direction WHAM!! hard aground !!OMG full throttle trembling from fear screaming to the captain Iam dead in the water, black smoke belching from the tow getting ever closer Then bump bump bump we started moving YES!!I call captain again were moving again, black smoke stops(full reverse ) then wham another wall, dead in the water, bounced of again
Finally clear, I watch as the barges rise up out of the water 3ft one at a time as they went over the hump

[zeehag]

dont know what my worst ay of sailing was or is--any day on the water--even with living aboard--is better than a day in a work environment or on land.
i have sailed through lightning storms in a boat with a tall aluminum mast and much much lightning...and i have sailed 30 ft following seas, and i have sailed high winds--all were learning experiences and to some degree, enjoyable. sailing is good. i have been becalmed and aground--what isnt to love....