Running Aground

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by houseboy

Ok, so I have been reading and browsing about running agound which is my biggest fear. Yes, you should be paying attention to your surroundings, tide charts and local conditions. I read somewhere that there are 2 types of sailors, ones who have run aground and the others who have not yet run agound.
But how many people have actually had it happen to them? How was the experience other than scared sh*t out of you?

I've been aground a couple of times. Each time I knew I was in shallow waters. Each time I motored off.

Why does it scare you?

[wolfenzee]

I grew up in the Chesapeake, running aground was a regular event...sand or mud and not much tidal drop, never bothered me. Where I live now running aground usually means rock with a tidal drop of around 10ft (at least that means if the chart says it is wet, then at high tide you have enough water), I have only run aground here twice, both at the mouth of the Frazier river...both sand. Joshua Slocum said "Anyone who hasn't run aground hasn't gone anywhere". Rocks make me nervous...so I am really careful...but **** happens.

[Capt Phil]

Interesting enough I have never run aground on a delivery over about 25 years but I've run aground several times in my own boat. Most memorable event was behind a small island in Barclay Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island. Thank goodness it was a sandy little bay but about an 18 foot tide. Boat was an Ingrid 38 full keel double ender and she slowly laid over on her side so we went clamming and waited for the tide to come back in. No drama, just an enjoyable afternoon drinking wine and watching the clams spit. No such luck working commercial vessels, two sinkings, one nearly cost me my life... not pleasant experience to recall, believe me... Capt Phil

[IdoraKeeper]

Hmmmmmm''''''''''''''''arrrrrghhhhh.......I'm gonna moderate myself

Todd

[zeehag]

ok,here goes--- first time--- i was a kidinmy uncles boat--we goofed the lead line ... didnt report correctly and we went soft grounding. ok' then i am bigger-- like adult sized... and i had a 26 i grounded --i didnt-- my friend did--lol-- did a bottom cleaning and let her rise.. was hard aground ..lol....

softly kissed a small island in crown cove in sin diego in a 40 ft steel ketch--lol i was sailing her-- and a friend got me off the island before we careened the boat--lol.. when phillip and i were sailing gulf--- we hit bottom a lot---was a frequent thing as opposed to an occasional thing--only once of those times did we get softly grounded and have to wait for tidal rise-that was fort myers, FLORIDA at the entrance to the harbor as they were dredging the channel. and in st andrews bay--on a spoils bank in darkness with 4 ft seas in the bay and 41 kt winds the night in april when mississippi the the tornadoesthat killed folks-- we were sitting there in the wind with 6 inches of water in the troughs--yipes-- was a surf line situation--those arent fun-beats helloutta the boat. the other kinds of groundings are ok. we broke the rudder , is all.. and a split in thehull just a tad over the rudder-- wasnt as bad as rudder-- didnt steer so well after that...but we made it home, so all is well..... now boat is fixed--was a performance cruiser. built in NJ..i think that was my most spectacular grounding....so far.. we still have my f ormosa to deal with..; 6'6" draft-- i am going back to fla and louisiana and gulf via panama and carib and NY..lol....

[sabray]

yep done that I remember after near 30 years of sailing I left New England I sailed tward the chesapeake Anchored and then found the ground in cape May ran aground in worton creek St Michael's wye river west river. Then I got a reprieve and went to New england and ran aground on the Ct river. Really I was trying not too. Ct river was the worst

[delmarrey]

I'm an expert at running aground.

The thing to remember is; if your in sight of land the bottom can sneak right up under you when you least expect it.

Always plot your course and check for shallows from charts. If you divert from the course check your charts. Also remember a GPS is only a reference. I've had one a half mile off, cutting corners across a peninsula.

The object is to have a boat that can take a good hit once in a while otherwise be paranoid.

This one was a submerged rock at high tide doing 6 kts., a quarter mile off shore (50º 03.926 N x 124º 48.950 W)


.

[GeoPowers]

Originally Posted by wolfenzee

...I have only run aground here twice, both at the mouth of the Frazier river...both sand.

That Frazier river can be tricky- the sediment causes false readings on your depth monitor (not to mention the shoals that extend way out).

No groundings on current boat, we don't take chances with rock- this is our home!

[zeehag]

i know my current boat can take a beating--she was on a breakwall for a week in sta barbara before previous owner bought her--i met a resident of sta barbara who remembered it being on breakwall and he told me about it--LOL-- strong boat.!!

[psteele235]

Last Saturday - sailed from Rowayton to Clinton, arrived as tide was falling, safely navigated our way into the marina where the 'you-know-what' told us to proceed on down to the dock near the travel lift so we could be hauled for the winter on Monday.

Of course I never expected him to send us down a channel where there wasn't enough water - Duh! Lesson learned - never believe what anyone tells you and keep your eye on the depth sounder.

[wolfenzee]

One of the groundings on the Frazier was intentionally going just a tad out of the channel (two tugs coming each direction) and the other was a good half mile or so off shore.
My present boat has 4000lbs of lead stretched over most of the length of the keel.

[roger.waite]

Treat rock respectfully, or it will disrespect you big time.
Avoid all lee shores. Take more care on a falling tide.
But kissing sand & mud is no big deal in benign conditions.

[zeehag]

my boat had a tough life before i found her-- i watched as the previous owner ran her into the 3 ft shoal just south of coronado bridge-- tried to muscle it off using the now dead 4-107... blew her goood.. smoke andnoise for half mile. didnt get the boat off the shoal for a few hours. she is 6'6 deep...yes i replaced engine --with a 4-108...

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by jenny2

If you own a boat sooner or later you will hit bottom that is just part of it!

+1

I don't remember how many times I've been aground, and usually had to be towed off. That was in SW Florida where the water is extremely shallow and you have to take risks all the time. You can take those risks because the bottom is soft, the tides are small, and there is Tow Boat US to come pull you off.

I'm sailing now in England and France, and there the consequences are very different -- big tides, often rocky bottoms. Getting stuck here can easily mean you lose your boat. So I have a completely different risk calculation here, and won't go somewhere with less than a meter or so of water under the keel, and then prefer to do it on a rising tide. I am very, very, very careful.

Even being very careful you can make mistakes. I came into Weymouth harbor a few days ago in the middle of the night after an exhausting crossing from France. Weymouth was an unplanned diversion. The harbormaster office was closed and the most likely spot had a "No Mooring" sign on it. The Coast Guard had previously advised me (not knowing the draft of my boat) to go to the waiting pontoon. I neglected to look at my chart and in fact didnt even look at my depth gauge, concentrating on the berthing maneuver, turning the boat in the narrow channel. The next morning, a fisherman knocked and said -- you'll be aground in two hours, you'd better move. Lo and behold, there is less than 8 feet of water in that spot at low tide, exactly the same as my draft. I came in exactly at low tide, and a big spring tide at that. Why didn't we go aground or at least bump? The sea gods were looking after me that night. Sometimes they don't, however.

[SurferShane]

Running onto sandbanks in my Hunter 19 was never that bad. All you had to do was get the outboard going, lean to one side and sail away. The first time I did the same in my bigger yacht was a bit more problematic.

It was at the river at Mackay and I was only cruising by at night to get a look at the possible entrance. My GPS map was telling me I was far enough off, but the glimmering waves told me I was about to hit a sand spit that extended way offshore. As soon as tried to turn to sea I got that bumping feeling then was dead aground.

The conditions were average onshore slop with a moderate wind swell. After I realised I wasn’t going anywhere I walked/swam my anchor a few hundred metres off the bow to hold the boat to sea. As the tide was going out fast there was not much more I could do. For a few fleeting moments I had thoughts about walking to shore and phoning the insurance company. Instead, I had a cup of tea and went to sleep, albeit at somewhat a weird angle the boat now absolutely high and dry on its side.

Next thing I can remember was waking to a gentle motion as the tide ran back. The wind and swell had luckily gone calm. I used my sheet winches to pull the boat to sea as each wave lifted the boat off the bottom. It might have even been easier if I had repaired my frozen manual windlass. Another tip is that your boat is probably going to end up on its side so like in bad weather make sure everything in the cabin is secure. Otherwise you might get rudely awoken by something flying into your head.

For obvious reasons, I then decided the marina/port a few kilometres up the coast was the better spot to stay the night (well at least the few hours till dawn). When I got there I was pretty embarrassed about my jam. No drama; a few experienced sailors assured me that there were very few boats getting around those parts that hadn’t done the same thing. Nevertheless, for me the 5 meter tides up that way were a real learning curve.

Another time I had a run in with a rock spit. All I can say about this one is DON’T. I was down bellow and something was tapping me on the shoulder telling me to get off my arse and tack. At the last second I went above and it was basically too late. It must have looked dramatic because a fisherman on the other side of the reef had already sent a mayday on my behalf. Luckily I have a steel boat with a traditional slight entry cruising keel and I got out of the situation with hardly a few scratches off the antifouling.

Still, I have learnt to listen to intuition. I also make sure I zoom right in now on digital maps to get all the details and cross-reference the information with paper charts and guide books. Nothing like learning the hard way?