Running Aground

[Talbot]

Originally Posted by houseboy

I read somewhere that there are 2 types of sailors, ones who have run aground and the others who have not yet run agound.

I think that should be 3 types

1. Those who have run aground
2. Those that lie about never running aground
3. Those that have just started sailing and have no experience yet.

[sailorboy1]

When I got my boat last year I ran aground in the channel the FIRST time I took it out! Stuck in the mud for 6 hours. Sometimes I think it's best to just get your grounding over with so you aren't waiting for it anymore.

[hpeer]

Yeah, took wife out in our new for us boat and confidently ran up on a sand bank on a falling tide. Tide swept me up on the bank. Thankfully we got off before high tide. No wind, lots of current.

Perhaps it was best called an "accidental careening" as she was laying on her hull with the water dropping down the side for a while.

A couple of weeks after that I ran aground 4 times before 7:00am. No that takes talent.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by hpeer

Yeah, took wife out in our new for us boat and confidently ran up on a sand bank on a falling tide. Tide swept me up on the bank. Thankfully we got off before high tide. No wind, lots of current.

Perhaps it was best called an "accidental careening" as she was laying on her hull with the water dropping down the side for a while.

A couple of weeks after that I ran aground 4 times before 7:00am. No that takes talent.

I don't know it that is talent. On my grounding I could have called it 3 groundings because I got off the bank twice, but made the wrong choices for direction after those and went back on it. Later as the tide went out more I found that there was a rock about 50' away that I wasn't paying attention to in my efferts to get afloat. So maybe the grounding God was really trying to help me.

[Imnine]

Here's my take on things:

Salty John cruising resources: Links and articles to help you get more from your sailing, stay shipshape and keep safe.

See the article 'Don't be a stick in the mud'

[doug86]

Originally Posted by houseboy

Ok, so I have been reading and browsing about running agound which is my biggest fear.

That's your biggest fear in sailing? Forgetaboutit. If you run aground, there is always some good news: first, your boat can't sink, at least not until the tide comes back. Second, you can probably walk away rather than swim away. Here is some stuff to worry about:

-Hitting a shipping container when offshore.
-Getting knocked down in a squall
-a fire on board
-hard to reach through hull failure causing flooding
-hopelessly jammed roller furling only partially rolled in
-fouling your wheel when entering a tight inlet with a big flood tide
-loosing a finger to one of the countless finger removal devices found on boats. Things like docklines, winches, windlesses, wire halyards, moving machinery, heavy hatches....

I've run aground enough that I don't even bother to note it in the log anymore. I also had my hand caught in the chain gypsy of the windless last year, and I can say that I would rather run aground than suffer personal injury any day.

Unless you're talking about washing up on a rocky lee shore through the surf, running aground is not a big deal. Heck, Boat/US and SeaTow will provide a "soft-ungrounding" for free to members; it's no bigger deal than a dead battery or running out of fuel.

[ozskipper]

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?

Plenty of times. Luckily only on sand or mud. Never rocks and never a lee shore.

A point I should add, is that most of the time its been during restricted navigation and I/we have been hugging the windward side of a channel a little bit too closely.

I have only once been stuck for more than half an hour. Long keeled boat. Muddy bottom. She just slipped into the mud and eventualy the sand underneath. It took a few heavy fellas some time sitting on the boom before she broke free. But all ended well. (aside from the red face)

Another time was leaving one of the Big Rivers in NSW AUS. The bottom shifted that much that the leads were incorrect. We had a ten foot draft and after a little nudging and leaning we were off again.

The thing to note out of these experiences is that all were done at relatively low speed and were effectively harmless. In each case, we were erred to the windward side so we would be blown into deeper water should we go thump.

None were scary. Embarrasing perhaps, but not scary.

Cheers

OZ

[capn_billl]

On the gulf coast our water looks like mud, (zero vis). I don't even understand how you guys can run aground in clear water areas, (but I expect I'll find out myself someday). The good thing about the gulf coast is you can hit stuff all day and never see what you hit. I ran aground the first day with my new boat on an unmarked shoal that everybody, (except me), knew about. It tore off my lower unit resulting in a USCG call. The sad part is I exactly traced my previous route, but a wind shift had lowered the water level. Since then I have done "keel soundings" several times, but no damage, (except my prop looks like a spoon that went through the garbage disposal).

[perchance]

Yes in sand and mud, not so bad and once on rocks not so good. Bumpety, bumpety bump time to repaint the keel

[Sluce]

Twice. Both times in the Annisquam River in Gloucester, MA at low tide. Both times we were able to power off in reverse. That was in our old boat which drew 5 feet. The Nordic draws over six and I don't do the Annisquam at low tide any more.
As others have said there is a big difference between sliding onto a sand bar and slamming into a rock. If you are in shallow water go slow and be prepared to deal with the bottom, if you are in deep water stay well away from the hazards.

[Eleven]

You'll see mine in 'Running aground on a lee shore'.
Worst bit was having been recovered by the lifeboat, and arranging a tow next day.
Yes, said the tow guy, we were listening to it all on the radio. Helicopter overhead and everything.
Being English he'd said enough.

[Sailmonkey]

Hell, we ran aground sunday without even moving!! But in Galveston Bay running aground is a way of life. Most winter months we bump the bottom leaving the slip, entering and leaving the marina etc.....

[Capt Phil]

Don't know whether this qualifies as running aground but back in the 80's the channel leading into the marinas in San Rafael from San Francisco Bay was maintained from the Bay side by the Corp of Engineers and from the Marina side by the City of San Rafael. There was always a difference of opinion where one jurisdiction began and the other ended resulting in a 10 to 15 foot 'hump' in the narrow channel. Those with local knowledge knew that you put the pedal to the metal to power through/over this obstacle but many folks just stopped dead in mid channel which was too narrow to pass safely. I heard that the channel is almost impassable now because of lack of dredging due to budget constraints leaving boaters in the SR marinas stuck except at higher tides. Hope they have solved this problem...
Wolf's comment on the shoal areas off the Fraser River in British Columbia are words to heed. The whole mouth of the Fraser where it empties into the Straits of Georgia are filled with moving shoals, rotting submerged piles and dolphins, abandoned non-functioning lights and nav aids, etc. Unless you possess some very good local knowledge, best give it a wide berth. Having towed many log booms in and out of the North Arm and gill netted out of Steveston years ago, I probably pulled at least a dozen boaters off the putty over the years. If you are unfortunate enough to run aground off Sea Island, remember that this is the flight path for the Vancouver International Airport and the east-west runway runs right over top of the shoal area... not exactly where you want to be aground with a big stick in the air! Capt Phil

[Kay Koudele]

Ahhh, the truth comes out! Indeed, it is anxiety time when running aground. Less so when you have a Southerly! Built to handle the 15 foot tidal changes in the UK, we just pump up the swing keel, back off and sail on!
www.kaykoudele.blogspot.com

[Ben M-P]

I have run aground twice, both times in soft mud in at the mouth of the LA river.

1st time cat 22, I was at the helm, backed off with motor, Really annoyed but not scared (full audience that time), new to the area thought the channel was on the other side of the bouys(no red and greed here)

2nd time cat 29, crew, sailed right through (a bit slowly), watched the depth finder go shallower than the keel by about 1ft, the capt. knew the area and wanted to teach the helmsman to watch the depth.(rising tide)

As they say,"there are two kinds of sailors, those who have run aground and those that will."