Aground on a Lee Shore

[Garold]

Well Eleven, that's a mighty close scrape.

I always thought that the general advice for entering Chichester was to avoid it if anything over say a F5 is blowing because the shallowing sands and bar make the waves unpleasant and tricky. And that's without losing a rudder and the engine.

We went in there a couple of weeks ago in a SW wind blowing 20-25 knots (ignoring what I was sure I'd read somewhere) and we literally surfed most of the way down the channel past the bar beacon.

So, well done to you for hanging in there, and the coastguard guys for successfully rescuing your boat. And if you do sell your boat and give them 10% you're a good bloke.

That windsurfer has a story to tell. Almost the modern day mermaid popping up like that warning you of danger.

Anyway, yes you will prob get a bit of stick but maybe it will make some of the rest of us be a bit more cautious about Chi entrance.

Cheers.

Garold

[MorgCloon]

Originally Posted by fishwife

An every one of them an unpaid volunteer. Brave men and women who not infrequently give their lives.

P.

Not quite. The Coxwain position of our local boat earns £22,000 and the engineer has a salary too. A 'shout' also earns each crew member £7.

Where RNLI crew really benefit is in the generous pension and high-class private health care they receive.

They do a good job mind.

[GordMay]

Most positions within the RNLI are unpaid, and are staffed on a voluntary basis. Lifeboat volunteers must attend call-outs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and do so out of a desire to help others. There is, however, a range of interesting and prospect-driven employment possibilities within the Institution. Example jobs include boat-building, administrative, secretarial, buying, information technology and fundraising. Some volunteers join the RNLI because they are seeking to progress within the organisation. Most do so because they want to be part of the lifeboat crew itself, and to experience the adrenalin and sense of satisfaction that comes with successful rescue operations.
➥ RNLI Volunteer Career Guide - Volunteer Jobs

Most coxswains are volunteers although there are a few full-time coxswains.
Every all weather lifeboat station has a full-time mechanic who is responsible for maintaining the lifeboat’s engines and all the machinery at an all weather lifeboat station.
➥ RNLI - The Crew

[Eleven]

I'm not up to date with the RNLI pay structures but the incredible Gord sounds about right. It is obviously necessary to maintain the boats, plus the key skills to deploy them. The service in the UK can only operate with the donations it receives from the general public.
From the Area Office and the local stations e-mail addresses both were pleased to receive my thanks and appreciation. It is unusual, they said, to have post event contact from those they assist.
As I said above, I didn't call them out, I was prepared to ride out the beaching with anchors deployed and await the incoming tide. In fact the wind dropped below 15 kts a few hours later so getting off under sail alone would have been possible, and some cold legs or dinghy deployment would have got the gear selection engaged forward only allowing the trip to be completed that night.
In modern coastal navigation I strongly recommend a hand held chart plotter as essential equipment. So many buoys are missing, the charts show land features that are not always as conspicuous to strangers as they are to locals, and many features that are apparent and clear just aren't indicated on the charts we had (two yrs old).
It was the disorientation of navigation that got us into the situation - entirely my fault.
I failed to keep track of distance run off the old chart(less) plotter, or by mobile phone GPS. If I had set the entrance co-ordinates on either or both of these before departure we would not have got into this situation.
The rudder was lost due to corrosion and fatigue of the bottom pivot pin (Pintle?).
Has anyone got a spare rudder. UK. Will collect.

[boatman61]

Trev.... what a bummer... sounds like the reverse of what hit us a few months back in June when that under forecast NE hit us... definitely not 'Cat' weather/country.
It is a crap spot to be caught in as we both know... short sharp sea's that come up fast and a SW over tide makes it worse...well done mate...
As you say, you, crew and the boat suffered minor bruising... it could so easily have been so much worse.
And well done the RNLI...