Aground: Failure of skill, failure of judgment, bad luck

[akprb]

Originally Posted by Jammer

I have hit stuff over the years in various rivers and mud puddles. Those around me have typically ascribed this to a lack of skill and experience on my part. I consider myself new because I've never sailed a cruising boat in the ocean. I've always thought it was different. Maybe it's not.

Those around you are idiots, ignore them and welcome to the club.

Plenty to hit in the ocean as well! I ran over (with a catamaran so literally over) a bouy of some sort 1500 miles out from the Galapagos. Made a hell of a racket. Dinged a good size something in Moorea (the French do not put the markers at the edge of the obstruction, just kind of near it) and have seen all kinds of insanely experienced individuals in all kinds of precarious situations.

So there ya go. Sure lack of skill plays into maritime incidents but so can hubris and a lack of humility.

[fred4936]

Our cruising area is the Great South Bay of Long Island, New York. It is notoriously shallow, and it changes year to year. We entered a new anchorage a few weeks ago, and found a shoal that stuck out into the deeper water that was not on the chart. We were there until the following high tide. We did find out that the shoal we hit is visible on Google Earth. So for any places we do not have local knowledge, we will now use Google Earth as well as the usual navigational practices. I do agree with the others who have posted: you have either run aground or you are not being truthful!

[akprb]

Originally Posted by fred4936

Our cruising area is the Great South Bay of Long Island, New York. It is notoriously shallow, and it changes year to year. We entered a new anchorage a few weeks ago, and found a shoal that stuck out into the deeper water that was not on the chart. We were there until the following high tide. We did find out that the shoal we hit is visible on Google Earth. So for any places we do not have local knowledge, we will now use Google Earth as well as the usual navigational practices. I do agree with the others who have posted: you have either run aground or you are not being truthful!

Google earth a great resource for finding little explored shallow diving opportunities.

A long time ago (2010ish) I figured a way to overlay our position on GE and came in really handy down in Fiji. Sure it’s much easier to do today.

To stay on topic good for avoiding those same shallow bits as well :-)

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by SV Bacchus

Years ago I wanted to take my twin outboard fishing boat to Caladesi Island State Park (just north of Clearwater Beach, FL). There is a long straight section of channel through fairly skinny water. The channel is unmarked except for markers at each end of the straight section. There is a sign at the markers telling you what compass heading to take to stay in the channel.

I was in a pickle as my compass gave up about a week before, it was laying on its side in the globe.

Ah, salvation! Another boat was headed in, I'll just follow him.

I slid up on the sand about 5 seconds after he did.

Loved it!

[psneeld]

Charts aren't always that accurate.

Tide predictions are very hard to judge when not from an area.

Navaids aren't always on station and even fixed ones could be moved to mark better water....or they are too few to really keep an attentive skipper in deeper water.

Problems on board can distract even an attentive skipper at a crucial time...

As an assistancd tower for 15 years...I have heard quite a few reasons... and a few are perfectly legitimate for even well seasoned captains.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by fred4936

Our cruising area is the Great South Bay of Long Island, New York. It is notoriously shallow, and it changes year to year. We entered a new anchorage a few weeks ago, and found a shoal that stuck out into the deeper water that was not on the chart. We were there until the following high tide. We did find out that the shoal we hit is visible on Google Earth. So for any places we do not have local knowledge, we will now use Google Earth as well as the usual navigational practices. I do agree with the others who have posted: you have either run aground or you are not being truthful!

I guess the Great South mud flat hasn't changed since circa 57?

[AJ_n_Audrey]

What Suijin said. If you are not in a regularly used commercial channel, the depths on your chart may be from 1983 NOAA datum. I got a scary but ultimately painless less in this going into Doboy Sound in GA where observed depths differed from chart depths by as much a 7 feet.

Also, if you do any amount of distance on the AICW, you will eventually run aground if you draw any kind of water (I draw 5.5 feet).

[sailorboy1]

If all you had to do to not go aground was follow the charts and buoys, hardly anyone would go aground in the ICW.

[Lionshooter]

It's only the guy who never leaves the dock who never runs aground. Anyone who ventures into interesting waters will sooner or later trip over a bump on the bottom.
I wish I had a dollar for every grounding I have had. And I have many years of experience. I might add, I never had a tow in 40 years. The most important part of running aground is in knowing how to extricate yourself from your predicament. Quite a few times, that meant waiting for the tide. That one last drink at the bar cost you a good night's sleep.

[NevisDog]

Originally Posted by Lionshooter

It's only the guy who never leaves the dock who never runs aground.

An old and very true saying.

One old lobster fisherman (lobster love to live around rocks) would drop a lobster pot each time he hit a rock, in the fishing grounds he had fished all his life, so he and others could see the mark and avoid it (if they knew which ones to avoid).

And nowadays we have all those "plotter-assisted-groundings", where we imagine those closely spaced depth contours are accurate; nope, they're a computer-generated guess.

Have your stern anchor ready and go in on a rising tide, or else put the kettle on and wait.

[thinwater]

One thing I've learned is that if I'm not sure... Slow Down!

At just a few knots I can simply back off, no fuss, no muss. I've "tasted the bottom" so many times I couldn't begin to count them.

At hull speed, not so much.

[fred4936]

Originally Posted by Cadence

I guess the Great South mud flat hasn't changed since circa 57?

Cadence, Much of the south shore of Long Island has become shallower over the years. Each spring seems to be a game of tag with the bottom of the bay. So around here, many times it is not human error per se, but learning curve. The general configuration is still pretty much the same, but the devil is in the details!

[Capt. Ray]

If you haven't been aground occasionally then you aren't going anywhere.

There are three types of skipper. Those who are aground, those who are just about to go aground, and those who lie.

[GrowleyMonster]

If in doubt, slow down to bare steerageway, or STOP. Period. I have gone aground many times. Thankfully I generally had the presence of mind to be just ghosting along in doubtful waters with no following current of note. In such cases, grounding would be extremely light and gentle, and simply backing off corrected the situation. There is a big difference between grounding at 1kt and grounding at 4kts.


That is yet another advantage of electric propulsion. No minimum idle speed, no "bumping" in and out of gear. If I want to proceed at 50 RPM it is simple to do so. Nevertheless, with diesel or gas engine it is still possible to proceed at bare steerageway and prevent a hard grounding if you suspect that such is possible.

[markpierce]

I grounded four times one night. In 1963 my father had me take his Columbia Defender with four-foot draft from a boatyard in San Rafael to home berth in Oakland. It became completely dark while transiting the narrow, dredged channel to San Francisco Bay. Had compass, chart, and binoculars, but the only light along the channel was at its bay entrance, indistinguishable from all the lights on the opposite side (Richmond) of the bay.

So, meanwhile hit the channel's edge, coming to a halt. Fortunately, had a flood tide, so proceeded on from grounding to grounding until reaching open waters.

No radio. ... My guardian angel protected me and saved my father from panic if I was overdue.