Advice for inexerienced.

[Jenko]

Greetings boaters.........
After an exciting day at the boat show on Saturday, I was all gee'd up to go out boating on Sunday. As most of you know, it was a somewhat blustery day, but noticed a few other (admitedly bigger) craft heading out from the Hamble to Southamoton water.....So, myself and the wife decided 'what the hell' and ventured out. On reaching the mouth of the hamle the usual swell started to kick in, and I've sailed up here many times, but the motorboat really did not feel comfortable......waves crashing over the top, wind picking up the side and really healing the boat over, and this was at 6 knots!!!. We turned around and motored all the way back down the hamble under the M27, and moored up on the poontoon in the country park and had a cup of tea...chickens

I guess the questions is, is there anything I could have done (apart from becoming a more experienced power boat driver) that would have made things a little easier?, and given me the confidence to actually venture out. Or, was it simply too windy for a 20ft boat?.

Thanks in advance for you help.

Paul.


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[Solitaire]

You have answered your own question! Degress of roughness are both in proportion to the size of boat and your relative expereince. One of the things we teach is to recognise this fact. To an experienced boater, those sea conditions would suggest huge amounts of fun and getting very wet. To you it indicated "oh oh, no thank you, I don't like this!" Perfectly sensible and the right thing to do. You would have been a fool to yourself to have ventured out and perhaps put others at risk should you have got into difficulties. By going up river you still had a good time, you were on the water and gained from the experience. You'll know when your ready to take on the conditions you describe - but next time you want to do it, go along with another boat and with someone with more experience.
By the way, I hope you did'nt go past all the boats moored up under the M27 bridge at 6 knots, one of those is mine and wash at that speed bangs em all up against the mooring lines! /forums/images/icons/wink.gif

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[Nautorius]

Hi Jenko

Well done! My first rule is never put your boat and crew in danger. The second rule is if in doubt turn back. You did both. The only way to learn is to take your time. Experience counts for everything and that takes time. I once made the mistake of going from Hamble point to Poole in a force 4 with wind over tide. I had a huge grin on my face as my 20 footer was thrown around. My girlfreind swore never to get on a boat again! Fortunately she did and loves it now but I learnt a tough lesson. I also only ventured out in new waters with company in bigger boats as chaperonnes. It worked for me and gave me the confidence which is essential on the Sea if you are a Windermere sailor!

Good luck and try and team up with a buddy,

Cheers

N.

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[Jenko]

Hi Solitaire,

As usual, good advice..........Next time, I may give a certain person a call to see if he fancies a ride in a smaller boat than his own ...Nudge nudge, wink wink.

And to answer your other question.......The gps may have been reading 6 knots!, but the engine was just ticking over, probably doing more like3 knots over the water...the tide was really rushing. But, I'm always very careful with my wash when travelling up / down rivers.......So where abouts are you moored, we seem to spend allot of our time pottering down that end of the hamble...will keep an eye out for you Fairline.....

By the way, what are the mooring prices like down there, and is there a waiting list. We have just had this years prices come through for universal and they have gone up 20%!!!!!!.


Cheers.

Paul

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[Jenko]

Hi Nautorius,

Nice one, makes feel better knowing I did the right thing. And like you say, it was good experience........

Cheers.

Paul.



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[Dave_Snelson]

Yes, I agree with David. I moved up from a 17ft sportsboat to a 28ft cruiser and it made a lot of difference to the distance and weather I could handle, but... I did get caught in a blow with 8ft seas once and even in the bigger boat, it just didn't feel intuitively right. In fact it felt dangerous and I wouldn't have chosen to set off in the conditions I found myself in. Those that have no intuition or feeling for danger, ought not to be on the water, in my opinion. Another thing is that most yachts, size for size, are built to be out there in a F6 - its the wind that makes them go and you should know - you had one! Your pilothouse boat is good and stable, but there is no need to push your luck to enjoy yourself A PB 1&2 course would be good for you, I remembered what to do when trying to get back into port - and it definately helped me.(all IMHO, of course).

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[gjgm]

A piece of advice that was passed to me when I started was first part of a passage plan is how to get back in (or be sure in advance that you CAN get back in)! Point is, its not just whats ahead you have to cope with, but what its like when you turn around. Sometimes after you ve fought your way out, you think, well, that wasnt really so bad, but then....But as others say, experience will teach you that,like so much else. I d support the comment about scaring soemone;most commonly, once they ve been really scared, they ll never go out again.. and thats not worth a "what the hell" trip, even if unintentional.IMHO...

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[tcm]

Re: wimp!

to make things easier, you could have made the tea in advance, and perhaps experimented with more adventurous afternoon refreshment such as coffee, or even a gin and tonic. With more experience you may be able to try several gin and tonics, or even progressing on to vodka redbulls and Bellinis. I took Coliholic out once and he kindly demonstrated how to consume almost an entire bottle of rum in an afternoon, but of course, you shouldn't try this straightaway. A larger boat will help, of course, as there are more places to stash drinks, and more places to lie down too. In rough weather, take a tip from the experts - go to the chandlery and buy lots of books about heavy weather sailing, and read them in the pub.

hope this helps

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[Solitaire]

Paul - no problem. I don't know if your around on Sunday? I'm taking a friend of mine out to do the Level 2 course. Not to do his Level 2 but he taking his instructor course at the month and I'm going to just run him through the practical. I'm sure he'd not mind you tagging along and you'd get a bit of free tuition!! Let me know! We'll also pop out for a blast as well most likley!! /forums/images/icons/wink.gif. It will also be good for my friend, as he can use you as his pupil.

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[Wiggo]

As the others have said, you made the right call. As a rule of thumb, if it's above a 4, the stay home in a 20 footer, and bear in mind if it's been blowing a 3 for a few days, and you get wind over tide, you don't want to be out in it.

The boats/weather I've been happy in are:

12 footer: F2-3
17 footer: F3-4 (just)
23 footer: F4
29 footer: F5 (just)

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[Talon]

Paul,

My Dad has said to me many times, boating is about stacking the odds in your favour.... It sounds to me like you did the sensible thing, exactly what I would have done. You should always boat within your capabilities and what you are comfortable with!

I would however, get yourself on a course and get an instructor to take you out in some chop so you can see what the boat is capable of, which will install confidence in you and also give you a good gauge of what you can take as well. Boats generally can take more than their occupants.

The sea can be a scary place and if you do get caught out one day, God forbid, you will know what to do and have the confidence to get yourself home.

More often that not, heading for deeper water is the best option in rough sea, I think coming out of the Hamble it has some banks and shallows round there which could possibly be the cause of the roughness, where as if you continued out it would have calmed down in deeper water

Excuse my ignorance I have not read all the replies on this post, so I am sorry if I have repeated what anyone else has said.

Get on some courses; it made a huge difference for my wife and me../forums/images/icons/smile.gif

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[itsonlymoney]

Definetely did the correct think "discretion is the etc..
I dont even like a little bit of chop on Windermere cos it makes me spill my scotch and the wind plays havoc with my cigar.

Ian



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[duncan]

Re: wimp!

/forums/images/icons/smile.gif

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[duncan]

I completely agree with Wiggo, especially the wind over tide bit, and would highlight that the bit of water between the mouth of the Hamble, Portsmouth and Cowes can create a really really nasty sea for small craft under those conditions. Large variations in water depth, current/tide direction and the possiblility of a long fetch over two different directions (and even a reasonable one down Southampton Water) can create an uneven pattern of steep waves with varied wavelengths to boot. However I disagree with the implication in Solitaires post that you can have fun in all conditions if you are experienced (and I am sure he wasn't actually trying to make that point). I would however agree that with experience and training you can have fun safely in a much wider range of conditions than you might at first sight believe, and that you would almost certainly have been able to achieve progress with more comfort (physical and mental) through the use of trim, power and course as a result of experience.
Yor trip up the Hamble strikes me as exactly the right move, especially at this time of year.

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[oldgit]

Re infallable test.

Put a half full flute of rubbish wine on the table.Does it remain upright.
If so prob OK.
If not refill with good stuff and stay.

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[Solitaire]

Your right Duncan! I wasn't/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif

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[duncan]

Re: Re infallable test.

I trust that is an anchoring test not the journey there!

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