Alongside the wall in bad weather

[fisherman]

....what's the best mooring for a renault camper?

 

[AntarcticPilot]

I remember one memorable storm when My father kept our boat at Dunbar Harbour. Our car (a bullnose Volvo estate car) was parked on the outer side of the harbour, but protected by a very high wall - the far side of the harbour on this photo (not my photo):

As can be seen, the harbour side is protected by a wall at least 5 metres above sea level at high tide . The storm caused waves to break over this wall, landing on our car. The result was a dented car roof and the footwells requiring baling out - being a Volvo, it was sturdy enough to survive! It was also the only occasion when we had to cut and run into the inner harbour as the twin barge anchors that we were moored to started to drag. Sadly a friend's boat was wrecked when it broke its mooring.

 

[38mess]

Those kids having fun then realising the power of the water. That woman at 2:18 looks like she got dashed against the car

 

[V1701]

The guy in the thumbnail wants to be signed off work for a few months. Who needs kneecaps anyway?

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Those kids having fun then realising the power of the water. That woman at 2:18 looks like she got dashed against the car

Yes, I thought that a couple of people got badly hit. The cyclist early on came a cropper, and several people appear to have been dashed against cars.

I have vast respect for the power of water. See above for one reason - the other was from when we towed an inflatable loaded with supplies up a glacial outwash stream in Spitsbergen. It worked fine until a point came where the bank on one side became too steep for us to remain on it, and the stream was narrowed (both were caused by a terminal moraine from the glacier). Muggins here ended up walking upstream in the water, trying to tow the dinghy up to the point where a tributary joined the main flow - the site we were trying to reach was up the tributary. I was JUST able to make progress until the point where I needed to cross the stream (of course, I was on the opposite bank from the tributary). Crossing the stream it was all I could do to stand and make progress across the stream - keeping any tension on the tow rope was impossible. On reaching the bank all I could do was lie down and breathe for a while; I have never been so exhausted before or since. A single false step and I could easily have been carried away, quite possibly drowned. I was only 20 then!

 

[38mess]

Plenty of damage to those cars and the Renault looks like a write off.
I have tremendous respect for the power of the sea. It still scares me to death and I have worked on it for nearly 50 years. I always am weary of people I take out who profess to have no fear of the sea when it is blowing a bit when we leave harbour. They are usually the first to start puking and asking a million questions.

 

[fisherman]

Drift, about crossing a fast flowing stream. The locals in Patagonia do it. One man sidles across the torrent facing upstream, he carries a long stout pole and when he reaches the limit of adhesion he jams it in the riverbed and leans on it. Then six more with another pole get behind him and lean on him. Then they all take one step sideways and place pole 2, move pole 1.

 

[fisherman]

Those kids having fun then realising the power of the water. That woman at 2:18 looks like she got dashed against the car

I reckon she went under it. Then a few seconds later one of them drives off.

 

[fisherman]

We drove along Penzance seafront in bro's Merc and got showered, but not swamped, by a sea. It never ran properly after that.