Amazing video of a yacht rescue, Brixham Harbour, today. (5/8/23)

Babylon

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I was on exactly the same pontoon in a NW gale in Brixham's outer harbour exactly 13yrs and 1 day ago (4 Aug 2010).

I'd arrived the evening before from my first crossing, singlehanded, of Lyme Bay and there was no room in the inner harbour. Although I'd prepared my dinghy to go ashore, it simply became too rough to risk leaving the boat. The pontoon and the boat were both bucking and see-sawing horribly against one another and the lines - which I doubled and also cushioned against chafe with tea-towels in the fairleads - were snatching hard.

Horrible day even though it was probably one Bft Force less than today's big weather, and a terrible place to be in a northwesterly: the yacht club pontoon is very close to the inner-harbour's outer wall so real washing-machine action.

Not in the least surprised that yellow yacht's bow line had parted!

Brixham 2.jpeg
Brixham 4Aug2010.jpeg
 

Babylon

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PS: The YouTuber is wrong when he says at the beginning that the pontoon has "clearly broken its mooring". It hasn't - it's just that it is a bucking-bronco in those kinds of conditions - whereas the yacht's bow breast line had clearly broken.

PPS: And the yacht, whilst damaged, wasn't "wrecked"...!
 
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Gsailor

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If not his boat then a very nice man indeed - recovered before the stern was holed.

Good to see he had a life jacket on - brains, courage and kindness combined - it would be nice to name him and give him some well deserved credit.

I did not know Brixham could cut up so rough.

If I kept my boat there I would be very sure to have tough lines with shock absorbing elements installed - all the boats are bucking like broncos.
 

RunAgroundHard

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Every harbour is exposed in the wrong conditions. They're built for the prevailing conditions generally, but look at what happened to Holyhead when the wind changed direction despite enormous harbour walls.
Not really true. The NE harbours such as Banff, Buckie, Portsoy, Lossiemouth et cetera, are all on a wild lee shore from the NW through to NE and were built with various features to dampen storm waves.
 

blush2

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You had me worried for a moment, the new owner of Blush keeps her on a buoy there.

Brixham is worst in easterlies. That corner is where the incoming swell hits the fish quay and it is fairly shallow.

Most insurers won't cover boats there in the winter.
 

johnalison

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I don’t know Brixham very well, though I spent a quiet night on that pontoon many years ago, but I’m surprised at how rough it was with so little fetch across the bay. Nice to see good filming for a change.
 
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