Dinghy cruising excitement

Poor old Kelpie! Unless I have it wrong in the opening post he said he tacked up to the beach and the wind was off shore. The point he was making was he got caught out by not spotting the "surf", a small but awkward wave that by the sound of it was only discernible from a few feet off the beach. He asks what would be the best approach next time and has shared a good lesson and the pleasure that dinghy sailing allows of things getting more interesting than expected. I would suggest he is very aware of the potential pitfalls and that is why the story is worth telling...... Basically it is a steeply shelving beach (we don't quite know how steep) and he wanted to get ashore.....
(oops, two posts snuck in while I got on me soap box:)
 
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Kelpie said:
With respect, I don't believe I did have the necessary information. But decide for yourself. The island is located at 57*21.4N, 006*31.3W, and the conditions on the day were a F4 from the South. Where would you have attempted to land?
In future I will try to be more aware of hidden swell and not risk landing without the chance to look for breakers close in.
And anyway, no harm done to boat or crew, like you say sometimes you learn things the hard way.
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I'm really enjoying this thread and wish to thank you for telling us about it.

Forums do have a negative side sometimes but please don't let the odd bit, normally completely unintentional, get you down. We know what's going on .

Keep the adventures coming.
 
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Kelpie said:
...you would have to carry the boat out of the surf- it was breaking right at the edge of the beach. The wanderer is too heavy for the two of us to actually lift and carry.
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Sounds like a good time to have an inflatable boat-roller on board...although I have one, and it's never ready, inflated, when I've needed it. And unless the beach is free of sharp rocks, the roller probably wants a thick tarpaulin jacket to prevent puncture.

If the journey plan includes possibly landing at an unfamiliar beach, it wouldn't be too much trouble to inflate the roller in advance of landing.
 
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I think boat rollers do have their place sometimes for sure. However if the shorebreak is too unattractive I have my new solution......
Kelpie has said not enough wind close to shore to reliably shove the Wanderer out to an anchor beyond the waves. Therefore the only way is to plant the anchor properly out there with a pulley block at the free end. Then pass one line through the block and fix to the bow. Row into the shallows stern first paying that line out, this is the line you can then use to haul the boat directly out through the awkward area. Decant boat contents ashore for lunch and fix a second very long line to the stern. Pay out the second long line whilst hauling empty boat out to the anchorage on line one, line two is your boat retrieval line. (I might be tempted to tie it off to a rock or use a second anchor). How's that?:)

I might add this is obviously not "new", rather I have just thought it out, and clearly it depends on the real circumstances encountered. My other solutions are to swim in or inflate a "toy" dinghy which also could have pitfalls (off shore winds :)
 
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No worries Dan, but which post in that thread (if you feel inclined)?:)
PS
Just scrolled through and you are not strictly correct as you are starting from the beach and you only have one line to the boat. My suggestion allows multiple adjustments to the boat position from the shore using lines fore and aft.
 
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That's exactly the problem! When one sets out you go with an expectation, a reasonable expectation. I think messing about with lots of lines and a block and rowing in order to get ashore when you are not expecting it requires a degree of preparedness most of us don't bother with. But in Febuary you deserve that island to yourselves and really don't want a swim.
 
FairweatherDave said:
...which post in that thread?
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Posts 18 (Seajet) and 29 (Foeu).

Both suggested a block on the anchor, enabling the length of rode to be adjusted from outside the boat. Very neat if it works...I've got a grapnel, a spare block and 25m of line...

...in my case, I need to be able to hurl the anchor as far out as I can from the beach, then attach one end of the line to the boat as I launch, and 'moor' her safely in a couple of feet of water by pulling on the other end of the line until the boat is just where I want her, giving me time to park the trolley. I should state that where I sail, it's always an onshore breeze.

But in general it seems a clever idea because when visiting an unfamiliar shore, the crew can get ashore fairly dry, while the hull needn't make any contact with the beach.
 
Thanks Dan. Yes the end result is similar in your thread but it is how you get there to anchor that counts! I think hurling the grapnel might help you for a short dash to get the trolley away but as no doubt others said a bit suspect :). My own suggestion there might be to use an old windsurf mast or an oar like a fishing rod to "cast" the grapnel a decent distance. Probably a bit lethal! BTW I wasn't trying to claim my block method was new, what I should have said was it was a "fresh" attempt to solve the Kelpie Konnundrum, I meant "new" to contrast with my earlier attempt in the thread.... I'm suffering half term grumpyitis at the moment so apologies if my tone gets a bit brusque.

PS What is it like under foot where you launch? I would normally wade out a bit and find an old chain or something to tie onto or tread the anchor into the seabed and use a very short rode
 
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FairweatherDave said:
What is it like under foot where you launch? I would normally wade out a bit and find an old chain or something to tie onto or tread the anchor into the seabed and use a very short rode
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Sound idea...except, there's nothing, really nothing to tie onto. And introducing a length of chain, tethered to some hefty fixing, might please singlehanders locally (if they haven't already accepted that their sailing invariably means waiting forlornly until somebody happens upon the scene and can help them) but the fact of my wanting to cope without assistance won't commend itself to team-player clubby types there, who'll be so mystified by the fact I don't have (or want) a crew, they're unlikely to agree to my chain...

...and besides, if my grapnel-grappling technique is effective, it'll be useful wherever I employ it, not just at the club. It's a muddy seabed strewn with lots of biggish chunks of loose stone, and rather deep close to the edge - hence my choice of the grapnel as a big temporary hook which hopefully won't need a long scope. I certainly wasn't planning to advocate grapnels as ultimate ground tackle - I would just as soon have bought a Fisherman anchor, but who makes them these days?

Sorry for changing the direction of this thread - although the anchor-tackle suggestion does seem a good potential answer to Kelpie's trouble on the island - if it looks like a risky landing, don't land the boat - just offload passengers a few feet from the water's edge. :encouragement:
 
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