Do you ever practice your contingency plans?

[SimonFa]

In response to the "What scares you ....," thread I as wondering if anyone practices their contingency plans? Although to be fair some of them don't have a contingency.

One of my scares is engine failure while single handed, it was close last year when I had a fuel blockage, and I've always thought that I'd probably head for an anchorage as I'm generally not far from Weymouth Bay or Studland, although it could happen anywhere.

Yesterday I was heading back from Studland, two reefs and a bit choppy, and I knew I'd have plenty of time when I got back as I unusually just miss a bridge lift so I thought I'd try out my contingency plan.

I headed for the beach and about 0.25nm out from the anchoring limit I hove-to (I hadn't practiced that for a while) and prepared the anchor and main halyard for a quick drop. My plan was head out a bit more while I got the Genoa on and then to head in to the beach as close hauled as I could get but maintain boat speed. I would then head up, release the halyard from the winch and the drop the anchor before the bows blew off. Fortunately I have a windlass control in the cockpit.

All went well reasonably well. I didn't get a clean drop which I think caused the bowls to blow off quicker than expected but I got the anchor down and a reasonable amount of chain out before the boat tried to power up. If I'd had to I don't think I could have reached the bows in time and without an electric windlass I would have been in trouble.

 

[lw395]

So what's your contingency for electric windlass failure?
I think you can over-plan things.
Anchoring under sail, I prefer to leave the main up until the anchor is holding.
It is a lot easier with a mostly nylon rode.

Without a windlass, singlehanded anchoring tends to mean laying out the chain on the deck, which is not good for the paint/gelcoat/teak.
A crew is my favourite all-purpose contingency plan!

 

[Kelpie]

I didn't realise that loss of power would prevent you dropping your anchor normally- then again on my manual windlass you can't control it from the cockpit so sailing off the anchor can be a bit iffy, so there are safety concerns either way.
Having an unreliable engine is a wonderful way of instilling a constant sense of 'what if' when under power in a confined space!

 

[RupertW]

I guess it depends on the windlass but on mine there is a detachable lever for the clutch and I mostly drop anchor by tilting the lever to loosen the clutch to drop at whatever speed I need, then tighten it and go to electric (and much slower) drop when that makes more sense,

 

[wotayottie]

No. To my shame I never practise them. It must be a decade at least since I did MOB drill.

 

[thecommander]

My contingency should the engine fail is to get the boat sailing again ASAP then call for help. In the Solent that call for help would be to Sea Start.

 

[jdc]

I've noticed that not being either under command or firmly attached to the bottom feels unnatural somehow and so scary until you get used to it. But actually one can take the sails down and then just drift around. Usually one will move at a slow walk or even slower, - say 2 knots at most - giving pleanty of time to walk to the foredeck and lower the anchor, or change an oil filter etc. I've found it quite reassuring to calculate how long it'll take me, at present rate of drift, to get into danger. 2 knots and 100m is 100 seconds - easily long enough to anchor, and1 mile is 30 minutes - long enough to do a surprising amount of engine diagnosis or change a filter.

To answer the OP I'm not sure I've practiced the contingency that often; if one sails for long enough they tend to happen for real anyway! Certainly the engine has stopped 3 or 4 times, the steering became disconnected from the rudder (once) and the electric windlass has packed up twice. But that's over the best part of 40 years cruising so it's not that often really. Luckily we were able to work around or fix them all so it's never occured to me to call for help.

 

[Mwinda]

I tried our emergency ladder to climb back on board and found in bare feet it was really difficult and painful because your toes and forefoot got squashed between the ladder rung and the hull.
On the other hand the home made 6:1 block and tackle looped over the boom proved a doddle for SWMBO to haul me back in, so our agreed MOB recovery protocol is now I just clip in to the block and she does all the hard work ;-)
Definitely worth practising these things....

 

[prv]

I've noticed that not being either under command or firmly attached to the bottom feels unnatural somehow and so scary until you get used to it. But actually one can take the sails down and then just drift around.

Exactly.

I used to drop and weigh anchor under sail as normal practice in Kindred Spirit, when the anchorage wasn't busy or tight. That boat was a small gaffer, and the flexibility of that rig worked really well. Opening the clutch to release a couple of yards of peak halyard would instantly halve the mainsail area, and a heave on the topping lift would turn the remainder into a bag of washing that didn't draw either. So I'd approach under just the main, scandalise the top half to slow down and pick my spot, then hoick up the bottom and walk forwards to drop anchor. The boat wouldn't sail like that, but the extra drag of the loose canvas in the air probably made her drift back faster to set the anchor.

To leave, I'd haul in most of the chain (hand or manual windlass), then hoist the main in that same scandalised condition with the topping lift temporarily made fast at the mast, then set the tillerpilot to steer us out of the anchorage. Then I'd go forward to break out and hoist the anchor. The anchor on that boat had to be manually lifted on board and lashed down, so I'd leave it hanging from the bow with the fluke hooked under the bobstay to secure it while I cast off the topping lift to release half the mainsail and get us sailing slowly. Generally the tillerpilot would start steering us ok, but if not I'd nip back to the cockpit to get it settled on course out of the anchorage, still moving slowly and calmly under half mainsail only. Once the anchor was on deck and stowed, I could hoist the peak of the mainsail, unroll the staysail and jib, and hoist the mizzen, to power away under full sail.

I don't do this so much with Ariam, because the modern fully-battened fractional rig feels much less flexible and controllable in this kind of way (it is faster, though!). When I do sail away from a mooring or anchorage, though, I generally do it under genoa only. Easy to roll up or unroll, and less speed so things happen slower - you don't drive out of a carpark at 70mph!

Pete

 

[Poignard]

To my shame I have no contingency plans for anything; always preferring to react to events rather than anticipate them. What contingency plans ought I to be making?

 

[Poignard]

Exactly.

I used to drop and weigh anchor under sail as normal practice in Kindred Spirit, when the anchorage wasn't busy or tight. That boat was a small gaffer, and the flexibility of that rig worked really well. Opening the clutch to release a couple of yards of peak halyard would instantly halve the mainsail area, and a heave on the topping lift would turn the remainder into a bag of washing that didn't draw either. So I'd approach under just the main, scandalise the top half to slow down and pick my spot, then hoick up the bottom and walk forwards to drop anchor. The boat wouldn't sail like that, but the extra drag of the loose canvas in the air probably made her drift back faster to set the anchor.

To leave, I'd haul in most of the chain (hand or manual windlass), then hoist the main in that same scandalised condition with the topping lift temporarily made fast at the mast, then set the tillerpilot to steer us out of the anchorage. Then I'd go forward to break out and hoist the anchor. The anchor on that boat had to be manually lifted on board and lashed down, so I'd leave it hanging from the bow with the fluke hooked under the bobstay to secure it while I cast off the topping lift to release half the mainsail and get us sailing slowly. Generally the tillerpilot would start steering us ok, but if not I'd nip back to the cockpit to get it settled on course out of the anchorage, still moving slowly and calmly under half mainsail only. Once the anchor was on deck and stowed, I could hoist the peak of the mainsail, unroll the staysail and jib, and hoist the mizzen, to power away under full sail.

I don't do this so much with Ariam, because the modern fully-battened fractional rig feels much less flexible and controllable in this kind of way (it is faster, though!). When I do sail away from a mooring or anchorage, though, I generally do it under genoa only. Easy to roll up or unroll, and less speed so things happen slower - you don't drive out of a carpark at 70mph!

Pete

That conjures up pleasing images. How nice it is to see what used to be everyday seamanship being practised. :encouragement:

 

[Kelpie]

To my shame I have no contingency plans for anything; always preferring to react to events rather than anticipate them. What contingency plans ought I to be making?

Engine failure; shroud failure; loss of instruments: MOB; crew injury; fire; water ingress; grounding; collision; loss of steering. Come on, use your imagination

 

[NormanS]

Engine failure; shroud failure; loss of instruments: MOB; crew injury; fire; water ingress; grounding; collision; loss of steering. Come on, use your imagination

But these are things that happen to other people, surely?

 

[Poignard]

Engine failure; shroud failure; loss of instruments: MOB; crew injury; fire; water ingress; grounding; collision; loss of steering. Come on, use your imagination

These are all events I could deal with (and some cases I have had to) but I don't have a specific plan for doing so because the circumstances are so variable. Perhaps I am misunderstanding what is meant here by a plan but in the examples you give, I just know what I would try to do. I don't need anything written down or memorised to tell me.

This is not to say I never plan anything. If I didn't I'd be forever missing tides or going into marinas with no lines or fenders ready. And I am certainly not unprepared (you should see my toolkit and bosun's stores!).

 

[prv]

Engine failure; shroud failure; loss of instruments: MOB; crew injury; fire; water ingress; grounding; collision; loss of steering. Come on, use your imagination

But these are things that happen to other people, surely?

I can tick three out of ten - engine failure (multiple), loss of instruments (probably quite a few when it didn't matter, once when it did a bit - at night and combined with engine failure), and major water ingress (though it wasn't my boat). Had a few groundings as well but none serious enough to be called an emergency, just an inconvenience at worst.

Not had a shroud failure (though the shackle of the peak halyard block came undone once and allowed the gaff to fall down on me), nor (touch wood) MOB or crew injury beyond cuts and bruises. Actually, tell a lie, I've been on board for an amputated thumb and a helivac for detached retina, but those were on a square-rigged ship rather than a yacht so very different. No fires as far as I remember, despite some quite ambitious cooking on board. Only one collision causing damage; while crewing in a race, our bow roller removed a long length of their teak gunwale capping (oops) but again I'm not really counting as it didn't affect me much as mere rail ballast. Not had loss of steering as far as I remember, though when I was a teenager sailing on a Dart beach cat with my mum at the helm, the end of the tiller extension got snagged in the sail and we rammed a moored Wayfarer. The Dart opened up at the bows and sank, the Wayfarer didn't even seem scratched. Also filed under loss of control, the throttle/gear lever came off in my hand at the crucial moment of returning a charter boat to its marina berth, causing us to hit the main pontoon ahead very firmly indeed. Nice raked bow on that boat, though, so we rode up onto it instead of stopping dead, and no real damage caused

Pete

 

[JumbleDuck]

I occasionally practice picking up moorings and dropping the anchor under engine, in case I can't do it under sail,

 

[Heckler]

In response to the "What scares you ....," thread I as wondering if anyone practices their contingency plans? Although to be fair some of them don't have a contingency.

One of my scares is engine failure while single handed, it was close last year when I had a fuel blockage, and I've always thought that I'd probably head for an anchorage as I'm generally not far from Weymouth Bay or Studland, although it could happen anywhere.

Yesterday I was heading back from Studland, two reefs and a bit choppy, and I knew I'd have plenty of time when I got back as I unusually just miss a bridge lift so I thought I'd try out my contingency plan.

I headed for the beach and about 0.25nm out from the anchoring limit I hove-to (I hadn't practiced that for a while) and prepared the anchor and main halyard for a quick drop. My plan was head out a bit more while I got the Genoa on and then to head in to the beach as close hauled as I could get but maintain boat speed. I would then head up, release the halyard from the winch and the drop the anchor before the bows blew off. Fortunately I have a windlass control in the cockpit.

All went well reasonably well. I didn't get a clean drop which I think caused the bowls to blow off quicker than expected but I got the anchor down and a reasonable amount of chain out before the boat tried to power up. If I'd had to I don't think I could have reached the bows in time and without an electric windlass I would have been in trouble.

Did a MOB the other day off Europa Point Gib. For those who know it it can be very lumpy. We had been for a nose around the east side of the Rock and were returning to base. It was blowing W mid twenties with all sorts of catbatics and wind over tide. The genny was rolled away and we had a reef in the main. I peeped over the top of the dodger and suddenly felt my favourite cap lifting, aargh! Off it went, I shouted to Lau and put the helm over, I didnt take my eyes off it. Interesting that Lau lost sight of it and was struggling to find it. I said 11 o clock and she got it, the wind had gone forward of the beam and we were getting close. She had the boat hook and was admidships, I said we have one chance and I will lose sight of it as I put the nose slightly downwind of it. I did but she got it first swipe! Interesting text book crash turn and as the book says, dont take your eyes off the casualty, too easy to lose sight of! Feel slightly more confident now, lumpy windy conditions, no warning and yet we did it.
Stu

 

[awol]

My Brexit contingency - I'm applying for French citizenship.

 

[prv]

Did a MOB the other day off Europa Point Gib. For those who know it it can be very lumpy. We had been for a nose around the east side of the Rock and were returning to base. It was blowing W mid twenties with all sorts of catbatics and wind over tide. The genny was rolled away and we had a reef in the main. I peeped over the top of the dodger and suddenly felt my favourite cap lifting, aargh! Off it went, I shouted to Lau and put the helm over, I didnt take my eyes off it. Interesting that Lau lost sight of it and was struggling to find it. I said 11 o clock and she got it, the wind had gone forward of the beam and we were getting close. She had the boat hook and was admidships, I said we have one chance and I will lose sight of it as I put the nose slightly downwind of it. I did but she got it first swipe! Interesting text book crash turn and as the book says, dont take your eyes off the casualty, too easy to lose sight of! Feel slightly more confident now, lumpy windy conditions, no warning and yet we did it.
Stu

Good drills

Ever since we were students on a cheap-cheap charter, it's been a rule amongst our group of sailing friends that any hat or similar item overboard is an immediate MOB practice.

A couple of years ago we successfully rescued my mate's shoe off the Needles

Pete