Dropping stuff overboard - and subsequently recovering it.

carlton

carlton

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Back in the marina on Sunday, I decided to scrub the shi-itehawk guano off the coachroof. Hands full, and a wasp started buzzing round me face, so I shook my head to flick it away with my hair, as you do. Imagine my delight as I watched my specs whizz off my face and plop into the briney...

Not to be beaten, I stuck another pair of specs on and came up with a cunning plan to fish 'em out blind (- water was too deep to see 'em -) using the fishing rod and mackerel lures. Wasted half an hour with this until I realised we were approaching low water. Hmm.. neaps, though...

Anyways, sure enough I could just make out a regular shaped thing lying atop the silt in about 2.5 metres depth, so I extended the boat hook fully and carefully hooked and lifted me specs up from Davy Jones' locker and gently dropped 'em into the landing net held by SWMBO. Result. :D

So, what have you dropped into - and subsequently recovered from - the sea, and how did you do it?
 
Dropped six hundred quid's worth of brand new anchor into the river when the temporary shackle jammed in the bow roller and the windlass ripped it apart.

Dashed round to the chandlery minutes before it closed, and bought one of those sea-searcher magnets. Took longer than I expected (the anchor had seemingly flown some distance on its way down) but I eventually managed to grab onto it and get it back onto the pontoon. Great relief!

Pete
 
Last month I joined a couple of friends on a shared rib we have in France. Cruising along at about 30Knots the A frame / Sunshade had a slight rattle so I stood on the rear seat back to tighten up the straps, when finished I jumped down into the cockpit which made my wallet fall out of my short pockets, no problem as it fell into the boat, BUT as it hit the cockpit floor it opened up and out flew ALL of the notes (I had just been to the bank so €1,000 + in notes) it was like throwing confetti up in the air. It all landed on the water over a 100M plus area.

Never sworn so much in ages. My friend driving turned the boat round and we headed back for the moolar. All my clothes came off and dived in to start retrieving the money, grabbing handfuls at a time and swimming back to the rib where my frends other half was collecting it all in a bucket. Took a while but got every last euro of it.
 
Also - wasnt there a story on here years ago where TCM or his friends dropped an expensive Rolex over the side?
 
Went canoeing with a mate on a fresh water lake in August, he fell in and lost his specs.

I went skating on the frozen lake in the January (much shallower by then ) and thought a quick look wouldnt harm and there they were , clearly visible, I kicked a square hole in the ice with my skate and a brick size cube of ice with part embedded specs came out. :cool:
 
Separately, to continue the specs theme, the last time I went sailing I managed to dislodge one pair into the briny somewhere near Egypt Point and then stumbled trying to catch them, which resulted in crushing the spare pair of specs which was in an inside packet.

And yes, a broken pair of specs sellotaped to one's head is still more stylish than those ghastly lorgnette type things which are only worn by very old people.
 
carlton said:
How did you actually 'grab' it - do you mean the magnet was strong enough to lift it? Could you see it? What was the depth?
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Yep, the magnet was strong enough to lift it. The anchor is 20kg, and the magnet claims to be able to lift 60kg in air (more in water as even metal has a degree of buoyancy). I'm sure they're right, but only if the magnet lands on a perfectly horizontal flat surface. Since most of an anchor is curved, so only a small part of the magnet can make contact, it came unstuck several times. Eventually it happened to grab onto the flat side of the shank and lifted out. Being on the side, the magnet was horizontal and the pull of the rope would have been trying to lever it off, but the attraction was strong enough to resist this.

This was in a muddy river, vertical visibility from the surface only a foot or two. Not sure of the depth as I can't remember what state of tide, but I suppose I was playing with four or five metres of rope so about that. I was basically just swinging and casting the magnet like an old-fashioned hand-lead, then dragging it towards me across the bottom until I felt it clunk onto something. Pulled up a few old nuts and bolts and things before I found the anchor :)

The magnet came with a hank of cheap skinny polyprop, and I poo-pooed this in favour of one of my mooring warps. But I discovered that in a couple of knots of tide the resistance of the thick rope meant it curved away downtide and was difficult to position the magnet accurately. The thin polyprop cut through the water so was actually much better.

I've stowed the magnet away right in the tip of my bow to minimise any interference with the compasses (both conventional and electronic). I hope I don't have to use it again but I'll be glad I've got it if I do.

Pete
 
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prv said:
........I've stowed the magnet away right in the tip of my bow to minimise any interference with the compasses (both conventional and electronic). I hope I don't have to use it again but I'll be glad I've got it if I do.

Pete
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Does that mean you boat is always heading North :) Is it Murph's or Sod's but I can never find it once it gone over, that includes the odd mobile phone, tools and nuts and bolts.
 
MRC said:
Last month I joined a couple of friends on a shared rib we have in France. Cruising along at about 30Knots the A frame / Sunshade had a slight rattle so I stood on the rear seat back to tighten up the straps, when finished I jumped down into the cockpit which made my wallet fall out of my short pockets, no problem as it fell into the boat, BUT as it hit the cockpit floor it opened up and out flew ALL of the notes (I had just been to the bank so €1,000 + in notes) it was like throwing confetti up in the air. It all landed on the water over a 100M plus area.

Never sworn so much in ages. My friend driving turned the boat round and we headed back for the moolar. All my clothes came off and dived in to start retrieving the money, grabbing handfuls at a time and swimming back to the rib where my frends other half was collecting it all in a bucket. Took a while but got every last euro of it.
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theres nothing worse than loosing hard currency! its the way it flutters just out of reach that makes it that bit more annoying!!

I did hear a story about someone at a certian Southampton marina that dropped their ipad over the side whilst on their berth, they paid a diver to recover it but not sure if they actually expected it to work still! my iphone threw i hissey fit when it was in my pocket on a particually rainy day!
 
My story thus far in the last 12 months. Dropped over the side:

1 x wiper blade complete with arm
1 x dual horn - original AFI A4 stainless jobs in new condition, not the cheap newer versions
1 x Glomex TV aerial
1 x mobile phone
a number of coins

All still in Mr Jones's locker :)
 
dropped my rod and reel whilst sinning for bass this past monday bank holiday. furious. could have waited for the tide to go out but would have meant a swim and had to get home due to fading light... oh well... it was a ****ty reel anyway... but the rod was only 3 days old!
 
I think we've all lobbed stuff in the drink at some time or other - it's the '...and subsequently recovering it...' bit that's most interesting. And leaves one feeling decidedly smug. :o
 
MRC said:
Also - wasnt there a story on here years ago where TCM or his friends dropped an expensive Rolex over the side?
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Hmm, on one sunny morning in Brighton marina I decided to air out the sheets and proceeded to toss my 10th wedding anniversary TAG watch in the drink. Fortunately some local divers were just returning from a dive and I paid one of the guys to retrieve my much-loved accessory. Phew!

HWMBO finally forgave me (though he still doesn't know how much I paid the diver!)
 
Not me but my father when you wore blazers to go sailing bent over at the sea lock in Crinan silver cigarette case slipped out his pocket and dropped into the mud and lay there shining in Ten feet of water some twenty feet below the lock side
I learnt two things first some words I did not recognise
Second what the funny right angled fork with a thirty foot handle was for lying near the sea lock
Baldy McDermot the lock keeper was able lift it up for him but I suspect some of the cigarettes were damp at least.
 
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