ChattingLil
Well-Known Member
.
Last edited:
got stuck in the mud
- Thread starter ChattingLil
- Start date
LittleSister
Well-Known Member
cor it was a bit rubbish. Got well and truly wedged in.
Sometimes I just cannot see the good days outweighing the bad days and though I love sailing I am increasingly feeling less and less arsed about poxy boat ownership.
http://flic.kr/p/cFCA1C
Yours depressed
A.Rubbish.Skipper.
All part of the rich tapestry of East Coast sailing - chance to put the kettle on and contemplate the scenery (or if its raining too hard to be outside, one's navel)!
Nothing to do with being a rubbish skipper. (At least that's what I tell my crew!). If you were really a rubbish skipper you'd keep your boat in a deep water marina, and never go anywhere with less than 4 metres marked on the chart.
I know it's difficult at the time to remember the Buddhist(?) saying 'be here now' (or if you do, not think that Buddha obviously never got neaped), but you (and any guests) will probably remember the event with amusement and affection in years to come.
And just think, now you know much better where the deep water is!
Don't despair too long. Happy sailing next time.
Last edited:
Laurin
Well-Known Member
Racing on the Crouch people said "if you've never been aground then you're not trying hard enough!" still applies to cruising, we're sailing the east coast not the Solent!
Cantata
Well-Known Member
Excellent sentiments in this thread.
A couple of years ago we thoroughly explored the Roach and its tributaries with a certain Mr.Jarman on board. Spent most of the two days aground, really, sides aching from laughing. I still grin at the thought of the expressions on locals' faces when we showed up at Rochford ridiculously early on the tide having dribbled along a gutway barely wider than the boat. Great fun and very educational.
A couple of years ago we thoroughly explored the Roach and its tributaries with a certain Mr.Jarman on board. Spent most of the two days aground, really, sides aching from laughing. I still grin at the thought of the expressions on locals' faces when we showed up at Rochford ridiculously early on the tide having dribbled along a gutway barely wider than the boat. Great fun and very educational.
WF36
Well-Known Member
I was aground also this week... ( on purpose though 
)
)
sailorman
Well-Known Member
ChattingLil
Well-Known Member
maybe I should clarify what I am moaning about!
It wasn't really the running aground that bothered, but what I was trying to do when I did it.
In efforts to be more frugal, I haven't had the boat lifted this year and was determined to make do with a couple of scrub offs and earliier this year Marc and I successfully did so on the beach near Rice and Cole. I have now moved to a swinging mooring at Brandy Hole and one of the reasons I chose there is because they have what seems to be a very nice concrete hard with water and power. So, before our foray up to Walton next week, I wanted to get on the posts and do a couple of little jobs (pressure wash, scrub and AF prop, do some gardening, use power to cut hole to fit inspection hatch).
Thought: don't want to go up there bang on high water, so will go 45mins after but in fact went 60 mins after which I thought would be ok. It obviously wasn't and got stuck in the creek halfway. ho hum. Wait it out. Not disastrous, had food and company on board, can't use loo, but not a big problem. Even managed to get the dinghy alongside close enough to scrub the prop - even though it was half in the mud.
However, we were wedged firmly in the mud and there was not as big a tide in the evening as there had been earlier and we couldn't get off until v. near HW again which was well gone 9pm with the light fading. Even then the channel is so narrow and my twin keels kept jamming on one side or the other and every time I got loose on one side, the other side dug in. Eventually, with panic rising as the tide was going slack, a couple of kindly locals took a line each side of the channel and heaved us out.
Panic assisted by said locals informing us that the car park we'd parked in is for yacht club members only and locked at 6pm.
gaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!
Eventually got back on the mooring at 9.45pm. Dark. Quickly offloaded and a quick scoot back to the pontoon (thank god for the loan of Laurin's outboard). and - praise the Lord - car park lock broken and tied with string only.
Away by 10.10.
My point is that this year the weather, crew, working hours and finance situation has been so dire that the bad days are just outweighing the good and most of the scrapes and disasters I get into are because I flipping own this money pit and really I would be better of chartering with no responsibility for the sodding thing.
I guess I sometimes just think that I am not rich enough in time or money to be a boat owner and the lack of these things just makes everything so much harder.
And I hate the fact that I've become a bit of a pampered princess with the step aboard pontoon mooring and the toil of having to dhingy out to the boat is a PITA. At least on a pontoon I can use the boat as a holiday home!
bleueghghg!
Ok, moan over.
It wasn't really the running aground that bothered, but what I was trying to do when I did it.
In efforts to be more frugal, I haven't had the boat lifted this year and was determined to make do with a couple of scrub offs and earliier this year Marc and I successfully did so on the beach near Rice and Cole. I have now moved to a swinging mooring at Brandy Hole and one of the reasons I chose there is because they have what seems to be a very nice concrete hard with water and power. So, before our foray up to Walton next week, I wanted to get on the posts and do a couple of little jobs (pressure wash, scrub and AF prop, do some gardening, use power to cut hole to fit inspection hatch).
Thought: don't want to go up there bang on high water, so will go 45mins after but in fact went 60 mins after which I thought would be ok. It obviously wasn't and got stuck in the creek halfway. ho hum. Wait it out. Not disastrous, had food and company on board, can't use loo, but not a big problem. Even managed to get the dinghy alongside close enough to scrub the prop - even though it was half in the mud.
However, we were wedged firmly in the mud and there was not as big a tide in the evening as there had been earlier and we couldn't get off until v. near HW again which was well gone 9pm with the light fading. Even then the channel is so narrow and my twin keels kept jamming on one side or the other and every time I got loose on one side, the other side dug in. Eventually, with panic rising as the tide was going slack, a couple of kindly locals took a line each side of the channel and heaved us out.
Panic assisted by said locals informing us that the car park we'd parked in is for yacht club members only and locked at 6pm.
gaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!Eventually got back on the mooring at 9.45pm. Dark. Quickly offloaded and a quick scoot back to the pontoon (thank god for the loan of Laurin's outboard). and - praise the Lord - car park lock broken and tied with string only.
Away by 10.10.My point is that this year the weather, crew, working hours and finance situation has been so dire that the bad days are just outweighing the good and most of the scrapes and disasters I get into are because I flipping own this money pit and really I would be better of chartering with no responsibility for the sodding thing.
I guess I sometimes just think that I am not rich enough in time or money to be a boat owner and the lack of these things just makes everything so much harder.
And I hate the fact that I've become a bit of a pampered princess with the step aboard pontoon mooring and the toil of having to dhingy out to the boat is a PITA. At least on a pontoon I can use the boat as a holiday home!
bleueghghg!
Ok, moan over.
WF36
Well-Known Member
At least you made it further than this poor bloke, who I towed off the sandback opposite Pin Mill, he had come all the way from Pin Mill...
ChattingLil
Well-Known Member
I don't know why I can't paste the photo, but have now the link public.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lisa_pini/7668406236/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lisa_pini/7668406236/
Koeketiene
Well-Known Member
swatchways
Well-Known Member
Lisa - I feel the same frustrations. I don't have regular crew, (really need to find some tbh to actually get the use out of the boat), work demands mean she's only just gone in, even though I've still got miles of varnish work that desperately needs doing, and she just always seems to need something fixing. It feels like as soon as I find time and/or money to fix the imminent problem something else crops up. I really hope a few years of problems means I can have a few trouble free years soon, although I suspect it won't work like that! I do sometimes wonder though whether chartering would be a less stressful option, both financially and time-wise!
If it helps, it took us a good few goes to get into the berth allocated when we got to tidemill this week, and ended up having to use a different one
- I suspect we amused a few people - and then to top it off the outboard died on Friday night halfway back to the mooring with the fish and chips! 
Oh, yes, and in the middle of the week one of the slots in the main for the battens has decided to give out!
Last edited:
ChattingLil
Well-Known Member
thanks - that bit did make me laugh (sorry!).
and it's helps to know I'm not the only one with crisis of confidence.
Last edited:
swatchways
Well-Known Member
thanks - that bit did make me laugh (sorry!).
and it's helps to know I'm not the only one with crisis of confidence.
Glad to help - although I perhaps won't broadcast any more of my efforts...
I'm slowly learning that we've all done stupid things - although it's taken me a while. Being younger and female I used to think the other older chaps were just watching me playing at maintaining the boat waiting for me to cock up, as although the vast majority are great, I had one or two narky comments from other boat owners in the club initially that really hit home, particularly when something had gone wrong. I've stopped caring now, and as most are simply lovely and really helpful (including the yard who are extremely patient with my dunce questions), I am now relatively happy to ignore the grumpies and give something a go first (depending on how crucial to staying afloat it is
) then if I cock it up I'll get someone to sort it out. BTW - the signature.... so true!
LittleSister
Well-Known Member
Blimey, that's proper mudlarking!
You should be proud of yourself attempting and coping with that - lumpy, bumpy and not at all sure which direction it's going in.Hopefully you'll have some great sails soon to make up for it.
Perhaps the ECF needs a 'boating beyond their means' chapter (we'd certainly be eligible!), with a motto along the lines of 'Scraping the bottom, but well out of our depth financially' or 'Short on cash and water'?
Athene V30
Well-Known Member
I know how you feel. This season I have had one weekend (fitting up supper) and Jubilee Weekend on the boat. Very hard to justify the cost of mooring, winter berth, insurance, maintenance etc to myself let alone the other half (who hates being called SWMBO so I wont!)
But then every so often you will get a dream sail or the sight of a dolphin or whatever that will make it all worthwhile.
This season has been total carp for weather. In the words of D-ream - Things can only get better!
Saguday
Well-Known Member
Well, if it's any consolation...
Haven't been out on Saguday since August last year. Shocking. Starting up own business so nothing else is in focus at the mo. Still, hope to grab a couple of weeks out in August, depending on what's broken in the meantime.
And one of the significant events the last time we did actually go sailing was dragging at Stone Point at the Pirate weekend and being stuck in the mud all night (and we're not anchoring novices by any means)
Oops, shouldn't have mentioned that, ChattingLil may be listening.
Anyway, that's the way it is sometimes I guess, getting stuck in t'mud is all part of the east coast experience. Must say I miss it terribly (the sailing and, oddly, the mud) and can't wait to get over there again.
Haven't been out on Saguday since August last year. Shocking. Starting up own business so nothing else is in focus at the mo. Still, hope to grab a couple of weeks out in August, depending on what's broken in the meantime.
And one of the significant events the last time we did actually go sailing was dragging at Stone Point at the Pirate weekend and being stuck in the mud all night (and we're not anchoring novices by any means)
Oops, shouldn't have mentioned that, ChattingLil may be listening.
Anyway, that's the way it is sometimes I guess, getting stuck in t'mud is all part of the east coast experience. Must say I miss it terribly (the sailing and, oddly, the mud) and can't wait to get over there again.
Ianqv
Well-Known Member
Ah i see who you are now
Ditto - we sailed past you a couple of weeks back (thought your boat name was fab).
IN MY OPINION..... we all so need an east coast burgee!!!!!
sailorman
Well-Known Member
She was named by the previous ( first ) owner.
i assume you were going on the reciprocal course when you passed
Koeketiene
Well-Known Member
I agree - and preferably a distinctive/easily recognisable one (that doesn't look like a pissed rat
)
LittleSister
Well-Known Member
I agree - and preferably a distinctive/easily recognisable one (that doesn't look like a pissed rat
I can see it now! Yes, it's coming to me! Top half blueish-grey, bottom half brownish-grey, with a thin line of greenish-grey horizontally along the middle and a faint forest of tiny whitish-grey wind generators above it. Faint fleck of blue at the extreme end of the pennant. Randomly placed deck shoe and wellington sole prints, hand prints and a few spatters - in brown. The letters ECF underlined (as in drying heights).
The trouble with pennants, though, is you can only see them when the boat has crew aboard and is underway (can't you?
). We also need a ECF badge to stick permanently on our boats, so others can recognise them at other times, and perhaps featuring an ECF coat of arms. Instead of the usual 'lion rampant', this'd have 'seal dormant'.Any other ideas?
