How to refloat a beached boat
- Thread starter bbg
- Start date
Boathook
Well-known member
Why was it up on the beach to start with. The breakers looked like they went out quite a way.
Seajet
...
I'm being dense I know, but what was propelling / towing the boat off the beach, I could see a long tow line being swum out but not a boat to go on the end ?!
The stress on the hull / keel area makes me wince, still it seems to have worked; yes he was a long way up a shallow shelving beach, getting there must have been nightmareish...
The stress on the hull / keel area makes me wince, still it seems to have worked; yes he was a long way up a shallow shelving beach, getting there must have been nightmareish...
Rigger Mortice
N/A
I couldn't work it out either. There was a lot of standing around, various things being done with rope then, all of a sudden, it moves and is floating. Maybe I missed something, but I couldn't work it out.
They then seemed to get some drive very quickly. Too quick to get an engine started?
Maybe the subtitles explained it all?
Rigger. (French 'O' level. (Failed)).
They then seemed to get some drive very quickly. Too quick to get an engine started?
Maybe the subtitles explained it all?
Rigger. (French 'O' level. (Failed)).
Last edited:
bbg
Active member
The boat was on the beach because the skipper had set the boat to steer to the wind, and had gone below for a nap. Big header took him to the beach. Only a couple of hours from the finish of the race. I had the same shifty winds along that stretch of coast (albeit a couple of days later).
The subtitles do explain it. There was a fishing boat way, way, way offshore. Because there are sandbars well off the shore the boat must have been very far away. The subtitles say that one of the crew from the fishing boat swum a line in, which was connected to the one that was swum out. I wouldn't have wanted to have been swimming in those waters. When I went by there were Portuguese man-of-wars everywhere. I couldn't count to 10 without seeing one.
No engine on these boats. No rudders on this one either, because he didn't want them damaged when the boat got towed off, so he took them off.
FYI they waited a week for conditions to abate so they could tow her off. A few days earlier the breakers were big.
The subtitles do explain it. There was a fishing boat way, way, way offshore. Because there are sandbars well off the shore the boat must have been very far away. The subtitles say that one of the crew from the fishing boat swum a line in, which was connected to the one that was swum out. I wouldn't have wanted to have been swimming in those waters. When I went by there were Portuguese man-of-wars everywhere. I couldn't count to 10 without seeing one.
No engine on these boats. No rudders on this one either, because he didn't want them damaged when the boat got towed off, so he took them off.
FYI they waited a week for conditions to abate so they could tow her off. A few days earlier the breakers were big.
SAWDOC
Active member
Fishing boat is visible standing off from about 1.40 onwards. It seems they didn't do the usual trick of tying the tow line to the main halyard to keep the boat heeled - looked like the line was tied to the mast foot or a strong point on the foredeck (if these boats have one?) What was the idea of the piece of timber in the towing tackle?
Last edited:
SAWDOC
Active member
Well done on completing the race - had a quick browse through your blog - looks very interesting and I look forward to several more reads! Those boats really fly!
bbg
Active member
Thanks - got to get around to putting some photos up, and editing some of the video.
And yes, they fly. My top speed on the GPS was 18.5 knots.
I have the same model of boat as the one that was pulled off the beach - I'm happy to see that they are both fast (I think top 5 places in the race, and 9 of top 10) and also built like the proverbial brick ****house. I don't think a lot of boats could be bodily pulled off a beach like that with no apparent signs of damage. I looked at the boat later and couldn't see anything wrong with it.
Rigger Mortice
N/A
bbq,
Thanks for the explanation. I saw that fishing boat in the video but it looked to be too far out to be involved in the recovery. It must have been a long line.
It was lucky that the yacht didn't get bashed about by the breakers if it was there for a few days.
Thanks for the explanation. I saw that fishing boat in the video but it looked to be too far out to be involved in the recovery. It must have been a long line.
It was lucky that the yacht didn't get bashed about by the breakers if it was there for a few days.
SAWDOC
Active member
Here is a link to the leading boat arriving in Dublin - he has a nice broach and ripped spinny 1/3 of the way through but flies along neverthe less.
http://www.rte.ie/news/av/2011/0810/media-3022860.html#
http://www.rte.ie/news/av/2011/0810/media-3022860.html#
Sybarite
Well-known member
The Solitaire though is not the same class as the mini.
SAWDOC
Active member
Apologies.
Rigger Mortice
N/A
Right class or not, that's the best sailing footage that I've seen for a long time. Wonderful stuff.
I wish I could push a boat like that.
I wish I could push a boat like that.
