TonyJones
Well-Known Member
MBYJan09 WNS scenario
What Now Skip – ReadmeFirst please.
The primary aim of the What Now Skip series is to encourage readers to share their expertise and experience with others. We will publish a monthly ‘tricky situation’ scenario. We would like to know how you would deal with it. In return, we will publish our solution in the magazine the following month. Should you wish to comment on that – and we’re sure you often will - please feel free to do so in this forum!
In some cases the situation will be quite specific. In others, it will be less clear cut, involving some ‘If A then B, but if C then D’ thinking – which is how real life situations evolve. For example: ‘If the fire extinguisher puts out the fire, remain on board. If not, abandon ship’.
Safety and seamanship aspects such as crew briefing, monitoring the weather and general situational awareness are paramount even if the primary problem is a technical one.
Write as much or as little as you like. If pushed for time a chronological list of your thoughts and subsequent actions will do fine. E.g: 1. Stop boat. 2. Brief crew. 5. Recover bimini from over the side. 6. Continue to destination.
If you have a scenario in mind that you think would test the mettle of your fellow readers, please email it to the editor. We will use it if at all possible.
January 09 Scenario
You are cruising on a late summer’s afternoon along the picturesque rocky coastline with many small bays and coves which lies immediately to the west of your home marina. The wind is directly onshore, force three to four and the tide is in mid flood.
Your boat is a 38ft sports cruiser of late 1990s vintage with twin diesel sterndrives and an electric bowthruster. On board are you, your partner and another boating couple who are old friends. All are competent boaters and the other man is an athlete and strong swimmer.
Apart from the usual equipment your boat has a 3m inflatable tender – inflated and secured on its side on the bathing platform with snap davits. Unfortunately, one of the aluminium oars got broken recently and you haven’t had time to replace it. In the lazarette is a 4-man liferaft, two adult buoyancy aids and a strong, 70ft polypropylene towing warp.
Your wife draws your attention to some people waving frantically from one of the coves and your binoculars show this to be two children of around ten, marooned on a flat-topped rock about 100m from the sandy beach at the foot of a cliff. At this stage of the tide the footpath is impassable. The rock is nearly awash and unless something is done very shortly they will shortly be swept off into the surf. No one else is in sight.
Local knowledge tells you that although there is a clear passage about 25m wide all the way in, there are nasty rocks either side and at this stage of the tide, the closest you could safely approach the rock is 30m. What Now Skip?
What Now Skip – ReadmeFirst please.
The primary aim of the What Now Skip series is to encourage readers to share their expertise and experience with others. We will publish a monthly ‘tricky situation’ scenario. We would like to know how you would deal with it. In return, we will publish our solution in the magazine the following month. Should you wish to comment on that – and we’re sure you often will - please feel free to do so in this forum!
In some cases the situation will be quite specific. In others, it will be less clear cut, involving some ‘If A then B, but if C then D’ thinking – which is how real life situations evolve. For example: ‘If the fire extinguisher puts out the fire, remain on board. If not, abandon ship’.
Safety and seamanship aspects such as crew briefing, monitoring the weather and general situational awareness are paramount even if the primary problem is a technical one.
Write as much or as little as you like. If pushed for time a chronological list of your thoughts and subsequent actions will do fine. E.g: 1. Stop boat. 2. Brief crew. 5. Recover bimini from over the side. 6. Continue to destination.
If you have a scenario in mind that you think would test the mettle of your fellow readers, please email it to the editor. We will use it if at all possible.
January 09 Scenario
You are cruising on a late summer’s afternoon along the picturesque rocky coastline with many small bays and coves which lies immediately to the west of your home marina. The wind is directly onshore, force three to four and the tide is in mid flood.
Your boat is a 38ft sports cruiser of late 1990s vintage with twin diesel sterndrives and an electric bowthruster. On board are you, your partner and another boating couple who are old friends. All are competent boaters and the other man is an athlete and strong swimmer.
Apart from the usual equipment your boat has a 3m inflatable tender – inflated and secured on its side on the bathing platform with snap davits. Unfortunately, one of the aluminium oars got broken recently and you haven’t had time to replace it. In the lazarette is a 4-man liferaft, two adult buoyancy aids and a strong, 70ft polypropylene towing warp.
Your wife draws your attention to some people waving frantically from one of the coves and your binoculars show this to be two children of around ten, marooned on a flat-topped rock about 100m from the sandy beach at the foot of a cliff. At this stage of the tide the footpath is impassable. The rock is nearly awash and unless something is done very shortly they will shortly be swept off into the surf. No one else is in sight.
Local knowledge tells you that although there is a clear passage about 25m wide all the way in, there are nasty rocks either side and at this stage of the tide, the closest you could safely approach the rock is 30m. What Now Skip?
