Like a virgin?

[benjenbav]

Reading Deleted User's excellent story about getting stuck under Bursledon Bridge:

http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=307269

I thought I'd share my first experience of skippering my own first sea-going vessel. Technically it was a sailboat. But, given that the events which follow took place mostly under power, I think it qualifies for this forum.

The story started perhaps many years earlier when, as a boy, I learned to sail and spent endless hours in a variety of dinghies, windsurfers, even rowing boats. Then life came along and years went by climbing the greasy pole, paying a mortgage, paying school fees etc. But, in 2000/1, I was part of a team which pulled off a reasonably respectable business coup and, to celebrate, we booked a corporate charter from Lymington Yacht Haven and the memories came flooding back to me. I remember waking up and sitting on the deck - no doubt nursing a hangover - with but one idea in my mind: I had to get some of this boating action for myself.

So I looked around, tried various boats and, after a while I found a nice yacht in Plymouth which I bought and based in Chichester marina. After a good deal of prep we were ready for our first voyage which - as luck would have it - would take place on my eldest's eleventh birthday: what a treat, eh? I could see it in my mind's eye. The sun shining. Dad in command, the boat sailing majestically under a bright blue sky. Happy, smiling faces all around me.

The reality was a bit different. The morning dawned miserable and wet. It was late June, after all. There was enough of a breeze to make me cautious. But not enough to put me off. Not sure if I consulted widely amongst the crew, tho'

And off we cast: no lines round the prop, electricity cable properly disconnected, lock negotiated, single-cylinder 10hp diesel puffing away like a good'un.

And after a short while as we were negotiating the moorings above Itchenor the skipper noticed that there was a knob sticking out from the base of the throttle lever. A moment's attention saw it pushed home and on we went.

Somehow there didn't seem to be a great deal of power and we started drifting out of the channel.

No worries, a few more revs will sort it out. Must be a cross current or something.

But a few more revs didn't sort it out. Nor did pushing the lever against the stop. The engine was doing its best but no power was reaching the prop.

By now we were heading for a moored boat. Fenders, fenders. Someone stick some fenders out.

No damage done, thankfully. But we can't stay here clinging on to the guardrail of someone else's boat for ever. What to do?

Well, I unrolled the genoa and sailed back home. I even managed to call up the lock office on the vhf and explain that I had no drive.They let me sail through the lock and then helped me back to my berth with a work boat.

Tied up and got into the car with the ashen-faced birthday party. Not too much conversation on the way home.

Next day, on my own. I went to inspect. I couldn't work out how I'd lost drive until it occurred to me that the knob which I had pushed back into the throttle lever was, err, the clutch, which I had engaged.

Oh dear.

 

[PaulGooch]

Yes please.

 

[kid's inheritance]

Ok, here's ours. Many years of powerboats and water skiing before the miserable incomers got the speed limit introduced to stop the Mancunian navy (jet skiers). Decided to buy a Sealine S41 as our first big boat , the plan was learn in a non-hazardous environment before going to the Med. Our very first trip out of the marina was uneventful until the return. The entrance to Windermere Marina Village is very narrow , 46 foot (don't ask how we found that out ) so any vessel in the channel is treated as the stand on.
Yacht and rib coming out so we just idled and waited. What we didn't realise was , unlike speedboats , in a breeze , these things skittle across the surface. So we had drifted 50 yards sideways and parked over a raggies buoy. Engage forward and alarms going, big thunk and no progress.
It was then that we discovered the fantastic esprit de corps that boating seems to bring. The guy in the outgoing rib saw what we had done , straight over and was in the water with our sharpest kitchen knife trying to cut us free (this is windermere in May which legend is you have 7 minutes before hypothermia sets in ). After freeing us , he went back into to the marina to get ready to assist our berthing.
I can still hear the cry ringing round the pontoon "Firefox is coming in on one engine!" , I felt like Biggles.
On the bright side, it was a great ice breaker as we ended up providing liquid refreshments for half the berth holders there , some of which I am sure weren't even there when we came in, never mind helped us
Regards
Rob

 

[jfm]

While awaiting delivery of my first boat, a 1/3 share in a new Fairline phantom 42, delivery October 1999, I chartered an identical one bareboat in Balearics. I'd never driven anything so big but blagged my way though the "trial" handover

The first time i docked it was port side to in Alcudia, NE Mallorca, at the old fuel berth. Easy enough, even though my manoeuvring was a bit clunky. I had boated for several years, so knew all about fenders, and had hung 5 of them over the side before getting to the quay. Boat parked, tied, and I stepped off to hear an awkward crunching noise. It sounded a bit like gelcoat on concrete, and there was a reason for that. All my previous boats had been so small that fender height was never an issue, but on this boat the fenders were all nicely hanging at gunwhale level, nicely clear above the concrete quay. I felt a bit of a goon but that was easily solved the time-honoured way, by not making eye contact with anyone.

 

[starfire]

 

[Quest]

To the rescue!!!!!

On one of our early trips out of Ilfracombe in the Bristol Channel we'd had great fun on and off the boat and towing an inflatable toy around on a long summers evening.

As we returned to port we picked up a Mayday call from 2 kayakers who had found 2 stranded tourists on a headland, cut off by the tide. With the swell breaking in over the rocks this couple were wet and cold and unable
to escape the waves.

Wearing wetsuit and fins I swam in and onto the rocks carrying a couple of life jackets, intending to sit it out with this couple until the lifeboat arrived. She was calm and could swim, whilst he was unable to swim and somewhat panicked. Put life jacket onto him and explained I would inflate it so if he did go in the water all would be well!!!

Bear in mind, this was the first time I had ever inflated a life jacket for real and hadn't considered the snugness of the fit. Life jacket inflated instantly, at which point already panicked and shaking with cold man looks at me with eyes bulging and says "I can't breathe" followed by "Seriously, I can't breathe.". Oops! I've come to help rescue this chap and it looks like I might end up killing him!!!

What to do now? Upon inspection the jacket and straps was a very tight fit, far too tight to undo and once again, lack of experience means I don't think about releasing air from the valve. Only one thing to do (so I thought) take a knife and pop the life saving life jacket. At which point He is so grateful to me that he can enjoy breathing again! Then wait a little sheepishly for the real lifesavers to arrive, which they did in due course and recovered him and her to safety, with an impressive manoeuvre swinging the ILB sideways into a narrow crevice in reverse gear whilst holding lots of tension off the anchor fed out off the bow. Don't know what this manoeuvre is called but it worked really well and I was impressed! I learnt a bit about life jackets that night.