My first solo trip & sea mist

[Gludy]

I went out on Saturday for the first time without an experienced skipper with me. Took my better half and my accountant and friend who had dropped by to see the boat.

All went well until dense sea mist rapidly overtook us. Visibility was down to about 50 yards then because of the slow progress back, as night came, down to zero. I was relying on the plotter and radar to get us back. On the radio I was told that we were the only boat out in the bay but this was followed by a message from the coast guard to inform us that a war ship was leaving the harbour.

We crawled back for two hours with zero visibility and I learnt one hell of a lot of lessons on the way. They kept the lock open for us and we had rather a large worried gathering at our pontoon as we eventually made it back safely.

During the course of this excercise, I learnt more in a few hours than in all my previous trips to date. The really surprising thing was that my three passengers were superb. Great humour, lots of funny incidents and at no time in the slightest were they scared despite not even being able to see out own bow.

During the adventure were were asked to search for a sail board lad that had gone missing - we tried for a good while and had listening watches etc but found nobody.

My previous trip last October/November was when there was almost a mutiny.

Upon our safe arrival back my better half told me that after the 'mutiny' trip she had really gone off boating all together but had not told me. Then to my total amazement she told me that she had enjoyed this trip so much that she now likes boating and had a great time!!!!

My accountant and friend also greatly enjoyed the adventure and performed 100% all they were asked to do. When he heard there was a warship in our path - he told everyone not to worrry because it was on our side!

I showed everyone what I was doing and they understood at all times what was happening.

It is not a trip I would ever intentionally repeat but it showed up a whole pile of small things that need improving, gave me my first experience at pure instrument navigation and the pleasure of having the harbour lights slowly appear right were they should be.

It certainly made a memory.

Paul




Paul

 

[Rich_S]

Blimey!
Glad to hear you got back safely.

 

[Guest]

You say without an experienced skipper Gludy what have you got under your belt so far then ?
What marina were you returning too, and where does "Gludy" come from ? Sorry about all the questions
and congratulations on completing what sounds like an very difficult trip.

cneighbour

 

[BarryD]

Well played...

Great feeling isn't it? Sounds like you just clocked up loads of experience - all we did on or first trip without an experienced hand was a "suprise" mooring and played with Chichester lock.

Every trip a learning experience, or so I'm told by my betters.

Barry D.

IMHO & FWIW, NWGOI.

 

[longjohnsilver]

Paul, well done, there's nothing like fog to disorientate you, when it comes in fast I've sometimes gone round in circles not believing what my instruments were telling me. As you say a good learning exercise, no doubt it will now give you far more confidence than any course can.

It will only get better and even more enjoyable!

 

[KevL]

Well played sir, shure makes me wonder if I should be reconsidering the trip to Ireland later this year, it was bad enough in the rain. Makes my first big trip seem like childs play.

Glad you made it back in one piece

KevL

 

[Guest]

Glad to hear youre OK, IMHO you can do all the courses in a classroom you care to but it all goes together when you make a trip like this one, I can remember my first sea trip 120 miles with a compass that was later to be found out as to being at least 30 degrees out, and east coast shallows into the bargain and no decca or gps, just a pencil and charts, good luck for good weather next time.
Paul js.

 

[Gludy]

I admit that at first I was going around in circles. My wife rushed down from the fly bridge to tell me that there was a boat wake very near to us - I told her it was us doing circles! She laughed at this - I cringed.

After a while, I got the feel of it and was able to trust the intruments and dampen down the whole thing to stay on course. I had set my waypoints well seaward of all the major obstacles and was keeping my speed well down.

We heard a report of over the radio another boat two hours ahead of us into port that was not able to even see the harbour walls when he was inside the harbour - he was seaching for the lock entrance. That was the next to last boat in, as it turn out 2.5 hours ahead of us.

The whole pontoon ( the best group of people you cold ever meet) were all listening and became concerned when we lost radio contact which we did because I went over to the hand set for a while.

There was an almost record Spring tide of over 10 metres.

That boat had found himself in one metre of water with rocks all around at one time and had spent two hours returning from Lundy. He is buying a chart plotter now and thought his end had come when he had to reverse out of the rocks he found himself in.

I would point out that I am learning all the navigation methods in the traditional manner so that I am not totally dependent on instruments but I do not know how I could have managed without both radar and the plotter. I had a backup hand held map gps as a backup in case of failure.

I am still coming down to earth from the experience and making notes of all my mistakes so that I can improve next time. I know it may sound bad but I really did enjoy the experience afterwards - looking back on it I was being given advice that I chose to ignore and given advice that I accepted, yet because everyone understood the situation it was easy to keep control. I could not have asked for a better motivated crew (even if part of the motivation was to save their own skins!).

They knew that I was inexprienced, I was open about the mistakes I was making but none of the mistakes did more than slow our journey back a little.

The accountants girl friend told me afterwards that she enjoyed the whole thing tremendously and only regrettted she could not have done more to help. She did receive a mobile call from a girl friend who asked where she was - she seemed to enjoy telling her the exact situation she was in,. starting with the words "You are not going to beleive this but ......."

All it had done for myself and wife is instil a greater love of boating within us. I suppose that means that I am mad .... but then so is the wife as this was THE trip that brought her to boating!

Paul

 

[Gludy]

Under my belt so far was:-
A trip out for 2 hours last October (return at night - a clear night) with an experienced skipper on board. Then a four hour trip that ended up as a force 5 and a women who went mad and thought she would never again see her children! We refer to this as the 'mutiny trip; because of the crew:-
Oner chap gashed his leg and the bleeding could not be stopped for ages.
The young lad aboard was constantly sea-sick and wanted to die.
Someone else banged their nose that also started bleeding
and the women aboard went ape as she thought the end had come.
This was the trip that put my wife off boating (she remained calm and handled the mutiny well).


So, to date that was the sum of my experience.... not much.

I was returning to Swansea.

Gludy comes from the name of the trout lake that I have built my home alongside.






Paul

 

[Guest]

My wifes the same any more than a force 2 outside Brighton and she was offski.

Your story about the F5 reminded me of a previous thread of mine (I think it was Med / channel) where
my moans about the average channel sea state met with some derision, and taunts of "real men go out
in 4-5's" and "stay in the Marina and leave it to the real men"

However the point I was making, that my critics seem to have missed, is that the average channel sea
state is not conducive to taking out non sailing guests, who are not prepared for the boats motions, and
are horrified to see sea water crashing over the bow or indeed fly bridge. They then think its sinking.

Add to this that they have little to do (at least we are helming the boat) apart from feeling sea sick and
imagining the end is nigh.

What qualifications have you got by the way?

cneighbour

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Congratulations, Paul, I know your first trip in fog is one of the scariest experiences you'll ever have. Its sod's law at this time of year until the sea warms up. No wind usually means fog
My first trip in poor visibility (OK it was in the days of Decca before GPS came on the market and without radar) ended up with us going 180 degrees in the wrong direction, clouting a yellow racing buoy (only a glancing blow) and being nearly run down by a dredger. I was completely dis-orientated and somehow managed to convince myself that the Decca navigator was wrong and I was right
I think with bad weather and fog, in particular, you have to try to reduce the variables. Do check the engines before you go, do fill up with fuel, do issue lifejackets before you hit the fog, prepare a more detailed passage plan than normal right up to the marina entrance, put the route into a back up GPS before you go, make sure the autopilot works and make sure you know how to use the radar. On the last point, I find it very useful to use the radar even in good vis so you get to know how targets appear on the screen at various ranges and particularly what kind of things dont show up