Newbie mistakes

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BizarreBazza

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Hi all

Just bought my first boat with no experience or clue as to what I'm doing. Went out on it this weekend and ran into some difficulty and am after some feedback on what I could have done differently. I'm aware of the mistakes I made but am interested in learning from them and am curious as to what a more experienced person would have done. I'll recount the story below followed by my own thoughts and will appreciate any feedback.

Boat is on a swinging mooring so need a dinghy to get to it. Don't have a motor for the dinghy so bought some oars and oar locks. Found the oars just slip straight out of the top of the oar locks so did some cable tie magic to hold it all together. The wind wasn't that bad so we made our way out and got to our boat with minimal trouble.

We didn't plan to sail or even move the boat using the outboard as again, we have no idea so thought it best just to spend some time getting to know the boat. Cleaning, opening all cupboards, etc. Was quite nice but the wind picked up a lot. 22mph according to the weather on my phone.

Left the dinghy tethered to the yacht on a long line and tried to row a bit just to see how hard it would be rowing against the wind. I could barely move it so we waited for the wind to die down which it didn't. Tide started going out and we waited until there was about a 20 meter stretch between the yacht and the dry ground ahead and went for it. Took a lot of effort but got there.

Jumped out of the dinghy and sank about thigh deep in mud. Managed to get myself free and dragged the boat about 100 meters toward shore which took about an hour of knee deep mud wading. Ran out of steam, was only about a quarter of the way and called the coastguard who came to rescue us.

Felt a bit stupid and sheepish. I thought that once we hit the land it would just be like a wet beach. I kept thinking just a little further and it would form up but no.

My thoughts on my mistakes are:
Wasn't wearing life jackets!
Didn't check the wind or know what kind of wind I can row in.
Should have bought an outboard for the dinghy.
Went for the mud assuming it would be safer than trying to row the whole way back in (waiting for high tide). Didn't want to try rowing in the dark so maybe not SO stupid.


Any advice on the above? Should I have just stayed on the yacht and called for help? I did try to get the yachts outboard working but without the external fuel tank connected so I could put it on the dinghy but it wouldn't start. Guessing I would have to have siphoned some fuel from the tank into the engine but had no pipes or anything to do that with.

Thanks
 
Welcome to the forum and I hope people on here treat you nicely. (You did make a few mistakes... and I know how some people might react.)

May we ask what the boat is and where (approximately) you keep it?

Rowing an inflatable dinghy against wind and tide is REALLY difficult as you've discovered.

I suspect that if your yacht outboard has an external fuel tank , it probably won't have an internal one and needs the external tank connected to work.

PLEASE wear a life jacket especially in the dinghy. Most drownings involving yachts are from the dinghy. (How did you call the coast guard?). Mud is dangerous... We don't always wear lifejackets when on board the boat, but we almost ALWAYS wear lifejackets in the dinghy.

I think a more experienced person would have had an outboard for the dinghy and a plan B for if and when it broke down. (I might have rowed across the tide and even put up with being miles away from where I wanted to be. I can always get a taxi and go and get the car... )

You've learned a few things and I really hope that any family with you (partner, children?) weren't put off too much.

May I humbly suggest you might buy a day or two's own boat tuition from an instructor or at least someone who is experienced? (I declare an interest, but just ask around local clubs or sailing schools)
 
One conclusion might be that you should have stayed at home! But then, of course, you wouldn't have learned anything.

I think that the chief thing to learn is the art of anticipation, when some or all of your problems might not have occurred. It is a matter of thinking through what you are about to do, whether it is taking in a reef, or coming alongside etc.

I'm not in a good position to be critical, since we have not been conscientious about lifejackets ourselves. I don't know what sort of dinghy you have, but rowing with a passenger is very different to rowing alone. Many people try to emulate Olympic rowers when they start, but often, especially in a flubber, short strokes are more effective. In extremis, my wife and I can row an Avon Redstart with one oar each, sitting side by side. With little effort, this provides much more power against the wind. It takes a bit of practice, and goodwill from both parties, but we can keep it up for quite a way.
 
Welcome to boating! Congratulations for being willing to confess mistakes and seek advice, that's a healthy attitude. You probably learned more yesterday the hard way than many will learn in several trips, so it wasn't all wasted and it all ended well.

Don't know where you're based or which day this was but pretty much the whole country had wind warnings on Saturday and stronger on Sunday, up to 30 or 40 knots in some places. As you've discovered, 22mph, 19 knots, force 5, is plenty when you're trying to row into it so don't under-estimate it and take note of the weather forecast. It died down here towards yesterday evening and often does towards evening as the sea breeze fades, so you might have been able to wait for that with evenings light until lateish, though the water was dropping away all the time. Is your boat afloat at low water?

What you did discover was the danger of mud. You were lucky not to sink lower and find yourself stuck, but at least the tide was falling. Not much fun on a rising tide.

I guess the advice is, don't be put off, learn from what happened, take note of weather forecasts and tide times, yes do wear lifejackets, yes get an outboard and know how to use it and service it and check the depth of mud with an oar before jumping into it! Preparation is everything. Enjoy your boating.
 
Boy! That was a baptism by fire! Great story - sorry for your woes...
I agree with John that instruction from someone qualified or experienced would be money well spent. When we bought our first boat (with about the same level of experience as you), we managed to get 5 half day lessons from a licensed captain included in the purchase price! Best piece of negotiation I ever managed!
Good luck and enjoy your new sport - but safely please!

Bill
 
I'm in my 5th year of boat ownership and still think of myself as a newbie (and by many or most of the others on this forum's standards, I definitely am!). I still have trips after which I wake up in the small hours cursing myself for some piece of stupidity. But on the whole I've found that most other sailors are very sympathetic, having done similar things themselves, or very nearly so. "There, but for the grace of God, go I". The thing is to try to make each mistake only once!

On one of my first outings, I set out to the boat, which was on a mid-river pontoon, in a pretty high wind - much like last weekend. Even with an outboard, it was pretty desperate. I was very grateful that the boatyard team gave me (and the dinghy) a lift back with their RIB. Lessons learnt- there are some days when it's best just to leave it; consider calling for help before you get into serious bother.

I have run the dinghy aground on, or been blown onto, mud a few times. Most times I've been able to get off it with oars or the outboard, but once I had to take my shoes, socks and trousers off, get half-overboard, hanging on inside the dinghy, and walk it into deeper water. But if there's no water left where you want to go, that's not really an option - though you could go back to your mooring and wait things out on the boat, which would be safe, if a bit tiresome.

Good luck with your sailing - take it easy, and learn gently - and as safely as you can. Steve
 
There are ailing lessons available near me which I haven't taken yet but thought I'd be fine as we weren't planning to sail, plus these are lessons on sailing dinghys so not quite the same thing. Personally I'd rather have lessons on my own boat so it all makes more sense

The dinghy is rigid. It's a canoe but everyone calls it a dinghy.

Moored in Portsmouth. Went out on Sunday (yesterday).

Many lessons learned and not put us off.

Thanks for all the replies
 
TBH I’m not sure that yacht tuition would have helped you avoid this particular problem. Only uncomfortable experience will teach you about the limitations of rowing rubber dinghies, and the gloopiness of mudflats.
But it’s well worth having day tuition or day sails with friends or yacht club neighbours, to show you some of the tricky stuff about getting out to sea and back again safely.
(Can you get socially distanced tuition?)
Also day skipper online courses.
Meet other recent newbies and talk through what they learned.
Practice short trips as much as you can and you’ll learn a lot of lessons, and hopefully none too scary.
And have fun.

Ed: I sometimes practice ‘mud-rowing’, where you row in shallow water like normal rowing, but just dropping the paddle ends into the mud to get a better grip than in water - but be careful not to break them or it’s even worse!
 
Welcome to the wonderful world of sailing, in which we learn a lot by our mistakes!
I will second the recommendations above, regarding tuition. Own boat tuition is good, as is a course on a sailing school boat. You need to bone up on the theory, either both by online or classroom courses and by buying and reading a good sailing manual; "The Complete Day Skipper" by Tom Cunliffe being the choice of the discerning PBO forumite. Some of the info contained would have been a help in informing your decision to go aboard on that particular day.
An instructor on board would have shown you how to avoid the basic howler you made with your outboard, and how to correctly use other equipment on your boat.
Your tale of woe in the mud hints that you are on England's east coast where a knowledge of tidal calculations is paramount. Getting it wrong can be costly, or lethal.
You will have a very steep learning curve, I hope you will enjoy it.
 
I remember an occasion when our outboard failed to start and I tried to row back to the marina to go home against tide and wind. Ended up going backwards and was lucky to get back to the boat. We had to stay till morning when the wind had died and the tide had turned. When I got the outboard home I thought I would try to get it going. Started first pull.
 
sgr143 said:
OP: it's a good idea to keep on board a basic "stuck on the boat" kit: sleeping bag, change of clothes, easy-to-cook food, snacks, and reading matter. Booze of your choice for consolation as the wind howls louder as night falls.
Click to expand...
Been there; worn the clothes, ate the food and drank the booze.... :rolleyes:
 
Always check the weather and tides before you go. Have a back up plan, either sit tight ( as per survival stuff on board) or was there somewhere down wind that you get ashore. Do you know how to feather oars when rowing, it makes a huge difference to the effect of the wind. Was there a club/ marina launch nearby you could have called for a tow/lift before you left the boat? I waited for high tide before i left the boat on Sunday to make landing easier, but i think you have already learnt that one!

I very much like it that you went for swing mooring. I think you will learn more faster.
 
Hello, and let me add my welcome to the input above, 'BizzareBazza'.

Those who've been doing this for a few years will have made all the same understandable errors, sometimes more than once. John Morris is very right when he advises to take your time in the dinghy VERY cautiously. Like him, I've become hyper-alert for potential problems, mistakes, lapses in concentration when clambering into and out of the dinghy, and I would suggest you consider a few 'ideas' that will go some way to mitigating some of the potential dinghy hazards.

First, lifejackets - or at least buoyancy aids - for everyone using the dinghy. It's extremely easy indeed to fall out of a 'rubber-flubber' when getting in, or out..... 'cos they move unpredictably.

Second, arrange cords/'painters' at both ends so you can secure both ends to the boat, when alongside. I use cheap little snaplinks and adjust using sliding knots called rolling hitches. That prevents the back of the dinghy sliding away 3 feet or more when you try to step up onto the inflated side-tube. Arrange the dinghy close alongside your shroud lines, for more secure handholds.

Third, have a line - or perhaps two - joining the oars so you cannot lose one over the side. Cable ties are one approach, but lines are perhaps easier. It is possible to move a dinghy using just one oar-as-a-paddle, but the skill level required is quite high - and it's exhausting. In any wind and tide, you're going nowhere you intended.

Last, have a small bag/satchel/drybag - preferably waterproof - to take with you in the dinghy, with some things you may just want.... such as a waterproof phone or handheld VHF radio. a good headtorch, your spare keys and wallet, dry shoes and sox, and a scoop to bale out water that comes in. This can be purchased from a chandlery or, cheaper and more satisfying, cut from an empty 2 litre milk carton like the rest of us. Some folk carry a small anchor and ~50' of light line. Oh, don't forget a 20-foot line in thin s/s with loops crimped on the ends.... and a weatherproof padlock.... so you can secure your dinghy to a landing without it going 'walkabout' while you're in the pub.

There's a skill and judgement in that exercise, too, but that's for another day!

Good luck with your next adventures.
 
BizarreBazza said:
There are ailing lessons available near me which I haven't taken yet but thought I'd be fine as we weren't planning to sail, plus these are lessons on sailing dinghys so not quite the same thing. Personally I'd rather have lessons on my own boat so it all makes more sense

The dinghy is rigid. It's a canoe but everyone calls it a dinghy.

Moored in Portsmouth. Went out on Sunday (yesterday).

Many lessons learned and not put us off.

Thanks for all the replies
Click to expand...
Portsmouth mud or Langstone mud, once experienced, is never forgotten even 60 years later. Welcome to the club, you won't do that again!
 
Was never taught dinghy use / safety at either competent crew or day skipper, on my med holidays I mostly just swam with a dry bag. Less of an option round these parts.

zoidberg said:
Hello, and let me add my welcome to the input above, 'BizzareBazza'.

Those who've been doing this for a few years will have made all the same understandable errors, sometimes more than once. John Morris is very right when he advises to take your time in the dinghy VERY cautiously. Like him, I've become hyper-alert for potential problems, mistakes, lapses in concentration when clambering into and out of the dinghy, and I would suggest you consider a few 'ideas' that will go some way to mitigating some of the potential dinghy hazards.

First, lifejackets - or at least buoyancy aids - for everyone using the dinghy. It's extremely easy indeed to fall out of a 'rubber-flubber' when getting in, or out..... 'cos they move unpredictably.

Second, arrange cords/'painters' at both ends so you can secure both ends to the boat, when alongside. I use cheap little snaplinks and adjust using sliding knots called rolling hitches. That prevents the back of the dinghy sliding away 3 feet or more when you try to step up onto the inflated side-tube. Arrange the dinghy close alongside your shroud lines, for more secure handholds.

Third, have a line - or perhaps two - joining the oars so you cannot lose one over the side. Cable ties are one approach, but lines are perhaps easier. It is possible to move a dinghy using just one oar-as-a-paddle, but the skill level required is quite high - and it's exhausting. In any wind and tide, you're going nowhere you intended.

Last, have a small bag/satchel/drybag - preferably waterproof - to take with you in the dinghy, with some things you may just want.... such as a waterproof phone or handheld VHF radio. a good headtorch, your spare keys and wallet, dry shoes and sox, and a scoop to bale out water that comes in. This can be purchased from a chandlery or, cheaper and more satisfying, cut from an empty 2 litre milk carton like the rest of us. Some folk carry a small anchor and ~50' of light line. Oh, don't forget a 20-foot line in thin s/s with loops crimped on the ends.... and a weatherproof padlock.... so you can secure your dinghy to a landing without it going 'walkabout' while you're in the pub.

There's a skill and judgement in that exercise, too, but that's for another day!

Good luck with your next adventures.
Click to expand...

That was very useful, thanks. More stuff on the list.
 
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