Qualified Or Not, What Would You Do?

[firstspirit]

Shipmates, cabin crew, captains skippers, bosuns, sailors or whatever else you may be or do, this question is for you. YOUR opinion is valuable, so let's hear it please.

Picture the scene. You and your crew are in a 'safe' UK marina berth. The crew, well most of them at least, have retired for the evening and taken themselves off to noddy land. You and the first mate are quietly settling down to watch a favourite video, it's a stinking night, sleeting and very cold.

Suddenly there is an almighty roar within your ship. Everything around you shudders violently and loose materials are thrown sideways. Lots of very loud banging and clumping eminates beneath your vessel and KABOOM, one last deafening bang! At least one crew member is thrown from their bunk. You realise that when you stand up, your doorways are well leaning over! Further investigations amid your very frightened crew, reveal the sickening truth. Your pride and joy has stopped 'floating' AND fallen very hard, over to one side.

Now, what would you do?

 

[BrianJ]

start praying
BrianJ

 

[Guest]

ASK FOR MY MONEY BACK

 

[Steve101]

Turn to my wife and ask her what she'd done!

 

[nicho]

Ask the yard foreman for his Christmas tip back! Did this actually happen? - presumably you were (poorly) blocked on the hard?

 

[webcraft]

Did this happen at the new marina in Douglas (IOM) by any chance?

I'd foam at the mouth and go for the jugular of the responsible person - assuming I could find one.

- Nick


BlueMoment.Com
http://www.bluemoment.com

 

[RupertW]

Almost happened to me a few years back at Salterns in Poole.

We'd left the boat there for a week after some engine problems had stopped us getting back to the Medina on the Sunday, and came down on Friday night to find that the boat had been moved. It was lying alongside a pontoon near the steps. After a boozy evening we went to bed and I woke up at 3am to go to the loo and felt the boat moving very oddly when I stepped off it.

Our keel was firmly in the mud and the water was dropping away from the waterline. I was just in time to add some new warps from the genoa winches to different cleats on the pontoon and attach the main halyard to a bollard on shore (rotten angle but the best I could get). We were leaning away, thank goodness, and we shifted to make sure we stayed that way.

No damage done, so we simply asked Salterns to halve their fee for the week and suggested a little dredging. It was so nearly the nightmare you described so I really feel for you. Hope your insurance paid up and got the money back from the marina.

 

[firstspirit]

Yes, but after the prayers what practical considerations would you be thinking of committing yourself to. Please stay with it, I am serious. I really want to know what ordinary people would really do, feel say etc...

 

[Guest]

OK - I'm staying with it. Stopped floating = sinking as far as I'm aware. Safe marina berth = pontoon, so get everybody onto the nearest thing to dry land that you have and then survey the scene. better to boll--k the perpetrator for a damaged boat than a damaged person. -or have I just not had enough drink on a friday night?

 

[BrianJ]

Now you have done it...none of us are ordinary...we are all nuts...we sail
BrianJ

 

[nicho]

The more I read your post, the more I do not believe you were actually on the water at the time. The movement was so violent, it seems to me that your boat fell off of blocks whilst on the hard (winter/cold/sleeting etc). Even if there was a major drop in the marina water level, the action would surely be more gentle. Are you going to tell us the whole story or are we having to second guess

 

[Twister_Ken]

Alternative thought

I've been wondering about this too over the weekend.

Most of us seem to have concluded that the boat was in a locked marina, something went awry with the lock gates, and the bathwater ran out.

On reflection, if so, I would have expected there to be a bit of warning, lots of action, and people rushing around trying to mitigate the problem by taking 'taking the ground' precautions.

Could it be instead that firstspirit had asked for a berth of adequate depth, but had been given one that was too shallow?

When the water went, the boat first settled into/onto the bottom more or less upright so no-one noticed. But eventually, something knocked the boat out of balance (windy sleety night so maybe a bigger gust) and she fell over. Maybe onto the pontoon - hence grobbly noises from under the boat?

Or similar but firstspirit has a Beneteau First Spirit 260 or similar, with a retractable keel. When the keel started taking the boat's weight some vital component in the system went pop, with resulting mayhem.

Pray tell.

 

[firstspirit]

Dear Nicho,

Thank you for your response.

I am trying to find out what generally-speaking people would do. All aspects of what they would think or do.

Who would you hold responsible and why?
What would you do about it and how?

The skipper is not under investigation here, well I hope not anyway. I assure you again, the vessel was moored in a UK 'safe' marina mooring. It was blowing a gale, bitterly cold and sleeting. No notice or warning was given.

I know that you are free to visit this posting, at a later date, perhaps the details of everything will be disclosed but not necessarily on this forum.

At a little under 40 tonnes will you please be convinced that a terrific incident as decribed in the original posting is plausible, and accordingly every other detail particulaly in relation to the potential, for a life-threatening incident to occur, is possible.

I understand your doubts and welcome further queries or comments.

Regards,

Firstspirit.

 

[firstspirit]

Re: Alternative thought

Dear Twister Ken,

Now we are thinking!

There were NO WARNINGS! Accordingly, it was too late to take precautions for 'taking to ground'. The vessel had already fallen over to one side, and you are absolutely correct in assuming 'pontoon' berthing for the vessel in question.

Had it gone the other way we are talking a capsize.

I can also reveal that your further inquisitive conjecture is spot on. What you suggest is exactly what happened. With no notice, unawareness by skipper and crew, gusting weather...... KABOOM!

Put these facts together with free movement at the pontoon, possibly stretched lines due to the gales, a fall with considerable force is inevitable. The vessel weighs in at just under 40 tonnes. The swing-to-fall and resting position understandably makes the Kaboom, quite real.

Although not the vessel you mention, lets stay with the point. What would you do. Who would you hold responsible and why. What concerns would you have in regard to the underside, wetted area of the vessel. How would you inspect it etc.

One last thing, the essence of the marina's position is this. They 'thought' the water was deeper under the boat. You are also advised that the vessel has been moored in this berth for at least a couple of years.

Firstspirit.

 

[firstspirit]

Dear Frubpato,

No, you have not had too much to drink!

Evacuate ship is a good idea, peruse the scene....and then what. Who do you say is responsible and for what, and why? Let me know, I want your view, preferably before you have a drink please.

Regards,

Firstspirit

 

[firstspirit]

Rupert W

Thank you for your sympathetic hearing. Having obviously experienced something similar you can understand certain aspects of fear that rush you!

Insurance still in pipeline, but what would you be claiming for in the circumstances described and why? What if I say to you that the marina operator is taking the line that vessels often 'touch the bottom', how would you react to that if this was your vessel we were talking about.

What if I also told you that, in essence, the position of the marina company is quite clear, if you do not like it in this marina, you may like to look somewhere else!

Regards,


Firstspirit.

 

[firstspirit]

Dear Brian J,

Ordinary or nuts, please join in the discussion, it could happen to anyone, as it already has! Think and reply when ready please. If this did happen to you, do you think you would be a little bit angry?

Regards

Firstspirit

 

[kdf]

Re: Alternative thought

This just happened to me last week - visiting Concarneau, informed them that the boat needed 2.4m and was assured the berth had enough water - 3 am and we touched bottom. I got everyone off, called up the people off the boat next door and got them to move. We then took a halyard and leaned the boat away from the pontoon and into the space vacated next to us. The boat leaned about 25- 30% before the tide came in again so we were lucky. No damage done.

wasn't charged the 30 Euros for the night!

 

[AndrewB]

In that case, the owner\'s responsible.

I too had assumed that this is a case of the water running out of a locked marina, and for some reason your yacht could not take the ground without major damage, most likely because it had a lifting keel lowered.

In the T & C's of many marina contracts there is a disclaimer which is intended to cover them against responsibility for maintaining the water level (often this is phrased in rather gereral terms). There was a case locally some years ago where a yacht was jambed in the marina lock, preventing the gate being closed, so the marina dried out. As I recall neither the yacht nor the marina was held liable for the damage caused to other yachts, which luckily was entirely cosmetic.

In this case then, unless either the owner has specifically warned the marina of his problem and they have accepted the risk; or the marina can be shown to have been negligent for example in maintaining the lock; I rather suspect he will have to accept responsibility.

 

[Caronia]

Re: In that case, the owner\'s responsible.

I assume that due care and attention had been paid and that boat was moored in position where sufficient water could be expected. In that case, sudden disappearance of water can only mean one thing ....TSUNAMI. Quick, everyone on their bicycles and head for high ground.