Rammed outside Cowes Yacht Haven

[timbad]

New Years eve SWMBO dropped my best fender over board /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gifjust before tying up in Cowes around lunch time, therefore once all tied up a good excuse to get the rib out & go searching for said fender. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
Out into the river heading towards the red buoys opposite entrance to Cowes Yacht Haven, rib was going a treat I felt like James Bond on mission got close to the buoys still no sign of fender but who cared I was having fun! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gifSuddenly it felt as if I had run aground my 2.7 meter rib came out of the water, prop span like mad until I came back down into the water with a bump /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gifI am sure my heart stopped /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gifwhen I saw a large black / grey object to my port side just underneath the waterline, I couldn’t make it until it came to the surface and saw its b****y great dorsal fin and blow hole it looked like jaws!
I didn’t know what to do it was playing with me nudging my little rib as if to say come on then let’s have some fun. I slowed down still in shock scared that it may capsize me or he may get injured by my prop, I slowly headed back to the marina with him still following me until the entrance where he want in search of a few other boats to play with.
Marina staff told me later that it was a Porpoise!
Twas a good tale to tell in the Cowes pubs New Years eve by 12 o clock it was a 16 foot shark. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
A fantastic experience but not sure if I would like it repeated in my little rib!!
timbad

 

[carlton]

I'm sure - given those circumstances - the well-being of the porpoise must have crossed your mind ! Did it seem injured or do you think it had a glancing blow from the rib? It must have been a sphincter-clenching moment, either way - for you AND the porpoise ! /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

 

[carlton]

.........or should that have been..."sphyncter" ???

(I never could quite put my finger on it...........) /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[timbad]

Not injured at all, it seemed that all it wanted to do was play after following me it stayed around for a couple of hours just following boats & riding along side them or just in front it even rode with the IOW ferry bow wave.

 

[whisper]

Was it showing any signals and or were you the give way vessel?

 

[carlton]

.............well, we all know what these submariners are like /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[Sixpence]

I think you'll find BUM is easier, but what a moment, would have loved to have been with you on this /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[timgriffin]

It's a Dolphin not a Porpoise and it has made the Solent it's home can be seen all around from Pompey to Lymington . Students love it when he/she pops up to say hello.

 

[Wiggo]

If it's the same one we saw just off Gurnard Bay in October, it's huge. It spent maybe 45 minutes playing round and under our tender, and I have no doubt it could have flipped us if it felt that way inclined. I would have guessed at more than 10' long, and I couldn't have got my arms round it.

As per recommendations, we shut the outboard off once we got close, and it got bored and buggered off. As soon as I restarted, it came back, bud once it realised we were idling in neutral it went off again. When I put the wheel over and let the tender go round in slow circles at tickover, the dolphin cam estraight back and kept diving just under the prop. In fact, it would head directly for the prop, and roll on one side at the last minute to get its dorsal fin out of the way.

 

[Greg2]

Reminds me of a scary moment I had bringing a RIB alongside a warship anchored off Ascension Island in the dark.

In daylight we had seen that the waters were infested with tiger fish (salt water equivalent of pirhanas) and the odd shark. We had spent the aftrenoon marvelling at how the tiger fish quickly savaged whatever we dropped in the water and swapping stories (no doubt somewhat embelished) about what had hapend to various people who had the misfortune to fall in or go swimming off the beaches.

I was asked to take some documents between ships in the Task Force during the evening and I was a tad aprehensive because it is scarier when you can't see the danger you know is there!

The trip to and from the other ship passed without incident. We had berthed back alondgside and the bowman had climbed the rope back up to the ships deck when something very large came out of the water right behind me and dropped back with a big splash which rocked the rib like crazy /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

Now I had always struggled to climb the rope out of the RIB and as helsman usually stayed in whilst it was hoisted out of the water but I developed the skill rather rapidly! I shot up the 20 or so feet to the deck like I could fly!!!

Never did know what it was but the thought of ending up in the water with the tiger fish and sharkes still sends a shiver down my spine /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[Dave_Snelson]

I would have thought that if it was large, it would be a bottle-nose dolphin, rather than porpoise, coz they are generally bigger. The dolphin has a beak-like snout whereas the porpoise is usually smaller and slimmer and has a rounded face and a flat mouth. Also, dolphins are generally more sociable and playful. He saw your rib as a bit of sport /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[Wiggo]

This'll be the fella, then:

I'm guessing he's a dolphin, from what you say.

 

[timbad]

My initial thoughts was it’s a Dolphin but the guy in the Marina office said it was a porpoise, it was defiantly longer than my 2.7m rib so Wiggo’s suggested 10ft length seems good after seeing the photo it brought it all back!! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

 

[BrendanS]

They love prop wash. I've swum from the shore with Funghi the 'tame' dolphin near Dingle in Ireland. From underwater you can see him spinning in the prop wash, and all the locals know that props attract him, as that's what the tourist boats use to attract him.

 

[nickjh]

We saw him on BH Monday, had a great day out! headed from Haslar to Cowes for breakfast around 10am and he appeared ahead of us and then along side.. We stopped and he swam around us for a bit and then disappeared!... Lovely to see, but I was a bit surprised to see one this time of year and alone! but then I know nothing about dolphins!

Cheers

Nick