RNLI, or Sea Start?

[LittleSister]

Never mind a lifeboat, I'd have insisted on helicopter assistance at this point.

In our desperation we did entertain hopes that a friend who kept his boat at Wareham would volunteer to come to the rescue and bring teabags out to us at anchor in Studland in our hour of need, but it was not to be.

 

[billskip]

The mentality of the so called skipper is questionable when he decides to put to sea knowing he did not have any fuel, 'some mother do have em'!

Some sailing yachts dont even have engines......

 

[lustyd]

getting into situations (e.g. close to cliffs, lee shores, downstream buoys or other obstructions) where a sudden failure would leave us without time or other measures to extract ourselves from the pickle.

I'm not sure I'd consider being close to cliffs a situation either. If there's a tide running it doesn't generally flow towards the cliff but past it out to sea or up river. I sailed backwards past Hurst once at about 5kts as the wind dropped due to tide and we lost steerage but didn't consider it an issue as it was clear we'd be washed out into the Solent where the wind would return. We were pretty near the cliffs then, but unlikely to hit them!

 

[Cloona]

I am surprised that people think it is so unseamanlike to have no fuel on board (i.e. no engine available) in a sailing boat. Leaving aside how or why they found themselves without fuel, do you all think it is unseamanlike to sail a boat without an engine?

Having had on my early boats either not completely reliable or rather thirsty outboards and very limited fuel carrying capacity, together with a penchant for longer distance cruising, it doesn't seem a big deal to me.

Previously one of the first skippers I sailed with had trained me to always be thinking 'What would I do if the engine (or wind or whatever) failed right now?', and avoid (as far as possible) getting into situations (e.g. close to cliffs, lee shores, downstream buoys or other obstructions) where a sudden failure would leave us without time or other measures to extract ourselves from the pickle.

I was once on passage back to Lymington from Brittany via Salcombe, and after a night at Lyme Regis the engine refused to start. It never occurred to me to call either Sea Start or the RNLI. We just sailed. We also, like the rescued boat as reported in the above posts above, struggled at times to maintain way, but that's part of sailing.

We were making our way slowly, in very light wind, through the inside passage at Portland Bill (it would have taken too long in the light wind to sail out to seaward of the overfalls) when we lost wind altogether just off its tip, and pirouetted round and round in the tide through the overfalls around the point and across the Shambles, but it was calm conditions and the tail end of the tide, otherwise we wouldn't have attempted it and stayed put at Lyme Regis.

Having regained a little wind and steerage near the Shambles, we continued, but spent most of the night off St. Aldhelm's Head merely stemming the adverse tide and waiting for it to turn. When it finally did we made our way to Studland Bay and anchored to catch up on our much needed sleep before continuing on our way.

The worst parts of the journey were (a) running out of teabags - a real disaster!; (b) getting really very worried (lifejackets on etc.) when a passing ship turned and started heading for us off St. Aldhelms Head in the dark when we hadn't the headway to get clear out of its way (whether my frantic signalling made any difference I don't know, but it passed maybe 100 yards away); (c) me foolishly allowing myself to get distracted from steering while helping the crew put out fenders as we sailed into Lymington, putting us on the mud near the marina. At that point, unable to kedge us off by simply throwing the anchor (pumping up the inflatable would have taken too long on the falling tide), I did then call for help, and the marina launch kindly towed us off, but had that been unavailable we would've just had to sit out another tide, probably on our ear, before refloating and getting ourselves off.

Now, I understand there's a whole generation who have grown up with ultra-reliable cars, boats, etc. and don't have the experience, skills, mindset or whatever to manage without them, and if they need to call the RNLI or Sea Start then so be it, but I am surprised, as I said, that several of you forumites seem to think that allowing oneself to be out without an engine is in itself problematic.

If you have always had unreliable or weak engines you do get a different mind set ..

I had a good sweep on my first east coast boat so if without wind I was being swept along by a tide I could still manoeuvre a bit.

Taking delivery of my latest boat from a boatyard I spent my first 30 mins on board rigging the anchor - so if the engine failed in the crowded harbour I could chuck it overboard ..

I see loads of yachts leaving Portsmouth harbour with their sail covers on .. no idea why you not have your sails ready ..

I would I hope that if I got myself in a pickle I would call for help and not let pride get in the way and put myself in danger BUT

 

[Stemar]

Previously one of the first skippers I sailed with had trained me to always be thinking 'What would I do if the engine (or wind or whatever) failed right now?', and avoid (as far as possible) getting into situations (e.g. close to cliffs, lee shores, downstream buoys or other obstructions) where a sudden failure would leave us without time or other measures to extract ourselves from the pickle.

If you have always had unreliable or weak engines you do get a different mind set ..

That's the thing. Back in the day, you either didn't have an engine in a small boat, or it could only be relied on to say no when you really needed it. We expect our boat engines to be almost as reliable as those in our cars, and sail accordingly. Tide's against us? OK, it'll be a bit slower, but the engine will beat it. Dodgy passage between rocks? No problem, it's well charted on the plotter, but put the engine on, just in case. Without an engine, in the first case, you'd delay your departure for a favourable tide, in the second, you'd go the long way round.