Sailing Bloopers

[StugeronSteve]

Reading a post about swing keelers on the stoat boner forum brought to mind a little fun SWMBO and I had with such our first ever cruiser.

She was a Swift 18 which we dry sailed on Rutland Water. We had a well rehearsed drill, boat afloat, bung the kids aboard, keel down, sails up and off. Just like a well oiled machine. Towards the end of the season we were allotted a swinging mooring, where we kept the boat with keel down. One autumnal day, whilst kids were at school, SWMBO and I go down to boat to get her back on the trailer for winter. We row out in dinghy and board the boat, SWMBO shouts "I'll do the keel", "OK" says I and gets on with pulling some sail up (no engines allowed on lake). With all ready we cast off and sail through the densely packed moorings (in a state of total bemusement), making at least 50 degrees leeway, with absolutely no rudder response, straight onto the slipway pontoon, where SWMBO steps ashore with lines as though it were a well rehearsed routine. I fetch trailer whilst SWMBO "deals" with keel. Further bemusement when, instead of slipping gracefully onto trailer, there is a horrible clonk and boat refuses to go anywhere. Two very embarrased people dive below, lift keel, recover boat and hope that nobody was watching.

Back in club house we are enjoying a coffee when Commodore's wife pops over to tell us how wonderful it was to see a boat so beautifully handled. We accepted the praise with grace and slung our hook sharpish!

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[david]

I had pride in the fact I had never gone aground. I was selling my boat which was on a swinging mooring at Exmouth (1985 ish) with the prospective buyer on board and in thick fog we left the mooring only to sail about twenty yards before scraping to a standstill, with only about 30 minutes to low water I thought it would be prudent to wait and hide my pride in amongst the fog rather than let any of my fishermen friends on their fishing boats know I was aground. I thought I'd got away with it, untill I went in the Dearleap pub that night and was greeted with "Stop for a picnic did we then"

<hr width=100% size=1>David

 

[graham]

I had just finished restoring an old Eventide.Desperate to get her in the water I arranged to launch her one evening after work.All the equipment loaded into my cortina estate the night before.

As the last job had been painting the interior ,the boat was completely stripped out including the floor boards and locker doors which were painted at home.

Inevitably I was delayed and rushed over to the river with the tide ebbing and the boat almost grounding on the slipway.The engine started (outboard in a built in well)A boathook thrown aboard and we motored out onto the tidal river to pick up the moorings.

By now the tide almost gone we hastily rowed ashore .I returned on my own the following morning 6 AM and rowed out to bring the boat to the club pontoon to load on all the gear.

Just leaving the mooring and BANG the propellor hit something and the shear pin broke.At first no great concern until I realised I am on a boat with no tools ,no anchor no sails,ropes, oars batteries or anything at all except one boathook.

The early ebb is now gently propelling me down river. My attempts to paddle with the boathook achieve nothing.With the river mouth and open bristol channel now closing panic is creeping in.

On the last bend in the river the boat drifted towards a shallow mud bank and Idrove the boathook down into the mud and held on over the stern for grim death until the bilge plate dug in to the mud and the boat slowly dried out going over about 60° on the steep bank.

I walked back to the club cold wet and plastered in mud ,Luckilly not too many people there to witness my embarrasment.

 

[DeeGee]

"Excuse me sir," he said quietly, so nobody but Steve could hear..."but isn't a blooper a sail? Especially a sailing blooper?"

<hr width=100% size=1>Black Sugar - the sweetest of all

 

[StugeronSteve]

So's a spanker (but what that's got to do with it I'm not sure).

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