Senior Moments?

Nigelpickin

Nigelpickin

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Joined
12 Apr 2011
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Location
Falmouth
www.cornishcottageholidays.co.uk
So this afternoon I returned to the boat in the tender, climbed up the steps into the cockpit and started chatting to son and his partner. After a few seconds sons partner politely interrupts me to ask why the tender is floating away - I’d just pulled up, stepped off and carried on without tying the thing to the boat...

One very dynamic dive/swim/retrieve later all was well but surely this is an early sign of decline....

So does anyone else want to share their most embarrassing moment on the water this season?
 
U erm, no. I mean is it really that big a sin that a mobo race martial for a squadron of raggies misses the finish line by a few yards and so records incorrect times for a global handicapped race? No, I think Seastoke was far more embarrassed when I lost one of my props and he still had to ask me to slow down so he could keep up in his brand new acquisition to beat me to the best anchor spots. I mean can you imagine. Poor begga.
 
“Why have both engine water temp alarms gone off...at the same time...only been going 5 minutes”?

Oh yeah....I know what I forgot :):):)
 
FARSCO said:
“Why have both engine water temp alarms gone off...at the same time...only been going 5 minutes”?

Oh yeah....I know what I forgot :):):)
Click to expand...

Is that it? IOM is stone throw from Conwy. Come on down, join us for a weekend. We can raid Roy's fun locker. You will go home with stories. Promise.
 
My finest moment this season was probably on the Beaulieu river.
In the tender, approaching a flock of moored tenders, I shut off the engine, then realised that I was still doing maybe three kts due to momentum and the river current with no means of slowing down - not enough time to restart the engine, nor deploy the oars.
Think along the lines of “bumper cars” as to what happened next.
 
Nigelpickin said:
So does anyone else want to share their most embarrassing moment on the water this season?
Click to expand...

sorry don't have one to share, but surely this is senior moment #2 for you isn't it? :p


#1 is that you'd forgotten the promise to post a report of the Atlantic crossing!

cheers
V
 
I once moved off with the shore power cable still attached to the pontoon.
And have a couple of times tried to depart a pontoon with a rope still attached.
But not in 2018 so perhaps I am getting younger ?
 
MartynG said:
I once moved off with the shore power cable still attached to the pontoon.
And have a couple of times tried to depart a pontoon with a rope still attached.
But not in 2018 so perhaps I am getting younger ?
Click to expand...

been there...after checking warps all in I couldn't fathom out what was holding me back so I used the tried and tested Jeremy Clarkson method... More Power!

broke free with a satisfying "ping" and a blue electric cord rebounded back and hit the windscreen...

numpty
 
Without mentioning my own numerous senior moments, the worst I saw was an elderly couple who left their Med moorings without removing the chain. They started to swing wildly and his only response was to increase power. He hit many boats, luckily for me I was ready with my boat hook. Me, and several people in the port we all calling out and gesturing to him. But you could see the confusion in his face. Never saw him again after that, so it might have been his boating finale
 
Ramsgate and not that long ago ...

Anybody with pre electronic throttles started up, then realised throttles are wide open and boat definately in gear.?
A noisy and foamy battle between props and the usefully still secured mooring lines.
Fortunately for the yachties who watched in terror from the pontoon opposite, the skipper finally worked out what was going on and killed the engines.
This was followed by the climb of shame up the flybridge ladder to put throttles back to neutral.:rolleyes:

Always convinced it was the grandkids.
 
Re: Ramsgate and not that long ago ...

oldgit said:
Anybody with pre electronic throttles started up, then realised throttles are wide open and boat definately in gear.?
A noisy and foamy battle between props and the usefully still secured mooring lines.
Fortunately for the yachties who watched in terror from the pontoon opposite, the skipper finally worked out what was going on and killed the engines.
This was followed by the climb of shame up the flybridge ladder to put throttles back to neutral.:rolleyes:

Always convinced it was the grandkids.
Click to expand...

My 2 year old daughter used to think it very funny in a cranch Endurance ( seats either side of the throttles) to bash them fully down while on the thames resulting in a horrified dad who could not quite figure out what was going on.

On a Squadron 65 we were going along. One engine failed. Odd. Would not restart. Stop and investigate. My 5 year old son liked the coloured push buttons and pushed one - that happened to turn off the electrics to one engine.

So kids can sometimes be blamed!

Me? About to set of. Usual checks, centre the helm indicator. Wont move. Try again. Nothing. Stop engines. Mess about, check levels. Try again. Call Nick Barke at boats. Any ideas. No, unless the auto helm is on.

Ahhh,.... the button had been pressed through the cover and it was indeed on - and hence the steering was all but disabled.
 
I bought a new gps mushroom when I got it to the boat ,Sod’s law made it have a larger dia wire / plug than the old one .
So the hole through the boat in front of the windscreen needed enlarging .

My drill was at the French property and it was school hols with all the associated traffic hassle in 90 degree heat .I thought it was on the boat ,otherwise I would have picked it up in Antibes .Just been in Antibes in the crowds to the marine electronics shops , and parked the car in a good spot on rtn in the marina ( La Napoule ) , so did not fancy going back .Aside splitting tools twixt boat and holiday home is a recipe for disaster as after a while you get ( well I do ) into a muddle of what where .
So with a view to building up a separate and comprehensive on board tool kit I thought I would bite the bullet and but a new drill to keep on the boat .
local chandler did not stock drills .So we got in the car and 10 min drive + Fr hol traffic went to the local Costrorama ( Fr B+Q ) It’s car park was rammed , we found a space .
I got a medium spec Bosch drill and a suitable core bora kit to enlarge the existing hole .

Back at the boat it was hot in the marina so I poured a large pastis to keep cool .
On the foredeck like most blokes I did not read the instructions , just got an extension lead out ,unpackaged the new drill , took the core bora kit fixed the correct dia cutting circle on , placed it in the chuck .
Just before attempting to enlarge the hole I thought I ought to test it .
You know get the feel of the trigger pressure Vs rpm .After all this drill was new to me .
So I quite sensibly pointed it in the air and squeezed the trigger .

Buzzz the bit flew off in a perfect arc of about 1m straight over the side - plonk ! Missing our boat and the neighbours.

Ruddy thing was in Reverse and above a certain rpm the cutting circle detached.Arrrrrrgh !

Wife popped her head up from the saloon “ everything all right love ? “

I could,t face going out in the car again , aside I just had a stiff drink it was one of those days I felt I’d spent a life time in the car and it supposed to be a boating holiday .
As it happens we were out of teabags or something so I gave the wife the newly opened core bora package and she went off back to the shop( s ) and returned with another one .
I poured another large pastis while waiting .

On rtn of wife I,d already figured out with the help of the manual how to put the drill in Fwds .

Mushroom was €70 , drill €300 , core bora kit €35 each .

Real maths - It would have been cheaper to get an engineer for 1/2 hr from the local yard @€75 / hr - to enlarge the hole .
But that’s not the point - all the fun of boating .

Any how another day used up !
 
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