kilkerr1
New member
Why is it that after a few months of mooring up in a tricky fore and aft mud berth in a narrow channel and becoming, even if we do say so ourselves, pretty darn good at it, the one time it all goes fruit-shaped is when a goodly throng have assembled on the quay to watch 3 large shiny yachts being hauled out down our narrow channel? When said yachts are all pirouetting gracefully in the entrance to the channel waiting to get out before the tide pulls the water from under them, and it’s us that’s holding them up? When families with binoculars more used to bird spotting are there to get the close ups on all our shenanigans?
After a lovely fresh days’ sailing coupla weekends ago – only a few boats out, really gorgeous – and a night at anchor in Sharfleet Creek totally alone, a strong tide and nasty cross wind made a mockery of our attempts to tether Santa Teresa when she got home. “Ha! Think you’re pretty good at it, do ya? Well, take that!” Our first pass at the aft buoy failed miserably, the 2nd saw the chain or some part thereof disintegrate so Andrew was left holding a 2 foot length of chain unconnected to the buoy (I’m still not clear what happened, and when I mention it Andrew mutters darkly to himself). Our third was even worse and tempers were beginning to fray. It was then that the other yachts got bored of our little display and decided to make a break for it, charging up the narrow channel behind us extremely close. Our 4th attempt (round again...): little Santa Teresa was so mortified by this time that she stopped her engine and buried her nose in the soft Medway mud. Won’t print what Andrew said. Luckily our plucky little 2nd engine started first time (a first) and after revising our mooring plan a tad managed to get all roped up at last. We took so long over it that our audience had got bored and wandered off and we nearly got stranded on the mud overnight.
By the time we’d got back to the yard in our (suddenly holed) inflatable, wet, bitter and twisted, the newly-hauled-out yachts were all having hose baths and looking ever so shiny and beautiful.
I know we'll always be learning and things will always go wrong. But was this truly a perfect example of Sod’s Law of the Sea in action?
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<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://kilkerr.members.easyspace.com/santateresa_pics.htm>Santa Teresa and other t'ings</A>
After a lovely fresh days’ sailing coupla weekends ago – only a few boats out, really gorgeous – and a night at anchor in Sharfleet Creek totally alone, a strong tide and nasty cross wind made a mockery of our attempts to tether Santa Teresa when she got home. “Ha! Think you’re pretty good at it, do ya? Well, take that!” Our first pass at the aft buoy failed miserably, the 2nd saw the chain or some part thereof disintegrate so Andrew was left holding a 2 foot length of chain unconnected to the buoy (I’m still not clear what happened, and when I mention it Andrew mutters darkly to himself). Our third was even worse and tempers were beginning to fray. It was then that the other yachts got bored of our little display and decided to make a break for it, charging up the narrow channel behind us extremely close. Our 4th attempt (round again...): little Santa Teresa was so mortified by this time that she stopped her engine and buried her nose in the soft Medway mud. Won’t print what Andrew said. Luckily our plucky little 2nd engine started first time (a first) and after revising our mooring plan a tad managed to get all roped up at last. We took so long over it that our audience had got bored and wandered off and we nearly got stranded on the mud overnight.
By the time we’d got back to the yard in our (suddenly holed) inflatable, wet, bitter and twisted, the newly-hauled-out yachts were all having hose baths and looking ever so shiny and beautiful.
I know we'll always be learning and things will always go wrong. But was this truly a perfect example of Sod’s Law of the Sea in action?
/forums/images/icons/smile.gif
<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://kilkerr.members.easyspace.com/santateresa_pics.htm>Santa Teresa and other t'ings</A>
