Surviving adrift in the Aegean - thanks to boiled sweets.

After a very pleasant social evening enjoying Webcraft's hospitality, I once lost a wooden oar at around three in the morning, dropping it into the water as I attempted to stow it on board while anchored in the calm waters of Balvicar Bay.

I was amazed that it just disappeared in the darkness. We guddled about but never found it. Since then, I have been rather more careful about mixing alcohol with dinghies.

The lady in the news story was very fortunate to have been found. Could easily have ended badly.
 
newtothis said:
The book I'm reading at the moment is on the science of story telling. It points out that humans have a compulsion to fill in what they don't understand with a narrative. Normal meteorological conditions over Mount Olympus become the gods throwing spears at each other, etc.
As society has advanced, we've understood more, but still have the urge to create narratives, even, quite possibly, when they are not necessary.
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Indeed, that is true ..... and the apex of all those false narratives is God.

But, as I'm a lifelong atheist, I'm clearly not susceptible. :encouragement:

Richard
 
RichardS said:
Indeed, that is true ..... and the apex of all those false narratives is God. But, as I'm a lifelong atheist, I'm clearly not susceptible. :encouragement: Richard
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I think you miss the point in your enthusiasm to declare your atheism. Narratives are vitally important in problem solving. Without determining the causual sequence one cannot prevent or mitigate the re-occurrence. Thus we tell stories to each other on forums or elsewhere. Some are mistaken, some self aggrandise to enable the teller to gain kudos or hide ineptitude.

Belief in god did not prevent Jenner from devising vaccination, or Darwin determining the sequence of evolution. A false narrative from Boeing and the US aviation authority concerning their safety assessment process of 737Max did result in hundred of people dieing.
 
Sadly the human sub-species homo stupidius, and homo pissed-as-a-newtius get into or fail to deal with all manner of dangers that the rest of us avoid. Drunk narcistic fools ignore their companions dangers and have a little sleep and naive fools ignore their friends/skippers manifest shortcomings and dont jump ship
 
oldmanofthehills said:
Roger Taylor set off solo round the world in Ming Ming rather than sail with idiots. Ming Ming was very tidy but still seemed a litle small when we passed her at Moribihan in the summer. I'm not sure I would go that far but ......
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Hasn't RT retired from long distance voyaging? He was a high-latitude sailor, not a RTWer. Ming Ming is now owned by a French chap, I think. Roger has done what he said was probably his last big offshore voyage in Ming Ming 2 in the past year or two.

I went inside the original Corribee at the boat show a few years back. It is very small.
 
If she lost an oar then it is possible that she was blown away, I do not believe it is possible to paddle with one oar. However who would just sit in the boat whilst it happens, it is not like there are sharks. I would just jump over the side hold onto the transom and kick.
 
Seven Spades said:
If she lost an oar then it is possible that she was blown away, I do not believe it is possible to paddle with one oar. However who would just sit in the boat whilst it happens, it is not like there are sharks. I would just jump over the side hold onto the transom and kick.
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I’ve often paddled with one oar - easy to do but not against a current or high wind and neither were present. But a row followed by storming off followed by the skipper falling asleep ( after beers - I would) but the next bit is a mystery. I’ve been in a situation where my wife said she’d rather drift out into the open sea than get back on the boat with me. So as the wind caught the dinghy and the stand off continued I eventually jumped into the water and swam to the dinghy, grabbed the painter and towed her back, picking up the oars she’d thrown away on the way back. If I had gone to bed I don’t know what I would have woken up to.
 
oldmanofthehills said:
I think you miss the point in your enthusiasm to declare your atheism. Narratives are vitally important in problem solving. Without determining the causual sequence one cannot prevent or mitigate the re-occurrence. Thus we tell stories to each other on forums or elsewhere. Some are mistaken, some self aggrandise to enable the teller to gain kudos or hide ineptitude.

Belief in god did not prevent Jenner from devising vaccination, or Darwin determining the sequence of evolution. A false narrative from Boeing and the US aviation authority concerning their safety assessment process of 737Max did result in hundred of people dieing.
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I've no idea what your point is. :confused:

Newtothis mentioned "Gods" and I observed that the apotheosis of all "Gods" is the "God". No enthusiasm to declare anything on my part but simply a natural progression in the discussion.

Richard
 
RupertW said:
I’ve often paddled with one oar - easy to do but not against a current or high wind and neither were present. But a row followed by storming off followed by the skipper falling asleep ( after beers - I would) but the next bit is a mystery. I’ve been in a situation where my wife said she’d rather drift out into the open sea than get back on the boat with me. So as the wind caught the dinghy and the stand off continued I eventually jumped into the water and swam to the dinghy, grabbed the painter and towed her back, picking up the oars she’d thrown away on the way back. If I had gone to bed I don’t know what I would have woken up to.
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That's women for you. :o

My Wife spilt a carton of cream when she was taking it from the fridge earlier this evening. I immediately said "Oh dear. That was clearly my fault". She replied "Yes it was ... and I'll soon work out why".

The daft thing is that she is not joking. :ambivalence:

Richard
 
oldmanofthehills said:
I have been nearly there and got damp tee shirt. I took more precautions - age and experience trumping youthful enthusiasm. But my oar broke when rowing back to boat in strong tideway in Lynmouth Bay after going ashore to speak to locals about access to harbour and I was unable to make headway back to the boat using bow paddling.
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I was at a prize-giving dinner at Hayling Island SC, ran out of cigars and rowed out to the boat to restock. On the way back an oar snapped. It's astonishing how the thought of drifting out to sea sobers you up. I reckoned I was nearer the boat than shore and knew that there was a spare oar there, so bow sculled back for it. Strong tide there, but I was young and fit.

Seven Spades said:
I do not believe it is possible to paddle with one oar. However who would just sit in the boat whilst it happens, it is not like there are sharks. I would just jump over the side hold onto the transom and kick.
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It's perfectly possible if you scull at the bow. If I get tired I sit and await rescue, if you get tired you drown.
 
Wyhen she said messaged - I wonder if she meant sent a text / I message. He may then have not actually received it / noticed it for a while so I can understand why he may not have raised the alarm.

The bit I don't understand is why she couldn't either bow paddle or use her phone to ring the authorities. Presumably she wasn't rowing very far out to the Rival so wouldn't have had much worse signal than when she messaged before setting off.

Very odd.
 
RichardS said:
That's women for you. :o

My Wife spilt a carton of cream when she was taking it from the fridge earlier this evening. I immediately said "Oh dear. That was clearly my fault". She replied "Yes it was ... and I'll soon work out why".

The daft thing is that she is not joking. :ambivalence:

Richard
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As the saying goes in our house: Her mistake, my fault.
 
Seven Spades said:
If she lost an oar then it is possible that she was blown away, I do not believe it is possible to paddle with one oar. However who would just sit in the boat whilst it happens, it is not like there are sharks. I would just jump over the side hold onto the transom and kick.
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You can paddle with one oar no problem , but if th e wind was blowing hard then you would had a problem , I sure if it was my partner or me and I not what you would call a good swimmer , we would had jump in and swim back to the boat or shore rather then get swept out to sea , bugger the dinghy.
I think there more to this story , but we not going to know .
 
newtothis said:
Hasn't RT retired from long distance voyaging? He was a high-latitude sailor, not a RTWer. Ming Ming is now owned by a French chap, I think. Roger has done what he said was probably his last big offshore voyage in Ming Ming 2 in the past year or two.

I went inside the original Corribee at the boat show a few years back. It is very small.
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You are correct he was not a circumnavigator merely wandering solo to far places. His description of his Greenland voyage is fairly awesome. As it was indeed Ming Ming not MM2 that I saw so I knew the person sailing her was not RT himself. I hadnt known it was sold to a Frenchman however but does explain its presence off Port Navalo
 
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