HoratioHB
Well-Known Member
Part of my recent insurance claim:
'Boat was secured to a mooring in the northern part of Portsmouth harbour Dominica. Woken at 0100 by a series of bangs and discovered we were almost out of the harbour. We were dragging the buoy with all our lines intact on the buoy (one to the pickup line and one to the ring on the top of the buoy) In drifting out we had hit a catamaran mainly with our anchor on his port side. We cleared the cat and released the buoy as I did not want any trailing lines caught on our prop. We then started the engine and re-anchored the boat.
I have now been advised that the complete mooring including anchor is missing and this has possible been caused, either by boats anchoring too close and damaging the ground tackle or not using sufficient scope on their bridles causing a vertical lift on the ground tackle.'
A scary moment and incredibly disorientating to hear a loud crash, come up on deck in the pitch black, see you are still 'secure' to a mooring and then realise that if you had been 6 inches to the left you would have missed the cat and ended up on the rocks 500yds to leeward.
However, in reflection what has really given us pause for thought is what would have happened had we ended up on the rocks. When sailing we have a grab bag, lots of stuff like EPIRBS etc etc and we often rebrief on what to do and so I would like to think we are reasonably prepared. But you are fast asleep and suddenly the boat is being smashed up around you?? Obviously there is no set answer but we have agreed that the probably the portable VHF and the grab bag, which lives under the chart table would be the most important. Also as we were moored, the dinghy was astern with the engine in and would probably have been of far more use than the liferaft.
A salutory experience and I will rely on my own ground tackle in future (as I am whilst I write this!!)
'Boat was secured to a mooring in the northern part of Portsmouth harbour Dominica. Woken at 0100 by a series of bangs and discovered we were almost out of the harbour. We were dragging the buoy with all our lines intact on the buoy (one to the pickup line and one to the ring on the top of the buoy) In drifting out we had hit a catamaran mainly with our anchor on his port side. We cleared the cat and released the buoy as I did not want any trailing lines caught on our prop. We then started the engine and re-anchored the boat.
I have now been advised that the complete mooring including anchor is missing and this has possible been caused, either by boats anchoring too close and damaging the ground tackle or not using sufficient scope on their bridles causing a vertical lift on the ground tackle.'
A scary moment and incredibly disorientating to hear a loud crash, come up on deck in the pitch black, see you are still 'secure' to a mooring and then realise that if you had been 6 inches to the left you would have missed the cat and ended up on the rocks 500yds to leeward.
However, in reflection what has really given us pause for thought is what would have happened had we ended up on the rocks. When sailing we have a grab bag, lots of stuff like EPIRBS etc etc and we often rebrief on what to do and so I would like to think we are reasonably prepared. But you are fast asleep and suddenly the boat is being smashed up around you?? Obviously there is no set answer but we have agreed that the probably the portable VHF and the grab bag, which lives under the chart table would be the most important. Also as we were moored, the dinghy was astern with the engine in and would probably have been of far more use than the liferaft.
A salutory experience and I will rely on my own ground tackle in future (as I am whilst I write this!!)
