Things we'd rather didn't happen at sea - experiences

Neraida

Neraida

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Things we\'d rather didn\'t happen at sea - experiences

Was thinking about the day we put the new, more powerful outboard on, went out and watched it try to rip the outboard bracket out and whizz off to the green room. Was a bit nervewracking hanging onto it till we tied up and quite funny looking back....

Before I get flamed, I know these kind of threads pop up a lot but there are always new forumites and new stories about!


Claire
 
Re: Things we\'d rather didn\'t happen at sea - experiences

Leaving a strange port and navigating using your new large scale chart of the area . The sea was a bit lumpy and the wind gusty, When a large wave broke over the top of us , followed by a large gust of wind, and your chart goes flying off the flybrigde and disappears into your wash. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif
 
Re: Things we\'d rather didn\'t happen at sea - experiences

Then on next big wave crew and cushion slide over side on slipery plastic sleeve.
 
Re: Things we\'d rather didn\'t happen at sea - experiences

At the end of one rough trip while getting the mainsail down SWMBO's sister threw up into the folds of the sail. We ignored it and carried on folding the sail. Forgot all about it until we re-hoisted on our departure.
 
Re: Things we\'d rather didn\'t happen at sea - experiences

First time sailing in South Brittany, aiming for Benodet which I'd last visited as a child. After lots of bouy counting along the coast my girlfriend and I got comprehensively lost in a bay full of rocks and buoys and couldn't work out which was harbour was which and couldn't identify any of the bouy names from the chart . We eventually spotted big red and green posts and headed in somewhere.

Thank God there was a marina inside and I learnt the hard way that if you're navigating near the edge of the chart then it's always worth looking at the next chart to see if you've strayed. We worked out we were in Concarnau only when we saw the marina sign and were so flustered that I had stepped over sheets 3 times whilst putting fenders out before we noticed that we were turning into a marina berth with full sail up.
 
Re: Things we\'d rather didn\'t happen at sea - experiences

Coming into Jersy from the west, saw a brown thing on the surface of the water - sewage I thought until 3m away it was a ROCK. The buoy marking it (not on the chart!) was conveniently hiding under the lee of the sail - real oh s**t moment..
 
Re: Things we\'d rather didn\'t happen at sea - experiences

Trying to round Start Point up to Dartmouth in 34knts of NE wind. I'd been off watch for about an hour but wasnt sleeping, just trying to stop rolling out of the top of the lee cloth.

I was called back on deck, "we have a problem". When I'd got my gear back on and slipped along a cabin sole that had rather 'soupy' looking bilge water sloshing around, I climbed back on deck with the wind now up to 38knts. I was greeted wth a boom stuck out over the port side and the remains of the main sheet sitting on the cockpit sole.

We were able to bring her head to wind, lassoe the end of the boom and drop the main. "OH ******! lets forget Dartmouth and go into Plymouth under genny". It was a popular call.
 
Re: Things we\'d rather didn\'t happen at sea - experiences

Roundabout an F7 gusting 8 and we were racing back to Ramsgate from Burnham. Full pelt kite run out of the Crouch, and now we have to turn right at the Whitaker. Call for kite to be orderly removed from its current position at top of mast, to dark position inside bag.
Muggins on foredeck. OK, let fly!. Sh#t it hasn't moved. No sign of the kite dropping a single inch. Cant turn right then. So I was deputised, knife in teeth up to the top in big rolling sea, still doing lots of knots. Sh#t. Cut the halyard away as the line had jammed in the side of the sheave block. Took about 10 minutes of hanging on and sawing away. Quite a bang and a lurch in the mast when the thing went.
My colleagues then lowered me to the deck, where I discovered I had no muscle power left at all, and just slithered to the deck.
As a lifelong sufferer from Vertigo, this was an achievement that crowned the Parachute Jump at Ipswich Airport.
Never again we hope. Sh#t.
 
Re: Things we\'d rather didn\'t happen at sea - experiences

Bringing my boat to her new berth on the Blackwater after my first season of ownership, we anchored in a small creek west of Brightlingsea as twilight faded. High water was at midday the next day, which dawned grey and foggy. It cleared enough to navigate by 3pm, so we set off, not knowing how much water we'd find. The chart I had showed the entrance to Maylandsea creek but no detail. We found the creek, followed the buoys around the first bend and were greeted with the sight of a wide stretch of water where two creeks met, with some withies in the distance. The channel was obviously in there somehere, but to the left, right, or middle? I chose the middle, which was the highest point of the sandbank. At least I was able to walk up to the boatyard and ask the best route up the creek. It was a fitting introduction to sailing a fin keel boat on the east coast.
 
Re: Things we\'d rather didn\'t happen at sea - experiences

It was SWMBO's second with me trip to Newport.

The flexible coupling had been making some "I'm not happy" noises that got worse after a couple of trips up the small boat channel against the last of the spring ebb. Pinching the tide going up to Newport then trying to drive over (through?) the hump off the pontoon probably didn't help.

On the way back down the Medina it was making "I mean it. I'm really unhappy now" noises. As a precaution, we'd put the rubber duck's outboard on the transom bracket and made sure it was full. Got safely out into the Solent, sails up and turned right. Everything's fine, so we stop the engine. The wind's a bit feeble, but we're in no hurry, gently crossing the main channel until we see a rather large container ship heading our way. At our present rate of progress, we'll be in it's way, so we'll start the donk and get out of the channel. Donk starts fine. Put it in gear and the nasty noises have gone. Unfortunately so has the drive.

VERY glad to have the outboard! First test of the new coupling is sheduled for this weekend.

I'm getting a bit paranoid about taking SWMBO to Newport. Last year - our first time there we discovered that our venerable - and rather asthmatic - MD1 took just 1/4 mile less than the distance from Hardway to Newport to empty its sump into the bilges. Now this time it's the coupling...
 
Re: Things we\'d rather didn\'t happen at sea - experiences

Two particular experiences we suffered during our return from Portugal. Coming up to Cape Finisterre against a steadily rising wind, asked Richard to reef the genoa. He pulled the furling line, but the sail remained resolutely full. He went forward (very bravely) warning me to slow the boat down so he didn't get drenched, to find all the screws from the foil missing. Of course they were an American thread (Hood), which we didn't carry, but we managed to cobble it up enough to reef down. Just as well, went into steady 30-35 knots with gusts of 40. Not the sort conditions to have to sail into.
Second was two days later, when having sailed into a nice relaxed high pressure area with hardly any wind, starting the engine to motor upwind homeward, I heard a strange sound from the engine room. Rushed down to check, and found clouds of smoke. Turned off the engine, woke Richard, and found the starter motor burned out. Managed to cobble it up enough to get one start, and got into Camaret. Six days awaiting a new starter; it is amazing how much French you can pick up when trying to get the local guys to hurry up necessary repairs!
 
Re: Things we\'d rather didn\'t happen at sea - experiences

Two experiences in Croatia last month. Losing the end of the mainsheet out of the inboard sheave (no stopper knot, mea culpa) so it dangled off the middle of the boom about 8 feet away from the side of the boat, in a force six.

And a couple of days later, just as the lee rail went under there was an almighty commotion from the stern as all the kedge anchor chain and warp (not the anchor, thank God) emptied itself out of the bucket on the pushpit, over the side. A kind of automatic speed limiter.

In both cases, a quick turn into the wind while we sorted ourselves out, and then off again.
 
Re: Things we\'d rather didn\'t happen at sea - experiences

Here we go- never admitted before.

I was taking our previous boat from Dartmouth to Plymouth to pick up our new boat and had a very embarassing experience. The journey was all going beautifully and I was just of Prawle Point under motor, when there was a huge thunk and the engine stopped very abruptly. THis was an old Hunter Delta with a 9.9 Hp OB in a locker well. I looked down and saw a pink shimmer under the boat- I'd picked up a submerged crabpot marker. I'd been doing the crabpot slalom and just hadn't seen the marker submerged in the tidal stream.

I just couldn't shift the thing- the boat was anchored to a crabpot in a good going tidal stream of about 1.5 knots. I called the coastguard just to let them know my situation, but at no point used any PAN or MAY words, just that I would keep them informed. After1.5 hours of swearing, I still couldn't free the boat and was about to settle down and wait for slack water. At that point, there was an orange blur on the horizon and the Salcombe ILB stormed to my rescue!! They offered me a tow, which was great , except 2 huge Mariner OBs pulling my little boat, anchored to the bottom by the outboard meant the OB became rabid caged animal trying to jump out of the locker. I eventually managed to cut the rope with a fishing knife on the end of a boat hook.. Ther was a huge twang, the ILB surged forward and mylittle boat took off at about 12 knots.

Back to the post title- You really don't want the parade of shame as you're towed into Salcombe with everbody looking at you. To cap it all, several of the local fishermen came down to whose pot I'd caught.
 
Re: Things we\'d rather didn\'t happen at sea - experiences

Reaching down the solent standing on deck midships having a pee over the side (donwind of course) 'safely' positioned with a shroud braced across each sholder. Next thing big puff and boat falls over, water going past my nose at 10 kts with my tackle dragging in the water. Trousers got wet from a couple of different sources.
 
Re: Things we\'d rather didn\'t happen at sea - experiences

.......and they last forever. SWMOs first cruise.

About 15 years ago, I persuaded SWBO to come cruising with another club member who'd put up a notice that he'd like some company on a club cruise. I only had a dinghy at the time & SWMBO had never been on anything bigger. I'd never been out with this guy before.

We got on the boat in Gosport to find fresh water all over the cabin sole - fresh water flexi tank had punctured. So we cleaned that up and set off to Swanage. We'd arranged to meet up with other club boats just west of Yarmouth. Then we find the radio was dead & we couldn't contact or find any of them. We bounced through Hurst close hauled with the wind increased. Skipper was reluctant to reef even though we were well over-powered. By this time SWMBO & the skipper had decided they didn't like each other. Eventually we had a reef in & settled down for a nice sail to Swanage.

The next day we just got enough wind to get back to Hurst but with the tide against us we ended up motoring through. By now we had zero wind & lots of tide all the way to Cowes. Half way to the Folly the engine quit. We're out of fuel (petrol). Spare fuel for the dinghy outbord was pre-mixed & the skipper wouldn't put it in. We ended up drifting sideways down the Medina until we just got enough wind in the entrance to get back Pompy.

One the way in (under sail with no call to QHM) a large shiney cat offered us a tow which the skipper quietly declined. "Oh yes we bl....dy do shouted SWMBO".

12 years later I finally persuaded SMBO to let me buy a boat with a lid!!!!!!!!
 
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