What is the most hairy harbour / marina entry you have ever faced??

[U4]

Our scariest was probably Dover - just after this photo was taken

Spring tides westerly entrance - wondering if we could turn into the harbour without smashing against the southern breakwater.
Compounded by one stuck windscreen wiper - instructions being shouted from someone looking out of another window.

Wowzers :ambivalence::ambivalence:

at least the sun was shining!

 

[lpdsn]

...that someone stood at the bow while he tried it...

That's what surprised me the most. Make me suspect there was a lot more luck than judgement in it.

 

[Nautical]

That's what surprised me the most. Make me suspect there was a lot more luck than judgement in it.

Indeed, if you look around 0.35 he is heading at a rate of knots for a big smash into the concrete jetty and just at the right second a wave lifts him away, could have all ended very badly very quickly.

 

[ebbanflo]

Dover Western in strong tides and winds is also known as 'the washing machine! It is a very wide entrance, but in those sort of conditions it really does take concentration and effort, and appears to be impossibly narrow - and I know Beaucette well!

 

[capnsensible]

Aguadulce marina, Spain. Delivering a Sunseeker 64 from Majorca to Lanzarotte. Heavy airs, big seas. Handbrake turn by beach into marina. Biggest hazard inside was the Spanish Lifeboat near the reception dock........

 

[gjgm]

Not sure.. might have been some years ago in Brittany ..we were holed up in Roscoff and over the harbour wall spotted this tough looking Fairline Turbo heading out..obviously a Brit who knew these waters well and wasnt going to be discouraged by the odd frothy wave top. Never knew what happened to him....
Probably the same area for us. Came out of Trebeurden after having been holed up there for the whole damn holiday. Hell, it is just round the corner, right? SWMBO was given a stern talking to (ok white water within the harbour wall wasnt helping my story, and she had collapsed in a heap off Cap de la Hague...for goodness sake,how can I concentrate on the Spice Girls lyrics if the crew has passed out?).Anyway.was going swimingly, almost, and we came to Tregieur river..have you had enough or shall we push on the last 5 miles? I couldnt quite hear the answer over the defibrillator, but we pushed on.
Ok, now it didn't get even remotely funny. I have subsequently (unfortunate timing) read that there are a few places not to find yourself and one is wind over tide with the lezaerdriu river in full Spring flood especially after a couple of weeks F8 storm. Maybe I didnt need to read that.... 200metres to one side is the most horrible rocks you might see in a nightmare and in front..well the sky disappeared. Full throttle and we werent even going forward. Even then I recalled HLB"s story about coming off waves and the subsequenr hole and broken limbs. I have no idea what size these waves were, and it was one of times in one's life that I concluded we might be going to die but fortunately, eventually, they passed under us.
Next day I gave some guy out to his 100ft 100 year old barge and he asked us when we came in. When I told him, he looked thoughtful and said, You should never have been there.. and that was probably one of the most sobering criticisms I have ever received.
Still, on the positve, French medical care restored SWMBO to full mental health after a couple of months and now any wave less than 5 metres and she just yawns.
She isnt driving though...

 

[Kawasaki]

Port Patrick, SW Scotland with a big sea astern. Keep to the leading line but it looks as if you are heading towards the rocks, sharp turn to port at the last moment and enter the calm of the inner harbour. Then crew (SWMBO) had to climb the harbour wall in a thunder storm. Perhaps not my most popular landfall!

Yep IDAMAY, I can concur, went in there once in a semi displacement vessel with a single engine, She would broach no problem at the drop of an eyelid in a following sea
Delivering the boat to Anglesey and that was our bolt hole
Only just made that 'lefter hander' cos thats the way She happened to broach!!
Owner thought I had planned it
No chance.
But He was impressed, I sh!t myself!!

 

[jhr]

Cowes, 4.30 pm on a summer Saturday afternoon, during one of the Swan regattas. Several wealthy Alpha Males trying to out-macho each other by racing for, and being last to pull down their sails before entering, Cowes Yacht Haven, all of them completely oblivious (or uncaring) as to the volume of traffic around them, and only marginally in control of their own craft. Then, to add a bit of extra excitement, the Cowes Harbourmaster in his yellow rib was sitting, broadside on, blocking half the channel. Otherwise, all was peace and tranquillity .

 

[Nautical]

Lagness point, Isle of Man, was drifting along merrily beam on to the waves in a 21' fishy boat hauling mackerel goodo, wind started to get up over an hour or so and started to think jeez actually this is getting rather lumpy, we were really rockin and rolling at that point, thought right O we'll head into Castletown, turned around to face behind us and within 100 yards was the Lagness rip, wind against tide looking like hells washing machine, really big sharp short waves with breakers on the top. Turn key, nothing, no engine, dead as door nail just churning over and over. Now we are in it, can't explain what it was like, one of those you had to be there moments , but a bit of wee came out , We were disappearing from view into the bottom and then whoosh up again over the crest and down again, couldn't move about just had to hold on, 10 minutes and we were out the other side. Plonk aux outboard onto bracket and give it the berries about 2 mile out to sea and then around the edge of the rip and into Castletown. got in and started shaking, delayed shock I guess. If we had gone over that would have been it, lights out, we would have been dragged under. Stupid mistake and my fault for not keeping a look out, learnt my lesson.

 

[nigelmercier]

Warning: do not under any circumstances Google "hairy marina"

 

[jrudge]

It was rather good !

 

[Nautical]

This is what it sort of looked like, yes that's Clarkson's house / light house in the background at Lagness.

Lagness point, Isle of Man, was drifting along merrily beam on to the waves in a 21' fishy boat hauling mackerel goodo, wind started to get up over an hour or so and started to think jeez actually this is getting rather lumpy, we were really rockin and rolling at that point, thought right O we'll head into Castletown, turned around to face behind us and within 100 yards was the Lagness rip, wind against tide looking like hells washing machine, really big sharp short waves with breakers on the top. Turn key, nothing, no engine, dead as door nail just churning over and over. Now we are in it, can't explain what it was like, one of those you had to be there moments , but a bit of wee came out , We were disappearing from view into the bottom and then whoosh up again over the crest and down again, couldn't move about just had to hold on, 10 minutes and we were out the other side. Plonk aux outboard onto bracket and give it the berries about 2 mile out to sea and then around the edge of the rip and into Castletown. got in and started shaking, delayed shock I guess. If we had gone over that would have been it, lights out, we would have been dragged under. Stupid mistake and my fault for not keeping a look out, learnt my lesson.