When did you last touch bottom?

FullCircle

FullCircle

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Full Circle in Burnham Week on the 1st bend in the Roach keeping out of the tide. We hit doing 5 kts, and I noticed when we slowed to 4.5kts, and was able to just steer us out into the tide a bit.
No red faces.
 
Three weeks ago going into Foxs marina at LW.

For a place that sells Oysters it sure is a poorly laid out marina. We arrived after HM had gone home (1700) and had to find a space. HM tells me they are now going to hang red or green discs on vacant berths so you know if they will be free that night. Still no way of finding out where the gaps are until you've gone down a dead end!
 
The last time was on the Deben Bar at LW+1hr at Neaps.
Just checking the depth with the keel! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Before that (apart from drying out to scrub weed off) was in the same place as FullCircle.
Over stood a tack and stopped.
Got off by jacking the keel up.
Goldfish(Who was on board at the time) was impressed by the speed with which I got it up. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif
 
Santana, Andrews Spit 11/08/07. But you knew that except the date 'cos I just posted it in the Laying Down Supper thread.

I also managed to come to grinding halt in the putty turning around at the top of Hamford Water at low water on 10/06/07, but reversed back off OK under power.

Having shoal draft, a long keel, and a couple of bilge plates makes one a little blase about shallow water and echosounder readings, at least in sheltered waters. I have had another couple of groundings outside of the rivers though.

Once was trying to lower the main and get going again under headsail just outside the Walton Backwaters in 2003. On that occasion I chose to blame my (experienced) crew member for failing to back the headsail when it was unfurled again as instructed - he sailed us on instead of turning the boat. No harm done - it was calm, and the tide was rising, and anyway a good few revs in reverse eventually got us off.

More worrying was in 2000, when I managed to park on the Deben Bar (falling tide). £20 got us a tow off from Duncan Read, though the first rope broke, and the second had to be chucked (7 tons of Golden Hind with 3 keels all in the sand). It wasn't a good start to a practice weekend for the Coastal Skipper exam, but at least by way of consolation they removed the leading marks in the subsequent week and Trinity House put in the buoys. It was early in the season, and the bar had moved, but the marks had stayed in the same place as the previous year.

A little like Neil, when I review my record, I appear to be a habitual bottom toucher, but perhaps I do so considerably more firmly than he does.

The moral - don't ever follow Santana anywhere unless your draft is appreciably less than 4ft.
 
Weekend before christmas coming in to Hamford Water in the dark and forgot to turn !!! /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gifEnded up on the mud spit at the entrance to Twizzle for about 20mins. Had a beer and put the dinner in the oven until lifted off by the tide. Overall about 3 times a year I reckon /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
Last Sunday - just off the Orwell Bridge.

Tried to pass the green can the wrong side to avoid having to tack.
At LW! Stupid boy!

Backed the genoa - blew off - tried to make it look like that it was what I had planned to to all along.

Last time before that - August 2006 - stuck on a sandbank for 2 hours between Burnham & Ramsgate - these things move /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif . According to my 5 year old charts there was supposed to be 2.3m there above CD at MLWS.
Now go outside - always.
 
Passed you as I was heading in to Ipswich literally 2 mins just after that and missed a superb opportunity of getting a pic of Guapa storming along, - I was on my own and sorting the boat out for the lock into the wet dock.
 
Begining of august approaching the hammer head at north fambridge at LW was first time in Artemis was useful as now know that the sounder offset is correct. managed to wiggle off and done anothe circuit second approach just eased on, was desprate to get on there as there was a piss up in full swing for a friend who was moving to devon and didnt want to miss it /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif
 
Embarrassingly, we also hit the bottom coming into Fox's a couple of weeks ago. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

It's supposed to have 2.5m minimum at all states of the tide but we draw 1.6m and touched at the 'hump' near the red can just on the edge of the main channel.

Fortunately, no-one we knew saw and we managed to use our 120hp of engine power to go astern and get off.

The next time I wont be going so close to the red can.

The reason for the lack of depth in certain parts of the marina is that the dredging that was carried out at the beginning of the year was continually delayed as the dredger managed to blow about four engines. They are coming back next month to finish off the job. Good news for you, bad for me as I will be woken at four in the morning every so often! /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif

On the subject of moorings, I don't think many marinas give you the luxury of being able to spot a free berth from afar as you normally end up going past the end of a run. You also end up finding a free berth only to find the owners note that he will be back shortly on a label on a cleat or on the pontoon and have to back off. At least the idea of a red and green disc helps there.
 
...only once so far in Amber when coming up the Mersea Flete to our mooring at LW and Richard Head had a dory on a 20' line behind his Snotty.... Still, pump hard, lift rudder, and job was a good un. IT was something solid thouh that resulted in all aboard bowing!
 
In Brightlingsea a few weeks ago when we got neat mud coming up the heads; but that doesn't really count I suppose as we were moored, so the real answer is probably August 06 when I tried to cut a corner in Baltic Germany. No tides; very worrying.
 
Last weekend going into Heybridge Basin - there's a withy missing. Called up the lock and their advice was "give it some welly" which we duly did The furrow was there in the mud for all to see at low water!

Earlier this season we were coming up the Orwell and had a coaster coming up channel behind us. Dead ahead were two yachts under sail (as were we) so I edged out of the channel, waited until she touched then sat there, parked until all the kerfuffle had passed Then sheeted in and off she came... was quite proud of that one.

Sail a 2m draft boat around here for any time at all and you start to get a feel for where the bottom is!

Simon
 
Most recent: a month ago on West Mersea posts. With a wing keel she won't 'lean inwards'. On this occasion, she leaned slightly outwards /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

Most scary: SW Sunk, the year it closed up ('91?) but before Trinity House re-surveyed it. Bounced on a sand wave on the way back out again, soon after 'doing a 180'. Tried again half mile further SW (local fisherman reported more water) & crossed with 5 ft below keel, with heart in mouth.

Most surprising: Swallow Tail, before it officially existed ('88). I'm told it was previously there in Victorian times.
 
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