WNS (What Now Skip?) November

[timbartlett]

Here's this month's puzzle:

Our hero is in a 40 foot flybridge cruiser with twin shaft-drive engines, accompanied by his wife and teenage daughter, both of whom are competent crew, but neither are physically strong.

It's dusk, on a calm summer's evening, and they are pootling gently up a wide river estuary on the last of the flood tide, when the daughter notices a biggish flybridge cruiser -- he guesses about 55 foot -- drifting in the middle of the main channel, with its anchor chain hanging straight down from the bow roller. There's no sign of anyone on board: the lights are out and the doors and hatches are shut. Calling her by VHF and by voice yields no response. There's a small marina run by the local council about a mile or so down stream, but VHF and phone calls to the harbour master get no reply apart from an answering machine saying that the office is closed until 0830.

What now, skip?

• The idea is to offer a nautical puzzle, which experienced skippers will (hopefully) find interesting or entertaining, from which the less experienced may be able to learn something, and from which we can all pick up ideas.

• The WNS skipper is a fictional character. Any resemblance to a real individual is purely accidental, except that he occasionally makes mistakes, and he is not able to make time run backwards. So having got into a situation, he can't get out of it by wishing that he had done something different.

• WNS is not a competition to see who can match some hidden but predetermined solution. Of course I have an answer in mind (you wouldn't like it if I gave you an impossible situation, would you?) But mine may not be the best or only answer.

• If you think I've missed something or given confusing information please ask for clarification.

• Attributed extracts from selected posts will appear in the next issue of MBY.

All the best
Tim

 

[sarabande]

(Fire up the laptop, and check the procedure for salvage.)

Make ready the spare anchor, with a decent length of chain and rope, cos it's the top of the tide.
Prepare the anchor for dropping from the stern platform.
Put wife and daughter in charge of your own boat, and switch on the handheld VHF and the fixed one to the same channel.
Taking the HH, and a mobile phone with you, come gently along side and leap on board the derelict vessel, and make your way quickly to the bows.
Your own boat throws you the tail of the anchor warp, which you make fast. You radio SWMBO to go gently ahead (there's no tide remember) and the spare anchor drops neatly off your stern platform with the chain fully extended.
Your own boat also anchors nearby, and prepares the dinghy.
Check the vessel's anchor chain to see what's happened to the anchor.
Prepare your new command's kedge in case it's needed

At this point, you search the vessel for anyone on board in need of waking up or medical assistance, making a forced entry if necessary. If no-one on board, search for the owners' details or DSC no.

Phone CG and Police with details.

Call assorted friends for re-inforcements to back up your own crew restrictions.

 

[hlb]

Take it alongside, with your stern as far back as possible and attach springs and fore and aft. You now have control of both boats. Deal with the anchor if possible. Probably take both boats to the marina and moor them both up there, staying alongside. Though the anchor down might prevent this. The alternative being, dropping your own anchor some where and holding both boats.

 

[gjgm]

Are you sure its drifting, and the boat isnt just above the anchor ?

 

[Cliveshep]

Having picked up several "Marie Celeste's" over the years I'd come alongside, and bang on the side and shout to wake up anyone snoring down below. If no response the kind thing to do would be to put it somewhere where it will be safe without getting myelf into trouble of any sort whilst doing it. As it's the top of the tide with flood easing so no major currents to worry about just yet, so I'd come close alongside and drift with it whilst attaching it fore and aft to my own craft, making sure I'm well fendered, and then get under way to stay in control of both boats. I'd then make a call to the coastguard and advise them that I have a drifter in tow, name and any other details, and ask them where they'd like me to stick it where it will be safe and where I don't have to risk my own craft and crew dragging a much heavier and larger boat around too far. The coastguard ought to know because a drifter might indicate another problem, such as mob or failed theft. If no-one official wants responsibility I might just haul it back downriver and dump it off in the nearest marina, or alternatively, drag it to the side assuming no rocks and push it aground gently, and if possible re-set it's anchor so that, as the tide turns and starts to fall I have at least guaranteed it's safety and lack of mobility for the next 10 hours or so whilst the missing owners wake up to the fact that their pride and joy is no longer where they left it and start screaming to the police or coastguard. If there was one available, I might instead moor it to a pile or buoy. I'd then let the coastguard know where I'd left it and how and carry on about my own business. I know I could do far more, and claim costs for doing so, but in the conditions you describe my solution appears the least stressful to my own crew, solves a navigation hazard and maintains the drifting boat's safety in the most efficient way without making a crisis out of a drama. I'd assume that the owners if not aboard have to be off in the tender as the yacht was found drifting with anchor down(ish) after all, so they could easily come after it, guessing that it has drifted off with the rising tide,

As i say, I've done this several times over the years where people use "time knots" (usually lasting no more than 15 mins before unravelling) to moor their boats.

 

[oceanfroggie]

Simply call the coast guard and advise them of the hazard to navigation. They'll deal with it.