clyst
Well-Known Member
Was he brave or just plain stupid ? I know what I think . Cant make out if its a blue ensign well worth watching though.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6gMDlTTN6A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6gMDlTTN6A
Would you have attempted to board ?
- Thread starter clyst
- Start date
colind3782
Well-Known Member
Gutsy, I'll give him that.
prv
Well-Known Member
In the circumstances, yes.
I hope I'd have worked smarter not harder though, for example tying a loop of line round a stanchion to put a foot in rather than just repeatedly trying and failing at the chin-up technique.
Pete
I hope I'd have worked smarter not harder though, for example tying a loop of line round a stanchion to put a foot in rather than just repeatedly trying and failing at the chin-up technique.
Pete
William_H
Well-Known Member
Would you attempt to Board this boat?
Interesting video.
Firstly it looked like the boat was anchored so no urgent reason to board the boat and it clearly was dangerous. The crew would have been better off staying safe and waiting.
If as I initially thought the boat was adrift then yes I would have been willing to at least approach the boat with a view to getting on board. Clearly the boat was not easy to board. You wonder how the crew got off. It had high top sides and rails all around.
Being older I would be more afraid of injury than of being dropped into the sea. I am fairly comfortable in the water. (Pitcairn is in the tropics isn't it?) I frequently board my own little boat from the water rather than use the dinghy. (in summer and still water)
My closest experience was when the little boat cam adrift from tied up at a jetty. With 2 sails set. A friend in a similar sized boat took me out in chase. I ended up leaping from one boat to the other while going in opposite directions each doing about 5 knots. I crashed into the cockpit with no injuries but was shaken to realise I could have really been hurt in the arrival. A younger person might be more confident but as you get older you lose confidence in your own agility. olewill
Interesting video.
Firstly it looked like the boat was anchored so no urgent reason to board the boat and it clearly was dangerous. The crew would have been better off staying safe and waiting.
If as I initially thought the boat was adrift then yes I would have been willing to at least approach the boat with a view to getting on board. Clearly the boat was not easy to board. You wonder how the crew got off. It had high top sides and rails all around.
Being older I would be more afraid of injury than of being dropped into the sea. I am fairly comfortable in the water. (Pitcairn is in the tropics isn't it?) I frequently board my own little boat from the water rather than use the dinghy. (in summer and still water)
My closest experience was when the little boat cam adrift from tied up at a jetty. With 2 sails set. A friend in a similar sized boat took me out in chase. I ended up leaping from one boat to the other while going in opposite directions each doing about 5 knots. I crashed into the cockpit with no injuries but was shaken to realise I could have really been hurt in the arrival. A younger person might be more confident but as you get older you lose confidence in your own agility. olewill
colind3782
Well-Known Member
It may have been appropriate to get a line to the boat somehow to bring a bit of control into it. He obviously didn't have the upper body strength to do a straight pull up from the water.
Malcb
Well-Known Member
Maybe they should have got on board earlier.
VO5
Well-Known Member
Actually it is very simple, and probably an oversight.
What is missing is a pilot ladder.
What is missing is a pilot ladder.
prv
Well-Known Member
Actually it is very simple, and probably an oversight.
What is missing is a pilot ladder.
Good point
. Even if the swell hadn't got up, it would have been an awkward climb back on board without it. I've seen that video several times before now, and it never occurred to me that they'd shot themselves in the foot the moment they first headed for the shore. KS has a demountable boarding ladder rather than a modern swim platform; whenever I anchored or moored with any possibility of swimming or taking the dinghy, I would rig the ladder immediately to make sure I didn't forget!
Pete
Steve C Cronin
N/A
Wouldn't use your "loop of line". Get your foot tangled in it and you dangle 'till you drown! A rope boarding ladder with wooden treads looped over the midships cleat would be much safer, also you should be able to expect the least relative movement at that point. The situation also needs for both men to get a hold of the boat at the same time and hold the dinghy tight against the yacht hull then wait for the dinghy to rise to it's highest before stepping aboard. Had a similar experience once getting on board the Poole Lifeboat in F7-8 off the Milkmaid Bank.Not much fun! Wasn't the yacht Australian?
skipper681
Well-Known Member
That's 14 mins of pure stupidity right there,
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Seajet
...
This has been on here before.
For a start Pitcairn is notorious, so if leaving a boat unattended a boarding ladder would indeed be a good idea.
As presumably my whole world would be pitching to that anchor, yes I'd board but I'm sure I could do a better job than that; one wonders how they got to such a remote place, looking at their boat handling right from launching the dinghy !
For a start Pitcairn is notorious, so if leaving a boat unattended a boarding ladder would indeed be a good idea.
As presumably my whole world would be pitching to that anchor, yes I'd board but I'm sure I could do a better job than that; one wonders how they got to such a remote place, looking at their boat handling right from launching the dinghy !
35mm
Well-Known Member
I would certainly do all I could to save my boat if it was in danger and if the conditions had have worsened, it would have been in danger and they would have been in more danger trying to rescue it. They had a rib that could cope with those conditions, they weren't too far from shore and they had people ashore keeping an eye on them so from that point of view they were not completely mad heading out to save the boat while they still could. I think the stupidity is more relevant to them anchoring there in the first place, letting the conditions get that bad before responding and not having a sensible means of boarding, but hey we all screw up from time to time! At least they managed to save the boat.
Dave100456
Well-Known Member
Not wishing to judge as I wasn't there and a 2D video can be misleading but in answer to the OPs question;
Yes, I would have, if needed, attempted boarding. (because I hold the view that it would be within my capabilities) Probably not with a LJ on like that shown (wait for incomming) as it'd restrict my climbing/swimming ability.
No, wouldn't have launched the dinghy in that manner.
Yes, I would have mounted outboard in centre of transom (it appears to be some way off C/L to stbd)
Yes, I would have, if needed, attempted boarding. (because I hold the view that it would be within my capabilities) Probably not with a LJ on like that shown (wait for incomming) as it'd restrict my climbing/swimming ability.
No, wouldn't have launched the dinghy in that manner.
Yes, I would have mounted outboard in centre of transom (it appears to be some way off C/L to stbd)
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pugwash60
Well-Known Member
Pitcairn is a poor anchorage and completely exposed. I'd guess they'd been ashore, spent the night, or been for a walk etc. and returned to find the conditions as on film. Wishing to re board was completely understandable. (As was going ashore, it's a long way from anywhere so a lot of time has gone into getting there).
They achieved a successful boarding in trying conditions (albeit, no where near the storm conditions in the title) without losing their hats. I doubt that their lifejackets assisted in the boarding and would certainly have made it harder to get back aboard the dinghy. I'd assess the biggest danger as being from the outboards propeller.
A pilot ladder rigged and left swinging wouldn't last very long ( I left one on a tow once from Liverpool to Piraeus thinking we might want to re board the tow, it had chafed through before we got out of the Irish sea) and would be continuously damaging the topsides.
I'm sure that they have thought about it since and come up with better ideas not least amongst which would be to leave the 'gate' in the rails open, prior to leaving - (it looked to me like they had netting rigged between the wires which would have been making it harder) and to attach the dinghy painter up forward on the yacht positioning the dinghy where they wish it, so that the dinghy has a chance of staying in the same relative position whilst the boarder timed his attempts to board and was still there to assist him on succesive waves.
From the water I've always found the anchor cable a reasonable means of accessing large boats if no other alternative appears possible, or if trying the pull up method I find that the trick is first to try to swing a leg or two up to hook over the rail or something, then there is less weight to 'pull up' and a foothold has already been established.
I was slightly amused by their disinclination to get wet whilst launching their dinghy.
They achieved a successful boarding in trying conditions (albeit, no where near the storm conditions in the title) without losing their hats. I doubt that their lifejackets assisted in the boarding and would certainly have made it harder to get back aboard the dinghy. I'd assess the biggest danger as being from the outboards propeller.
A pilot ladder rigged and left swinging wouldn't last very long ( I left one on a tow once from Liverpool to Piraeus thinking we might want to re board the tow, it had chafed through before we got out of the Irish sea) and would be continuously damaging the topsides.
I'm sure that they have thought about it since and come up with better ideas not least amongst which would be to leave the 'gate' in the rails open, prior to leaving - (it looked to me like they had netting rigged between the wires which would have been making it harder) and to attach the dinghy painter up forward on the yacht positioning the dinghy where they wish it, so that the dinghy has a chance of staying in the same relative position whilst the boarder timed his attempts to board and was still there to assist him on succesive waves.
From the water I've always found the anchor cable a reasonable means of accessing large boats if no other alternative appears possible, or if trying the pull up method I find that the trick is first to try to swing a leg or two up to hook over the rail or something, then there is less weight to 'pull up' and a foothold has already been established.
I was slightly amused by their disinclination to get wet whilst launching their dinghy.
awol
Well-Known Member
If it is a blue ensign they deserve to suffer - leaving it flying with no one on board is the height of bad etiquette and agin the conditions of the warrant!
It would have easier without a life jacket.
It would have easier without a life jacket.
davidej
Well-Known Member
I think this has been posted before and there was an urgent need to get aboad.
From what I remember, a very severe onshore storm was expected (even wrse than shown) and they needed to move the boat into shelter.
gasdave
Well-Known Member
Hindsight is a wonderful educator 
It would....it would also have been easier to drown when 60' of beautiful pitching ketch lands on your head. I think in this situation, having already made the decision to attempt to board, wearing a life jacket is very sensible. Admittedly it would have been easier with a better fitting L/J and a crotch strap.
For similar reasons I'm not sure that fixing the dinghy to the side of the yacht would be very safe either and may end up compromising the dinghy if the yacht were to land on it. Although attaching some form of line with a bit of slack would be OK. If they were really thinking about it they could have prepared themselves much better than they did, with some means of boarding. It would be obvious from the shore that boarding in these conditions would be challenging/sporting/dangerous.
I had the impression that this was not actually their boat (not sure why!) and that they were attempting to move it for someone else. Perhaps that might explain some of the "poor preparation"? Anyway I wouldn't criticise them for trying - I would have given it a go. The helmsman in the dinghy did an excellent job.
It would....it would also have been easier to drown when 60' of beautiful pitching ketch lands on your head. I think in this situation, having already made the decision to attempt to board, wearing a life jacket is very sensible. Admittedly it would have been easier with a better fitting L/J and a crotch strap.
For similar reasons I'm not sure that fixing the dinghy to the side of the yacht would be very safe either and may end up compromising the dinghy if the yacht were to land on it. Although attaching some form of line with a bit of slack would be OK. If they were really thinking about it they could have prepared themselves much better than they did, with some means of boarding. It would be obvious from the shore that boarding in these conditions would be challenging/sporting/dangerous.
I had the impression that this was not actually their boat (not sure why!) and that they were attempting to move it for someone else. Perhaps that might explain some of the "poor preparation"? Anyway I wouldn't criticise them for trying - I would have given it a go. The helmsman in the dinghy did an excellent job.
rivonia
Well-Known Member
Good for them. We as live aboards have done similar, allthough having a Catamaran makes it a lot easier. When its your home and you have the courage/guts to do it then we would possibly all have a go. He did it.
It was so easy to sit here and watch. Different for him.
Peter
It was so easy to sit here and watch. Different for him.
Peter
prv
Well-Known Member
Sure, and an electric pilot hoist with crew on hand to help you aboard would have been even better, but neither it nor your wooden ladder were available. I was imagining myself in the situation at the start of the video and going from there.
Pete