Would you have stayed on board?

[McFrancis]

As a relatively inexperienced skipper, I try to learn from others' experiences and consider two things:
1) how do I avoid the situation being described, which has been covered in this thread.
2) if I'm in the same situation, what should I do? In this case a dragging anchor and a storm.

My question to the group is, would or even could you run your engine in this situation to take pressure off the anchor, you're not aiming to move forward, just reduce the strain and prevent dragging.

 

[NormanS]

That’s an interesting story.....and of course it ties up with the original scenario where we don’t know who called the life boat.
But in your case....if later on during the night and full force of the storm...and you found yourself in serious trouble....would you hesitate to call the life boat out ?....or would you think, it’s my fault and I’ll accept the consequences ?

What would you do, if through your own bad luck or possibly carelessness, your house went up in flames? Would you hesitate to call the fire brigade? ...or would you think, it's my fault and I'll accept the consequences?

 

[Bouba]

What would you do, if through your own bad luck or possibly carelessness, your house went up in flames? Would you hesitate to call the fire brigade? ...or would you think, it's my fault and I'll accept the consequences?

If my house was smoldering and I told the fire brigade to eff off.....would I have the nerve to call them back when it becomes a deadly inferno...do you mean ?
The reality is...you are telling people my life only has value when you have been put in jeopardy

 

[Bouba]

A lot of people on this thread remind me of the yachtsman in the film Perfect Storm....his arrogance led to a delay in calling for assistance....and cost the rescue pilot his life

 

[Mark-1]

My question to the group is, would or even could you run your engine in this situation to take pressure off the anchor, you're not aiming to move forward, just reduce the strain and prevent dragging.

Yes, and it's quite a typical thing to do in extremis. (I never have.)

 

[Sea Change]

A lot of people on this thread remind me of the yachtsman in the film Perfect Storm....his arrogance led to a delay in calling for assistance....and cost the rescue pilot his life

You mean this yachtsman?
Westsail Owners Association - Satori - Perfect Storm the whole story

 

[Sea Change]

Yes, and it's quite a typical thing to do in extremis. (I never have.)

We've done it. Unforecast thunderstorm brought a 180⁰ wind shift and sustained 45kt winds with blinding hail the size of olives. We had holes in the spray hood afterwards. It put us on a lee shore and whilst we didn't actually drag, we decided to motor in to it to take some pressure off.
We'd dragged badly in similar conditions a few weeks earlier so we were a bit jumpy.

 

[WoodyP]

Yes, and it's quite a typical thing to do in extremis. (I never have.)

I have, and it works.

 

[Mark-1]

Y

You mean this yachtsman?
Westsail Owners Association - Satori - Perfect Storm the whole story

Yeah, no sign of anyone dying and far from supporting the idea that rescue should be immediately accepted it makes exactly the opposite case.

It would have been way safer for everyone involved for the crew to have stayed in the yacht.

 

[Bouba]

Y


Yeah, no sign of anyone dying and far from supporting the idea that rescue should be immediately accepted it makes exactly the opposite case.

It would have been way safer for everyone involved for the crew to have stayed in the yacht.

But we’ve moved on from not accepting help....to calling them back and admitting your error

 

[Mark-1]

But we’ve moved on from not accepting help....to calling them back and admitting your error

You said he'd declined rescue and someone died because of it.

If that article is correct you were wrong on both counts.

 

[Bouba]

You said he'd declined rescue and someone died because of it.

If that article is correct you were wrong on both counts.

I said...in the film....don’t put words in my mouth....I talk enough as it is

 

[SaltIre]

I said...in the film....don’t put words in my mouth....I talk enough as it is

Are you describing fiction or real events?

 

[Bouba]

Are you describing fiction or real events?

A character in a film......the actor played possibly the easiest role in cinematographic history....an arrogant yachtsman

 

[Fr J Hackett]

Are you describing fiction or real events?

He doesn't know the difference.

 

[benjenbav]

There was a second yacht, I think.

USCG helicopter SAR person died after helo ran out of fuel and ditched. One crew member not rescued. IRL and film.

 

[Bouba]

He doesn't know the difference.

That’s rich coming from you....do people know that when we met....you asked me if I thought you looked like Stewart Granger.....

 

[Supertramp]

As a relatively inexperienced skipper, I try to learn from others' experiences and consider two things:
1) how do I avoid the situation being described, which has been covered in this thread.
2) if I'm in the same situation, what should I do? In this case a dragging anchor and a storm.

My question to the group is, would or even could you run your engine in this situation to take pressure off the anchor, you're not aiming to move forward, just reduce the strain and prevent dragging.

As another relatively inexperienced skipper, asking those questions is a good start!

Point 1 - Monitor the weather systems in a wide area using Windy or similar to get a sense of what's developing. Monitor the forecasts for the few days before a gale hits - with Amy it went from a normal gale to severe in the days before it hit. Decide where best for you to weather a severe wind when you still have time to get there. It could be an anchorage, marina, pontoon or mooring. Be wary of pontoons - some are really quite exposed and offer false comfort.

Point 2 - Endless anchor threads on here but I carry a modern anchor and 60m of chain sized for a boat slightly bigger than mine (oversized). Have a second full size anchor and rode ready to deploy, or set it as well. Motoring as you suggest will help take load off the anchor, but you might not reduce the loading as the boat shears side to side. In a true severe storm of 60knts+ I dont believe many smaller yachts could raise their anchor easily, you should be ready to ditch the chain marked with a line and fender for retrieval. Consider what you would do if you had to ditch a dragging anchor - motor around, re-anchor using a second anchor? And so on.......

Reading sailing books and accounts of high latitude sailing provides insight and ideas.

 

[Sea Change]

As another relatively inexperienced skipper, asking those questions is a good start!

Point 1 - Monitor the weather systems in a wide area using Windy or similar to get a sense of what's developing. Monitor the forecasts for the few days before a gale hits - with Amy it went from a normal gale to severe in the days before it hit. Decide where best for you to weather a severe wind when you still have time to get there. It could be an anchorage, marina, pontoon or mooring. Be wary of pontoons - some are really quite exposed and offer false comfort.

Point 2 - Endless anchor threads on here but I carry a modern anchor and 60m of chain sized for a boat slightly bigger than mine (oversized). Have a second full size anchor and rode ready to deploy, or set it as well. Motoring as you suggest will help take load off the anchor, but you might not reduce the loading as the boat shears side to side. In a true severe storm of 60knts+ I dont believe many smaller yachts could raise their anchor easily, you should be ready to ditch the chain marked with a line and fender for retrieval. Consider what you would do if you had to ditch a dragging anchor - motor around, re-anchor using a second anchor? And so on.......

Reading sailing books and accounts of high latitude sailing provides insight and ideas.

All good advice. I'll add, armchair sailors can be keen to suggest laying additional anchors. In my experience there's usually another boat upwind of you and you have to think about what to do when he starts dragging. So keep it simple. It's bad enough getting one anchor up in a hurry.

 

[noelex]

My question to the group is, would or even could you run your engine in this situation to take pressure off the anchor, you're not aiming to move forward, just reduce the strain and prevent dragging.

It is a tactic to consider but in limited visibility (and these named storms always kick up so much spray the visibility will be limited even during daylight hours) it is easy to lose track of where the anchor is located and end up placing a side load on the anchor or motoring too far forward in a lull and consequently causing a higher load as the boat gathers some reverse momentum.

The above problems are not inevitable, but you are likely to be tired, cold, etc increasing the chance of mistakes.

Better is to have a large good quality anchor that provides enough reserve capacity to cater for these rare weather events.