Yacht down

Have to split this up on my elderly iPad.

Anyway, it was obvious we were in for a long night with the breeze forecast to lighten. Still no immediate problem. Another time for patience. Plus I know la Corunna quite well. Plan was straightforward. Sail in to anchorage behind breakwater and at a suitable o clock, call marina for a diver.

Around, I think, 0200 we were doing ok and entering the approaches. I hailed the Harbourmaster on VHF and explained we were ok but limited in where we can Manouver. Twenty minutes or so later, much to our surprise and even more so to its Master, one of their big orange salvage tugs rocked up offering us a tow. What could go wrong? Both the tug skipper and I agreed that my plan was the better option and off he went.

I still had enough breeze, just, to make a steady but slow progress. Then out came twenty or more of the local fishing fleet. Obviously we were showing our sailing lights, but I'm not sure this was a thing they see often in those waters. Churning up the sea in light airs made it a bit of a sailing challenge. However we eventually made it round the breakwater not long before dawn and more or less drifted to a suitable spot and dropped the anchor. Managed to set it with a bit of backing the main plus an ebb tide.

Happy with that, coffee and bacon sarny time. Around 0800 I called the marina. Their best option was to nip out with their rib and get us in to the marina for a diver to work. So excellent help from them, a simple alongside tow with the rib doing the power, me doing the steering onto a straightforward berth. Ten minutes later the diver arrives. Quick look under stern and bobs back up laughing away. He's seen the problem. On tanks and after a couple of minutes, four large floats hit the surface. Took him another twenty minutes to clear the junk away. Total cost of that was, tow and diver, something daft like 40 euros. I think the owner tipped them more than that!

So, mission accomplished. I excercised the gear lever a bit, then fired up the engine and gave it a good test ahead and astern. All back to normal.

At that stage it would probably have been prudent to get a shower and some sleep. But boys being boys, we went ashore and got pissed instead. ???
 
Happened to me once heading east at night ducking close ish into Poole bay to cheat the last of the ebb .
the boat had no self draining cockpit and a low freeboard , deep deep keel and long low counterstern and a wing 2blade prop which hooked up a pot line impeccably ?
So with some swell , a teathered stern smacking slightly worryingly down onto the advancing waves , and some water coming occasionally over into the cockpit, sails pulling beautifully still , it was an oh-oh moment ..
Now what skipper ??
Aha ? Dinghy grapnel anchor tied to the bight of a sheet rope which we led aft each side from the bow backwards ,under the pot line and then further aft still to the counter end and up through the aft fairleads and then onto the 2 cockpit winches until we could wind up the pot line close enough to the surface to see it , aft of the propellor ( no point in winching the prop shaft out of the boat ?), cut with the bread knife and off we went , phew .
Upon sailing up to the quay at lymington and running her up onto the shingle slipway and drying out alongside , a 4inch float had managed to wedge itself between the prop boss and the planking . Grrrrr
It also ripped out the greaser that fed the variable pitch mechanism on the (Sabb) prop, grrrr grrrrr.
 
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dunedin said:
If the conditions are such that the RNLI (reportedly) didn’t want to transfer crew on board, going overboard to try to cut a line round the prop shaft could be suicidal, and presumably with the rope effectively anchoring the boat in a strong wind very unlikely could pull to surface to cut from on board. Presumably the RNLI didn’t feel able to cut the rope safely, otherwise they would have done so and towed the boat to safety.
Click to expand...
When we found ourselves in a similar situation, although fortunately in calm conditions at 0200, the Lifeboat put their little Y boat over the side with 2 crew armed with an enormous scythe like device. They spent some time trying to cut the line but to no avail. The Cox’n then said he would tow us free, the line parted without a jerk and we were towed in to Harwich.
From everything I have read it would seem that unless you go over the side with a knife there is little chance of cutting a line, especially if it has been pulled bar tight.
 
ean_p said:
The point being....?
Click to expand...
The point being that a string of pots is unlikely to outperform a Rocna in the yacht immobilisation stakes?

I suspect what is not being said is that the RNLI don't see themselves as being in the business of saving or salvaging yachts, their remit is saving lives?

It may of course have been imperative to get one or more of the people ashore.
In which case it's too bad about the yacht.
 
dunedin said:
If the conditions are such that the RNLI (reportedly) didn’t want to transfer crew on board, going overboard to try to cut a line round the prop shaft could be suicidal, and presumably with the rope effectively anchoring the boat in a strong wind very unlikely could pull to surface to cut from on board. Presumably the RNLI didn’t feel able to cut the rope safely, otherwise they would have done so and towed the boat to safety.
Click to expand...
Their thinking was that trying to tow the boat with crew on board could result in a pulled prop shaft and therefore a sinking boat, nowhere to safely put it and LB crew who needed rescuing. All in pretty snotty conditions. Apparently in times passed they might have tried but now the emphasis is on saving lives, not property. Rightly so when crews’ lives are at stake.
 
Wing Mark said:
The point being that a string of pots is unlikely to outperform a Rocna in the yacht immobilisation stakes?
Click to expand...
With respect you sound like a man that has never snagged a pot line. Rocna would be envious of the lateral holding power of a string of 20 or more pots which in the real world are laid alongside wrecks and rock outcrops as a rule ?
 
capnsensible said:
Have to split this up on my elderly iPad.

Anyway, it was obvious we were in for a long night with the breeze forecast to lighten. Still no immediate problem. Another time for patience. Plus I know la Corunna quite well. Plan was straightforward. Sail in to anchorage behind breakwater and at a suitable o clock, call marina for a diver.

Around, I think, 0200 we were doing ok and entering the approaches. I hailed the Harbourmaster on VHF and explained we were ok but limited in where we can Manouver. Twenty minutes or so later, much to our surprise and even more so to its Master, one of their big orange salvage tugs rocked up offering us a tow. What could go wrong? Both the tug skipper and I agreed that my plan was the better option and off he went.

I still had enough breeze, just, to make a steady but slow progress. Then out came twenty or more of the local fishing fleet. Obviously we were showing our sailing lights, but I'm not sure this was a thing they see often in those waters. Churning up the sea in light airs made it a bit of a sailing challenge. However we eventually made it round the breakwater not long before dawn and more or less drifted to a suitable spot and dropped the anchor. Managed to set it with a bit of backing the main plus an ebb tide.

Happy with that, coffee and bacon sarny time. Around 0800 I called the marina. Their best option was to nip out with their rib and get us in to the marina for a diver to work. So excellent help from them, a simple alongside tow with the rib doing the power, me doing the steering onto a straightforward berth. Ten minutes later the diver arrives. Quick look under stern and bobs back up laughing away. He's seen the problem. On tanks and after a couple of minutes, four large floats hit the surface. Took him another twenty minutes to clear the junk away. Total cost of that was, tow and diver, something daft like 40 euros. I think the owner tipped them more than that!

So, mission accomplished. I excercised the gear lever a bit, then fired up the engine and gave it a good test ahead and astern. All back to normal.

At that stage it would probably have been prudent to get a shower and some sleep. But boys being boys, we went ashore and got pissed instead. ???
Click to expand...

Getting pissed seems to figure greatly on your delivery trips, I doubt my liver could stand one so I hope you wouldn't be offended should I ever be in need of a delivery skipper if I looked elsewhere . ? ? ? ?
 
Having been potted in soundings, the last thing an imobilised yacht wants to do is cut the pot free in adverse conditions, as they might simply float uncontrollable onto any nearby hazard. I have a cutter on pole on board in case I get potted 50 miles from land but not for harbour entrances, and not if I think rudder is tangled too.

Having had major incident on delivery run of my third yacht, the owners of the sunk craft have my sympathy. However too keen to go, as I was, I expect
 
As an aside to this an increase in the theft/ destruction of pots and contents has lead to the increase in the practice of sinking pot lines to a good depth which because of the accuracy of GPS can then be trawled for and lifted as normal. It's a practice that should be encouraged when and where ever possible as it effectively removes the problem for us all....!
 
I wonder what the optimum depth is for crab pots.
On the East Coast it seems to be around the 2m contour for crabs. For nets somewhat deeper. Long liners seem to have a guard boat around and generally are much better marked.

When dark, I suppose like others , I make for the deepest water possible.
 
LONG_KEELER said:
I wonder what the optimum depth is for crab pots.
On the East Coast it seems to be around the 2m contour for crabs. For nets somewhat deeper. Long liners seem to have a guard boat around and generally are much better marked.

When dark, I suppose like others , I make for the deepest water possible.
Click to expand...
I don't think it's just about depth, but crabs and such are often found around the rocks and 'interesting' bits of seabed, not the flat sand/mud bits.
Where the tide sweeps lots of food past them.
I think around N W France, they pull a lot of fruits de mare out of water deeper than you have on the East Coast?
 
ean_p said:
With respect you sound like a man that has never snagged a pot line. Rocna would be envious of the lateral holding power of a string of 20 or more pots which in the real world are laid alongside wrecks and rock outcrops as a rule ?
Click to expand...
I couldn't possibly tell you how good a Sigma 33 can be at towing strings of crab pots.
Oh No!
I can tell you I sail out of a harbour where half the sailing club are related to fishermen, and you can get an excellent crab sandwich at a fair price.
:cool:
 
LONG_KEELER said:
I wonder what the optimum depth is for crab pots.
On the East Coast it seems to be around the 2m contour for crabs. For nets somewhat deeper. Long liners seem to have a guard boat around and generally are much better marked.

When dark, I suppose like others , I make for the deepest water possible.
Click to expand...
Depth is no protection. In the Clyde I've often seen them in 50m or more - people have reported them in 100m. And when coming south from Whitby, we saw lots in 10-20m. As noted by @Wing Mark , it's about the nature of the seabed, not about depth. Fishermen tend to have areas staked out that they don't publicise - they don't want others to fish "their" patch!
 
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