# Sailboat on beach in NJ



## hpeer (May 14, 2005)

> Steve Strickland told NBC10 he was headed to the Chesapeake Bay from Queens, New York when nature called and he had to put the boat on autopilot. Unfortunately, he said, the autopilot turned off.
> 
> “I had to use the bathroom and I set the autopilot, and I went down into the hull and the autopilot shut off,” Strickland said.


]










Sailboat Stranded on Jersey Shore Beach as Captain Used Bathroom


A sailboat running on autopilot became stranded on a Jersey Shore beach Monday morning after its captain had to step away to use the bathroom.




www.nbcphiladelphia.com


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## capttb (Dec 13, 2003)

So was he really close to shore when he went to the "bathroom" or really umm, constricted in his ability to "manuver" ? A "new" "rare" Coronado 30 lost in the hands of an experienced "mariner".
I've recently heard thru grapevine of a 38' early 90's Beneteau that was lost on Point Mugu while being delivered from Dana Point to Ventura (~60-70 NM) by a pair of "professional" delivery captains. I have not been able to locate ANY news coverage but have heard from the brokers involved. The engine overheated, which seems a poor enough reason to put it on the rocks.


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## boatpoker (Jul 21, 2008)

I hear cod liver oil can fix that.


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## AWT2_Sail (Oct 12, 2021)

capttb said:


> So was he really close to shore when he went to the "bathroom" or really umm, constricted in his ability to "manuver" ? A "new" "rare" Coronado 30 lost in the hands of an experienced "mariner".
> I've recently heard thru grapevine of a 38' early 90's Beneteau that was lost on Point Mugu while being delivered from Dana Point to Ventura (~60-70 NM) by a pair of "professional" delivery captains. I have not been able to locate ANY news coverage but have heard from the brokers involved. The engine overheated, which seems a poor enough reason to put it on the rocks.


1. Close enough to shore that being adrift for however long it takes to go to the head put him on the rocks.
2. 3 weeks of ownership doesn't seem like long to have done a sea trial and to have tested out the systems. Then again, delivery drivers don't sea trial boats they deliver. But they probably allow for more margin of error.


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## marcjsmith (Jan 26, 2021)

Must have been one helluva head call. note to self.... always keep bucket in cockpit... 

I wish I had a better excuse for scrubbing the bottom of the keel...


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## captain44 (Mar 6, 2014)

That is the third time I knew of a boat grounded there. I visit there a lot and the first two were within days of each other-a small powerboat where the driver was thrown off--and eventually rescued, and a young and seriously inexperienced couple on a 30+ foot sailboat. The boat was bouncing on its keel in about 5ive feet of water. I went to investigate and the "man" of the boat had gone off to walk ashore and all the way south to the McDonalds to retrieve lunch. He eventually came back with his bag of burgers and fries and nonchalantly boarded the boat where his girlfriend was waiting--not knowing what to do, while marine police and sea tow tried to assist. As a professional boat captain and coach who has sailed up and down the Jersey Coast two dozen times...or more--well what can I say? It is quite likely that these people are terribly inexperienced, have no idea what they are doing and think it's all easy stuff. The probably felt that actual lessons in seamanship and navigation was unnecessary or too expensive. Many potential clients call me and other training captains asking for assistance and then scoff at our rates to teach and train them so they don't get into such trouble. Those that do hire professional trainer captains stay safe and enjoy their boats.


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## ottos (Aug 12, 2008)

Local Ocean City sailor here.... I sailed beachcats off the sand for years, and am now sailing a 30' sloop.
A couple of observations (with no particular agenda): 
1) FWIW He had an autopilot, and a permanent outboard on the transom... kind of a small looking engine for a 30' sloop.
2) The boat was sitting on the beach practically level - the keel must have broken off, and yet they floated & towed it off the beach. 
3) The Jersey coast is reputed to be dangerous because of having few easy inlets under non-ideal weather. Sailing along the coast is actually quite benign under normal circumstances...which I think was the case that night. Despite that I like to stay a mile off the beach - even during the day. 
4) The next day, under raucous seas, two power boats washed up on their way to the Atlantic City boat show.


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## tempest (Feb 12, 2007)

He was either too close to shore to begin with, or that was one heck of a long bathroom break! ;-) 

Ottos is correct, the Jersey coast can be quite pleasant trip in the right conditions! Patience is a virtue here, hold tight in a safe harbor like Cape May or the Atlantic Highlands etc. (there are worse places to have to lay over) until the conditions are suitable for a passage. Venturing out because of a perceived schedule rarely works out. The weather doesn't operate on a schedule. 

My recommendation is to stay about 3 miles off the coast in roughly 60 ft. of water. That keeps you out of most of the local recreational fishing boats, and inside of the big ships. You can still pick up landmarks along the coast and spot the outer marks of the inlets.


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## eherlihy (Jan 2, 2007)

I've done the 'Jersey coast a couple times. From Sandy Hook to Atlantic City, and then from Atlantic City to Cape May, I keep the boat 3 miles offshore so that I can maneuver and pump out as needed. If I got tied up with something, while on Autopilot, it would take AT LEAST 30 minutes at 6 knots before I could run aground. - and that would require that the boat set its heading DIRECTLY into shore.


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## MarkofSeaLife (Nov 7, 2010)

Article says incident happened at 4am.
Perhaps 😴 may have been a factor?


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## ottos (Aug 12, 2008)

He was actually quite lucky, the news said he hit the groin at 9th st. Which is half a block from this:.


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## tempest (Feb 12, 2007)

Maybe he needed to restock is coffee supply @ Ocean City Coffee company


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## peikenberry (Apr 26, 2000)

No. 1 reason for boating accidents? Operator inattention. A few years ago in Tacoma WA, a man was operating his power boat near the Ferry Terminal. He went below to use the head as the ferry was pulling out of the dock. Result, a big bang. Fortunately no one was hurt. Both the boat operator and the Ferry Captain were cited! In the mid 70's my job with the Coast Guard was reviewing boating accident reports for completeness and detail. I lost track of the "I only turned away for a minute" or the "I never saw it till I hit it" or the famous ." I hit an uncharted rock" (the beach). .


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## capttb (Dec 13, 2003)

Someone did it here last Friday while fishing, just freakin' "drove" onto the beach, "surf" fishing in a sailboat, only place the video posted was on Reddit.

__
https://www.reddit.com/r/sailing/comments/x9wwri


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## ottos (Aug 12, 2008)

What a shame! I have to guess that his motor conked out... An early anchor deployment could have saved it...

edit: I just read the original comments on Reddit from people who have a bigger monitor...he was fishing up until the first wave hit him...

One thing I learned sailing the Hobie back to the beach...It is very difficult to judge the size of waves from the ocean...the backside rarely has any foam to help judge the height. He may not have thought there was much more than ankle height waves.


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## capttb (Dec 13, 2003)

Seems to be a Forrest Gump moment, we were getting the tail end of a hurricane so zero wind but there was a small craft advisory for waves. Don't know why he wanted to surf fish anyway, just a mile offshore is the best Dorado and Yellow tail fishing we've had in decades.


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