# Help us shorten our learning curve... What was the dumbest/worst mistake you've made?



## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

*Mistakes Ive made*

My first boat is my current boat. Its a 46 foot hunter and prior to purchasing it I sailed 3 times on a friends 26 foot Mcgregor. The wife and I lived on it for two months before we got up the courage to pull away from the slip.

Armed with resonable youth and some book knoledge we headed out. On our third time out we went 30 miles across the San Pedro shipping lanes and arrived at Catalina Island at 1:00 am on a night with no moon to get a mooring for the first time ever.

One of the best things I have done is keep a list of all the things I have done wrong while learing to sail. Most of them make me smile when I think back on how stupid they were, the above story being high on the list.

I have raised the main with the electric winch with the jiffy reefing line securly blocked, and just this weekend I got a touch too close to the wind generator.

We have gone to Catalina almost every weekend in the last two year and are still alive and the boat is still afloat. Lots of luck I guess.

Let me learn from a few of your mistakes so I dont have to make them all myself. Lets hear of some of the things you have done wrong.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

I hope you don't plan on making any bluewater passages with your dinghy up on the davits. I also hope that you have alternatives in case your electric winches fail.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

That's the best way to do it, have a scar for every learning experience. Makes the lesson that much more unforgettable.

*Sailingdog*, what's wrong with dinghy on davits for bluewater cruising? I do about 2K nm a year, and usually with my dink on davits. What am I missing?


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## TrueBlue (Oct 11, 2004)

I never make mistakes, only miscalculated risks. <G>


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## Tartan34C (Nov 21, 2006)

ianhlnd said:


> *Sailingdog*, what's wrong with dinghy on davits for bluewater cruising? I do about 2K nm a year, and usually with my dink on davits. What am I missing?


What do define as bluewater? If you want to cross oceans then a dinghy on davits is considered by many to be an unreasonable risk. Even a hard dinghy on deck can be a problem and if I understand the situation correctly Ken Barns is an example of why a dinghy on deck is a problem. Of course if you just intend to jog along the coast then by all means use davits.
All the best,
Robert Gainer


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

I still don't get it, if I'm in danger of loosing a $150,000 boat, what do I care about loosing a $700 dinghy if that dinghy presents a danger to the boat or crew? It's jetsum! And, if I had it dragging on a painter under those conditions, I think it would be more a hinderance than help.


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## TrueBlue (Oct 11, 2004)

We are considering davits and have read, heard the stories associated with dinghys getting pooped by large waves. I suppose among other risks, there is a possibly of endangering the weight distribution of the mothership. Couldn't this be prevented by simply securing a water-tight cover over the dinghy?


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## Tartan34C (Nov 21, 2006)

ianhlnd said:


> I still don't get it, if I'm in danger of loosing a $150,000 boat, what do I care about loosing a $700 dinghy if that dinghy presents a danger to the boat or crew? It's jetsum! And, if I had it dragging on a painter under those conditions, I think it would be more a hinderance than help.


You are right about towing a dinghy. Even coastwise towing can be a problem. The point about davits is you don't always have convenient timing to shed a thing like that. You tend to hang on just a bit too long and then you have a large heavy object flying past you or even worse, large holes where the davits were. People do it all the time and very few get into trouble but I would rather not take the chance and I carry an inflatable instead of a hard dinghy.
All the best,
Robert Gainer


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## Cruisingdad (Jul 21, 2006)

I have personally winessed a 15 foot breaker off the stern and it will fill the dinghy and JUST rip the dink off the davits (if you are lucky). I think there is a whole thread on this, so I will not regurgitate it all (I am also not the authority on where you stick your dinghy!!! ew, that came out wrong), but unless you know your weather window for certain... put it on deck in my opinion.

If you are making a long passage offshore, you cannot guess you weather window for sure so better safe than sorry. Again, you do what you feel is right. As far as the cover over the dink, from what I have seen first hand, it would rip the cover off or fill it up. It would have to be a solid cover made of Kevlar to keep out a 15 foot breaker. Nah. I actually tow mine or lash it on the deck (unless I know my weather then I will run it up the davits).

Your choice though. You are the captain.

- CD


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Mistakes? Hmmm, I have a few to share!

1) Sailing the Great Lakes without a VHF (and ignoring those 'little' clouds for too long)

2) Towing an inflatable without a cover. It swamped and made a very good sea drogue. We wondered why we were making 2kt downwind in a 20kt blow breeze. Then we looked behind us at the dingy...

3) Not reefing in time. "Oh look, the wind is coming up! We will make good time now." hahaha, that got interesting _fast_.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Hmmm.. I guess that question has been answered... no, bluewater, offshore passages really aren't the place to have a dinghy on davits. 

My favorite mistake was the time we snagged an illegal lobster pot line and didn't realize it initially. We were still doing 5 knots in 8 knots of wind, down from 5.5 knots or so... but finally had to cut the lobster pot free after dragging it a good half-mile or so.


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## Cruisingdad (Jul 21, 2006)

Surely you checked the lobster pot before cutting it loose... you know, to free those poor lobsters from their cage, right??


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## bestfriend (Sep 26, 2006)

How embarrassing does this need to be? I used the wrong caulk when replacing the clutch cheeks. I had to take the whole starboard set off the deck, clean all the poly caulk off and do it all over again. What a mess. Thank god for beer.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

sailingdog said:


> I hope you don't plan on making any bluewater passages with your dinghy up on the davits. I also hope that you have alternatives in case your electric winches fail.


For passages the dinghy goes on the deck. The davits are for coastal and pulling the boat and motor up at night. I also have it rigged so I can drop the inside edge of the dinghy down and pull up the outside edge so it stands upright on its side and is secured to the arch that way. That is what I do if the weather builds while I have it on the arch.

The one electric winch can be done mannually as well but I have four winches and parts kits for them. I have not heard of them being a problem, have you?


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## Brezzin (Dec 4, 2006)

Was out single handing when the mainsheet caught the edge of my eyeglasses and ficked them into the deep. Didn't have an extra pair on board.
Made for quite an interesting sail back into the marina


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

How about this. Engine running, wind blowing, wife and I drop the stern and bow mooring line at the same time to so we can make a clean get away. Jump in the cockpit only to find the wheel tied up nicely to the rail. We use to take it off to allow easy on and off the boat. Have a folding wheel now.


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## TrueBlue (Oct 11, 2004)

Once, and only once, in our haste leaving the marina slip after work one evening, I forgot to unplug the shore power cord. Suprisingly, no damage to either plug end was done - I realized the "_miscalculated risk_" before it was too late. The only harm done was to my pride.


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## bestfriend (Sep 26, 2006)

During my younger days, my friends and I sailed a Cal 39 out San Diego Bay to the ocean on a calm, clear, warm day. We then proceeded below deck to drink shots of tequila until several bottles were gone. Well, nobody checked the weather report, and you guessed it, back above deck a storm blew in. We took turns sailing and heaving (not heaving to, mind you). The lesson learned? No, not "don't drink so much", it would take a while longer to learn that one, but always check the weather report.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Cruisingdad said:


> Surely you checked the lobster pot before cutting it loose... you know, to free those poor lobsters from their cage, right??


Nah, that would have been illegall..and way too much work... Do you know how hard it is to haul in a lobster pot when you're doing five knots...


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## BarryL (Aug 21, 2003)

How about this common mistake:

Going forward to check something. Returning to the cockpit and realizing my mobile phone is no longer there (I have done this one twice).

I did this one on my old Catalina 22 with outboard:
Row to boat, which is on mooring. Prepare to get underway by removing sail covers, etc. Start engine, drop mooring line, motor about 50' when the engine dies and won't restart. QUICKLY raise sail so you don't hit anything in the crowded harbor . SLOWLY sail while cursing and trying to start outboard. Then remember to open the vent on the gas tank.

And of course this one:
Raise the spinnaker on a mild breeze. Enjoy a wonderful sail in calm conditions. Then turn to head home and realize that the calm conditions are really a 15 kt breeze when headed upwind! Not terrible, but the rookie crew was less than happy with the boat heeling 20 degrees and pounding in the chop that developed.

Barry


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## Cruisingdad (Jul 21, 2006)

Personally, I have never made mistakes. They were all my wife's fault!!!


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

And I bet you're hoping she never reads that post.. .


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## Kacper (Oct 24, 2006)

Here are my favorite mistakes so far:

1. 

My first time skippering my own boat I was thinking I should reef. 

I thought the best way to decide if I should reef or not, would be, to use my binoculars to look at other boats sailing near-by and see if their sails are reefed... That way I could avoid looking like a wimp and rely on the other more experienced sailors in the bay for their professional judgement of the wind conditions... 

Their sails were not reefed so I decided not to reef. lol, 5 minutes later the keel was almost out of the water as we were drifting into a rocky lee shore.



2. single handling, motoring into the marina realizing I forgot to tie fenders to my boat... So I let go of the tiller to get the fenders from the cabin, boat steers straight for the shore while I'm in the cabin, I get out, fenders in one hand, and jump for the tiller to swerve the boat to the other direction... the some part of me thought it was absolutely critical that I hurry to get the fenders on the starboard side of the boat... 

With both hands I wanted to quickly tie one fender to the life line with a clove hitch... instead of tying the fender to the aft portion of the SAME life line, I decided to WALK up to the center of the boat and tie it there, the boat veered off again to starboard and I jumped back to the tiller again, dropping the fender overboard... DOIH.

I circled twice trying to retrieve my fender by myself in the middle of the channel traffic and a whole water side restaurant watching me. Embaressed I left the scene quickly without retrieving my fender 

"Next time I'll just tie the fenders in the cockpit and slide them forward" I thought,

dumb lesson learned lol

there's many more but those are my favourite ones.


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## MarkMiner (Oct 10, 2006)

Shortly after completing my first keelboat class, I decided to take my brother and sister out for a little sail. I don't remember exactly what kind of boat it was, but it was a small 20 footer of some sort, without an engine. The boat was brought around to the dock, where the sails were rigged. Once ready, I checked the wind and shoved off, forgetting to check the current which was stronger than the wind, and which pushed my boat toward a nearby (and low) bridge. Struggling to regain control, I was barely able to jibe in time as the mast scraped the bridge, with everyone on the dock looking on. Until I ran aground on the way back in, that was my most embarrassing experience.


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## equitiman (Jul 1, 2004)

Well when I first learned to sail I took a sailing course where we had to sail our boats up a really narrow channel full of other moored boats. On my second lesson we were tacking out of the channel towards the bay and on one tack we were heading straight for a boat on a mooring...I was 100% sure I could feather the boat up into the wind and pass on the windward side of this moored boat.

Well...turns out I couldn't and I ran smack into this boat while my instructor was freaking out and the other students were flailing fenders all around trying to minimize the impact. The worse part is about 5 minutes after the "incident" my instructor said..."did I mention that was my boat you just plowed into?"

Fortunately there was only a little scratch in the gelcoat but I learned my lesson and have never made such a stupid mistake since.

Bob


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## equitiman (Jul 1, 2004)

Or should I say I have never made the same stupid mistake since...I still make lots of stupid mistakes...


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## Waymar83 (Jun 5, 2006)

Ah those fond memories! I do try hard to forget them but they keep coming back:

One of the first times leaving the dock with Waymar, our 32ft (having moved up from an albacore).....untying the boat from the dock, everything is in order, light wind, no current, engine running smoothly..... got a gentle push from some helpful neighbours to get me backing out in the right direction easing the throttle, the engine picks up RPM but.........I have no steering!?! the boat does not react no matter how much I throttle or move the tiller......and I'm heading straight for the boats docked across with no response from Waymar. The helpful neighbours run across to the other docks, get on the boats to prevent Waymar from hitting one of them. (essentially we were drifting with the wind). Could'nt figure it out. I was sure the prop had fallen off or the transmission failed!

No, nothing as dramatic or definitive, we were in neutral....


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## georgetina (Nov 23, 2005)

*Sea lock*

Entered the Cardiff (UK) sea lock with a strong following wind and failed to get the stern warp on. Bow warp secured so I just went sideways across the lock. The lock was 30 feet wide and the yacht also 30 feet. Being a Sunday there were about 50 spectators. The control captain came to my aid with a megaphone giving instuction to use full rudder and lots of power. Got alongside and secured after a struggle. Control gave me a generous 4 out of 10 for the approach and 8 out of 10 for the recovery.


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## pigslo (Nov 22, 2004)

Getting married the second time.
pigslo


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## PBzeer (Nov 11, 2002)

All the mistakes I've made can be attributed to lack of proper thinking ahead. Probably why I was thinking of naming the boat 3rd and Last.


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## sailaway21 (Sep 4, 2006)

In virtually every case a line was involved. And either letting go of it, or not securing it, were the proximate causes of the inevitable following strife.

I must admit that the vent on the outboard fuel tank has happened and shows the best potential for repeatability!


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## cardiacpaul (Jun 20, 2006)

I just saw this thread, so, I have to add...
http://www.sailnet.com/forums/hersailnet/22253-her-first-time.html


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## PalmettoSailor (Mar 7, 2006)

Being brand new to sailing and brand new boat owners, there were only a few trips last year that were relatively mistake free. One memorable one involved getting back to the dock on one of our early trips. We'd had a good morning sail, but the wind had dropped to nothing in the afternoon. We baked in the sun several hours trying to eke out a few knots and hoping the wind would pick up.

Finally, when sun stroke started to look inevitable, we bagged it and motored back in. Our slip is in a dead end canal and I misjudged the first shot at backing into the slip. Things went off script when we pulled forward for another go. Unfortunately, this was the point where the heat caused the brain to completely lock up. I put on some forward way to edge away from the dock, then shifted to reverse and watched for the prop walk. Strangely, it didn't seem as as the stern were swinging as usual, so I added a touch more power. Still no swing, and the boat didn't want to slow down, so I gunned it hard to get her stopped. 

At this point things seemed to be in slow motion and I remember the event as an observer hovering ten feet above the boat. It was then I noticed we were headed directly into a motoryacht in it's covered boat house. Hmmm...that's weird.....Why is the boat going forward at darn near hull speed when I have it in reverse????? The crew reacted as trained -- "When in danger, or in doubt, run in circles, scream and shout". Their quick action did help break my trance as I pondered this strange set of events.

Oh wait, thats it, down is forward, UP IS REVERSE. I had apparently shifted the unfamiliar (and not entirely intuative) shifter to neutral, then without thinking slipped it back into forward, Yikes!!!! As my crew scrambled forward to try to fend off the impending collision, I actually got the boat into reverse and gave a good shot of power. Now the stern swung hard, almost into the bulkhead, but we did get stopped and were soon enough moving in the proper direction We got it solved, just before making our imprint on the boat house and a very expensive boat that was minding its own business. Too close!

Ever since this incident, part of the crew briefing is to inform the crew that the skipper will sound off with "Reversing" prior to backing up and they are to respond loudly that "Reverse is UP" in order to remind the dimwitted skipper. (Sure would have been simpler if they just built the shift control lever to move forward for forward and back for back.) 

There were plenty of other "learning experiences" last season but this was the only one where I might have hurt something besides my own boat and/or pride so the memory is vivid. The learning points here were to know your boat and try to take a big picture look when it's not performing as expected. Secondary, is to be aware of what the environment is doing to you. The heat and humidity had really taken a toll and I was good for nothing but a dip in a cool pool at the point this occured. I should have recognized the situation sooner and gotten in before performance started to suffer. That said, I expect we'll make our share of mistakes (or more)again this year but the only way to learn is get out and do it. Have fun but recognize your on the steep part of the learning curve.


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## sailhog (Dec 11, 2006)

I once hoisted my 780-pound wife up the mast to fix the sheave. Her weight drove the mast through the hull and sank the boat.


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## sailortjk1 (Dec 20, 2005)

Here's my story of embarrassment.

About 4 years ago we are putting the boat up for the season.
To get to our yard we have to first drop the mast than motor about 5 miles up a congested waterway. The Calumet River on the South Side of Chicago. The Calumet is the commercial port of Chicago; hence it is very busy with everything from Great Lakes Freighters to River Barges to pleasure craft.

As we were approaching the river entrance, I see a large 800ft. vessel entering about a mile ahead of us. I figure we will be stick behind him the whole trip down the river, well as it turns out, about two miles up river, he stops in mid channel and starts a docking maneuver. Now I must tell you that the Calumet River is very narrow with just enough room for passing vessels to clear each other.

So we wait for the freighter to dock, as there is no way for us to clear him while he is docking. He basically stopped in the dead center of the channel and used side thrusters to push him sideways onto his dock.

Well after he has pushed himself sideways out of the channel, I proceed to pass him and continue on our route.

As I begin I see a large barge coming upstream. I say to myself no problem, we have just enough room between the docked freighter and the barge, plenty of room.... right?

There was plenty of room, but the only problem was that the docked freighter still was using his thrusters to push him against the dock. His thrusters were creating an ebb in the water that was extremely powerful. 

Did I mention that this was our older boat of only 25' and weighed about 5'000lbs? 

Needless to say, we all met at the ebb in the water, the up bound barge and our little 25' vessel with very little room to spare. As we hit the current in the water caused by the freighter we are pushed to port almost directly into the path of the barge, I put the tiller hard over to starboard and am now headed directly at the docked freighter, back to port and straightened out I get our little vessel under control just in time as we pass the bow of the barge. No problem, we had about ten feet to spare.

The bowman on the barge gave me a quick pleasantry to which my wife replied, "Thank you very much," and said to me "Did you hear what he called you?" To which I responded, "Something about a crazy bastard. I just wanted you to get a good look at a fast moving barge."

How does that saying go? No harm no foul. 

Live and learn.


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## sailhog (Dec 11, 2006)

Just thought of another mistake: I once had congress with a goat.


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## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

Sailhog...I'll bet that Congress never passed no non-binding resolutions either..although I can think of a few goats in our present one too. <g>It wasn't one of them was it??


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## sailhog (Dec 11, 2006)

Cam,
Unlike the 103rd Congress, I used Polygrip. So, yes, it was binding. Just in case there are any kids reading this thread, I want to point out that it's not something I'm proud of...


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## jr438234606 (Apr 25, 2006)

Let's see, so many... where to begin?

1.) Left dock (or tried to) with shorepower still attached.

2.) Reefed WAY too late. (I actually repeated this mistake numerous times. After blowing out both sails, I finally "got it".)

3.) Raised main numerous times with sail ties still attached.

4.) Ran aground, in a shipping lane, at night, in 20 Knot winds, with all sails fully deployed, in the rain, and with at least 5ft seas. Hit a "Spoil" area. Thought "Spoil" meant it was merely a place that raw sewerage was discharged. Duh.

5.) Attempted to unfurl and furl the headsail at the same time on the same winch.

6.) While in a remote area, attempted to bleed the fuel lines of a Perkins 4.108 diesel without following the documented procedure.

7.) Decided to attach a small wooden block to the hull (below the water line) to mount a pump to. It made sense to use screws, which of course punched a hole through the hull.

8.) Sailed over 100 miles with the anchor partially submerged off the bow. Had left it out to clear the mud while we sailed for a few minutes. Of course, I forgot about it.


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## sailhog (Dec 11, 2006)

johnr,
Did any of your mistakes produce newborns with little triangle beards? Didn't think so. I think I got you beat.
sailhog


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## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

Hawg...won't it be funny when this thread gets published in the Hilton Head Gazette?? <g>....especially since tracking down all those "kids" with bells on will be so easy!!


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## sailhog (Dec 11, 2006)

Cam,
I avoid stockyards like the plauge. When I hear any braying, all I hear is "Daaaaaaad, Daaaaaad..."


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## eherlihy (Jan 2, 2007)

Here is mine;

While runnning through the Nubble channel in Boston Harbor with the Admiral at the helm, I noticed that we were in a CBDR situation with R4. For those of you unfamilliar with the Nubble channel, it's about 100' wide and runs about 1/2 mile between two harbor islands and a well known shoal called Nixes' Mate. You do NOT go outside the marked channel in a sailboat period! The ebb tide current was pushing us through the channel, and closer to R4... Meanwhile, the coasties were heading the other way through the channel at a good clip on two of their patrol craft. This meant we had less room to manuver.

I advised her "a little more to port," she says "but those big Coast Guard boats will hit is if we head over there. - Here, you take the wheel." I take over, cut the wheel to port, our bow is now pointed directly at the second patrol boat, yet we're still getting uncomfortably close to R4:confused :. It looks as though we're going to make it, but it will be a real close pass (within a foot) of R4. I figure I'll try to put a little more distance between us and this Nun, especially with the law so close. So, about 30' from the Nun, I start the motor, put it in gear and quickly give it the gas.... We both quickly realize that we're now going to hit R4. And right in front of the CG! 

We glanced off R4 about midway up the cockpit (I was going to say that R4 hit US, but as I typed I realize that a stationary object cannot hit anything ), fortunately with nothing more than an exchange of paint. (The boat looks looks good with a red stripe) I'm assuming that the CG either didn't see it, or was laughing too much at these yahoos that side swiped a bouy... I was glad that the VHF was down below, out of earshot.

About two minuites later, while replaying the incident in my mind, and the admiral giving me a peice of hers  , I realized that we would have missed that cursed Nun, had the transmission been in FORWARD instead of REVERSE!


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## SailorMitch (Nov 18, 2005)

1) Leaving the slip with a dockline still attached to the boat (on several occasions -- usually when someone is "helping" me with the dockilines and my routine is shot.)

2) Running aground coming out of Solomons Island, MD because I wasn't paying attention to the markers -- WITH DENR ABOARD!

3) Have lost overboard 2 cell phones (one a Blackberry), 2 pagers, prescription sunglasses, various hats, one shoe, one winch handle (my best one of course), one chart, and assorted other goodies.

4) Getting seasick and throwing up on a lumpy day when some sailing novices were aboard. They got very antsy when the captain was hanging his head over the side "chumming for bluefish" as one friend calls it. (Yes, I do get seasick!)

Is that enough?


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

eherlihy said:


> Here is mine;
> 
> While runnning through the Nubble channel in Boston Harbor with the Admiral at the helm, I noticed that we were in a CBDR situation with R4. For those of you unfamilliar with the Nubble channel, it's about 100' wide and runs about 1/2 mile between two harbor islands and a well known shoal called Nixes' Mate. You do NOT go outside the marked channel in a sailboat period! The ebb tide current was pushing us through the channel, and closer to R4... Meanwhile, the coasties were heading the other way through the channel at a good clip on two of their patrol craft. This meant we had less room to manuver.
> 
> ...


Nubble Channel can be a lot of fun...I like sailing out to the Harbor islands...but don't do it that much, now that my boat is based out of Buzzards Bay.


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## pigslo (Nov 22, 2004)

I charted a boat, I believe an Islander 27 with my first wife in 1990. It was predicted to be "windy" and when the then wife asked about the amount of wind I said "wind... sailboat... get it?" After fighting gale force winds that were producing short cycle waves big enough to spin the boat 90 degrees without any effort, we finally got a tow since the engine failed to start. The first wife and I are still freinds today and will occasionaly bring her boyfreind of the week sailing with wife #3 and I. She always has to tell boyfreind of the week about "wind.... sailboat....daa".
pigslo


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## sailhog (Dec 11, 2006)

You were a victim in this, Pigslo. I feel the need to stick up for a fellow hog... You didn't do ANYTHING WRONG. Maybe the old lady set you up. Ever think of that? She knew you loved being on the water, so she sabotaged the engine. The wind probably wasn't even blowing that hard -- her complaining just made it seem like it was. "Pigslo, the waves are breaking! Pigslo, the wind is blowing! Pigslo, the engine won't start!" God, this sounds way too familiar...
Sailhog


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## pigslo (Nov 22, 2004)

Actually the wind was whisteling loudly through the shrouds.
pigslo


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Love this thread! Here's mine.

1978. I'm 17 years old and trying to impress my girlfriend with a weekend out on my Dad's Cal 25. Now, I was out with his permission, but not my girlfriends Dad. She was "sleeping" over at a girlfriend's house. Well, we had a lovely sail, brisk 15 knots, sunny... I was a hero. Pulled into Centre Bay on Gabriola Island and found a really safe spot to tuck in for the night. Had some wine and turned in. We had to leave early so she could be back for noon. Did I mention we were about 3 hours out of our slip?

Woke early in the morning only to find that I was trapped! See... the "safe" spot I had found, was tied to a log boom between the boom and shore. The tide was out, and I had to wait about 6 hours before it was high enough to leave.

Remember... 1978... no cell phones... no way to contact her Dad.

Don't know what was worse. Her Dad thinking I had 'messed' with his daughter.. or my Dad furious that I had put the boat in danger.

Lots of mistakes since then, but my Dad still loves to tell his buddies that one... usually when I'm standing there all sheepish!


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## Idiens (Jan 9, 2007)

Wow! I thought I was the only one to make all those. I can add one more - not taking a simple tool kit with my tender. Dirt in the carb stopped outboard progress and I was up a creek, with paddles, but against an uncomfortably strong head wind and incoming tide. Some kind day trippers in a hired boat were delighted to have a rescue enhance their boating experience.


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## Indevolatile (Nov 3, 2006)

Ok, I'm still pretty new to this, but I'll give you my story anyhow. I'm sure I have many more coming  

I took a 3 day class last spring and got my ASA keelboat certification, and that was pretty much the extent of my sailing experience other than a 2 day trip down the Chesapeake a couple years earlier. This past october, I still hadn't found a boat to buy yet, and I was afraid of forgetting everything I had learned. 

So...I went down to the lake and rented one of their charter boats for the day. I would really have liked something smaller, but all they had was a 30' catalina. Do the math, because they sure didn't. Me, with less than 20 hours of sailing experience, singlehanding a 30' boat, on a lake I was completely unfamiliar with.

I managed to get the boat out of the marina, and motored out to the middle of the lake, where I spent the next hour and a half trying to remember how to get the sails up. At one point I realized I was drifting really close to a gravel shoal, and tried to restart the motor to give myself some breathing room. No deal. Apparently I had left the battery on and it had discharged too much to restart the deisel inboard. Needless to say, I redoubled my efforts to get the sails up, which I finally did, and started making laps up and down the length of the lake.

I was rather pleased with myself at this point, and everything I had studied six months earlier was starting to come back to me. About 5 pm I decided I'd better get back to the marina before the sun went down and, well, the wind died. Yup, nothing. Tried to start the inboard again, but it wouldn't cooperate. I was in a not-too-deep for anchoring cove at the time and threw the anchor out to keep myself from drifting into anything too damaging.

FINALLY, just as the last rays of the sun disappeared behind the hills, I got the engine started. Thank God! Except now it was rapidly nearing pitch-blackness. I headed up to where I remembered the marina being, but I couldn't find it in the dark. Circled the lake under power for another hour and a half and realized I should probably have some sort of light on. No flashlight, but i crawled down into the cabin, found the switchbox, and started flipping switches until I saw a light on outside. It turned out to be the anchor light, but I wasn't feeling too picky at the time.

Long story short, I finally made it into the marina about 9o'clock pm (after a few close calls which included scraping past the wrong side of a low-water marker) Thankfully there were a couple guys hanging out on their boat next to my slip, and they helped me get it docked without major incident.

I finally purchased my own 16-footer about a month later, and I'm just waiting for some warm weather to take her out in.


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## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

Good post Indie. Welcome aboard!


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## PBzeer (Nov 11, 2002)

As the lake I had my Hunter 26 on had a number of shallow areas, I usually wouldn't drop the keel to it's full 6 foot. Most times, I would let it down to about a 45 degree angle which put me at about 3 feet of draft. Since our docks were fairly tight and the wind would usually be a crosswind, you needed a little something down to keep from being blown back into the piers.

One time, I was getting ready to back out of the slip. Had the lines off, the motor warmed up, put it in reverse and went, nowhere. Checked that all the lines were off and that the motor was going into gear, but still, nothing. Finally, I realized I had left the keel down after docking and it had become tangled in the weedy bottom, making a very effective anchor.

Not the dumbest mistake in the world, but a good reminder to always follow your pre and post docking routines so you don't overlook anything.


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## bestfriend (Sep 26, 2006)

The Sea was angry today, my friends. With a gleam in its eye and a snarl on its face, the likes of which I have never seen. Winds so fierce, my knuckles were white as I gripped the wheel with all my might. The little 18hp engine whined at the top of its lungs as it struggled at full throttle to push the massive yacht into the harbor. Flotsam and Jetsam abounded. The first mate clung to the mast, bow line in hand, as the howling wind and sea spray tried to take her to the depths below. Unable to see much of anything in the blustery night, I swung the great ship to starboard as I felt my way into the berth by instinct. But, alas, the slip was too small, and the storm too great. And that damn beneteau has that flimsy little lip on the transom, uhm, ahem, I mean, The sea lifted the ship up as if it were a child's toy and tossed it aside into the meager boat that lay unsuspecting alongside, crushing it into tiny pieces that slowly sank into the Sea. Then I called the insurance company for an estimate. The end.


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## sailhog (Dec 11, 2006)

bestfriend said:


> And that damn beneteau has that flimsy little lip on the transom, uhm, ahem, I mean, The sea lifted the ship up as if it were a child's toy and tossed it aside into the meager boat that lay unsuspecting alongside, crushing it into tiny pieces that slowly sank into the Sea. Then I called the insurance company for an estimate. The end.


White-knuckle story, bestfriend. Was your boat damaged? AND WHY IS IT THAT BENETEAUS ARE ALWAYS IN THE WAY?


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## sailortjk1 (Dec 20, 2005)

sailhog said:


> WHY IS IT THAT BENETEAUS ARE ALWAYS IN THE WAY?


DON"T START!

It has nothing to do with the damned boat. If a vessel is in your way its because of the person commanding the vessel. Or maybe your the one thats not supposed to be there. Lets see, could a poorly captained Haylas, or maybe a Swan get in your way, of course they could. It has nothing to do with the boat!


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## bestfriend (Sep 26, 2006)

Oh, no, don't hijack this thread into a brand dispute, fight club.....
No my boat was not damaged, other than a little scratch on the gelcoat.


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## sailortjk1 (Dec 20, 2005)

Best Frind,
Sounds like a good time on the water. Sorry about the scratch.
Everybody is safe, right? Ho Harm.


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## sailhog (Dec 11, 2006)

sailortjk1 said:


> It has nothing to do with the damned boat!


Excuse me, but a recently published article in Newsweek showed that Beneteau owners -- and here I quote -- "...are more frequently stricken with facial tics, alcoholism and drug addiciton... Perhaps their most distinguishing characteristic is that their boats are more often in the way of other boats..." These are not my words!


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## Giulietta (Nov 14, 2006)

sailhog said:


> Excuse me, but a recently published article in Newsweek showed that Beneteau owners -- and here I quote -- "...are more frequently stricken with facial tics, alcoholism and drug addiciton... Perhaps their most distinguishing characteristic is that their boats are more often in the way of other boats..." These are not my words!


That article must have been written by the same guy that did an essay on the "Menstrual cycle of the bathtub spider"....he is know for authoring some interesting articles......

Recentely he had an article on "which hand to pick your nose"....


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## sailhog (Dec 11, 2006)

Giulietta said:


> That article must have been written by the same guy that did an essay on the "Menstrual cycle of the bathtub spider"....he is know for authoring some interesting articles......
> 
> Recentely he had an article on "which hand to pick your nose"....


His name is Bob Woodward, the guy who did the story on the Watergate scandal, which, as you'll recall, was about how Beneteau owners are always taking it up the stern.


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## Giulietta (Nov 14, 2006)

The only scandal gate I know is the Colgate scandal...but that was in England


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## Idiens (Jan 9, 2007)

Beneteau Groups boats are bound to get in the way, 10000 new ones per year. Hard to sink them fast enough.


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## sailhog (Dec 11, 2006)

Idiens said:


> Beneteau Groups boats are bound to get in the way, 10000 new ones per year. Hard to sink them fast enough.


Any idea how many they produce every year?
Sailhog


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## Idiens (Jan 9, 2007)

sailhog said:


> Any idea how many they produce every year?
> Sailhog


The man from Beneteau at the Dusseldorf boat show told me that the Group as a whole produce 8-10000 each year, those under Beneteau's own name about 3000. He said he thought Bavaria, his nearest European competitor, sold about 2000 a year. That includes both motor and sail boats.


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## redcorvette1995 (Jun 16, 2005)

I think the actual number is around 1000 - 1200 a year for the North American market.


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## Giulietta (Nov 14, 2006)

Great...now after "Global warming" we have "French Boat Warming".......


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## TrueBlue (Oct 11, 2004)

Ironically, the melted ice caps will provide more ocean acreage for sailing upon.


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## Giulietta (Nov 14, 2006)

Ahhhh now I know why the water level are going up....at the rate of 10.000 boats a year...the French are responsible for the sea "spilling" due to the Archimedes principle...


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## sailhog (Dec 11, 2006)

TrueBlue said:


> Ironically, the melted ice caps will provide more ocean acreage for sailing upon.


Like Waterworld. I just bought a house 12 feet above sea level.


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## TrueBlue (Oct 11, 2004)

Mine's 80 feet above MHW, but across the road and a couple house lots back from the beach . . . might just become waterfront property. But it'll take a lot of melted ice to raise the oceans that high.


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## Giulietta (Nov 14, 2006)

TrueBlue said:


> But it'll take a lot of melted ice to raise the oceans that high.


Nahhhh...about 50.000 French boats will do...after all wet surface is their "forte"


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## sailhog (Dec 11, 2006)

TrueBlue said:


> Mine's 80 feet above MHW, but across the road and a couple house lots back from the beach . . . might just become waterfront property. But it'll take a lot of melted ice to raise the oceans that high.


I look forward to sailing around my own chimney.


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## Giulietta (Nov 14, 2006)

sailhog said:


> I look forward to sailing around my own chimney.


Whatever you do...DO NOT SAIL near TB's Chimney....you'll get high


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## bestfriend (Sep 26, 2006)

Come on now! He was tied up, it was my fault!


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## sailortjk1 (Dec 20, 2005)

I think we need some humor for this thread, going to lighten it up a little.

After having their 11th child, a South Carolina couple decided that was enough (they could not afford a larger double wide) So, the husband went to his doctor (who also treated mules) and told him that he and his wife/cousin didn't want to have any more children. The doctor told him that there was a procedure called a vasectomy that could fix the problem.
The doctor instructed him to go home, get a cherry bomb (fireworks are legal in South Carolina), light it, put it in a beer can, then hold the can up to his ear and count to 10. The South Carolinian said to the doctor, "I may not be the smartest man, but I don't see how putting a cherry bomb in a beer can next to my ear is going to help me -- I don't want to go deaf!"
So, the couple drove to Georgia to get a second opinion. The Georgia physician was just about to tell them about the procedure for a vasectomy when he noticed that they were from South Carolina. This doctor instead told the man to go home and get a cherry bomb, light it, place it in a beer can, hold it to his ear and count to 10.
Figuring that both learned physicians couldn't be wrong, the man from South Carolina went home, lit a cherry bomb and put it in a beer can.
He held the can up to his ear and began to count, "1, 2, 3, 4, 5 . . .", at which point he paused, placed the beer can between his legs and resumed counting on his other hand . . .


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## bestfriend (Sep 26, 2006)

That is a riot!!!!!


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## pmoyer (Oct 3, 2006)

Sailortjk, I can't help but observe that you posted this in a threat titled "mistakes I've made."

This isn't from experience, is it?


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## sailortjk1 (Dec 20, 2005)

Damn.
No it was because someone wanted to pick a fight. I guess it belongs on Fight Club.


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## sailhog (Dec 11, 2006)

Sailortjk1,
Just wanted to let you know that I was admiring your beautiful Beneteau 361... I personally have not noticed that Beneteau owners are more prone to having facial tics, alcoholism and drug addiction. Also, I wanted to let you know that I currently reside in.... South Carolina... So we're even, right?
Sailhog


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## sailortjk1 (Dec 20, 2005)

Even, Shake Hands, Friends, Lets go Sailing!!


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## sailhog (Dec 11, 2006)

Excellent! Here's directions to my house: Take the St. Lawrence to the Atlantic Ocean, turn right, and take compass heading 210 for several hundred miles. Right at Port Royal Sound. Our house is on the left. It's a double-wide with chicken wire in the front yard. That 361 looks fast. I'll tell my wife/sister that you'll be here in time for dinner on Saturday. By the way, that hull is gorgeous -- and I mean it!


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## sailortjk1 (Dec 20, 2005)

Now were talking.!


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## Giulietta (Nov 14, 2006)

I'll be there in the pm...but I'm travelling from further away!!!   

Can I have corn dogs??? that's my favorite American Snack...I wishe we had those here....


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## sailhog (Dec 11, 2006)

Giulietta said:


> I'll be there in the pm... Can I have corn dogs??? that's my favorite American Snack...I wishe we had those here....


I'll tell my wife/sister to stick the corn dogs in the micro. My wife/daughter makes kool-aid in that special Southern way -- stirred with her bare hand!


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## Giulietta (Nov 14, 2006)

Whats Kool-aid???


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## sailhog (Dec 11, 2006)

soda pop for hillbillies...


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## Giulietta (Nov 14, 2006)

A hillbilly is a *******???

I had pie in california once...looked like pizza to me....ehehehe


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## sailhog (Dec 11, 2006)

A hillbilly is a category of *******. As far as the pie in California goes... are you saying you had sex with an Italian in California, or am I completely off base here?
Sailhog


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## Giulietta (Nov 14, 2006)

Yes you are...I had pizza there, they call it pie...


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## sailhog (Dec 11, 2006)

Here in the States they call something else pie... It rhymes with "sushi" -- sort of.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Reading the "Low tide" times as if they were "High Tide" times. Barely made it across the Siuslaw Bar. We attracted a lot of spectators on the beach. Probably a boring day!


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## sailaway21 (Sep 4, 2006)

June 1979. Pier 42, Brooklyn, NY. I am the junior third mate in the S.S. Export Agent and we are calling our first US port since sailing Karachi. We are greeted by 30 US customs officers on the dock for the purpose of a routine shake-down of a ship returning from drug-producing countries. The junior third mate thinks that if his room is to be searched it should be done with the door open so nothing could be planted on him. Can we say, jousting at windmills? The door got left open and that was good, because inside of 2 minutes there were four additional customs officers in the room, complete with baterry operated screw-drivers. In 15 minutes the entire room, furniture, and bunk were disassembled. You should understand that everything in your stateroom is screwed together, even the bulkheads. When they left, the only thing that was screwed was me. Took four hours to reassemble everything. That was the last time I stood up for my principles with the US Customs Service. I actually got lucky-"Steve" a friend and shipmate out of the SF bay area did much the same and they put his name in to the computer. He was living in Hawaii at the time and flying back and forth about four times a year to SF. For the next ten years, after Steve exerted his "rights" with the Service, he was stripped searched upon arrival in CONUS as well as Hawaii-each and every time.

For planning purposes, it should be assumed that customs officials have about as much sense of humor as a ******* in a doublewide during hurricane season.


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## cockeyedbob (Dec 6, 2006)

well, sorta like sailin' but here goes ...

Bought the mate a used Capri 18 thinkin' she could be cap'n of her own ship with me goin' along to do the bitchin' fer a change ...

Backin' into the yard, ol' Bob got sorta confused ... bottom line, took out 12 feet of fence and put the mast through the house. Didn't hurt the Capri or the mast, just Bob's pride, the house, the fence, the bumper ...

Three years later, she loves and sails the boat like a pro ... best money I ever spent, I think ... occasionally, I put new tape over the hole in the house.


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## PBzeer (Nov 11, 2002)

Uh Bob? How many times a year does she bring that up? <G>


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## PBzeer (Nov 11, 2002)

Actually sailaway, I think it's a job requirement that anyone in an enforcement position can't have a sense of humor.


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## sailaway21 (Sep 4, 2006)

In general true, Beezer. I had a buddy in NY get pulled over by a cop, and when he complained he was going to be late for work the cop said, "That's OK, I'm going to write you an excuse."


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

I just watched the movie "Cop Land" last night. About a bunch of corrupt cops in the NYPD. Sly Stone was in it, his best performance since Rocky. Good movie if you haven't seen it. Way off topic but this board seems to tolerate that in residual posts.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

what was a mistake you've made... that maybe you should have already known better.... that you've learned from, and now you laugh at... Help us maybe not to make the same mistakes... Please help us shorten our learning curve...


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## pirateofcapeann (Aug 27, 2002)

I got married.


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## Freesail99 (Feb 13, 2006)

Lol, I love it !!!


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## sailortjk1 (Dec 20, 2005)

A long time ago, no a very long time ago, I hate to admit it. During a crowded festival in a crowded anchorage; he were drifting straight down wind when we thought we should put the anchor down. The anchor does catch and we begin to swing straight into a very impressive and very expensive mega yacht.

Well the captain of this boat/yacht was not to pleased with our anchoring techniques and he let us know how he felt.

More to follow..........


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## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

Didn't we already have this thread recently?


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## Idiens (Jan 9, 2007)

Sure did Cam. But there's a snag, anyone here admitting to a mistake has survived it.


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## PBzeer (Nov 11, 2002)

Yes, I believe we did cam, don't recall the name of the thread though.

JodyKS - while it certainly helps, to know some things not to do, you'll find that even if you know not to do something, that it still may well happen. The best advice, is to be sure to think things through, before you do them.


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## goose327 (Jun 11, 2001)

*"The best advice, is to be sure to think things through, before you do them."*

That's it in a nutshell. But also remember Murphy always has something to say about best laid plans, so be ready for the unexpected.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

*Sorry Cam....*



camaraderie said:


> Didn't we already have this thread recently?


Hey, i certainly didn't mean to repeat threads... I've been reading alot... and hadn't seen it.... you can delete if you choose


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## tigerregis (Nov 24, 2006)

My biggest mistake besides marriage, was not paying attention when the prof was lecturing on sycophancy.


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## pirateofcapeann (Aug 27, 2002)

"Those who would go to sea for pleasure would go to hell for a pastime"

I can give you some suggestions on what TO do. It looks like you've got a 22 - 25 footer so as newbie's, here's what I'd suggest: 

-Take a CG Auxiliary Safe Boating Course. Practice what you learn!

-Find other people who have a boat similar to yours and cruise in transient with them on weekends. Do the raft-ups, cookouts and overnights (Please, lay to your own gear overnight) and ask your new friends, "what would you do if&#8230;" over rum and cokes.

-Start out slow. Don't try to cross the Atlantic on yer first cruise. Get a chart that shows like 30 miles either side of where you keep your boat moored and pin it to a wall in your house. Keep the weather radio next to it and use it as your planning board. 

-If you can, get involved with a yacht club (I can't believe I'm suggesting this) and utilize the facilities they have. Someone's always looking for crew for Saturday's big race. Watch what some of the more experienced sailors do. Some, you'll like and can learn from. Others are @$$ #@(&$ and you'll not want to be like them at all!

-Buy a copy of the Chapman's and look through it like a coffee table book. You'll be surprised how much information you glean from just flipping through those pages.

-You are now the skipper of a boat that can take you to your death just as easily as she can take you to paradise. Keep that in mind as you prepare her and yourself for voyaging.

Have fun. After all, isn't that why you spent all of that money that you worked yer butt off for???


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## sailortjk1 (Dec 20, 2005)

JodyKS said:


> Hey, i certainly didn't mean to repeat threads... I've been reading alot... and hadn't seen it.... you can delete if you choose


It happens all the time.


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## sailhog (Dec 11, 2006)

A few years back I took a thermos of coffee and a bag of bran muffins onto a friends boat without asking if the head was operational.
Sailhog


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## Freesail99 (Feb 13, 2006)

sailhog said:


> A few years back I took a thermos of coffee and a bag of bran muffins onto a friends boat without asking if the head was operational.
> Sailhog


 Somethings are just funny .......


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## donrr1 (Oct 25, 2002)

I don't have any worst mistakes, just mistakes. I file all of em but I don't take the time to dwell on them to make them 'worst mistakes'.

Don


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## Giulietta (Nov 14, 2006)

My biggest mistake was one day...I stopped at a place in Southern Europe to get Diesel, one of those really nice marinas with extra large stinkpots...and inflated fortunes....

I had put diesel and was in the process of departing, when I saw a stinkpot towing a tender with its engine up....

I decided to leave, but last minute...I decided to stay where I was and keep the boat against the diesel pier....so he could pass, and go after he did... BIG MISTAKE.....

The stinkpot decided to turn around right besides us, and as he did, he realized the channel was too small to turn, so half way into the turn he reverses....into me....with the tender menacingly being pushed by his stern platform...

He forgot he was towing his tender, and the engine in the tender hit us, scratching a big scar in my pristine boat...

I got pissed off, and because there was a lot of people there, I yeld for him to stop, which he did, too late ....I looked down and saw the scratch...I decided not to say a word, didn't seem that deep....he didn't even appologise from the 2345 feet high in his fly bridge....

later that day, we moored at an island, I got on the dinghy to beach, and as I passed the boat, my gonads came raised to my mouth...his tender proppeler scared my hull that and I could see the black from underneath the paint....

I had to have it repaired..nothing serious, but could have been...next time...screw the stinkpots...I'll go first...


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## PBzeer (Nov 11, 2002)

JodyKS - now that's it's started, you'll get replies, but if you want to look back, in the Learning to Sail forum - Mistakes I've Made


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## rtbates (Jan 30, 2007)

Sailing dead down wind for hours without looking back over my shoulder. When I did finally turn to head back up wind the entire sky was nothing but huge black clouds from horizon to horizon.


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## cockeyedbob (Dec 6, 2006)

Haw! Wimps, all of you!
Wife's Capri (her boat, she da capt'n)
Last day of season, wind from west, 20 gusts to 30.
Lake at 7500' a bit low.
Sails furled, Honda putting, sun shining. 
Capt having her usual good time at the tiller.
No worries mate! Just explorin' sez she ...
Rock, clunk, snap, shear pin kaput ...
100 or so yards downwind big rocks and bigger bridge ... Honeeeeeeeey!!!!
Over goes anchor, over goes Bob, chest deep, freezing water, change pin ...
Bob heaves back on board seperating rib in process ... was too cold to hurt.
So ...
Spring just around the corner.
Bob all healed and private parts descended once more to their rightful place.
Yesterday she sez, Honeeeeeeeey, put the boat in the water for me, will ya?
Wimps, alla yous guys!


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## PBzeer (Nov 11, 2002)

Hey, at least you're well trained


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## cockeyedbob (Dec 6, 2006)

JodyKS,

Yeah, cockeyed story funny now, but at the time?

I let the crew and the boat down. My job when playing the You be the captain and I'll be the crew game is to follow her orders except when safety of the crew or boat was a concern. 

It was a beautiful day and we had been there many times before but familiarity bred overconfidence that quickly led to what could have been a disaster. My fault entirely, sailing is not a game, so don't get careless.

Cool, the anchor held! Probably just dumb luck but at least it was on deck and ready just in case.

Sail out? Wind on the nose. Could parallel bridge but what about the anchor? That bridge is mighty close!

Slip the rode, buoy with a fender, and come back for it later? Well, why throw a necessary tool over the side? It might come in handy.

Wait until evening when the wind usually dies, sail the anchor out and go home? Cool, but what is that Danforth hanging on to anyway? What's the bottom like? If it breaks free it's hello bridge.

Hoist the Honda inboard, replace pin, and hoist outboard? Oh my aching back, and suppose I drop Mama's Honda? What then? Always sail with tools and parts, ya never know.

Naw, Bob had to go for a swim, and he never would have sprung the rib gettin' aboard if he had bothered to get into better shape!

This was just a weekend sail on a mountain lake, what could go wrong? The point I'm trying to make is that overconfidence and laziness led to injury and a very real possibility of loss of crew and boat. Jody, it happened very quickly. We know the lake and we know the boat and her equipment yet it still happened.

It's said Teachers come in many disguises. Well, we got our lee shore, equipment failure, crew injury lesson in about 30 minutes. But you know, it could have happened to any of us. Cape Cod, Great Lakes, Pacific Northwest, Baja ... ya get careless and then the unexpected happens.

Then there was the time I put the mast through the house ...


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

When I was a teen, my twin and I got a Cape Cod Mercury stuck under a bridge. The mast was just a bit taller than the clearance.  The only way to sail under the bridge was to have the boat heeled a good deal. Going upstream, it worked just fine... however, going back, the wind died just as we got under the bridge... and the boat popped upright and bang... hit the underside of the bridge.


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## sailaway21 (Sep 4, 2006)

Mistakes? Don't worry too much about 'em. The only one's you'll possibly learn anything from us about are the ones involving planning. We all made the same stupid mistakes we saw others make before us. It just wasn't our time yet! For instance; don't get a line fouled on your propeller. You might as well go down and throw all your lines in the water now, and start your engine. Hopefully, when you are done cutting, the fun of it all will stay with you and it'll never happen again. But, it is going to happen. Everybody on here has done it, some more than once, and the one's who say otherwise are liars.<g> The point is, that you are going to make mistakes, lots of 'em, and it really doesn't matter. What matters is how you deal with them. If you are feeling anxious, it's hopefully because you can't wait to go sailing. If it's for fear of making a mistake, take a chill and actively adopt a more casual attitude. You can't think of everything, so just go sailing and work it out as you go. Experience really is the best teacher. (speaking of thinking of everything-if a person could, Columbus would have flown to the Americas!)


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## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

I am combining this thread with the one over on learning to sail...mistakes so we can have a recorded history of all the dumb things we've done in one place! <grin>


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## RobKS (Mar 15, 2007)

I'm reading all these posts to my wife's question, and I'm about to fall out of my chair in hysteria. Visualizing some of those antics is great! Only thing is, it makes me all the more certain that I'll have some good stories of my own soon. Only "mistakes" story so far - Jody and I doubled up on our Starfish, She says "Coming about", and I swing the mast to starboard, clocking her noggin half way through.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

camaraderie said:


> I am combining this thread with the one over on learning to sail...mistakes so we can have a recorded history of all the dumb things we've done in one place! <grin>


LOL... well done... one giant repository for all the silly/foolish/dumb things we've done... awesome.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

*Thanksgiving trip, 2005*

After four days on our "backup" boat, Chrysler 22, we were maneuvering to the dock at the ramp to get ready to put the boat on her trailer. This was on the intracoastal just where the intracoastal empties into the bay. Well, there was a bit of a current running out that day and after three attempts to pull into the courtesy dock, each time being swept away by the current, I decided to just pull up to the end, put the wife off to hold the boat with a line and climb down on the rocks to manually push her abound to the ramp side of the dock. Everything worked like a charm, That is until I tried to climb back up the rocks to the dock. Geeze those things sure are slippery, and oyster shells are sharp! Six stitches in my hand and a ton of blood on the deck of the boat to be cleaned up later.


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## goose327 (Jun 11, 2001)

RobKS said:


> I'm reading all these posts to my wife's question, and I'm about to fall out of my chair in hysteria. Visualizing some of those antics is great! Only thing is, it makes me all the more certain that I'll have some good stories of my own soon. Only "mistakes" story so far - Jody and I doubled up on our Starfish, She says "Coming about", and I swing the mast to starboard, clocking her noggin half way through.


Coming about, sailing term for,,,,DUCK
Welcome aboard Rob.


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## sailhog (Dec 11, 2006)

I once let a guy named Goose take my wife out to dinner...


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## goose327 (Jun 11, 2001)

sailhog said:


> I once let a guy named Goose take my wife out to dinner...


Did he look like Santa?


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## sailhog (Dec 11, 2006)

He bore an uncanny resemblance. Now she say's my "beard" isn't long enough.


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## goose327 (Jun 11, 2001)

sailhog said:


> He bore an uncanny resemblance. Now she say's my "beard" isn't long enough.


LOL, it's not how long your "beard" is its how you use it.


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## Gary M (May 9, 2006)

*A Memorable Moment*

OK I finally thought of a rather spectacular mistake.

Way back in 1979 I was just finishing my first cruise in Lake Huron's "North Channel" in the company of some friends on another boat. We were motoring into Tobermory harbour and my friend had gone in first and tied up. There looked to be a spot big enough for my 24 footer up the finger dock aways and I was trying to ask him if I would fit. I was not really paying attention to where I was going and I looked up and was headed right at the seawall.

I put the outboard into full reverse which of course made a lot of noise and promptly caught everyone's attention.

Well this might not have been so bad but I happened to do this on the Saturday morning in July 1979 when the Cruising Club of America were holding a ceremony honouring the 300 years since Champlain had launched the Griffon. They were just starting into their ceremony to unveil the monument and plaque. 
Well as luck would have it I was headed for the seawall right behind their assembled congregation. When the outboard prop went into cavitation about half of them in their natty blue blazers and white caps ran down to try and fend the Idiot off. 

Of course they were too late and I had a nice little bump which resulted in a mark right on the bow.

That monument is still there of course to remind me every time I visit. 

Gary


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

*Don't you understand... *



pmoyer said:


> Sailortjk, I can't help but observe that you posted this in a threat titled "mistakes I've made."
> 
> This isn't from experience, is it?


Don't you get it... he's the guy with 11 kids... and a vasectomy... LOL

IT is a mistake he made!


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## sailortjk1 (Dec 20, 2005)

No Comment.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

sailortjk1 said:


> No Comment.


I was just kidding you meant no offense!


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## sailortjk1 (Dec 20, 2005)

To tell the truth, I was trying to get even with Sailinghog for making fun of my boat. 
I found a web page full of ******* jokes, copied one, and inserted South Carolina where necessary. 

He and I are now best friends, right Hog?

I have two beautiful teenage daughters that never give me any trouble.?!?!.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

sailortjk1 said:


> To tell the truth, I was trying to get even with Sailinghog for making fun of my boat.
> I found a web page full of ******* jokes, copied one, and inserted South Carolina where necessary.
> 
> He and I are now best friends, right Hog?
> ...


He's obviously lying... teenagers, especially beautiful daughters, that don't cause trouble... Yeah, right... 

GaryM- Always nice to have witnesses... and probably photos and video if you ask around the CCA...


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## sailhog (Dec 11, 2006)

sailortjk1 said:


> He and I are now best friends, right Hog?


Sailortjk1 was the best man when I married my wife/neice wedding...
Sailhog


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## RAGNAR (Feb 21, 2007)

Not a sailing mistake, but sailing related:

Allowing myself to be seduced by the fact that if I buy a boat with someone else, I'd "have" a better boat.

The research phase alone has been hell.

(This is the second time I've made this error.)


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## sailortjk1 (Dec 20, 2005)

Just like a marrige gone bad...... Cut your losses and get out while you can.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Ragnar-

Why in the world would you make that mistake twice????


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## goose327 (Jun 11, 2001)

I've only made one minor mistake(so far), it was minor, and I was the only one who knew I did it. I forgot the Platano was WAY deeper than the stinkpot. The fishfinder should cure that.
BUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'll see if I can still say that next week. I'm taking off at o-dark thirty tomorrow for a few days on my lake, Happy Birthday to me. MotherGoose(the Admiral) is joining me when she gets off work tomorrow. 
EEHAW I get to test my A-frame, and see if all the reading I've been doing has sunk in.


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## P8dawg (Jan 10, 2007)

I sat in the dark in a 79 Chevy K-10 and watched my Prindle 18-2 in the headlights to make sure it didn't blow away.Only when the doggie-stake pulled loose from the soil did it begin to occur to me that I might be in some peril. I drove to the shelterhouse/latrine and began to pray that the wind would slow. When the weather calmed after 15 minutes, I went to survey the damage. My boat had miraculously wedged in the fork of a tree in such a way that it could not blow away. Other than a slight dent in the mast caused by flying debris, the boat was okay. Every other boat on that beach was thrown completely across the road approx. 150 to 200 feet. I love my boats, but sometimes maybe a little too much.


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## jrd22 (Nov 14, 2000)

I had to think about this for awhile (so many possibilities). I believe the dumbest mistake was starting the engine while sailing with about 20-25 degrees of heel(we were going to have to make for the anchorage dead into wind when we came about). We have port and starboard fuel tanks, the engine draws off the port tank and we were on a port tack. Some of you are starting to see where I am going with this, aren't you? The tanks were about 1/3 full and the crossover valve was open, letting most of the fuel from the port tank drain over to the starboard tank. The engine ran long enough to suck a bunch of gunk into the primary filter, then quit. We ended up sailing in the dark and dropping the hook on the go next to the ferry dock. Finally got the new filter in and engine bled and started after several hours(had to do both primary and secondary). We carry two of each filter now and NEVER start the engine on a port tack. 

The biggest(worst) mistakes have been pulling the anchor when I "knew" I probably shouldn't head out there when it looked that bad by myself. John Davidson


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## Hawkwind (Apr 25, 2006)

Being impatient and deciding to race in front of the big barge that was entering the harbor. True to Murphy's law, my engine quit after getting into the channel. I pulled a few times and got nothing, the engine would not fire even once. 

Panic!!! I stood up and frantically waved my arms towards the barge and quickly considered my options while still pulling the cord on the outboard. I was fairly certain that the barge would have shattered my 2000 lbs of plastic. It was just me and one other guy, both of us were about 23ish so we could probably ditch and swim, if I didn't wait too long. I was still pulling the cord, but still nothing.

The barge was in full reverse at this point. I could hear the engines roaring but it was still approaching too fast for comfort. I cursed myself for having bagged the sails already. I was a trailer/sailor and thought I was just doing a quick trip to the launch ramps for the Sunday pullout.

Finally, the barge started slowing more rapidly. I could see that we were going to be OK, but I was still in the middle of the channel with no means of propulsion. Fortunately, there was a nearby seawall with a small crowd of watchers. I later learned that they were taking bets on if the barge would stop in time. I tossed a line and some good folks helped us get to the ramps.

Fortunately, the only real damage was to my pride. The problem was in the gas tank for the outboard. The little hose and strainer that goes down from the fuel hose connector had fallen off. There was no hose clamp and I had bought everything used so I don't feel it was my fault that the engine quit. But I knew I was rushing ahead of the barge. I can only imagine what the Captain of that barge had to say about my decision when he had to throw it in full reverse to save my butt.

BTW: for those from Chicago area, this happened in Waukegan moving from the newer (in the early 80s) harbor to the old harbor where the launch ramps were located.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

*argue with the admiral*

The admiral comes up on deck and says "the all hazards WX radio says that there is a storm coming and it should get here in 45 minutes". I look over my shoulder and sure enough there is weather coming from the port quarter and my weather eye says it will be here in about 15 minutes. I comment that I think it will be sooner than that and the admiral says the radio said 45 minutes. At this point I replace the captains hat with the "what a dumb a$$" hat and proceed to go below and listen to the weather report for myself. After going through it twice due to kids getting loud at just the wrong time I discover that the report that says 45 till it gets to us is 40 minutes old. Ok, Ok no problem 5 minutes is enough to get the sails down. I go up on deck and sure enough the storm looks 5 minutes out. I comment (big mistake) that the report was 40 minutes old and get a ration of poop to which my testosterone poisoning just HAS to respond and waste another 3 minutes.
Well when the inclinometer went off scale at 50 degrees with my foot firmly placed horizontally on the usually vertical part of the seat and the admiral and small fry screaming due to all the stuff in the cabin flying to the starboard side I realized the following:
If somebody says there is a storm coming and you see it just drop the sails or whatever is appropriate and don't let any reports contrary to your personal observations get in the way of being the captain and taking care of business. Sailing is fun and having a democracy is cool and all but there ABSOLUTELY HAS TO BE A CAPTAIN and he/she has to take charge. We riped both the main and jib that fine afternoon.


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## RAGNAR (Feb 21, 2007)

sailortjk1 said:


> Just like a marrige gone bad...... Cut your losses and get out while you can.


Solid advice!

Ragnar,


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## RAGNAR (Feb 21, 2007)

sailingdog said:


> Ragnar-
> 
> Why in the world would you make that mistake twice????


I wouldn't toss out the possibility of finding the right co-owner just because I've failed once and am about to sink in my second attempt.

I'm just trying to work out regular access to something larger than a Colgate 26...;-)

If anyone sees a Bristol 40 out there for $45K...

Ragnar


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## RAGNAR (Feb 21, 2007)

goose327 said:


> Happy Birthday to me.


Happy Birthday, goose


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

*On the beach*

A couple of years ago, the daughter and grandkids (2, 4 and 5 year old stepping stones) were down for a nice week on the shore. We decided to go out sailing on a nice, slightly breezy, day. Daughter and future son-in-law would go on our frinds boat, a Hunter 235, while grandkids and wife would go on our venerable Chrysler 22.The Hunter was about a 1/4 mile ahead of us as we made our graceful exit from the canal. At this point, I should mention theat the canal we were exiting opens directly to the Gulf of Mexico and with certian wind conditions, the breakwater waves can be exhilerating.

Well, we hit the first of the waves and got a real good bounce. The kids thought it was great!. Just about that time, I heard a loud "thump" at the stern. I also noticed that the boat was veering off sharply to port. Quickly, I pushed the tiller hard over....nothing. I glanced behind and saw that the rudder was trailing behind attached only by the line used to raise and lower it.

As the wave began to knock us sideways into the beach...of course in front of a large crowd of tourists, the kids were screaming in unison..."WE'RE GONNA DIE, WE'RE GONNA DIE!"

Drawing only 18" with the board up means the you can get really close to shore before you ground up and the waves start knocking you silly. As we were getting hit broadside and the kids were screaming, a couple of guys waded out the ten feet or so to us and took the kids off. Thank goodness, peace and quiet. One of the guys took our anchor and swam it out so we could pull our bow into the waves.

When things settled down, I went under and found that the weld for the rudder had given way and that is why we lost it. Instead of a nice afternoon of sailing, we spent it on the beach, jury-rigging the rudder back on with clamps so we could get her back to her slip, a mere 100 yards away.

To answer the inevitable questions, yes, the kids were in lifejackets, something my wife had done before we left the slip. We were never in any real danger but I will never forget them screaming "we're gonna die".


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Ohh...to be on the beach with a video camera...I can see that AFV prize money now.... LOL


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

hanking one hank backwards on my genny EVERY FRIKEN time <grin>


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

rrgane-

Follow the luff of the sail...and you won't make that mistake as often... either that or the sailmaker was a practical joker and put one of the hanks on reversed...


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## Newport41 (Jun 30, 2006)

Not a mistake I've made but one from my grandfather. Allow me to set the stage. Sailing a 21ft gaff rigged skiff under a bridge that's two feet too low. He's done it many times before and the idea is to tie the outboard to the spare halyard and lift it two feet off the deck. Then, as the bridge aproaches you lower the gaff and swing out the outboard to make th boat heel so you can get under the bridge. Sounds like a stupid idea to start off with but he was younge and it had worked several times before. As I remember, my future grandmother was aboard and my grandfather was showing off his master technique at getting a sail boat under a bridge. Anyway, the outboard comes untied at the apex of it's swing and the boat suddenly rights it's self. And due to gods incredible sense of humor the top two feet of the mast find themselves up a drain pipe that goes up through the bridge. So, how do you fix this situation? Well, sink the boat ofcourse. How did he explain it to my greatgrandfather? No idea.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Newport41... Ouch... how long was he grounded for...


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