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Maiden Voyage Newbie Trainwreck

12K views 77 replies 38 participants last post by  Ulladh 
#1 ·
Good Evening Sailnetters,

I'm sure this sorta post is common, but I feel compelled to document the experience for any others total newcomers. :D

I had never sailed or been aboard anything bigger than a 16' powerboat aside from riding along on the delivery of my 74 C&C 30. I had read EVERYTHING, watched every youtube video. Fiance and I set out this afternoon for our maiden voyage and found out just how unprepared we were.

We had mapped a route, bought the chart, downloaded the nav app, prepped the sails, changed the oil, practiced tying knots at home and mentally rehearsed tacking, jibing, reefing.. you name it. I had memorized the proper mayday call and even new how to communicate with oncoming ships.. "got you on my one (or two)"

If this sounds like you, when you get out on the boat and you face two modest issues at one time, be prepared to instantly forget everything you ever learned... lol.

In retrospect, our decision to spend a couple hours tooling around the delaware river, as opposed to crossing the C&D canal into the Chesapeake, was ill advised. It wasn't just the commercial traffic. There were these strange crane boats, huge barges and tugs towing yellow bouys 500 yards in trail. They all seemed to converge on our position when the wind jumped up from 17 to 25+ knots. The freshened wind only lasted a half hour, but it timed itself to hit during a needed course change and a supertanker!

The real pucker moment came when we had to head dead into a 20 knot wind to stay in the channel to get back. The engine decides 1/4 throttle was its new max and any attempt to adjust up or down would stall it.

The first time ever on a sailboat, doesn't know the bow from the stern, thinks the engine has a pilot light (not kidding) fiance comes up hugely clutch and correctly diagnoses the problem as the "light" pushbotten at the controls for the atomic four having been pushed in accidentally. Pulls it out, problem solved. She also "found" the main halyard, which had been clipped to the toe rail so close to the starboard shroud that it was indistinguishable.

Docking was going so well... pulled off a standing turn and was inching in nice and parallel. We're getting just a little close to another boat and people are watching from shore. Two concurrent issues, my brain shorts out. I literally can't remember reverse from forward. It's all going wrong... or is it. Happily, we nestled in nice n neat.

We got it tied up, sail flaked. With time to think, we even coiled the lines nicely for the first ever attempts.

We're alive, boat is safe, and we're much wiser.
Hallelujah! I'll be realizing lessons learned for days, but for starters, two rookies does not a crew make. One more person, even another noob, would have made all the difference. Handheld vhf is a must. The one in the cabin does no good with one person at the helm and another chained to the sheets. Smartphone apps are too small. At least get a tablet and mount it somewhere so you have both hands free.

I'd also err towards early morning than flirt with dusk. We had an hour before sunset when we got back, but the tankers didn't have their lights on yet and discerning their bearing in waning light was very difficult.

Look forward to posting about our next voyage once we find someone more experienced to come along. Not tempting fate like that again!

Beej
 
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#2 ·
You got home, didn't break anything, nobody shed any blood....
....that is a screaming success! Congrats on a perfect first sail.


You're smart enough to know what you don't know. That matters. You start your sailing career with a full barrel of luck and an empty cup of experience: the key is to fill the cup before the barrel runs dry.
 
#3 ·
I'm not being critical, to each there own, it's more of an observation.

I took ASA 101 and rented 14' boats about 6 times and then took ASA 103 and bought a boat. I then hired an instructor to sail with me for the first 6 times I took the boat out and I'm on a lake with a C22 :eek:

We sailed up wind, down wind, sailed just on the mainsail, sailed just on the headsail, used the gin pole, hove-to, anchored, docked and even sailed into a slip as if the outboard wouldn't start upon our return. We adjusted the mast rake, tuned the rigging, the list goes on and on....she even showed me a trick to get kinks and twists out of a line (tie it to the rear pulpit and throw it in the water while you sail that day...lol)

A few of the owners of the boats around me asked me who "the older lady was" and I replied "my instructor". All of them (3 different sailboat owners) said they had sailed on this lake for years and never had 1 minute of instruction. There approach was learn as you go.

IDK, it seems like this maiden cruise of yours could have gone bad fast at any point, but I'm glad it didn't.....
 
#4 ·
BlJones, AZGuy - Thanks for the responses.

I agree with you both. Love the luck v. experience analogy and AZ, you correctly deduced that I probably dipped pretty deep into the luck resevoir.

I badly want lessons. To be frank, the boat, marina fees, and upcoming wedding have left me tapped. Of course, three "good friends" of mine have years of experience and were "happy to go out with me" any time. A 63 degree sunny afternoon and three friend's voicemail boxes later and I decided it was go-time.

Thanks,
Beej
 
#16 · (Edited by Moderator)
My VHF is vintage 1982... like a rainbow in the dark, YEAAAAHHH.
After trying to hail the tow/barge/dredge thing and getting no response, I think it's possible my antenna or radio is crap. We did a radio check, but at like 200 yards. We monitored 16 and heard nothing for 5 hours.

Having heard your input, I think I'll seriously consider a new main unit with auxiliary handset. Nav wise, I want to go the tablet route but also like your idea of a GPS distress/man overboard function. Do you need one to have the other?
A couple of notes.
1. Radios don't tend to wear out. Yes, a new radio will have a bunch of great features like DSC. But my guess is that what is more likely the problem is that you masthead antenna and the cable running up to it are shot. They don't usually last 30+ years. On VHF the ground is usually less of a problem but you should check the ground wire too. And to answer your question directly yes you need a GPS attached to the radio for full DSC funtion. It will still work without one but will not broadcast your position if you get in trouble.
2. I do a lot of offshore long distance sailing. If I have learned one lesson it is redundancy, redundancy, redundancy. A fixed mount VHF with a second mike is very convenient. It it craps out you have nothing. A fixed mount VHF with a second handheld radio means two things have to crap out before you lose comms. About the same cost. (BTW I have two fixed mount and two handheld marine VHF radios on board. But I am a belt and suspenders guy.
Of course, three "good friends" of mine have years of experience and were "happy to go out with me" any time. A 63 degree sunny afternoon and three friend's voicemail boxes later and I decided it was go-time.
3.I am glad you had a successful sail. But I would caution you that you made the mistake of many new (and less new) sailors. You decided to sail under less than optimal (appropriate) conditions as your friends could not come when you wanted to go sailing. I have watched people sail into 45 knot winds and 20 foot seas because they needed to get to the next port on time to meet friends. They did. Lost the dinghy, most of the rig, and a big part of the transom. I guess they didn't take their friends sailing. There is an old saying, originally attributed to pilots but paraphrased: There are old sailors, there are bold sailors, there are no old bold sailors. Don't let desire overcome common sense. :)

Fair winds and following seas ;)
 
#6 · (Edited)
All things considered, sounds like it was a success. Those big boats are a little scary at first, but you learn how to stay out of their way. They can be even scarier in the canal, because there's less room to give way, and their wakes will bounce off the rocks and create standing waves that can follow you for an hour or more. Actually, lone tugboats make much worse wakes than the big boats.

The engine decides 1/4 throttle was its new max and any attempt to adjust up or down would stall it....correctly diagnoses the problem as the "light" pushbotten at the controls for the atomic four having been pushed in accidentally. Pulls it out, problem solved. ...
Could you clarify this? Is the button a choke for starting the motor when cold? BTW, make sure that you run your bilge blower properly before starting your motor - critically important for a gas motor.

...Handheld vhf is a must. The one in the cabin does no good with one person at the helm and another chained to the sheets...
A better option may be an extension mic "RAM mic" in your cockpit. You'll have the superior transmission power of the fixed VHF and masthead antenna vs. a handheld. You just need to verify that your radio has a socket for it, and determine what model is compatible. I have the Standard Horizon RAM3 for my GX2150.

If you decide to get the handheld instead, you should spend the extra $$$ for a model with built-in DSC. That's a huge safety improvement because you can press a "Distress" button that sends out a mayday with your exact GPS coordinates digitally embedded. The Coasties will know exactly where to find you. Standard Horizon HX851 is around $250 - a little pricey for a backup IMO. I found the Uniden MHS135DSC for $125 last Christmas and bought two - one for me and one for my son who crews on others' race boats in Seattle. I wanted him to have a distress button attached to him if he falls overboard. Cheaper than an EPIRB, but similarly effective for close to shore. The Uniden is about $150 on Amazon right now.

If your fixed VHF has DSC built in, be sure to register the MMSI (might need to get the info from prior owner), and interface a GPS puck or chartplotter to it to enable the same Distress button capabilities.

...We had mapped a route, bought the chart, downloaded the nav app...Smartphone apps are too small. At least get a tablet and mount it somewhere so you have both hands free...
For the past three years, I've used a netbook with OpenCPN on a RAM mount in the cockpit. This year I'm upgrading to a Miix2 8" tablet with OpenCPN. It's not waterproof, but things stay pretty dry on the river. I have a pouch for wet weather, or I can mount it down in the cabin. There's also lots of software and cases for iPad, if you prefer those.

AIS is very helpful for dodging the large traffic on the Delaware. A transponder will tell them where you are, and you can interface a computer with OpenCPN to view where they are, how fast they are going, etc. You can also see their names, so you can hail them on the radio. My GX2150 gives me AIS receive capabilities, but no AIS transmission. There's a new model with built-in GPS.

Here are some pics of the Netbook, OpenCPN (old version), and new tablet (still under cover on the hard).







 
#9 · (Edited by Moderator)
Could you clarify this? Is the button a choke for starting the motor when cold?
Take5, Thanks for that EXTREMELY helpful post. As to your first question... yes, we ran the blower and know to do so before starting the engine. As for what button brought the engine back to life, we've been debating that since we got home. Initially she said it was the button just to the left of the blower called "Light." We've since learned that controls the compass light, so unless there's some sort of major short circuit, that wasn't it. There's also a push button ignition right next to the button that actually cranks the engine. My guess is that's what was in the off position. After the engine was started, it was bumped in. The engine kept running, but barely. It's all conjecture until I get back and try to recreate it.

My VHF is vintage 1982... like a rainbow in the dark, YEAAAAHHH.
After trying to hail the tow/barge/dredge thing and getting no response, I think it's possible my antenna or radio is crap. We did a radio check, but at like 200 yards. We monitored 16 and heard nothing for 5 hours.

Having heard your input, I think I'll seriously consider a new main unit with auxiliary handset. Nav wise, I want to go the tablet route but also like your idea of a GPS distress/man overboard function. Do you need one to have the other?

In my vast experience, :p I really like the navionics smartphone app.. it's just too small on a pocket phone.
 
#7 ·
When we bought our first boat, we bought in October and we had a GREAT first couple of trips out. Got the sails up, engine started/stopped/started again fine, everything went really well. I was actually stoked for the next season.

The next season we moved her to a different marina near Ocean City, NJ. I had her trailered (wasn't sure I trusted the outboard yet) and had to have her dropped in at a different marina because our "new" marina didn't have a lift that could handle us. I went down to the boat the day she was launched (bad weather the day of the trailering pushed back the launch), and started talking to the guy that ran that marina. Turned out, he's a very accomplished racer with lots of neat stories. We talked sailing for easily an hour. Then I packed up my stuff, put the engine on, and got everything going. I set out, followed the GPS and maps, everything was going good. I wended my way through the back channels and caught sight of our marina. I called my father-in-law and told him he could leave his place to come pick me up (allowing for his drive time). Then I ran aground not more than 100 yards from the marina. I cut the turn into the marina too tight, and the outgoing tide made things very shallow. I could have walked to the marina (literally). It was so shallow, TowBoatUS couldn't get TO me to get me off. My father-in-law left to get lunch, and I sat there for about 4 hours putting on the sails and doing a bunch of other random stuff. When I could finally float off, I managed to get into the slip by myself (lines hadn't been pre-rigged or anything) and tied off.

That was the first "bad" thing to happen. Add in engine problems (water pump didn't want to pump, and the "replacement" engine that we bought died, twice), running aground one other time, and then (on the new boat) catching the jib sheets in the prop, and more engine problems (damping plate let go on the new boat), and I guess I can see why my father-in-law still won't go out with us! :) But, I look at it like BLJ said...nobody got hurt, no major damage was done (especially to other people's property/boats), so it was a successful day. Sounds like you learned a lot of good lessons.

Wait 'til you single-hand her. :)
 
#10 ·
Jimgo,

Great story. One of the guys who helped deliver my ride tells a similar story. Apparently he's pretty well known for taking 3 hour "breaks" to tidy up his sails and lines while the tide gets up to where he thought it should have been.

Could've been worse for ya. Could've been mother in law!
 
#11 ·
Congratulations on your first sail , you got there , it doesn't really matter what went wrong as long as you learnt something for next time . There are good days sailing and better days sailing . At some point for most of us it doesn't always go as planned , but you were out there actually doing it not sitting at home thinking about doing it . Next time you will be having a coffee , eating a biscuit and going yep we will miss that tanker by heaps , pass us another one thanks . Nothing like a steep learning curve .
 
#12 ·
Sounds awesome to me, seeing as my boat is sitting under a foot of snow and we can drive across Lake Champlain right now. You've got a good attitide and did well. Try to get in an area without the traffic -- that's stressful for anyone. Keep untying those lines from the dock as too many forget that part of sailboat ownership..
 
#14 ·
Im with bijones, if nothings broke you have gained the understanding what sailings about.

I would check for water or trash in your fuel, that and to make sure your fuel system is bleed right.

Most of the tugs and barges monitor channel 13

If you wife steeps foot aboard again you did great.
 
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#21 · (Edited)
Most of the tugs and barges monitor channel 13
Radio channels: There are actually 5 different organizations that regulate the use of marine radios. They have recognized three radio channels for safety purposes:

Channel 16: Distress, safety and calling
Channel 13: Intership navigation (bridge to bridge)
Channel 70: Digital Selective Calling (DSC)

1. In general everywhere in the world some regulatory agency has mandated that everything that floats with a VHF radio continuously monitor channel 16 when not actively using the radio. Yes, most big ships monitor multiple channels but they all monitor channel 16! By international convention 16 is the channel to use to call them.

2. The procedure after making initial contact is to shift to another channel to talk. There are "commercial channels" and "recreational channels." See U.S. VHF Channels Most ships will ask you to shift to a "commercial channel." Being very anally retentive it used to bother me since I was not a commercial vessel. Then I realized they weren't recreational vessels. I learned to go with the flow.

3. Frequently ships will pick either channel 6 or 10. I speculate this is because lots of people monitor 13. By using 6 or 10 they don't wake up the watch standers on all the other ships (lol.)

4. Frequently you will hear recreational boats suggesting you go "up one" - in other words to channel 17 from 16. Please note that it is illegal for a recreational boater in the United States to transmit on channel 17 unless talking to a state or local government entity. Channel 17 is a common ship to ship channel in international waters. If asked to go "up one" I suggest that you suggest a different channel - e.g. 68.

The US Coast Guard as a nice web page at Radio Information For Boaters with lots of marine radio information.

Fair winds and following seas.
 
#17 ·
One more vote for a relatively 'successful' first foray.

Nothing broke, your lady's a keeper, and you'll do better next time, and better still the time after that.. next thing you know YOU'LL have 40 years under your belt and be telling another newbie the same.
 
#18 ·
Beej,

One thing that John and I still do after each sail (either while at anchor or at the dock) is to relax and review the day. We try to be as honest as possible about the bad parts because the little things we overlook during that "debriefing" may be critical to do correctly down the road.

Congrats to both, and please extend mine to your GF.
 
#19 ·
Great story and congrats on your maiden sail. We all have had experiences like that. Taking a long a more experienced sailor for a few outings may be helpful.

I vote for the redundancy side also. We have two handhelds as well as the fixed VHF with Ram mike. I would purchase the handheld first as it willl have the added advantage of being portable, where most ram mikes are still fixed....just at the helm.

As far as navigation I would suggest an inexpensive chartplotter. The are made for the marine environment, look sleek and inobstrusive and can be very helpful and a safety factor, however they are not a substitutte for having a paper chart on board as well. We use a Navionics app on ours as well as the portable I pad down below.

Where are you keeping your boat? on the Chesapeake? The trip through the canal is not as dangerous as entioned and we have transitted many times. The tankers are really not the issue. The real issue are the go fast boats who have no speed limit and glass like water.

BYW welcome to the C&C club

Dave
 
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#20 · (Edited)
I'd also err towards early morning than flirt with dusk. We had an hour before sunset when we got back, but the tankers didn't have their lights on yet and discerning their bearing in waning light was very difficult.
Three more notes:
1. Ships in general do not have "bow lights." They have "side lights." The red and green lights are more likely to be on the "house" in the stern then anywhere near the bow. If your mindset (like mine was) is that the colored lights are in the bow you will think everyone is making sternway! Big ships have a 225 degree (112.5 on each side) masthead white light in the bow and a 225 degree white light in the stern. The stern masthead light is higher. Think of a triangle with the pointy part at the bow and the top of the triangle at the stern if that helps you remember. They also have a true stern light. When combined with the stern masthead light it means a while light in the stern from 360 degrees.
2. Carry a couple of cheap air horns and don't be afraid to use them. 5 short blasts means "I disagree with your intentions" and also can be used as an emergency or danger signal. You don't have to be sinking, burning etc. to warn that BFS that you don't have things under control - technically you are at the moment a "vessel not under command" if you don't think you can get out of the way in time. In tight quarters trying to sort out which BFS is CBDR (constant bearing decreasing range - in other words on a collision course), getting their name, calling them on the radio, and having a conversation all take time. They don't want to hit you - the paperwork is a ***** - they would rather do a crashback. You can apologize later after things are under control. Don't be afraid to broadcast in the blind "I'm the little sailboat and I am out of control." Anything so two of you are trying to avoid the problem rather than just one of you. Sure it is embarrassing but less so than being pulled out of the water with bits of your boat floating around you.
3. In unexpected strong winds dump the main, furl most of the jib, and head downwind. Your boat speed with decrease the apparent wind speed, the boat will flatten out and you will have a lot more control.

Fair winds and following seas :)
 
#47 ·
Big ships have an all around white light in the bow and an all around white light in the stern. The stern light is higher.
Big ships have a ten point (112.5 degree) white light forward and a ten point white light aft with the aft light higher. These are generally called the masthead light and the range light and are very useful in determining the angle on the bow of the ship.

The stern light is a separate 12 point light shining toward the extended track (facing aft).
 
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#22 ·
What Roger said. Also, large ships often fail to respond to radio contact. You just need to stay out of their way. Almost all of the areas around the channel up the Delaware are plenty deep. You don't need to stay in the channel. If you're in 15' of water 200 yds outside a shipping channel, you don't need to worry about large ships. You'll also be out of the swiftest current.
 
#23 · (Edited)
congrats op!
keep doing it! practice practice...if you can find a friendly old salt with more experience it really helps you be more at ease and enjoy your boat more...if not just go little by little

cheers

my only advice is this

do one NEW thing every time you go on the boat and perfect it...be that going in and out slip by motor or rasing and lower sails efficiently or hailing boats effiiciently or how to start your engine efficiently whatever it may be
 
#24 ·
Good Evening Sailnetters,

I had memorized the proper mayday call and even new how to communicate with oncoming ships.. "got you on my one (or two)"

Beej
I'm gonna show my lack of knowledge here but I'm not familiar with any special language to use in communication with ships. If there is some lingo to know I'd love to get a breakdown of it. I sail in San Francisco Bay which is really busy with the big vessels. ~LL
 
#25 ·
Maybe we need a marine version of this:

 
#26 · (Edited)
First off - Congratulations on completing your first sail, making it back to your slip, WITH NO DAMAGE!!! Not many here could make that claim...

Second - with all due respect to the prior posters, I gotta disagree with the value of a handheld VHF with DSC, or a RAM mike. Personally, I think that your dollars are better spent on a fixed VHF with DSC, and a handheld floating VHF without DSC for the cockpit. I suspect that you may also spend some bucks connecting the fixed VHF to a GPS (so that the DSC works), ensuring that the fixed VHF works well (this may require a new antenna cable, connectors, and new antenna). I like carrying a handheld VHF (sans DSC) that floats, for redundancy and near shore communications.

I outline the procedure to follow in case of emergency to all my crew, and it involves pushing the red button on the fixed VHF which is always in the same place, and then searching for the handheld (which is usually in the cockpit, or recharging at the nav station, but may also be used if someone is out in the dinghy). I use the fixed unit for emergency use, and, frankly, as a backup to the handheld.

There is no right or wrong answer to this, and you need to work out the best value for your circumstance for yourself.
 
#29 ·
...with all due respect to the prior posters, I gotta disagree with the value of a handheld VHF with DSC, or a RAM mike. Personally, I think that your dollars are better spent on a fixed VHF with DSC, and a handheld floating VHF without DSC for the cockpit... I like carrying a handheld VHF (sans DSC) that floats, for redundancy and near shore communications...
I have no issues with the philosophy of using the handheld as primary cockpit radio, and the fixed radio for high-power emergency communications. But why is it so important that the handheld not have DSC? If you can get one with DSC/GPS for and additional $25-50 above the typical $100 floating handheld, why not just get it?

I second your concerns about the antenna/wiring/connectors possibly being shot. That needs to be addressed before spending any money on a new fixed VHF. In the meantime, if you want to sail while you're planning a larger project to address the antenna/fixed VHF issues, just buy a handheld to get yourself going.
 
#27 ·
Ah, the results of that first "what the heck was I thinking" sail. Congratulations on getting out there and living your dream, however harrowing that may have felt at the time. The good thing about it as pointed out earlier you and the boat came out unscathed. Great part was even after going through everything you still had the composure to put her int he slip with no problems. Well done.
 
#28 ·
Have to say, most folks wouldn't admit to a totally "newb" day like you did in detail. That says something for your honesty. Sounds like you have a good "mate", hold onto her! Continue to learn your boat (both of you do that) and plan each new day with lessons in mind from the previous outing.

Welcome to the forum, lots of help and encouragement here.

Dave
 
#30 ·
You did fine. There is inherent risk in everything we do and I think some people forget that you can die on the freeway, or on a plane or in your bed.

Here you have a story now and real experience in a situation where you pushed beyond your comfort level. Dont be afraid to push, keep learning and trust your gut instinct.
 
#31 ·
Wow, where to start thanking people???

Great advise all around. I don't want to turn the discussion entirely into a technical radio discussion, but it is interesting. I think the mast antenna is a likely suspect.

Philosophically, I've got an old boat that will need 5-10k (easy) of repairs and upgrades over the course of a few years to be what I want her to be. I want a capable bay cruiser/entertainer solid enough to poke out into the atlantic in 100 mile weather windows.

I want to be safe and responsible, but also practical. That is to say, why do huge upgrades to nav and radio now when I'll probably have the mast down this winter. I won't be doing anything this year aside from the bays.

Aside from required safety stuff, I'd like to focus on her bones early on... inspect/tune standing rigging, replace soft rigging, and upgraded 12v electrical.

Stage two would be diesel or electric conversion

Stage three would be wind turbine and integrated auto-helm, gps and chartplotter. I'm skeptical I'll ever get that far with this particular boat.

Nothing will pay safety dividends as much as me getting experience and I can't do that with her up on the hard!

Zephyr.. yes, I read up on the big ship nav lights, but none of them were on at 5p.m. I was looking for the two masthead lights to try and "line up" to determine their angle. All I could see was dull blue freeboard.

Had I really trusted the charts and nav app, I would have stayed further away from the channel. I went out with the idea of eliminating one concern (depth) and dealing with another. In hindsight, I probably should have switched it around.

Chef, I'm in Delaware City. Really a nice little spot. There are some currents, but it's parallel parking and you can walk to any part of the town from the marina in 10 minutes.

Take5.. too funny on the convoy video. I may adopt the "rubber duck" handle or even rename the boat.. I may be bobbing, pitching, and heaving, but dem ducks keep on floating!

Dave, a reefing line in the main, a better radio, and a more legible nav app would have made all the difference... that and a better understanding of the engine.

She'd never been aboard a boat either so I had to split my time between depowering the sails, navigating, and helping her steer. She came a long way in a short while, so next time should be even better.

Thanks all,

Beej
 
#32 ·
...

Stage two would be diesel or electric conversion
There are some threads about electric conversion. As we found out when we were forced to do a re-power, it isn't as inexpensive as we thought. Perhaps by the time you get to that stage of your plan it will come down some more.
 
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