What is your worst saling experience that you lived to tell about?

[mangomike]

Hi… It's not so much a matter of holding out for the Anejo (in this case rum). It's just that the stories are as I said real complicated and have provoked discussions of firearms, confrontations at sea, and other not too pleasant threads and commentary. This of course was on a less well-informed message board . So until we meet in that perfect anchorage for sundowners I'm afraid the stories will have to hold.
I will add this however on the subject of romanticizing of pirates and wreckers. Way back when pirates were sometimes working for the government and sometimes just being pirates it may have been a more respected job choice. But, whichever the case these were groups of sailors out to do harm and steel from other folks. In my case we are not talking about Captain Jack Sparrow (?) We're talking about modern-day pirates. And when you think about modern-day pirates, just equate them to a group of gang bangers or carjackers.

[sailingfool]

I'd like to submit the following article in honor of the skipper of OUR DREAM for reasons obvious in the article: http://www.mywellfleet.com/RoundtheCapeTrip_000.htm
Fortunately I believe OUR DREAM beat the odds and was successfully removed.

[alanl]

A bit similar to Sasha's story - one nice quiet morning went up the mast to replace the wind vane, with the Minister for Sport, Recreation, Finance & External Affairs on the winch with the halyard attached to my alpine harness. Finished the job and called to be let down - "Can't" came the reply. She had backwound the line so tightly that God could not have released it - meanwhile jamming the other end in the masthead sheave.

Took off the harness, climbed down, sorted out the mess, climbed up to retrieve the harness etc, climbed back down. Of course by the time this all happened the stinkboat drivers had appeared and were racing up and down the channel making wonderful waves.

There is a sequel - Missus Boss tripped and fell over a day or two later and got a black eye. Her friends naturally assumed I had done it and invariably offered "serves you right"

I have other stories of near disaster, but this one amuses me most

Cheers

Alan

[Artwerke]

One day motoring back to the dock, lost raw water impeller. crosswnds in the channel blowing into my slip. easing into the slip ,water temp hitting 240, engaged reverse and the engine died. good thing this old boat had a heavly raked bow, it rode over the dock 2-3 feet in the air then settled back down,just scraped off a little gelcoat,and gathered a few wise remarks from the wide eyed bystanders. Art.

[LyleRussell]

We knew it was windy but didn't understand what the two red and black flags meant when we took a Sunfish out into Norwalk CN harbor. We close reached out OK, but getting back in, downwind, was another story. The wind blew so hard the stern of the boat lifted out of the water. When the rudder lost purchase she broached. After 7-8 full crash & burns we hit on the idea of dropping the sail and using our bodies as sails. It was our second day of sailing, ever.

[LyleRussell]

Then there was the time I took 4 college girls sailing and lived to tell the tail.

[CBinRI]

Originally Posted by ianhlnd

I think I posted this before somewhere,

Leaving late in the fall afternoon for Santa Cruz Island, Channel Islands CA, I expected a brisk transit with forecast small craft warnings and wind out of the NW, a favorable direction for a rumbline course to the east end.

Singlehanding my Hardin 45 is second nature, all controls lead to the cockpit, and I had a dependable autopilot.

3 hours into the 18 mile trip, the winds shifted to the W and picked up to 45kts and seas built to 15', now I'm going straight into it. I turned on the motor, rolled the mainsail, brought in the jib, put out the staysail and reefed the mizzen. No choice but to plow to weather or tack and head for Catalina, I chose the former. The winds picked up to 50kts.

3 miles west of the west end of Anacapa 2 miles from my destination, my knot meter read three kts, the plotting GPS showed I was moving backwards towards the Anacapa reef. Time to tack and head downwind. Autopilot off, wheel control on.......no response. Autopilot back on, 110 degrees to port .....no response. No helm control, and the rudder must have turned some, as I was now being blown towards the reef 3 miles away at 7 kts drift.

A call to the CG told me they were 1 hour away. Vessel Assit was 4 hours. I would be on the reef in 1/2 hour. I declined any assistance and set up a radio schedule with the CG.

With the calm that comes with certain disaster, I recalled an article in some sailing magazine where the same thing happened to cruiser, and he had used the mizzen as a steering vane and had steered clear of some obstruction. Kicking out the reef and letting out, the boat did an immediate 160 clear of the island and speed picked up to 12 kts. Balancing the two sails, I was on a compass heading for the harbor 15 miles away where vessel assist met me and towed me to my slip.

Wow. Way to keep your wits.