SailNet Community banner
  • SailNet is a forum community dedicated to Sailing enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about sailing, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, repairs, reviews, maintenance, and more!

Just a rant, nothing more

2K views 15 replies 8 participants last post by  T37Chef 
#1 · (Edited)
Really...just a rant...once a year, that's it.

Been aimlessly wandering since mid January with no real home until last week. So I figured I'd grab a rafting spot in a very small outpost on British Columbia's Sunshine coast, beautiful, just beautiful and things couldn't be better...life is good. I've been working in some of the remote inlets on the mid coast mainland side, so basically I needed somewhere to leave my boat while I'm out working and for the most part I'm out of touch (but not with reality). So I'm doing the "week in working"/"week out cruising" kind of thing which has worked out well for the most part. I got a nice spot on the commercial float and as usual, in unfamiliar places, I do the winter thing and double up my lines to 8 and I put 4 big Scotsmen fenders on my open side for transient rafters.

It would be nice to know someone here that's able to keep and eye on my boat while I'm away but that'll have to wait I guess. Need to get up to the hotel for a beer more often and mingle with the locals. There's only one place to get a beer in this one horse town. In any case, as usual when I leave my boat on her own, I was feeling confident I had thought of everything to make her secure. I got back to this fine little outpost late yesterday after a week out working to find what can only loosely be described as a sailing vessel that was dragged up from the bottom rafted on my starboard. No problem, not everyone has the coin necessary to keep her up, at least they're cruisers. She had two tiny little fenders but no problem, I had my 4 big scotsmen out. She only had two lines to my boat and none to the float but no problem, I had 8, I can keep us/me secure to the float in most anything.

Now here's the kicker that's got me pissed...She (questionable) was only secured to me with her two 3/8" fore and aft lines and MY 5/8" headsail sheet used as her amid-ship line. OK, maybe they can't afford lines...maybe they're cruising on a budget...no problem sheet happens. BUT.... this is how they ran the sheet...they took the wraps off my winch, they took the stopper knot out, fed it back through my traveler block, fed it directly down from my furled headsail, across the inside of one of my forward stanchions, past a perfectly good un-used deck cleat, and at some point I imagine he/she had fed it through my chock but all I can figure is it slipped out of the chock and came to rest under my lower lifeline, and secured to his turnbuckle with two half hitches. I'll leave it to the imagination what would happen if anything blew in.

I left this morning and I'm on the hook in a pleasant little place wondering what to do about a rafting partner like this, got my fingers crossed he's not permanent, but I'm sure I'll be able to solve it somehow, just another thing to deal with. There are worse things I guess but I just thought I'd vent...it helps a little. If I get back in and he's there, I'll make sure to get my boat back on the inside. I hate to think what will happen if he has to swing my boat and re-secure it to get out, it makes me shudder just to think about that.

There, I'm all done....Wheeeeeeeew...done.....now to relax in this beautiful bay, watch the sun go down and endulge in a fine glass of home brew whine...er, I mean wine....there, that's it, over. Thanks for listening :). Boy oh boy it was hot today!
 
See less See more
#3 ·
Rather rude of the dumb bastards to borrow your property to tie up their POS to your boat. Generally, when rafting up, you need to get the boat owner's permission as a courtesy in the least.
 
#7 ·
Rather rude of the dumb bastards to borrow your property to tie up their POS to your boat. Generally, when rafting up, you need to get the boat owner's permission as a courtesy in the least.
Ya, it was a POS but around here, they don't need permission to raft up. At the gov't wharfs rafting is permitted but generally most folks around here know what they're doing and take a little bit of care. What can I say, other folks just don't get it and likely never will. They just don't care.
 
#4 ·
Its obvious that the cruising life is good for what ails you Bilge. How you kept your cool is quite beyond me. I'd have probably cut the buggers loose or at best done an awful lot of the sort of thing that would either get me banned from here or my posts *******terated.

I could almost live with their poor practices but the headsail sheet thing would have seen my top pop.

Did you speak with them ? I presume you must have had some communication when you took off.
 
#8 ·
Its obvious that the cruising life is good for what ails you Bilge. How you kept your cool is quite beyond me. I'd have probably cut the buggers loose or at best done an awful lot of the sort of thing that would either get me banned from here or my posts *******terated.

I could almost live with their poor practices but the headsail sheet thing would have seen my top pop.

Did you speak with them ? I presume you must have had some communication when you took off.
They weren't around when I left. To get out, I dragged their boat back and tied it to a prawn boat with his two lines. In hind sight I should have used his sheet as a spring line on the prawner. Didn't really cross my mind to get back at him and would that just be lowering my self to his level, maybe I should once in a while.
 
#5 ·
Good to hear from you, BW... and wow, it WAS hot today wasn't it?

Curious how you extricated yourself from that mess... they wouldn't be floating adrift somewhere would they now?;)
 
#6 ·
Hmmm, not sure how I would deal with that Bilge (after I undid my line from their boat and thought up several different untraceable ways to sink it). You kind of have to live with them so you don't want an enemy rafted to you. Maybe a gift of an old line, and some instructions on how you would like to have them tie to you? Glad to hear you are getting some cruising time in between work weeks. Hope to see you soon, we're finally leaving in the morning so should be up your way in 3-4 days. Keep an eye out for Nikko (Erps), they should be up your way now. 87F here today after being in the upper 50's for 4th of July.
 
#10 ·
Hmmm, not sure how I would deal with that Bilge (after I undid my line from their boat and thought up several different untraceable ways to sink it). You kind of have to live with them so you don't want an enemy rafted to you. Maybe a gift of an old line, and some instructions on how you would like to have them tie to you? Glad to hear you are getting some cruising time in between work weeks. Hope to see you soon, we're finally leaving in the morning so should be up your way in 3-4 days. Keep an eye out for Nikko (Erps), they should be up your way now. 87F here today after being in the upper 50's for 4th of July.
Ya, that's likely what I'll do if they're permanent, seems more rational to me. never met them yet so don't know what to expect. There's not many people here so I definately don't want to stir things up too much, one enemy may turn into 10 and in a town like this, well that's likely 10%. I'm a lover, not a fighter ya know.

I will run into you for sure when you get here. Maybe I'll take a run up to Rosco Bay tomorrow, haven't been there in a while, ya think Ray might be there? That's where he hangs out when he's up here isn't it?
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top