Ran aground on Saturday

[dhays]

For many of you on the East Coast, this would not be an unusual event. For me, it is a very rare event. Saturday I was going into inner Oro Bay at a very low tide. The "channel" is marked and I was 5-10 yards inside the green marker. Being a cautious soul, I was creeping along under power at about 1.5 knots against a 20+ knot headwind (yet another rain squall coming through). I was keeping a close eye on the depth gauge but my wife had stood in front of me it for a moment.

About then I had the unpleasant feeling of no movement. Yup, the depth sounder said 4 feet (we draw 7). Between the wind, current, and backing the engine I was able to get off the mud, turn around and make another attempt only closer to the red marker this time.

It is just an odd experience since it so rarely happens. Most of the time the depth of the water I sail it is measured in hundreds of feet, not less than ten.

Dave

[sailhog]

Bet you're grateful for that headwind! My wife has the habit of getting on her dang cell phone while at the helm, which has twice resulted in us getting our keel stuck in the mud, waiting for the tide to come up. On one occasion (near Dufuskie Island near Hilton Head), we were stuck a few hundred yards away from some redneck's backyard rifle range. So we had to sit there for an hour and half while he pinched off one round after another. By the time we were free, the kids were crying. That was our last visit to Dufuskie.

[JohnRPollard]

Originally Posted by dhays

... Most of the time the depth of the water I sail it is measured in hundreds of feet, not less than ten.

Dave

Wow, I forgot how deep the draft is on those fin keel Catalinas. Glad there was no harm and you didn't get stuck, Dave!

There are places on the Chesapeake, where you can sail for hours with single digits (in feet) on the depth sounder. Mostly we have depths measured in the teens with some twenties as we sail around, except when transiting the shipping lanes.


Hog, you should have rowed ashore with your assault rifles and joined the fun.

[rockDAWG]

Yeap, I aground often . But I found that most of the groundings are reversible as long as I keep my speed slow. The Chesapeake bay mud does have its own good thing.

[sailhog]

Captain P:
Pigs do there best to avoid strangers with guns! Somehow it always ends up with us becomign cold cuts.

[JohnRPollard]

Originally Posted by sailhog

Captain P:
Pigs do there best to avoid strangers with guns! Somehow it always ends up with us becomign cold cuts.

Come on, embrace your inner redneck!

[cb32863]

As others have said, good thing for the slow speed and the head wind. Glad there is no damage. Couldn't you calibrate your depth sounder so that it takes your draft in to account? Maybe with a little extra for comfort level? Just wondering.

[DonScribner]

We were lauching at a ramp that is used primarily by stink potters. With a bevy of onlookers, I pushed off my Lancer 25 and began to back out into the channel. 6 seconds later, my keel was buried in sand. (We draft 30"). With the impatients on the dock smirking, I grabbed a line and leaned way out over the toe rail and told my son to gun it. Man I'm glad that worked! I would have looked SO stupid if it hadn't. Instead, I garnered some respect from the nay sayers.

Hey, at least we're man enough to admit to grounding, ay?

[BubbleheadMd]

Pffft, that's not "aground", that' just touching the bottom for a moment. I accidentally sailed over the shoal at Black Walnut Pt. I draw 3'8", and my depth finder alarmed for 30 minutes as I sailed over it.

[john1066]

I was once (actually, many times) in a discussion about the ultimate cruising boat and was pontificating about the need for it to take the ground without damage. I think I over-made my point when someone said "So, you think the performance of a boat on land is more important that its performance at sea?"

Anyway, here's some thoughts on running aground:
http://www.saltyjohn.co.uk/resources...%20aground.pdf