Maybe too bold!

[sailingdog]

Originally Posted by morgan5152

This is Morgan's wife and I hope he takes y'alls advice becuse I won't go out on that boat again. He failed to tell you we were only about 15 feet from the ship.

An anchor is considered an important piece of safety equipment in a situation like that.

[tenuki]

well, I agree you may have bitten off more than you can chew for a first bite, but there is something to just getting out there and doing it too. No harm done, just slow down a bit, both of you should take the classes cause the more sailors you have on the boat the better. Also, find experienced sailors who don't have a boat currently and get them to come along and sail with ya.

Don't worry, all of us have horror stories when we first started out, but one thing is clear, after even two sails under your belt you will feel much much more confident and have learned a lot. Think of how much you learned these two times out and how much better you'll be next time.

Welcome to the best sport ever!!!

[sailaway21]

Morgan's wife,
As an officer on one of those ships, for twenty years, I will relay to you one our old sayings, "a miss is as good as a mile". Think of it as just a lesson checked off on your resume. We all get that one checked off sooner or later. You did have fun, otherwise?

[camaraderie]

Good thing it was a container ship. If you'd gotten to close to one of those big gray ones...some folks would have come out on their rubber dinghys to "help"!!

[sailingdog]

Originally Posted by camaraderie

Good thing it was a container ship. If you'd gotten to close to one of those big gray ones...some folks would have come out on their rubber dinghys to "help"!!

Yup... .50 caliber help... lots of fun.

[SailorMitch]

Morgan -- Lots of good advice, and I love your attitude. The best way to learn sailing is to SAIL! Read, take classes, sail with someone more experienced. There's nothing like time on the water in your own boat. And the P-26 is a great learning platform.

Ms. Morgan -- It's great that you're going along as well. Now, your job is to learn more than the Mr. so that you can out sail him.

[USCGRET1990]

Be sure of your water depths as you venture further out. That area can be tricky and deceiving. If you stick that keel in the mud at an outgoing tide, there's a good chance you'll be stuck there for the next 12 hours inventing new cuss words!

[jorgenl]

Sailingdog,

It is probably 30-50 ft of water where the container ships anchor, anchoring the P26 would require a lot of rode...

[sailingdog]

Originally Posted by jorgenl

Sailingdog,

It is probably 30-50 ft of water where the container ships anchor, anchoring the P26 would require a lot of rode...

Yes, but there were probably some shallower sections that he had passed through while having the issues with the current and such that he could have more easily dropped anchor in, and which would have prevented him from getting into the container ship anchorage area in the first place.

I really only mentioned it because a lot of people forget that stopping the boat by dropping anchor is a valid and often good way to keep a bad situation from getting worse.

[sailortjk1]

Originally Posted by SailorMitch

The best way to learn sailing is to SAIL!

Try to find some calm days during the week, not the busy weekends.

Practice your docking and anchoring in variuois condition.

Get out and enjoy yourselves.

Try to avoid big ships.

And to Mrs. Morgan, No harm no foul.
No big deal. Fifteen feet from a moving ship, well thats a different story.

Take the classes, they will certainly help. You don't need to learn everything the hard way.