What's your biggest bonehead move sailing?

[SURV69]

A few years ago, I was sailing wing & wing in very light winds.

Since I couldn't feel the wind on my back, I felt that closing my eyes and paying very strict attention to the slightest breeze on my back would then give me an idea if the wind was coming from port or starboard.

It didn't work, but when I opened my eyes I did see the boom coming from port about 2 seconds before impact.

what a lesson...

[Cruiserwannabe]

Originally Posted by sailingdog

If the Coasties were following you and aiming the .50 cals at you...you'd have a pretty good excuse to be distracted...I don't think that was the case though.

For a few years I kept a pontoon boat Parker Marine at the far end of Alton Bay Lake Winnipesaukee had to go under the lil bridge at the end of the lake to get in and out..after a week of rain the water was higher than normal and I wiped out my Bimini on the way out all the while with people on the bridge watching and laughing,ok returned later that afternoon with sun burned head and proceeded back under the same bridge only to wipe out four fishing poles that I had still up in the rod holder..One guy yelled hey isnt that the guy??
great day on the Lake

[sailingdog]

SURV 69—

Boom: The sound it makes when it hits your head.

You need a Dutchman Boom Brake.

Cruiser—

I'm a bit worried... if you can't keep track of the height of a bimini or fishing poles... that doesn't bode well for the mast on your boat.

[bubb2]

A few years back I was delivering a boat with the owner aboard to the Chesapeake the marina we were going to was on a tidal creek. For the life of me I can't think of the marina's name right now. We had made a uneventful trip from Long Island Sound.

The marina we pulling into had finger slips open to the creek and the preferred way to dock was to back down in to the slips. As I was coming "up the creek." I radioed the dock Master to find out what slip he wanted us in, he said take any empty one.

We get to the marina and I spot 4 empty sips in a row. I bring the boat in close along side the slips and turn the bow out into the creek so that I can back down. As soon as I got the keel sideways to the creek thats when it became apparent how much i misjudged the tide and the current. Now we are are heading sideways back down the creek. I give a healthy dose of reverse and get her backed down in a slip between 2 nice boats, The Dock Master meets us the slip after we have tied off and says Damn your a good Capt. to get that boat in between these two. The boat owner then says "he's the best thats why I hired him." I said fellow's before you get to carried away you do know I was going for the slip 6 up from here and this is just here we wound up!

[Cruiserwannabe]

Sorry about that dog.. thought I was quoting sailingfool re: hobbycating up on lake Winni,dont know how I did that?? anyway not to worry about my mast until I have a boat..hence the "wannabe"

[sailingdog]

No worries Cruiserwannabe, BTW, I think it was me and Lake Winn and a Hobie Cat. Fun when you're a teen and too young to realize how really bloody dangerous a small beach cat in a thunder squall really is.

[MedSailor]

Hello Sailnet! THIS thread seems the prefect place for a first post....

So I was backing my recently purchased 31ft wooden boat from it's tight slip when, at the same time, the engine suddenly died and the water around me became all foamy. I was adrift in a small marina, and as captain, initiated an "all hands panic" which was well executed by my fearless crew and some local liveaboards.

Fellow sailors, even though it is further to stumble, hang your beer bag off the BOW of the boat, not from the stern.

MedSaillor

[Stillraining]

Lesson learned... buy cheap beer for boating....Welcom to Sailnet..

Wear tall boots...take nothing personally...dont lie ...we will find out... ( so is it a 41 or 31 )

Originally Posted by MedSailor

Hello Sailnet! THIS thread seems the prefect place for a first post....

So I was backing my recently purchased 31ft wooden boat from it's tight slip when, at the same time, the engine suddenly died and the water around me became all foamy. I was adrift in a small marina, and as captain, initiated an "all hands panic" which was well executed by my fearless crew and some local liveaboards.

Fellow sailors, even though it is further to stumble, hang your beer bag off the BOW of the boat, not from the stern.

MedSaillor

[MedSailor]

Originally Posted by Stillraining

Lesson learned... buy cheap beer for boating....Welcom to Sailnet..

Wear tall boots...take nothing personally...dont lie ...we will find out... ( so is it a 41 or 31 )

Thanks for the welcome! I agree about tall boots, almost never get offended or take anything personally. Oddly enough one of the only things likely to offend me is accusing me of lying.... As for cheap beer, NEVER! Cheap beer would likely have done extensive prop damage and been an expensive fix. The expensive beer I sacrificed was smooth you see and didn't ding my prop.

The 31footer I bought 7 years ago (about when this happened) was a sloop converted from a Scottish lifeboat. About 6 months ago I sold her and now reside aboard a Formosa 41 with a hull fabricated from plastic trees.

Fairwinds,

MedSailor

[wfahey]

Back in 1983 I waxed the hull of my shiny new Prindle 16 outside of the Biloxi yacht club and headed out to race some Hobies that were playing around. As the windward hull lifted out of the water I hooked up, hiked out and promptly lost my footing. I remember seeing the rudder go by as I was slammed into the hull and released into the water.

Then there was the time I turtled a small cat off of Indian Rocks beach when tropical storm Dennis was approaching. Freaked my mother out, she called the Coast Guard, Sherrif, EMS, Fire the whole 9 yards.