What's your biggest bonehead move sailing?

[bljones]

Originally Posted by taylor_sf

They've both come...

One has really taken to it. She insisted on... head ...

During a night sail, I told her to blow ...
... so... she's more like the babe of my dreams than merely a catch.

Do you think we can't read between the lines around here?

(Yeah, I know, i know, its a family site, feel free to hit the red button.)

[blt2ski]

Originally Posted by Hartley18

Meh.. A nice clean break. Nothin' some scrap and a few rivets won't fix.

Just lucky no-one got brained by the boom as it was going across..

Yep, no brain fluid in the cockpit or on deck after that move! But we did motor back home. Art by Jody if one remembers him, grounded a bit north and west in the same race, still not sure why he was that far west or in that direction.......

new boom for my little boat was all of 600 including shipping from FL to the NW. About as far as one can ship things in the continental US! One of th ebetter crew quotes, Doug who happened to be the now closed local WM mgr, wished he had a source for the replacement boom! dang sales guys!

[floridajaxsailor]

leaving the dock with the shore power cord still connected...
-JD

[n8kraft]

Originally Posted by floridajaxsailor

leaving the dock with the shore power cord still connected...
-JD

Yeah, I did that too.

Twice.

[SloopJonB]

Tied my first keelboat to pilings instead of the float - with a 15' tide. Luckily I noticed the docklines were bar taut and the boat was beginning to heel before I left - had to cut them away.

[L124C]

Originally Posted by floridajaxsailor

leaving the dock with the shore power cord still connected...
-JD

That's one (of many) reasons I have a checklist that I have a crew member read to me as I go through the boat making sure valves and hatches are closed, shore power is disconnected, etc., before we shove off. Too many things to remember on a sailboat, forgetting anyone of which can ruin your day! I laminate the list at a copy store, and keep it with the key to the ignition. Here is a link to a thread I started on the topic if interested:
Pre Trip Checklist

[L124C]

Not my BHM, but a someone else's!
I was talking to a couple who are cruising on a beautiful 50 foot sloop. They were motoring about 15 miles offshore at night. He saw a strobe off the bow in the distance and assumed if was a helicopter flying low. Soon, the strobe passed him immediately off Starboard and the boat came to an abrupt halt. The strobe marked a large fish trap which the keel had snagged. The trap's cables also managed to pull the prop shaft loose, causing a flood in the bilge. While the manual bilge pump worked, the auto did not "because it has a filter that is hard to get to and was clogged". His wife frantically operated the manual pump while he found and patched the leak. After a long night spent with the Coast Guard, the boat freed itself and was towed to a yard. The boat had minor damage to the keel and substantial damage to the drive train. After repairs, the voyage continued, and I met the couple about a thousand miles from the incident. I asked the skipper if he had improved access to the Bilge Pump filter. To my amazement, he said that he had not addressed the issue yet. In other words...he continued the voyage without an automatic Bilge pump!
The primary lesson I take away is steer away from any unidentified lights at night. A ten degree deviation probably would have made all the difference in this case. You simply can't trust your eyes at night. Interestingly, this guy is a retired airline pilot. I would assume he would have known that far better than me.
Regarding the bilge pump....Well, I hope that lesson goes without saying.

[polaris2.11]

ok, I achieved my first BHM worth reporting in this august company last weekend. Motoring into a creek to anchor up for the night up a narrow, but well marked, channel leading to a boat ramp. Beyond the boat ramp was a campground and a small beach. Near the beach, I saw two buoys in a line perpindicular to the shoreline. These sure looked like 'no wake' buoys to me and, with the beach and all, I just assumed... and proceeded to slowly motor between them.

Turns out the buoys marked the stumps of an old pier - just barely submerged. Somehow, we managed to only hit one of the stumps (there were a lot) and fortunately I had slowed to 1-2 knots. So, she's still afloat, but I have yet to haul her and check the bottom. Plan for that this coming weekend. She's a trailer sailor, so easy to do.

The next morning, the water was down a foot or so, and we could see how lucky we were to only have hit one of the stumps. Sure felt like a bonehead.

[Hartley18]

Don't be too hard on yourself - it's an easy mistake to make.

Along the edge of our Yarra river is a rock wall (a wave barrier of sorts) behind which is a popular boat ramp, that is exposed at low tide but submerged at high tide and marked only by the occasional white post. It's not uncommon for people in a hurry to take a short-cut across the top rather than go the long way right around the end of it as you're supposed to and I've never known anyone to hit it (at least, if they have, I've not heard about it!)... but it's bound to happen one day.

[L124C]

Originally Posted by polaris2.11

Turns out the buoys marked the stumps of an old pier - just barely submerged. Somehow, we managed to only hit one of the stumps (there were a lot) and fortunately I had slowed to 1-2 knots. So, she's still afloat, but I have yet to haul her and check the bottom. Plan for that this coming weekend. She's a trailer sailor, so easy to do.
The next morning, the water was down a foot or so, and we could see how lucky we were to only have hit one of the stumps. Sure felt like a bonehead.

If I don't know what a buoy represents, I avoid it for exactly this reason.
A chart probably would have told you about the stumps, the bottom and the depth, which could have been factors for a overnighter.