What's your biggest bonehead move sailing?

[CharlieCobra]

Tell me yours and I'll tell ya mine

[Tartan34C]

That doesn’t require much thought now or then. Of all the stupid things I have done my most stupid move was trying to sail across the path of a hurricane. It did a lot of damage to both the boat and me and that move goes a long way towards explaining why I am the way I am today over thirty years later.
All the best,
Robert Gainer

[CharlieCobra]

Let's see, there's so many.... I guess it was not pulling the rudder on my first sail (which was documented here) while trying to get the boat out before it sank. Needless to say, the wooden rudder didn't survive. This also made a nice set of holes in the transom. The outcome was nice though. I got a stronger transom, learned a lesson and the new rudder's more efficient and deeper than the old one.

[SanderO]

When I first got my boat I sailed through the Race where there were a bunch of guys in small boats fishing. I assumed that they were NOT anchored, but drifting and casting their lines... I and sailed right through them and snagged one guys anchor line which we had to cut. Ruined his day of fishing. I was embarrassed. I got his name and addy and sent him money for new ground tackle. Who would anchor in the race near Race Point? he did! Live and learn.

jef
sv shiva

[sailingdog]

SanderO

Anchoring in the Race is probably better than drifting in the race.. which would probably be far more dangerous.

[camaraderie]

Not heading to Trinidad when hurricane Ivan was first forecast....and believing the cone of probability!!

[Lancer28]

First day out on the new sailboat, and I lost my charcoal grill grating, food, coals and cover overboard. I somehow forgot to attach the dummy cord.

Few minutes later when I was hauling up the anchor, since dinner was ruined, I lost a Skegen wrist watch which just literally popped off, then I turned and dropped a winch handle from the pocket at the mast, it bounced once, hung on the toe rail for a minute, as if to say "goodbye dummy" and then it went ker-pluk down to davy's.

Well, at least I haven't lost anything else since then!

[sailingdog]

While these happened on a sailboat, IMHO, these belong more in the sacrifices to the sea gods thread than as bone head sailing moves.

Originally Posted by Lancer28

First day out on the new sailboat, and I lost my charcoal grill grating, food, coals and cover overboard. I somehow forgot to attach the dummy cord.

Few minutes later when I was hauling up the anchor, since dinner was ruined, I lost a Skegen wrist watch which just literally popped off, then I turned and dropped a winch handle from the pocket at the mast, it bounced once, hung on the toe rail for a minute, as if to say "goodbye dummy" and then it went ker-pluk down to davy's.

Well, at least I haven't lost anything else since then!

[sailaway21]

Lancer28,
If you are not already related to CruisingDad, you're soon going to feel that you are. He has so many different types of grills on board that his proudest piece of deck gear is his bbq retrievel unit. He had to sacrifice his davitts to mount it, and some say he resembles a Navy salvage tug design that never made it off the drawing boards, but he is quite proud of it. He claims to have made recoveries while full and by, but that claim is tempered by the fact that he may be the only sailing vessel legally entitled to be "constrained by draft".

He'll probably be along after awhile to tell you about it, although I'd keep the location of loss a secret. Be forewarned, do not be confused when discussing matters electrical with him. Many posters assume that when he posts "kW-hrs" he means amp-hours. He means what he says. (g)

[sailingdog]

The kW-Hrs are only possible since he replaced the keel on his boat with a working pebble-bed nuclear reactor... raw water cooled of course.