Running Aground

[Gryzio]

Once we were taking a short cut trough the ICW in the Gulf at low tide. It was a confusing spot and I guess the channel was not very wide and I steered a little too far to Starboard as I was watching a Buoy way ahead and could not spot the other buoy, until after the fact. I guess it was leading me Port and we got stuck in the mud.

Heck, a Motor boat tried to come in close and his Outboard was hitting about 50 yards away, so he waved and left.

Later I decide we were in the Spoils from looking at a chart. I think they put that stuff just out of the channel to see if I will find it.

After hours of sitting and watching locals go by and wave, the tide finally came in and we were able to motor out. Actually motored for a long time after that.

Another time my Brother fell asleep at the wheel, long story. I was sleeping in the bow. But, when we ran aground at about 5-6 Knots, I woke up hearing that familiar mud on Bottom slide to a stop sound.

After about 4 hours and noticing the Tide was going out! A Tug came along and pull us out. Free of Charge. That was a Hoot, as he thought we had just did this and not know we had been sitting for hours slowly losing more depth with the tide.

Yea, I one gets my "Stick in the Mud" now and then, but, always been lucky and never hit Rocks of any damaging capabilities and was usually moving slow in anticipation.

Never have I had to call "Sea Tow" or whomever, usually someone has helped me when necessary and I always return the favor to others seeking to test the limits.

[soulesailor]

My grounding experience was horrific. Very early in my career we were approaching an anchorage that was divided down the middle by a nasty, sharp rocked ledge covered in weeds and grass. I left the helm to the first mate while I scurried around getting the anchor and chain ready. I was a little too focused on my task and didn't notice, until it was too late, that my FM had cut the corner and was driving us right to the rocks.

We hit and continued forward, sails fully up, scraping further on to the ledge. It wasn't too deep and we were heeled way over. The wind was blowing up a chop and the waves were just big enough to lift us off the rocks only to come crashing down on them, again and again, with the most god-awful noise I ever heard.

I tried to induce more heel with weighting the leeward side. I tried sailing off with the additional heel. I tried putting my dinky little 6hp motor in the well, only to have it jam with weeds immediately. I was becoming nervous I'd cause some damage I couldn't repair. I couldn't believe how far on to the ledge we had gone.

In the midst of my struggling a couple of sailors at anchor rowed over and took my kedge anchor and rowed it out past the ledge for us. I put the rode through a stern quarter snatch block and ran it to my winch. I cranked the boat off, backwards, into the deeper water. I was waiting for my rudder to break.

We thanked them profusely, took up the kedge and rode, adjusted sail and took off for another anchorage. I was way too embarassed to spend the night there. Upon inspection that fall when I hauled the boat I was psyched to discover almost zero damage to my hull. Score one for the '68 Bristols.

What a learning experience. Now I get everything in order much further in advance and we are both navigating on the approach. I'm not sure how many 'get out of jail free' cards the Maine coast will give.

[sailingdog]

There is something to be said for a heavily overbuilt full keel when it comes to grounding on bad things.

[danjarch]

Lucking for me, it has always been in the mud. Chuck a dansforth as far as you can and haul your self out inch by inch. Prepare to hose down the cockpit when you get back to the dock.

Once, on the second throw of the anchor, I hadn't noticed a chunk of mud cligging on. It was dark. We were in the ICW. I was swinging the anchor back and forth to build up momentum. The mud let go just in time to fling through the companion way and into a crew mates ear. Who had the indecentcy to be sleeping on the settee, whilst I struggled. You should have heard her yell.

[billyruffn]

I'd had a handfull of soft groundings over a 30 year sailing career, and was wondering one day what a hard grounding might be like. Three days later I hit a rock at 6 knots. It was like an auto crash -- we bounced to a stop in about a boat length. Fortunately, neither the people nor the boat were seriously damaged (benefit of a steel boat). We were saved from 12 hours of embarassement by the last 15 minutes of a rising tide.

Lesson learned: it only takes a moment of inattention to ruin our day.

And yes, the rock was on the chart!

[sailortjk1]

(Thread Hijacking in progress)

Sorry, I have to ask.
Billy, is that an accurate picture of yourself in your avatar?
Way Cool, if it is you.
(now back to your regulary scheduled program)

[Dunlookn]

I learned to sail on Lake Chiemsee, Germany. My instructor had been a U-Boat Commander (yes, for Germany) during WWII. He finally told our boat that we could sail alone on the lake, but asked that we not do anything to make him look stupid.

An hour later we were heading to the middle island for lunch when we saw something floating in the water. WHAT THE HELL...we sailed directly for it. We noticed some writing on the thing in the water, but none of us could read German.

Seconds later the boat stopped and we were all thrown in the lake. We all started to swim and then realized the water was about a foot deep.

We all agreed that whatever was written on "float" must be German for "rocks."

We walked over to the boat, pushed it back into deeper water, and went to get a beer.

[billyruffn]

sailortjk,

Yup, that's me in the yellow suit. Taken with the boat 1/4 nm from the icefront in Nassau (sp?) fjord on the west side of Prince William Sound in late June '06. It was a few weeks later that we hit the rock.

[Valiente]

Originally Posted by sailingdog

There is something to be said for a heavily overbuilt full keel when it comes to grounding on bad things.

Yes, yes, there is. I consider groundings an opportunity to remove the mussels from the spots I couldn't reach with the anti-fouling....

[GeorgeB]

A few years back we were cruising up the Napa River in California. Everything went fine until we got the entrance to the marina (a cut in the levee). I could feel my keel burrowing into the shoaling on the upstream side of the entrance. Thinking that I was already at the shoal’s crown, I increased engine RPMs only to “set” my keel big time. Stuck in the mud, partially blocking the entrance and waiting for high tide, all we could do was sit there, being the butt of jokes made by our friends who successfully navigated the entrance. A fellow in a rubber dinghy, powered by a 2 HP outboard came out and offered to tow my seven ton boat off the shoal. I politely declined, but seeing I was so close to the marina, asked him to take my anchor line and cleat it off to the fuel dock so I could kedge myself off with my windlass. He did and I proceeded to winch in. I’m recovering anchor rode at a good clip but notice that I’m not seeing much water flowing down the hull. I look up to see that I’m pulling the dock out towards the entrance! I stop immediately, to a chorus of more hoots, howls and laughter from my growing peanut gallery. This brought out a marina worker in a panga like utility boat and with a combination of halyard and towing line promptly got me unstuck and I was able to motor the last fifty feet to the dock without incident.