Bonehead move of the month

[BubbleheadMd]

So I'm a new owner and my boat is moored (to a professionally installed mooring) in a nearby creek because the weather has been too foul to bring it home to my slip.

I've spent all weekend watching videos and reading horrific stories (Like SV Distant Star), freaking out because my boat is unattended and we're getting 20kt winds with gusts to 30kts today here in Annapolis, MD.

I figure I don't want to be another guy whose boat gets loose and causes a problem so I throw a lifejacket, the dink and a bunch of electrical tools and a new bilge pump into the truck. I drive out to the marina, load up the dink and row out to my boat with no problem. The wind damned near blew me there.

The dink (hard plastic) has a pinhole leak, so I haul it out of the water onto the foredeck and tie it off to a cleat. I watch the wind beat on it for a minute and pronounce it good. I check the lines to the mooring, and they seem secure so I relax a little. I unbutton the cabin and go down to untangle the electrical spaghetti I've inherited.

About 10 minutes later I hear "bonk, thud, splash". I run up and see the dink in the water, its lead resting on the lifelines. I reach for it, and "sploosh" into the drink. I drop back down, grab the boathook, but too late, the wind has carried the dink out of reach in seconds.

I strip off my slicker, kick off my shoes, ready to jump into the water, but then I remember that it's only 47 degrees without the windchill and my self-preservation gene kicks in. I sat there for 10 solid minutes watching that boat float away, feeling about 6 different kinds of pissed off. It's windy, cold, and cloudy and there is NO ONE about. The damned pier is only 35-40 yards away, but it might as well have been another planet.

The anticlimax is, I used my cell phone and called around. The local community vice-pres and some of his buddies came out and plucked me off and back to shore a couple hours later. I saw my dink waaaaaaaaaaaaay at the end of the creek, washed up on shore.

But wait, there's more!

The kind gents who gave me a lift, lent me a boat hook and gave me driving directions to the dink. It washed up in a neighborhood of enormous mansions. The dang thing had washed up into a marsh. I cautiously made my way out to it through the reeds and grass until I hit the muck and "Slurp!", the mud sucked me down, nearly to my waist. I dug myself out and stuck to the grassy clumps. I recovered the dink and drug it back through the mud and grass getting stuck 2 more times.

I finally made it back to my truck. As I was man-handling the dink into the truck, I slipped in dog-$hit that someone had left while walking their dog. I fell right on my bum. 45 minutes later, I was finally home, showering the mud and poo off of me, and downing a half-glass of rum.

All this, and I haven't even sailed yet.

[Stillraining]

ROFL...I could not have made that up...you have way more guts then I do for posting it.

[JohnRPollard]

Hey, Welcome to The Club!!

Bonehead moves are my specialty. I've had a few close calls similar to yours, but I usually just drop expensive/critical things overboard.

One year we got my sister a new kayak for her birthday. We hid it belowdecks on our boat. When they rafted up with us, we sang happy birthday then pulled the kayak out and surprised her. We launched, then she and several of the kids gave it a try. But this being summer time, we had to quickly retreat back into the cabin due to a thunder storm. When the storm passed, we came out and the kayak was gone. No one had tied it off.

Live and learn. At least you got your dinghy back.

P.S. Good move not jumping in. That would have been a mistake.

[imagine2frolic]

You might as well get the bonehead moves out of the way. Things like this are nothing, but LESSONS.............i2f

[fullkeel7]

Yelp, just another example of how a well intentioned day on the water sometimes can turn to $***! At least you now have a new name for the dinghy...'Swamp Thing'!

[CalebD]

Ditto all of the above comments to the OP.
At least you were thinking about the welfare of your boat. The road to he!! is paved with good intentions!

I'll tell you a few things that I have learned the hard way about moorings.
1. Make sure you have 2 pennants to tie your boat off with, 1 is not enough.
2. They make something called 'chafe guards' for the same pennants. You can cheap this out by using old fire hose but the $20 stuff WM sells is easy to use and is cheap insurance.
3. Teak cap/toe rails have screws in them and the teak will wear away in a heavy blow that will expose the $.10 screw that can screw you and your boat before you know it. I hate teak toe rails now.

The above lessons came to me about 6 years ago after a big blow that chafed a single pennant by a bronze wood screw head that parted the mooring pennant. Fortunately, BoatUS got a salvor to rescue our boat but not before enough damage had been done for them to 'total' the boat. We bought it back and fixed it up with the insurance money. We could not get insurance from any carriers for a year after that though.
You are lucky that it was only your pride that was covered in mud and dog poop! I hope you can get her out of the water or at least tied up to a slip for the winter.
Thanks for sharing and I hope you can actually get some sailing in.

[MikeinLA]

Originally Posted by BubbleheadMd

So I'm a new owner

Welcome to the wonderful world of boat ownership. Great story!

Mike

[eherlihy]

Why only 1/2 a glass of rum? IMHO you deserved a full one!

Welcome to SailNet!

[BubbleheadMd]

There are 2 pennents fortunately, but I didn't check for teak chafing. I'll drive to the marina tomorrow to check after tonights' blow.

But I ain't going in the water unless it's absolutely necessary!

[Bene505]

That story was so moving, I'm going to have a little rum right now, to celebrate your victorious return. Thanks for sharing the story, maybe we'll have one less bonehead move of our own, having read yours.

Regards,
Brad