Are you willing to share an unflatering story...

[rgranger]

... of your worst or most embarrassing sailing escapade?

Here is mine.

It was 1997. I had recently purchased a project 1974 Magregor V21. I cleaned up the interior, painted the exterior (except for the keel -- this becomes important later) and had run all new rigging. The keel looked to be in decent shape but there were a few cracks in the fiberglass casing. I decided to leave that for a winter project.

I was very happy with the results and we planned a 4-day weekend at Kiptopeke State Park on Cape Charles, VA, right at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay.

If you are not familiar with Kiptopeke, the launch site is protected by a breakwater made from sunken battle ships. There is an EconoLodge across the highway and a place where you can dry dock your boat on the trailer at night right in the state park.

The first two days were great! We stayed at a hotel across the road and dry docked the boat at the park. Each day we would sail out into the bay for a wonderful time. I even pulled a small tube with one of my kids sitting in it. And the little Mac was really performing well.

Around 3:00 PM on the third day, a nasty squall line formed to my west so I decided to head in a little early. As I sailed through the gap between the two ships, I dropped my main and was cruising in on jib only. I was showing off a bit (1st mistake). I got within 50 feat of the dock and doused the jib and had enough headway to coast in and I put the tiller in my wife's hand while I winched up my keel. Moments before we were able to grab the corner of the dock, a fishing boat punched out and its wake knocked my bow 90 degrees and I was now being blown along the coast northbound.

The squall line was getting close and the wind was starting to pick up. I decided I would drop the keel raise the jib and make a quick turn around before the storm hit but my keel was wedged in the keel trunk. The salt water had gotten in the cracks of the fiberglass shell around my keel and the keel had swollen. I could not sail and was now rapidly slipping towards Maryland. I tried jumping up and down in the cockpit to dislodge the keel. I suspect I looked like a lunatic but you do what you can. Unfortunately that did not work. So I fired up the outboard only to have it suddenly stop... yep! I had wrapped the jib sheet around the prop but I did not know that yet. I thought my ancient O.B. had picked this moment to die. Now I'm starting the panic. My kids are in the boat, lightening is flashing close by and I have little control of the boat. The best I was able to do under sail is point high enough to keep me off of the shore. I'm rapidly being blown north

I am now about a mile from the launch site when I decide to beach the boat and take my chances. I did not want to be caught in the boat with my kids, this close to shore when the squall line hit. We get to a rocky shore and I am able to fend off the boat (mostly) but the waves are making it hard. I get my family on shore and they start walking back to the truck along the shore. Then the storm hit. A local fishing boat came close and tried to toss me a tow line but the waves were getting rough and he would not chance it any longer and he took off.

I spend about three more hours walking the boat along the shore trying to keep the waves from bashing the hell out of her against the rocky shore and trying to keep my shins from getting caught between the boat and the rocks.

I WAS WEARING FLIP FLOPS.

I nearly lost the boat that day.

I eventually get the boat back to the launch. The bottom is now in need of some fiberglass work and I had opened up a few seems in the bottom so I'm taking on a little water. Shy shins are bleeding, my feet are cut and my wife and kids are soggy but in the end... we were mostly okay. All-in-all, it was NOT a show of good seamanship.

The next week, I lofted the boat, dropped and resurfaced keel, repaired the gouges and repainted the bottom. For some strange reason, my family still likes to go on the boat with me. I'm guessing they did not realize how scared I was as the squall line approached or that may have been our last outing in the boat together.

I learned a lot that day...!

1. I am a fanatic about not dragging lines in the water... don't do it! EVER!
2. I always have a closed-toed pair of shoes on board.
3. I never take the boat out if any equipment is compromised. If the O.B. is being finicky, I get it fixed. My O.B will start on the second or third pull every time or we service the O.B.
4. Although I still like to sail on and off a dock, I have the engine at idle just in case things go wonky.
5. I put a stern mounted anchor on all of my boats so I can drop a quick hook and stop my boat close to shore if needed.

Here is a pic of the stern anchor on my current H26.

Well that is my story

 

[Cat 310 #1 in GA]

That looks like a Rhodes 22 behind your boat in the last picture...

 

[Scott T-Bird]

Google maps show those little rip-rap barriers you had to navigate. What a PIA! Did you have to follow the beach line in between each barrier or were you able to jump across each section? Perhaps it was different then and you just had a rip rap beach instead of sand?
I don't have an embarrassing story about sailing (that I haven't already shared) but I do have a story about that location and windsurfing. In 1996, three of us left Cape Hatteras in the morning after a week-long trip to the outer banks for windsurfing in early April. The last few days we were skunked for wind so a bit disappointed. After dropping one friend off at the Norfolk airport, my buddy and I were driving across the Bay Bridge when we started seeing whitecaps and wind at the north end of the bridge.
We stopped at that Sunset Beach Resort, right next to the park you mention, to look for access and found the whole place basically deserted. It was cold, in the 40's, and gloomy looking but there was wind! We donned our steamers and sailed for a couple of hours before continuing our trip home in the late afternoon. We were giddy after this unexpected score! Before we got out of Virginia, about an hour later, it was snowing. By the time we got to Delaware, there was about a foot of snow on the ground. We had a long slog back to NJ, but we were pretty happy all the way home.

 

[Jackdaw]

1. I am a fanatic about not dragging lines in the water... don't do it! EVER!
2. I always have a closed-toed pair of shoes on board.
3. I never take the boat out if any equipment is compromised. If the O.B. is being finicky, I get it fixed. My O.B will start on the second or third pull every time or we service the O.B.
4. Although I still like to sail on and off a dock, I have the engine at idle just in case things go wonky.
5. I put a stern mounted anchor on all of my boats so I can drop a quick hook and stop my boat close to shore if needed.

That's a solid list.

I can't think of a good story right now, but I wish my YC had a row of sunken battleships (or whatever they are) as a breakwall. How cool!

 

[rgranger]

That looks like a Rhodes 22 behind your boat in the last picture...

Correct. I've been slowly bring her back to life. Got her for $250 with a brand new set of sails.

 

[Benny17441]

Oh, the old circus act, we have all been there and when we get too confident or laid back it resurfaces.

 

[rgranger]

That's a solid list.

I can't think of a good story right now, but I wish my YC had a row of sunken battleships (or whatever they are) as a breakwall. How cool!

Yeah @Jackdaw it was a sight. I really wanted to climb aboard and explore. I'm sure that is a bad idea though.

The currents are a little strange as you come through the cut but once you know what to expect you can compensate. The time i was there, there were three cruising sailboats tied up on the leeward side of the breakwater for an overnight.
I'd love to live on the DelMarVa peninsula (a.k.a. Eastern Shore). Every weekend would be a vacation. I'd have to buy a catamaran though. There is a lot of shallow water in that area.

 

[rgranger]

Google maps show those little rip-rap barriers you had to navigate. What a PIA! Did you have to follow the beach line in between each barrier or were you able to jump across each section? Perhaps it was different then and you just had a rip rap beach instead of sand?....

@Scott T-Bird
I don't remember the open cuts like what is seen in this areal shot.

But it has been 21 years so either it has changed or my memory has.

 

[Scott T-Bird]

View attachment 156474

But it has been 21 years so either it has changed or my memory has.

Looks like it has changed. The old rip-rap shoreline can be seen in many areas behind the sand. The new barriers surely have captured the sand and filled in the beach to some extent. You can see areas where the new barriers haven't been installed where the beach is eroded (some shoreline seems to have a bulkhead).
I remember parking in that area that is now called "The Jackspot at Sunset Beach". I recall the beach being narrow. The interesting feature that I recall were all of the sticks that protruded from the water. They must have been fish traps of some kind. There were little forests of them (like clusters) and they were even way out in the bay. We had to pay attention that we didn't run into them.

 

[Ken Cross]

Those look like WW2 Liberty Ships.

I don't think that should embarrass you. We learn through mistakes and it sounds like you did the best you could under the circumstances.

I wasn't aboard, but I had an uncle who went to do a maiden voyage on his brand new Sea Ray cruiser early one Sunday morning. He got a few hundred yards from the dock and his engine quit. On board were his wife and son, my parents and 4 young siblings. Eventually, he asked his son to put down the anchor while they sorted it out. Eventually, they looked up from the engine to realize they weren't anchored. His son had put the anchor down with no scope. By now the water was too deep for the anchor rode. This was before cell phones and he didn't yet have a radio installed (nor did they have food, water, bedding, or jackets (it was warm outside)). They tried waving down some help, but people just waved back. Finally, around 1 am a tug stopped to see if they were okay, gave them some food, drink, warmed them up, and towed them to a dock.

Nowadays, even if the wave looks just friendly, if they are really slow, or dead in the water, I take the time to ask if they need help.

Ken

 

[DayDreamer41]

It was a sunny breezy day in the spring of 1985, we had her put in on the Pike creek that morning as we had done every spring. I had done some extensive work on the Scarecrow our 22' Viking (loved that boat) over the off season (I don't like to say winter its a nasty word) things like strip the bottom of 20 years of coating, fared and painted, redid the meager electrical system (basically a single battery for the lights and puny bilge pump) and redid the plumbing from the pump to the transom mounted discharge.
We set sail from the traveling hoist to our dock in Belle River which is about 15 mile up the south shore of Lake St. Clair, the waves were rolling out of the West at 2 to 3' with wind pushing them 12 gusting to 18, in other words a great sailing day.
My father (God rest his soul), my 5 year old son and myself, the Scarecrow clipping along on a following sea's registering 5 to 6 on the meter. As I said it was an early spring day and the breezy air was chilled by the cold water temperatures, we were dressed for the day, but my son who enjoys sailing and was with us most of the time, was cold so we put him in the V berth below. If you have every seen a 22' Viking, below consists of a V-berth with a little foot well to place your feet, there is barely enough room to sit straight upright.
It was after about 30 minutes or so my son started to whimper which was rather unusual like I said he loves sailing after all and like so often we tend to try and shut out this noise figuring it will quiet down after awhile, well the noise didn't go away in fact it became louder, soon turning into tears.
Once the noise reached a level that obviously needed attention I peeped my head in the companionway to find my son sitting in water, yes water was up to and sloshing around in the 16" deep foot well.
Oh my (and I don't think that I was that nonchalant at the time, it was probably more like wholly SH&& we are sinking). Nothing wakes you more that the thought of swimming while wrapped in winter like cloths in water temps that are in the 50's.
Call the bucket brigade, thank goodness we had a couple of bailing buckets on board, you see on a 22' Viking the cockpit is below the water line so one always has refined bailing buckets at his ready. Well we were able to get ahead of the water coming in but only after some very vigorous bailing, once it was apparent that we weren't sinking I identified that the hose had come loose and fell off the transom mounted pump discharge and the following seas were finding their way aboard through that opening, slowly at first I imagine but the heavier the Scarecrow got the fast the water would wash in. Stuffed a cloth in the hole and all was well until we arrived at our dock......... now that is a trip to remember and my son and I still talk about it, he still loves sailing to boot.
Always remember, double and triple check your work!!!

 

[rgranger]

Looks like it has changed. The old rip-rap shoreline can be seen in many areas behind the sand. The new barriers surely have captured the sand and filled in the beach to some extent. You can see areas where the new barriers haven't been installed where the beach is eroded (some shoreline seems to have a bulkhead).
I remember parking in that area that is now called "The Jackspot at Sunset Beach". I recall the beach being narrow. The interesting feature that I recall were all of the sticks that protruded from the water. They must have been fish traps of some kind. There were little forests of them (like clusters) and they were even way out in the bay. We had to pay attention that we didn't run into them.

I think you are right. What I remember looks like the old shore line ...

 

[Rick486]

Sometimes I think my whole life is an unflattering story.....

 

[MitchM]

friend bought a used 22 footer and invited me down to VA to hang out for the weekend and sail her home maybe 5 miles across the lake. on my own boat i have all the safety gear-- vhf, triple batteries, flares, portable ham radio, bumpers, life vests , lines... we got to the boat ramp close to dusk, launched her off her trailer, started the outboard. dusk is now falling --oops, not enough battery for running lights. transom starts riding lower and lower , water is coming up into the cockpit. hmm, better check below -- o no, the small cuddy cabin is a foot deep in h 2 0. frantic effort to find out where it' coming from ? there's not enough battery power for the small bilge pump, the water inside gets deeper and deeper. the transom sinks lower and lower, the outboard is gradually submerging and won't run much longer. fortunately my CELL PHONE in its nice waterproof snow lion case had enough juice for calls to all the neighbors we knew on the other side of the lake, one of whom fired up his motor boat and came to tow us in. it turns out that the boat had a bad crack in a thru hull . a shoddy repair job by the previous owner was letting lake water in . all in all, a lot of lessons...

 

[DAVA390]

My embarrissing tale has been told here a few years ago, trailer unhooked from the truck while pulling the boat up the ramp. Hillarity Ensued !

 

[Will Gilmore]

We were living in Boynton Beach and trailered Solea (my Hobie 18) down to Key West to do some snorkeling on the reef. It was blowing 35 knots with sunny skies on the way down. I tried launching on the way down, but the wind wouldn't let me get the main up. Hobies have a ring at the sail peak that needs to catch so you can let tension off the halyard. It reduces compression on the mast by half, that way. After several hours trying not to get blown into a bridge, we managed to get back to the ramp with just the jib and an anchor.
The next day it was 20 knots and we launched in Key West with our dog Bear, who loved sailing, and a drive bag full of snorkel equipment. This is open water, no protective bay and even though we managed to hoist the main this time, the waves were five or six feet and we had to sail right into them. I asked my wife to pull my mask out of the bag so I could see. We were under water a third of the time. It was a wild ride in a Hobie. My wife is the sensible one and she decided when if we made it to the reef, the snorkeling would be terrible. Of course. It was a much easier sail back, although, there were some moments surfing into the troughs that could have been disastrous. We tacked back so we weren't going straight down those waves. The next day was beautiful and we set out. Awesome. I was excited to show off the crystal clear diving of my childhood memories and we sailed to the reef. Unfortunately, while I knew how to get there, I didn't have a chart. Hobies are not well setup for chart reading and no compass. Ok, no problem, it's not that far, I memorized the route from the chart on the wall of the dive shop. I'll spot the reef. We get out there. I'm watching, looking for the reef, there it is, I can see the darker pattern under the water stretching out to either side for miles, then I spot the mooring buoy. Perfect, head for the nearest one. Only thing is, no chart, and I see my destination and I hit the reef . Lucky, I wasn't coming in hot, but I forgot to watch the water because I didn't think the moorings would have a reef between Key West and it. I suffered only a minor ding to the starboard cb, but I should never have even been close to making that kind of mistake. You can see the bloody reef from a mile away!

This was in 1990, seems like yesterday.

-Will (Dragonfly)

 

[agprice22]

After years of sailing a Laser off the beach in Boca Raton, I went to college. I bought a beat up US1 sailboat and fixed her up. She was beautiful. My first wife had never sailed. I doubt she had ever been on a boat! We took the boat to Lake Santa Fe, just north of Gainesville. A good breeze was blowing.
We set the boat up, pulled it to the edge of the water. I put her in the boat and pulled the boat into the water. Standing in a foot of water, I released the centerboard and rudder and shoved the boat into the water. I hauled on the sheet, and she took off! I was hooting in excitement! Finally! I had a sailboat again.
About 50 yard off shore, we were flying and heeling a bit when disaster struck! The spring clip locking the rudder pintles bent, and the rudder and tiller flew off the back of the boat! Amazingly, the boat sailed on! For a long second, I was in a quandry: leave the boat or lose the rudder. I jumped off the stern, and the boat sailed a few more yards before dumping my wife in the water! I swam back and got the rudder.
As I swam, one thought went through my mind: THIS LAKE IS FULL OF ALLIGATORS!
I got the rudder, returned to the boat, affixed it to the transom, and returned to shore. It was my shortest sail ever! My wife did not sail much in the Lake after that. She seemed much more willing to sail in the intracoastal or around the islands off Cedar Key, in the Gulf, west of Gainesville.
That lake was later the end of that boat for me, but that is another story!

 

[Will Gilmore]

The Florida intracoastal has alligators too. Big ones.
We like to camp on the Peace river and hunt for fossils. We are in water waist deep and more. People paddle by and inform us, "there's a baby alligator on the bank over there. Mom's around somewhere."
One couple glided past in the canoe as I popped up next to them with my mask on.
"Aren't you afraid of alligators?" The woman in the bow asked.
I shrugged nonchalantly, "After you've wrestled two or three of them, you start to get a reputation."
The husband in the stern burst out laughing while his wife looked like this -

-Will (Dragonfly)

 

[Davidasailor26]

the boat sailed a few more yards before dumping my wife in the water! I swam back and got the rudder.
As I swam, one thought went through my mind: THIS LAKE IS FULL OF ALLIGATORS!
I got the rudder, returned to the boat, affixed it to the transom, and returned to shore.

Where's the part about your wife getting back on board?

My wife did not sail much in the Lake after that.

Oh, I see, she's still out there swimming?

 

[agprice22]

Yes, we had alligators in the canals off the intracoastal, but the intracoastal in our stretch was not likely. They stayed near the sources of fresh water around the canals. The intracoastal has many topographies in Florida. There are places where it is more fresh than salt, but not in Boca Raton. Lot of ‘cuda and an ocassional shark, though!