Another candidate for the Darwin Award

Rick2413 · Jul 4, 2009

I hope his day gets better.....Unfortunately I have to stand beside the guy on the pedestal for all to see. I've made so many errors of total stupidity the first few times out and learnt lessons(the hard way) I'll never forget.....

Mark Major · Jul 4, 2009

Make room

Rick2413 said:
I hope his day gets better.....Unfortunately I have to stand beside the guy on the pedestal for all to see. I've made so many errors of total stupidity the first few times out and learnt lessons(the hard way) I'll never forget.....

for another candidate saved only by the kindness of others. There isn't a sailor I can't learn from.

MoonSailer · Jul 4, 2009

The ONLY sailer who NEVER screws up is one that sails only at the dock. If you do anything especially new things you will screw up from time to time. Hopefully not too much blood or paint is lost .

Hermit Scott · Jul 4, 2009

Moonsailor-I got you there. I was destroying my boat be tying it up wrong. I wasn't even there and was screwing up.

Franklin · Jul 5, 2009

That's nothing. I just got back from night sailing after the firework show. There were a few boats still anchored but at 1:30 am, it looked like they were staying the night out there so we were the last boat coming in the channel. I noticed there was a sailboat in very shallow water and told my crew about it. Then we noticed something shining in the water about halfway between the boat and the boardwalk. A few minutes later we heard "Help!". I called the coast guard and a couple minutes later TowboatUS pulled up and rescued the two in the water. Seems there were 17 aboard that boat and they were a long long ways away from normal sailboat territory and the captain decided to walk to shore. Problem with that is our bottom is about 3' of very soft mud so they got stuck.

I figure they would have died out there if we didn't come by after getting too tired to stand up. They got really lucky I came in when I did and noticed the stuck boat.

Stu Jackson · Jul 5, 2009

Hermit Scott said:
. I was destroying my boat be tying it up wrong. I wasn't even there...

Scott,

So what exactly was the "fix" to your dockline situation, since most folks suggested you move your boat!

JASWANNY · Jul 6, 2009

Courage

Everyone begins as a novice. Some have coaches, others just do it. And my hat is off to those folks that will take the plunge even though they may have not been tutored or nurtured by seasoned professionals. Dad tossed me in the water when I was four and said learn to swim. He then set me on a bicycle when I was five and with a shove, said here, learn to ride a bike.
OK, safety is important, but I would rather learn with some risk than sit on shore wondering what I might have done had I not taken the plunge. I too learned just about everything I know the hard way, and I am still learning. Kudos to the courageous that learned something new the hard way.

garylinger said:
On our way back in from an afternoon on the Chesapeake Bay, my wife and I saw a sailboat with just the mainsail up and it looked like he was trying unsuccessfully to sail into the marina. As we approached him he said he had problems - water in his boat (turns out it was about 1 1/2 feet deep in the cabin) and his motor had quit. We towed him in and fortunately one of the marina shop employees was still there (getting ready to leave). He pumped the boat out and determined the exhaust riser was leaking and pumping water into the boat. He seemed totally inexperienced with boats and said he had just picked up the boat in Annapolis (about 30-35 miles north of my marina) after he bought it on EBay and was trying to get to Norfolk, Va. by tomorrow! He had been in the shipping channel (several miles from land) when he noticed the water and the engine quit. He didn't know at the time where the water was coming from and didn't know if he had working bilge pumps on board. There were other comments he made that led me to believe he is TOTALLY INEXPERIENCED with boats. I hope he makes it to Norfolk.

Tim R. · Jul 6, 2009

I mostly agree with you JASWANNY(is that your real ID?) but there is learning by doing and then there is going blindly. Did your dad toss you in the water and then walk away? No, he made sure you didn't drown.

I am a doer. I am self taught just about everything but I would not take a new to me boat out without some serious checking over first. I wonder if this guy had a survey done. I would suspect not if he just purchased it on Ebay.

David Underwood · Jul 6, 2009

Yeah, not too smart of a move, but we know that because we have all done things that were not too smart when beginning this adventure called sailing... powerboaters think we are still "not too smart".. right!?
Many years ago, like 30yrs ago, I took a Venture 24 down to Miami to take a 3week trip down the keys... thank God I met the bartender that asked a few questions of me and recommended I talk to this experienced sailor sitting at another table before striking out.
My girlfriend and I sat with him for a couple of hours, discussing our plans and he offered to go along in his own boat and show us the ropes. Staying in visual contact as well as radio contact.. he saved our butts! Taught me it was better to take small steps rather than to jump out into the Atlantic right from the beginning... We prob. would have ended up dead in the North Atlantic had it not been for this kind fellow sailor. Over the next several days, we shared dinners in the same anchorage until he taught me a few things about sailing in that area. It turned out to be a great trip and I will forever be grateful to that sailor.
I'm sure we all have made or would have made some very bad and stupid decisions when we were green sailing if it were not for someone more experienced that crossed paths with us.
Fair winds to all.. be careful out there!

dbecker68 · Jul 6, 2009

Learning by doing is mostly a good thing, but learning by doing stupidly is mostly a stupid thing. To put yourself and others in danger by trying to sail an (apparently) unknown boat from Annapolis to Norfolk is not one of the smartest things I have ever heard of.
All of us make mistakes, if you're not then you lead a pretty dull life. But too many people are unaware of the dangers that could be involved in boating. If you are prepared, and your vessel is prepared, there is nothing more fun than setting out on the water, with the breeze in your face, with friends and/or family, to explore the other 3/4 of the globe.
This guy should use his head for something besides a place to hang his hat.

timxgo · Jul 6, 2009

If you can read, you can accomplish most tasks that come to hand. I just about memorized "Sail in a Day" before my first sailing experience. (10 days in the Grenadines) When it came time to tack, gybe, anchor, all those words and illustrations scrolled in my head. These days with the internet, I still contantly read before I attempt things, even though I have been sailing close to 35 years now. I won't say I've never made mistakes, but I have avoided lots.

jim isbell · Jul 6, 2009

There are no Old Wise Pilots

Being both a sailor and a pilot, I have experienced mistakes in both areas.

One of the things I have learned is that just because you have been around for a long time it doesn't make you especially wise.

I am an Old (73 years) pilot with many hours of air time under my belt, but the only difference between me and the young dead pilot that did something stupid and failed to recover from it, is luck. Every Old pilot will be able to entertain you for hours with stories of the situations he has been in and survived. Most of those situations resulted from a stupid mistake. The survival came from LUCK the first time and as the pilot experiences more luck over time it becomes experience that then helps with the recovery from later mistakes.

I can look back at several mistakes that could have cost me my life. But the luck of the draw and I made it through the first time and never made that mistake again. I also learned, from my recovery, information that I was able to apply later when a similar...but not the same....mistake was made.

On the other hand, I didnt start flying without lessons first. One of my first near death experiences (yes, there were several) was actually averted by something my instructor had told me in passing and I had actually remembered it.

gards · Jul 6, 2009

I think this fellow was certainly courting a Darwin award but that being said I bet he gained a great bit of experience/wisdom to help him next time out. I may be one of the duller sailors out there but I really try to get training before I leap. As a predominant lake sailor, I didn't head out into the Gulf until I did it with an instructor. Turned out to be a pretty sound decision as the tide was going out and the wind blowing in. For experienced sailors nothing to worry about but if I had tried it alone I might have well found myself and my boat on a jetty in trouble. As it was it was an exhilarating experience that just cements my desire to learn more and go further. Hopefully this guys experience doesn't become a barrier but does at least motivate him to a little preparation, planning, and learning.

dfhoch · Jul 6, 2009

Safety vs. Expanding Your Comfort Zone

I am pleased to see lots of contrite and honest confessions about how we really learn to sail posted on this board. I get tired of self-righteous sailors who are quick to criticize the novice who had the huevos to get out there and have a go at it.

I too am a former pilot and can attest to the need for enough basic knowledge to stay alive long enough to learn to be competent. Our joke about why jet fighters were narrow at the top and wide at the bottom was because fighter pilots are all balls and no brains!

Sailing is a wonderful sport and is mostly safe but there are indeed times when some knowledge can help keep you from serious harm. I'm also gratified to hear of so many cases where sailors lend a hand to others in need. I've been on both ends of that transaction over the years!

As I look back to my first time on the ocean in a MacGregor 26, sailing along the So. Cal. coast - there was a lot of luck involved - I sometimes find myself in situations now and think back to what it might have been like if I had encountered such a situation as a newbie... yikes! Luck - I think so.

You're a great bunch of folks out there in sailboats and I'm honored to be a part of this grand maritime fraternity.

David Hoch
Las Vegas

JoelHoover · Jul 6, 2009

Inexperienced boaters are a joy when compared to the milions and millions of licensed, and idiotic automobile drivers.

Ben8418 · Jul 6, 2009

NOT

I thought the Darwin Awards were for people that actually removed themselves from the gene pool.

gards · Jul 6, 2009

Ben,
You're right, perhaps this is better coined "on endangered status". But I have to admit the Darwin title is better thread marketing. It got me to read it anyway.

Sailnchk · Jul 6, 2009

Great newbie sailor story

I heard this a couple months back. It is the story of a guy who bought a small kit sailboat and thought he could sail it to Norway. He had never sailed before and lives just a few miles from the geographical center of the US. He went from clueless to seasoned ocean sailor.

http://thestory.org/archive/the_story_809_Jerrys_Ark.mp3/view

Captain Joe · Jul 6, 2009

Maybe an honorable mention - but not an award. To get an award you need to "remove yourself from the gene pool" - sounds like he is well on his way though.

Another candidate for the Darwin Award

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JASWANNY

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jim isbell

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dfhoch

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Sailnchk

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