Embarrassing moments of 2006

[KayakDan]

Traveling Lobster Pots?

During a sailing trip this summer,we moored for the evening at a local yacht club. On returning from a great day of sailing to Cohasset,we picked up a mooring. All tied off,I went and cracked open a beer and sat in the cockpit to chill for a bit. As I'm relaxing,I notice a lobster pot go cruising past us. "Hmmm,Never seen a lobster pot cruising before!" I told my wife. Then it occurs to me,and I look behind us to see us just a few feet from clocking a beautiful catamaran. I did manage to get the motor going before disaster struck.The mooring we tied onto was securely fastened to....nothing!

 

[Dave the Kid]

Showboater

There she sat all bristol shiny and new on her trailer in my driveway. The driver handed me the papers and waved ‘happy sailing’. All neighborhood eyes were still on me and my brand new 19ft’r; but how could I resist the urge to explore her NOW? So with certain seamanlike aplomb, up over the port coaming I hopped, deftly moving to center cockpit to stand before the helm and view my 'destiny'. T’was there and then my 225 lbs were able to overcome the weight of the boat on the front of the trailer and together they leapt straight up into the air as one, like a wild stallion to throw off a most unworthy rider! “Holy $%#!” was the captain’s cry, as boat and trailer took one giant lunge forward. Crashing to the cockpit floor I prayed she would not gallop down the driveway to the street. All was still. I rose cautiously from the floor, and slithered silently over the side…

 

[Ben16737]

new anchor line

This is cheating, since this story is from a few years ago, but I'll share anyway.Any dummy knows that you must ALWAYS secure anchor rode before heaving the anchor overboard. But I found a way to break that rule. I bought a new spool of line, 150'. I attached it to the anchor, and chose that day to let the anchor help me clean the bottom - I dropped it in ~10' of water and had my wife back the boat slowly towards shore till the keel touched bottom, making it easier for me to go under and get the slime off. So she took the tiller while I stood on the bow and unrolled line from the spool.Given that the other end of the line was still wrapped at the inside of the spool, it was not tied to anything. I got butterfingers and dropped the spool, which promptly started sinking. Without thinking or saying anything to my wife, I jumped right over the pulpit to grab it before I lost sight of it. A decision that she was not happy with, having never handled the tiller before and she was only comfortable with it when I was on-board. But she handled the boat just fine, and got the ladder to fish me out of the water, complete with rode still wrapped around a very soggy cardboard spool.

 

[Doug Burton]

I love these

Dave the kid made me remember years ago poping the tongue of the trailer off the ball hitch before chocking the wheels. Chasing my 23'boat trying to steer by moving the tongue, hopeing to not let it jump the edge of the driveway and race off down the imbankment and into the woods. Spotting a block chock that belonged behind the wheel, I guided the wheel to it. Where it stopped the wheel...spinning the boat and me around to the lowside. Quick thinker that I am I let go and threw another block to halt the downhill process, bow pointed to oblivion. Then came the job with chain, ropes, and lots of blocks, getting it turned back around to get the pickup on the right end.

 

[tom h]

My few

Not mine: My dock is near the public launch ramps. This year was quiet, for a long time. Then, one guy in a newer SUV was launchng his brand new boat from his brand new trailer, backed into the water and got out of the truck to ....well, he left it in neutral...it backed up alright...the trailer jack-knifed in the water...the boat floated free...and the truck went on top of the trailer as the ramp has a 2'-4' drop off at the very end. When the diver arrived, they attached the towlines to the trailer and pulled up t he whole mess...which destroyed the trailer and wasn't much good for the truck either.Mine two years ago: My buddy, the owner of his first big (43') sailboat, was always in a hurry. I was lucky to jump on board as he was leaving the dock to refuel at the marina across the bay at Erie. PA. I told him to go to port, big time. We went straight ahead, past a fishing boat who's crew gave us THAT look, and right into the mud. We got out of this as I described that funny bobbing thing in the water, and what it meant. So we get past the channel marker and into the harbor area. He wants to go with the wind, I want to go against the wind into the gas dock. He wins. We sail right past the dock at warp speed, the first and second time. Not covinced I know what I am doing, he tries it again, only this time a crowd is gatheing. We should have put up bleachers and sold popcorn. We near the dock as the girl comes out of the shed to help...I lasso the last post and start to pull us in. I toss out a long line to the girl, who is giggling, and tell her to put it over the post about 50' away, which she does. Now, I can just pull us in, which I do. But she is still giggling. Then I see it. Liesbet, our female European companion, washed her dainties and hung them on the aft rail to dry,a nd in all the fun on the short trip, I failed to notice it. I pointed it out to the skipper and said "Hey boss, I think you undies are dry." Which brough howls from the crowd and a very red face to match his hull color to the Captain (ex Army captain to boot).

 

[sand sailor]

ok

you know the little keeper that keeps the hitch pin from falling out lets just say it works better if its not in your pocket we got to the lake ok went to start backing down the ramp and thats where it happened 500+ feet down to the water the boat launched itself no one hurt no damage done(except my pride).p.s. make sure the safty chain is big enough to hold the boat

 

[Anchor Down]

Well Now I Don't Feel So Bad

Equipment lost overboard this year:1) the ancient GPS that came with the boat (left on the cockpit bench, it went over the side when I opened the locker). Now I have a nice new mapping GPS unit I love.2) a 3/8 drive ratchet driver and 10mm socket, dropped while moving the outboard mounting plate on the stern rail.Other Fun:Moored at Catalina Island, on my first trip across the channel after purchasing the boat, I untied the inflatable dinghy's painter from the quarter cleat, then remembered I'd forgotton something below. I hastily tied the painter to the stern rail with a rolling hitch and went below. Two minutes later I reemerged to see my inflatable 100 yards away, blowing straight out of Isthmus Cove. I flagged down a couple motoring along in their own dinghy to go chase it down for me.When I finally got back to my yacht after a well-deserved Buffalo Milk, It was too dark to see the numbers on the combination lock on the hatchboards. I wondered what in the world I was gong to do, when I felt my cell phone in my pants pocket. I used the illuminated screen as a flashlight. Whew!In a rush to leave for the same trip, I thought I'd secured everything: engine warmed up, sail covers off, harness on, dock lines thrown off. I shifed into reverse and gunned back out of the slip and watched my shore power cord pop out of the power box on the dock and trail along behind the boat. Nothing to do but continue my exiting manuever and go forward for it when I was clear of the fairway.Taking a couple of guests out for a daysail, I gave them all simple jobs to do to help: DISCONNECT the shore power cord, remove sail cover, reeve the genoa sheets, etc. In my distraction, I forgot to open the raw water seacock that supplies the impellor driven raw water pump. The exhaust pressure blew a little water left in the muffler out the back, so I thought I was okay. Ten minutes later, in the middle of the channel, there was a distinct smell of burning rubber and smoke coming from the saloon. The temp. gauge was pegged. I shut down the engine, realizing immediately what had happened, and we limped back to the slip.On the upside, I talked two complete newbies through a beautiful engineless ghosting back into to slip, so I actually ended up looking as if I knew what I was doing.