Hello all!
Came home from my yearly summer cruise with the wife and cats after some two weeks+. First week had ok weather, but then it was cold, windy and occasionally rainy weather all the way through.
What really set apart this trip was that I had to call the SAR number not once, but twice.
The first occasion was because of my own stupidity: I had checked that there was sufficient diesel in the tank when I set off, but when I was motoring through a narrow bit of water in strong headwinds, the waves caused the motor to suck in some air. I bled the engine four times and every time it died after a minute. I decided to turn back, and since the weather was bad and the marina pretty full I decided I needed to be towed in. The border guard showed up when I was pretty near the marina and put us in.
The reason for the engine dieing even after being bled was caused by some gunk blocking the fuel line. I cleaned the lines and emptied and cleaned the tank, and to top it off I changed the fuel filter as well.
The second time was very dramatic, and I have to say I've never gotten a bigger scare. We were preparing to anchor on a rocky island, where there were some handy metal rings to moor the boat. I had dropped the anchor and my wife was on the bow, preparing to step down. Suddenly there was a miniscule jerk, I barely noticed it, but I guess my wife had been leaning forward and not holding on properly, because she fell off and landed on the rocks, face first.
Once again I called the SAR emergency number and the same guy answered. He alerted a SAR patrol boat from a nearby island and a helicopter from a nearby city. Some 50 minutes later my wife was off to the hospital in the copter. She had a concussion, lost one tooth and cracked a couple more and had a laceration on her lip from the teeth going through. Luckily she didn't injure her head or neck and was out of the hospital 6 hours later. At the moment she is doing fine, with the teeth fixed and stitches removed. No long term anti-boating feelings are apparent either, and we're planning another weekend trip for this month. Bad luck and some carelessness, all in all.
So, my hat's off for the SAR guys, handling everything very professionally and swiftly.
In the future I'll be sure not to overestimate the amount of fuel in the tank and to use the ladder in the bow.
Mikko,
Albin Vega 1005 Ikiturso
Came home from my yearly summer cruise with the wife and cats after some two weeks+. First week had ok weather, but then it was cold, windy and occasionally rainy weather all the way through.
What really set apart this trip was that I had to call the SAR number not once, but twice.
The first occasion was because of my own stupidity: I had checked that there was sufficient diesel in the tank when I set off, but when I was motoring through a narrow bit of water in strong headwinds, the waves caused the motor to suck in some air. I bled the engine four times and every time it died after a minute. I decided to turn back, and since the weather was bad and the marina pretty full I decided I needed to be towed in. The border guard showed up when I was pretty near the marina and put us in.
The reason for the engine dieing even after being bled was caused by some gunk blocking the fuel line. I cleaned the lines and emptied and cleaned the tank, and to top it off I changed the fuel filter as well.
The second time was very dramatic, and I have to say I've never gotten a bigger scare. We were preparing to anchor on a rocky island, where there were some handy metal rings to moor the boat. I had dropped the anchor and my wife was on the bow, preparing to step down. Suddenly there was a miniscule jerk, I barely noticed it, but I guess my wife had been leaning forward and not holding on properly, because she fell off and landed on the rocks, face first.
Once again I called the SAR emergency number and the same guy answered. He alerted a SAR patrol boat from a nearby island and a helicopter from a nearby city. Some 50 minutes later my wife was off to the hospital in the copter. She had a concussion, lost one tooth and cracked a couple more and had a laceration on her lip from the teeth going through. Luckily she didn't injure her head or neck and was out of the hospital 6 hours later. At the moment she is doing fine, with the teeth fixed and stitches removed. No long term anti-boating feelings are apparent either, and we're planning another weekend trip for this month. Bad luck and some carelessness, all in all.
So, my hat's off for the SAR guys, handling everything very professionally and swiftly.
In the future I'll be sure not to overestimate the amount of fuel in the tank and to use the ladder in the bow.
Mikko,
Albin Vega 1005 Ikiturso