Odd happenings?

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Dennis

Has anyone experienced odd or funny happenings on their respective voyages? Some sailors miss their intended destinations by miles. Probably not funny but it happens! Perhaps odd encounters with sea creatures, etc. and how your particular make of craft handled through it all? There is probably some interesting stories out there, to be told. I am not trying to change the subjects of boat fixing or handling, but I just thought a little change of pace would be interesting!
 
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Scott Mathey

Deception!

I was sailing at the San Juan islands Puget Sound Washington headed for Washington Park, westward. I could see the shore of the park though it was a long ways away.The last thing my wife said to me as I was leaving for The San Juans was watch the fog up there! Suddenly fog rolled in so fast that I only had time to get a compas reading and figured keep sailing west. Well I kept sailing west ok but when I could make out land out in front of me nothing looked close to what It should look like, especialy the huge bridge going across an inlet. In looking as I got closer I whiped out the chart and realized I was headed straight into the mouth of Deception Pass, yes the one and only. It is famous for deception as it looks rather calm until tide goes out and it turns into a river w/large rolling rapids. I had drifted out with the tide though I had kept sailing west at all times as I missed the park by about four or five miles. I sailed north until I made it to the park and thought to myself, yes what an appropriate name for an end to a long sail. Later that night I was looking at the map of the coast line and you know all those little shipwreck drawings on the map to indicate sinking boats and ships in an area? well Deception Pass is full of them. It was an adventure and a lesson and I have a great deal of respect for the fog and tide currants.Happy sailing to you all.
 
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Mark

Big circle

We had some jokers sail out of here a few years ago. Were gone 3 days on a journey to Perth. Turned up back in the harbour lost. Did a big circle.
 
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Nick

Whirlpool . . .

A couple of years ago after coming in from a day sail I was jawing with some other sailors and they reported hearing that a rather large whirlpool was spotted that day just off Point Loma. I later saw a photo of it (taken from the air) and there is no way to figure its diameter. However, it looked large enough in the photo to swallow a Catalina . . . Whales? Nick "Julia Bell" C-27, #86
 
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David Guthridge

It grabed my keel!

Rounding red "6A" off Sandy Point on Solomon's Island, Patuxent River, Chesapeake Bay four summers ago in my 1968 20' Pearson I noticed a turbulance in the water ahead of me some 50 yards. The afternoon sun made the chop very visable. Before I could avoid it, I was in it!! It felt as though something had grabed my keel and pulled the boat sideways about 10 feet and swung me 30 degrees to port! I sailed out of it as easly as I came into it. I looked behind me and the turbulance was still quite evident. Later on that evening I related my experience to some bar flys at the Tiki Bar and they showed me what happened. Not far off the marker the depth goes from 2 feet to 68 feet in a very short distance. An underwater cliff! Occasionally, on the strongest tides of the month a rip current of huge scale flows around the cliff and creates a whirl of water. About six times a year this phenomenum occures. To avoid it just stay off the marker at the ebb.
 
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