Un-grounding....

Jun 21, 2004
2,533
Beneteau 343 Slidell, LA
Looks like they were using the spinnaker halyard.
Tried & true method of ungrounding when other methods aren't working. With the keel stuck in mud, obviously this mast wasn't up to the task.
 
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Jun 10, 2017
174
Catalina 1980 Catalina 30 Mk II John's Pass / Tampa Bay
This is a form of, "Kedging," bit there is a manual way also.

If having a dingy, run out 15-20 yards depending on depth, hardness of ground
anchor type & length of rode.

Make sure of course, that the anchor is with you in the dingy & having a free payout of line
from your boat as you go. Drop the anchor & take the dingy back to boat.
Tie the anchor to the end of your halyard & start cranking it up with winch slowly.

The boat will at first lean over then if free, will round the bow to the direction of where the anchor is set.
Disconnect anchor line from halyard, keeping tension on the anchor line to hold you in place.
pull up close to the anchor without pulling it free, crank up the motor & that's it,
"Your are now Ungrounded."

This has worked for me on my boat once & two other boats I happened to be on.
 
May 12, 2004
1,505
Hunter Cherubini 30 New Port Richey
Had a friend unground me like that, once. Although I had a better outcome, I may not ever try that, again. Ouch!
 
Jul 27, 2011
5,002
Bavaria 38E Alamitos Bay
The proper way to do this is with a 3-point attachment (bridle); one to the mast to heel the boat, and then two points on the deck, bow and stern cleats, respectively, to carry the load off. The bridle has to be adjusted so the load on the mast is limited to a certain angle of tilt before the lower legs start pulling. It might take a couple of iterations to get it set right. I ran aground a Ranger 26 in Tampa Bay early in my sailing days. Everything I did was wrong; but the guys who pulled me off knew how to rig that bridle, so the boat was pulled off with the mast over only a few degrees--less than what these guys tried.
 

Ted

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Jan 26, 2005
1,254
C&C 110 Bay Shore, Long Island, NY
Ouch! Hope nobody was injured. Who's the lucky recipient of that repair bill?
 
Oct 24, 2010
2,405
Hunter 30 Everett, WA
If the mast can't take that much stress, what happens when a sail gets hit by a strong puff? Unless the photography is fooling me, the boat couldn't have been over very far. I'm thinking because it's a fractional rig and they were pulling on a jib or spinnaker halyard, and they were pulling aft and the rig is stressed for a forward pull from that location. Just guessing.

Another guess: Fin keel is so deep in the mud that the boat can't heel over without excessive force.

Hopefully, someone here can help us so we don't end up in the same circumstances.

Ken
 
Feb 14, 2014
7,418
Hunter 430 Waveland, MS
Looks like they were using the spinnaker halyard.
:plus::plus: yes.
Good reason NOT to use an oversized spinnaker on Broad Reach!!

You normally pull a stuck sailboat, if possible, in the OPPOSITE direction of the boat bow.

Double Y type pull off the two stern cleats. Going to LEFT in that video and...
Keep your RUDDER amidships.!!!
Jim...
 
Oct 29, 2016
1,915
Hunter 41 DS Port Huron
Winged keel will resist boat from healing over when aground, my guess that was a winged keel in the mud, good luck in that case.
 
Jun 19, 2004
365
Island Packet IP 32 99 Forked River, NJ
Damn I should have just stayed in bed! whose idea was it to go out sailing anyway???
Yes I'd love to know who's paying for that
 
May 17, 2004
5,071
Beneteau Oceanis 37 Havre de Grace
I'm thinking maybe the tow boat was pulling too much aft rather than directly sideways? We've all seen the movies of getting the mast under the bridge by hanging giant water filled buoys from the masthead. Those movies had a much higher heel angle than this boat, so I'm surprised the mast would fail purely from the sideways force. The boat does seem to heel far enough over that if it were a fin keel it wouldn't still be too stuck. Maybe a wing keel but it looks like a newer Beneteau or Jeanneau and I don't think they use wings.
 
Feb 20, 2011
7,993
Island Packet 35 Tucson, AZ/San Carlos, MX
It's a fractional rig. If pulling from the masthead, there are no shrouds at the masthead to handle lateral stresses.
 

Ted

.
Jan 26, 2005
1,254
C&C 110 Bay Shore, Long Island, NY
It looks like the mast failed at the upper spreader on the starboard side. I wonder if the halyard fouled it and ripped it off of the mast. At the instant the spreader disappeared, the mast failed at that location. Just speculating.
 
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