I feel stupid saying this because it’s trivial, but there’s a sandbar (actually submerged extension of a peninsula) in my lake that I’ve hit with every goddamned sailboat I’ve sailed there, from a Coronado 15 dinghy with the centerboard up to J/22s and Merit 25s and yes even my C&C 30 MK I. Fortunately the bottom is mud/sand so no damage is done but it’s embarrassing as hell to get stuck there because it’s right across from the marina channel, in view of a long dock with about 40 slips on it. That happens to be my dock and I know my dockmates sit out there and watch people getting stuck and unstuck just for entertainment. I wouldn’t be surprised if they started holding up score numbers like in diving or gymnastics or ice skating. One time when I got Grenadine stuck there I jumped in the water and tried unsuccessfully to push her off as my passengers heeled the boat. I had to get the park rangers to pull me off.
Another grounding story: one time chartering in the Grenadines, while anchored at Saltwhistle Bay, Mayreau, we witnessed a 28-foot sailboat run aground on some rocks on the south side of the bay, coming in. The locals rushed over in runabouts to heel the boat by her halyards and pull her off - perhaps a common occurrence with an easy payday for them. Turns out the boat’s company was two young Swedish couples who had sailed all the way from Sweden - down the North Sea, English Channel, Bay of Biscay, Portugal and African coasts to Cape Verde, where they turned west and crossed to the Windwards, only to run aground coming into Saltwhistle Bay. Cheers, Randy S/V Grenadine C&C 30-1 #7 Ken Caryl, CO > On Jul 17, 2018, at 6:29 PM, Dave S via CnC-List <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> > wrote: > > Sorry to hear about the grounding Gary. I guess distraction/familiarity can > hurt any of us. > Thanks for the reminder - for my commute tomorrow - where speeds and risk are > much greater. The boat can be fixed, am very thankful that pride was the > only human casualty. > > Dave > > Sent from my iPhone > > On Jul 17, 2018, at 1:17 PM, Gary Russell <captnga...@gmail.com > <mailto:captnga...@gmail.com>> wrote: > >> HI Dave, >> Don't beat yourself up too hard. I am told "There are only two kinds >> of sailors... Those who have run aground and those who lie". Thankfully, >> everyone is safe! That's the important thing. Good luck with the repairs. >> >> Gary >> S/V Kaylarah >> '90 C&C 37+ >> East Greenwich, RI, USA >> >> ~~~~~~~_/)~~~~~~ >> >> >> On Mon, Jul 16, 2018 at 11:18 AM, David Knecht via CnC-List >> <cnc-list@cnc-list.com <mailto:cnc-list@cnc-list.com>> wrote: >> It is a sad morning here and I need some help to drag me out of my >> depression. This list is my support group, advisers, experts and >> therapists. Or maybe you will kick my butt for being an idiot and that >> could help as well. Aries had a serious grounding on a reef on Saturday and >> is currently awaiting insurance to start assessing the situation. We were >> barely towed off the reef by SeaTow and the boat is on the hard at a local >> marina. The damage is worse than I had hoped and better than it could have >> been. When they were able to pull us off the lip of the reef (tide going >> out, getting desperate) the rudder hit the reef and bent the shaft, damaged >> the hull around the shaft and pushed the rear tip of the rudder up through >> the hull. The bottom of the wing keel is also chewed up from grinding on >> the reef. That sound of hull grinding over rock is now forever seared into >> my brain. South Shore yachts actually lists the rudder on their site >> (thanks to the list for making me aware of their C&C parts), and I am hoping >> there is nothing else damaged that was not obvious. No one was hurt, except >> my pride and confidence. Leaving the marina, I now have an appreciation for >> the emotions of people who abandon their floating homes at sea. At least I >> will hopefully get mine back. >> >> I have gone over the incident a thousand times trying to understand what >> happened and how I could have prevented it. I thought I was hyperaware of >> all the hazards in the Fishers Island Sound area and swore that I would >> never ground the boat again after an incident with an unmarked reef during a >> race a few years ago. I try to race with a priority of safety, fun and >> speed, in that order. I almost always have crew who are not sailors other >> than racing with me, which I enjoy, but takes some of my focus away from >> other things. We had spent the day in a long race all over Fishers Island >> sound. It was blowing 15+ and we had worked very hard to get around the >> course and the last leg was a straight downwind sprint to the finish heading >> due North toward the CT coast. With 3 inexperienced crew I was happy that >> we were in second place in our class and focused on getting to the line. We >> crossed the line, then jibed over to head back west to parallel the coast to >> our home port of New London and had just taken a deep breath, congratulated >> the crew when we hit the reef. It turns out that the Race Committee had set >> the finish line inshore and just East of the single offshore buoy marking >> Horseshoe Reef. I never saw (or recognized) the buoy because it was behind >> the mainsail as we approached the finish and I was looking for the finish >> line, not other buoys. By the time we jibed, it was essentially over my >> shoulder. I did not see the buoy until I looked around when we hit the reef >> and realized where we were. A hundred yards inshore and we would have been >> fine and a hundred yards offshore and we would have seen the buoy and passed >> the correct side of it. I think the Race Committee deserves some part of >> the blame for setting the finish line in a dangerous location but certainly >> my lack of awareness of where I was relative to dangers (of which there are >> many in Fishers Island Sound) was the major factor. If I had looked >> carefully at the chart at any point, I presume I would have recognized the >> danger of the finishing area, but we were closely following the lead boat >> and so our location was not an issue until we finished. I was in familiar >> waters but I just did not recognize precisely where I was in familiar >> waters. The other boats near us turned East while we turned West so we were >> not following anyone after the turn. >> >> If anyone has any suggestions, comments or strategies to help prevent this, >> I am all ears. A moments inattention is all it took and it makes me >> concerned about several factors- age, racing with non-sailor crew, racing in >> general. In our Wednesday night races, we race around the same marks every >> week, and it has taken time, but I now think I know every hazard and am >> aware of where we are relative to them while also keeping on top of the boat >> and crew. This was an area I have sailed in many times but rarely race >> there. Also in terms of the incident itself, if Seatow had not happened to >> be in the area and seen us and we were not able to get the boat off the reef >> until the next high tide, I have no idea what we would have done. I know I >> have learned from other people’s disasters (always the first thing I read >> when a new Sail magazine is delivered), so maybe this will help someone else >> not have this happen or make someone feel better about things that have >> happened to them. >> >> Relevant to the issue of thinking you know where you are when you don’t, if >> you have not read Laurence Gonzales’s book Deep Survival, I highly recommend >> it. He talks a lot about the psychology of visual perception of your local >> environment and how it affects decisions. I think there are lessons there >> for everyone, as many of the things he alerted me to I can see over and over >> in everyday life and this is perhaps another example. >> Dave >> >> Aries >> 1990 C&C 34+ >> New London, CT >> >> <pastedGraphic.tiff> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> >> Thanks everyone for supporting this list with your contributions. Each and >> every one is greatly appreciated. If you want to support the list - use >> PayPal to send contribution -- https://www.paypal.me/stumurray >> <https://www.paypal.me/stumurray> >> >> >> > _______________________________________________ > > Thanks everyone for supporting this list with your contributions. Each and > every one is greatly appreciated. If you want to support the list - use > PayPal to send contribution -- https://www.paypal.me/stumurray >
_______________________________________________ Thanks everyone for supporting this list with your contributions. Each and every one is greatly appreciated. If you want to support the list - use PayPal to send contribution -- https://www.paypal.me/stumurray
