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Old 09-12-2015, 12:35 PM
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I am not sure where to start here. I have been worried, concerned, or anxious plenty of times. All out OMFG FRIGHT! is not as common. Here is one - it is not every day you see a waterspout headed for your raft-up!


Being offshore with worsening weather is a slow motion issue. You are considering options, plotting a course, analyzing weather. It is kind of like a chess match - will the front with 50 knots from the NW arrive before or after the Gulf Stream?
Adrenaline fueled do something RIGHT NOW issues are another deal. Going home from Saint Michael's we had about 15 knots of wind on the stern and at least 1 knot of current on the stern in the Narrows approaching a closed drawbridge when the engine died. I had about 5 seconds to come up with a plan to avoid hitting the closed bridge I ran forward and dropped the anchor, which streamed out behind us as we still made at least 4-5 knots SOG towards the closed bridge. Line streaming fast - wait for it - wait for it - NOW tie it off. The anchor dug in hard, we did an instant 180 degree turn and the wind pushed us right into the T-head dock near the bridge with our bow about 2 feet aft of someone's stern. I calmly stepped off, tied us up, and told an onlooker this was our new docking system and it appeared to work great Internally I was
* this was the end of that A4. My wife insisted it go to the surplus heap and we got a much better one.

Last edited by joe_db; 09-12-2015 at 12:46 PM.
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