#1
IP: 24.138.22.213
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WTfiddlersfrigwasthat.
Well, after spending a couple of hours on the dock downtown, and a few wobbly pop George and I head it back to the yacht club...a 2.3 nm run. Wind on the nose at about 15-17 kts...we duck behind the dodger and let Otto drive. I was just putting on my jacket when there was a knock, shudder, and heck knows what else.
I jump back behind the wheel and disengage Otto as the engine continues to run yet a wicked vibration is felt beneath my feet. George doesn't feel the vibration in the cabin ...again I say WT_ was that and WT_ is it doing messing with my afternoon. I throttle up and down...vibration increases with rpm yet I have "0" kts speed over ground. "Well", me thinks we have an issue here". I get George to check: - if the shaft is moving in gear...YES - shaft moving in neutral...NO -popped the jib...boat in neutral, prop shaft rotation. I Have A PROP. OK...so we have a fouled prop be we should be able to get so way-on...BUT NO...0 kts...BUT WE HAVE PROP WASH OUT BOTH STARBORD AND PORT SIDE OF THE STERN....now I will say it WT "premier expletive". SO...now I have either something catastrophically arrigh under the back end of the boat or I have one hell of a bag on this thing. Nailing a dead head crossed my mind but I should have heard it hit the hull first!! ....George and I sail back to the club and have to do at least 7 tight tacks to bring her into the marina. (We were a whole knot and a half off boat speed and we still stomped a Hunter 30 with us under jib alone...took our mind off the issue...LOL) The guys at the marina were pretty relaxed until they saw that I had to jibe the boat when she lost way in the lee of a Navy Ship....brought her back around, caught a puff of wind and snuck her in astern of the last boat on the outer marina. Got speed held at 2 kts...40 ft away from my berth killed the jib and was doing .9 kts when the boys hooked her as she came alongside her dock...no different than if she'd be under motor. The boys knew I didn't have an engine when the boat jibbed ... they went into "help a buddy mode".... wasn't much to it. So, a good buddy dove and pulled this off the prop....think about this... NO STERN PROP WASH STARBORD PROP WASH- YES PORT PROP WASH- YES. I've had a fouled prop before but not like this....here are the pics. Can you imagine that happening at sea in a storm or something...make a bad day worse.
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Mo "Odyssey" 1976 C&C 30 MKI The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The realist adjusts the sails. ...Sir William Arthur Ward. Last edited by Mo; 06-12-2015 at 09:45 PM. |
#2
IP: 32.211.28.40
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Mo,
That's quite a trophy! Reminds me of a similar incident, half way between Grand Manan and St John - picked up something on the prop. Engine bogged way down and boat speed fell off to less than 3 knots. Several fwd/reverse cycles had no affect. So we limped into closest port (Dipper Hbr) and picked up a mooring. Next morning I was mentally prepared and donned the wet suit, hood, gloves, etc and went into the water (need I say, VERY cold in the Bay of Fundy). Took a breath and dove down, finding a piece of net caught on the prop. Several strands on one blade, only 2 strands on the other - which I was able to disengage and then slide the mass off the other blade. I counted my blessings by getting it off in one dive without using any weapons of destruction. Tossed the mess into the dingy, climbed aboard, and got warm. The wad of net was over six feet long and fat enough that I couldn't circle it with one hand. I've got a picture of it, but couldn't find it easily. It's on our website (marenal.net) under the 2001 Cruise. |
#3
IP: 24.138.22.213
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I threw it in the back of my truck Al ... it's a pretty good size as well. It's sitting on 2x6's planks in the pic. Must have weighed about 10 lbs at least but I was really lucky the mooring field guys had some diving to do. One came slid off the zodiac and I watched the bubble under the stern of the boat for about 4 or 5 minutes until he surfaced with knife in one hand and plastic in the other. Our water here is still much too cold to be diving in without a wet suit...LOL, and I'm a "surface guy". Once it was cut free everything worked perfectly and smooth as silk.
I had a look at your Marenal.net site...that IS some pretty good stuff there!...you know how to enjoy life!
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Mo "Odyssey" 1976 C&C 30 MKI The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The realist adjusts the sails. ...Sir William Arthur Ward. Last edited by Mo; 06-13-2015 at 09:27 AM. |
#4
IP: 107.188.30.127
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GEEZ!
What I like about this story is the unspoken back story. You obviously love your A4, but you have spent countless hours SAILING, not depending on your trusty motor. Reminds me of the times I watch people try to pick up their moorings when they have engine trouble. They never practice sailing up to the mooring in good conditions so there is total panic when there is no internal combustion happening. Glad that everything worked out. There is way too much garbage in our waters. Skywalker |
#5
IP: 24.138.22.213
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Quote:
I find having to dive and clear a prop a much scarier proposition than sailing the boat back to her dock. In Halifax Hbr we have maintenance crew under Port Authority that will come and remove dead-heads etc. Generally if there's a hazard to boating someone will notify traffic and they dispatch "Maintainer One". The prop has been fouled a few times in the past number of years but most times it's a large string of kelp or something along those lines. This was the second time I needed one the boys to dive on the driveline of mine to clear it.
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Mo "Odyssey" 1976 C&C 30 MKI The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The realist adjusts the sails. ...Sir William Arthur Ward. Last edited by Mo; 06-13-2015 at 09:38 AM. |
#6
IP: 108.212.224.248
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Fiddeling?
Hey Mo, when you get done fiddleling up there c'mon down here and help me eat some of these Kobe beef steaks we just got at the YC. Probably even go sailing. Come to think of it, I have a charcoal grill aboard. And a cooler.
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S/V Swimmer Bristol 27 |
#7
IP: 24.138.22.213
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Oh yeah, Howard...now we're talking
__________________
Mo "Odyssey" 1976 C&C 30 MKI The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The realist adjusts the sails. ...Sir William Arthur Ward. |
#8
IP: 32.211.28.40
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Hey Mo,
I think the US Coast Guard could learn a few thing from our northern neighbors. Firstly, the CA harbor folk are really on the ball - keeping an eye on things and dispensing useful information. Such as: in St John, NB; when to pass through the reversing falls. Second, every buoy seems to have a unique number. USCG seems to spend too much effort on squeezing life jackets and reading the expiration date on flares. Not that they don't do good stuff - don't get me wrong. My son was plucked from the deep blue in a gumby suit and got a free helicopter ride to Cape Cod. BTW, if you ever have to put on a gumby suit, grab a couple of flares for your pocket. The FLIR systems on the copters won't see someone in a gumby - no heat. |
#9
IP: 24.138.22.213
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Al, all the navigation buoys on this side of the border are marked with a letter number combination. It's a great reinforcement of skills before the days of GPS. People would, and still do, read the buoy and re-confirm their position on a chart. I know at least 100 ... letter and number combinations. That said, with familiarity comes complacency.
Our Coast Guard roles differ slightly, although last week inshore rescue stopped by the club offering free safety checks. Odyssey was the first pleasure boat in Halifax area to pass this year. Apparently there were about 20 inspections prior to mine (at other clubs) where not a boat passed. Not only did Odyssey pass but she did so in flying colors; she carries 2 epirbs; double regulation number fire extinguishers; all registration papers; double flare number with multiple paras; 3 bilge pumps; emergency ditch kit with an epirb; 2 back up gps systems; ...they were impressed. They do that type of thing early in the year but they are wavers after that as they go by on patrol....when they are needed they get it done as well. There are no fines either: it is a saftey check to ensure all is OK and the people aboard have the basics. Police can fine for not having the minimum equipment and if Coast Guard feels there need for police involvement they can call for backup... the biggest problem in canada is expired flares....and usually caused by complacency. You wouldn't believe the number of people that ask me where to buy flares, anchors, hardwares etc....there's a company Stright Mackay....they have about the best prices around here on so much gear...unreal.
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Mo "Odyssey" 1976 C&C 30 MKI The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The realist adjusts the sails. ...Sir William Arthur Ward. Last edited by Mo; 06-14-2015 at 07:07 AM. |
#10
IP: 66.102.6.210
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Speaking of buoys....
A lot of years ago, in the "paper chart only" days, we left our slip on a tributary of the Patapsco River, heading for an anchorage several miles south, on another tributary of the Chesapeake. First time into the "open waters" of the Bay.
As we approached our destination, things got curious. Hmmm. Look at that. That buoy is missing one of its numbers. I see that radio tower on the chart, though, so we must be fine. Etc., etc. As we entered the creek, it was supposed to open up into nice sailing waters. Instead, it was getting more and more narrow. Eventually, panic set in. Where on earth are we? We quickly backed out. Quickly, not carefully. another dumb mistake. We were five miles north of the intended destination. Lessons learned? Obviously numerous, but I think the big one was to be sensitive that sometimes you can discard what doesn't fit the narrative, and talk yourself into things just because you want to believe them. Maybe this belongs in the Captains Confessions section. Bill |
#11
IP: 24.138.22.213
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Bill, I know exactly what you saying. I know the buoys "by heart" around here but familiarity can also bring complacency. Before I had the chart-plotter and can see and reconfirm with glance I ALWAYS double checked...just in case I screwed up the "where this buoy is" in my mind. I know a guy that ran his Bristol 34 aground because he made a mental mistake. He'd been sailing for 40 years, been through there a hundred times but as he got older he made a mistake...half a mile out there was another buoy he had to round and he glanced at the one he rounded, the shore, and proceeded across a shoal. It all happened on a bright sunny day in fair weather and he's the first to say he made a major mistake. Now, if it had been rough at all that shoal would have been foaming with white water and easy to see...but allot of mishaps happen in fine weather as well.
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Mo "Odyssey" 1976 C&C 30 MKI The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The realist adjusts the sails. ...Sir William Arthur Ward. Last edited by Mo; 06-14-2015 at 08:38 AM. |
#12
IP: 67.232.86.80
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Same here. More than once I have had to slow down, turn around or just stop until I figured out where I was. That was in daylight and good visibility. Night navigation is even more of a challenge for me. One must really get a handle on the markers. Lighted, not lighted, color, interval of flashing etc. Just last week I made a night time run across the Pamlico Sound. Departed Silver Lake at 0045. The channel out is always tricky and I was very happy to have my chartplotter with "breadcrumbs" only a few days old. Even in the open Sound I had to fight the urge to go "that way" and stick to what my compass and the stars were telling me. Page 7 here http://ocsdata.ncd.noaa.gov/BookletC...okletChart.pdf shows the channel.
Dan S/V Marian Claire |
#13
IP: 107.0.6.150
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Quote:
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#14
IP: 68.111.8.83
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Before The Days Of GPS
Quote:
*BTW you boat handles quite differently under these conditions. TRUE GRIT |
#15
IP: 24.138.22.213
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It's a bad feeling when entering a harbor in a storm...and it's your first time in there. I mentioned a few years back that I got caught in 45 kts off the Eastern Shore of NS...solo, on my way to NL. Well. Spent 3-4 hrs coming in out of that, waves got so big when I approached Liscomb NS that the wind would come out of the jib. Talk about major faith in equipment. I passed a couple of more sailboats under bare poles on the way in...the boat was just surfing and I had her closed up and driving like that guy on the Uniroyal Tire. Once I got inside the head of land the seas weren't worth talking about...but still had to run the boat and figure out the next six nm upstream to Liscomb Lodge. Made it well ahead of those motoring as I did nothing under 7kts in that...just surfed it in. Spent 2 days there just to loosen up...sore is an understatement. I never relaxed until tied to the dock. Two American Trawler Yachts sitting there....there's another story about that because one was a sailor prior to buying a power vessel...he had rented a car and hours earlier his wife said....there's a sail out there in that storm....anyway I digress.
__________________
Mo "Odyssey" 1976 C&C 30 MKI The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The realist adjusts the sails. ...Sir William Arthur Ward. Last edited by Mo; 06-14-2015 at 09:06 PM. |
#16
IP: 107.0.6.242
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Coward that I am, I always have useable harbor entry waypoints entered into the GPS and ready in case chicken-out time comes sooner than planned.
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#17
IP: 108.212.224.248
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Aye,
We are all with you on that one, HC. I hope.
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S/V Swimmer Bristol 27 |
#18
IP: 24.138.22.213
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I've chicken out before Hanley...just last summer was going into a place called Dovers Cove and the sea was foaming white over breakers, Aaron (autistic child) was whining and needed to get in out of the wind. Rather than try the entry, I brought the boat back another hour and went into a place I knew.
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Mo "Odyssey" 1976 C&C 30 MKI The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The realist adjusts the sails. ...Sir William Arthur Ward. |
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