Keith, I see one of these folks nearly every weekend run aground on the mud bar that sticks out for Priest Point on Budd Bay near Olympia, Washington. Maybe they will learn a lesson as they sit and wait for the tide to come up enough to float them, or pay the bill if they call Vessel Assistance. Steve M-15 # 335 -----Original Message----- From: Keith R. Martin Sent: Tuesday, August 13, 2019 5:40 PM To: For and about Montgomery Sailboats Subject: Re: M_Boats: Sailing safety Yup, it never ceases to amaze me the number of people who are at the helm of a boat with cleary no experience or skill set. Keith R. Martin, P.Eng On Tue, Aug 13, 2019, 5:23 PM Dave Scobie, <scoobscobie@gmail.com> wrote:
As Connie wrote - experience and constant learning is worth more than the size of the craft.
Five/six weeks ago as I departed an anchorage I saw a sailboat with its bow up against the rocks. This is Gulf Islands British Columbia so in many places the depth is 100s of feet one foot from the shore.
The captain said the outboard had quit running. I asked 'you aground?'
'No but the motor doesn't work.'
I said, 'the wind is blowing fair so raise the main and backwind off the shore and the run out and sail to Ganges.' (a route that was all down wind and less than 5-6nm long.)
'I don't know how to sail. Never raised the sails.'
So about two weeks later, same place, this boat returns and anchors near me. It is low tide. Six hours later 11' of water has arrived and this sailboat is drifting through the anchorage. Captain isn't aboard (paddleboarding further up the bay to find out). I and another boater rescue the boat. The anchor isn't touching ground. It is on plastic Walmart line tied to 5' of light garden chain to a undersized dayhook Danforth (Danforth anchors are close to worthless on the Salish Sea - and this was one of the quick release dayhook versions!) Captain returns and I row over. Doesn't even notice boat in different location. I mentioned it was drifting and I and another person had boarded moved the boat and set the hook. Captain responds, ' I don't know why the boat drifted it was staying put when I got here.'
The boat is a San Juan 24 and not one person would question this brand/make/size cruising the Salish Sea. The boat was a wreck. Besides the captain needing some sailing classes the shrouds were parting, a spreader broken and every line in deck was rotten. The boat and crew are unsafe.
:: Dave Scobie :: M6'8" #650 :: SV SWALLOW - sv-swallow.com :: former owner M17 #375 SWEET PEA - m17-375.com :: former owner M15 #288 SCRED - www.freewebs.com/m15-named-scred/
On Tue, Aug 13, 2019, 4:48 PM Burton Lowry <burtonlowry7@gmail.com> wrote:
Amen to Connie!
We just had a couple pull into our little harbor. In a 30 footer (sailboat). They said they had come up from New Jersey, and had to be rescued by the Coast Guard three times on the way up. My friend, the assistant Harbor master, asked them about their experience in boating. They affirmed they were experienced... they had had kayaks.....
Nothing against kayaks, but doing more learning might have helped!
Burt
Sent from my iPhone
On Aug 13, 2019, at 6:34 PM, Conbert Benneck <chbenneck@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi Peter,
Safety:
This really has nothing to do with the size of your boat, assuming that it is a seaworthy boat like the Montgomerys are, but it has everything to do with the amount of sailing experience you have amassed over time. In other words, have you accumulated enough sea miles so that you feel comfortable being out in whatever conditions Poseidon throws at you?
Let me give you my first example: an ocean going; very safe 30-footer that has been around the world several times sailed by various owners.
If you give a rank sailing beginner such a boat, who has had very little sailing experience; doesn't know how to reef a sail; doesn't know what precautions to take if the weather deteriorates; can't "read" the weather, or the changing wind speed, and who hasn't a clue of what they should do next, can't navigate; doesn't know how to use a marine radio; they are a disaster looking for a place to happen.
If the weather deteriorates; or the fog rolls in; or a front passes through and things get rough; they haven't a clue about what they should be doing for their own safety or for the boat's safety.
The other end of the scale is the experienced seaman - Captain Bligh set adrift in an open long boat with 18 crew members in the Pacific ocean by the mutineers.
Captain Bligh sailed the open long boat across the Pacific to Indonesia, and landed there safely.
Sailors sailing very small boats have successfully crossed the Atlantic and a M15 sailed from San Diego to Hawaii.
Sailing on inland lakes can be far more dangerous sailing than being out on the open ocean
Lakes can be subject to sudden extreme gusts blowing out of a valley. One minute it's a flat calm and a minute later its batten down the hatches; the lee rail is underwater, and your boat is vastly over canvased....
Out on the ocean you may have a front coming through but you - with nautical experience - can see its coming far off in the distance and start by reefing and putting on oilskins and boots; putting in the hatch boards and closing the companionway hatch.
You also are listening to NOAA weather radio; other radio traffic in the greater area gathering information so that you, as Captain, can decide what to do next. You may head for a harbor a mile or two distant; or if out on open waters you prepare the boat for rough conditions; make sure that everything is stowed properly down below; put on safety harnesses; check that all sea cocks are closed and the toilet bowl is empty; prepare some hot coffee in a Thermos bottle if your destination is several hours away.
Lots of sailing experience is the big difference between what for you is reasonable and normal, or what would be sheer terror for a newbie.
There is an old statement: it is better to be standing on the dock wishing you were out sailing, then to be out sailing wishing your were standing on a dock.
Your lack of sailing experience keeps you on the dock.
Previous sailing experience under varied weather conditions tells you it will be rough out there, but let's go..... we have a schedule we want to meet.
The more you expand your sailing knowledge the better, and safer sailor you will become.
Happy sailing
Connie