Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 08-30-2013, 05:57 AM   #1
Veteran Member
 
sailtones's Avatar
 
City: Tivat
Vessel Name: Nostra Signora
Vessel Model: Marine Trader CHB 34DC
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 97
Near anchoring mishap in Montenegro

I thought people might find it interesting to hear about a close call we had last weekend, how we got into it, and how we got out of it.

It was my wife's birthday on Saturday and we had arranged to have a party at a local beach bar with a jetty that one can anchor off stern too, or 'Med' Moor'.
This is a fairly standard practice over this side of the pond so we didn't really think much of it in the planning process.

It is easier at this point to include a few images for better understanding.



As you can see there was a slight breeze on the port side at this point.

However, a thunderstorm was forecast and brewing that was making me pretty nervous.
Keeping an eye to the north, or STB side of us, I saw the rain approaching a few miles away being proceeded by a line of white caps indicating some pretty strong wind on its way.
I got back on board and started the engines and put them in gear ahead to hold the boat steady when the wind hit.
From experience of this area, I knew the wind would only last 1/2 hour (which it did) and given it was my wife's birthday and there were 50 people arriving shortly, I didn't want to move the boat even though my brain was screaming at me to get out of there. And there in lies my big mistake!

When the wind hit, it came in a gust of over 30 knots and heeled the boat what must have been 15 degrees or more.
The anchor dragged and even though I increased the revs to try to hold her in situ', there was nothing I could do to prevent us being pushed over to port. The main problem was the mooring line configuration back to a single central bollard on the dock which did not allow me to leverage or spring on my stern lines.

So we ended up like this with our port quarter bouncing on a rock in the increasing sea state.



This was starting to put a bit of a dampener on the birthday party!

I could see the waves increasing and was not happy about the fact that we were bouncing on a rock (thankfully it was flat). I couldn't just release the mooring lines and get out of there without ended up on the beach. So the only thing I could think to do was put the engines in tick over ahead with the helm hard to STB so that the prop wash would hold us firmly planted against the rock.



I figured this was the lesser of two evils, and it worked as it should have by stopping the boat bouncing on the rock and holding her firm even in the increasing seas.

However, I knew it was only a matter of time before serious damage would occur, and that I had to get out of this situation. We are about 3 minutes in at this point.

Having sailed traditional single screw no bow thruster sailing ships as a profession has given me a good understanding of the use of mooring lines for springing out of situations. So that was the next step here.

I let go the stb stern line that was preventing the boat from moving forwards and put all the weight on the port line at the same time swinging the helm over hard to port so that the prop wash was pushing the port quarter away from the rock.

I also took up the slack on the anchor as it came to us.

We ended up tethered like this.



The trouble was that I knew I could not stay like this with the increasing wind and sea, so had to get out of there.

I figured if I tried slip the last mooring line, I would not have time to get it aboard and it would end up with it trailing and potentially ending up in the prop which would mean absolute disaster.

So with my wife manning the windlass, I grabbed the trusty knife, cut the remaining mooring line as my wife brought up on the windlass. Then in record speed I literately flew up onto the fly bridge to the engine controls.



With the line cut, the boat swung free as the chain came in moving ahead of and missing the rocks. As soon as we were clear I hammered the port engine revs ahead and Stb astern to swing her head to wind so that the anchor could come aboard and we could breath a sigh of relief.

So....lessons learnt.

1. Always listen to your gut feeling
2. Always listen to your gut feeling!


I do wonder if it is a good idea to post this and the comments I may get for it, but if my near disaster can help anyone avoid the same thing, then it is worth it.
__________________
Tony
sailtones is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-30-2013, 06:29 AM   #2
TF Site Team
 
City: Ex-Brisbane, (Australia), now Bribie Island, Qld
Vessel Name: Now boatless - sold 6/2018
Vessel Model: Had a Clipper (CHB) 34
Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 10,101
Goodonya Tony. Took courage to put that up, but darned good illustration of what can go wrong, and how to recover from a sticky situation...which we all end up in sometimes.
Talking illustration, I am really impressed by the diagrams. What app did you do that with, if I may ask..?
__________________
Pete
Peter B is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-30-2013, 08:47 AM   #3
Veteran Member
 
sailtones's Avatar
 
City: Tivat
Vessel Name: Nostra Signora
Vessel Model: Marine Trader CHB 34DC
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 97
Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter B View Post
Goodonya Tony. Took courage to put that up, but darned good illustration of what can go wrong, and how to recover from a sticky situation...which we all end up in sometimes.
Talking illustration, I am really impressed by the diagrams. What app did you do that with, if I may ask..?
Hi Pete,

I used photoshop to draw it up.

Cheers,
Tony
__________________
Tony
sailtones is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-30-2013, 08:55 AM   #4
Veteran Member
 
sailtones's Avatar
 
City: Tivat
Vessel Name: Nostra Signora
Vessel Model: Marine Trader CHB 34DC
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 97
Here is a photo of the offending location!

__________________
Tony
sailtones is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-30-2013, 10:35 AM   #5
Moderator Emeritus
 
jwnall's Avatar
 
City: St. Marks, Florida
Vessel Name: Morgan
Vessel Model: Gulfstar 36
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 3,673
Sailtones (Tony) wrote: I do wonder if it is a good idea to post this and the comments I may get for it, but if my near disaster can help anyone avoid the same thing, then it is worth it.

It was a good idea to post it. May help someone else out at some point. If you are worried about comments such as "Oh, my, you should not have done this (or that, or the other)", ignore them. Boat owners who have been doing it for a while are basically divided into two groups. Those who admit to having made mistakes, and those who lie about it and say they have never made any. :-)

John
jwnall is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-30-2013, 12:58 PM   #6
Guru
 
skipperdude's Avatar
 
City: Whittier AK
Vessel Name: Apache II
Vessel Model: 1974 Donald Jones
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 3,147
Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter B View Post
Goodonya Tony. Took courage to put that up, but darned good illustration of what can go wrong, and how to recover from a sticky situation...which we all end up in sometimes.
Talking illustration, I am really impressed by the diagrams. What app did you do that with, if I may ask..?
I can't find the diagrams. I looked at the blog spot but can't seem to find anything.

SD
__________________
If you can't repair it maybe it shouldn't be on the boat
skipperdude is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-30-2013, 06:19 PM   #7
TF Site Team
 
FlyWright's Avatar
 
City: California Delta
Vessel Name: FlyWright
Vessel Model: 1977 Marshall Californian 34 LRC
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 13,728
Thanks for posting this, Sailtones. It's a great example of how things can go from fun to horror in such a short period of time. Good recovery! Did the rock cause much damage to the port stern quarter?

For many years, FLYING magazine has published a series of articles called "I Learned About Flying From That." In it, pilots wrote of their first hand experiences in flying that caused them alarm, put them at risk and (obviously) they survived. Some of it is pilot error, some caused by mechanical failures, some is just dumb luck. But all of it presented in its first person perspective provides more than just a "There I Was" story...it's a story of what led up to the incident, what it felt like during the event and what they learned that could prevent recurring events like this or mitigate the risks next time.

Posts like yours contribute to the lessons the rest of us can learn 2nd hand which is a lot less terrorizing (and expensive) than learning it first hand. Maybe we need to start a thread entitled "I Learned About Boating From That."

Glad it's not just me, SD. I can't see any pics either. I was starting to think I was losing it.

OK...where's the beef, Sailtones?
__________________
My boat is my ark. It's my mobile treehouse and my floating fishing cabin. It's my retreat and my respite. Everyday I thank God I have a boat! -Al FJB

@DeltaBridges - 25 Delta Bridges in 25 Days
FlyWright is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-30-2013, 07:25 PM   #8
Guru
 
BruceK's Avatar
 
City: Sydney
Vessel Name: Sojourn
Vessel Model: Integrity 386
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 13,329
In a perfect world we try to imagine every surrounding feature which could imperil.

Friends tied up at high tide fore and aft between two timber poles near a popular boat marina not far from Sydney.The tide ebbed. Between the two poles was the remains of a third, well underwater at high tide but not at low, which penetrated the hull. Boat was on the hard for weeks for post salvage repairs.
Expect the unexpected.
__________________
BruceK
2005 Integrity 386 "Sojourn"
Sydney Australia
BruceK is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-30-2013, 08:36 PM   #9
Guru
 
City: Hotel, CA
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 8,323
Quote:
Originally Posted by skipperdude View Post
I can't find the diagrams. I looked at the blog spot but can't seem to find anything.

SD
Sometimes images fail to load for individuals due to "page load speeds" sometimes dependent upon time of day. If I handed this off to my 12 year old kid he could explain the technical reason for it better than that but he's sleeping over at a friends house.
__________________
Craig

It's easier to fool people than to convince them that they've been fooled - Mark Twain
CPseudonym is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-30-2013, 11:04 PM   #10
Veteran Member
 
sailtones's Avatar
 
City: Tivat
Vessel Name: Nostra Signora
Vessel Model: Marine Trader CHB 34DC
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 97
Quote:
Originally Posted by FlyWright View Post
I can't see any pics either. I was starting to think I was losing it.
Not sure why people cant see the images so I have posted the story on our blog.

http://marine-trader-trawler-nostra-....blogspot.com/
__________________
Tony
sailtones is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-30-2013, 11:10 PM   #11
Veteran Member
 
sailtones's Avatar
 
City: Tivat
Vessel Name: Nostra Signora
Vessel Model: Marine Trader CHB 34DC
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 97
Quote:
Originally Posted by FlyWright View Post
Did the rock cause much damage to the port stern quarter?
After getting away from the shore line, I immediately went over the side to take a look.

Right on the corner where the transom meets hull chine, it has been ground down by maybe an inch deep and 3 or four across.
So lucky that it was the toughest corner of the boat on the rock.

I cant see any glass, only resin, so have decided to leave it for the winter haul out.

Cheers,
Tony
__________________
Tony
sailtones is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-31-2013, 02:24 AM   #12
TF Site Team
 
City: Ex-Brisbane, (Australia), now Bribie Island, Qld
Vessel Name: Now boatless - sold 6/2018
Vessel Model: Had a Clipper (CHB) 34
Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 10,101
I guess if it worried you you could press a layer of the quick underwater setting epoxy stick stuff (called Knead it over here) over it until the haul out. But actually, that may not be all that far off, I just remembered we are heading into summer, so you poor guys are ...not...
__________________
Pete
Peter B is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-31-2013, 09:51 PM   #13
TF Site Team
 
FlyWright's Avatar
 
City: California Delta
Vessel Name: FlyWright
Vessel Model: 1977 Marshall Californian 34 LRC
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 13,728
Can anyone besides sailtones see the pics on this thread or on his blog? On the blog, all I see are squares in place of actual pics.
Attached Thumbnails
crop.jpg  
__________________
My boat is my ark. It's my mobile treehouse and my floating fishing cabin. It's my retreat and my respite. Everyday I thank God I have a boat! -Al FJB

@DeltaBridges - 25 Delta Bridges in 25 Days
FlyWright is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-31-2013, 10:11 PM   #14
Guru
 
rochepoint's Avatar
 
City: Sidney BC Canada
Vessel Name: RochePoint
Vessel Model: 1985 Cheer Men PT38 Sedan
Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 1,744
Quote:
Originally Posted by FlyWright View Post
Can anyone besides sailtones see the pics on this thread or on his blog? On the blog, all I see are squares in place of actual pics.
Same thing for me, no photos........
__________________
Cheers
Mike
MV RochePoint
rochepoint is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-31-2013, 11:31 PM   #15
GFC
Guru
 
City: Tri Cities, WA
Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 4,406
Nice job of keeping your cool and reacting to a bad situation in a good way. Many would have panicked and we all know what happens then!
__________________
Mike and Tina
1981 Boston Whaler 13'
GFC is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-01-2013, 12:19 AM   #16
Guru
 
BruceK's Avatar
 
City: Sydney
Vessel Name: Sojourn
Vessel Model: Integrity 386
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 13,329
Pics show ok here. PC using Firefox. Except for being upside down, of course.
__________________
BruceK
2005 Integrity 386 "Sojourn"
Sydney Australia
BruceK is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-01-2013, 12:25 AM   #17
Master and Commander
 
markpierce's Avatar
 
City: Vallejo CA
Vessel Name: Carquinez Coot
Vessel Model: penultimate Seahorse Marine Coot hull #6
Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 12,559
I'm using a PC using Firefox, and I don't get pictures for the Aug. 30 write-up. I do get pictures, however, on the earlier postings on the blog.
__________________
Kar-KEEN-ez Koot
markpierce is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-01-2013, 01:11 AM   #18
Guru
 
City: Hotel, CA
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 8,323
Quote:
Originally Posted by FlyWright View Post
Can anyone besides sailtones see the pics on this thread or on his blog? On the blog, all I see are squares in place of actual pics.
Here ya go Al
Attached Thumbnails
image-1492900458.jpg   image-3188072239.jpg   image-371789362.jpg   image-171100266.jpg   image-1943165428.jpg  

image-2796179427.jpg  
__________________
Craig

It's easier to fool people than to convince them that they've been fooled - Mark Twain
CPseudonym is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-01-2013, 04:07 AM   #19
TF Site Team
 
City: Ex-Brisbane, (Australia), now Bribie Island, Qld
Vessel Name: Now boatless - sold 6/2018
Vessel Model: Had a Clipper (CHB) 34
Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 10,101
I could see all the illustrations from the get-go, and I'm using MacBook with Safari at present, tho used to use Firefox. What did you just do to reveal all to those who could not see them, Craig..?
__________________
Pete
Peter B is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-01-2013, 01:59 PM   #20
Guru
 
City: Hotel, CA
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 8,323
Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter B View Post
What did you just do to reveal all to those who could not see them, Craig..?
Went to his blog and copied the images to my iPhone. Loaded them to the forum through the app. Direct upload is always most reliable way to share images.

I chalked it up to slow page loads when Skipperdude had trouble in Alaska, but when I saw many folks having trouble felt it prudent to copy directly from his blog to my device then direct upload them.
__________________
Craig

It's easier to fool people than to convince them that they've been fooled - Mark Twain
CPseudonym is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Trawler Port Captains
Port Captains are TF volunteers who can serve as local guides or assist with local arrangements and information. Search below to locate Port Captains near your destination. To learn more about this program read here: TF Port Captain Program





All times are GMT -5. The time now is 04:29 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Search Engine Optimization by vBSEO 3.6.0
Copyright 2006 - 2012