Well this sucks!

Youdaman, Daddyo. No one at the YC bar will be able to top your stories. You had a lot of people concerned and pulling for you and your family. It was a big relief when you were still there in the morning. Please fill us in on details when time allows. Good job.

Yup Details. Wanna know everything.
How the wind sounded, how the snubbers worked. Did you get any real big waves comming through?

It was the coolest thing being able to view the AIS thing. I am so proud of you I could stand on my head and spit wooden deck cleats.

So get it on bro lets have a novel.

Sd

We are way downunder, but join in congratulating Daddyo on coming through unscathed. When time and other things permit, how about a detailed report on the experience? I`m not only interested in what happened, but there could be lessons for all of us when for we get caught out.

Hey all!
To answer a few questions and share what I learned. First of all scope is everything. Second you need to take into account the tide surge and how it will effect your scope. The ground tackle on this boat is from the PO who never anchored out. As such it is inadequate given the boats weight. However weight can be a double edge sword in that because of her weight (30tons) there is much less jerking on the chain. That said beefing up the chain and capstan from the current 5/16" was on the short list. I used rubber collapsible type hose split in half and wrapped on the line held in place with zip ties. I feed the lines over both horns of the hawse pipes. The grabber was standard hardware store galvanized 5/16 hook with a screw shackle and a galvanized hoop to avoid any chafe possibilities at the grabber end. I'll post a picture of this tomorrow. I did check for chafing but never had to make any adjustments. The crew talked through the three most likely emergency scenarios so if it happened they would know how to respond:
Windshield blowout
Dragging
Ground tackle failure
Of course there is always the obvious of fill your tanks as best you can for time on the hook, lack of these things on the shore when you return and for ballast. Absolutely no adult libations. When you pick your spot I would always opt for swing room vs slightly less exposure. If your boat has excessive windage or is light then do not attempt this if at all avoidable!!! You or most likely others around you will drag. As for the sounds, as most of you have experienced it is much like a squall line that last for two days. You have to relax or the longevity and the strain will make you stupid with fatigue. Your boat was designed to point into the wind and float. In our case the ability to assist others helped us take our minds off our own situation and was beneficial. Stay calm and enjoy Mother Nature's fury.

Thanks for depiction Daddyo - You and family truly did great!

Daddyo--- How did you happen to pick this particular spot to anchor? Had you used it before, or knew of it from others, or figured it out on a chart, or.....

Just have to ask, and I am not questioning you have every right to do as you please but after securing the boat best as possible why not seek a potentianally safe shelter for you and yours. Not trying to start anything just asking. I have rode out some massive storms and seas, albiet on Naval Destroyers and Frigates and that had scared the crap out of me on several occasions and those ships are between 350 and 560 foot long. Just curious. Like I said in an earlier post HUGE BRASS ONES.

May I respectfully ask if the boat would have survived just fine had it been left unmanned? Or was your presence key in saving your boat?

marinetraffic.com now shows Grace and Daddyo heading off over land with speed at one point of 35.5 kts! That Danforth must really be dragging big time all of a sudden!

I'll have to join this chorus ... remaining on a small boat at anchorage in the path of a hurricane is not considered a measure of good judgment. Allowing others to remain borders on something far worse.

"Or was your presence key in saving your boat?" The better question is - was saving the boat worth risking your life and those of your passengers? I guess if the Bounty had survived some folks would say the captain and crew had big brass ones as well ... what are they saying now? What are the folks in the YC bar really saying?

C'mon folks, this is recreational boating and the boat is a toy. It is a hobbyist's tool, saving it is not worth dying for or asking anyone else to risk dying for. Replacing the toys is what insurance is for.

RickB said:

I'll have to join this chorus ... remaining on a small boat at anchorage in the path of a hurricane is not considered a measure of good judgment. Allowing others to remain borders on something far worse.

Click to expand...

It was obviously a measure of fair seamanship. Congrats on getting your vessel through the storm and protecting her from raging main. Good on ya.

Hummmmmmmmmm, and you knew Daddyo that the anchor system was "inadequate" prior to anchoring. Be sure to bless your good fortune and read the press about the decisions leading Bounty's demise.

Please don't equate "sh**house luck" with seamanship. There may be readers who believe that sort of stuff.

RickB said:

Please don't equate "sh**house luck" with seamanship. There may be readers who believe that sort of stuff.

Click to expand...

I see he still has his vessel.

"Shallow men believe in luck. Strong men believe in cause and effect.“

– Ralph Waldo Emerson

As do the owners of many other unmanned vessels. The owners who lost boats didn't have to swim ashore or risk someone else's life to be rescued. They just called the insurance company from the safety of their home.

"May I respectfully ask if the boat would have survived just fine had it been left unmanned? Or was your presence key in saving your boat?"

- Mahal

RickB said:

"May I respectfully ask if the boat would have survived just fine had it been left unmanned? Or was your presence key in saving your boat?"

Click to expand...

If that is your assumption... then he was in no danger at all.

Many skippers take their boats to safe anchorage. It's not the sea that claimed most of those boats... it was the shore.

Some have hailed Daddyo as a hero. I am not among that group. I'm glad he and his family survived the ordeal, but I still think it was a foolish thing to do.

rwidman said:

Some have hailed Daddyo as a hero.

Click to expand...

Not saying hero, but giving credit where due. He rode out the storm aboard his boat. He survived and his boat and family survived. Good for him.

I may have made a different decision, but I don't find fault in him making the one he did.

SomeSailor said:

Not saying hero, but giving credit where due. He rode out the storm aboard his boat. He survived and his boat and family survived. Good for him.

I may have made a different decision, but I don't find fault in him making the one he did.

Click to expand...

When trying to ride out a storm, regardless of experience and level of preparation, we cannot be certain of the result. So if he and his wife and kids did not survive the storm or got seriously injured, would you still not find fault in him?

Hyperbole. If he and his crew were lost, we'd be having a different discussion. In the one we ARE having. He seems to have made the right choice.

Monday morning quarterbacking is easy, there's no risk to it, and we all do it. But a real situation can only be judged and decided about by the people involved in it and their decisions will be based on factors some of which we have no idea about.

An entire neighborhood in Queens burned to the ground. People were killed or injured by falling trees and flying debris. Being on shore could be every bit as life-threatening as being on a boat. It all depends on the who, what, where, when, how, and why.

People are usually at their best in situations in which they have the most confidence in themselves, their equipment, and their environment. Daddyo's decision may have been the best one for him. The same decision with the same boat in the same location under the same circumstances may not have been the best one for someone else.

Whatever the reasons for Daddyo's decision, and no matter how logical or convincing an argument could be made by someone else about what THEY would have done, I think the only thing that's relevant here is that Daddyo and his family made a decision to take a particular course of action in the face of the storm and their decision and actions proved to be the right ones for them. Their boat's in one piece and on top of the water and they are all in one piece and uninjured on top of the boat. How that outcome could be improved upon is beyond me.

Marin said:

Monday morning quarterbacking is easy, there's no risk to it, and we all do it. But a real situation can only be judged and decided about by the people involved in it and their decisions will be based on factors some of which we have no idea about.

An entire neighborhood in Queens burned to the ground. People were killed or injured by falling trees and flying debris. Being on shore could be every bit as life-threatening as being on a boat. It all depends on the who, what, where, how, and why.

People are usually at their best in situations in which they have the most confidence in themselves, their equipment, and their environment. Daddyo's decision may have been the best one for him. The same decision with the same boat in the same location under the same circumstances may not have been the best one for someone else.

Whatever the reasons for Daddyo's decision, and no matter how logical or convincing an argument could be made by someone else about what THEY would have done, I think the only thing that's relevant here is that Daddyo and his family made a decision to take a particular course of action in the face of the storm and their decision and actions proved to be the right one for them. Their boat's in one piece and on top of the water and they are all in one piece and uninjured on top of the boat. How that outcome could be improved upon is beyond me.

Click to expand...

+1

I think many if not all of the points brought up here are good ones. I'll try to shed some more light on our course of action. I had described our chain as "inadequate " but that was not entirely accurate. The chain is nearing the end of it's life and needs replacing soon as a matter of preventive maintenance, and when I do so then I will go a bit bigger as with ground tackle bigger is always better if the extra weight forward is not a factor. With regards to our decision to ride this one out as some here have said it was arrived at due to our very specific circumstances. The forecast winds for Sandy were substantially less then I and Grace had endured just last fall when I had gone solo on the hook against Irene with no problem. I knew my tackle would hold and knew the boats behavior in these conditions. Last fall I had no choice as she wasn't insured at the time. This year the interruption to our lives as liveaboards if she was damaged due to leaving her unattended was a factor in the decision to stay aboard. We also felt the level of danger was very, very, very unlikely to ever reach life threatening as shore was always reachable in our Boston Whaler. We knew the dangers on shore could include serious injury or worse. By the time we got her settled in and the wind direction settled into it's final pattern it was too late to leave without undue risk. I chose this location by first selecting a few spots on the charts. I then spoke with some locals to get their opinions and then the day before moving to the location I took the boat and 1st mate and we looked at and sounded three areas we had chosen. This location was chosen based on water depths and composition and the match with our tackle. Swing room and likelihood of other boats not being nearby and most importantly not upwind from me, and last but not least was the elevation of the upwind landmass at the direction of the highest wind period were all critical in choosing this location. This was not the right decision for everyone or even me if just a few or possibly any of these factors were changed. You must have a fact based confidence in your situation before choosing the course of action that best suits you.

Now we are on unlimited hold as we wait for the East River and NY Harbor to be reopened by the USCG. I just put the family accept for one in a rental car and back to Raleigh for the Thanksgiving holiday period as I move the boat south before rejoining them.

Well done and you've certainly got a much dearer connection to your boat and her capabilities now. As we say in the Navy: "Fight the Ship!" and you did that and came out on the other side just fine. Kudos.

The true measure of success is that you attain the outcome desired and planned for. Daddyo "Captain" and/or any one of his family could have been hurt or killed by falling trees, windswept debris, maybe loose high tension wires or a number of other hazard items on shore. Bottom line on any seagoing craft is that The Captain has unrivaled right to make decisions and then clearly articulate his decisions to his crew. In this case Daddyo “Captain” made his carefully thought through decision, bet his hand, and won BIG Time! – Period!! Congratulations on your success! End of discussion.

Now, tell us more about your great adventure... Please

Daddyo, I spent many years making my hurricane plans at home port (Biloxi) and I believe i've fine tuned it. I applaud you for thinking on the fly and making something happen in a strange port of call and being successful. That is the sign of good seamanship. I know this sounds stupid but when you have time to reflect on what you did maybe you could start a new thread and educate the rest of us. Did you have the main engines running to take some strain off of your ground tackle? What was the plan if the front windows blew out.( I think I would have boarded them) I would like to pick your brain. Paul

Daddyo

Congrats on a safe outcome. You are a Captain!

So Daddyo You have been praised and chastised for your actions during the storm.
There will always be naysayers in events like this.

I once caught a burglar in a business I owned and it came to blows between me and the perpetrator. I Won.
The news paper and TV called me a Rambo. They said what if he had a gun. I say he was lucky I didn't.

There was a big forest fire here in Alaska a few years ago. One of the Iditarod musher's was ordered to evacuate. With his dog lot of 40 or so dogs it just wasn't feasible to do so.
He stayed and fought the fire with what ever means at his disposal. He won. Once again was chastised for his actions.
They said I should never take the law into your own hands.

Not the point with you.
But sometimes a man just has to do what he feels is right.

If I were in your shoes I would have done as you.
Don't let any of these bleeding hearts get you down.

To many people would rather turn the other cheek or call the cops rather than stand and fight.

I for one applaud you.

Sd

The exact same thing could be said about the Skipper of the Bounty. And yet, it's not...