What Have You Dropped Overboard?

Art said:

Bikini's are a creation from the devil. That's why they are so damn HOT ... Thank God!!

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Wifey B:

Funny "thing in the water" story from way back: Bud and I were going to move a boat, and this was when cell phones were getting portable enough to have in a pocket. Of course there was a steep learning curve for all of us crawling around boats with the things in the pockets. We learned that when they smell water, they jump out!

So we are climbing in a little boat and it was pretty shallow. He is leaning over doing something and the phone does it's jump, skids along the dock and hits the water. Dude is P'd, of course. I tell him I have a trick to find the phone. I'll call his number and when it rings, it will blow bubbles. So he leans over and watches and I call his number. He's looking hard for bubbles!!! This guy was another engineer!!! After a while he thought about it and asked if I was sh!tting him. Of course I was and admitted it. He was now doubly p'd!!!

Ski in NC said:

Funny "thing in the water" story from way back: Bud and I were going to move a boat, and this was when cell phones were getting portable enough to have in a pocket. Of course there was a steep learning curve for all of us crawling around boats with the things in the pockets. We learned that when they smell water, they jump out!

So we are climbing in a little boat and it was pretty shallow. He is leaning over doing something and the phone does it's jump, skids along the dock and hits the water. Dude is P'd, of course. I tell him I have a trick to find the phone. I'll call his number and when it rings, it will blow bubbles. So he leans over and watches and I call his number. He's looking hard for bubbles!!! This guy was another engineer!!! After a while he thought about it and asked if I was sh!tting him. Of course I was and admitted it. He was now doubly p'd!!!

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That's quick thinking and damn funny! A practical joke on his brain cells... and... it worked. No wonder he's double P'd! At himself mostly!!

while at anchor in the keys 1 night I dropped a small LED flashlight overboard. It was night time so I saw it go all the way to the bottom. The damn thing stayed lit for 3 or 4 hours like it was mocking me

Just my ego.

My buddy Darrell and I were fishing in relatively shallow water near the Turkey Point power plant. He dropped his sunglasses over the side. Not a problem, Darrell is a very experienced diver. He took his wallet out of his pants and jumped in. The look on his face just as his feet were hitting the water was priceless. He had just remembered his new cell phone was in his shirt pocket.

I allow myself a "stupid" budget of $1000 each year. Dropping cell phones in the water, same with sunglasses, speeding tickets, fender benders, dock rash, locksmith service, wallet on car roof...etc. Anything that costs money due to me being stupid goes in the stupid budget column.

If I go a year and still have not hit $1k, I pat myself on the back and feel good. It's amazing how this relieves the sting of doing something dumb.

And cell phones are the worst. Probably half the money I waste is due to those infernal contraptions. Sunglasses next. One month lost three pretty decent pairs and that exceeded how much I spent on diesel.

When I'm on a boat I always try to wear a shirt with Velcro closed flaps on the pockets.
My cell phone has fallen out of regular shirt pockets way to often.

My favorite boating shirt is the Colombia Bonehead.

Not much lost over the side since moving to powerboats, but in a bunch of years of sailboat racing, I can still remember the $ound$ these make when they hit the water . . .

Ski in NC said:

I allow myself a "stupid" budget of $1000 each year. Dropping cell phones in the water, same with sunglasses, speeding tickets, fender benders, dock rash, locksmith service, wallet on car roof...etc. Anything that costs money due to me being stupid goes in the stupid budget column.

If I go a year and still have not hit $1k, I pat myself on the back and feel good. It's amazing how this relieves the sting of doing something dumb.

And cell phones are the worst. Probably half the money I waste is due to those infernal contraptions. Sunglasses next. One month lost three pretty decent pairs and that exceeded how much I spent on diesel.

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A great concept. We never called any part of our budget stupid but some of the miscellaneous is just as you described. As long as we're within budget, we aren't stressed by spending. Any budget without a miscellaneous or other or as you call it stupid is going to end up with unbudgeted expenditures.

"Not much lost over the side since moving to powerboats, but in a bunch of years of sailboat racing, I can still remember the $ound$ these make when they hit the water . . .

"

When I was sailboat racing, the first rule after "you must return with the same number of crew as you start out with" was "if you drop anything, (Most dropped item of course is the winch handle) you pay to replace it"

Other important rule to note: " the cost of any item dropped overboard is inversely proportional to its bouyancy"

My own losses: nanny (recovered), multiple glasses, hats, buckets, phones, wine bottle (unopened - they sink fast)
But never a winch handle.

HopCar said:

When I'm on a boat I always try to wear a shirt with Velcro closed flaps on the pockets.
My cell phone has fallen out of regular shirt pockets way to often.

My favorite boating shirt is the Colombia Bonehead.

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I have rules: Place phone in open box at head of bed. Do not touch unless necessary. Do not place in any pocked. Do not take outside for calls unless absolutely necessary. When going out in tow behind runabout, and phone may be needed, carry it in floatable sealed box.

So far so good!!

When on boat... I'm not into using cells and putters very much, anyway. Have to do so too much in my daily life. Boating is for swims and cruises and doing other things, seeing other items than watching cell and putter screens - IMHO.

I tried to drop my wife but it was on purpose. If she reads that I am a dead man

Admiral lost multifocal specs overboard last weekend in Refuge Bay. Turns out it was my fault for suggesting we look for RMYC moorings to pick up.

Glasses, cell phone, and fiberglass on a breakwater, luckily above the waterline, and that's one big trip

Mid 60's we used to run into a pilot and wife during summer trips to Block Island, Mather's Vineyard and the like. Great people; with a fine condition early1960's 36'
Egg Harbor. We even rafted once. One summer we did not see them. Found that his wife was lost overboard. Never saw him or the boat again. Tragic. Heard it happened on crossing to Block Island during a surprise storm.

Brand new compression gauge at dock, prescription glasses at dock, $600 set of bifocal prescription Raybands in 600’ of water while releaving myself, shrimp pot on buddies boat because I had wife unhook the buoy and one cell phone. Not to mention one set of car keys in 150’ of water.

I lost my glasses in the Canal. And a few Days later my partner did the same. A blind led the blind, so to speak.

propane grill , several pair of glasses, multiple tools, winch handle, a leatherman knife that I lost in another slip 5 years ago , but my buddie that took over my slip found it while looking for something he lost. The worst was my wedding ring that I lost last year.

Overboard??? Myself, tied to a dock in Port Royal , Jamaica.

High free board and wall tie so help to get out was required.

No crew help till photos were taken.

UGH!

An expensive bottle of wine being passed up from the dock by a teenager (wifey is still mad about that one), an assortment of tools, etc.

A one day old Giant aluminum commuter bike.

After spending 30 minutes spraying every inch with T-9....moved to end of finger to do the admirals bike....heard a splash and was able race down and grab one of the handle bar ends just as it went under....net is two years later bike is in great shape and this T-9 stuff actually works!

A fishing rod, and a cell phone, once I fell overboard in the slip, my brother in law was laughing at me. I told him my sun glasses fell off and so I dove in to recover them. He was impressed!

Very funny stuff folks, so I have to weigh in. Before I moved to the dark side, I had a 44' sailboat and was replacing the chainplates by myself. With me on the inside of the boat, I would secure a wrench or socket to the outside bolt to keep it from turning. After losing the wrench for the second time (a diver recovered both times), I came up with a net that hung on the side to catch tools and parts. Before the net idea, I had divers asking me daily if I needed anything retrieved (at $20 per).

I dropped my life raft from the deck to the dock, only to have it do a slow roll into the water with wind and current. My buddy popped his head up when he heard a splash, in time to see me in my underwear diving into the winter water. I retrieved the raft, much to my chagrin. I also was using a cordless multi-tool when the battery decided to fall out and go swimming.

I've lost all the normal stuff too - fishing lures, glasses, shirts, towels, flags, etc...

I like the idea of sacrificing new HF tools to Neptune.

Cheers, Bill

Within the last year:

Cell phone with 1K + photos... many of which I'd planned to down load - some day!

UW flash light I used for often swimming under boat and tending to cleanings. anodes etc.

Within my 60+ years on boats:

More than I can count!! Dropped a 3 hp Johnson OB in 20' water, back when. Retrieved with small anchor. Immediately took it to shop. Ran fine thereafter.

I lost count of the number of shackle pins lost overboard. I've finally realised it's cheaper to buy the expensive one piece hinged shackles.

I dropped my i-phone overboard a couple months ago. I went in straight after it and retrieved the phone from 5 feet of fresh water. Turned it off and dried it out for 24 hours and it still works fine.
Salt water usually means instant death for electronic devices.

My 27 year old wedding ring plopped in the water last month while taking a shower on the swim step. A simple, low cost ring but a tough one to lose for sentimental reasons.

Greetings,
Mr. F. Yet ANOTHER good reason to not shower/bathe!

Lost... and Found Next Day

Not quite off the boat, but was swimming in a lake. When we got out I noticed my old family ring was no longer where it was supposed to be. The next day we went back and my sister somehow managed to find the ring!



Haven't dropped anything off my boat yet but have dropped a variety of dive gear in the past when i was deep into scuba.

We were in the Dominican Republic at a local Punta Cana marina when my buddy dropped his wallet overboard. Typical back pocket leather wallet with the usual stuff including about $400 in US cash and another $50 Canadian cash. Water was about 10' deep but not clear. He dived multiple times with no luck so we gave up but told a couple of local guys working on the next boat to try if they liked and we left for lunch. When we returned we were having a drink in the back cockpit of the boat while the local guys were still diving for the wallet when suddenly up flies the wallet and lands on the deck with the cry "found it". We were very pleased and excited but on looking in the wallet found that the US cash was missing but the Canadian cash was still there (Canadian is not really very useable in the D.R.) Even though we were very suspicious the local guy swore he did not take any cash out before throwing the wallet up. "Must have floated away". I guess Canadian cash is heavier than US? Nothing we could do but had a good laugh about it.