Scare The Newbies Day! Let's Hear The Horror!

Early may, few years back, I had to sail my P18-2 back to the club solo, after camping a few days in the south.
My girlfriend would drive the camping-gear and cattrack back to the club at Warder.
What should be a rather rough 15 Nm trip, turned into a personal nightmare and embarrassment .
The wind-prediction was a steady 16 Knts westerly and the water was really cold.
So, I opted for a dry-suit with multiple layers underneath.

Beating to the first mark, the wind wasn't steady, but really gusty and slowly veering to the north, I flipped
the cat already once, and it was hard work to gain some height.
On my way to the island Marken, the wind slowly turned north and increased to a gusty 20-25 Knts.
Every time I went to much east, I got set back by the building steep waves, so the tacks had to be short, wich
was really exhausting. This was not the trip I expected, it was becoming more and more a survival trip.
By the time I reached Marken, The boat flipped again.
While righting the cat, I didn't pay attention to the wind direction and she went straight over again. By this time I
was really getting tired being on the water over three hours now.
The drysuit kept me warm though, so I decided to go on.Past Marken I made a long tack east and while tacking back,
I managed to tear my suit open, big rip, just above my left knee. Now it was survival-mode big time. On the ride back to the shore a big gust caught me and over I went.

The left leg of my suit immediately filled with ice cold water and slowly filling the right leg too. Man this was cold.
Managed to sit myself on the hull of the flipped cat and took a moment. There were no other boats around and I was loosing body-temp rapidly.
So I decided to right the cat and sail to the nearest port on a reach. Wich was Volendam.
I cut the dry-suit open at both ankles and started righting when the scariest thing happened.
The cat was up allright but I simply had no strenght to climb on board.
Thats where I threw the towel and got my cellphone out and called 112 ( European 911) .
The life-boat was with me in 15 minutes or so, their station was less than 2 miles from my position.
They took me on board, wrapped me in a thermal blanket and rushed me to their station at Marken.
There I was checked by a nurse and allowed a shower and dry warm clothes.
They had put an anchor and marking buoy on the cat and while I was in the shower they retrieved the boat to the station.
The hardest part was to come, calling the girlfriend and explain what happened.....

Edited by catmodding on Nov 09, 2016 - 06:24 PM.

This thread could be sub titled "Lets Scare the Old Salts Too"!

The cat was up allright but I simply had no strenght to climb on board.

After my similar experience (a few posts back) I made a system to provide foot support to climb on board. I think I found it here.

It's at the same time a towing line and a climbing step:
- Release the (cheap) carabiner and you have the towing line on your hand
- Or release the carabiner, pull back from the "Y" to the stopper knot.
- The "Y" (now more like a "V") is under the beam to use it as step, the stopper knot keeps it from moving aft of the boat.

Edited by Andinista on Nov 09, 2016 - 02:30 PM.

That's a great system. When I right my boat, I grab the dolphin striker to keep it from going back over, then quickly go around to the side of the boat and pull myself up using the trampoline handle. That is asking for disaster because the boat powers up and starts sailing while I go to the side to get back aboard. I am going to use your system to be able to get on right away, before the boat starts going...

Andinista wrote:

The cat was up allright but I simply had no strenght to climb on board.

After my similar experience (a few posts back) I made a system to provide foot support to climb on board. I think I found it here.
It's at the same time a towing line and a climbing step:
- Release the (cheap) carabiner and you have the towing line on your hand
- Or release the carabiner, pull back from the "Y" to the stopper knot.
- The "Y" (now more like a "V") is under the beam to use it as step, the stopper knot keeps it from moving aft of the boat.Edited by Andinista on Nov 09, 2016 - 02:30 PM.

Looks like the boarding-aid I posted a long time ago..

http://www.thebeachcats.com/forums/viewtopic/topic/14029/start/0

Thanks for the input!

Looks like the boarding-aid I posted a long time ago..

exactly!
the first time I read it I thought I didn't need it..
until I did ...

So did you have the boarding aid installed this time? Or is it the same horror story?

Andinista wrote: So did you have the boarding aid installed this time? Or is it the same horror story?

Its the same horror story, when I posted the "boarding-aid" topic.
I still felt like a "twat", really embarrassed to ask for help from outside.
So, I somewhat changed the introduction on that topic.
Did fire the smoke-signal tough 😎 😎 .

The boarding aid is on all my cats ever since.

Having the stuff to ask for help and using it is a good thing, you should be proud not embarrassed.

Exactly, no shame in asking for help. Live to sail another day!!!!

I am loving this boarding line trick. Can't wait to rig it on my cat. Will make it much easier to get on board.

Some great stories in this old Halloween topic! Read through and then add your own horror story, we all have them!

In 2010 My buddy and I sailed his H18 in Mobile Bay one November in wetsuits to just hotrod up and down the bay in front of the club. It was a small craft advisory which meant we finally had good wind. Another acquaintance which we hold with low esteem was out sailing a Designer's Choice 15 mono I sold him that year with two others. He had on a shorty wet suit, the others had a raincoat, no life jackets.

They capsized 1/2 mile from shore and stuffed the rig into the mud. Then the three of them proceeded to break the centerboard trying to right the boat. We came across them as a huddled mass on the hull and offered a ride. It took a few tries but I was able to put them between the hulls and my roommate yanked them all aboard.

Sailing 5 up in 18 knts and 3ft sea we headed to the club's shore. Dragging the tramp. One fella was shaking terribly and we were struggling to keep him dry-ish. Before we made it in, the club's Boston Whaler came out and took our guests.

By the time we got to shore, took down sails and got to the clubhouse we found the one fella buck naked on the floor with club members huddle around to warm him. The ambulance came took him to the hospital for hyperthermia. The other two were taking hot showers.

I went back out with a deep sea fishing boat to recover the sailboat. The 60deg water zapped my strength after 10 minutes of trying to right the now sinking boat. We cut the halyards and drug it back in sideways through the channel. Took 10 people to drag it on the ramp.

Three years later the boat was abandoned at the club and I bought it again for a $1. The only boat I made money on twice.