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Shame and debasement
These days I don't normally sail with my wife cuz she drives me nuts
when she does. Asks too dang many questions I have answered many times before and I long ago lost my patience for teaching her and I figger she outa just figure it out for herself, if she is really interested. With her around I cant relax and concentrate on sailing. BUT, I decided that we ought to spend more time together so I convinced her to go out for an hour or so..........big mistake. I was a nice chilly day here in N. Fl with the wind outa the north, unusual but nice. We had our 10 yr old daughter aboard and I motored out and turned to go south out the ½ mile long channel. Put up the jib cranked the diesel up all the way to blow out the carbon and got out in a hurry. Put up the main and went off on a course of 140 with engine turning over the charge the batteries. After about 15 minutes, the engine slowly died. No problem, it'll probably crank when we need it and even if it doesn't, we can always tack down the channel, I've done it before (except not on a falling tide......). After some easy sailing in nearly 18 kts with reefed main , decided to go in as it was getting chilly. Engine wouldn't start. Couldn't get any course N of 270 going west toward the channel marker tripod, CRAP, turned to NE and went a long way into the shallows till the tripod was 240 from us and then turned back to it. Wind seemed to be out of 340 so I figgered we'd have just a little trouble but not too much going down the N-S channel. Went past the channel entrance tripod tower going west and then turned back toward it. Was really surprised at how little northing we could get and only ended up about 150' north of the tripod when I had to tack back west so I wouldn't go too far into the shallows. My wife was running the Jib and I was steering and she somehow didn't get the jib to tack so we had to jibe, no problem except we lost some ground. At the other side, tacked again and went back east. Tacking on the east side needed really good control of the jib and she just couldn't get the hang of it and we had to jibe again but I managed to make up for it in gusts making more northing. On the next tack she missed again so we traded places. Unfortunately, she just couldn't get the hang of it and I kept finding her with the tiller hard over for some reason so I took over steering again. On the next tack, she missed again and I actually had to give up about 100' to avoid hitting a marker. By this time I was ****ed and demanded that she just sit back and allow me to get us in. She keeps talking about getting help on the radio but I kept telling her we didn't need any help cuz we were not in any trouble and she keeps goin on about it making me nutso. Finally, I get into the groove, controlling the tacks and all and making real progress. On one tack, the wind picks up and I manage to get a good angle north, so much so that I decide to go a little more past the side of the channel than usual, after all, even if we go aground, the N wind will push us off............ Well, I go aground, no problem I thought, I turn the tiller to make us jibe and let out all the RF jib to push her head around and SHOCK, she doesn't move. DANG, it didn't feel as if we went hard aground but the wind wouldn't push us off no matter what. Suddenly wife is demanding I call for help. I say "Hell NO" we are not in trouble and I'm getting us off. OK, I try to start the engine again, a few sputters but then nothing. CRAP, she demands that we "Call somebody" so I ask, "Call ****ing who" and she says "The Marine Patrol or the Coast Guard" to which I reply that we are in NO danger at all and in fact are only ½ mile from shore in water so shallow I can walk to shore if necessary. I commence to trying to rock us off, no luck. She wants me to call somebody we know on shore but I tell her I don't have their phone numbers and I'd prefer to wait for the tide. She says, "How will we get in then, the same thing will happen". I tell her that by tomorrow the wind will be outa the south and we can then sail most of the way in. "TOMORROW, It is COLD, WE HAVE ONLY ONE BLANKET and no food and I have to get to work in the morning and Katie has o go to school and...." Katie replies "I want to stay, I want to stay". I say, "Dammit, we have three parkas, a blanket, several sheets and even some apples and snack stuff, no problem". "We need to get home" she says. "AAAAAAUGH, OK, I'll try the radio", so I try to call the local coast guard auxiliary that I know will not respond, "See, no answer". This doesn't stop her, she just ****ed off and threatens to use her cell phone to get our 16 yr old son at home to call for help. So, I get browbeaten into calling TowBoat US and get them ok. They tell us what it'll cost/hr and I tell em we'll call back if we really need help. Then, we see the only other boat on the water go by ¼ mile away, it is SeaTow so she convinces me to call them. Thank You God, they are responding to a genuine call for help and cannot get to us. I go below and try to bleed the engine, an easy thing to do if she would get off my back about my tools being all over the cabin. I have an electric fuel pump because it makes bleeding the engine a breeze but I get NO fuel out the bleed ports, "HUH"? I think back to years ago when the electric pump diaphragm had gone bad at the dock, no amount of pumping would get fuel to the fuel filter, CRAP, its happened again, bad timing too. I go forward to try to push off with the very very long extendable boat hook, nothing at all, we are hard aground. SO, I decide to make the best of it and get out my Delta anchor and manage to throw it way out so don't go too far if we float off. Suddenly "GROAN", I see SeaTow coming down the channel toward us, they managed to get the other boat out of distress. If I tell them to leave I'll never hear the end of it so I humbly tie their tow rope to our cleat and they pull us into the channel bumping the bottom a lot on the way, clearly the tide has really gone out. They tow us to the dock and I go to pay. By this time I was seriously happy to be off the boat with my wife so even the astonishing cost of $480 didn't faze me much. It was $10/ft for the ungrounding (28' sailboat) and then $165 minimum and a couple other fees. 20 YEARS OF SAILING AND I HAVE NEVER NEEDED TO BE TOWED IN. Shame, shame, shame. I've been hard aground before with my friends, no problem, just wait for the tide and party till then. If I was with them or myself and able to be relaxed about my tools being all over I'd have just rigged up a gravity feed for the engine but NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, I had to listen to so much crap I finally gave in to such debasement. I love my wife but will not sail with her again. Yes, I'd still be aground with my 10 yr old daughter with me but we'd have fun fishing and I'd get off in the morn. |
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