Things that go wrong - First 21 Days on the ICW
 

On 8 Aug 2007 19:20:02 -0500, Dave wrote:

Come back when you have a little more experience, kid. Preferably on
something in addition to a ****-yellow wannabe cruising boat with an
outboard.

Back off.

It's not just any outboard, it's a 10 horse 4 stroke which burns less
than 1 quart per hour (at idle speed), thereby yielding a fuel range
of better than 24 hours at maybe 5 knots.

You could cross oceans with that rig if only Exxon would build service
stations out there.

Things that go wrong - First 21 Days on the ICW
 

On Wed, 8 Aug 2007 19:41:30 -0400, "Wilbur Hubbard"
wrote:

I have never called for a tow. I have
never hit another boat. I have never dragged anchor and caused anybody
any trouble because of it. I have never been dismasted. I have never
been out of commission because of motor problems. I have never run out
of fuel. I've never been lost. I've never been storm-damaged other than
being struck by lightning which is an act of God.

In order for any of these things to happen, Willy, you have to actually
sail.

Things that go wrong - First 21 Days on the ICW
 

On 2007-08-08 16:24:02 -0400, Rosalie B. said:

Wayne.B wrote:

On Wed, 8 Aug 2007 12:23:36 -0400, "Wilbur Hubbard"
wrote:

There was a time, a more wholesome time, when sailors didn't think it
was cool to tell the whole world about their inadequacies, their
mistakes and their lack of sailing skill.

No - there has never been such a time. Only inadequate men who are
afraid to admit their faults will shrink from telling their mistakes.

Truer words have rarely been spoken.

Similarly, there are two types of Chesapeake Bay sailors: Those who
admit to going aground and liers (or Dock Queens).

--
Jere Lull
Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD
Xan's new pages: http://web.mac.com/jerelull/iWeb/Xan/
Our BVI pages: http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/

Things that go wrong - First 21 Days on the ICW
 

Wilbur Hubbard wrote:


"Harlan Lachman" wrote in message
...

In article s.com,
"Wilbur Hubbard" wrote:

But, then again, I'm a man. One of
the few left sailing, it seems.

Wilbur Hubbard


I want to thank you Wilbur. Whenever I have mid life crisis feelings or
doubts about some choices I am now living out, you have made it clear to
me I should get down on my knees and give thanks I am not you.


Mid-life crisis is a liberal, feminist-inspired, girly-man condition.
Doubts about choices is the province of female thinking who rely more on
intuition than facts and logic. Your getting down on your knees and
worshipping anybody but God Almighty is blasphemous. You're definitely
a girly-man.

And so is cavelamb himself who is too pathetic to deserve a separate
reply from this real man.

Wilbur Hubbard

good!

Whata hoot!

Things that go wrong - First 21 Days on the ICW
 

"Harlan Lachman" wrote in message
...
In article s.com,
"Wilbur Hubbard" wrote:

But, then again, I'm a man. One of
the few left sailing, it seems.

Wilbur Hubbard

I want to thank you Wilbur. Whenever I have mid life crisis feelings or
doubts about some choices I am now living out, you have made it clear to
me I should get down on my knees and give thanks I am not you.

H

--
To respond, obviously drop the "nospan"?


Hahahahahaa.... now I need another keyboard!

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

Things that go wrong - First 21 Days on the ICW
 

On Aug 8, 11:23 am, "Wilbur Hubbard"
wrote:
There was a time, a more wholesome time, when sailors didn't think it
was cool to tell the whole world about their inadequacies, their
mistakes and their lack of sailing skill. Those were much better days.

You and Bob should be ashamed of yourselves. You are almost as inept as
that boob on Flying Pig.

Wilbur Hubbard

http://www.cartoonstock.com/newscart...es/rten29l.jpg

Joe

Things that go wrong - First 21 Days on the ICW
 

"Wilbur Hubbard" wrote:

"Rosalie B." wrote in message
.. .

No - there has never been such a time.

How would you know?

How do you know that I'm wrong?

All you women want to do is turn men into your idea
of a man. In other words, girly-men! Your desire is equality. Your idea
of equality is a man equally as inept when it comes to manly behavior as
a woman is when it comes to manly behavior.

Equality is not making everyone the same as you seem to imply. Because
we are not the same, and trying to make everyone be the same is
futile. We can treat everyone the same under law - that is each human
has a right to vote and to their dignity, but that's not the same as
trying to make everyone the same.

Only inadequate men who are
afraid to admit their faults will shrink from telling their mistakes.

Wrong again, only girly-men have faults or make mistakes they enjoy
bragging about in a public forum. Real men have pride. Real men realize

Speaking about them in order to learn is different from bragging -
although I guess in your case you might want to have them equated.

What you are calling pride is false pride. Men or women who are
really capable have no problem with admitting that they may make
mistakes. People who insist on being right all the time are fearful
creatures inside.

they will make mistakes but they have as a priority correcting their
mistakes so they don't happen again. You don't have to share you
mistakes in order to correct them. Girly-men make the same mistake time
and time again and they talk about their mistakes as if they are proud
they just keep making them because nothing else is possible for them or
expected of them. This is not how a real man behaves or what a real
woman would accept as manly behavior.

Failing to learn from mistakes and making the same mistakes time after
time is the result of stupidity. Anyone of any sex can be stupid - it
is equal opportunity.

When is the last time you read a magazine story of any sportsman
bragging about how badly he screwed up? Does the NASCAR driver brag
about constantly running off the race course or running out of gas or
spinning out in a corner?

He'd be out of a job whether he talked about it or not.

Does the big game hunter brag about how many
times he missed the shot or got trampled by elephants? Does the mountain
climber brag about how often his belay lines carry away because he
blotched placing his pitons? Does the private investigator brag about
how badly he blotched an investigation so a criminal went free? Does a
doctor in a medical journal joke about his operating on the wrong leg or
sewing his scapal within the body cavity? Does the airline pilot brag
about all his close calls with respect to crashing head-on into another
airplane? No they do not and they will not.

They would either be dead, and thus not able to 'brag' or they'd be
unemployed. In particular the doctor ought to be (as the guy who
operated on the wrong side of the brain recently) be investigated and
have his license to practice taken away. These things that you
mention are much more serious than the things I was talking about.

Why is this sordid and
insane behavior considered something to be proud of when it comes to
sailing or cruising? Is it because sailor's have grown up reading
girly-man sailing magazines that print this kind of trash in order to
further their agenda of continuing the trend of turning entire
generations of men into girly-men? I think so. What other reason for it
can there be?

Magazines print what people want to read. It is boring to read only
about travel where nothing happens.

Besides which - I'm not a sailor as I have often said. We didn't get
out of our depth to the point that we needed rescue. We rescued
ourselves. We didn't go south in a group relying on others to plan
for us - we did our own planning. And we were basically successful.

"We rescued ourselves?" Next time try learning how to not screw up so
self-rescue or any other kind of rescue is not required. Lose the
attitude that screwing up is normal fare. It's not! In all my years of
sailing (over 20 years now and thousands of miles river, coastal and
offshore) I have yet to need a rescue either from myself or from anybody
else. That's the way it should be. I have never called for a tow. I have
never hit another boat. I have never dragged anchor and caused anybody
any trouble because of it. I have never been dismasted. I have never
been out of commission because of motor problems. I have never run out
of fuel. I've never been lost. I've never been storm-damaged other than
being struck by lightning which is an act of God. I have never ever. I
believe in the old saying that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound
of cure.

It's easy to say that you've never been lost if you never go anywhere.

We've been more than 30,000 miles and in only 9 years.
We've needed a tow only once and that was at an unmarked hazard in the
middle of the ICW channel. We've never dragged and caused anyone any
trouble. We've never been demasted, but I think demasting isn't
particularly related to skill or lack or it but rather to whether you
put yourself out there in severe weather. We've never run out of
fuel. Etc.

Things that Go Wrong - First Time ICW from Charleston to Florida
 

The first post on this was in answer to

Vic Smith who wrote:

Regarding cruiser electrical/mechanical shakedowns, hose leaks,
electrical glitches and such shouldn't be part of that, as that should
all be set right while ashore.

I suppose for sailboat cruisers the real shakedown elements are
rigging, sails and drive train related.
But like I said, I don't yet sail, so I'd welcome experienced thoughts
on this as I prepare myself.

This is the continuation - reporting not only our experiences but
those of others we met.

Nov 22 - visiting with our son's family. Bob and our son took the
scuba bottles to be refilled and did some shopping

Nov 23 - Thanksgiving, and I finally got to cut Bob's hair.

Nov 24 - Friday - Bob and our son went shopping in the a.m (Bob
wanted a sewing awl to repair the bimini curtains where the thread was
dry rotting - our son eventually found one at a stable). We also
bought a phone so we could hook up to phone service at marinas. I gave
the cord to the wall to them so that they could hook both their
bedroom phone and the computer up at the same time. And Bob got an
additional extension cable for our TV. We all got into the car and
went to the Piggly Wiggly to get groceries and ice. (note the
refrigeration is still not working so we are still using ice)

Nov 25-26 - Visiting with son's family

Nov 27 - I did a few more rounds by phone with LectraSan (who were
closed from Weds to Mon) while Bob took the hotel van over to
Charleston to shop. LectraSan claimed that they'd shipped us the part
(and charged our credit card for it) and that UPS sent it to
California by mistake. Our son (who used to work for UPS) said they
probably never sent it. I told them to send another one to our
daughter in Miami.

Nov 28 - Took me 3 tries to start the engine because I'd forgotten I
had to pull the tab to put the transmission in neutral. We cruised
across the harbor - me at the wheel (upset because Bob was stowing the
lines and the gate in the life lines was open and he didn't have his
life vest on). The sun was in my eyes but we managed to get across the
harbor. There wasn't much traffic.

After we went through the Wappo Creek and Limehouse Bridges, we passed
under the SC 174 highway bridge. At the other end of the SC 174 bridge
is Whooping Island. We turned up a small creek at mile 501 and
anchored. The Island Packet ISHMAEL which passed us earlier was
already there. We were between narrow banks of mud - within 50 yards
of the bank in 14 feet of water. The boat swung to the tide and not
the wind. When the tide changed all the boats swung around 180
degrees.

When the tide was going out, I could see ISHMAEL's anchor light by
looking out the aft port from bed. When the tide changed and the boat
swung around I looked out and saw lights moving across rapidly. I said
to Bob - the boat's swinging wildly!! He went out and looked - the
creek was mirror calm. I had been looking at the car lights on the
highway! (This became a family joke)

I discovered we didn't have any computer charts for GA or FL.

Nov 29 - Bob started the engine about 6:30. Oops - throttle cable
broke. He worked on it and finally got it back together about 9:30.
Meanwhile I called the computer chart people and ordered the charts I
needed. We went to Dataw Island Marina which was about 20 miles away.
There we ordered a new cable, and transmission seals, did laundry,
downloaded email on the courtesy phone, and had dinner

Nov 30 - We got the new cable, but Bob ordered the connectors too
small and he used the old ones. The new cable works fine and we saved
the old one in case. The seals came and we paid for them. Got a guy
to align the transmission. Our son and granddaughter came over with
the charts (we weren't that far from Charleston) and I installed them
on the computer.

Dec 1 - The new throttle spring was too stiff and I couldn't move it
up past 1500 rpm without it automatically returning. He fixed it once
he realized that it really was that way and not just whimpy throttle
handling on my part.

AGREEMENT I (a Canadian boat from Montreal with a yellow bimini) had a
hammock slung across the stern. AGREEMENT was on our starboard and
two power boats passed at the same time - one between us and one on
our port - they didn't see the one on our port and the wake dumped the
hammock occupant back into the cockpit.

PRIME INTEREST said they'd anchored 35 miles N. of Charleston but let
out an extra 10 feet of anchor rode which meant that at low tide they
were aground on the bank. He said without the extra 10 feet they'd
have been OK. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise because
they called Tow Boat US, and when the tide came up and they were free,
their water pump went out, so they needed TBUS anyway and had already
called. They said the tow boat person recommended a marina to them
(didn't say which one) and the repair person there was able to fix
their water pump on Sat a.m. of Thanksgiving weekend.

We got to the Outdoor Resorts Marina at Hilton Head earlier than
planned. We wanted fuel and there was a big motor boat at the fuel
dock so they asked us to slow down and not get there for 10 minutes.

PRIME INTEREST was circling around with us but a wake from a small
boat pushed their dinghy under their swim platform and punctured it.
Completely unrepairable.

When we inquired about the tides (the tide was on the ebb when we came
in) we discovered that we won't be able to get out until about 9 the
next day. Low tide is about 6.

Dec 2 - It is starting to rain and be nasty, so we went up into the
Herb River and anchored The tide and current has more effect and the
boat swings around 180 degrees, and Bob worries that we will swing or
drag into someone's dock so he doesn't sleep well and is up and down
all night

Dec 3 - It was another raw damp day, and Bob got chilled and started
to shiver. I wanted electricity so we could have heat. So we went to
Kilkenny Creek Marina. Their floating docks are wooden on blue
barrels, so you have to walk carefully as they bounce around a bit.
When you stop on it, it gives under your weight. The bigger pieces
just give a little, but the smaller connector ones dip down a lot. It
is like walking on a jungle suspension bridge.

MERIDIAN a big power boat came in and got 300 gal. of fuel. They
expect to be in Jacksonville tomorrow. They complained of being cold
because they have only 3 sides to the steering station.

Dec 4 - Last night the heater made the cabin so hot that I got up and
turned it off. I was wearing a heavy shirt and sleeping under a
blanket and a quilt. Bob was not sleeping under his quilt. It got down
to 64 deg F inside, and Bob got cold and complained (and turned on the
heater again) but still didn't get out his quilt. It was back up to 69
by 7 a.m., but he was still complaining. There was frost on the inside
of the bimini which later melted and dripped on us.

There was also frost on the enclosure curtains and on the dock. Since
we are tied to the dock starboard side to, and the boat backs to
starboard, and there is a lot of current pushing us forward, Bob is
concerned that we will hit the boat ahead of us while trying to get
out. I suggest that he pull the boat back a couple of feet (there's no
one behind us on the face dock), and then let the bow go first, and
then back up onto the dock which will make the bow swing out. So
that's what we did. The guy from the boat ahead came out to help, or
to be sure we don't hit him or both, but we did OK without him having
to help much.

The day is sunny and bright to the starboard without a cloud in the
sky, and on the port side the clouds are grey and lowering. Some
hysterical lady is lambasting power boats about their passing wake.
She does not identify her boat, and we can't tell if she's ahead or
behind us.

We pass two boats anchored in the Back River where I wanted to stop,
but Bob wanted to go as far as possible and so I could not persuade
him to stop and anchor there or in the Duplin, or Darien Rivers. I
think he felt that we had lost a lot of time by stopping off at
Kilkenny Creek.

We go off the ICW at SM 658 in the Altamaha River west of Dolbow
Island and north of Little Saint Simons Island. Holding is good but
there is little or no wind protection.

Dec 5 - It got down to 34 deg F, but we were not cold inside the boat
as the temperature inside was about 10 deg. higher. We both wore our
clothes to bed like we used to do camping when I was a little girl,
and this time we both slept under our quilts, and were not at all
cold. Although getting up to use the bathroom was a bit like getting
up to use an outhouse must have been. Bob started the engine at 7 and
we were pulling the anchor by 7:45. His wash down pump got a short, so
he just let the current wash off the chain.

The Jekyll Island fuel dock (where we are stopping tonight) is on the
north end, almost in the shadow of the bridge. Fortunately, the
current is away from the bridge. CHARISMA is there in the best
easiest spot getting fuel and that restricts the area that we have to
put the boat into. But Bob eventually maneuvers us into the dock and
we get 25 gallons of fuel.

Bob had bought a new heater in Charleston and he got it out and
started using it tonight - it has a thermostat so I won't be tempted
to turn it off like I did in Kilkenny Creek!!!

Dec 6 - We've decided to go out Brunswick Inlet into the ocean to go
down to the St. Mary's River. This will be our first venture out into
the ocean. The weather forecast seems good - light north winds are
forecast.

There is a LONG line of breakers (marked on the chart, and visible
with binoculars) extending down from the north on each side of the
channel. Bob takes in the jib and then starts fooling with a way to
keep the boom over to one side so that we won't have an accidental
jibe.

Suddenly I notice that the breaker line is very close and it is
getting shallower.

I yell "Breakers, Breakers", at Bob. He doesn't understand the
situation, and apparently thinks he's too close to the buoy on our
starboard. The depth alarm goes off and he's still going the wrong
direction.

Then WHAM, we come down hard on something - probably a sand bar - I
hope not rocks. The breaking waves wash us off and then back down
again. We hit at least 3 times really teeth-jarring hard. Eventually
the waves lift us and Bob guns the motor, and we are over on the other
side.

Bob hopes aloud that the rudder is OK. We idle along because there are
two shrimp boats with their nets across where we want to go, and then
resume speed. Bob checks the engine room, and all appears to be OK.

When I snorkeled around the boat in Key West and the Dry Tortugas, I
report to Bob that all the paint (both the base red paint and the top
blue coat) down to the bare white fiberglass has been scraped off the
front end of the keel up 3 or 4 inches on each side

Coming in the St. Mary's inlet is a piece of cake. There are ranges to
use and the water is deep and has a lot of buoys. The only problem is
a multitude of shrimp boats all of which appear to be heading toward
us.

I start calling the Tiger Point Marina, but they don't answer. I try
the cell phone and it won't even call. I try the bag phone and it
rings and rings with no answer - even the emergency number. I try the
radio and again no answer. Eventually, someone whom I apparently
talked to last night comes up on the radio and advises me that Tiger
Point is chock full and have stopped answering the phone, and tells me
a couple other marinas to try.

So I call on the bag phone to Fernandina Harbor Marina. He says that
they don't take reservations, but that he's sure they can accommodate
me. they put us on the west side of dock #2. We have a hard time
getting into that dock because we are port side to the dock and the
boat won't back over that way

While downloading e-mail, I hear about an accident that happened in
the anchorage here last week - a tug hit and sank a sailboat that was
anchored either in or very close to the channel (a no no). I don't
think that the boat had an anchor light either because they were
having electrical problems. One of the guys on board got out with no
injuries. The other was killed. The tug was fined for not having a
lookout.

Things that go wrong - First 21 Days on the ICW
 

On Thu, 09 Aug 2007 09:27:36 -0400, Gogarty
wrote:

In article ,
says...


On Wed, 8 Aug 2007 12:23:36 -0400, "Wilbur Hubbard"
wrote:

There was a time, a more wholesome time, when sailors didn't think it
was cool to tell the whole world about their inadequacies, their
mistakes and their lack of sailing skill.

And you have never had any foul ups on your boat?

If not I'm pretty certain that the boat has never left the bath tub.

We learn from our own mistakes, and from others honest enough to admit
them. Since you've never reported any of your own, what can we
assume?

Don't feed the troll. As for Rosali, keep it coming. Very instructive.

Second that. I always appreciate somebody pointing out the ways
things go wrong. That's gives us more chance to sidestep the same
predicaments.
Thanks, Rosalie.

--Vic

Things that go wrong - First 21 Days on the ICW
 

"Vic Smith" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 09 Aug 2007 09:27:36 -0400, Gogarty
wrote:

In article ,
says...


On Wed, 8 Aug 2007 12:23:36 -0400, "Wilbur Hubbard"
wrote:

There was a time, a more wholesome time, when sailors didn't think
it
was cool to tell the whole world about their inadequacies, their
mistakes and their lack of sailing skill.

And you have never had any foul ups on your boat?

If not I'm pretty certain that the boat has never left the bath tub.

We learn from our own mistakes, and from others honest enough to
admit
them. Since you've never reported any of your own, what can we
assume?

Don't feed the troll. As for Rosali, keep it coming. Very instructive.

Second that. I always appreciate somebody pointing out the ways
things go wrong. That's gives us more chance to sidestep the same
predicaments.
Thanks, Rosalie.

--Vic

And it makes you feel better knowing your chronic screw-ups are also
experienced by others who are just as inept as you are? Have you ever
considered that side-stepping one predicament may end you up in another
predicament that's even more dire? When sailing you don't react; you do
things proactively if you want to be safe and if you want to sail
problem free. You have a plan based on the consensus of the right way to
do things and you take advantage of the successful experiences written
about by others.

Stop dwelling on failures and screw-ups. Consider your very own
situation and do what it takes to avoid any and all screw-ups. It's a
matter of reading the right way to do things. There are thousands of
books published that will tell how to do things right. Only a moron
would rather read about how to do things wrong. The Beasley's and those
idiots on Flying Pig are accidents waiting to happen because of their
lackadaisical attitudes.

Your similar attitude tells me you're no sailor. Probably a girly-man as
well as all the others who like to read tales of woe and pat themselves
on the back thinking, "I'm a screw-up myself but not nearly as bad as
those idiots. They make me feel good about myself." Sad.

Wilbur Hubbard