What say you, sailor?

[Shamus The Brute]

There has always been "something" exciting & mysterious about the sea. ​

*Our ships are no exception.​

​

​

​

Post here anything & everything you would like to share concerning ships &/or sailing. What you may share can include ships pertaining to POTCO, but...it is not necessary.​

Non-POTCO related ships are accepted just as well. ​

​

This thread is devoted to the "beauty" of all sailing vessels &/or sailing adventures. ​

​

​

:arrrrr:​

 

[Matthew McBreaker]

I have to say this BUT I LOVE THAT MOVIE OMG i watched it the other day!

A few minths ago in baltimore they had a celebration and brought these giant pirate ships to the harbor. They were amazing! One was about 300 feet long with a huge mast but i forgot how big that was. And then the bue angels flew overhead during the celebration.

 

[Shamus The Brute]

A few minths ago in baltimore they had a celebration and brought these giant pirate ships to the harbor. They were amazing! One was about 300 feet long with a huge mast but i forgot how big that was. And then the bue angels flew overhead during the celebration.

This must be what you mean. *Thank you for informing us, Matthew.

Me thinking, I knew I should have moved closer to the ocean.

 

[Rick]

My family has a 1996 Hunter 336 Sloop - She's 33' long on deck, 11.5' in the beam, and drafts 5'6".

Last year Dad & I had both been working a lot of long hours at our jobs and hadn't had any time together; so when we both surfaced with a week off, we jumped at the chance to get out on the water. Forecasts had the wind in the 10 - 15 kt range, and a nice 2-4' swell was forecast - perfect conditions!

All was calm as we left the harbor about 4:30am, I was at the helm, and Dad was below stowing our food & beer. A pot of coffee was brewing and I could feel the wind picking up in the pre-dawn chill. As we cleared the breakwall of the harbor, we raised the mainsail, unfurled the jib and shut off the little diesel engine. Few things give me more pleasure than a sail boat quietly heeling to the wind.

A few miles out, the swell was steady and rolling, but had grown much larger, 6-8', and even though the sun was just starting to rise, the wind was well over 10kts (unusual for our area at that hour), we were moving along at 7 kts (about 8 mph) and thoroughly enjoying the ride. Dad took the helm and I went below to cook some breakfast. We ate in the cockpit, taking turns steering, and I went back below to do the dishes and use the head. During the short time I was below, I noticed the motion of the boat changing. The swell was growing larger - and steeper I noticed when I suddenly became airborne after we topped one! When I came back up on deck, I couldn't see over the crests of the swells anymore, and the wind was gusting harder. A few hours later the waves were consistently over 10', the wind was pushing 25 kts, and the port windows were in the water as we heeled over hard after each passing wave. We reefed the mainsail, and furled the jib to help the boat sail a bit more upright, and fell off our course slightly to ease the ride a bit. Two more hours brought us into the lee of the island we were planning to anchor up at, but we were still a bit off course so we had to tack a few times and work our way upwind to the anchorage where we found 3 other boats taking shelter from the unexpected weather. At 3 in the afternoon, We found our spot, dropped the hook, cracked a beer and laughed at the forecasters.

The wind continued all that day and part of our first night, but the rest of the week was beautiful. What a blast!

 

[Shamus The Brute]

My family has a 1996 Hunter 336 Sloop - She's 33' long on deck, 11.5' in the beam, and drafts 5'6".

Wow! I really enjoyed reading about your experience. Please include MORE sailing experiences you may have - Rick - whenever you have time to write about them or share with us here.

I - for one - can't even imagine the excitement involved while sailing a sloop such as yours & your father's. Basically, the "only" water available where I live include small ponds &/or lakes (if you can even call them 'lakes,' lol). So you can imagine the amount of SHIPS I come across within a year's time, lol.

Anyway, I found your story fascinating & I am glad that both you & your father did OK & are now safe.

*Thanks so much for sharing, Rick. :arrrrr:
,There is a Treason at Sea...

 

[Rick]

Glad you enjoyed it. We had a lot of fun sailing through it!

Actually, that's about as exciting as it gets. Our usual trip across the channel involves naps, reading books and dolphin watching. Sailing is usually very serene - unless the meteorologists at NOAA botch the forecast!

DISCLAIMER! DO NOT TRY THIS EVER! ​

WE WERE VERY LUCKY THAT WE DIDN'T SINK OR DIE DOING THIS!​

Back in the late '80s, my best friend and I pooled our school loans and bought a 12' Zodiac inflatable boat with a 80hp outboard motor. We had great fun motoring to spots that most surfers couldn't get to, diving & hunting in the kelp forests, fishing and camping. We had a couple of sketchy trips, but this one really stands out:

We motored the 23 miles to the southeastern side of Santa Cruz Island to surf a spot that we knew would be uncrowded and have great surf. Waves were about double the size of my avatar's and we were having such a great time, that we stayed way too long.

About a third of the way home, while we were still crossing the shipping lanes, the sun went down, and a thick coastal fog set in. We had no compass, no GPS, no radio, no line of sight to the harbor, and just enough fuel to make it home. Having no way to figure our position, we followed the swells towards the mainland, stopping every 20-30 minutes (at least we had watches!) to listen for ships, a whistle buoy (1 mile outside of our harbor), a foghorn, or crashing surf. After an eternity of motoring through the dark, we heard the foghorn - of the wrong harbor. We had arrived about 10 miles off course. But we were nearly out of fuel, so we made our way in. We found a Harbor Patrol Officer who was kind enough to give one of us a lift to the correct harbor so that we could bring the trailer there, instead of attempting to go back out in the fog. At the end of the night, we had learned quite a few valuable lessons - our voyage could have ended MUCH differently!

What we did wrong:
No Compass (both of us still carry diver's compasses in our jackets as backups)
No GPS (was VERY expensive back then - no reason to not have one now, I have one on my phone!)
No VHF radio (<-- we left a handheld unit in the truck!! Absolutely no excuse for that!)
Incorrect boat for conditions (too small, no lights, no cabin)
No fuel overage (We now use the "Rule of Thirds" - 1/3 for going, 1/3 to come back, 1/3 just in case)
Didn't stick to our float plan (left the island too late)
No brains

What we did right (not much!)
Stayed calm (panic is never the solution)
Stopped, looked, and listened at regular intervals.
Once the boat was in a safe harbor, we found a ride to the truck instead of heading back out.
Sold the Zodiac & upgraded to a 17' Boston Whaler - that boat is still in service today!

 

[Danny Rooney]

Wow! I really enjoyed reading about your experience. Please include MORE sailing experiences you may have - Rick - whenever you have time to write about them or share with us here.

I - for one - can't even imagine the excitement involved while sailing a sloop such as yours & your father's. Basically, the "only" water available where I live include small ponds &/or lakes (if you can even call them 'lakes,' lol). So you can imagine the amount of SHIPS I come across within a year's time, lol.

Anyway, I found your story fascinating & I am glad that both you & your father did OK & are now safe.

*Thanks so much for sharing, Rick. :arrrrr:
,There is a Treason at Sea...

I love hearing it too Please Do So as Shamus said Love the Enya Song

 

[Rick]

OK - one a bit less daring:

We launched at 4am from the Gaviota Pier's crane in the Zodiac (mentioned above). My gf at the time had been bugging me to go along with us, so I finally relented - I think I knew what was coming....

We were the first ones to get our boat in the water from the crane at the pier, it was still dark. My best friend & I had packed everything the night before, so as soon as we had the outboard started we began motoring up the coast to Cojo Point (the same rivermouth where Cojo Salmon come from). The swell was pretty big - about 2X overhead on the big sets. We had a blast jumping off the tops of swells on the way out, my gf seemed to be enjoying the ride too as we bumped and blasted our way through the kelp beds to the surf break. After about 45 min. of motoring, we anchored up at Cojo point. The waves were near perfection, and there were only 2 other boats there, so we had some of the best waves that the world has to offer with only a few other guys out (pretty rare for a Ventura local!). Promising my gf that we wouldn't be long, my friend and I waxed our boards, jumped into the 47 degree water and paddled away to chilly perfection, while my gf bobbed and rolled in the swell.

3.5 hours later, we returned to the boat to discover that my poor gf had become seasick about 5 minutes after we had left, and her only company were the little fish that were feeding off of her "chum" (eeewww), and a sea lion pup that thought he was going to get brunch from us - sorry little guy! My gf (a pale shade of white as it was) had turned a nice "urp it up green" color as my friend coined it. We realized her plight, seasickness sucks from what I can tell (never been motion sick), so we ate quickly, and began motoring back to the pier. My gf seemed to rally with the hard, pounding motion of the boat under power on the big swells, when compared with the rhythms of the open ocean swell while we were parked. So......

We were passing a spot called "Ranch House" - a very rare wave that only breaks once or twice a year, and it was perfect! Since my friend and I hadn't changed from our wetsuits (the boat could be a wet ride, so why change?), we elected to paddle over to the waves, once again parking my gf in the swell. We told her that we'd only catch a wave or two and come back. We lied. We surfed another 1.5 hours until we couldn't move our arms! I think that just might be why she'll NEVER trust a surfer again! The poor thing ended up chumming all the way home, even when we pulled alongside the pier to haul out the boat!

Funny thing - she NEVER asked to go on a boat trip again! - can't really figure out why.....

 

[Shamus The Brute]

My gf (a pale shade of white as it was) had turned a nice "urp it up green" color as my friend coined it. We realized her plight, seasickness sucks from what I can tell (never been motion sick), so we ate quickly, and began motoring back to the pier...

..We were passing a spot called "Ranch House" - a very rare wave that only breaks once or twice a year, and it was perfect! Since my friend and I hadn't changed from our wetsuits (the boat could be a wet ride, so why change?), we elected to paddle over to the waves, once again parking my gf in the swell. We told her that we'd only catch a wave or two and come back. We lied. We surfed another 1.5 hours until we couldn't move our arms! I think that just might be why she'll NEVER trust a surfer again! The poor thing ended up chumming all the way home, even when we pulled alongside the pier to haul out the boat!

Funny thing - she NEVER asked to go on a boat trip again! - can't really figure out why.....

You are "lucky" you arrrr ALIVE to tell this story, lol!!! *I am guessing that she was pretty angry with you & your friend (either after the boat reached the pier or a few days later after her 'urp it up green' moments). *But heck, when it comes to surfing a perfect wave I can't say that I blame you there, lol.

The most "reliable" ship in the whole entire world...​

...and it was only suppose to be a 3 hour tour! ​

 

[Rick]

lol - the failboat has ported!

 

[Hector wargull]

only been in a boyscout canoe. took me a while but i had fun.

 

[Shamus The Brute]

only been in a boyscout canoe. took me a while but i had fun.

I have only: paddled in a canoe, rode as a passenger on a steamboat (Hannibal, Missouri)...​

...BBQ/jumped off the deck of a pontoon boat, challenged myself on a waterski boat, & tried to act cool while steering a couple of different jet skis. ​

 

[Rick]

This time last year I had the great fortune of spending 10 days surfing & fishing in El Salvador (Azul Surf Club - amazing place to stay!) Every morning we could surf behind the hotel, take a ride a few minutes up the coast to Punta Las Flores (Point of Flowers - another wave), or take a panga boat (an open boat that's used for fishing / surfing) to surf Punta Mango (Point of Mangoes). The boat trips were my favorite - Punta Mango is a hard hitting rock reef that has amazing waves for experienced surfers.

The boat trips actually start on the beach at Punta Las Flores. Our favorite driver "Capitan Cheppe" is just incredible! Every morning he appears from the door of his beach house with an 80 horse power outboard motor on his shoulder. He walks across the beach to the palapas (a thatched roof on poles - some are pretty nice) where the boats are kept and attaches the motor, then the Capt., local kids, and surfers alike push the 24' panga (on a trailer) down to the 85 degree water, load the boards and a cooler full of food, water and beer. The Capt. stows everything to his satisfaction and tells us to board & stay seated.

The kids push the bow so it points out to sea, Capt. Cheppe starts the motor and slowly motors over the first few small waves - watching for a lull in the larger, 5-7' sets crashing outside. "Hang on surfers!!", he yells in English, grinning as he goes full throttle through the waves. His timing is perfect and we clear the breakers without even a drop of water inboard. Once outside, we head west about 20 miles, passing dramatic cliffs and vistas of active volcanoes and coconut palms till we reach Punta Mango, where we drop anchor just outside the surfline.

I was having a great time surfing with a few guys from Texas who had hired the boat with me. We were trading waves, laughing and just enjoying the scene when a flash of lightning and a huge BOOOOOOOOM! grabbed everybody's attention. We looked to our Capt. - he was looking out to sea at the storm, but didn't seem too concerned so we kept surfing. 2 or 3 waves later, there was another flash and a BOOOOOM! This one was much closer, and was immediately followed by another boom of close thunder.

"Surfers - Surfers Aqui!" (Surfers - surfers here!), yelled Capitan Cheppe as he began pulling the anchor line while we paddled to the boat. As we got closer we could see worry plainly on our weathered Capitan's face - not good! We got underway while one of the Texans & I lashed the surfboards to the forward bench, and Capt. Cheppe throttled up as far as he could in the big, even swell. Lightning was striking frequently now around the little open panga and onto the land. Rain began to dump on us in sheets as we motored through an increasingly nasty sea. When we arrived outside the surf at Punta Las Flores, the wind was beginning to tear apart the surf, and the lightning was nearly constant. Capitan Cheppe looked grim, instead of the easy going smile we'd become accustomed to. He only waited for a couple of waves to pass before riding the back of one nearly to shore. The kids met us with the trailer, and we probably set a new record for getting the boat under the protection of the palapa while the storm raged over our heads. We grabbed the cooler and the boards from the boat while the Capt. carried his motor back to his house.

Since the "road" to Punta Las Flores had become too slick to drive, we were stranded under the thatched roof of the palapa until it was clear enough to pick us up. We had plenty of beer for the adults, but only a few waters and two sandwiches, so we gave those to the kids. A few minutes later, Capitan Cheppe reappeared from his house with a plate of fresh ceviche that his Wife had made just for us. So we sat back in our shelter and relaxed - now enjoying the warm tropical squall overhead and talking and laughing in Spanglish about the day's adventure over beer & fish.

Bienvenidos El Salvador!

 

[Hector wargull]

who agrees that the best part of canoeing is swamping it

 

[Shamus The Brute]

...So we sat back in our shelter and relaxed - now enjoying the warm tropical squall overhead and talking and laughing in Spanglish about the day's adventure over beer & fish.

Bienvenidos El Salvador!

Rick, I cannot speak for anyone else but, I thoroughly "enjoy" reading about these adventures/experiences ye have, matey. *Keep 'em coming - my friend - & again, thank you for sharing.

who agrees that the best part of canoeing is swamping it

Depends on which part of the swamp you roll yourself out of the canoe, lol.

 

[JadeOHayes]

I LOVE your short stories, Rick! They sound so 'real', and I understand that you are a great story-teller, but actually experiencing them make the difference. You should compile those short stories as chapters of a book, and publish the book. Maybe with a title of "Wild Waves - A journal of A Surfer" or something like that.

Or at least make a website/blog where you publish your stories/experiences. I'll bet it would invite a lot of comments and be very popular.
When you did, don't forget to mention me for giving you the idea, if you hadn't had a similar idea already ...

 

[Jason O'Connell]

Wow! I really enjoyed reading about your experience. Please include MORE sailing experiences you may have - Rick - whenever you have time to write about them or share with us here.

I - for one - can't even imagine the excitement involved while sailing a sloop such as yours & your father's. Basically, the "only" water available where I live include small ponds &/or lakes (if you can even call them 'lakes,' lol). So you can imagine the amount of SHIPS I come across within a year's time, lol.

Anyway, I found your story fascinating & I am glad that both you & your father did OK & are now safe.

*Thanks so much for sharing, Rick. :arrrrr:
,There is a Treason at Sea...

dc Talk!!

 

[Rick]

J is a resident of our marina. He told me this tale during a dock party recently:

He'd owned his boat (A Catalina '30) for a few years and really enjoyed sailing and living aboard her. At one point he had a girlfriend (now his Wife) who was interested in learning to sail, so he brought her out with him often. He noticed though, that every single time she was aboard, his compass would malfunction. After a few times sailing with her, he spent $450 on a new compass. He sailed a few times while his gf was on vacation, and was satisfied that the new compass was working until....

She sailed with him after her vacation. The compass was swinging wildly, just as the other one had done. A bit frustrated, but determined to sail, my friend continued out to the islands (using the gps) where they stopped for lunch.

After lunch, his gf put her feet up on the cockpit table - the compass pointed straight at her heels! He had an idea.
So he had her walk all the way to the bow - the compass pointed North again!
She walked back, the compass started to swing!
Finally, he had her remove her shoes. He took them and held them by the compass - it pointed straight at her shoes!

"What's with these shoes?!?" He asked her.

"They have therapeutic magnets in the heel for my nursing job", she explained.

Plop! "Now they can provide therapy for the fish!" he said.
And she sailed home barefoot. I love watching the Volvo Ocean Race ( I love the open ocean races ). I found a great video that shows Telefonica (a 12M open racer) get knocked down by a couple waves. Note that the camera is mounted on a gimble (keeps it level) about 7' off of the deck - so the first wave is roughly 10' high. I love the slo-mo where the crew is hanging from their posts for a moment - that had to be fun!

 

[Shamus The Brute]

"What's with these shoes?!?" He asked her.

"They have therapeutic magnets in the heel for my nursing job", she explained.

Plop! "Now they can provide therapy for the fish!" he said.
And she sailed home barefoot. I love watching the Volvo Ocean Race ( I love the open ocean races ). I found a great video that shows Telefonica (a 12M open racer) get knocked down by a couple waves. Note that the camera is mounted on a gimble (keeps it level) about 7' off of the deck - so the first wave is roughly 10' high. I love the slo-mo where the crew is hanging from their posts for a moment - that had to be fun!

And I was about to conclude that the compass reacted this way because of her "magnetic personality," lol.

VERY COOL video btw, Rick. *Your contribution to this thread is what keeps me coming back. "Wonderful" story & thanks for sharing, matey!

 

[JadeOHayes]

He noticed though, that every single time she was aboard, his compass would malfunction.

"What's with these shoes?!?" He asked her.

"They have therapeutic magnets in the heel for my nursing job", she explained.

For a moment there, I thought this was a story about some supernatural thing ...