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#1
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Background: We bought our 1977 Sea Ray SRV two weeks ago. She has a new
bilge pump and steering cables; while the steering cables were installed we had the bellows checked and the engine compression tested (both were fine). She has a fish finder, VHF radio, flares, running lights, PFDs, fenders, lines, etc. Saturday: Six hours of sleep -- I flew in from Houston the night before -- and I was setting up my laptop to check the marine weather report. We decided to pack for Chicago even with SCA's, but we wouldn't go out until they were cancelled. By the time we were ready to go out to the boat the SCA had been lifted. First stop: St. Joseph/Benton Harbor. After cruising for 2 hours in choppy water we were ready for a break. As we entered at 2pm, we heard a loud horn. I looked around, wondering what I had done wrong, but then the bridge went up. My SO laughed at my paranoia, not for the last time. There are public tie-ups along the St. Joseph river, next to a park, and we had a nice macaroni/crab salad. My SO fed the ducks and made our poor lab sit still while 20 ducks surrounded her. Finally the excitement was too much and she took off. Getting in and out of the boat was worse for me than the lab. The "no wake" zone is apparently advisory along this section of the river. Further, while I may not be afraid of heights, I do get uncomfortable with the thought of falling. Climbing into the boat from the river bank requires a lot of agility, and watching the bow bob up and down made me slightly dizzy. However, I sucked it up and got on. That's when the horn blew for the bridge. Next stop: New Buffalo. We pulled in for gas, and while we were embarrassingly inept, we did not cause anyone any harm. We met my GF's brother, who's office is nearby, and tried to get the Michigan game on the radio. Just as well we didn't. We left a little before 4pm. We noticed that we were basically due East of Chicago, so we decided to forge ahead straight across (we don't have a GPS, but we do have a compass). This wasn't difficult because the lake was relatively calm, we were going with the weather, and because we could see the John Hancock building almost right away. I had asked my GF to make a marina reservation the week before, but she scoffed at me, noting that it was the off season. We found that a few miles offshore we had cell service -- or so our phones said -- but that they didn't work. Nextel said "restricted service" and Sprint just said "calling...." We found Navy Pier and cruised around it. I was exhausted, not having shared driving duties with my SO, selfish of me, I know. She took over the driving, resentful that she didn't get to do it out on the lake. We headed down to Burnham harbor and the it was much calmer. I called the marina and they had no transient slips. I refrained from mentioning that it was the off season, and instead asked where we could go. It was about 7pm eastern, and night was approaching. Two marinas were closed, but Diversey had a slip for us. I gave him all my information, and after I hung up my SO asked, "how much is it?" I didn't know. We pounded up the coast behind a 39' Sea Ray who ended up going to the same harbor we were, and in fact docked next to us. Getting into the harbor was tricky because you could only do it at certain times (one way channel -- I was glad I didn't know it), and it makes an "S" before going under a low, fixed bridge. I followed the Sea Ray in front of me without thinking about it and we were idling under the bridge in a badly needed calm. I loved these docks -- they were floating and had cushions all around. Two boats per berth, and I turned into B-58. No matter how I tried, she wanted to dock at B-57, though. I figured we could pull her over to the other side of the dock and I cut the engines. The boat who had just come in, in B-59, assured us that we were in B-58, so we tied up, plugged her in, and took our lab and ourselves to the nearest comfort station. My SO is a big ER fan, and we were only a block from St. Joseph hospital, so that's where we went. We saw the lights go on in Chicago's skyline while eating our dinner. 86 Kts for the day, according to the fish finder. I slept on a boat for the first time since 1983. Not bad. In the morning we enjoyed the view, took in a couple of walks, had some bagels and checked the weather. "1 foot or less" -- yeah! We left Chicago and decided to head East North East. The idea was to go straight to South Haven, but without a chart or GPS or any significant landmarks I wasn't sure this was feasible. My GF yielded the helm outside the harbor, and we headed ENE at first. The waves got larger and steeper and shorter, and I began to get nervous. Apparently I'm not the most pleasant person to be around when I'm nervous, so she sat in the back for the ride across the lake. The waves got steeper and shorter. Every few minutes we met a wave I could imagine my buddy surfing on, one I thought would come up to his shoulder. We pounded back and forth -- the waves were completely unpredictable. They sprayed the bow and windshield. I can't say they exactly washed across the bow, but the bow was wet, dammit. The phrased "tossed about like a cork" came to mind more than once. In fact that thought sat down and had lunch, and started to unpack. It wasn't like waves which come at a regular direction and frequency, it was like they were mostly coming at me from ahead, but every now and then they'd come abeam -- you know, just to mess with what was left of my mind. Never aft, though, which I suppose is some blessing. The steepest, worst waves seemed less serious if I was heading ESE, so that's the way I headed -- plan or no plan. My GF pointed out that this would just take longer. She was inappropriately relaxed, I thought. And appropriately ****ed at something I said. She claims we never "caught air" but there was one time that the bottom dropped out from under us - at only 7 knots and we fell, thud, into the trough. The bow to stern rocking wasn't nerve racking, but our beam was rocking a good 30 degrees, at times, and this frightened the bejezus out of me. Oh, we're not sure how much gas we'd used -- we're not used to the gauge and we'd only filled up twice. Last time was 5 gallons an hour, but we spend an hour round-trip idling between our dock and the lake, so it's hard to say how much was at idle and how much was at cruise. The gas gauge only works if you're still for some time, and then the difference between Full and Empty are only vague guidelines. This crossing was more frightening and tense than my first marriage. Fortunately it was much shorter. About 3 hours of... excitement... I saw something to the south east. I didn't care what it was -- I was heading for it. I had brilliantly left our binoculars in our car. It was a barge. Eventually I saw the power plant at Michigan City and headed into the harbor. As I got closer to the harbor the waves settled down and I was able to plane the last few miles. I was trying to figure out how to get gas at a crowded gas dock on a narrow channel filled with boaters trying to get in and out of the channel. I was tired and hungry and the gas lady says pull up here... so I get lined up and she says oh these guys are leaving and then some other guys are leaving and I can't get any turning room because the channel is full of people moving around and I hit a really nice Sea Ray at the dock next to the gas pump, scratching the back. As I filled the tank I watched two guys going to look at the boat, talking on cell phones, etc. etc. My hands were shaking, my blood sugar was lower than our gas tank, and my arm was sore holding the gas hose. I guessed 50 gallons, and we filled up with 50.6. Heck, we had 20 more gallons -- I could have gone back to New Buffalo. I sat in the back, basically in shock, and insisted that my GF take us back. The water was glassy smooth and we cruised past New Buffalo and St. Joseph. Three beers, two candy bars and some sourdough bread into the trip from Michigan City the engine made a weird noise (I'm sitting right on it) then sounds somehow throatier. When I smell oil burning I entered the cabin and asked my GF to check the temp. She turned off the engine immediately. The water pump belt had broken and we were adrift. This wasn't bad, because we were about 1/2 mile off shore and about 2 miles north of St. Joseph. I called the Coast Guard, and after assessing the situation they put out a "vessel in distress" call. After all, there was no immediate danger (not blocking a lane, quiet wind, low waves, 66 feet of depth, not drifting), and sooner or later we were going to make it in. They wanted me to anchor, but I refused. I don't know how to anchor! My faith in people took a turn for the better when a couple from St. Joseph offered to help us almost immediately. They were in a 27' Skipjack, and refused any payment. My GF has just learned a square knot, and was delighted to see it work to connect the lines between our boats. As we idled back to harbor, it occurred to us that we had nowhere to go once we got there. We started calling marinas, but this late on a Sunday afternoon we had no luck. The good Samaritan asked the Coast Guard, and Sea Tow answered that they would look at us in their dock at Pier 33. On the way back the Coast Guard kept asking us questions, so I got to play with the radio ("Copy that", "Roger", etc.). That was fun. They kept calling me "skipper", but I was feeling like "dildo". Docking a dead boat is usually difficult, but somehow we slid into the dock better than if we were driving. My GF got us a ride home, and we had some chips and salsa on the back of the boat waiting for either our ride or for Sea Tow to come back. The ride arrived, so I radioed Sea Tow, who graciously let us remain tied up overnight (like they had much choice). Today we have to fix the boat. |
#2
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Are you for real? I mean Dionysus is the patron God of the Greek Stage.
This would lead me to believe your writing is a work of fiction, designed for trolling. Assuming you are for real and these events did indeed take place, CONSIDER YOURSELF LUCKY. Between you experience and equipment, if you were prepared at all, you were only prepared for a short trip under ideal conditions. Lets look at how this could have gone, from bad to worse: You could have been delayed getting to Chicago, forcing you to wander in an unknow harbor at night looking for a dock. Without any charts, or knowledge of the area, you could have just as easisily ran across a shoal either on route to your destination, on route back home or from the course you took to minimize weather. Speaking of course changes, what would have happened if you reached shore with no facilities to tie up at? It seemed that you were taking a course to avoid weather but had no idea what layed ahead. Fog could have set in en route and with any changes of course then what? Your no longer on a course to get you to a known harbor. Even if you stayed on course, you can no longer see ANY visible landmarks. Your engine could have died 1/2 mile with the winds blowing hard ashore, without a GPS how can someone get to you in a timely manner? Without anchoring how were you going to keep your boat off the rocks? Your engine could have died in the middle of the lake. If you did have communication, how would anyone find you without a GPS. Big water, small boat, get it? A GPS is sooo inexpensive for what it does that I wish it were mandatory USGC equipment. I'm happy to welcome new boaters into what I deem is a wonderful community. I'm glad things worked out for you, and I'm glad your girl friend are safe. But I do hope you thanked your diety (greek or otherwise) and have learned some lessons to avoid not only the problems that you encountered on this trip, but the problems you avoided, by good luck. On Lake Erie, we have a term for boaters who go out ill prepared, assuming that thing will not go wrong, or if they do someone will come along and help them out, that term is STATISTIC. Bob Dimond In article , wrote: Background: We bought our 1977 Sea Ray SRV two weeks ago. She has a new bilge pump and steering cables; while the steering cables were installed we had the bellows checked and the engine compression tested (both were fine). She has a fish finder, VHF radio, flares, running lights, PFDs, fenders, lines, etc. |
#3
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I don't like this story.
Obviously questionable weather, no charts, no GPS, an unfamiliar boat, no experience including knowledge of anchoring or ability to maneuver in tight quarters, no spare parts ... you didn't even bother to fill up the gas tanks. You end up in trouble (what a frickin' surprise) and react by going into shock and pouring beer into yourself. Thank God for the CG and for helpful boaters but it's distinctly unfair of you to put yourself out on the water in that situation almost guaranteeing that you're going to need people to help you. And you never mentioned if you're going to pay for the scratch on that guy's boat. Has it occurred to you that if you lost that belt when you were out in the rough the story may have had a different ending? cripes. "Dionysus Feldman" wrote in message ... Background: We bought our 1977 Sea Ray SRV two weeks ago. She has a new bilge pump and steering cables; while the steering cables were installed we had the bellows checked and the engine compression tested (both were fine). She has a fish finder, VHF radio, flares, running lights, PFDs, fenders, lines, etc. Saturday: Six hours of sleep -- I flew in from Houston the night before -- and I was setting up my laptop to check the marine weather report. We decided to pack for Chicago even with SCA's, but we wouldn't go out until they were cancelled. By the time we were ready to go out to the boat the SCA had been lifted. First stop: St. Joseph/Benton Harbor. After cruising for 2 hours in choppy water we were ready for a break. As we entered at 2pm, we heard a loud horn. I looked around, wondering what I had done wrong, but then the bridge went up. My SO laughed at my paranoia, not for the last time. There are public tie-ups along the St. Joseph river, next to a park, and we had a nice macaroni/crab salad. My SO fed the ducks and made our poor lab sit still while 20 ducks surrounded her. Finally the excitement was too much and she took off. Getting in and out of the boat was worse for me than the lab. The "no wake" zone is apparently advisory along this section of the river. Further, while I may not be afraid of heights, I do get uncomfortable with the thought of falling. Climbing into the boat from the river bank requires a lot of agility, and watching the bow bob up and down made me slightly dizzy. However, I sucked it up and got on. That's when the horn blew for the bridge. Next stop: New Buffalo. We pulled in for gas, and while we were embarrassingly inept, we did not cause anyone any harm. We met my GF's brother, who's office is nearby, and tried to get the Michigan game on the radio. Just as well we didn't. We left a little before 4pm. We noticed that we were basically due East of Chicago, so we decided to forge ahead straight across (we don't have a GPS, but we do have a compass). This wasn't difficult because the lake was relatively calm, we were going with the weather, and because we could see the John Hancock building almost right away. I had asked my GF to make a marina reservation the week before, but she scoffed at me, noting that it was the off season. We found that a few miles offshore we had cell service -- or so our phones said -- but that they didn't work. Nextel said "restricted service" and Sprint just said "calling...." We found Navy Pier and cruised around it. I was exhausted, not having shared driving duties with my SO, selfish of me, I know. She took over the driving, resentful that she didn't get to do it out on the lake. We headed down to Burnham harbor and the it was much calmer. I called the marina and they had no transient slips. I refrained from mentioning that it was the off season, and instead asked where we could go. It was about 7pm eastern, and night was approaching. Two marinas were closed, but Diversey had a slip for us. I gave him all my information, and after I hung up my SO asked, "how much is it?" I didn't know. We pounded up the coast behind a 39' Sea Ray who ended up going to the same harbor we were, and in fact docked next to us. Getting into the harbor was tricky because you could only do it at certain times (one way channel -- I was glad I didn't know it), and it makes an "S" before going under a low, fixed bridge. I followed the Sea Ray in front of me without thinking about it and we were idling under the bridge in a badly needed calm. I loved these docks -- they were floating and had cushions all around. Two boats per berth, and I turned into B-58. No matter how I tried, she wanted to dock at B-57, though. I figured we could pull her over to the other side of the dock and I cut the engines. The boat who had just come in, in B-59, assured us that we were in B-58, so we tied up, plugged her in, and took our lab and ourselves to the nearest comfort station. My SO is a big ER fan, and we were only a block from St. Joseph hospital, so that's where we went. We saw the lights go on in Chicago's skyline while eating our dinner. 86 Kts for the day, according to the fish finder. I slept on a boat for the first time since 1983. Not bad. In the morning we enjoyed the view, took in a couple of walks, had some bagels and checked the weather. "1 foot or less" -- yeah! We left Chicago and decided to head East North East. The idea was to go straight to South Haven, but without a chart or GPS or any significant landmarks I wasn't sure this was feasible. My GF yielded the helm outside the harbor, and we headed ENE at first. The waves got larger and steeper and shorter, and I began to get nervous. Apparently I'm not the most pleasant person to be around when I'm nervous, so she sat in the back for the ride across the lake. The waves got steeper and shorter. Every few minutes we met a wave I could imagine my buddy surfing on, one I thought would come up to his shoulder. We pounded back and forth -- the waves were completely unpredictable. They sprayed the bow and windshield. I can't say they exactly washed across the bow, but the bow was wet, dammit. The phrased "tossed about like a cork" came to mind more than once. In fact that thought sat down and had lunch, and started to unpack. It wasn't like waves which come at a regular direction and frequency, it was like they were mostly coming at me from ahead, but every now and then they'd come abeam -- you know, just to mess with what was left of my mind. Never aft, though, which I suppose is some blessing. The steepest, worst waves seemed less serious if I was heading ESE, so that's the way I headed -- plan or no plan. My GF pointed out that this would just take longer. She was inappropriately relaxed, I thought. And appropriately ****ed at something I said. She claims we never "caught air" but there was one time that the bottom dropped out from under us - at only 7 knots and we fell, thud, into the trough. The bow to stern rocking wasn't nerve racking, but our beam was rocking a good 30 degrees, at times, and this frightened the bejezus out of me. Oh, we're not sure how much gas we'd used -- we're not used to the gauge and we'd only filled up twice. Last time was 5 gallons an hour, but we spend an hour round-trip idling between our dock and the lake, so it's hard to say how much was at idle and how much was at cruise. The gas gauge only works if you're still for some time, and then the difference between Full and Empty are only vague guidelines. This crossing was more frightening and tense than my first marriage. Fortunately it was much shorter. About 3 hours of... excitement... I saw something to the south east. I didn't care what it was -- I was heading for it. I had brilliantly left our binoculars in our car. It was a barge. Eventually I saw the power plant at Michigan City and headed into the harbor. As I got closer to the harbor the waves settled down and I was able to plane the last few miles. I was trying to figure out how to get gas at a crowded gas dock on a narrow channel filled with boaters trying to get in and out of the channel. I was tired and hungry and the gas lady says pull up here... so I get lined up and she says oh these guys are leaving and then some other guys are leaving and I can't get any turning room because the channel is full of people moving around and I hit a really nice Sea Ray at the dock next to the gas pump, scratching the back. As I filled the tank I watched two guys going to look at the boat, talking on cell phones, etc. etc. My hands were shaking, my blood sugar was lower than our gas tank, and my arm was sore holding the gas hose. I guessed 50 gallons, and we filled up with 50.6. Heck, we had 20 more gallons -- I could have gone back to New Buffalo. I sat in the back, basically in shock, and insisted that my GF take us back. The water was glassy smooth and we cruised past New Buffalo and St. Joseph. Three beers, two candy bars and some sourdough bread into the trip from Michigan City the engine made a weird noise (I'm sitting right on it) then sounds somehow throatier. When I smell oil burning I entered the cabin and asked my GF to check the temp. She turned off the engine immediately. The water pump belt had broken and we were adrift. This wasn't bad, because we were about 1/2 mile off shore and about 2 miles north of St. Joseph. I called the Coast Guard, and after assessing the situation they put out a "vessel in distress" call. After all, there was no immediate danger (not blocking a lane, quiet wind, low waves, 66 feet of depth, not drifting), and sooner or later we were going to make it in. They wanted me to anchor, but I refused. I don't know how to anchor! My faith in people took a turn for the better when a couple from St. Joseph offered to help us almost immediately. They were in a 27' Skipjack, and refused any payment. My GF has just learned a square knot, and was delighted to see it work to connect the lines between our boats. As we idled back to harbor, it occurred to us that we had nowhere to go once we got there. We started calling marinas, but this late on a Sunday afternoon we had no luck. The good Samaritan asked the Coast Guard, and Sea Tow answered that they would look at us in their dock at Pier 33. On the way back the Coast Guard kept asking us questions, so I got to play with the radio ("Copy that", "Roger", etc.). That was fun. They kept calling me "skipper", but I was feeling like "dildo". Docking a dead boat is usually difficult, but somehow we slid into the dock better than if we were driving. My GF got us a ride home, and we had some chips and salsa on the back of the boat waiting for either our ride or for Sea Tow to come back. The ride arrived, so I radioed Sea Tow, who graciously let us remain tied up overnight (like they had much choice). Today we have to fix the boat. |
#4
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Suggest at earliest opportunity:
1. Sell boat to someone who will take the usage of same more seriously and with proper respect for the responsibilities involved. 2. You and your GF take up Dominoes or some equivalent to occupy your weekends. |
#5
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Quite a story. Glad to hear that it ended with both of you safe. As
someone who only been boating of rthree seasons I can appreciate that you wnat ot use the boat for it's intended pupose. Many just keep them tied to the dock. That said, you really need to bone up on the minimum saftey requirements. Anchoring, while not leagally required, is one of the primary saftey items, after pfds, on any vessel. You should practice your anchoring technique before attempting another long trip. As for a Boating Safety Course - try to take the USCG Auxilarry course before takeing a power squadron cousre. I've taken both and found that the USCGA Course had more info on how to handle your vessel. Good luck, Sandy K. |
#6
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