Seaworthy Lass Moderator





Join Date: Oct 2008 Boat: Bestevaer 49

Posts: 14,381 Boat: Bestevaer 49

Re: I Need a Ride to Bermuda Quote: BlackOak Originally Posted by



Saturday night? SHEAR TERROR...winds at 15 to 20 knots, seas 4ft - 7ft, cloudy. There I was...zero sailing experience, zero open ocean experience, old boat I knew almost nothing about, being tossed around like a ceasar salad on the waves. All I could do was sit down in the middle of the sole and get religion. This little tempest went on for about 15 hours, and moved my little boat all over the place, sideways, thissaway and thattaway, till I realized, this was my time to die, and it would be here in the open ocean...why I cried...why did i do this stupid faking idiotic thing to get in a boat and go into the ocean, all alone, out in the middle of nowhere. This all night long, and into the morning did I plead, cried, screamed, beg God for mercy. I call the coast guard on the VHS and said...will someone PLEASE help me! Where are you at...and all the normal details, vessel name, long lat, description, name, how many people on board...and all the time I just asked Where is LAND...I need LAND!! I was weak, sleep deprived, in total terror. The CG guy said, "You are 85 miles from Ft Pierce, and 35 miles from Hommasass" I asked where is hommassas, CG says...due east..u gota a



For ALL you romantics that want to go a-sailing in ships..stay the fak on land! Cause being out there all alone being tossed around, with no place to go is the most terrfying situation you will ever imagine!!!



I am taking a week here to piddle around on the boat and practice some, and hopefully get my nerve up to go back out there. Just a quick update. I left St Marks with Fort Pierce as a destination saturday morning in my seafarer, motored and sailed a little along the way, but the sailing part was only with the jib , as I could easliy take it down if bad weather came up. Saturday day was nice an pleasant, lite winds out of the north east sea at 1 to 2 feet...nicely motoring along.Saturday night? SHEAR TERROR...winds at 15 to 20 knots, seas 4ft - 7ft, cloudy. There I was...zero sailing experience, zero open ocean experience, old boat I knew almost nothing about, being tossed around like a ceasar salad on the waves. All I could do was sit down in the middle of the sole and get religion. This little tempest went on for about 15 hours, and moved my little boat all over the place, sideways, thissaway and thattaway, till I realized, this was my time to die, and it would be here in the open ocean...why I cried...why did i do this stupid faking idiotic thing to get in a boat and go into the ocean, all alone, out in the middle of nowhere. This all night long, and into the morning did I plead, cried, screamed, beg God for mercy. I call the coast guard on the VHS and said...will someone PLEASE help me! Where are you at...and all the normal details, vessel name, long lat, description, name, how many people on board...and all the time I just asked Where is LAND...I need LAND!! I was weak, sleep deprived, in total terror. The CG guy said, "You are 85 miles from Ft Pierce, and 35 miles from Hommasass" I asked where is hommassas, CG says...due east..u gota a compass ? yes I do..he said go east. I turned the boat due east....35 miles and 17 hours later...dark again, cold north wind, seas 2 to 4 feet, clear night..as I watched the last rays of the sun sink into the west...crab pot bouys ahead for as far as I could see, i dodged them all...ah a light in the distance..I headed for the light and LAND...depth finder beeping..7 ft.....I got a 5ft draft .....beep beep beep...6ft. Dropped anchor , 10 miles due west of the hommasssa river. I went to bed , CG called me and ask my position, just as I dozed off...I said I was anchored, gave him my lats/longs...he said great, be sure you have ALL your nav lights on, I said ok and went to sleep..or tired to go to sleep...chain locker rattling, squeeks and moans from the boat, fish flopping, and every few seconds it felt like someone was yanking the front of the boat real hard. Tried to sleep, but only short cat naps maybe 5 or 10 minutes long. Thought I heard people talkin on deck ...jumped up the stairs and only the wind rattling through the riggins was there. Around 5am this morning, I go to crank up the motor...batteries FLAT...nothing....short end of the story...called tow boat, an 12 hours and $1050.00 later, here i sit in Crystal River at Petes Pier tied to the dock . At least I can get a decent nights sleep.For ALL you romantics that want to go a-sailing in ships..stay the fak on land! Cause being out there all alone being tossed around, with no place to go is the most terrfying situation you will ever imagine!!!I am taking a week here to piddle around on the boat and practice some, and hopefully get my nerve up to go back out there.



Best of luck! Oh, BlackOak, thank you so much for sharing (I must say I haven't laughed so much in ages). You have a potential career as a comedy writer. Seriously though, I think this is really what all the newbies out there that post "I have never been sailing, but want to buy a boat and go around the world" need to read. I dont think it sounds like you were ever really in danger , just miserable. Don't let the experience put you off. A little more time on the water and skills learned will stop this awful experience reoccuring. The fact that you are trying to get your nerve up to sail again is a sign of your great potential. I would strongly suggest you get someone with some experience on board to show you the ropes, then experiment yourself with short day sails Best of luck!

Unveiling Bullseye strops for low friction rings

"To me the simple act of tying a knot is an adventure in unlimited space." Clifford Ashley

"The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears or the sea." Isak Dinesen __________________