Association Forum - Chickened out of sailing today

Assn Members Area · Join

Home.

Association Forum

Ships Store

Cruising

Racing

Technical Tips

Photo Gallery - New

Boat Search - Updated

Manuals & Brochures

Swap Meet

Links

Officer Flag Line & Staff

Bylaws & Constitution

Members Area

Join the Association

Notice:
The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.

Association Forum

Username:	Password:
Save Password
Forgot your Password?

All Forums

Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

General Sailing Forum

Chickened out of sailing today - what's into me?

New Topic

Topic Locked

Printer Friendly

Author

Topic

TakeFive
Master Marine Consultant

Member Avatar

2272 Posts

Initially Posted - 10/22/2011 : 16:27:26

Sorry to vent here, but I need to get it off my chest.

My wife and I went down to the boat today and had all the covers removed, the electonrics hooked up, the motor primed, everything all ready to go. Black clouds appeared to the north, wind picked up much more than forecast, whitecaps out on the river, and it suddenly felt cold and threatening - not the pretty fall day that I had hoped for. I chickened out. We put everything away, burned the gas out of the carb, and left. Of course, as we were leaving the skies cleared and it looked beautiful again.

Something just didn't feel right, and I've been "out of sorts" all day. It's been a rough week - my marina neighbor decided to move his runabout into the vacant half of my double slip (instead of 2 slips up where he normally goes), failed to secure his boat properly, and his aluminum rub rail (no rubber) abraded the starboard edge of my transom all the way through the gel coat (I noticed it for the first time today); I hit a deer Thursday night (barely tapped it, very minor damage to the hood, but still visible); and someone screwed up the water purification system at work yesterday, ruining several weeks' worth of experiments, including samples that were to go to customers.

All this stuff just freaked me out and made me feel like bad things might happen if we went out.

Hopefully I'll get up the nerve tomorrow. I'd really like to get another sail in before hauling.

Rick S., Swarthmore, PA
PO of Take Five, 1998 Catalina 250WK #348 (relocated to Baltimore's Inner Harbor)
New owner of 2001 Catalina 34MkII #1535 Breakin' Away (at Rock Hall Landing Marina)

Edited by - TakeFive on 10/22/2011 18:51:18

dmpilc
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
4593 Posts

Response Posted - 10/22/2011 : 17:11:12

Sometimes when the sky looks like that, I'll just go out for a motor ride. Then we don't have the issue of putting sails away, but still get out on the water.

Edited by - on

JimGo
Admiral

Members Avatar

USA
962 Posts

Response Posted - 10/22/2011 : 18:26:23

I had been watching the weather forecast and thinking "wow, Saturday would be a GREAT day to be out!" We had other plans that kept that from happening, including going to a pumpkin patch. It was cold, felt like it would rain any minute, and we occasionally had some very "interesting" gusts. I was glad I hadn't tried to find an excuse to get out there, and I think you may have made the right choice, although Dave's suggestion wouldn't have been bad, either.

Edited by - on

TakeFive
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

2272 Posts

Response Posted - 10/22/2011 : 19:01:16

I'm glad I wasn't the only one who noticed the weather was a little disappointing.

We did the motoring thing last Sunday, and it was cold and damp. We didn't want a repeat of that.

One benefit of having the boat so close is that when we bail out we haven't wasted much driving time.

Edited by - TakeFive on 10/22/2011 19:02:06

Joe Diver
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
1218 Posts

Response Posted - 10/23/2011 : 09:25:28

If you get a bad vibe...don't go.

Nothing wrong with that....in anything and everything we do in our lives.

Edited by - on

Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

Djibouti
9076 Posts

Response Posted - 10/23/2011 : 09:53:50

Bum week! But going to a marina and hanging out on a boat is never a waste of time--even if the boat never leaves the dock. What's better--sitting on your couch, eating potato chips, and watching the Eagles lose?

Just the fact that the boat is there makes me feel better about life.

Edited by - Stinkpotter on 10/23/2011 10:00:27

Tomas Kruska
Admiral

Members Avatar

Czech Republic
522 Posts

Response Posted - 10/23/2011 : 11:04:40

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Stinkpotter
Just the fact that the boat is there makes me feel better about life.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

True, true

Edited by - on

PCP777
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
1225 Posts

Response Posted - 10/23/2011 : 17:26:34

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Joe Diver
 If you get a bad vibe...don't go.

Nothing wrong with that....in anything and everything we do in our lives.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"> That is good advice. Saturday afternoon was about as good as it gets, 85 degrees and a steady 15 to 18 knots. Paced around with a c-27 and another c-25. Saturday night weathered a pretty severe storm in the slip...have some leaks to take care of.

Edited by - on

Nautiduck
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
3704 Posts

Response Posted - 10/23/2011 : 17:46:56

Geez, I hope that guy next to you pays for the repair! If your inner self is telling you something - listen.

Edited by - on

TakeFive
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

2272 Posts

Response Posted - 10/23/2011 : 19:26:51

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Nautiduck
 Geez, I hope that guy next to you pays for the repair! If your inner self is telling you something - listen.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
I told him that his boat was not secured properly, and that it had rubbed against my boat and caused some damage. He thanked me for resecuring his boat, but he seemed to ignore my comment about the damage.

The damage is only about 1" long and 1/16" wide, right on the edge of where the transom meets the hull, at exactly the same height from the waterline as his rub rail. It's very small. I can touch it up, though it will take me a couple hours because I always try to do these things right.

I have real mixed feelings about this guy. He has been helpful, including helping to secure others' boats during Irene, which may have prevented them from damaging my boat. He insisted that I borrow a couple extra fenders (which he collects when they float off other boats) from him, saying I wouldn't owe him anything if I lost them. (Turns out I did lose one of them, and he didn't make a stink about it.)

Despite being helpful, he also plays loose with the rules. He got caught hooking up AC without paying the extra fee for electric ($500 fine for that). His water cooled reverse cycle AC didn't have enough capacity for hot summer days, so he secretly hooked up the marina's city water to it (gives an extra boost vs. the 85 degree river water), costing the marina a $2000 water bill in July (obviously they caught him when they came looking for the source of the water leak). He refuses to leash his dog, which crapped on the docks one too many times, and when another boat owner complained to his girlfriend she gave him a bunch of lip. So last week the marina gave them 2 weeks notice to get both of their boats out (the 35 foot Chris Craft with the AC and the runabout with the aluminum rub rail).

I know I'll never get him to pay for repairs, and he'll disappear before we resolve the issue, so all things considered I decided it's not worth the aggravation to hassle him about the damage. I just want him gone.

I also moved my boat across to the other side of the dock to get away from his boat.

Edited by - TakeFive on 10/25/2011 05:44:35

Joe Diver
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
1218 Posts

Response Posted - 10/23/2011 : 20:59:22

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by PCP777
Saturday night weathered a pretty severe storm in the slip...have some leaks to take care of.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Wow...you were in the boat? They hit my house last night around 1:30 or 2:00 I think. Woke me up several times with howling winds, driving rain, hail and LOUD thunder from the frequent and CLOSE lightening strikes. Those were some "good uns" last night....

Edited by - on

OJ
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
4382 Posts

Response Posted - 10/24/2011 : 09:35:41

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by RhythmDoctor
 . . . he also plays loose with the rules. He got caught hooking up AC without paying the extra fee for electric . . . so he secretly hooked up city water costing the marina a $2000 water bill in July . . . refuses to leash his dog, which crapped on the docks one too many times . . . another boat owner complained to his girlfriend she gave him a bunch of lip . . . I know I'll never get him to pay for repairs, and he'll disappear . . .
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Sad when one party impacts the enjoyment of others.

Taking the long view - what goes around eventually comes around in one shape or form. Not that I would ever wish this on anyone - but a couple got real snotty with one of the marina workers in the spring of 2010 . . . a few months later the husband drown swimming off the boat.

Edited by - OJ on 10/25/2011 15:50:50

PCP777
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
1225 Posts

Response Posted - 10/24/2011 : 11:30:55

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Joe Diver
 <blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by PCP777
Saturday night weathered a pretty severe storm in the slip...have some leaks to take care of.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Wow...you were in the boat? They hit my house last night around 1:30 or 2:00 I think. Woke me up several times with howling winds, driving rain, hail and LOUD thunder from the frequent and CLOSE lightening strikes. Those were some "good uns" last night....
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

LOL, yeah, the wife and I had tied up the boat in the slip after an awesome day of sailing, our son was asleep in the V-berth and we had some of that Chocolate Whipped Pinnacle on board, just hanging out, having a cocktail or three, chatting, I had a nice cigar going and then one of our neighbors told us a storm was coming, pulled up Doppler on the Android and saw the storm coming from the north, we decided to ride it out. The lightening show was impressive as the front came from the north. I doubled up on all my dock lines and went and secured the jib sheets on my friend's C-27, checked his dock lines and enjoyed the show. When the storm blew in we went down below, used a tarp and bungees to help cover the leaks and part of the cockpit. The next morning we took everything off the boat, reorganized it, sent a bunch of stuff with us home, installed new stereo speakers and fixed things here and there. Overall a great weekend on the boat!

These are the best days for sailing here in Texas, either now or Spring.

Edited by - on

MattL
Admiral

Members Avatar

USA
990 Posts

Response Posted - 10/24/2011 : 21:27:18

Yesterday the younger boy, Everett now 11, and the elder, Casey 14 and I went to pick up their Winmill from the lake. On the way home we stopped off at KFC. While in line the guy in front of us started talking to me about his day the day before and that day.
He started at 5 AM on Friday and drove his carpet cleaning crew from Mariposa, in the foothills on the way to Yosemite, to Watsonville, on the coast bewteen Monterey and Santa Cruz. Coming home he realized tha one of his crew left some important equipment there. Then heading down Pacheco Pass into the San Joaquine Valley the tread on his tire came off. the spare was flat. He kept on going with a tire with no tread in his van full of workers and equipment. Stopped off in Los Banos for dinner and left his cell phone at burger king. Made it to Maraposa some time in the night. Next morning couldn't find anyone open to fix the tire, had to drive it down to the valley to get fixed then back for his equipment.
Hey, my day of running around to get my boat out wasn't so bad.

Edited by - on

Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

Djibouti
9076 Posts

Response Posted - 10/24/2011 : 21:55:13

No matter how bad you've got it, somebody has it worse. At least your day didn't end line this:

(Note the name...)

Edited by - Stinkpotter on 10/24/2011 21:56:04

redeye
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

3476 Posts

Response Posted - 10/25/2011 : 05:39:10

Dad always said....

"Never cancel a fishin trip on account of Rain."

I've always said..

"There's never been a day that I couldn't improve by throwin out the anchor and takin a nap."

I just love being out on the boat...

Edited by - on

Topic

New Topic

Topic Locked

Printer Friendly

Jump To:

Association Forum

Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.