Davy Jones' Locker

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I drowned yesterday, around 3 in the afternoon. I never had a chance. The water in the middle of the harbor was just too cold, the current too strong. Without a life jacket, in choppy water, I died without any hope of rescue. I sank without a trace.

They found my sailboat this morning, smashed on the jetties. A shoe, the contents of a cooler, a foam cushion, my truck at the boat ramp with the empty trailer. Tomorrow I will wash up in the marsh. Early next week I will be buried. I was 47.

No one will ever know what happened.

The gust of wind that capsized my small sailboat came up suddenly. The choppy harbor waters just off Ft. Sumter lifted the boat, negating the rudder for that crucial moment and the boat heeled over. I knew full well that the next moment the boat would turtle, mast down. I would not be able to right it again if that happened, with full sail I simply lack the weight. I dove under the sideways boat and came up by the keel. Just as the boat was about to turtle, I grabbed the centerboard and hung on. Bracing my legs on the slippery hull, pulled as hard as I could, using the centerboard as a lever. The boat began to right itself.

The wind was still gusting and the jib was still sheeted. This meant that the boat would begin to take off the moment it was righted. It was crucial that I get on board, grab the tiller and loose the sheet (allowing the sail to flap) before the boat tipped again. I was already exhausted. I had fought against the current for the last two hours, trying to avoid being washed out to sea. The hours of fighting the waves, the gusty wind and the heavy current had already taken a huge toll.

As the boat righted, it began to take off. I grabbed for the side. And whiffed. The boat left me, alone, in cold choppy surf with no life jacket, no one in sight and absolutely no chance of survival. I would never be able to reach the rapidly moving boat in the ripping current. I was screwed.

Except.

The rudimentary outboard I had recently installed stuck off the stern by a foot. I grabbed it as the boat pulled away. Another few inches and I would not have made it. If the boat had flipped going the other way, if I had not bought the motor, if I had slipped.

As it is, I feel like I was hit by a truck. My ribs are badly bruised from belly flopping into the boat. Every part of my body hurts. Even after the righting of the boat, I had another 3 hours of hard sailing against heavy current, but I made it back. It was a 10 hour ordeal. The rest of the trip I was totally on edge at every change in the wind.

I should be dead. Seriously.

Wear a life jacket. In fact, you can wear it on this boat. It’s for sale.

2

Whoa! That is quite a story and good reason to be wearing your lifejacket. You are a lucky man and I am happy to hear it turned out ok in the end. I’ve done a bunch of sailing too, and have had to flip a capsized small boat. It’s definitely work. And I’ve had the sucker flip right back over because I could not release the sail fast enough. Argh!

My father actually managed to sink his sailboat one time. He hit something underwater (never knew what it was) and the hull cracked near the keel. Sucker was sailing great until he happened to go into the cabin and find it a foot deep in water and rising fast. And, yep, he was out sailing solo. Luckily everything turned out fine as he was able to flag down some help and get the boat towed in to shallow water before it went completely under.

Sailing is still an adventure!

3

Wow! What a story!

Swear it’s true and not just a sailors tale?

Man you are one lucky SOB. I hope you bought yourself a lottery ticket. Days don’t get a lot luckier than that, mate.

(When I was a young woman I dated a boy who’s Dad kept a boat at the yacht club, and one chilly day they took me out sailing with them, my first time. I had visions of ‘yacht club’, but once on the boat and out from the dock, they put me in a harness that was tethered to the mast. Now, they had a lot of good reasons that they explained to me; water very, very cold, I weighed maybe 100 lbs at the time, the boat wasn’t quick to turn about, I had no experience, and so on. Still, it was such an indignity to be the only one on the boat on a leash, it ruined my experience truly. I was miffed at boyfriend, for not mentioning this to me beforehand, for about a week. Looking back now, I believe I may have to thank him, if I ever run in to him again!)

4

My boat was the first on the scene within fifteen minutes of a man who fell out of his little aluminum boat after he and his buddy had spent a few hours fishing just outside of Long Beach harbor in California. They were returning through the mouth of the harbor when a small wave bumped him overboard sending him instantly to the bottom. His friend told me that the man had his hand on the outboard’s throttle when he went over and he didn’t flounder or even come to the surface at all. Straight down. This happened at noon on a clear sunny day with sea state zero.

All we recovered was a singe cheap sandle.

He floated up a few days later half a mile away.

This event was on the news a year and a half ago. No alcohol, no drugs, no shenanigans, no wreckless boat handling. A float coat would have saved his life.

You are lucky to be alive.

5

Glad you made it out OK! Nothing like a little adventure to make a man feel alive! :slight_smile:

6

Welcome back to the land of the living. You burned a kitty.*
I’ve righted a 12’ sail boat, in still water, I know how hard that was. I can’t imagine doing a bigger one. I guess when your life is on the line, you do what has to be done.

  • My husband and I have both had near death episodes over the years, he’s a firefighter, once a smoke jumper, I’m just a clumsy idiot. Every now and then we count how many of our nine lives we’ve burned.
7

Nice story. That’s happened to me a few times, the last was in Thailand with a capsized catamaran. Once I righted it I lost my grip on the hull and made a mad grab for the rudder. Only just made it and using my body as a rudder turned her upwind and then climbed back aboard. What were you sailing?

8

Welcome back to the land of the living. I’ve lost someone overboard and it must be the loneliest thing in the world.

9

Add99: yours is the second-best description of this situation I’ve ever read.

But don’t be too disappointed. First place goes to Victor Hugo, chapter VIII of Les Miserables. (Check it out. It’s quite brief.)

Of course, yours has the tremendous advantage of being true (we assume). I doubt Mr. Hugo was ever actually in the situation (which is what makes him such a great writer).

Congrats on your hard work and great luck, and thanks for the hard-won advice.

10

Ghaaa buaahah baaaa!!! No more! The water freaks me out and especially the ocean. Do you know what LIVES in there? Everything! Big dark fast things with lots of teeth and eyes. Like a doll’s eyes!

**And why the fuck weren’t you wearing a life jacket!?! **Are you insane?? People die all the time due to misadventure because they Don’t Think It Can Happen To Them. Wrongo, bucko! I wear a life jacket even in shallow clear water, because I can’t swim far at all. I don’t have the strength to swim more than 50 feet before I’m exhausted. And forget just staying afloat, I can’t do that either.

11

I don’t have a sailboat, just a ski-boat, but I’m only up here on Lake Marion, not all that far away. I’m surprised you were even out in a sail boat this past week! The wind has been horrible, and the gusts even worse!

Anyway, I’m glad you made it home safely. Boating safety is no joking matter, especially if you are alone on board. Some people think I’m crazy, but when I’m alone, I actually do keep a jacket with me (tethered), and I keep the cord to the kill-switch on my wrist, just in case!

12

The boat is identical to this:

The outboard is this:

I wasn’t wearing a life jacket because
a) I am a strong swimmer
b) I bought the cheap orange POS to meet requirements
c) I am obviously stupid

Thing is, when I violently hoisted myself over the transom, I heard a distinct crack, like a broomstick cracking. I thought it must be the tiller, at least I’m aboard, but now I will be rudderless and adrift. Strangely, the tiller was just fine. I think that crack was my ribs.

13

Don’t be too hard on yourself. Life is full of risks and sometimes weighing the risks/benefits will lead to your doing something that is an “acceptable risk”.

I am not a strong swimmer, yet I am on water often, alone, in my kayak. I do not wear a life-jacket because I feel it interferes with my enjoyment of the activity.

I have yet to make these beginner mistakes while on the water!:smiley:

14

I also used to think, meh, what’s the worst that can happen?
I’m a strong swimmer, etc.

Maybe seeing too many news stories of non-drunk people getting swept away or sinking made me change my mind about wearing a PFD. Even though I ALWAYS make my kids wear them, I claimed immunity.

Anyway, I saw some DNR guys wearing these, and they just made sense.

Low-profile, comfortable, self-inflating if you go in the drink…what’s not to like?

I wear one canoeing and it doesn’t interferewith movement at all.
I highly recommend one.

15

Dude, I know tons of strong swimmers. They don’t try and swim across Charleston Harbor at the drop of a hat.