Lucky to be alive???.....

[Adam F]

Im sure the details will be discussed in great depth over the coming few days, but the trip for Blue Warrior and Splash-Out will be remembered for ever in the minds of the skippers and crew.

 

We launched from Kimmeridge (maiden slip for both boats) at 7.00am on Sunday morning - we forecast was was 2-3 W, building 3-4 W, dropping 2-3 W all day.

 

James was keen to target the bass after catching some small joeys, so we headed just off Chapman's Pool to troll live macky for a while....James and I had a bass apicece of 4lb and 5lb respectively.

 

We then got down to the job in hand and headed west to the Lulworth Banks in search of Ray. BW tried Adament Shoal, 10 Fathom Bank and Lulworth for a couple of huss (best 10lb to James) and hoards of doggies and pout. SO stayed put and PJ had a 13lb Huss (nice fish!) as well as dogs!

 

At 3pm, we decided to knock the ray fishing on the head and head back to Kimmeridge for the bass - on arriving, the wind had grown legs to a F5 - but it wasnt too bad, so we had a few trolls - James took a 5lb bass. We then realised the swell had grown, the wind had swung SW and numerous 20 - 30' rollers were breaking over the inshore reefs - so we headed home......

 

On arriving at Kimmeridge bay, it looked as though surfing the rollers home was the only way in, so we took a deep breath and went for it. We waited until the 1st 'set' of rollers had passed, then full throttle for the slip.......

 

20 yards from the slip I realised the rollers had caught us up, so I banged the wheel hard left and full throttle, bow into the rollers - BW took 6/7 20' rollers like this before they subsided - the boat was heavy with water and the bilge working overtime.....then I took my chance between sets and headed flat out for the slip - james and I jumped out and held BW against the heavy swell....

 

'SO' however had not faired so well, she had taken a MASSIVE swell broadside and James and I looked upon in sickening awe as we saw the Alaska 500 roll 80 degs. sideways - how she didnt roll I will never know - she then managed to get to the slip - but things now got worse....

 

The heavy swell picked BW up and smashed her onto the rocks taking chuncks from the hull each time - my new engine also took a hammering....meanwhile SO was picked up by a huge swell and depositied some 15' up the slip on the concrete, leaning sideways.

 

We were all panicking.....2 ribs arrived all in the 'same boat' and working as a team, we winched SO across the concrete (ouch!!) ripping the hell out of the keel in the process and snapping the winch strap.

 

It took a big wave and 5 people to free BW, she has several chuncks from her underside - she then went on the trailer OK.

 

Many shaking hands, trembling lips, thank you's to those who helped, benefit of hindsight....the list goes on, but one things for sure - it will be a day that will stay in our minds forever!!!...

 

Oh!...and I AM NEVER LAUNCHING FROM BL&%$DY KIMMERIDGE AGAIN!!

[JIMBOB]

Just been haveing a closer look at the photos close up on the telly that i took of splash out riding the swell just before we came in, They look huge! and they were the small ones, Il post them on here tomorrow.

[Paul D]

Bloody hell Adam, I was wishing I had been able to go earlier today - now I am glad I didn't ( Can't bear to imagine how the Orkney would have fared ).

 

At least you all walked away from it, that's the main thing.

 

Will Splash Out and BW be OK for the Weymouth trip ?

 

 

[Maverick Martin]

Adam

 

Sorry to hear about your unplanned adventure but things do go tits up on occasions and it sounds like this time they were very bigs tits.

 

It may be no consolation but cuts and grazes on gel coat are relatively easy to patch up, ego's and pride may take a little longer. All you can do now is reflect on what happened, draw your conclusions as to how you were put in this situation and perhaps learn a few lessons.

 

At least you are all here to tell us the story.

 

Martin

 

[Newboy]

At least everyone are safe and sound.

 

Better luck next time.

 

I would be gutted if my boat took such a battering, but at least it shouldn't be too difficult to fix.

 

 

[shytalk]

speaking to a weymouth skipper tonite he commented on the swells today they seem to be a result of the atlantic storms we have had this week, it was a suprise to the professionals so its no suprise that it caught a few people out and with kimmeridge being open to the sw it gets the worst a lesson learned no doubt

[Newboy]

So generally in this type of situation, what is the best course of action?

 

Do we stay just off land and wait for the swell to die down?

[Coddy]

Hi Adam

 

Sorry to hear of your returning trip problems.

 

Whilst I have never experiance such large swells I did have problems getting the boat on the trailer at Eastney slip once.

 

With the tide and swell plus the extra swell from passing boats we had hell of a time keeping the boat straight and on the trailer.

 

I hope the knocks and bangs on the gel coat are not too deep, I have used 'Marine Plastic Padding' to great effect on small nicks and scraps. It is easy to mix and goes off hard quickly, however doo leave it a day or two to properly harden before sanding down.

 

Hope the new engine was not too badly knock around as well, might be worth checking the mounting bolts.

 

Seems like ou might have some work to do before your next trip

 

Regards

Coddy

[Swainiac]

Guys, in this situation, what is the best plan of action?? Try to head for deeper water, or continue with the planned recovery? Apart form the loose articles in the boat which may shift, does the skipper point the bow into the swell and push back out??

 

Hope all is well Adam, if repairs are needed, and you need to construct a platform to secure the boat off the trailer for any reason, I have loads of scaffolding that you are welcome to use to construct bracing for BW, and likewise to Bob.

 

Regards, and glad you're safe and well, Rich

[Paul J]

I guess that was the question?

 

Do you push back out into a worsening sea and risk being left high and dry by a dropping tide or do you go through what we did on the slip?

 

All i can say is you don't get much time to think about it when your right in the middle of it and going sideways down a wave.

[Adam F]

Hindsight...what a wonderful thing!

 

Talking to Bob afterwards we should have done the following:

 

Stopped outside the bay in the rough, but not breaking waves to discuss our plan of action. ALL donned lifejackets, a massive mistake made by all. Set out our game plan to give each other plenty of space, and how to approach the slip. Also had a contingency plan if it got too bad to abort, and make a slow, but safe passage to Weymouth, the trailers could then be collected later.

 

It has certianly made me think twice - the sheer force of the sea is uncomprehensable.

[Afishionado]

So generally in this type of situation, what is the best course of action?

 

Do we stay just off land and wait for the swell to die down?

YES!

 

The nearer one gets to the shore the more the swells will group together and turn to cresting waves.

 

One option might have been heading into Chapmans Pool and hunkering down at anchor to wait untill the swells died down (probably the next morning).

 

But the GOLDEN RULE is NEVER EVER head for the shore if there are steep rollers going into it, ALWAYS opt for sea room and depth of water under the keel.

 

Mad Mike

[great white]

Glad to hear that you all got ashore safe and sound in the end.

 

An amazing report in the light of all that excitement.

 

I am sure you have all learned many lessons that go beyond any powerboat course teaching notes.

 

Sitting in an office in the dry is not the place where the decisions had to be made, but the decision to put your lifjackets on should have been unanimous and almost instinct.

 

we all continue to learn all the time so lets hope that we can all learn something from this. [ARE YOU READING THIS BOYS?]

 

ONCE AGAIN VERY GLAD IT TURNED OUT SAFELY. boats and engines can be fixed bodies take longer.

 

If you need and contacts for repairs call me.

 

Charlie

[Maverick Martin]

Hi all

 

Guys, in this situation, what is the best plan of action?? Try to head for deeper water, or continue with the planned recovery? Apart form the loose articles in the boat which may shift, does the skipper point the bow into the swell and push back out??

 

My thoughts on what Adam and Bob should have done is as follows:

 

Stood offshore to asses the situation

Put on life jackets

Looked at tide table to see when there would be more water inshore (more water smaller breakers possibly)

Contacted the coastguard for a weather report to see if it was going to improve.

If not then perhaps decided to go to Weymouth (nearest safe port) my preferred option.

 

It was muted that fuel might have been an issue for one boat as Weymouth was 12 miles away. In this instance they could have still gone to Weymouth after informing the coastguard of the situation. When or if the boat ran out of fuel the buddy boat might have had some spare, if not and the first boat did run out of fuel he should drop anchor and contact the coastguard again to ask for assistance. As the coastguard had already been informed he would be ready to assist pronto. The safety of the crew must be paramount the boat must always come second.

 

All the above is easy with hindsight but after seeing the photos posted by James I don't think I would have attempted to take my or any other boat in there.

 

 

Martin

[Adam F]

I couldt agree more Martin - the things you listed were ALL discussed once safely back ashore, and given the chance again, I think we would have all handled it very differently.

 

The combination of the unknown, a new port, a new slipway and very misguiding swell, bottom contours etc, made it very difficult. Once we had committed it was hard to reverse our decision.

 

Many, many lessons were learnt (the hard way) and hopefully it will give all involved some insight into boat handling / skippering in the future.

[Guest Guest]

Personally and having given this some thought. after looking at the photos

 

lifejackets would have been on before going ashore anywhere

 

I would have considered taking the boats to lulworth cove where I could have checked out the landing site and either taken a cab to get the cars or just waited for the tide to change to the flood. then checking the weather prior to deciding where to get the boat out.

 

I would not have taken any boat into that beach yesterday.

 

I would rather get home very late than take that decision. even if late meant a night in lulworth at anchor or a tow home by the RNLI.

 

A call to Portland CG may have been required as that area is very bad for mobiles and its important to let someone know what is happening prior to the shit hitting the fan or the wives starting to phone around.

 

20/20 hindsight is a great thing.

 

No intention of rubbing salt in your wounds or agrivating any injured pride

VERY GLAD YOU ARE ALL SAFE

 

charlie

[great white]

Not logged on last time oops.

 

The other point I missed is that a trip into lulworth/weymouth and a call to other members of the Club would without any doubt have got you all the assistance you needed.

 

I for one would have happily driven over to act as a taxi from the cove or weymouth rather than read about the danger involved and the damage to your boats.

others with tow hitches could have helped collect trailers.

 

Always happy to help boaters in peril, especially mates

 

Charlie

[Paul D]

Has made me think a bit as well. Personally I would have had a lifejacket on ( mainly because I am a bad swimmer ! ).

 

The fuel element though is what I was thinking of. If I had been out there ( and I almost was going to go, but thank god didn't ! ) then I would have had insufficient fuel to get to Weymouth. Now off to buy a second fuel tank so plenty of spare fuel is onboard in case the need arises

 

Also, speaking for myself, but I suspect the same applies to others, I am used to launching / retrieving from sheltered slipways ( ie. Wick / Lymington and to a lesser degree Baiter ) but launch/retrieve from an exposed slipway is evidently a different ball game.

 

Same as Charlie says with regard to no problem getting in car and helping out if help is needed in the future ( indeed I chatted to Adam at around 12:00 before the shit hit the fan ). I was on call anyhow

 

[Maverick Martin]

I would agree with Charlie and Paul, a phone call and I would have gladly driven around to pick up/drop off or whatever was needed. That is a benefit of belonging to a club of like minded peeps

 

Martin

[Adam F]

Guys - thank you for the advice, and offer of assistance - it is all very much appreciated, and as Martin says - one of the benefits of belonging to such a great club, and also making some very good mates in the process.

 

I have just booked myself in for the VHF course in 3 weeks time - this weekend really bought the need to be competant on the VHF, home to me.

 

The lifejackets were a massive mistake as I have mentioned before.

 

Other than that, inexperiance was the reason for heading towards the beach - we didnt know what to expect, - we bloody do now!

 

As a strange twist of coincidence, I only had one letter delivered this morning as opposed to the usual 10/12 - it was from the RNLI, asking for a

[Coddy]

Hi Adam and all

 

For those who feel unsure on what to say and HOW to put a Mayday or Pan Pan call out over a radio I have a downloadable instruction sheet on my web site.

 

http://fishing_boats.tripod.com/

 

Click on the side menu for "Safety on a boat" and scroll down.

 

Once downloaded you can edit the form by adding your boat name etc on to the form.

 

What I have done is printed the form out then took it to a photocopier and shrunk it down from A4 to A5 then laminated it.

I have then tapped it on to the helm position so that anyone can see and read it.

 

Remember it may NOT be you who uses the radio in an emergency but a novice!

 

 

Hope this helps some

 

Coddy

[Afishionado]

What excellent advice Coddy. Particularly the point that it may not be the skipper who is making the call.

Some skippers feel they need to keep every thing within their control, but fail to think that it may be them who has fallen overboard leaving the 'crew' not knownig what to do.

When ever I have had guests on my boats I have always shown them where and what thing are and asked them to take the con. I find that is far more comforting than keeping them in the dark.

 

Mad Mike

[Paul J]

It would have been useful on the day for the crew to be talking on the radio ( between boats) while the skippers held on to the wheel. In those conditions it would have been impossible for the skipper to do both.

 

Having said that, staying upright was difficult enough let alone staying near the radio.

[Afishionado]

Paul J confesses.........Having said that, staying upright was difficult enough let alone staying near the radio.

 

Ah well p*ssed as a newt again eh Paul?

 

Mad Mike

[oysterboats]

as all have said a hard lesson to learn ihave been caught out there once by the tide one of my fellow club members had invited us to go from there in our boats, so all preperations being done we towed two boats down there mine being a 21 footer launching was fine and we set off after lunch the guy was not heard on the vhf anymore so about five we headed back in , to find there was no water for 8 to 10 feet below the slip and as you probably found out there is a large lip at the bottom of the slip as like yourselves we found the people there were all quick to help and a 4x4 came to our aid also we found out why our x buddy was no longer on the radio he had gone home and not told us, but having said all this kimmeridge can be an excellent place to fish but no fish whether on boat or shore is worth risking your life for, and no matter how much planning you think you have done ,something can always go wrong .so my tip for the day is if something doesnt feel right look right head for home and go another day.