S/V Catharsis

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

VIDEO: Hampton to Poquoson

Testing out the New Camera, short little video, hopefully more to come.

So I'm going to share a little story with you of something I did wrong while out sailing last Thursday that could have very likely caused my death. Here in Virginia we have had a rough winter, and a few days have been favorable. I decided to go out on a lovely day and anchor overnight and head back the next day, no rush cool calm and collective. The weather was a high of mid 60's both days, and the wind was favorable.

I headed out solo and stated my northern trek up the Chesapeake bay heading from Hampton to Poquoson where I would anchor. I had jacklines set up and had just purchased an inflatable offshore PFD with built in harness, as I was not going to go solo without a harness, no matter what the weather was like. I arrived at the channel at around 4:00pm an dropped the sails, turned on the motor and began to travel down the channel, towards the anchorage. A large barge was heading up the channel, so I steered clear out of the channel and all of a sudden came to a stop. I had gotten my propeller wrapped up in a fishing net that was not properly marked, and quite long.

Now here comes the part where I was stupid. I have unlimited towing with Boat US. Rather than calling them, I tried to use a boat hook to lift the net up and cut it, however I only got one side cut free. I then decided to inflate my dinghy and try to cut it away that way and examine the propeller to see if I could somehow untangle it. I brought the dinghy around and tied it up to the stern cleats. I climbed down and tried to cut the net free.

What I did Wrong:

I decided to be lazy with tying the dinghy up to the stern, it was loose, and the sailboat was bouncing on the waves. As I was climbing onto the ladder to get back into the sailboat to call the tow boat (which I should have done all along), the dinghy drifted, I slipped and fell into the water. The water had to have been 45-50 degrees, if not colder. I immediately activated my inflatable PFD and had luckily hooked my harness into the boat in case I had fallen in (This is what I did right). The sad part was that the boat was bouncing on the waves with considerable force.

I was in the cold water for 30-45 minutes before I was able to pull myself up on the ladder, which took all my remaining strength. I could not get into the dinghy which I tried do to the PFD getting in my way, and I wasn't taking that off. One of the major problems was I couldn't feel my feet or my hands, and on the ladder this was a major problem. I then stripped down naked, dried off and wrapped up into 2 sleeping bags to warm up. Gradually I did, called towboat US and was cut free and towed to docking.

What I'm glad I did:

Before getting into the dinghy I had called my cousin and told him of the situation. I have faith that he would have hopefully called the coast guard, but by then it would have been too late.

I'm glad I had worn my inflatable PFD and harness.

What I wish I had:

I wish I would have had a portable VHF radio clipped to my harness, I would have called the coast guard and hopefully would have been rescued without being in the water for that long.

Conclusion:

I know what I did was wrong. After taking so many solo sailing precautions by using jacklines and a harness, I was lazy in tying up the dingy. I also should have never done this alone. I should have called towboat US, especially since I have unlimited towing. I'm lucky to be alive. I did have a mild case of hypothermia, but luckily my army training kicked in, an I was able to treat myself appropriately.

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Maiden Voyage

Finally, fair weather in the state of Virginia. We have been getting hit with one of the worst winters I've seen. Luckily, I think we are on the edge of spring. I called my cousin up (the one whom I bought the boat from) and mentioned that their was nice weather forecast for Monday and Tuesday, with temperatures for Monday in the low 60's and Tuesday in the low 70s. He agreed to head up and we planned to sail out, anchor overnight and sail back the next day.

Motoring out of the channel

My day started Monday about 4:00am when I headed out. I grabbed some breakfast, gassed up my truck and headed to Hampton. I couldn't wait to get underway on my newly purchased boat, that I acquired months ago and have yet had a chance to sail her. Once I reached Hampton, I stopped at Walmart and picked up some beer, soda, snacks, and some stuff to make some sandwiches (in which I didn't even make). I arrived at the boat before light, and began to load stuff on Catharsis, re-arrange items and wait for my cousin to arrive. Once he arrived, I helped him load up his belongings, we started the engine and went over everything on the boat. Soon, we were underway. It was an amazing feeling, even just motoring out of the channel into the bay. Today was the perfect day he told me, the wind was light, the water was calm, a perfect day to learn to sail, not necessarily the best conditions for sailing. Our plan was to sail to Fort Monroe, which was a short ways away, but with light winds we averaged anywhere from 2-4 knots, occasionally hitting 5. The autopilot wasn't working, so it was strictly wheel sailing. The weather was a bit chilly, but luckily I was layered up, the only thing cold being my hands. Along the way we saw many of the war ships leaving the channel, along with several ships transporting cargo. A couple hours later, we were in the empty anchorage at Fort Monroe.

Me at the Helm, enjoying a peaceful day.

The anchorage was peaceful, aside from the highway leading into the tunnel. We ate snacks, talked about all sorts of things, and then my cousin made chili for dinner. After eating and drinking a beer, I laid down for a nap....in which I didn't wake up from until the next morning. Something about the water makes one tired. The night was fairly chilly, but not unbearable in the least bit. The next morning, I woke up and my cousin was already awake. I wasn't too hungry, but he insisted on me eating at least an apple. I'm glad I did. We waited until a early afternoon to leave, due to wanting to arrive at high tide to avoid running aground. The reason I was glad I ate something, was I didn't think the anchor would be nearly as heavy as it was pulling it up, but finally managed to get it up and cleaned off. We departed, and had to move out of the way of a few large ships utilizing the channel. Tuesday was a lot warmer and I was grateful for that. Today, was a bit slower averaging around 2-3 knots with light winds. We finally arrived back at around 4:00pm on Tuesday. It was a great day, and I'm glad that I got to go out finally.