THEY SAY there are only two kinds of
sailors: those who have run aground, and those who are going to. I belong to
the first group and the one thing it taught me was that modern sailboats are
not easily damaged by running aground. It depends on circumstances, of course,
so that if you run onto a large shallow reef in a gale of wind, your boat could
well be pounded to bits. But what I’m referring to is the much more common
mishap of touching a sandbank or hitting a lone rock lurking just below the
surface.
My most recent encounter with a rock
occurred a few years ago when I deliberately sailed my 25-footer into a
rock-strewn area to help a fellow sailor whose boat had gone aground and got
stuck. As luck would have it, he managed to wiggle off and sail clear before I
got to him. Then, on the way back to deep water, I struck a rock at four knots.
We were all knocked off our feet and
there was a terrific clang from the aluminum mast. I hopped down below to check
the bilges, but she was not making water.
I felt sure substantial damage had been done, but when we had her hauled
out the next day there was nothing more than a hole the size of a small orange
on the leading edge of the lead keel. That blemish was soon filled with epoxy and
we were back in the water on the next tide.
Thomas Fleming Day expanded on this subject in
his book, On Yachts and Yacht Handling.
“This is a subject upon which I can
pose as a master,” he said. “If any man has been ashore more times than I have,
I should like to meet him and spend an evening comparing notes. One of my favorite
amusements is to sail into places where a man has no business to go; consequently
my boat is continually hung up on rocks, shoals and bars.
“While this is not particularly good
for a boat, it has done me no great harm, as I have gathered a lot of knowledge
and experience which, you willing, I will spread before you.
“Yachts, unlike merchant vessels are
seldom damaged by taking ground. This is because, in proportion to their weight,
they are extremely strong fabrics. A merchant vessel when loaded has little
reserve buoyancy, and when she strikes, she hits hard; but a yacht is almost as
buoyant as an empty barrel, and unless she hits with a perpendicular motion,
does so very lightly.
“Frequently, when a yacht hits a
rock it seem to those on boat as if the end of things had come; but when an
examination is made it will be found that little harm has been done.
“I once struck a rock with a small
sloop. It was blowing a strong breeze and considerable sea running; it threw me
over the wheel to land on my head in the fore end of the cockpit, and knocked
the rest off their pins. The centerboard was driven clear up and out of the
case against the cabin roof, the sloop making a jump over the stone and into
deep water on the other side.
“We all thought the boat must be badly
damaged, but as she made no water we turned round and worked her home. When she
was hauled out, the only sign of the blow was a dent in the lead keel just deep
and wide enough to hold a finger.”
The author goes on for many pages to
describe how strandings occur and what to do about them, but he ends with this
admonition:
“But better than all these
directions is the advice to keep off rocks, shoals and shore. Don’t go into places
unknown to you unless you have a good chart or your lead going . . . an ounce
of precaution in this matter is worth tons of cure.”
Today’s
Thought
He
who will not be ruled by the rudder, must be ruled by the rock.
— Isaac D’Israeli, Curiosities of Literature
Tailpiece
Outside of a dog, a book
is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.
—Groucho Marx
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