Aground on the Goodwin Sands!!!!! - Page 2

Jon Brooks · 28 August 2007, 10:54

Genoa,

I was not slating anyone, just showing the fine people of Ribnet what we found.
"There but for the grace of god go I"

The Goodwins are and can be very dangerous.
Anyone who goes out there on a regular basis will tell you much the same thing.
You have a safe route in and a safe route out, once there you make it up as you go along.
The banks are ever changing, they can move and change shpe in the turn of a tide.

The vessel was on the outside of North Sand Head, Wind not very strong, tide still on the fall.

Due to the fact that the sands are very clear on all charts, they carry many warnings it is very rare to find vessels on them.

The banks tend not to shevel like a beach and there can and is in many areas deep water up to about 10-15 feet from the bank.

IMHO with the sail up is the boat not just being forced harder onto the bank?
If the boat became free and was pushed over the banks it would have been in the lagoon and that is not deep water therefore compounding their problems.
This again this is on the charts.
Having said that as the banks change all the time it is not a good idea to totaly trust the chart and treat the bank with great respect and give them a wide berth!

Again IMHO if I were a sailor it is not an area I would choose to frequent with a keel of any depth.

bedajim · 28 August 2007, 12:54

Looking at the pictures the main looks like a piece of washing in the wind so I can't see it is doing much to help

Cypman · 28 August 2007, 13:03

Sorry Linda the topping lift is a thin line used to support the boom. It would need a heavier line to support additional weights/persons. Halliards, topping lifts or whatever.

Peter J · 28 August 2007, 13:45

I know very little about the Goodwin Sands so forgive me if this is a stoopid question but where ever he was coming from or going to could he not just have made a passage plan that took him nowhere near the bloody things?

When ever I go to the Isle of Wight I go around that big green bit in the middle (the bramble bank).

genoa · 30 August 2007, 13:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by genoa

- Lets have the FACTS before slating the poor foreigner! (The goodwins (especially the inside channel) are not the easiest to navigate on a yacht.

Sorry Jon,
Just reread my post and it seems the above comment was aimed at you - should have put a couple more carriage returns in ...

It's just that as a general comment we all seem to speculate a great deal without knowledge of the scenario ....

Biggles · 30 August 2007, 18:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peter J

When ever I go to the Isle of Wight I go around that big green bit in the middle (the bramble bank).

I'm very aware of this bit of mud but I still find myself getting too close to it at times. Its amazing how deceiving even really well known obstacles look safe with just a few inches of water over them. Its excellent camouflage.

timw · 31 August 2007, 22:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by Limey Linda

So why has the silly buger still got his main up ?

Oh dear, here we go again.

Usual stuff...take a photo of some poor soul suffering from a misfortune, post it and then stand back and let the "experts" heap derision and criticism on him or her from the comfort of their armchairs, happy in the knowledge that he's unlikely to know what's being said and therefore advise what really happened.

Jon Brooks · 01 September 2007, 07:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by timw

Oh dear, here we go again.

Usual stuff...take a photo of some poor soul suffering from a misfortune, post it and then stand back and let the "experts" heap derision and criticism on him or her from the comfort of their armchairs, happy in the knowledge that he's unlikely to know what's being said and therefore advise what really happened.

Ah well here we go again!!!!

Tim sits in the comfort of his arm chair and pours scourn on the members of the forum for making comments, which after all is what a forum is all about!!

By posting pic's like this we can get a broad view of what we think went wrong and how others would deal with the sittuation if it were them and then hopefully learn from others mistakes.

The day I stop learning is the day they put me in a wooden box and bury me 6' down.
Anyone who thinks they know it all is a danger to themselves and others IMHO.

Have a good day!

timw · 01 September 2007, 11:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jon Brooks

of what we think went wrong

Exactly...what you "think" went wrong.

No one has any idea but that doesn't stop certain people referring to the victim as a "silly buger" (sic)

Jon Brooks · 02 September 2007, 08:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by timw

Exactly...what you "think" went wrong.

No one has any idea but that doesn't stop certain people referring to the victim as a "silly buger" (sic)

Having spoken to the RNLI crew I know "exactly" what went wrong.

Due to an very big error of navigation the ship ran aground on a very well charted sand bank.

Like I said in an earlier post if I had a sailing vessel it is not an area I would visit and "there but for the grace of god go I"

I am not a sailor and have little understanding of how a sailing vessel works.
Am also not as expeienced as many on here but have clocked up over 1000 miles in well under 2 months, most of that around the sands.
I still and always will treat them with the greatest of respect.

Every sittuation should be treated as a learning experience, we learn form our own mistakes as we can lern from those of others.

chewy · 02 September 2007, 22:49

Poor sod ran aground, it happens!

Stoo · 02 September 2007, 23:04

Some visiting sailor left his 37' sailboat on a shoal up here last week. Ths week, it is but wee bits of fibreglass, having been pounded to pieces with a week of strong winds. A friend of mine went out to see what could be salvaged at the request of the insurers. He brought back the spars, but that was it!

The shoal in question is the Emily Maxwell reef to the west of Fitzwilliam Island. It sticks out about 2 nm from shore, never having more than about 8' of water. Why someone would go anywhere near this well-charted chunk of limestone in a deep draft sailboat amazes me.... I think he must have been using a road map to navigate...

Richard B · 02 September 2007, 23:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jon Brooks

"there but for the grace of god go I"

That's exactly the thing isn't it? Brings back memories of a couple of years ago... there we were, 9pm and fading light, 7 miles out and 2.5 ft on the depth guage in a rough sea and building... It certainly sharpens your senses!

It's one hell of a treacherous area, and if you haven't experienced it then you'll never appreciate how it feels when you need to develop a new suvival method. Suddnely your planning, your chart plotter and everything except your depth guage and your senses are no use to you at all.

codprawn · 03 September 2007, 01:50

Sounds like the Burry Estuary on a good day!!!

Downhilldai · 03 September 2007, 23:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by codprawn

Sounds like the Burry Estuary on a good day!!!

Talking of which, your hull is probably due for another scrubbing now

codprawn · 03 September 2007, 23:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by Downhilldai

Talking of which, your hull is probably due for another scrubbing now

Well overdue - looks like the barrier reef now.

May be time for a move - trying to organise my time - the weather and the tides to all line up is nearly impossible. When I go to check on the boat the tide is ALWAYS out!!!

Downhilldai · 03 September 2007, 23:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by codprawn

.... looks like the barrier reef now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by codprawn

...When I go to check on the boat the tide is ALWAYS out!!!

That's 'cos it's only in for around 4 hrs/day

.........do you want to borrow some tide tables

codprawn · 04 September 2007, 22:50

And talking of sand and landing planes etc

http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/c...&nbwm=1&bbwm=1

The RAF are now using Pembrey beach which is about 1 mile from my home port to land Hercs on - training for desert use. There is planty of sand to choose from!!!

Nos4r2 · 04 September 2007, 23:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by codprawn

And talking of sand and landing planes etc

http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/c...&nbwm=1&bbwm=1

The RAF are now using Pembrey beach which is about 1 mile from my home port to land Hercs on - training for desert use. There is planty of sand to choose from!!!

so thats why I saw one flying west along the M4 by Port Talbot on Monday. I thought he was a bit off course!

Limey Linda · 04 September 2007, 23:49

Many years ago the USAF or USN managed to land a Herc. on an Aircraft Carrier in an emergency. I know this was also portrayed in a movie but it did actually happen.
That would certainaly be a "get out the brown trousers" experience.