Monday, May 07, 2007

The Tillerman's Challange

Tillerman has laid down a challange to the boating bloggers around the world http://propercourse.blogspot.com/ , to write a piece about our most embarassing moment afloat. My problem is that I just don't know which one to pick.
Now it could be the time when I was a cadet and trying to tack up against a flood tide on the river Crouch trying to make the start of a race. Having run aground in the putty for nth time I stood up in the boat and shook my fist at the heavens and let God have it, only to discove my RE teacher standing on the seawall and hearing every word!

Or it could be the time I was roll tacking up the shore and left it to late to stand up and couldn't get myself off the windward deck and rolled the boat into windward!

Or the time I missed the toe straps and fell out the boat, in front of the club!

Perhapps the best embarrasing time was about 25 years ago when I was crewing in a GP14 which was rather old, it had old sails and a wooden mast. It was a breezy day and at that time my morals were not too hot. I suggested to the owner that if he put LOTS of tension on the rig the boat would go better and if it was too much tension then the mast might break and then it would be possible to claim on the insurance for a new mast! As I said, at the time my morals were not so hot and its not something I would suggest today.
So we went racing and it was very lively, however half way up the first beat there was an almighty bang, the rig goes slack and the boat is settling in the water! The rig tension had broken the hog and shoved the mast through the bottom! The boat was a complete right off! The insurance did pay up and with it my friend built a new GP14 from scratch in his garage and painted it in his Church! Yes, he was (and still is) a Church of England Vicar!

4 comments:

merrifie said...

Wow! That is "LOTS" of tension on the rig... At least it was well balanced... I like the missed hiking straps story. Why do things like that seem to happen in front of others? Encourages humility, at any rate. Is the Vicar still a friend?

Tim Coleman said...

Oh yes but I haven't seen him for some while.

Zen said...

I vote for the missing strap falling one. Now that would be funny, in front a club I do not care who U are.

Tim Coleman said...

My crew was not too impressed!