Since buying my first sailboat in 2007, I have had a number of events on the Water from which I have learned from. Every sailor and boater is bound to have a few. It doesn’t matter whether you sail a 40 year old venerable plastic classic or a brand new boat. Stuff breaks.
I always love to read other sailors’ accounts on incidents they’ve had and what they learned. I find it makes me a better sailor. Despite all of this, I can almost guarantee another incident is around the corner to apply what I’ve learned and to learn new skills from.
Sherine and a good friend of mine were chartering a new (1 year old?) Leopard 40 out of Tortolla in the BVI in following Thanksgiving in the BVI. We were several days in our trip and having a blast. This was my second trip to the BVI (I’ll cover my first trip in the Points of Interest section of my site eventually). We sailed from Virgin Gorda near where the Bitter End Yacht Club were to Anegada for the night where we had an excellent freshly caught lobster. I didn’t make it to Anegada my first trip to the BVI, but I was glad we made it a priority this time.
Anyway, the next morning we woke and decided make way for Jost Van Dyke, a must-do for anybody sailing the BVI. The channel into Anegada is shallow and you must pay close attention to the markers. Once we were out of the shallows. The winds were about 10-15 knots, I seem to remember. We were making good time.
I believe I was at the helm and my friend was helping with the sheets up near the helm, where they were all run. All of the sudden, we noticed that the boom disconnected from from the mast. My friend went to investigate where he found a pint which the tack of the main attached and which ran down through the gooseneck had come out. Yikes!
Being a good captain requires you to me calm under any circumstances which may arise. I can tell you that I’m certainly a work in progress after 13+ years of sailing on the San Francisco Bay…what can I tell you! Things got exciting quick, as they often do, when you encounter a situation from which you have no experience.
I can’t exactly recall the durations and all of the steps we took. Sherine took the helm and we tried to fix remedy the situation. Of course, we could have just dropped sails, anchored and called for assistance…but if you’re a sailor, this is what sailing is all about IMHO. WE CAN DO THIS!
But I believe the first idea we had, prior to finding the pin and the parts, was to put a screwdriver in place of the pin to stop the boom from flailing around. We went to the cabin to find tools.
Now, I know the Captain that checked us out told us were the tools were but given it’s not our boat, we forgot. Next time, I’ll pay more attention and even inspect the tool box to know what it had and did not have!
We got a screwdriver but I can’t remember if whether we were successful or not. I believe upon further inspection we figured out that the pin were still attached to the tack and we found the washers and the nut on the deck which, fortunately did not fall overboard.
After trying to align the boom to the gooseneck while under sail and insert a pin which was under load of the main (I was sure we were not going to do), we decided to let the main down.
Long story short, we were able to re-attach the boom to the gooseneck and continue on sailing to Jost Van Dyke.
The rest of the charter we joked about the situation and the fact that folks with far less experience could have fared much worse. When the charter ended, we told the Captain about our situation…neither was he apologetic or interested!
Things I learned:
- This is not new, but further reinforces the fact that Stuff Happens on the water and this is why it’s important to be sober (which we were)!
- Pay attention when checking out the boat…they do it for a reason!
- Fire up the engines (for safety) and drop the main.
- Stay Calm!!