Stuffing the Bow

That's a good read for all boaters. It's a scary thing to stuff the bow. Been there, done that once in the Straits of Juan de Fuca on a 45' motoryacht we had chartered.
 
Great article and having seen the original video of this particular boating accident I gained a much better respect for how it happened. While I like most others have no desire to see someone pay the ultimate price, I feel like there should be a special place/forum maintained so all newbies like myself can see and learn from them. I've been boating for over 45 years and can't ever see or learn to much. To often when someone gets into a situation like this it's to late.

Again thanks for the article.
 
I would have never imagined a boat that size on what appears to be not a huge wave would react like that. Now I'm scared to death to ever take mine to any body of water with tides. :smt009
 
Excellent article with a boat load of valuable information. Thanks for the post.
Todd
 
We picked up our brand new 37 SR in Holland and moved it to our dock at dusk in Grand Haven. The weather was iffy, but you know the routine....brand new boat, can't wait to get it home. There were big seas in the Grand Haven channel and it was getting dark. Big mistake to have brought the boat home that night. We very nearly broached two times on our way in but managed to make it. Just as I was getting into calmer waters another wave hit and I accidently hit a switch that turned off all of the lights in the helm and could not see any of the contols. We limped home, embarrassed but ok. I'll never forget that lesson.
 
JimG said:
Holy crap! Although infomative, the OP's link did not tell the complete story. The Captain gets thrown off... hangs on the side before going in the drink! Dies from his injuries. Very sad...
http://www.floridamarinetimes.com/a...Photos-Captured-of-Accident-at-Jupiter-Inlet/
Click to expand...

I saw this on the day or day after it happened as posted on the front page of CNN.com. Tragic. It looks like the captain lost his grasp, footing and balance when the boat heeled over and he went overboard.

Great article by Boattest, really enjoy and learn a lot from Capt. Steve.
 
AKBASSKING said:
....http://www.boattest.com/Resources/view_news.aspx?NewsID=4359
Click to expand...

Great article! Thanks for sharing.

The first link was on a positive note and I was amazed how well the boat handled the seas condition and how it recovered from such extreme angle.

JimG said:
Holy crap! Although infomative, the OP's link did not tell the complete story. The Captain gets thrown off... hangs on the side before going in the drink! Dies from his injuries. Very sad...
http://www.floridamarinetimes.com/articles/449/Chilling-Photos-Captured-of-Accident-at-Jupiter-Inlet/
Click to expand...

But the 2nd one brought the tragic end to the event. There's a lot to be learned from this accident.

The first thoughts in my mind are what were the errors and what could have been done to prevent them? The immediate answer that pops up in my mind is to slow down and ride the wave in to the inlet. This situation is different from Capt. Steve’s event where he said that riding the waves wasn’t an option due to long trip ahead. But, this is near shore and approaching the inlet. No reason to rush for the last 1 or ½ a mile. I’ve always knew the potential danger of inlets and approach them with caution, but this accident is an extreme case that will stay in my memory for a long time.
 
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Did some boating thirty years ago and broached badly once. No internet forums in those days to discuss with others so I didn't really know what I did wrong. I just put it down to a rouge wave. I've never seen so much solid green water come across the windshield. Four of us onboard and no one wearing life vests.:smt009 We didn't have a radio and there was no such thing as cellphones and GPS. Not that any of that technology would have helped.

I (we) were lucky back then but what irks me is that we were lucky not to have the same thing happen a few weeks ago while crashing in to the backs of waves with a following sea. My only concern was to keep the boat straight since I figured that was the reason for the problem thirty years ago. I didn't once realise that even keeping her dead straight I could stuff the bow under with such catastrophic results. This article has been a cheap lesson and I have just found a whole new respect for following seas that I should have learnt all those years ago.:thumbsup:


Terry
 
Thoughts on stuffing it in approaching seas? I've done that in 10-12 footers (not intentionally - just a little too hot off a swell). I'm guessing it's still not good, but probably not as bad as pulling that stunt in following seas? Am I correct?

Not like I want to spend anymore time in 10-12' swells. Almost sh!t my pants, being up on the bridge in that. Luckily, only about 30-40 minutes to the next inlet. There were actually 8-10' breakers in the inlet that we left, and were hearing reports of boats capsizing on the VHF all the way back to the big bay.

Parked it and drank lots of beer after that...
 
boughtabouy said:
Thoughts on stuffing it in approaching seas? I've done that in 10-12 footers (not intentionally - just a little too hot off a swell). I'm guessing it's still not good, but probably not as bad as pulling that stunt in following seas? Am I correct?

Not like I want to spend anymore time in 10-12' swells. Almost sh!t my pants, being up on the bridge in that. Luckily, only about 30-40 minutes to the next inlet. There were actually 8-10' breakers in the inlet that we left, and were hearing reports of boats capsizing on the VHF all the way back to the big bay.

Parked it and drank lots of beer after that...
Click to expand...

Large following seas and quartering seas from the back side pose more potential problems than head seas or quartering seas from the bow. We back off the rpms with big following seas but still use the autopilot. Head seas, even if they are quartering do not slow us down unless they are steep and huge.
 
Man I admire the skills and knowledge you guys have to run in tidal waters or the great lakes. Challenging and exciting. Guess its just normal for you all huh?

One of the little things I regret most in life is not taking my future father-in-laws offer to go sailing with him in the gulf of Mexico and off the coast of Florida. Could have gained valuable knowledge in sailing and reading the ocean.

Oh well, having fun with a motor on an inland lake anyway...
 
I am not going to take sides, just want to point out that the case made by Captain Steve regarding the Garlington 51 fatal accident at Jupiter Inlet is disputed by some well respected colleagues.

I am not going to point a finger to cast blame.

After reading this month’s Yachting magazine I know enough to know that what happened to the Garlington 51 could happen to anyone in the right or wrong circumstances.

Reference: “R-E-S-P-E-C-T Running inlets is serious business!” by Jay Coyle Pg 18, January 2011 / YACHTING
 
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That's some scary stuff and some great information!
I've noticed on a lot of production boats, that if you stuff the bow it drains into the cockpit where there is only a couple small scuppers. The last thing you need in that situation is a 100 gallons of sea water on board!

I think the thing to always remember is that all it takes is one bad decision or lack of attention and anyone can quickly find themselves in a bad situation. I was in a 14' aluminum boat with a finicky 1960's 10 horse Johnson outboard once. We were crabbing near the inlet to Tillamook bay (Garibaldi, Oregon). We dropped our pots and then noticed that they were moving (ropes too short). We were concentrating on trying to retrieve the pots and found ourselves between the Jettys in 8' swells that were almost breaking and stacked up by the strong, outgoing tide. My cousin had asked prior to that if he could run the boat so he was at the tiller and it was the first time he had run this boat. We were sucked out so fast we were almost to the bar when we realized where we were. I'll never know how we made it that far out without noticing the sea conditions. I told him to turn it around and get on the back of a swell and "Whatever you do don't kill the outboard!" As I was finishing that statement I heard the outboard die. That was a scary moment. It took a few pulls but he got it restarted and we made it out Ok on the back of a swell (except for our britches). We had tunnel vision on those pots and before we knew it, we were in a life threatening situation. We had life jackets but they weren't on. If we had been broached or he couldn't get the engine started we would've been sucked out to sea for sure and then thrashed by a raging Pacific Ocean. Lost a couple of pots that day but a small price to pay for a lesson learned the hard way. (sorry if this is off topic)
 
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