| Going aground can happen just as easily in your | | | | Then try to reverse off. If that doesn't work, |
| home port as when you're traveling abroad and, | | | | row a kedge anchor out from the stern in the |
| as skipper, you really need to know what to do. | | | | direction you want to go and try again with the |
| Get off the way you went on | | | | motor and winching the kedge in. If that still |
| The first time I ran aground was the first time I | | | | doesn't work, and you are on a rising tide (lucky |
| sailed in the ocean - the North Sea, in fact. It was | | | | you) wait until you've got, say, another foot of |
| just after WWII and I was a schoolboy Sea | | | | water and try again. You will almost certainly |
| Scout, sailing out of Burnham-on-Crouch in the UK | | | | succeed. |
| on what memory tells me was a ketch of about | | | | Avoid the temptation to push her off |
| 30 feet. | | | | It is very dangerous to get off and try to push |
| As we were clearing the sandbanks in the river's | | | | the boat even if you are very, very careful. A |
| estuary we scraped our way over the top of one | | | | sailor I know ran aground on a reef in Sydney |
| of them. What happened next has remained with | | | | Harbour. He was sailing alone and the boat was |
| me all my life. | | | | lightly stuck by the bow. He got out to push it off |
| The owner, who was at the helm, turned the | | | | and the boat rose to the wake of a passing ferry |
| boat and sailed back into the channel as closely as | | | | or ship, then came down and crushed him - |
| he could along the path he had taken just before. | | | | fatally. |
| As he explained later he knew he had to act | | | | An extreme example of reducing the boat's draft |
| quickly and try to get off the way he had got on. | | | | I remember an occasion when we lost track of |
| State of the tide | | | | time in a port in southern Tasmania and the tide |
| Why all the hurry? Imagine if instead of scraping | | | | ran out. When we got back to the boat we were |
| over, you are stuck. Worse still, the tide is falling. | | | | sailing, a 42 footer, it was tied up to the jetty, |
| Worst of all, it is the highest tide of the cycle. | | | | stranded. Fortunately there was just enough |
| Unless you can reverse off under engine, or | | | | water to pull her out. |
| somebody can tow you off, you might be there | | | | We pulled her sideways from bow and stern - |
| for a very long time and your boat will be in | | | | two crew members on lines at each end - and |
| danger of severe damage, even loss. | | | | had the yacht with whom we were cruising in |
| So what should you do? It is critical to find out | | | | company tow her very gently by the masthead. |
| the state of the tide as that will dictate what you | | | | This held her broadside across the stream and |
| can do, and when. | | | | minimized the depth needed to free her. It was |
| In fact, it is the single most important thing is to | | | | lucky for us it was such a gently sloping bottom. |
| know in this situation. Racing skippers would | | | | And that we had enough crew to make it work, |
| almost always know when high and low tides | | | | so the number of crew you have at your disposal |
| occur so that they can make best use of tidal | | | | can be critical. |
| flow. The cruising skipper may not be so careful. | | | | What else can you do? |
| The seaman like skipper would make a point of | | | | As you can see, we have quite a lot of |
| checking the tide as part of gathering the | | | | experience in going aground. Talk to your crew, |
| weather forecast prior to setting out. | | | | assuming you have recruited some who have |
| Use the motor and a kedge | | | | wide experience. Don't be afraid to ask other |
| In the case of most groundings the best thing is | | | | skippers how they would handle this situation. |
| to use the motor. First try to reduce the boat's | | | | Consider how you could apply their answers to |
| draft by forcing it to heel. The simplest way to | | | | your particular boat. |
| do this is to shift crew weight, even to put some | | | | Basically, be adaptive to the current situation. But |
| of them on the main boom and swing it outboard. | | | | shouldn't that be true all the time? |