Close call (not mc related)

Sisyphus · Post by **Sisyphus** » Mon Sep 05, 2011 10:00 am

Had a bit of a close call this past weekend. For those that might be unfamiliar with what I do, I work in the "boating" business, and that kind of led into the classic yacht racing scene I've been doing a little more of over the last couple years.
This past weekend I was racing in Newport, RI for a yearly event on one of my customers' boats, a 1926 Herreshoff. Not an inexpensive item; there are only a couple of them left. Conditions were, while not extreme, taxing on both vessel and crew.
The owner, who does not show up for practice dates, will come with his entourage and steer the boat through the course on race days. He has a hard time focusing and can't seem to steer a straight line. This has been a problem in the past. I think you know where this is headed.
To make a long story short, I fell over the side and fortunately had the presence of mind to grab onto a line that I saw on the way over. After about thirty seconds of being dragged along at over 8 knots they managed to pull me back aboard like a fish. Thirty seconds is a long time when you're mostly submerged and having your pants pulled off and the guy driving the boat doesn't know what to do so he just freezes. I hit the rail on the way over and have a gigantic hematoma on my right hip. But I'm lucky, its no big deal. Compared to what happened about an hour later.
We basically bounced our boat, which weighs about 20 tons or so, off another boat. We lost one guy overboard (we got him back), another got tangled up in the rigging and we had to cut him out, we broke our bowsprit and dismasted the other boat, carrying away her mizzen as we came off. The owner, who had been driving, basically froze when he realized what he'd done and while normally that would be bad in this situation it worked in our favor because had he turned the boat up into the wind we surely would have lost our mast. It undoubtedly would have landed on people and killed/maimed some.
It was fucked up. I think the repair bill to our vessel alone will top 50K.
You can do the what-ifs all day and still it was a needless accident based on inexperience. But yet, if you can go home at the end of the weekend with all your body parts and a good story it really isn't that bad.
I obviously didn't have time during either incident to get photos (for my ride, I was too busy hanging on for dear life and for the second I was too busy shitting my pants). But I did get a couple pics of befo' and aftuh:

Befo'

Aftuh:

SpecialK · Post by **SpecialK** » Mon Sep 05, 2011 10:18 am

Really?! He doesn't show up for practice but thinks he's the captain on race day? Fuck That. You're not going out with him again are you?

calamari kid · Post by **calamari kid** » Mon Sep 05, 2011 10:27 am

Getting pantsed by Neptune does not sound like a good time. Glad you made it back to dry land.

sun rat · Post by **sun rat** » Mon Sep 05, 2011 11:22 am

calamari kid wrote:Getting pantsed by Neptune does not sound like a good time. Glad you made it back to dry land.

+1

Post by **DerGolgo** » Mon Sep 05, 2011 12:53 pm

+1 on the whole being alive thing.

That whole yachting thing sounds mighty dangerous. You should stick to motorcycling.

xtian · Post by **xtian** » Mon Sep 05, 2011 1:03 pm

were you wearing a helmet ?
good on you for grabbing the line and make it back to land.

Sisyphus · Post by **Sisyphus** » Mon Sep 05, 2011 1:57 pm

I wouldn't be surprised if he sold the boat in lieu of campaigning it next year.
And yeah, I'd go out again with him. The job pays well and I enjoy the work. This accident was four years in the making and long overdue. Now that it finally happened, we're not surprised. This event should illustrate the importance of showing up for practice, not just game day. As for me, I'm willing to let certain mistakes happen to make a point. Not that I had anything to do with this; I was doing my job at the moment. Its not like he has the luxury of being able to blame someone else.
And since he's the owner it is his boat and he can do whatever he wants. The captain and crew can only advise him. Which we did, at an increasing level of urgency and volume.
The next day there was another race but I found a spot on another boat, another former client of mine. We came in third and had a good race. While I enjoyed it, I disliked the manner of the owner there and the crew was miserable for the same reason.

Sisyphus · Post by **Sisyphus** » Mon Sep 05, 2011 4:37 pm

^ as paraphrased from Chef.

Jaeger · Post by **Jaeger** » Mon Sep 05, 2011 5:32 pm

D'oh. Glad you're not fishfood, man.

And for what it's worth, the owner is an ass -- anybody with any brains would participate in at least some of the practicing, particularly when it's a potentially lethal sport.

--Jaeger

P.S. -- I hope you get combat pay, or at least a fucking "survivor bonus."

guitargeek · Post by **guitargeek** » Mon Sep 05, 2011 5:55 pm

SpecialK wrote:Really?! He doesn't show up for practice but thinks he's the captain on race day? Fuck That. You're not going out with him again are you?

DerGolgo wrote:That whole yachting thing sounds mighty dangerous. You should stick to motorcycling.

+1!

MATPOC · Post by **MATPOC** » Tue Sep 06, 2011 5:00 am

You were racing 30 miles form here and didn't tell anyone?
I would have come to Newport to watch!

Sisyphus · Post by **Sisyphus** » Tue Sep 06, 2011 5:32 am

Yeah, I know, but since its work I don't have a lot of time to socialize with non-boat folks. I'm with the boat all day and dinners every night, then a little drinky-poo in the evening (okay, a lot of drinky-poo) and the next morning it starts all over.
The course was something like 18 miles long, went under the bridge and around some island or whatever... I suppose I don't have to go out in the evening with everyone else, but for a free meal at a four or five star restaurant? Hells yeah.

This pretty much sums it up:
http://www.onionsportsnetwork.com/artic ... -race,620/

Rabbit_Fighter · Post by **Rabbit_Fighter** » Tue Sep 06, 2011 8:06 am

Glad they got you out alive!

One of the best quotes I ever heard about yacht racing was this:

"If you want to know what it's like to sail competitively, stand in a cold shower for four hours and tear up $20 bills."

Crew member Tim Cleary, from this article in the Seattle Weekly 5 years ago.

MoraleHazard · Post by **MoraleHazard** » Tue Sep 06, 2011 1:01 pm

we broke our bowsprit and dismasted the other boat, carrying away her mizzen as we came off.

Chain shot?

In all seriousness, good on you for grabbing that line. In the old days, I had a mast break on me; never went overboard, except on purpose.

goose · Post by **goose** » Tue Sep 06, 2011 2:34 pm

wooden boat = job for life.

Glad you survived and told the tale. Fuck the captain of a ship that doesn't show up for practice before a race.

MagnusTheBuilder · Post by **MagnusTheBuilder** » Tue Sep 06, 2011 2:54 pm

Boat = Hole in the ocean that you pour your money into.

I've been shopping for one for a while now.

Zer0 · Post by **Zer0** » Fri Sep 09, 2011 9:23 pm

goose wrote:Glad you survived and told the tale. Fuck the captain of a ship that doesn't show up for practice before a race.

Absolutely. Putting your life in some cluless, asshole's hands is worth no amount of money.

Fuck him. Find someone who respects his responsibilities.

Or just be smart and stay on land. I can show you how.

Sisyphus · Post by **Sisyphus** » Sat Sep 10, 2011 5:25 pm

Ah, no. The captain is a different person. He's there too. But since this is a privately owned vessel he (owner) is only there during the race for insurance purposes. The owner can do whatever the hell he wants. The captain and crew look out for the boat. The owner wants to win races. There's the difference.

Zer0 · Post by **Zer0** » Sat Sep 10, 2011 5:43 pm

What the hell does that have anything to do with simply staying on land and letting the dipshit owner kill someone else? Not you, Sissy; we like you and want more posts about dipshit cagers trying to kill you on land instead.

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Close call (not mc related)

Close call (not mc related)