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Lesson Learned
Jeff	#1  Posted on 10/15/07 - 11:56 AM
Member Posts: 1987 Comments: 34 Joined: 04/02/05	This past Saturday morning my father and I took the guardian down to the mouth of the Detroit River and Lake Erie where we launched and headed out for a last of the season cruise. We planned to head a friends house on Grosse Isle and have a visit then head to South Bass Island of the Ohio coast. Well the friend got caught up in some morning errands so we heading to South Bass instead and would stop by his house on our way home. As we made out way across the lake it was rough but not to bad. The seas where hitting us directly from the starboard side so it was a bit difficult to track a good course but an hour and ten minutes later we made the harbor (32 mile run). We hit island and walked around the harbor looking at boats caught a burger and beer and headed for home. By now the winds had picked up but the seas did not look much worse. We were wrong. We made it out past the harbor and holy crap we where in solid 6-8+ footers in a hurry. The waves were quartering at our port bow and they were stacked up at about 20' crest to crest. We made it about 4 miles after an hour (28 more to go) when I finally said mercy. Both of us were soaked and for the first time in a can not remember the voice in my head said it was not worth it and if you keep going you might not make it. So, my father waited for a good trough to turn around in and we surfed the waves back to the island. At least there we could put together a plan. Now if I did not have to work on Sunday we would have stayed on the island and headed for home in the morning. But, work being what it is we had to figure out how to get home. One option was to leave the boat on the island and take the ferry to land and have someone pick us up. However, that means taking the ferry back out to get the boat and being so late in the season ferry's do not run often. Also no matter what you would have had to get the boat back to the main land to haul it out. So, we decided to get out and run with the waves this time so that would put us on the Ohio mainland coast in about 6 miles. The gas attendant on the island gave us a heading to a harbor and off we went. We made the harbor in decent time are we were lucky it had a dredged channel as in classic Lake Erie fashion the wind had caused a "see-shay" (do not know how to spell it) on the western basin of the lake. Nearly 1.5+ feet of water had been blown out to the eastern basin because of the wind so, there were buoys on dry grown and lots of exposed lake bed and weeds along the coast. After renting a slip and making fast to the dock my father called his friend and told him we were not going to make it. He laughed and said no kidding because "I have no water under my docks it is all over to Buffalo by now." He offered to come and get us with my truck and trailer which was at the ramp up the road from his house. Of course I had the keys so he picked us up with his car and we left the boat behind. After having a couple days to think about it now I have reflected a bit. Even though there were 4-5 people who knew our sail plan if we had capsized it would have been a long time before anyone would have called the coasties. One of us, if not both, should have had a hand held vhf radio in our coat just in case. With the waves the way they were you would have been NO CHANCE to get a mayday off had something gone wrong. At least if you had a hand held on your person you could hail while in the water. If something happened it would have been like a knock out punch and it would have been over like that. We always wear our life jackets in those conditions so that was good but, the other main piece of safety missing was a dead man kill switch. Well it was there but there is no lanyard. So, if we had been knocked down to the floor or overboard we would have been in trouble in a hurry. Finally I should have left a spare key behind with the truck at the ramp. That way our "rescuer" could have brought the truck down and we would have the boat now. All in all things worked out and we are safe but, I have to say that for as safe and prepared as I think I usually am everyone has there lapses and hindsight is 20/20. This time we were caught off guard and I am glad I was able to learn from it and not have to do it the hard way. Edited by Tom W Clark on 11/20/07 - 10:41 AM 1993 23' Walkaround Whaler Drive
howard Werner	#2  Posted on 10/15/07 - 12:29 PM
Member Personal Page Posts: 90 Comments: 1 Joined: 06/23/07	Wow that certainly got my attention. I am happy that you and your dad are both alright and the end of the story is a happy one. Lesson learned indeed. Howard
sraab928	#3  Posted on 10/15/07 - 4:04 PM
Member Project Albums Posts: 1282 Comments: 13 Joined: 12/27/05	Thanks for sharing that story Jeff. It really makes you think twice about how well prepared you are to deal with certain situations. I may need to consider some changes myself. Glad you got home safe. Scott 1974 21' Revenge w Mercury 200 ProXS V8
plotman	#4  Posted on 10/16/07 - 6:53 AM
Member Posts: 25 Comments: 0 Joined: 09/21/05	One of the features I really like about my ford truck is the fact that it has a keypad on the drivers door. I always keep a spare key hidden inside, and on more than one occasion it has come in very handy - I simply can tell someone what the combo is and where to find the key.
Buckda	#5  Posted on 10/16/07 - 7:13 PM
Member Personal Page Posts: 325 Comments: 2 Joined: 01/15/07	Jeff - Big story! Wow. I was going to go boating on Saturday too, but ended up 250 miles south in Cincinnati. Anyway, glad to hear you and your dad made it back safely. Question: Could you have hugged the Ohio shoreline and quartered the seas toward Toledo and then run up in the lee of Michigan? It could have been hours and hours and was probably better to have a friend pick you up...just wondering if that was an option. I have to say, that as much as I LOVE your dad's Guardian and the T-TOP, the RADAR ARCH on Gambler makes it seem like it would be more difficult to be pitched from the boat....and side railings are nice as well...no railings on that Guardian! Conditions like that have me thinking "Jackline" as well. Glad you guys made it. Dave
Jeff	#6  Posted on 10/16/07 - 7:26 PM
Member Posts: 1987 Comments: 34 Joined: 04/02/05	Dave, We would have ran out of day light if we had gone that route. It was 3:30 when we first left SBI and 5ish when we left the gas dock the second time in the island. But we did think about it. Yes, the guardian is very open the T-Top also does help to pitch the boat side to side a lot more than what my 22 would have done. Along with the large aluminum console the T-Top raises the center of gravity a good bit. It does provide a great place to hang on to tough. Edited by Jeff on 10/16/07 - 8:42 PM 1993 23' Walkaround Whaler Drive
MW	#7  Posted on 10/17/07 - 1:43 AM
Member Personal Page Posts: 1827 Comments: 10 Joined: 01/08/06	It's a very frightening experiance to get on the wrong side of Mother Nature, one that DEFINATELY puts the fear of God in you, a "Hand held" is a must in any "Ditch Bag" (about $50 at Overton's), a strobe light is a good idea to attach to your life vest as well, those waves would have pounded you under if anything happened to the boat (with a life vest on), life expectancy in that kind of water would have been only about 15 minutes (waves would crash down on you so hard, that grabbing a breath of air would have been impossible). I have a real healthy respect for the ocean, it's over very quickly when things go wrong, as a matter of fact it would be safe to say that I "FEAR" the ocean after seeing what she can do, I'm glad that you made it back to tell the tale. mw Edited by MW on 10/17/07 - 1:44 AM
DelawareDan	#8  Posted on 10/18/07 - 5:39 AM
Member Personal Page Posts: 328 Comments: 2 Joined: 05/24/07	Great tale, Jeff! I too am glad you and dad made it through. Waterproof VHF and a strobe is very good insurance. The way I see it, our kids/friends/etc. need us more than Davy Jones does!
wstrickland1	#9  Posted on 11/18/07 - 6:07 PM
Member Posts: 22 Comments: 2 Joined: 10/17/07	Although a bit pricey, I think an epirb is almost a must-have for anyone who may find themselves in that type of situation don't you think? I'm not sure exactly how they work but I have heard stories about them saving lives. Billy
Buckda	#10  Posted on 11/18/07 - 6:19 PM
Member Personal Page Posts: 325 Comments: 2 Joined: 01/15/07	I agree that an EPIRB is a good idea for folks in remote areas, or in early/late season when there is little traffic. However, the Western Basin of Lake Erie has heavy recreational fishing and commercial traffic early and late season. Money well spent - however, if you can invest in a drift sock (or two) for those kinds of conditions, you can pretty much ensure that your boat will stay upright and that you can eventually hail help on the VHF (or drift to shore). The biggest concern in that situation is capsizing, in which case, the EPIRB is probably your single best bet of the current options. At around $500, the ACR EPIRB is making this technology more and more affordable....but if you are just doing something you normally wouldn't do, you can also rent one (say, for a big trip you have planned somewhere more remote). Consider that a life ring (throwable PFD) that meets USCG requirements costs about $70 new, the personal EPIRB is only around 5 times the cost - and will help rescuers find you. The life ring only helps you stay afloat....rescuers will still have to search the sea to find you. Money well spent. Dave Edited by Buckda on 11/18/07 - 6:23 PM