The OLDER Photographers' thread...

20droger wrote in post #16028549
Nice! What was her name?

Thanks Roger.

She was christened "Vanda" after one of our bases in Antarctica where I spent some time, but because of a small local sponsorship deal she raced under the name "City of Dunedin"...rather grandiose I thought for a 42' vessel, but beggers can't be choosers, and by the time I'd got the boat ready to race I WAS a bit poor! (I'd built her myself in my spare time while working on earthmoving contracts!)

Not that she was designed or built for racing, but I just did it for the fun of it and the adventure, and it was very definitely fun! (With the odd bit of terror thrown in!)

This picture I took in the Southern Ocean on the way to Cape Horn...and scanned it from Cruising World magazine as all the originals were lent to an English magazine while I was still at sea on the last leg and were lost!

L.J.G. wrote in post #16028597
Now that is a nice sized vessel Ricardo.

Yes, Lloyd, 42' is a good size, though bigger is better! My next boat was 60' LOA, four tonnes lighter, easier to handle despite bigger sails, and was heaps faster!

^^^^Jesus!!! I have nausea just looking at it! LOL!

Brain Mechanic wrote in post #16028956
^^^^Jesus!!! I have nausea just looking at it! LOL!

Hehe...you should have seen it when it was too dangerous to stand there to take photographs!

Landlubbers have absolutely no appreciation of what a real storm at sea can be like. I've been in storms that would scare the crap out of you, except that that happened an hour earlier!

What's the old wag? You're not a real seaman until you've been pitchpoled.

I've been in a "real storm" Rog and never want to do so again. Talk about bring up everything including the odd kidney and liver I think. You guys can have that all on your own.

^^Im with you.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

I have a huge amount of respect for the sea.

And I've tried my hand at sailing, to the point of having a licence....
....but seeing that picture Ricardo, reminds me why I prefer to be over the sea, not on it.

There's power in there, that's best left only to Poseidon to play with.

I have always lived near the sea and love it, but for some reason the idea of all that water scares me.

About ten years ago a passenger ferry going between Estonia and Sweden sank in a storm, taking around 850 people with it. So yeah, knowing what the sea can do I have a huge respect for anyone going out there.

20droger wrote in post #16029025
Landlubbers have absolutely no appreciation of what a real storm at sea can be like. I've been in storms that would scare the crap out of you, except that that happened an hour earlier!

What's the old wag? You're not a real seaman until you've been pitchpoled.

Well, I've never been pitchpoled, but I have spent a few seconds standing with my feet each side of the cabin top skylight, watching the poly-carbonate bulge with the pressure of the dark, dark sea below as the boat rolled through 180 degrees...and listening for something to break, which it didn't.

Being a well mannered boat of course she self righted and kept sailing, masts intact through good staying and a bit of luck, leaving me both a little traumatised and a whole lot amused! At times like this we revert to our training or our true nature, or a bit of both, and I found myself grinning at myself for my fears, and being exhilarated by surviving the amazing storm that was happening around me.

Least you get me wrong though, like most experienced sailors I don't enjoy gales and storms, but I have learned how to survive the ones I can't avoid!

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Thanks.

You just made me recall a time I was approaching port in very pleasant conditions, when the yacht I was sailing was suddenly hit by winds funnelling down a valley between two mountains behind the port.

They span the yacht through 180° in about 2 seconds flat, while simultaneously forcing her over something like 75° from the vertical.

I found myself with my right foot balanced on the edge of the seats to my right, watching water come up way over the guard-ropes, wondering WHY I hadn't stayed at home!!!

Maybe the hairs on my arms and neck will go down in a few minutes, if I sit quietly....?

I will have to say that the most scared I ever was at sea was in a cabin cruiser about twenty miles off shore on a beautiful clear and calm day.

The boat ran into a rock or reef and began taking on water. That's when I found out the the stupid owner had installed shag carpeting in the cabins. The loose shag fouled the pump, and the boat sank. The six of us were left bobbing in the water in our life jackets. Fortunately, the Coast Guard arrived in good time; twenty miles is a long swim.

The owner tried to explain the shag carpeting to his insurance company. They were not amused.

20droger wrote in post #16029761
I will have to say that the most scared I ever was at sea was in a cabin cruiser about twenty miles off shore on a beautiful clear and calm day.

The boat ran into a rock or reef and began taking on water. That's when I found out the the stupid owner had installed shag carpeting in the cabins. The loose shag fouled the pump, and the boat sank. The six of us were left bobbing in the water in our life jackets. Fortunately, the Coast Guard arrived in good time; twenty miles is a long swim.

The owner tried to explain the shag carpeting to his insurance company. They were not amused.

Oh wow... that sounds bad. I lost a relative in a somewhat similar situation: their boat sank at sea; they had life jackets on but the weather was too cold for them to survive until the rescuers came

On a happier note - yay, my ankle is all good again Now I can party hard tonight and have fun shooting tomorrow.

A slightly different sea story some of you might find amusing.

Many years ago I lived in San Diego. I had some close friends at a resort in Mission Bay, just north of the city, who had a 20' catboat they let me borrow whenever I wanted. I often went day sailing with a young lady friend, having a picnic at sea, as it were.

It was my habit on such day sails to leave Mission Bay, sail down and around the Islas de Los Coronados (Mexican islands just a couple miles south of the border), and return.

On our way south on one particular trip, we encountered a runabout with three young men in it. They decided to have fun with the couple in the ever-so-slow sailboat, so they started with the smart-ass catcalls, the buzzing to make us bounce in their wake, and the usual crap such people do. What could we do? You can't chase down a motorboat with a sailboat. We just ignored them until they got bored at went away, after calling us some rather colorful names.

Well, we continued on around the islands, stopped in the lee of the largest island, ate our lunch, and headed back.

Just south of the border (in Mexican waters), guess who we found floating in a kelp bed? Our friends in the runabout. It seams that they weren't smart enough to stay clear of kelp beds in small power craft (kelp [Seaweed] fouls the propeller on such boats), and neither were they smart enough to carry extra shear pins for the prop. (Shear pins are breakaway pins that couple the propellor to the drive shaft. They're designed to break if anything [LIke kelp] jams the prop so as to protect the drive shaft and motor. Coast Guard regulations require that spares be carried at all times.)

Since neither boat had a radio, I threw them a line and towed them—very slowly—back into American waters. We were quickly spotted from shore, and the Coast Guard came and took them off our hands. I love the Coast Guard. I gave a full report of our encounters to the officer in charge, he thanked me, and we went on our way.

I'm willing to bet that our friends' day was not nearly as much fun as ours.

That's a fine story, Rog...I love that kind of happy ending!

We have a lot of kelp beds around our coasts and most of us know to avoid them! Also, they are the habitat for some very interesting creatures.