What would you do if ?

What would you do if,......you were 4 miles west of a shore line the wind drops out, it,s oily calm ,engine wont start,your in 200 ft of water,its nearly sunset and theres a 30knt sthwesterly change forcast for 6am the following morning. your boat is 28ft long and weighs 3.5 ton all sails and rigg is ok .You are 30 mile from a safe habour?

Some interesting ideas there. I like PlaneSailing,s Rowing Idea , from the point of veiw of being able to put more distance between you and the lee shore . Thats the biggest risk here I recon, the potental for the 4 mile buffer to rapidly disappear
The Idea of doing nothing , not keeping an eye on current and or tide drift could put you in a nasty position , while your waiting for your 30 knts [ or 50 knts as is someones want] to sail home with . Also to use the time to change sails etc would make sence .
And Cisco,s "let someone know the situation and position" would hopefully be the first thing we would all do. And thankfully I havent had to deal with that situation myself Cisco, but now Ive got some Idea,s If it ever happens. And yes, spark plugs may come into play on the tenders outboard, while towing out to sea!!

By the way I think plainsailing is being tongue in cheek when he suggests getting into the dinghy and rowing. You havent gone offshore in a 28 footer while actually towing a hard dinghy have you? Did you stow the hard dinghy on the foredeck or hang it from the davits on your 28 footer!!! So you have pulled out the inflatable, pumped it up and are now going to climb out of your boat into a dinghy at night!! Have you ever tried to row an inflatable or even motor an inflatable with its 2 hp seagull!! Now having rowed for 12 hours I would be knackered and probably in tip top shape to handle anything the weather could throw at me if only I could get back into the boat.

Break out the tool box and fix the old noise box?

Use your sailing skills to sail the boat in what little wind comes by to stay off the lee shore and wait for the front to get you home?

n

SandS said...

frant said...

SandS said...

Some interesting ideas there. I like PlaneSailing,s Rowing Idea , from the point of veiw of being able to put more distance between you and the lee shore . Thats the biggest risk here I recon, the potental for the 4 mile buffer to rapidly disappear
The Idea of doing nothing , not keeping an eye on current and or tide drift could put you in a nasty position , while your waiting for your 30 knts [ or 50 knts as is someones want] to sail home with . Also to use the time to change sails etc would make sence .
And Cisco,s "let someone know the situation and position" would hopefully be the first thing we would all do. And thankfully I havent had to deal with that situation myself Cisco, but now Ive got some Idea,s If it ever happens. And yes, spark plugs may come into play on the tenders outboard, while towing out to sea!!

I first misread your situation as having the shore 4 miles to the West, ie a typical East coast situation with the change coming offshore. Reading it as you being 4 miles off the West coast puts you more like somewhere off Tasmanias West coast. A slightly more serious position. Now with a SW change forecast for approx 12 hours away you shouldn't be out there in a poorly prepared boat, surely the forecast change was first issued at least 48 hours earlier. Preparation is the key, don't head off in a boat that is not 100% reliable. Why won't the engine start? Poor maintenance or doesn't the hypothetical operator even know the basics of his boats systems. If the motor won't start whats to say that the rig is in good condition and that the operator can be trusted in his knowledge of how the whole boat works. As indicated in my earlier post if the operator doesn't know how to change the spark plugs in a diesel then he probably doesn't know how to get himself out of the predicament he is in. Best not to be out there in the first place.

Best of luck trying to find the spark plugs in the diesel Frant!