A close call for me, too close

[Duke41]

I really have to tell this story, I learned a lot today and I hope you learn something too. I grew up on the water and come from a very accomplished sea faring family. My uncle was a top rod and reel cod and giant tuna commercial fisherman, my Mom and Dad sailed around the globe on a 41 foot sailboat. I have sailed all over the ocean from the Caribbean Sea to Nova Scotia, the Red Sea and other far flung places. I have been on board during a tropical storm, many gales and fronts. I consider Narragansett Bay and RI and BI Sound to be my personal playground and have been on the bay all my life. I have a 20 ton Captains License, am very good at dead reckoning navigation as well as GPS plotter and radar. I do know what I am doing if you get my drift.

Today was the most dangerous day on the water I have had since I was a young and reckless kid and quite frankly I consider myself lucky to be alive. It all started when I made plans to go fishing for striper today at the Narrow River Inlet. I arrived at my boat in Point Judith and noticed that it was not blowing 5-10 knots like the marine forecast said but was 10-15 knots with gusts to 20. I listened to the marine forecast on the boat at it looked like I would be okay once I got around the corner to the inlet. My gut told me not to go that the wind was strong and was going to increase but I decided to go anyway. I noticed that flags were straight out and flapping hard. However I was feeling frustrated as the last two times I took the day to go fishing I never left the harbor because to was so rough. So screw it I am going out. As I left the harbor of refuge the breakers we pretty big but not that bad, I rocked and rolled until I got around the Point Jude light house and then it was down hill sled ridding all the way to the inlet. When I got there the Coast Guard was on site because a fellow fisherman was flipped right out of his boat and had been rescued by another vessel. That made me a little concerned. I got out my gear and started to fish. The weather just got worse by the half hour. I thought lets just catch a couple of keepers and get the hell out of here. I wanted to stay because this was my last trip of the year. Boats were beginning to peel of and leave a hour and a half later I decided to blow dodge. I headed back to Point Judith and I was getting hit by some monster waves, this is where I screwed up…I have a mooring in Newport Harbor and one at Prudence Island, but oh no my car is at Point Judith so it is there I must go.

When I got my captains license they drilled into your head it is not one thing that sinks a vessel it is a sequence of events that does the job. This is my sequence. The waves were steep and short sets. The wind was howling out of the South West with gusts I guessed up to 30 knots or so.. I smashed off a wave and the speaker for my radio exploded and landed at my feet…now I can not hear the radio. In order to hear over the internal speaker I have to remove the plug at the back of the radio, which is tucked into my overhead T-top locker and virtually inaccessible.. Screw it for now because I am okay and It is too rough to do. One had on the wheel and one for myself. Next the zip down windshield on by T-Top broke over the summer it is something I plan on fixing during the off season, the waves are crashing over the bow and the spray is hitting me in the face blinding me as it fogs my glasses up. My head is soaking wet, no hat and I am getting cold… Next my PFD is at home in the garage as it went off over the summer and I was eventually going to recharge it, but had not.. so no PFD and few vests on the boat but I can’t get to them easily as they are in the bow locker, I do have a throwing device which at this point give me little comfort. Next I have my dog on the boat, he is a huge distraction, he is small and I can not see him, I have too look around to make sure he is okay, he is not. At this point he is catatonic and drooling smashed into the rear of the boat pinned to the stern rail by the cooler. As I watch we go off a huge wave and crash into the trough two things happen A the dog flies about 4 feet into the air and my glasses go flying off and into the sea. I can still see but everything is a little blurry. At this point I am a ½ mile North of the light I stop the boat and check out the dog he is messed up. I tie him to the boat and try to calm him. I slow the boat to about 9 knots and hope to ride it out and slowly head for the barn. A serious problem develops as the boat is heavy in the stern and sits low. In the stern as the waves pick the front of the boat up the stern settles and takes water over the motor mount bracket, which in turn drains out the one stern bale I have open since I blocked the other 3 with wooden pegs so she would not take water through the stoppers when I have a few people on the boat. So the water is now pouring into the bilge and the pump is going nonstop. At least I have a manual pump, if I should need it. But oh yeah the hose fell over in rough weather because I was hand pumping the fish boxes out as the macerator pump was vapor locked. Something I was going to fix at the dock but never got to it. At this point going back to Newport pops into my head as it is downwind and once I get by Beaver Tail and tuck into Castle Hill I am home free. But that is miles in the wrong direction and I am only a mile and a half from the Harbor of Refuge. I decided to go for it. I am so close I can smell it so I hit the gas and get through the last ½ mile then turn the corner as I turn I look back to the dog and it happens. A huge set of waves hit the boat broadside and tips her on her starboard side, My body slips and now I am hanging by the wheel with my torso over the side as the next wave hits the boat. my legs are still inside the boat pressed up against the gunnels. . I can not let go of the wheel to throttle back because I will most certainly fall into the sea and drown and I can not turn the wheel to nose back into the next wave because I have no leverage. The last wave hits the boat and we slide down again broad side. The boat levels and I get back in behind the wheel. Very carefully and very focused I pick my way into the break wall opening and live to fight another day.

Once I get into the dock the dog starts to rebound, he was very frightened it took him a few minutes to reset himself. When he got off the dock he took off for the hills and I spent 20 minutes chasing him.. he wanted no part off me. I guess he is smarter than I thought.. He slept all the way home and is now okay but he thinks I am an idiot, he may be right.

So what the hell happened a lot of stuff did and lot of petty stuff that did not concern me as it happened but combined with the seas and weather almost got me killed and that my friend is a no-%$%$%$%$ter. I have two kids and a wife, I have a happy life and am blessed. I very well could have died today over a poor decision coupled with a distracting dog and not addressing a few minor maintenance issues. So as it sit here with 8 lives left I thank God for not drowning and feel pretty lucky today. I am going to hug my wife and kids and have a tall scotch with ice and keep an eye on the dog as he is probably planning on finishing the job I started.

[spence]

That's one hell of a story, I'd wager your heart was racing just typing it...

Glad you're still with us

-spence

[OLD GOAT]

I THINK YOU HAVE BEEN GIVEN A GIFT.

[Van]

WOW you are one lucky guy.

I'll never forget what the old salt said, when I was just 10-12 years old and my dad bought our first boat.

RESPECT THE SEA !!!!!!!
So true .....

Thanks for sharing, most guys would not want to admit something like that. Its a good lesson for all of us.

Glad your and the pooch are OK.

[zacs]

WOW.
I am very happy you are OK.

[nightfighter]

Good read... Better reminder, for all of us. I've already copied and emailed it to my idiot brother and another friend who wants to be a statistic....he goes out to Stellwagon all the time, alone.......
Glad you are home.

[stripersnipr]

Thanks for sharing the wake-up call. Young Neal and I shared a near death experience in that same piece of water once and I'll never forget it.

[RIJIMMY]

jeez, that was some story, I am glad you are okay. it hits home since that is the general area I fish with my boat. That is scary stuff, I always thought the bay was pretty protected but I saw it get rough once this year and it spooked me pretty bad.

[thortum]

I,m glad you and your dog are ok. You had me on the edge of my seat. We forget how precious life is until we,re close to losing it. Many of us have done stupid things in our lives and survived. Hopefully we have all learned from your mistakes as well as our own. Once again, I,m glad you made it home.

[GattaFish]

Stories like that that make guy think twice about taking a chance,,,, Good read,,,, scary too,,,,,

[danno1]

Thanks for sharing ! In my neck of the woods, if it gets rough, I can just turn around, and head into the large cove, where it is calmer.
Where you are, it can throw you a curve, dealing with that "inlet style" opening. I`ve trailered my boat there a few times, and see it do a complete flip minutes later.
I hear you on wanting to get out. We all done it. It`s just inlets/ breachways, whatever they`re called, don`t play by the rules on the weather radio.

Man, glad you and the pooch made it !

[Rockfish9]

Most people that have been around the water long enough have at least one horror story to tell... if.. they live long enough to tell it...

Errors in judgements when at sea usualy lead to problems, it wasnt your time, I had a simular incedent myself over 30 years ago... when it was all over and I was back on the dock, wet cold and cleansed to the sole, even in my youth I realized at that point that no fish was worth dieing for, and I had cheated death by mere feet... glad that you and your four legged friend are home safe, I suspect it may be difficult to get hom back on board...

Telling accounts near disasters like your are important... there's a good chance that some day it may save a life....

[Bronko]

Incredible story. Just goes to show how quickly things can go wrong.

[Gunpowder]

we all need a slap in the face sometimes to show us that sea is far more powerful than we are. glad u made it back to tell the story.

[MrHunters]

takes some nuggets posting that story. glad your ok. it will make many of us think.

[taJon]

what type of boat do you have?

[Duke41]

A Mako 241 with twin Merc 200's. This boat has a deep V and weighs 3 tons loaded. Not a toy by any means.

[macojoe]

Glad your ok!! I don't know if you saw it, But I also had a close call this summer in Vinyard Sound!
So close I sold the boat and got a bigger one!

RESPECT THE SEA !!!!!!!

I always say that to people, if you have no respect for the sea you don't belong out there!!

[ChiefLinesider]

I'm not dying to catch a fish. Whether its the last trip of the season, or a guaranteed 60+. Keep your wits out there. Glad to hear that story ended well.

[Raven]

Now that you have survived a near death experience
and have discovered a new appreciation for life....

i would like to hear the changes your going to make
before next season arrives to have your spare pair
of emergency glasses available ....life vests more
handy....back up speakers in case one fails you can
flick a switch...
and those types of emergency preparedness changes

which you took for granted and put off for another day.

VERY Glad your A-OK and your dog too...

as you think about the series of events that your instructor
told (warned) you about...
and now his words of warning have taken
on a new meaning...

what can you tell others to do
to avoid what happened to you... ?
because someone else
may not have your amount of LUCK.

[Duke41]

Raven,

I appreciate your questions. I am planning in refitting the boat this winter and I will always wear my PFD from now on. I posted this story after thinking it over not so much as a warning but because it was so sureal. I never really felt that I was going to drown, I felt more like what's next. I guess if a few things happen differently I would have been in the water. However I think all of us have been faced with that situation one time or another. Actually it was my dad who went through the event with me and pointed out all the life threatening issues. I repsect his views as he is a world class mariner.(see above). I really appreciate the posts above and hope you would find my story a good read and a lesson on how its not one big thing that gets you but a series of little things which by themselves seem no big deal but grouped together can be deadly.

[Duke41]

This just isn't about me, it's about us all of us.

[blaruffa]

Man, glad you are OK to tell the tale. I think at one point in our boating life we all face the similar frustrations in fishing that occasionally makes us not listen to the voice in our head, and press a bad situation.

[tynan19]

Thanks for sharing. I hope your story sits in the back of the minds of fellow boaters.

[Rick Ackley]

Man, glad all is ok after that trip. I've had a bad experience also, but nothing compared to yours.

[MakoMike]

Glad to hear you made it, and thanks for remining the rest of us of how mortal we all are.

[JohnR]

Glad you made it through Mark, and Toto too... That's one sea story, well, it would be a story if it were not true. Thanks for sharing that with us. A series of bad problems compounding each other and driving you into worse and worse of a situation...

[179]

Duke-
Wow that was a very bad scenerio for sure. I am very glad that you made it back in. Sometimes we make poor decisions on whether to head out or not hopefully you by living this and us reading this maybe we will think twice next time we head out.

Thank you for posting this....

[Rob Rockcrawler]

That was a great story. You know what i mean by that. A good read. Many times i have seen boats on that area getting pounded, never to the extent that happened to you though. I am sure that stuff like that happens frequently out there, most people dont have the stones to talk about it. I bet that glass of scotch tasted a bit sweeter than usual. I rocks

[Duke41]

thanks for the comments guys, that was pretty wild huh. I don't know what to say but thanks for your concern. I really could not believe what was happening. I wonder how many fisherman have been caught on the "wash cylce" at Point Judith light?