If you don't know how to sail, don't rent the boat.

[trof]

There was a very slight breeze from the north when I saw them floating down the bay...sideways.
A small rented sailboat with mom and dad and two teen aged kids on board.

Dad was at the tiller.
Once in a while he would pump it back and forth.
Evidently he thought the rudder was some kind of paddle.

The boy had the mainsheet in his hand, but it was slack.
Eventually the (now VERY slight) breeze shifted a bit and now the craft was slowly making way...stern first.
I've never seen a sailboat s-l-o-w-l-y backing down the bay before.

And then the breeze quit altogether.
Becalmed.
"In irons."
They sat.

A rented power boat ($50 per hour) came out from the marina.
Frantically they waved him down.
"Can you give us a tow?" they yelled.
A short exchange took place.
I could tell that this guy and his party didn't want to spend their 50 bucks an hour towing some yo-yo back to the rental place.
The power boat driver headed back to the marina.
In the meantime, the sailboat occupants took their life jackets off (at LEAST they were wearing life jackets) and were trying to use them to paddle the boat to shore.
Little or no progress was made.

NEVER go out in ANY kind of watercraft without some kind of paddle.

About 10 minutes later a kid on a jet ski came out and secured a line to the bow of the sailboat.
And slowly towed them back up the bay to their place of embarkation.

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
(OK, I mostly laughed.)

I really felt sorry for the 'skipper'.
Now his wife and kids know for absolutely sure that he's an complete doofus.
"Hey, lets rent one uh them little sailboats. How hard could it be?"
:rofl:

[matcom]

1. and you were thinking of selling a few years ago

:rofl:

[trof]

2. It actually happened in San Diego.

On Mission Bay.
We got there just in time for the fires.
whew

[matcom]

3. you need to stop traveling my friend

EXCEPT to travel up here.

your track record isn't great lately :rofl:

oh wait. um.... about coming up here and staying at our place...

:think:


:scared:

[TheFriendlyAnarchist]

4. My mom and Dad and I got our Basic Keel Certificates this summer.

It was amazing. The first day a storm came out though, and it turned out that the boat we were training in was pretty much broken. The mainsheet was broken, the cam cleats were broken (it seemed like the springs were shot), the winch on the port side was locked, the motor it had didn't start reliably and didn't even stay in the water if we keeled more than about 10 degrees, and the tiller kept getting caught in the broken sheet.

Even our instructor was pretty much at a loss what to do other than slowly make our way back at about 2 knots. . .

The second day was much more fun and the first was definitely an experience.

[trof]

5. I would tell you about my worst sailing experience, but

it would take too long.
And I'm too tired to do that much typing.

But...twisted/jammed mainsheet and then I'm totally out of control smack dab in the middle of the Saturday Falmouth (Cape Cod) catboat race.
And I wasn't a participant.
:-(