fogducker III
05-30-2009, 11:37 AM
So I now know exactly how big a waves my 18C will handle.......:eek:
One of my brother's called me yesterday morning and said he was coming over from Vancouver with a friend in his well equiped Zodiac. His friend had bought a big cruiser and they were heading to the Inner Harbour in Victoria to pick it up. He asked if I could meet up with them at the south entrance to Active Pass and "escort" them to the Inner Harbour, they are not familiar with that area, they do have radar, GPS etc but felt more comfortable with a "local".......
So I checked the tides and weather and went and launched my boat at Sidney, PERFECT weather.........ran to Active Pass and met up with them. We ran to Sidney, shut down and had a breather and then ran to just in front of Oak Bay Marina, had another breather, ran around Ten Mile Point and all HELL broke loose!!!!!!!:nilly:
Tide change along with about 20-25 knot gusts which were blowing the tops off about 6 to 7 foot swells.......he was running fine on top of the waves as was I and we continued until Clover Point, wind came up even more and I was "capping" close to 10 footers!! I knew I was not going to make the entrance to the Inner Harbour safely so I turned and ran for the only "shelter" I could find........Gonzales Beach, not really shelter but better than what I was in!
My brother and his friend continued, we were in contact via cell and I told them to make a run for the Inner Harbour if they felt it safe to do so. They called me back about 15 minutes later to tell me they made it but were wet, cold and very sore, and that was in a VERY seaworthy inflatable with all the gear and a 250hp Yamaha outboard.
I stuck it out bobbing around in about 8 foot seas, had NOWHERE to go........I was taking the odd wave over the bow and was very wet and starting to get cold, I called my other brother, Captain of the fire department at the local military base and calmly asked him to get the Coast Guard on "stand-by".........I honestly thought I was either going to be swamped, sunk or beached.........
I waited about 1/2hr, with flare gun in hand.........finally the wind settled down just enough and I made a fast, hard run around the corner to a protected bay in front of the Oak Bay Marina, I knew at that point I was OK........:yes:
I dried out a little in the last of the sun, it was about 7 o'clock, and got ready to run home to Sidney, over the hill comes a Coast Guard chopper, he comes in low, circles me, I give him the thumbs up, he gives me the nod and heads off......I made the run home in damn near flat water, tugged the boat out, gave it a damn good bath, checked for damage and then had a whole bunch of beer!!!!!!!!!
Moral of the storey, always be prepared for the unexpected and never forget, the ocean OWNS your a$$...........:boat:
PS. This is the boat THEY were running in and had a hard time!!!
One of my brother's called me yesterday morning and said he was coming over from Vancouver with a friend in his well equiped Zodiac. His friend had bought a big cruiser and they were heading to the Inner Harbour in Victoria to pick it up. He asked if I could meet up with them at the south entrance to Active Pass and "escort" them to the Inner Harbour, they are not familiar with that area, they do have radar, GPS etc but felt more comfortable with a "local".......
So I checked the tides and weather and went and launched my boat at Sidney, PERFECT weather.........ran to Active Pass and met up with them. We ran to Sidney, shut down and had a breather and then ran to just in front of Oak Bay Marina, had another breather, ran around Ten Mile Point and all HELL broke loose!!!!!!!:nilly:
Tide change along with about 20-25 knot gusts which were blowing the tops off about 6 to 7 foot swells.......he was running fine on top of the waves as was I and we continued until Clover Point, wind came up even more and I was "capping" close to 10 footers!! I knew I was not going to make the entrance to the Inner Harbour safely so I turned and ran for the only "shelter" I could find........Gonzales Beach, not really shelter but better than what I was in!
My brother and his friend continued, we were in contact via cell and I told them to make a run for the Inner Harbour if they felt it safe to do so. They called me back about 15 minutes later to tell me they made it but were wet, cold and very sore, and that was in a VERY seaworthy inflatable with all the gear and a 250hp Yamaha outboard.
I stuck it out bobbing around in about 8 foot seas, had NOWHERE to go........I was taking the odd wave over the bow and was very wet and starting to get cold, I called my other brother, Captain of the fire department at the local military base and calmly asked him to get the Coast Guard on "stand-by".........I honestly thought I was either going to be swamped, sunk or beached.........
I waited about 1/2hr, with flare gun in hand.........finally the wind settled down just enough and I made a fast, hard run around the corner to a protected bay in front of the Oak Bay Marina, I knew at that point I was OK........:yes:
I dried out a little in the last of the sun, it was about 7 o'clock, and got ready to run home to Sidney, over the hill comes a Coast Guard chopper, he comes in low, circles me, I give him the thumbs up, he gives me the nod and heads off......I made the run home in damn near flat water, tugged the boat out, gave it a damn good bath, checked for damage and then had a whole bunch of beer!!!!!!!!!
Moral of the storey, always be prepared for the unexpected and never forget, the ocean OWNS your a$$...........:boat:
PS. This is the boat THEY were running in and had a hard time!!!