What A Nightmare! Getting Hit & Dragging Anchor
Have you ever had one of those days where everything that could go wrong, did? Well, that’s how we were feeling on this day. The day we saved our neighbors boat, and then he crashed into us.
You may want something a little stronger than coffee to go with this one.
Just in case you’re wondering, the poor guy on that monohull was very grateful for Jason’s help and understanding. NOT a sentiment he got from his other neighbors (and he didn’t even hit their boat). He had just purchased the boat and was a little in over his head…. something we can sympathize with. Because if we’re honest, we’ve been in over our heads more than once…in the last year alone.
He won’t soon forget his trip to Rarotonga and unfortunately, he didn’t have the good experiences we did to offset the bad. If we hadn’t just had several over-the-top-incredible days; we might have been out of here in a hurry too. Bad anchor/windlass or anything else be damned.
I never did leave our boat during that whole debacle or any of the windy days. I never felt comfortable enough. I wanted to be ready to kick on an engine at any moment (or ready with a roving fender). Especially because the reaction time between the concrete wall and our Curiosity was already minus ten.
But, this is just the way it goes when you live a life on the sea. Nothing is more liberating, exhilarating, exhausting and nerve rattling. Life out here is anything but boring.
Big Takeaways!
Ground Tackle Is Everything – Or at least everything holding our home in place. A good modern anchor and chain can’t be undervalued. We are very grateful for our Mantus Anchor as it hasn’t failed us yet! (knock on wood)
Quick Release Lines – Kent, our broker turned mentor and friend, taught us many things. One of them was to always make sure we tied our lines in such a way that they could be released from the boat quickly (as in not looped through the cleat). We never truly understood why until watching someone who desperately wanted to get away from the dock struggle to release his lines.
Don’t Panic – Most of us already know this but nothing like a bad situation turned worse to really hammer the idea home.
You can no longer just be a good sailor. You have to be an incredible athlete as well. Having said that, you can be a great athlete, the strongest guy in the world, but if you can’t anticipate and make decisions under stress and exhaustion and think ahead, then you won’t be able to cut it, either.
-James Spithill – Helmsman for BMW Oracle and Americas Cup winner 2010
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🎥 CAMERA GEAR USED IN THIS VIDEO 📷
- Sony rx10: https://amzn.to/2QAHxwx
- Drone: https://amzn.to/2VQ2pzi
- Go Pro: https://www.gonewiththewynns.com/product/underwater-photo-video
🎶AWESOME tunes:
- http://bit.ly/artlist-gwtw – Artists: Rhythm Scott, Giants and Pilgrims (intro), & Generation Lost
⛵ SAILING REPORT
To see our full map with interactive pins, click here: gonewiththewynns.com/map
- Anchorage: Avarua Harbour, Rarotonga, Cook Islands
- Date: June 2019
Michael
Well done, you two! Praise God you are okay. I like how quick-witted you are, and how willing you are to help others. Well done indeed.
Martine
WheW!!! That was hard to watch. We had a similar experience at the fuel dock. Our boat was hit fortunately not bad. And the hero of the day was the fuel dock master that jumped on our boat to fend the other boat. My husband was at helm trying to get out of the way.
Anyways good lessons learned by all. I love that you quoted Jimmy Spithill. He is a boat rockstar :):):)
Deborah Kerr
Emotional video… I’m curious if the damage to Curiosity will be covered by the other guy’s insurance – like if 2 cars hit? You can be the safest driver on the road, it’s the other idiots you gotta watch out for…. that’s my world anyhow! You 2 handled it like champs – great attitudes.
Curious Minion
Deductibles are much higher than this repair, so the other boat owner gave them cash and bottle of rum for their trouble. Nikki & Jason can handle the patch work themselves.
Curious Minion
Steve Nicholls
Thankyou for this post! Appreciated very much!
Judy Goodson
I’m sure that poor other man with the runaway boat was mortified that his inexperience was obvious to everyone. It’s fortunate that serious damage wasn’t done to anyone’s boat, apparently! I guess you just have to mark it off as one more lesson learned. Glad everyone is OK!
John Lockhart
I actually read your blog post on Sunday as I usually do, and we watched the harbor video last night. Glad everything turned out ok, and you can chalk it up as another learning experience, without it being an expensive learning experience!
I came here to the site tonight to use your portal to Amazon, and I thought I’d take just a moment to commend the two of you on staying true to your original goals, and never getting stale! Your videos are world class, and we all look forward to them every week! We do understand there will be times you can’t possibly make your due date! It’s hard to believe how long you’ve been on the boat, but your comment about the English language really brought that to light! We look forward to the continuing journey when you get back from the States!
David
What an awesome post…and video…you learn on the boat to take action..in life we rarely get taught that..but on the hook it’s a necessity. What a great example you both were for not standing by but taking action. Great job!
Alan Solomon
Informative video. Reminder that even in paradise there are realistic issues that bring us back down to Earth.
Happy & Joyous to you,
Nikki Wynn
All part of the adventure. 😉
Venice Scherer
Wow! Scary! Wind and boats are a crazy combination. Even with a 25′ ski boat we have so many docking and anchoring stories. Good job as a fellow boating Samaritan!
Nikki Wynn
Right! It’s incredible how quickly a little wind can change everything.
Carol
You forgot to mention 2 other “take away’s.” Your article said the guy was in over his head. The harbor master told him to drop a second anchor but he didn’t. Sure everything was ok but the HM knows more about the harbor than someone coming in for the first time. So listen to someone with more experience. And 2: if at all possible step in to lend a helping hand. You never know when you’ll be the one in trouble. Stuff can go bad in the blink of an eye and you can’t prepare for everything. The articles I’ve read about people standing around recording horrific events on their camera is just mind boggling! Bless you both and I’m glad you both, and Curiosity) are none the worse for wear. Vaya con Dios! Carol
Roger B
WOW! Had my heart racing. You are a responsible couple willing to help in time of need and we applaud you for that. Great video.
Hampel Rutledge
Looks like you dodged a much larger disaster by a lot of Jason’s hard work. Glad that the two of you are alright and that Curiosity only got a scratch. It could have been so much worse. Enjoy your ‘Spa’ time. Love your videos.
Jeanette Brennan
Wowzer!! Scary times in Paradise!! So kind and caring of you, Jason, to try and help your neighbor. True seamanship. Glad you both survived and learned from the harrowing experience. An anxious day followed by many good ones – hooray. Stay happy and keep on traveling and having fun! 💝
Norman Frenk
If ANYONE could handle this kind of situation, we know it’s going to be the two of you!
YDion
I like the way your videos are evolving over time: the beginnings are different, the opening shots (intro), sounds, music, topics, etc. It must be difficult to create different videos every week given the other activities involved living on a floating home (work, maintenance, etc.) and yet, you guys succeed every week. Congrats! It’s a pleasure to follow you across our blue planet.
Lucille
I would have left before the first catamaran left, but surely when it was coming towards you. It was like being a sitting duck.
Nikki Wynn
I can see how from an outsiders perspective you might think that. The other boats had already checked out with customs and were planning to leave. We were holding steady, not dragging, and still had a week of time left.
To untie, pull up anchor and disembark wasn’t really a good option for us as we were secure in the harbor. The other guy getting his boat settled and under control was the issue. We were not sitting ducks.
Paula Burr
So respect the compassion and willingness to help you demonstrated in this situation! Thank you!
James Vargo
Just think you-all are great. Fantastic job saving your neighbors boat
Jan
Always amazing and amazed you are living your dreams! No FOMO
Lynda
Thanks for sharing the great experiences along with the not-so-great/learning experiences. Your ‘90% reaction’ to life was more positive than many sailors reactions, I believe.
BonnyJean & Jim
My husband and I love your adventures. At our age we live them through you. Thank you for bringing so much joy to our lives.😊💕
WILLIAM DOMB
Maybe some illustrations of quick release lines would be in order sometime. Not sure whatcha mean by ‘looped through the cleat’, perzackly.
Thanks for sharing!
Pam McClure
Yikes. And I love how philosophical you all are.
Jeanne and Dave
Oh my heavens! I won’t see it was a close call as his boat did hit yours but you’re certainly are lucky that it wasn’t any worse! So glad you’re both safe and thank you both for doing so much to help this newby and his first sailboat. You two are an awesome team and you work so well together. Yes. Beer. You so deserved it.
Lots of love,
Jan and Dave
Wylie Elson
So glad you fended off possible damage from your neighbor. And that your anchor held for you.
When I was in Rarotonga years ago, being a sailor I looked at the small harbor and the few cruisimg boats there. It did not look like a good place to be. And I wondered why there were so few cruisers. Now, thanks to your intro info, I undersatnd a bit more why.
I did enjoy Rarotonga though!
Did you haul out there? Where have you left Curiousity?
Curious Minion
Curiosity is on the hard in Tonga, waiting for Nikki & Jason to return with duffel bags full of boat parts for some much-needed “spa” time.
Curious Minion
Anthony D Sexton
What a crazy time, all I. All it could have been alot worse. I’ve been following you guys for about one year
and always look forward to Sunday to see you guys. Be safe, and God bless
Howard Brooks
Always love your stories.