It is very hard to make any comment, Jolene was right, on half baked information like you gave. (tide, current, wind direction???)
The answer to a conundrum like this, with examples, could be found in any good sailing book written by professionals. Like Des Sleightholme's 'This is cruising'.

My two bobs worth would be, first assess the situation, than decide the course you would take, then stick to it. (after finished reading the books and got the basic idea !)

Jumping from sail to motor then back to more sail could only lead to disaster as confusion is already there despite the years you spent crewing for your mate.

What is wrong with sailing off backwards?

What is wrong with simply drifting off if possible and then motor or raise sail?
Strewth man!

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sirgallivant said..
It is very hard to make any comment, Jolene was right, on half baked information like you gave. (tide, current, wind direction???)
The answer to a conundrum like this, with examples, could be found in any good sailing book written by professionals. Like Des Sleightholme's 'This is cruising'.

My two bobs worth would be, first assess the situation, than decide the course you would take, then stick to it. (after finished reading the books and got the basic idea !)

Jumping from sail to motor then back to more sail could only lead to disaster as confusion is already there despite the years you spent crewing for your mate.

What is wrong with sailing off backwards?

What is wrong with simply drifting off if possible and then motor or raise sail?
Strewth man!

No need to try and work out where it went wrong with regards to currents, wint etc.
I know the safest way was to motor off. But starting the motor, which is under the tiller, was not a speedy option once we were under way. And my mate keep yelling for me to sail away.
My mate was wantimg me to sail close to the wind. Not backwards. But i hadn't set the main for this. I was going to motor away, so had the main sheet loose. He had already let us off and we were alteady being pushed back by the wind.
The mistake was bad communication and my mate expecting me to do something i was not prepared for.
I had a cat behind me and an island not too far to port and my mates boat to the starboard. Foreward was where i was going to motor off to, so that was all i was focused on.
Drifting off backward, lack of steerage due to low speed and things to crash into didn't appeal to me.

when in doubt leave the motor running in neutral perhaps . Even coming in to port its far better to know your motor running than hoping it will just start when you absolutely need it.
Its a bit like driving out back on a long distance you keep and eye out for Roos on either side of the road look at least 5 miles ahead and also at night any cattle that just love to linger on a warn road especially in a gully to keep the wind off them

When weeds and grass appear on the bow, it is time to come about!!

Quote from the very amusing little book called "The Art of Coarse Cruising".

Yes. You read it right, coarse not course.

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BJRobinson said..
Had my first lesson yesterday.
I was tied up against a mates boat.
It was time to go. We, my 14yr old son and I, jumped on board, raised the main, left the main sheet loose and was just about to start the motor, 5hp outboard, with my son on the tiller, looked up and my mate had thrown the ropes off already. He yelled for us to sail off if we wanted. Too late! Had no choice now. But we were being blown back towards another anchored boat, instead of sailing forward. I sheeted on the main. Still no good. So panick set in. I stupidly raised the Genoa thinking it would get us moving forward. Bad move. A gust came from off the island we were near and. It shot the front of the boat around and sent us straight for my mates boat. Nice scrape down the side of his boat!
Lesson from this is let your mate know you are motoring off!
He knew I was nervous about rafting up to him.
Costly lesson for me!

Ouch! Dont worry BJ you're in company. I had a GF who did kind of same to me. Boat was on mooring at Gladesville Marina and it was one of those 20kt strong westerly days. I was looking forward to putting up #2 only and sailing all the way to the heads downwind. So we got on board and I went downstairs to turn sea cocks on and check things. Then come on deck. ^*!@(^* we're drifting a million knots with no-one steering through all expensive moored boats downwind! New GF thought she'd be helpful and cast us off the mooring!!! Thats when I learnt to make sure the crew dont cast off mooring until helmsman is ready Now I think of it, Sir Gallivants boat was in our path at the time too, oops

Well Tony, don't meet by accident!

Anyone who would do that to me would do it last time as l would never talk to him or her ever again. What a dildo, in both cases!

I sail on my own most of times by design!

Hey Sirgallivant
Have you ever learnt from making a dumb mistake?
If so, I would like to hear about it.
Cheers

My own dumb mistake?
Yes. Many times, but they were my own dumb mistakes!

I knew that would get your attention John
That GF caused a few hairy moments. Another mistake to avoid.... when I had a Mottle 33 we were sailing on Lake Mac in another of those 20kt westerlies with full main and #2, the boat was flying, great fun. We were getting hull speed+. My mate and I were having a beer and being the deckies working the sheets while GF was steering. Next thing, the conversation goes like this..
GF: Tony, Is that gauge the speed or depth?
Tony: Its depth, the speed is the other one, I showed you this morning
GF: It says 15, is that metres or feet?
Tony: feet
GF: Now it says 10
Tony: What!??
GF: Now it says 8
Tony jumps up heading for helm and shouts turn hard left quick!!!!
Sudden bumping and boat comes to sideways dead stop on unmarked sand bank.
It took us hours to get unstuck from that one because we slid in so far.
Luckily a coast patrol boat was able to pull our bow around so we were facing out and with main hard on we were able to heel the boat over enough to get the keel out of the sand. We got unstuck suddenly and the boat took off because the main was still hard on. The mighty Mottle 33 then towed the coast patrol boat in a complete 360 then proceeded to tow it backwards across the lake before I could get the main off!
Mistake not to make? Ensure GF remembers difference between Log and Depth. She made up for it by making boat a beautiful new sail cover

err... don't get the main sheet tangled around your legs as you are about to jibe! I was crewing on a coutaboat and just managed to get free as the boom swung across :(

Girlfriends belong to the bedroom.
I love my tiller pilot, it never mixed up speed and depth, yet.

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sirgallivant said..
Girlfriends belong to the bedroom.
I love my tiller pilot, it never mixed up speed and depth, yet.

that comment may turn out to be your biggest sailing mistake !!!

The wife was on the helm calling out increasingly worrying depths today - until I realised that the decrease in speed and decrease in the shouted depths seemed to match!

Bristle.

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sirgallivant said..
Girlfriends belong to the bedroom.
I love my tiller pilot, it never mixed up speed and depth, yet.

The advantage your girlfriend has over your tiller pilot is she has eyes to see what is ahead of the boat

Regards Don

Girlfriend or someone else, if 'who is responsible' let's a greenhorn helm one's yacht, 'who is responsible' is and will be responsible regardless of any facetious comments.
And this is a fact.

We were in the Whitsundays last week picking up a mooring. Wife dropped the boat hook. We had a spare so my son grabbed it and took it to her. He then disappeared behind me while my wife had another attempt at grabbing the mooring. Lots of wind. Large chartered catamaran. Large brand new Beneteau 50m behind us.

My 9 year old son decided to jump in behind the boat to grab the lost boat hook. I did not see or hear him jump in as I was concentrating on lining up on the mooring.

Thank god we grabbed it as if I had failed I would have reversed over him, probably cutting him to pieces with the props.

I like to think I would of looked behind before I reversed but what if he had been right up against the rear hull and I hadnt spotted him.

I was responsible captain and not briefed the crew to remain on board the boat while maneuvering or until engines off and I say safe to go in.

I still think about this a week later.
Ed.

Yes your right about 'briefing' Cav. I seem to 'brief' all the time. Missus and I have
been together for 37 years and she knows me inside out but when we're sailing
I still say' Righto Darl I'm going to put a tack in is your winch loaded' even though
I can see that it is.

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Cav30 said..
We were in the Whitsundays last week picking up a mooring. Wife dropped the boat hook. We had a spare so my son grabbed it and took it to her. He then disappeared behind me while my wife had another attempt at grabbing the mooring. Lots of wind. Large chartered catamaran. Large brand new Beneteau 50m behind us.

My 9 year old son decided to jump in behind the boat to grab the lost boat hook. I did not see or hear him jump in as I was concentrating on lining up on the mooring.

Thank god we grabbed it as if I had failed I would have reversed over him, probably cutting him to pieces with the props.

I like to think I would of looked behind before I reversed but what if he had been right up against the rear hull and I hadnt spotted him.

I was responsible captain and not briefed the crew to remain on board the boat while maneuvering or until engines off and I say safe to go in.

I still think about this a week later.
Ed.

Don't feel too responsible. It will weigh you down. You did the right thing in the circumstances.

It isn't possible to brief for every eventuality. Some people and especially kids will do the unpredictable. Instead of jumping overboard he might have done something else, e.g. brought the main sheet on so you started sailing.

If you brief every possibility every time you won't go anywhere.

Mistake number 1: On a heavy air gybe, I called for the traveller to be locked off on the centre line and didn't check it.
Mistake number 2: I had one leg over the traveller when we gybed.
Turns out the windward cleat was locked off, but the leeward cleat wasn't . It pinned me against the side of the cockpit sawing away till a wave freed the mainsheet enough for me to get my leg out.

I was lucky in hindsight, I can't remember the circumstances but this is an old photo of what running rigging can do to the unwary.

nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

don't look back!!!!!!!! graphic injury pic warning !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OUCH!

Being hit by the main sheet during a accidental gybe caused a fatality on a recent clipper race

The report is here www.gov.uk/maib-reports/accidents-on-board-yacht-cv21-resulting-in-loss-of-2-lives

Regards Don

Looking at Shaggy's injury, I was told the other day of the race in Pittwater that killed a crew member. Apparently a
couta boat collided with another racing boat and the bowsprit of the couta went over the gunnel and rammed the crew
member in the chest and killed him. The chain that goes from the bowsprit to the bow stem sawed another crew members leg off above the knee. Now I don't know the circumstances under which this happened but the consequences are frightening.

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twodogs1969 said..

Sectorsteve
When im racing and its windy as hell, on a 34 foot race boat im bloody ready to jump off UPWIND of the boat everytime we lose control due to spinnaker issues or something.

The last thing you need when out of control is someone in the drink.
As a skipper you have enough going on watching for other boats trying to get back under control. Making sure the crew are taking the right actions to retrieve the situation. Just what you need a crew member jumping over.

Scenario small child (can not swim) falls off boat skipper and one crew...
as the crew member what do you do????

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w8ingforwind said..
Scenario small child (can not swim) falls off boat skipper and one crew...
as the crew member what do you do????

Not enough information for a qualified answer to the question.

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w8ingforwind said..

twodogs1969 said..

Sectorsteve
When im racing and its windy as hell, on a 34 foot race boat im bloody ready to jump off UPWIND of the boat everytime we lose control due to spinnaker issues or something.

The last thing you need when out of control is someone in the drink.
As a skipper you have enough going on watching for other boats trying to get back under control. Making sure the crew are taking the right actions to retrieve the situation. Just what you need a crew member jumping over.

Scenario small child (can not swim) falls off boat skipper and one crew...
as the crew member what do you do????

First of all he should be waring a life jacket and depending on situation clipped on.
As a senario you need more information.
Is the boat underway?
If so how fast? You would be surprised how quick you would be away in no time.
Is it inshore or offshore?
Can you swim?

Not really sure what you are trying to get at with the senario.

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w8ingforwind said..

twodogs1969 said..

Sectorsteve
When im racing and its windy as hell, on a 34 foot race boat im bloody ready to jump off UPWIND of the boat everytime we lose control due to spinnaker issues or something.

The last thing you need when out of control is someone in the drink.
As a skipper you have enough going on watching for other boats trying to get back under control. Making sure the crew are taking the right actions to retrieve the situation. Just what you need a crew member jumping over.

Scenario small child (can not swim) falls off boat skipper and one crew...
as the crew member what do you do????

First of all he should be waring a life jacket and depending on situation clipped on.
As a senario you need more information.
Is the boat underway?
If so how fast? You would be surprised how quick you would be away in no time.
Is it inshore or offshore?
Can you swim?

Not really sure what you are trying to get at with the senario.

Ouch shaggy thats got to hurt!!!