Got my ass kicked

[buckbuck]

I was in love with Mary Ann back in the 60's. I came home from school every day to see her.

 

[soggyshoes]

Interesting to see the cast from Gilligan's Island in full color.
It's funny, you could ask any guy of a certain age "Ginger or Mary Ann?" and not only do they know exactly what you are talking about, but they have an immediate answer.
It's Mary Ann for me.

 

[GTBRMC]

This reminds of the Betty vs. Wilma debate. Easy answer there, too.

On a related note: Whoever cast Rosie O'Donnell as Betty in the 1994 The Flintstones live action film should be shot

/ end of threadjack

 

[Zarrella]

I'm glad it all worked out for you and your family. I really thought this was going to turn out bad when you said you unsecured the rear bimini polls!

 

[txav8r]

Wow, really glad all you guys are ok! Rain isn't ever an issue, just an inconvenience. But after the lightning, the wind driven waves and the wind itself can be really hard to handle. I had not considered being caught in a raft up and it being unearthed like that. I was rafted up with @maboat one night and we were adrift, but it was a calm evening and just an anchor issue. Again, glad y'all are ok, and that you shared this story...it brings a bunch of consideration to light doesn't it?

 

[Zarrella]

Always Mary Ann!!

 

[Englewoodcowboy]

Wow, that sounds like an experience you will never forget. Being I have been offshore in bad storms I will share a list of do's and don'ts that have never let us down. Now these are guidelines, not to forget appropriate safety gear, life vests etc. should be worn in times of severe weather on small boats.

1 DONT PANIC
2 If you are anchored up and a storm comes up, increase your rode 2 to 3 times. (Typically people hanging out or fishing run short rode as they are not setting in long term and plan on moving)
3 be sure when your rode is out you have 1.5 to 2 times the distance 360* around you from any other fixed or floating object to give room fro anchor slippage.
4 if you cannot increase rode due to depth or inadequate, pull up the anchor if possible and head your boat into the wind. If it is too rough to retrieve the anchor grab your throw cushion or spare life vest, tie it to the anchor and abandon it, the float will let you recover after the storm has passed.
If you are riding out the storm under power, you only want to use enough power to maintain your heading into it and not to the point you are gaining ground but enough that you are not losing any ground. This is very helpful if you have a compass or GPS or if you are near land, keep a fixed object in view if possible to aid in your direction but keep the bow into the wind and sea. You will be surprised at what the boat will handle.
5 If the vessel capsizes STAY WITH IT. Some precautions may be to tie some dock lines to it for people to grab onto, add a knot to the end, do not tie them to anyone, only to the boat. I have seen too many people lost at sea over the years because they fear if the boat goes down it will take you with it, that is false, small craft built in the last 30 years all has built in flotation and may swamp but usually will not sink. People will flee the boat when it capsizes and if they would have stayed with it they would be here today.
6 If your boat capsizes and you abandon it (it sinks or manages to get away from you another item of precaution is to outfit your vests with some para chord and if you are left floating with a PFD in a group, tie yourselves together to keep everyone together.

I know some of this is extreme but these were things we kept in order on our boats over the years that we ventured far offshore with and these same things can be applied on any body of water.

 

[JetPowered]

Since I had read this a few days ago, I have been wondering, other than needing to maneuver, did you fire up and leave the motors on?

 

[RForester]

Yeah, she seemed much hotter back then. Of course is was just a kid back then!

 

[Big Shasta]

Yeah, I was wondering if it would have been better to cut loose from the other boats and have power and maneuverability to stay into the wind and waves. Tough call to make but I wouldn't want to be locked to something else and not have control of direction.

Glad it worked out for you, scary for sure.

Oh and Mary Ann FOR SURE.

 

[BigN8]

Since I had read this a few days ago, I have been wondering, other than needing to maneuver, did you fire up and leave the motors on?

I only ran engines long enough to change our trajectory towards the open water. At the time we were drifting towards the courtesy dock seen in this pic. Once I knew we were on a path that would drift us past the dock and into the open part of the lake I shut down the engines. I had a knife ready in case we started to drift into something I could cut lines loose. The pic below was taken after the storm had passed and was just hard rain. My buddy started his boat which was center boat and moved us back into the cove and reset the anchor. Clear skies were 10-15 minutes away to the South so we decided to stay.

 

[beachbum]

Way scary story. Good to hear everyone is well and has the story to share and remember.