A bit of a Sea Story (prepardness and aid)

[Kevin Henderson]

Today the Admiral and I were out for a nice sail.  The breeze was fresh and it was really a great day to be out on the water.  We were starting our last tack for the afternoon before returning back to the marina.  In the distance I noticed a small sailboat with 4 people in it enjoying their day sailing.  Out of the corner of my eye I saw what looked to be the same small sailboat capsizing.  Nothing really too startling since there are many small day sailors out on the bay in this particular area.  However, what I first thought to be a simple capsize turned out to be a fairly serious situation.  From the distance I could clearly see that this particular boat, although righted, had no mast!  She had been dismasted right before my eyes.  Knowing that this could be a serious situation the Admiral and I quickly doused our sails and started the engine and motored our way to the disabled vessel.  As we approached I was giving my wife (the Admiral) directions of my intentions and to also break out a tow line in the event we tow.  I had my handheld VHF with me at the helm so I knew that if I needed to get a call out for help, it would be no problem.  The first thing I asked as we got within hailing distance was if anyone was hurt.  I had seen the quickness of the capsize and knew instinctively that it could be a situation with injury.  Fortunately the skipper of the boat said that no one was injured.  He also had all the crew don their PFD's.  I circled from a distance since I could clearly see there was a great deal of lines, and cables around the boat in the water.  The skipper asked if we could contact the harbor Police for him.  However, seeing that there were no injuries and finding out that they were from a not too distant marina I volunteered to tow them back home. We had a line tossed over and made up to the stern cleat and began the slow tow back to their home.  We had a chance to chat for a little bit and founds out that the boat was a harbor 20 and that they had been sailing when the starboard shroud had snapped.  When that happened a wave had also hit them and with the wind, everything came down in a shambles.  We had a non-eventful motor back to their marina and the skipper was clearly grateful for the assist.  My wife and I were very thankful to have been there to render aid and assistance to another sailor in their time of need.  
This was really not a harrowing tale of high seas rescue but nevertheless, any situation on the water is amplified and sometimes bad things happen even in confined protected waters.  We were thankful for the knowledge that we possessed and the confidence we had in maneuvering the boat and handling her exactly the way needed to when we needed.  Many of the little drills we practiced all came into play when we needed to react quickly and instinctively.  Afterwards we talked about the various scenarios that could have taken place as we approached the injured vessel:
1.    There may have been injuries aboard.  We determined that the first thing we would have done was call the Coast Guard and bring the other vessel alongside so that we could offer First Aid till help arrived.
2.   The Harbor 20 is a fin keel boat.  This helped the skipper and crew to stay inside a stable, safe boat.  Otherwise the crew of the boat could have been in the water swimming.  In this case we were ready to through PFD's and life rings and have the ladder lowered.  
As it was, it was simply a tow back into homeport and sharing a bond and kinship with a fellow sailor.  When the skipper asked if he could repay me I only stated that "If you ever see me out there without my mast, just lend me a hand".  
Pau Hana had an excellent day out sailing today and my confidence and familiarity of all that is my Catalina 34 came from the helpful advice and tips that I have gained from this association and website.  My little C34 handled like a dream and was predictable and capable and behaved exactly like I knew she would!  

[Mike and Joanne Stimmler]

Well done, Kevin   

Mike

[Kirk Garner]

Several years ago I had the opportunity to lend a hand to an elderly couple who were chartering an old Catalina 30 that had some very significant mechanical and electrical issues. We had met at an anchorage and I learned that they were actually quite scared and ill prepared to deal with the situation in a fairly isolated area. I offered to sail close by with them the next morning to a Marina several hours away (heading in the same general direction I was heading anyway) to offer support and be available if things got much worse. Long story short, they were greatly relieved and I ended up getting by far the very best photographs of my little ship under sail than I could ever have hoped to get before.

It doesn't really take any more than just a willingness to help that makes all the difference in the world to those who are facing dilemmas, both very real and imagined and when the time comes I am convinced that what goes around comes around and I may very well be on the receiving end of somebody else's kindness! Hopefully I will remember to shoot some great pics for them as well!

Thanks for sharing Kevin!

Kirk