Sooner or later every cruiser has a story or two of "when it all turned to shit". The thing is that you can't plan for every eventuality but when the shit hits the fan, all you can do is try to keep a cool head and do your best to deal with the situation. Thank you for sharing this experience with us.
Hey morning Vernon, I have been watching sailing videos for many years now, stopped watching most as they turned into another repeat episode "Days of our lives" or "Married at First Sight". Rewatched this episode and think this is one of the most authentic 31 minutes of sailing life I have seen. Glad You, Marie and Eli are all safe and well. Maurice
That’s good to hear Maurice. We hope very much that we won’t be replicating it soon. We do always try though to make honest content. Thanks for the nice message.
When we ran aground, we were on a sandbank (lucky us!!) but, like you, we let the tide do the work. They way you both stayed calm and patiently worked through the problem was definitely the best thing to do. Good luck getting it all sorted out 👍
Amazing how few boats use anchor alarms as a matter of habit. We see boats dragging regularly with those onboard unaware for long periods, often oblivious until a third party alarms them. We have been saved by our anchor alarms and sleep well because of them.
Thats one big take away I got from this. I've previously used my anchor alarm only when I thought the conditions warranted it, bad ground, strong winds etc. The problem with that is that you never know when strong wind will appear. I'm using it every night now. The alarm is helpful but even more, if we are drifting I can right away see where and how far we have moved and then react accordingly.
Wow thanks for your video. I just realize now that I will carry solar led lights and put one on land to give me a reference. Lucky it was dead low tide.
Until you have been in a line squall you do not understand how fast they come in . One thing I learned here was take note of the compass heading to deep water . You may not have visibility to see it or instruments booted up in a panic .
The first time I experienced one of them was picking up my last boat Schiehallion the day I brought her. Motoring from Manley up to Scarborough in Brisbane. Craziest thing I ever saw. This thing was similar I guess but we didnt see it coming.
Thank you glad your all ok great debrief good decisions no drama just common sense and my observation from watching learning by doing from day 1 no bullshit congrats
Big test passed with flying Colours, I'm relieved Marie handles this drama with courage most women with a baby would pull up stakes and move a shore. As you noted family bond has been tested you both passed. As to the Dutch sailors in my limited experience, I found they can be intransigent difficult people at best of times. Not all but some can, I found it counterintuitive to do the right thing whereas Australians and New Zealanders are the opposite. SV Skoiern IV
A sobering story but a really positive lesson learned. Finding out how well one copes with crisis can only be found through experience and it's great to see you come through this without debilitating panic, argument or loss of the boat. I wish you fairer winds for the future.
Thanks Lincon, you are 100% correct. As tough as it is to go through this sort of thing I feel sort of blessed to have found out how we both reacted and worked it out. You can never simulate this.
Yep for sure. This exact situation in a mono would have been a whole different kettle of fish for sure. Maybe it wouldn’t have happened at all in a mono though.
Hey guys. First, thanks for sharing all this! So glad to see that you made it through. Sad that the other sailors near by haven't come around to assist or even in the morning to see if you needed any help. Sorry about that. Whenever I found my self in emergencies, I found out that I don't panic. I have no time for panicking cause I'm busy with how to sort out problems and find solutions. Ald in that way, I have learned to trust my self. Take care guys, thankfully it is all material damages and you are all safe.
Thank you for such a quality report on your scary experience. Life has this things, but learning is what it makes who we are. I feel in this crisis you three reacted very well considering all the situation. No panic!! There are two kinds of sailors, the ones who have run aground and the ones who will run aground! Pity of knowing that there is still people (not really sailors) not willing to help!!! Glad that you are well!
....i feel so sorry for what happened to you! Until you all are safe, its something you can learn out of it. Personally a Cat is confortable but i'm more for classical boats that can defense themselves better, from windage is a fact, as you already said Capt.Vernon. Abt your "lovely boat-neighbours", poor people, being a Sailor is not all about how long&rich is your boat, it also belong to old traditions... I wish you Vernon, Marie and yr lovely kid all the best ❣Fair Winds
Mate, it's admirable/ super informative to hear these situations, because sailing isn't always rainbows and skittles! Thanks for sharing guys! Love how truthful you guys are about it all aswell... Glad to hear that you three made it out unscathed! Bless up guys and here's to better sailing days ahead!
Wow! First of all, glad you are all safe. Thank you for giving an honest and open account of what happened, root cause, what went right, and what didn’t go so well. That learning is invaluable to not just yourselves, but everyone that watches this. Thanks for the vulnerability! Be safe!
Vernon, Marie & Eli: All three are safe, without incident and still very much alive and kicking with Health, that's our main concern. Line squall's are a true nightmare, you both did a remarkable job keeping your wits about you and with Vernon's fast reaction dropping that second anchor, undoubtedly kept the damage to a minimum. Eli looks like he's growing like a weed. It won't be long before Eli will be behind the wheel giving the orders. Your so fortunate to have Marie right there as well, taking care of business. Excellent episode and we all learned so much from your thoughtful explanation.
Glad to hear everyone is ok mate , also no serious damage to the boat looks like a bigger anchor needed if those squalls are becoming more prevalent where your at . Fair winds !!
Bloody hell Vernon Marie and bébé, I did not see that coming. I’m so pleased that you’ve come through as well as you have. A bent shaft is obviously not great but fixable. And nobody hurt. I know that you’ll fix what’s not 100% and the lessons learned for all the rest of us are out there to see. I surely appreciate you sharing. My knowledge is the tiniest wee fraction of yours and I feel grateful that you can spread the word. Hopefully we can avoid such things ourselves. Best of luck with the haul out mate. Bonne chance Marie
We learned so much from this video. Thanks for sharing guys. Honestly so rattling listing to you recount the story and the impact of seeing Tradie on the reef. You both handled it so well. Massive ups, you're in paradise and there are so many exciting adventures ahead for your family! Lots of love J+P
Thanks bro. To be honest it’s taking a while to get our confidence back but that’s healthy and we are thinking harder and longer about our decisions. That’s a good thing. So easy to get complacent.
holy, what a night!.., Glad you are all okay..., little Eli is getting so strong now, holding himself up on dads knee, so cute..., great lessons in there guys..., Marie grabbing passports must have been so scarey for her..., geez,... just fix the window properly nxt time Vernon..😄🫣💁♀️..., you did so well team..❤🙏🌏⛵️🥇, so great you are all okay.., the coral will be okay too..❤
Thanks mate, super nice of you. Eli is getting big fast! Wanting to do everything I do already but gets frustrated when he can't. Hope youre doing good
Hey Morning! Thanks for keeping it real. Glad that you and Marie and bébé are safe and boat was mostly undamaged too. Look forward to more of your adventures! - Rajesh Kumar
Great lesson, and lucky result, could have gone so much worse, but calm decision making in the heat of the battle is testament to your experience. Well done both of you
Glad you're ok and thanks for going in-depth so we can all learn. I've been reading about the 100 year return 10 minute average maximum wind speeds over the ocean where a global study indicated 72 knots max in the northern hemisphere and 66 knots in the southern. Wild. I wonder if what you saw was one of those events for your area.
Well, at least the bunk stayed dry. 😏 Glad you’re ok. Really nice to see Marie smiling and laughing so soon after this incident, it bodes well. The indifference of the other cruisers is sad and disturbing, but it’s the exception, not the rule. Keep the faith. As for exposing the little one to risk, there is risk everywhere. He is probably in much more danger on the average one hour drive than he will ever be onboard that boat. This episode is a good one; “Learning by Doing” writ large. There are always things to be learned. Well done.
Silver linings eh? You’re right, I think about risk in the same way. Most people don’t even consider it dangerous driving a car, just assuming the person coming the other way is sane, sober and has attended to the vehicle’s maintenance.
@@SailingLearningByDoing It’s a question of familiarity. Most folks drive every day, and think nothing of it. Complacency. The same danger exists on boats, of course. Ask me how I know. No danger of that for the two of you for a while now…. Best of luck getting things sorted
A story to tell your Son when he is old enough to understand. Well that is his first grounding, probably not his last. Great not too much harm done. Maurice.
Wow you really handled that well as a team, despite the lack of assistance from Goldmember and co. Super impressive. Glad you’re all safe. Onwards! 💪💪💪
So glad to see you are save. This episode definitely deserves the "Learning by doing" label I guess :-): All the best for the next chapter, love your humble, modest way of dealing with things. Merci pour partager.
Thanks for your honesty in your reporting of the situation. I took much from this for my own sailing, especially the windage factor which has caught me out. I'm very pleased you are all ok and stronger through the experience. More great videos to come. Cheers.
Sorry this happened, I think you dealt with it well. I find an anchor alarm really mandatory, but can understand the complacency of not using one. But I had to laugh about wearing the ROCNA hat while telling the story!
Glad you got out of the situation ok. Maybe a suggestion which may help avoid this next time. When you drop anchor pin that position on you satellite nav app/ device, and leave the device on at night. Then if a similar situation occurs you have a real time knowledge of your position, and where safety or danger lies.you don't waste precious time waiting for the device to acquire the position. Also note which bearing takes you to safety when anchored, and you can use your compass. Hope that makes sense and helps. We're always learning on our boat, and usually from when things like this happen to us.
Luck shines on us at times BUT the other cruisers ignoring you , That is a No No , Bigger pick ? & I wonder if a small 'rubbing keel' would help , An inch or two glassed along the centerline just for grounding ... The good news is the Great barrier reef has never been healthier . Fair winds .
Glad your safe , the chart plotter and instruments on would of helped greatly , orientation at a glance , seeing that you had moved . More time to make a action . Not preaching shit happens .
Hey mate, I have noticed in the last ten years that the cruising community has changed , for the worst. They don't help each other out like they use too. Glad you made it through, but i am surprised that you don't have an anchor alarm on your GPS/Chart plotter
There has been a lot of new people entering the lifestyle but I can’t blame it on my those I think. I’m choosing to believe it was an isolated incident and in general the cruising community are still great.
The look in Marie's eyes on the intro reminded me of my wife the 1st we nearly dragged on the beach in langkawi. The other two cruisers should be ashamed of themselves. We would have been over and offering a hand as soon asap. Best of luck with your repairs guys
You did so great. I really hope it won'øt scare you away from from the water. We all learn. I really was touched watching this. I truly hope the very best for you three and your boat.
My friend Mike saw a boat dragging in the BVI and braved 30+ winds to help him..turned out he helped Neil Young re-anchor..he paided him back by coming to Cabbage Key in Florida and playing music for 2 hours one night....
Yes quite a stressful situation. Thankfully all you came out safely which is the most important thing. Surprised the other boater's especially the ones you knew didn't come over or attempt to and worst not even coming by after it was over. Thankfully Eli's a sound sleeper and because of this it made dealing with this situation easier so to speak less worries still very stressful I'm not trying to down play this. Now haul out get a really good close look and fix the damage. Like you said could have been a lot worse. Thank-you for giving us the explanation of what happened and letting us know you three are doing well. Looking forward to next video "The Haul Out!!!!"
Thanks Jonathan. If Eli had of been scared and yelling the whole thing would have been so much worse! When he’s crying we can’t seem to concentrate on much else, especially Marie. When I started cruising one of the things that amazed me was the sense of community, people offering help and advice. This is the first time I’ve really been disappointed by fellow cruisers. To be honest, they couldn’t have helped much but at the TIME us or them didn’t know that.
Thankfully Marie and the baby are safe and well, we can always replace a boat. Your choice of Trade Runner has been a winner. Lightweight and Kevlar, all minimising damage when going aground, thank God. Get the boat out of the water asap and make sure water doesn't get into the hull laminate. The bent prop shaft means that allot of pressure has been put on the shaft bracket . I'm sure you will do a thorough inspection when out of the water. Good luck with the repairs, your theory that small things can lead to larger problems is absolutely correct. I have always thought that a good skipper will easily handle one problem, two problems at the same time again handled by skipper and crew, but with three problems at the same time even the best skippers have lost control of the situation. Again good luck with the repairs and great to know all three of you are safe.
Thanks Rick. Theoretically you can always replace a boat but in our case we’d be completely broke so could only afford to replace Trade Runner with a hobie cat maybe.
Happy to see all are fine. You had a situation that comes up so quicking and at a bad time. You handle it extremly well under the circumstances. We all get in situations on the water. Clear heads will generally prevail. You did good and kept Marie and your bundle of joy safe 👍
Verne, you preserved the yacht and took all the necessary actions, whilst considering the conditions and forecasts of wind and tides. Despite the setback to your journey and the necessity to haul out and make repairs good, I would give yourself a pat on the back! Hopefully the boat is repaired by now and you and your family are enjoying the wonders of these great oceans 🌊 Much love to you and your family ❤
From the damage I could see I reckon a bit of epoxy fairing should do the trick. Straighten the shaft if possible, if not a new one. Lessons learnt, bigger anchor may help. Depressing no one came to help, that is not how we Aussie's operate, obviously they weren't Aussies. To you sailors who ignored their pleas for help, shame on you, you are a cowardly disgrace. If you need a hand fixing the boat i could fly over from South Oz and give you hand if you need it. I wonder what difference a cat to mono makes in this situation, I think in a mono you'd be much worse off. anyway all's safe, boat held up well and you can sail to fix her, so in my opinion you've done well
Needed a bit more than filler as you'll see next week but nothing too serous. Youre right, they weren't Aussies! Thanks for the offer mate, great to know there's people, like you out there. This occurred 2 weeks ago now and we've already hauled out and repainted the damage(next video). Would have loved the help though as Marie was flat out looking after Eli and I nearly killed myself getting everything fixed by myself. We discussed this, if it happened to Scheihallion. Would have been way worse I reckon as she would have been over on her side with the keel stuck. Maybe she wouldn't have dragged at all though as a Mono has way less windage.
Hey Vernon and Marie it seems hard to avoid every situation. I now always feel like we should have sea room and then forget when the weather is calm. I suppose the depth drops too quickly in some places too. Our anchor alarm has saved us a couple of times. 60 knots is not something I want to experience. Safe sailing for your family.🙂
@@meredithbayly8617 Yeah it shows we need to be ready for anything, anytime. The weather forecast cant predict squalls like this one and they can come from any point on the compass. Some of its luck and some preparation. Learning all the time
Glad you guys are safe. Nothing better than hindsight so as your channel name says. Learn by doing. Now in future you’ll learn to listen to that voice in your head. Boat is repairable. Glad you have put out an honest video about it cause there would be plenty out there that sugar coat it. To those selfish $&”@: next to you, hope you are both proud that you got a good night sleep, whether the boat next to you has done the wrong thing or not or made a mistake doesn’t stop you from lending a hand. Let’s hope if you’re ever in trouble you don’t get the same response…. FH’s….. Ps my kids were never that calm at that age! I should have put them in a boat! Keep up the great work. Don’t let this spoil your lifestyle.
Thanks Steve. We could have for sure made a way more dramatic video about all this but it's not us. We talked about not releasing a video at all, just telling our Patrons and then moving on but I feel our viewers value the honesty in our videos and we hoped some would find some value in this account. No-one is perfect, we all make mistakes. I'd way rather make a mistake and learn from it than be scared to risk failure and end up doing nothing.
A good outcome,easy fix in the water by the looks of it,can slide the shaft out in the water and put a bung in and replace.Very big learning curve when shtf and you keep your shit together,Safe sailing guys.
@@SailingLearningByDoing I’ve heard put a heap of baby powder on neked then undies and the dust suit cuts out most of the itchiness,problem is sweat and the exposed areas like hands wrists and face.The new bosun is so cute by the way,also hats off the Maria for keeping it together,most folks would have lost it.I guess in real time the boat is repaired already right???Lol.
Mate I live in Bali next to the beach and there have been a couple of CRAZY squalls run past us and obviously when you were there, they were around. Crazy weather mate !
Yeah not very cool. I felt like going over in the morning saying something but they probably would have said “you got yourself in trouble so get yourself out of it”.
Yep, it’s what I did. You’re the first one to mention windage. On FB the comments are all the same, need a way bigger anchor, 7 to 1 scope at all times etc etc. if you l ft your sails up and a squall came then no anchor would hold you in place, that sorta what we did.
Thanks for giving your story. Compared to most catamarans around these days, yours is a very low windage. Inexperienced folk buy them without any comprehension of the force of the wind, scary. What is your anchor…have you got a bigger one know? I am thinking, perhaps with a kedge it would be more use just using an all rope rode?
Yeah true, we do have low windage compared to all the production Condomarans around these days. Our ground tackle is accordingly light though. We have a 20kg Rocna and 60m of 8mm chain. Trade Runner is only 5t so this should be ok but 25kg Rocna would be better for sure.
As shit as it is, it could of been a lot worse. The best part of it is there doesn't look to be a lot of damage, and you have learnt from it. Not worth talking about those that didn't help. Over all you turned what was a shit situation into a great outcome. Glad your all ok and the adventure continues.
That is your worst nightmare... could happen to any of us-- as I am sitting at anchor in Pittwater on my catamaran... Interested to know what our main anchor was? did it drag or did you swing onto the reef with the wind change? Well done managing the panic-- have had to do that once myself on a mono-- just waiting for three hours for the tide to come in, itching to actually do something, anything... but waiting. Phil
@@SailingLearningByDoing Wow, as you say possibly the extra windage pulled her out... Thank god the damage is not too bad... bad enough of course.. Go well.
Must have been great to know that you had Kevlar lining the bottom of the hull. Good to haul out as quick as you can in case the core picks up water. What is the core? Hope you manage to get a new prop shaft at a reasonable price and reasonably quickly. Any thoughts of a bigger or different anchor? Can't remember what you have at present.
It seems today mariners rely more on technology, private towing, insurance claims more than on fellow human help. The same apply to offshore sailors who with tech do not need the deep knowledge and respect of the element than previous generation did, you can now circumnavigate without a single serious storm in your way, if the sense of danger is gone ,why help?
Yeah thats true. If something breaks most will resort to TH-cam to show them how to fix it rather than go ask the guy on the next boat across. Things are becoming less personal in all walks of life. Nowadays you dont ask humans for help, you ask the internet.
Could have been worse...The family was safe and Vernon did what he had to do as a skilled skipper.. Always "lesson learned" ..that's the progression in sailing..
Sooner or later every cruiser has a story or two of "when it all turned to shit". The thing is that you can't plan for every eventuality but when the shit hits the fan, all you can do is try to keep a cool head and do your best to deal with the situation. Thank you for sharing this experience with us.
Well said.
Hey morning Vernon, I have been watching sailing videos for many years now, stopped watching most as they turned into another repeat episode "Days of our lives" or "Married at First Sight". Rewatched this episode and think this is one of the most authentic 31 minutes of sailing life I have seen. Glad You, Marie and Eli are all safe and well. Maurice
That’s good to hear Maurice. We hope very much that we won’t be replicating it soon. We do always try though to make honest content. Thanks for the nice message.
When we ran aground, we were on a sandbank (lucky us!!) but, like you, we let the tide do the work. They way you both stayed calm and patiently worked through the problem was definitely the best thing to do. Good luck getting it all sorted out 👍
Thanks guys.
Amazing how few boats use anchor alarms as a matter of habit. We see boats dragging regularly with those onboard unaware for long periods, often oblivious until a third party alarms them. We have been saved by our anchor alarms and sleep well because of them.
Thats one big take away I got from this. I've previously used my anchor alarm only when I thought the conditions warranted it, bad ground, strong winds etc. The problem with that is that you never know when strong wind will appear. I'm using it every night now. The alarm is helpful but even more, if we are drifting I can right away see where and how far we have moved and then react accordingly.
Wow thanks for your video. I just realize now that I will carry solar led lights and put one on land to give me a reference. Lucky it was dead low tide.
Until you have been in a line squall you do not understand how fast they come in . One thing I learned here was take note of the compass heading to deep water . You may not have visibility to see it or instruments booted up in a panic .
The first time I experienced one of them was picking up my last boat Schiehallion the day I brought her. Motoring from Manley up to Scarborough in Brisbane. Craziest thing I ever saw. This thing was similar I guess but we didnt see it coming.
Thank you glad your all ok great debrief good decisions no drama just common sense and my observation from watching learning by doing from day 1 no bullshit congrats
Thanks James. Yep, it’s important to us to try and Kep it real. Great to hear you’ve been here since the get-go
Big test passed with flying Colours, I'm relieved Marie handles this drama with courage most women with a baby would pull up stakes and move a shore. As you noted family bond has been tested you both passed.
As to the Dutch sailors in my limited experience, I found they can be intransigent difficult people at best of times. Not all but some can, I found it counterintuitive to do the right thing whereas Australians and New Zealanders are the opposite. SV Skoiern IV
Thanks John, I feel we are a stronger unit now and that is a good feeling to have.
A sobering story but a really positive lesson learned. Finding out how well one copes with crisis can only be found through experience and it's great to see you come through this without debilitating panic, argument or loss of the boat. I wish you fairer winds for the future.
Thanks Lincon, you are 100% correct. As tough as it is to go through this sort of thing I feel sort of blessed to have found out how we both reacted and worked it out. You can never simulate this.
Thank God you have 2 motors in a situation like this
Yep for sure. This exact situation in a mono would have been a whole different kettle of fish for sure. Maybe it wouldn’t have happened at all in a mono though.
What a night! Glad you 3 are all ok!
Thank you!
Hey guys. First, thanks for sharing all this! So glad to see that you made it through. Sad that the other sailors near by haven't come around to assist or even in the morning to see if you needed any help. Sorry about that. Whenever I found my self in emergencies, I found out that I don't panic. I have no time for panicking cause I'm busy with how to sort out problems and find solutions. Ald in that way, I have learned to trust my self. Take care guys, thankfully it is all material damages and you are all safe.
Thanks Mike. Yeah in a way it’s good to experience these types of things from time to time.
Thank you for sharing your adventures with the world
Thank you for such a quality report on your scary experience. Life has this things, but learning is what it makes who we are. I feel in this crisis you three reacted very well considering all the situation. No panic!! There are two kinds of sailors, the ones who have run aground and the ones who will run aground!
Pity of knowing that there is still people (not really sailors) not willing to help!!!
Glad that you are well!
Absolutely, it was good to see us working well as a team. No sense in panicking really. Some lessons learnt.
A good end result Vernon - just one of those incidents you can't control. Pity about others not checking on you though.
Yep, could have been way worse and the fix isn't going too bad.
... very scary. thank you for the feedback, good learnings.
....i feel so sorry for what happened to you! Until you all are safe, its something you can learn out of it. Personally a Cat is confortable but i'm more for classical boats that can defense themselves better, from windage is a fact, as you already said Capt.Vernon.
Abt your "lovely boat-neighbours", poor people, being a Sailor is not all about how long&rich is your boat, it also belong to old traditions...
I wish you Vernon, Marie and yr lovely kid all the best ❣Fair Winds
Thanks Stefano. Could have been much worse, we escaped pretty lightly I reckon.
Mate, it's admirable/ super informative to hear these situations, because sailing isn't always rainbows and skittles! Thanks for sharing guys! Love how truthful you guys are about it all aswell... Glad to hear that you three made it out unscathed! Bless up guys and here's to better sailing days ahead!
Thanks for that.
Glad you avoided disaster. Helpful of you to share the experience.
Thanks Frank.
Sorry to hear you had no reaction from so-called mariners. I and others I know would have come to your aid in no time and help you out.
Yeah, on the other side I would have gone to help immediately as well. Hard to understand.
Wow! First of all, glad you are all safe. Thank you for giving an honest and open account of what happened, root cause, what went right, and what didn’t go so well. That learning is invaluable to not just yourselves, but everyone that watches this. Thanks for the vulnerability! Be safe!
You’re very welcome. We’ve always tried to make honest and informative videos with minimal fake drama.
From the heart Vernon, every cloud has a silver lining. Looking forward to the next chapter
Yes thats so true. Always look on the bright side of life, dada, da, da da.
God Bless the three of you, keep strong, have faith in each other, you're all safe.
Yes that’s it John. Thanks.
What a nightmare. Good you are alright
thanks, we are all fine and the boat is gonna be ok too
glad it worked out. fun little family adventure ;)
Haha.
Vernon, Marie & Eli: All three are safe, without incident and still very much alive and kicking with Health, that's our main concern. Line squall's are a true nightmare, you both did a remarkable job keeping your wits about you and with Vernon's fast reaction dropping that second anchor, undoubtedly kept the damage to a minimum. Eli looks like he's growing like a weed. It won't be long before Eli will be behind the wheel giving the orders. Your so fortunate to have Marie right there as well, taking care of business. Excellent episode and we all learned so much from your thoughtful explanation.
Thanks David. Mistakes were made obviously but as you point out, no one was hurt, the boats still floating and we learnt some lessons.
Glad to hear everyone is ok mate , also no serious damage to the boat looks like a bigger anchor needed if those squalls are becoming more prevalent where your at . Fair winds !!
yeah i was thinking if not new since he bought the boat maybe it could be bigger
Yep, it wouldn't be a bad idea for sure.
Bloody hell Vernon Marie and bébé, I did not see that coming. I’m so pleased that you’ve come through as well as you have. A bent shaft is obviously not great but fixable. And nobody hurt.
I know that you’ll fix what’s not 100% and the lessons learned for all the rest of us are out there to see.
I surely appreciate you sharing. My knowledge is the tiniest wee fraction of yours and I feel grateful that you can spread the word. Hopefully we can avoid such things ourselves.
Best of luck with the haul out mate.
Bonne chance Marie
Ah thanks for that. We’re all gaining knowledge as we go and I guess the real test is to see if we put that knowledge into practice.
Now its a family adventure. Commiserations and congrats on handling it. Hope the boatyard doesnt find any surprises.
Yeah, we’re bonded into a nice little unit now.
Love your humility and honesty. That’s the way to learn and improve. Your channel is aptly titled. Awesome attitude guys!
Thanks! Always learning.
We learned so much from this video. Thanks for sharing guys. Honestly so rattling listing to you recount the story and the impact of seeing Tradie on the reef. You both handled it so well. Massive ups, you're in paradise and there are so many exciting adventures ahead for your family! Lots of love J+P
Thanks bro. To be honest it’s taking a while to get our confidence back but that’s healthy and we are thinking harder and longer about our decisions. That’s a good thing. So easy to get complacent.
Well handled by you both.Certainly a learning by doing episode Happy you came out well after that one and can move on with the adventures.
Thanks Croc. A real Shituation
holy, what a night!.., Glad you are all okay..., little Eli is getting so strong now, holding himself up on dads knee, so cute..., great lessons in there guys..., Marie grabbing passports must have been so scarey for her..., geez,... just fix the window properly nxt time Vernon..😄🫣💁♀️..., you did so well team..❤🙏🌏⛵️🥇, so great you are all okay.., the coral will be okay too..❤
Thanks mate, super nice of you. Eli is getting big fast! Wanting to do everything I do already but gets frustrated when he can't. Hope youre doing good
Hey Morning!
Thanks for keeping it real. Glad that you and Marie and bébé are safe and boat was mostly undamaged too.
Look forward to more of your adventures!
- Rajesh Kumar
Thanks mate. Could have been worse and we are stronger for it.
Sailing with a kid certenly is different ball game, but u guys are smart and experienced, u will learn on the go and adapt. U are great.
Thanks mate, happily Eli had no real clue what was going on.
You just have to manage what life throws at you... Clearly you both delivered and saved the boat and yourselves... Dam good job too...
Thanks Colin, worked out ok in the end.
Really glad it worked out and you're all ok!!!
Love you guys, happy you are all safe ❤
❤️bru
Could've been a hell of a lot worse, scary. He's a very cute little fella, looks very healthy.
Yes indeed it could have. Eli takes after his mum for sure.
@@SailingLearningByDoing did you perchance cross paths with the two dutch guys in subsequent days?
@@claverton no, as soon as we were floating we went on one motor 20nm to where we hoped to haul out.
I hope you guys get that propshaft sorted and i am glad it didn't get worse.
Thanks! Yeah could have been worse but we get everything sorted. The video coming on Saturday shows the repairs
Great lesson, and lucky result, could have gone so much worse, but calm decision making in the heat of the battle is testament to your experience. Well done both of you
Yes indeed, would have been a totally different outcome if another squall had rolled through when we were stuck on the reef!
You lucky to have each other too grow
Glad you're ok and thanks for going in-depth so we can all learn. I've been reading about the 100 year return 10 minute average maximum wind speeds over the ocean where a global study indicated 72 knots max in the northern hemisphere and 66 knots in the southern. Wild. I wonder if what you saw was one of those events for your area.
Thanks Craig. I haven’t seen what you mentioned, I’ll have a look.
Well, at least the bunk stayed dry. 😏 Glad you’re ok. Really nice to see Marie smiling and laughing so soon after this incident, it bodes well. The indifference of the other cruisers is sad and disturbing, but it’s the exception, not the rule. Keep the faith. As for exposing the little one to risk, there is risk everywhere. He is probably in much more danger on the average one hour drive than he will ever be onboard that boat. This episode is a good one; “Learning by Doing” writ large. There are always things to be learned. Well done.
Silver linings eh? You’re right, I think about risk in the same way. Most people don’t even consider it dangerous driving a car, just assuming the person coming the other way is sane, sober and has attended to the vehicle’s maintenance.
@@SailingLearningByDoing It’s a question of familiarity. Most folks drive every day, and think nothing of it. Complacency. The same danger exists on boats, of course. Ask me how I know. No danger of that for the two of you for a while now…. Best of luck getting things sorted
@@johntebbetts4182 yep too true I guess.
Stay safe, you're made it out of this odeil, Thanks for all your hard work ❤❤❤
Thank you too Erik.
Seems like you have a good boat there. Kevlar reinforced hulls and lifting rudders. Shaft props are also better than sail drive. Not bad.
Yeah a saildrive would have been destroyed in this situation I reckon.
Scary, so pleased it ended well.
It was indeed!
At least your boat did not hit a bridge 😅
Yeah true that.
A story to tell your Son when he is old enough to understand. Well that is his first grounding, probably not his last. Great not too much harm done. Maurice.
Thanks Maurice, yeah it will indeed be a good story for Eli
Wow you really handled that well as a team, despite the lack of assistance from Goldmember and co. Super impressive. Glad you’re all safe. Onwards! 💪💪💪
Much appreciated mate.
Congratulations on handling a bad situation well. Glad that Eli is such a young trooper! Good luck on the haulout.
Thanks. I think we did all right after landing on the reef, the stuff beforehand, not so much
So glad to see you are save. This episode definitely deserves the "Learning by doing" label I guess :-): All the best for the next chapter, love your humble, modest way of dealing with things. Merci pour partager.
Thanks and hopefully there's only fun adventures ahead.
Thanks for your honesty in your reporting of the situation. I took much from this for my own sailing, especially the windage factor which has caught me out. I'm very pleased you are all ok and stronger through the experience. More great videos to come. Cheers.
Yeah thankfully the outcome was favourable and we’ll be around to make many more videos of our adventures. 🙏
Glad all work out better than expected
Yes it did! At one stage we were contemplating life after sailing.
Guys well done in a ordinary situation, Look forward and learn from this, don’t belt yourselves up, you have handled this well.
Thanks Ross.
very honest video think you got lucky your good people and smart looking forward to the repairs video and moving forward be well shayne
Yeah we did, very lucky.
Scary! I’m with you on the help front
Right? Disappointing.
Sorry this happened, I think you dealt with it well. I find an anchor alarm really mandatory, but can understand the complacency of not using one.
But I had to laugh about wearing the ROCNA hat while telling the story!
We still feel confident with our Rocna, we just pushed it past its capabilities with too much windage. Have had the anchor alarm on since
Kevlar good!
Kevlar very good!
Very scary Vernon and Marie. I am glad you escaped a worse situation. All the best for the future.🤙
Thanks Sam
Glad you got out of the situation ok. Maybe a suggestion which may help avoid this next time. When you drop anchor pin that position on you satellite nav app/ device, and leave the device on at night. Then if a similar situation occurs you have a real time knowledge of your position, and where safety or danger lies.you don't waste precious time waiting for the device to acquire the position. Also note which bearing takes you to safety when anchored, and you can use your compass. Hope that makes sense and helps. We're always learning on our boat, and usually from when things like this happen to us.
Thanks Micael. As I responded below. I now use my anchor alarm every night, not only when I felt it was warranted as I used too.
Luck shines on us at times BUT the other cruisers ignoring you , That is a No No , Bigger pick ? & I wonder if a small 'rubbing keel' would help , An inch or two glassed along the centerline just for grounding ... The good news is the Great barrier reef has never been healthier . Fair winds .
A bigger anchor would do no harm I think, might look into that.
Scary! well handled skip, glad all went relatively well for you guys. Onwards!
Thank you!
Wow that must have been scary.
Extremely!
Glad your safe , the chart plotter and instruments on would of helped greatly , orientation at a glance , seeing that you had moved . More time to make a action . Not preaching shit happens .
Thanks David. Yea you are 100% correct. Having them on and an anchor alarm would have given me valuable seconds.
Hey mate, I have noticed in the last ten years that the cruising community has changed , for the worst. They don't help each other out like they use too. Glad you made it through, but i am surprised that you don't have an anchor alarm on your GPS/Chart plotter
There has been a lot of new people entering the lifestyle but I can’t blame it on my those I think. I’m choosing to believe it was an isolated incident and in general the cruising community are still great.
The look in Marie's eyes on the intro reminded me of my wife the 1st we nearly dragged on the beach in langkawi.
The other two cruisers should be ashamed of themselves.
We would have been over and offering a hand as soon asap.
Best of luck with your repairs guys
@@Sailaboat thanks and its good to know that. We'd do the same and I still cant understand those 2 boats
I'm so glad all need OK. Baby is growing so fast. 😊
You did so great.
I really hope it won'øt scare you away from from the water.
We all learn.
I really was touched watching this.
I truly hope the very best for you three and your boat.
thanks so much! I feel it really made us a stronger team and we feel confident and tomorrow set off on our new adventure.
My friend Mike saw a boat dragging in the BVI and braved 30+ winds to help him..turned out he helped Neil Young re-anchor..he paided him back by coming to Cabbage Key in Florida and playing music for 2 hours one night....
Wow now that’s a story! So rad.
Yes quite a stressful situation. Thankfully all you came out safely which is the most important thing. Surprised the other boater's especially the ones you knew didn't come over or attempt to and worst not even coming by after it was over. Thankfully Eli's a sound sleeper and because of this it made dealing with this situation easier so to speak less worries still very stressful I'm not trying to down play this. Now haul out get a really good close look and fix the damage. Like you said could have been a lot worse. Thank-you for giving us the explanation of what happened and letting us know you three are doing well. Looking forward to next video "The Haul Out!!!!"
Thanks Jonathan. If Eli had of been scared and yelling the whole thing would have been so much worse! When he’s crying we can’t seem to concentrate on much else, especially Marie. When I started cruising one of the things that amazed me was the sense of community, people offering help and advice. This is the first time I’ve really been disappointed by fellow cruisers. To be honest, they couldn’t have helped much but at the TIME us or them didn’t know that.
You are the best
You guys handled it so well...Props!! So much for the code of the sea ..those other boats should be ashamed of themselves.
Thanks. Yeah, not an example I hope others follow.
Thankfully Marie and the baby are safe and well, we can always replace a boat. Your choice of Trade Runner has been a winner. Lightweight and Kevlar, all minimising damage when going aground, thank God. Get the boat out of the water asap and make sure water doesn't get into the hull laminate. The bent prop shaft means that allot of pressure has been put on the shaft bracket . I'm sure you will do a thorough inspection when out of the water. Good luck with the repairs, your theory that small things can lead to larger problems is absolutely correct. I have always thought that a good skipper will easily handle one problem, two problems at the same time again handled by skipper and crew, but with three problems at the same time even the best skippers have lost control of the situation. Again good luck with the repairs and great to know all three of you are safe.
Thanks Rick. Theoretically you can always replace a boat but in our case we’d be completely broke so could only afford to replace Trade Runner with a hobie cat maybe.
You will be able to fix TR without much trauma and be back on the water soon@@SailingLearningByDoing
Wow that's my nightmare, especially with kids on board. Good to see you're all safe and hopefully you learnt by doing.
We are all good. Thanks.
Happy to see all are fine. You had a situation that comes up so quicking and at a bad time. You handle it extremly well under the circumstances. We all get in situations on the water. Clear heads will generally prevail. You did good and kept Marie and your bundle of joy safe 👍
I appreciate that James.
Verne, you preserved the yacht and took all the necessary actions, whilst considering the conditions and forecasts of wind and tides. Despite the setback to your journey and the necessity to haul out and make repairs good, I would give yourself a pat on the back! Hopefully the boat is repaired by now and you and your family are enjoying the wonders of these great oceans 🌊 Much love to you and your family ❤
Thanks Steve. Yeah I think there’s not much we would do differently once we were aground. Beforehand yes, some things I’d change there.
The damage is minimal for the most part. Glad it wasn't worse. Looks like an easy fix all things considered. Looking forward to next weeks video.
Yep, we got very lucky. Repairs coming up.
You guy's coped with that well minimal damage stay safe
Thanks.
Congratulations and well done to you both!
Thank you so much 😀
From the damage I could see I reckon a bit of epoxy fairing should do the trick. Straighten the shaft if possible, if not a new one. Lessons learnt, bigger anchor may help. Depressing no one came to help, that is not how we Aussie's operate, obviously they weren't Aussies. To you sailors who ignored their pleas for help, shame on you, you are a cowardly disgrace. If you need a hand fixing the boat i could fly over from South Oz and give you hand if you need it. I wonder what difference a cat to mono makes in this situation, I think in a mono you'd be much worse off. anyway all's safe, boat held up well and you can sail to fix her, so in my opinion you've done well
Needed a bit more than filler as you'll see next week but nothing too serous. Youre right, they weren't Aussies! Thanks for the offer mate, great to know there's people, like you out there. This occurred 2 weeks ago now and we've already hauled out and repainted the damage(next video). Would have loved the help though as Marie was flat out looking after Eli and I nearly killed myself getting everything fixed by myself. We discussed this, if it happened to Scheihallion. Would have been way worse I reckon as she would have been over on her side with the keel stuck. Maybe she wouldn't have dragged at all though as a Mono has way less windage.
Hey Vernon and Marie it seems hard to avoid every situation. I now always feel like we should have sea room and then forget when the weather is calm. I suppose the depth drops too quickly in some places too. Our anchor alarm has saved us a couple of times. 60 knots is not something I want to experience. Safe sailing for your family.🙂
@@meredithbayly8617 Yeah it shows we need to be ready for anything, anytime. The weather forecast cant predict squalls like this one and they can come from any point on the compass. Some of its luck and some preparation. Learning all the time
Oh my goodness. I'm glad you are all ok. Scary.
"goodness" might exist but it's a rare thing. God, as in oh my God, exists.
We see goodness way more than not and choose to think it’s an anomaly
Thanks. Scary for sure.
Glad you guys are safe. Nothing better than hindsight so as your channel name says. Learn by doing. Now in future you’ll learn to listen to that voice in your head. Boat is repairable. Glad you have put out an honest video about it cause there would be plenty out there that sugar coat it. To those selfish $&”@: next to you, hope you are both proud that you got a good night sleep, whether the boat next to you has done the wrong thing or not or made a mistake doesn’t stop you from lending a hand. Let’s hope if you’re ever in trouble you don’t get the same response…. FH’s…..
Ps my kids were never that calm at that age! I should have put them in a boat! Keep up the great work. Don’t let this spoil your lifestyle.
Thanks Steve. We could have for sure made a way more dramatic video about all this but it's not us. We talked about not releasing a video at all, just telling our Patrons and then moving on but I feel our viewers value the honesty in our videos and we hoped some would find some value in this account. No-one is perfect, we all make mistakes. I'd way rather make a mistake and learn from it than be scared to risk failure and end up doing nothing.
A good outcome,easy fix in the water by the looks of it,can slide the shaft out in the water and put a bung in and replace.Very big learning curve when shtf and you keep your shit together,Safe sailing guys.
Yep, could have been easily way worse for sure. A haulout was neseccery to reapair the hull.
@@SailingLearningByDoing hope she’s not too scratched up down there,take care.
@@svthorasailing4868 nothing 5 long days of hot itchy work wont fix.🙃
@@SailingLearningByDoing I’ve heard put a heap of baby powder on neked then undies and the dust suit cuts out most of the itchiness,problem is sweat and the exposed areas like hands wrists and face.The new bosun is so cute by the way,also hats off the Maria for keeping it together,most folks would have lost it.I guess in real time the boat is repaired already right???Lol.
@@svthorasailing4868 Yeah I didnt have any dust suits with me. was about 37deg and so humid in the mangrove swamp.
Mate I live in Bali next to the beach and there have been a couple of CRAZY squalls run past us and obviously when you were there, they were around. Crazy weather mate !
I think it’s the change over between seasons. Like a wall of wind hitting us. Crazy.
The attitude of those Dutch sailors is almost unthinkable. Sounds like they were in their buddy boat bubble and oblivious to anyone else😮
Yeah not very cool. I felt like going over in the morning saying something but they probably would have said “you got yourself in trouble so get yourself out of it”.
Most boaters will size the anchor to the weight of the boat and not the windage as you found out
Yep, it’s what I did. You’re the first one to mention windage. On FB the comments are all the same, need a way bigger anchor, 7 to 1 scope at all times etc etc. if you l ft your sails up and a squall came then no anchor would hold you in place, that sorta what we did.
Thanks for giving your story.
Compared to most catamarans around these days, yours is a very low windage. Inexperienced folk buy them without any comprehension of the force of the wind, scary.
What is your anchor…have you got a bigger one know?
I am thinking, perhaps with a kedge it would be more use just using an all rope rode?
Yeah true, we do have low windage compared to all the production Condomarans around these days. Our ground tackle is accordingly light though. We have a 20kg Rocna and 60m of 8mm chain. Trade Runner is only 5t so this should be ok but 25kg Rocna would be better for sure.
As shit as it is, it could of been a lot worse. The best part of it is there doesn't look to be a lot of damage, and you have learnt from it. Not worth talking about those that didn't help. Over all you turned what was a shit situation into a great outcome. Glad your all ok and the adventure continues.
Thanks mate, you’re completely right.
That is your worst nightmare... could happen to any of us-- as I am sitting at anchor in Pittwater on my catamaran... Interested to know what our main anchor was? did it drag or did you swing onto the reef with the wind change? Well done managing the panic-- have had to do that once myself on a mono-- just waiting for three hours for the tide to come in, itching to actually do something, anything... but waiting. Phil
Hi Phil. We have. 20kg Rocna with 60m of 8mm chain. We had all the chain out and dragged about 100m till hitting the reef.
@@SailingLearningByDoing Wow, as you say possibly the extra windage pulled her out... Thank god the damage is not too bad... bad enough of course.. Go well.
Must have been great to know that you had Kevlar lining the bottom of the hull. Good to haul out as quick as you can in case the core picks up water. What is the core?
Hope you manage to get a new prop shaft at a reasonable price and reasonably quickly.
Any thoughts of a bigger or different anchor? Can't remember what you have at present.
It was nice to know about the Kevlar, my last boat had it too. Not really stoked to test it out though.
It seems today mariners rely more on technology, private towing, insurance claims more than on fellow human help.
The same apply to offshore sailors who with tech do not need the deep knowledge and respect of the element than previous generation did,
you can now circumnavigate without a single serious storm in your way, if the sense of danger is gone ,why help?
Yeah thats true. If something breaks most will resort to TH-cam to show them how to fix it rather than go ask the guy on the next boat across. Things are becoming less personal in all walks of life. Nowadays you dont ask humans for help, you ask the internet.
Could have been worse...The family was safe and Vernon did what he had to do as a skilled skipper..
Always "lesson learned" ..that's the progression in sailing..
Yeah for sure, way worse.
😊
You dodged a bullet there Vernon. You did the right thing waiting for the tide to rise and not forcing it.
We did indeed! If another squall had come while we were stuck it would have been a different outcome.