Who did it??? fess up was it you?

So I have a friend who is a coastie out of sector Atlantic city who is a raido operator/dispatch.

I was told of a hobie that went pitch pole and people sailing were unable to recover and had to be given the ultimate tow of shame. At this point I think it ws called the ride of shame. An actual search and rescue operation was dispatched by the coast gaurd.

I dont know if the boat was recovered.

So come on fess up, who was it?
What happened?
Is everyone ok?
Is your boat still adrift?

Come on we are all friends here, we wont laugh at you.....much.
this took place on or around 8-12-06

I could tell you a sailing story from this past week between martha's vineyard and jamestown, RI, but it doesn't involve a cat.. My uncles' 37' tartan vs. huge fishing net.... *eek*... was pretty tense for 45 minutes or so... it took us 20 minutes to get the sails down while they were full of wind.. nearly went swimming a few times... Those barrels that hold the nets really suck!!!

I think I heard of this one. At least this is the way I heard it. The boat was out of Cape May on the Delaware Bay Side. An experienced sailor took out a newbie and capsized. The newbie became seperated from the boat and the experienced sailor had to make a choice to stay with boat or crew. He swam to the crew knowing he was never getting back to the boat. They were extremely lucky to get picked up by, of all things, a Cape May to Lewis Ferry.

The newbie broke rule #1 which is stay with the boat. A hobie cat on it's side will blow away faster than you can swim. If you are ever seperated from the boat, swim as fast as you can back to the boat before it picks up speed. There is also a lot of current in this area and the crew could have been swept away from a turtled boat also.

Wow, what a choice to make! Did he make the right decision to ditch the boat and stay with the crew?

If the crew just fell overboard and is just floating and medically O.K. I say stay with the boat you can always go back for the crew.

If there is a medical emergency the first priority should be to get help. I guess that means staying with the boat to go get the crew and then in to shore. If you have a signaling device like you should use it first then stabilize the crew to the best of your ability. Then get back to shore.

So he should have stayed with the boat in either case. You should always be able to right your boat by your self. bags, poles, main sheet, a fat ass, what ever just be prepared.


I always sail with a marine radio, flares and a whistle attached to each life jacket.

Always stay with the boat. If you can not right it alone, you can Turtle it. The sail and rig make a huge sea anchor. Just climb up on the rig and your weight will either cause the boat to turtle or if too shallow, it will make the mast hit the bottom. Stopping the boat will allow the other crew member to catch up.