It could happen to you!

[boombah]

There have been incidents recently where boats have been involved in collisions and i remember thinking to myself how these incidents would have been avoided if the drivers had have taken more care...my attitude has changed due to a near miss i had on the Brisbane River last week... i went out late in the afternoon to fish the mouth which i had done twice before but never at night before....i decided to head back at around 10.30pm as the wind got up and the rain was heavy and conditions were uncomfortable...a large P&O cruise ship was coming up the river so i went to starbourd side of it so i ended up on the righthand side of the river...the rain was getting heavier and visibilty was poor and i lost my bearings although i knew i had to get back across to the other side of the river to get to the fishermans island boat ramp....as i headed back across the river doing about 20 knots i felt a huge impact and before i knew it i was airbourne and then back in the water again....in my confusion i had ended up on the northern side of the sunken wall and had driven my boat straight over the top of it and onto the other side of it and gotten away with it....because i had hit it at 90 degrees the boat was able to keep straight and the keel wore the entire impact...being a tinny there was little damage but it left me shaken and i raced back to ramp in case i had punctured the hull....although i am experienced and have always felt that i always took adequate precautions but despite feeling a bit stupid, i am thankful that i am still around to share the story as a warning that conditions can impare judgement and never take channel navigation for granted especially at night......if any one else has had a near miss it would be good if you could post as a warning to others....
Regards
Lucky

[gunna]

It shows the folly of running at speed at night. I came a little unstuck in Pumistone a while back. Ran aground on a sandbank - thankfully not going too fast. Why - one of the bloody green beacon lights had blown.

[Blackened]

G'day

Myself included... have landed about 15' clear of the water on the reef at mud at around 4am..... downright dangerous. Low tide and no moon wasn't a favourable combination but at the end of the day it was my fault, not keeping a proper lookout. Ended up dinting the hull of the tinny and popping a bung out and taking on a bit of water, thought I had split the hull... was just the bung.

Dave

[finga]

I'm glad to hear all is OK.
It takes some guts on forums like this to say that you stuffed up.
I bet you've learnt a very valuable lesson.
I hope others also see just how easy accidents can happen without pushing the friendship too much.

I have also been very lucky.
I hit a submerged log in the Logan river one day.
I was lucky in the fact that I also hit it square on. Snapped the log in half (about 200mm dia) and lived to tell the tale.
And that was in brilliant sunshine.

Cheers Scott :)

[jman2016]

Throttle and steering lag nearly undid me coming into dock. Everything was going OK when I realised I had overshot my reference point. I adjusted speed and heading but nothing happened. I adjusted again and again nothing happened. About 20 sec later the engine surged and I found myself heading towards the landing dock at a faster than expected speed. Reaction kicked in and I was able to avoid any collision.

But it makes to wonder about non-experienced boaties who have bought a new boat and are taking a shake down cruise or the family out.

[manchild]

Ever navigated the powerlines end of cobby-cobby at pitch dark?I did many times till my confidence grew to big, together with my speed and missed the last left turn ,slided up the mudbank a good 6-7 metres .It was a long wait till the next high tide with no aeroguard i tell you.
George

[mik01]

good story by the way.... it is a lesson to never take anything for granted.

jman - I wonder though if perhaps new boaties would be a little more cautious than perhaps 'seasoned' ones? not trying to dish on anyone, but I am certainly very cautious and careful with my navigation as I have recently bought my first boat. I certainly take a lot of care and attention to conditions, and perhaps wouldn't be out in those conditions.
I can see that complacency could set in with more experienced boaties, even to the point where you guys might go out in less than desirable conditions and 'back' yourselves to handle them.

it's not always the 'newbies' that are involved in accidents is all I'm saying.

[Luc]

In a river, lost bearings, low visibility and 20 knots:o

That's not a good recipy.

You were dam lucky to get away with it. ::)

Luc

[BaitThrower]

would a GPS have helped you avoid the wall?

[artesian]

Glad you survived with not too many ill effects.

Have decided I'll be wearing the outboard cut off lanyard when on the plane or faster up the back of Monduran.

I do wonder about speedy boats and timber, going back a few years to the inboard ski boat with two out the back zooming over the stumps upstream of Kirkleigh, to the current speedy types at Monduran - last year a fancy glass flats type boat came into the now dry dirt ramp at speed and sideways through the entrance, had anyone been heading out, things would have gotten untidy.

And lets not talk about no nav light boats............. evidence is plenty don't even keep a torch handy

[boombah]

Yes, i learned a valuable lesson and i am still around to talk about it...have since plotted a route on the GPS for next time....unfortunately its not a plotter so it is of limited use in areas that you are travelling for the first time.....unfortunately accidents will continue to happen beginners and experienced folk alike.....

[disorderly]

...unfortunately its not a plotter so it is of limited use in areas that you are travelling for the first time.....unfortunately accidents will continue to happen beginners and experienced folk alike.....

I agree totally with Luc. Running around at night at 20 knots in heavy rain and low visibility in a highly congested area for the first time without even a chartplotter for navigation,mate ,you must have rocks in your head.
You're so lucky you didnt clean yourself or some other poor sod up.
I'm fortunate I live in such a low population area and dont have to deal with so many clowns.

Scott

[boombah]

Well i really appreciate your advice disorderly, by the the way, thanks for the reference to the errors in judgement which i myself have openly admitted to have made.....i suppose i should have done the macho thing and not posted the story due to fear of open ridicule but felt that it may in some way help someone to think twice if caught in the same situation.....this probably doesnt apply to you but more to people like the other members who have replied who are also more than happy to admit that they have made mistakes in the past....

[mik01]

hehe - good response boombah!
I would be interested to hear if these 'experts' have never made a mistake or taken conditions for granted in the past...

[Noelm]

I guess the up side of all this will be the "funny" story you will have to tell around the Bar (pub type bar that is) some time in the future, and after a few beers the wall will be much higher, the speed at least 40knots, all in all will make for some good times (I reckon anyway) but for now it is a good luck story that you came out of it unharmed!

[Noelm]

OH and Mik01 I thought I made a mistake once, but I was wrong!

[mik01]

lol so you were mistaken!!!
see - even the 'best' can admit it!

[hungry6]

My number one concern running at speed in the dark with a GPS plotter is that they dont tell you of little tinnie with no nav. lights. I know it's not my fault if we came to a sudden halt, but the thought of someone else getting hurt always irks me to doodle around till I hit the open water on the eastern side of bribie. But yes, the pumicestone have claim many props from me and I dont think I've destroyed the last one yet, it's life.

[Noelm]

yep, all the electronics in the World does not come even close to a good lookout and a safe speed, Electronics are an AID to Navigation, not the be all to end all!

[Dirtysanchez]

Gawd blimey- I have always had reservations about going fast at night, and almost ran over one of those light less tinnies myself years ago, so if I am in that situation from now on I will be extra cautious

Good on you for posting, and I am pleased to hear you came through OK..

[disorderly]

Well i really appreciate your advice disorderly, by the the way, thanks for the reference to the errors in judgement which i myself have openly admitted to have made.....i suppose i should have done the macho thing and not posted the story due to fear of open ridicule but felt that it may in some way help someone to think twice if caught in the same situation.....this probably doesnt apply to you but more to people like the other members who have replied who are also more than happy to admit that they have made mistakes in the past....

WTF....?

Boombah...um..it was you who has documented a series of errors and misjudgements and hit a bloody rock wall which culminated in an incident that you were damned lucky to walk away from unscathed.

Do I still think you are a goose....absolutely!

Have I made stupid mistakes...of course,who hasn't! No need for your sarcasm about that though is there?(after all the thread is about your mistakes,not mine or anyone else's)

Would I post a detailed account of these on the internet....only if I was prepared to cop it sweet and accept any critisism leveled at me.

So grow up mate,did you really think that after posting such a thread no one would call you up on these foolish actions?

Scott

[Fish Guts]

i dont think this thread was designed to generate critisism to Boombah. Good on you Boombah for having the balls to inform us of what can happen if not paying attention.

and disorderly get off your high horse.

cheers

fish guts

[mik01]

cmon Scott - lighten up mate.
Boombah did say in the original post that he wanted to hear of others mistakes as a warning to others of what not to do. like I have said, everyone gets too confident of their abilities and makes mistakes - I guess that's all he did.

i remember a post not long ago from a newbie who made a number of errors and was blasted by a certain person, when in fact it wasn't such a big deal - yeah sure he could have been in trouble, but in the end it was a near miss and he learned from it.

I'm keen to learn of others mistakes so I can hope to avoid them myself in future.

[lifestyle]

Every one needs a wake up call and if a post like this is a wake up call to only one person then good on you for the post. We all make mistakes lets minimize the the severity of them and the frequency. And learn from each other. One big mistake can put you in the lockup for a long time.

[2DKnBJ]

Over the years i have had a couple of close calls with unlit boats at night but one incident involved an unlit marker.
Happened fishing Mud one night with no moon ant the tide was just starting to run out.Decided to shift spots so while heading from the eastern side to the south western corner it was hard to make out the shoreline and with the lights in the background it was a little hard to make out the marker.A little voice said Slow down and in doing this i probably saved myself from becoming another statistic with the boating incidents on the Bay.Within 30 sec of slowing down the motor hit bottom doing about 6 knots.On closer inspection with the torch i found i was in about 12 inches of water and sitting smack bang on top of the wall.Once motoring off i had another look around with the spotty only to find the marker that was not working about 60 meters to my left.
I don't have a plotter only a GPS 72 but since this i have marked all beacons around Mud and anywhere else i will fish at night just incase there is a beacon not working next time i am out there.
Cheers Dazza

Here are a couple of pics from another boating incident i was in a few years back.
We were doing around 100 kph when this happened

http://www.inaneasylum.org/users/2DKnB/Boating/crash1[1].jpg

http://www.inaneasylum.org/users/2DKnB/Boating/crash2[1].jpg
http://www.inaneasylum.org/users/2DKnB/Boating/crash3[1].jpg
http://www.inaneasylum.org/users/2DKnB/Boating/crash4[1].jpg
http://www.inaneasylum.org/users/2DKnB/Boating/crash5[1].jpg
http://www.inaneasylum.org/users/2DKnB/Boating/crash6[1](1).jpg


Cheers

[Blackened]

G'day

I say the jetsprints at cabarita last year, were you driving or navigator?

Fantastic to watch and you'd have to expect to become unstuck now and then.

Dave

[2DKnBJ]

Dave.

I was the navigator.
When you are going that fast in a narrow channel one little bump is all it takes to throw a spanner in the works.

Cheers Dazza

[Blackened]

G'day

Yeah I bet.... when we were there, we saw about 4 or so leave the water and 3 others leave and catch fire.

There's a team that does the circuit that consists of 2 young blonde ladies... what a team eh?

Dave

[boombah]

Gee Scott, my subtle use of sarcasm sure did get you wound up......i am considering starting a new extreme sport which i will call wall jumping....
by the way Scott i hope you have a good Xmas and the best for the new year....
The Goose