We ran into a bridge!

[Boatyarddog]

Originally Posted by skenn_ie

Newbies learn from it: Try not to repeat the mistakes of others, there are plenty more to choose from.

Yup, tough love.
Boatyarddog

[Brioche]

Great observation by Boatyarddog. Where there are bridges there is usually current. When there is current, the boat moves, and if you are sailing you may not notice that you are actually drifting, not moving through the water, until you try to turn and realize you have lost steerage and have no wind. River sailors learn to watch for this.

[JPA Cate]

Yes, you have to be moving faster than the current to have steerage way.*

I'd actually like to know exactly what happened, but the main thing was to get him to see that the problem needed attention right away, his or someone else's. I hope the OP comes back and tells us how the situation was resolved.

Ann

*There's a story to this, for me, because we were anchored near the Hotel Gran Baja many years ago in La Paz, BCS, Mexico, and this is a tide rode anchorage, shared with a Mexican Navy training destroyer. One morning, the trainee pilot lost steerage coming in with the incoming tide, for not going fast enough, and struck 4 or 5 sailboats that were "collateral damage". We up anchored, and went and anchored at El Mogote, a place with a sandbar entrance off the city front that the destroyer couldn't get over. it was a good thing, too, because it happened again the next day, presumably with another novice pilot, but only one or two boats being hit.

How people reacted was interesting. Two Canadian couples just got on with fixing their boats. One American couple just behaved like crybabies. We didn't know the others. Of the Canadians, one completed a circumnavigation, and the others got eosiniphilic meningitis and returned to Canada. Still, kudos to those who buckled down and fixed their boats and carried on.

Ann

[tkalfaoglu]

I perfectly understand you want to save $8K, but remember that if the mast falls, you might be looking at a $100K damage. Actual number from people who had this mishap.. Good luck..