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Lagoon4us · 05-03-2012, 14:34

With all the discussion about man overboard issues.

What is the funniest (non life threatening of course) exits that you have done, seen or been party to?????

**GordMay** · 05-03-2012, 14:42

I stepped off the Club Thunderball Dock (Staniel Cay, BAH) at high tide, not anticipating a 5 foot drop. I did a complete somersault (fwd flip), landing on my knees in the dink, and didn’t spill a drop of my beer. Maggie howled, my audience applauded, and I ignored them all; carrying on as though nothing untoward had occurred.

Amapola · 05-03-2012, 14:52

We were at the dock at Black Point in the Exumas. My wife was climbing the ladder. In our former profession it was drilled into us that you always "look where you are placing your feet" when climbing a ladder. Well, as my wife was climbing the wooden dock ladder and watching her feet. When she reached the top of the 5' ladder she grabbed for the railing, not realizing that she was at the top and there was no more railing. She fell 5' straight back into the dink. She scared the s#!t out of me. When she hit, I thought for sure that she had broken something. Fortunately, she hit the tube and not the deck. Our new rule is look where you are placing your hands.

Lagoon4us · 05-03-2012, 15:04

Late 70's in the Whitsundays i used to take a 30'x8' ex WW2 bomb barge to Shute Harbour to load the stores for the resort where we lived.

The approach was to put the head of the barge to a pile at the wharf and the deckie flicked a line around the pile and cleat off loosely allowing the driver to go ahead on it and bring the stern in.

Only this time the deckie couldn't get the line around and leant on the pile pushing the head out with his feet.

He would not give in and i swear he was near horizontal before submitting and landing in the water, much to the delight of 35 high school girls on excursion watching from above.

His expression is still indelibly stamped in my mind!

Therapy · 05-03-2012, 16:36

Seen:

Fourth of July on the Weeki Wachee river. Very narrow. At this point 35' or so.

Lots of boats idling up river.

Lots of alcohol too. Big party day ya know.

We rented a house some summers and sit on the porch and watch on the "busy days". Two houses down are some pranksters who live on the river.

Coming up the river is a deck boat with six or seven "macho men" dancing around and flexing, stereo blasting and all.

The neighbor has a snake on a line through the trees. Snake over river. Pole next to picnic table. And beer cooler

Yep.........snake dropped in center of deck boat and every macho man squealed and jumped overboard.

Truly a fantastic sight to behold.

The boat idled to mud on the other side.

No video though - snap!

Therapy · 05-03-2012, 16:39

It was a dingy entrance.

Plain dumb. But I have little experience.

Holding on to the davits and not completely transferring weight. The dingy (man are they light and skittish) swooped away and left me hanging. I had wallet keys and phone so hung on. The dingy swung away, twanged on the line and came back far enough for me to hook it with a foot.

I stayed dry but it would have made a funny video. I did strain my wrist, shoulder and hip though.

**atoll** · 05-03-2012, 16:51

drunk crew in the small hard dinghy, who have got used to jumping into the stable rib,our other dinghy.............

Kettlewell · 05-03-2012, 17:37

Crossing Soper's Hole by dink we saw some people floundering around in the water who it turns out had managed to somehow sink their dink crossing the harbor. We pulled several guys out who were completely naked, much to my wife's delight, deposited them on shore, and then towed their sunken dink to the beach and left them there to sober up.

Tallswede · 21-03-2012, 10:26

Was anchored out with some friends skinnydipping one day when across the bay comes a fishing boat with a couple of guys and a gal. We were the only ones anchored out in this area and so of course they had to come anchor next to us and start fishing. Well, eventually we had to get out of the water (swimming is thirsty work after all) and as we climbed up the ladder into our boat we heard a little squeal and an "Oh My God! Those folks are naked!" come from the lady in the fishing boat. One of the guys just laughed and told her "Well, if you don't want to see it, don't look over there". Soon after they upped anchor and took off across the bay. We all got a big laugh out of the whole thing.

Kevin

SkiprJohn · 21-03-2012, 14:09

I exited a boat I was working on into my dinghy once with all tools in the dinghy and ready to go ashore. Slipped and my weight went to the gunnel and over she went. Lost everything including my watch not to mention dunking my buddy who was helping me.

I flipped a dinghy in the surf going ashore at the old Sheraton Hotel on the West end of Molokai. Wouldn't have been so bad except I had a couple with me and we were all dressed to go to a nice dinner. Hotel guests got some amusement out of that.

I was carrying an 8' hard dinghy by the thwartship center seat on a short bridge to the dock. About midway to the dock, the seat broke free of the dinghy and the dinghy went to one side of the bridge into the water and I went to the other side of the bridge into the water. Luckily I hit the water instead of the rebar and rubble on the shore.

When I first started sailing I learned aboard large gaff rigged lake cruisers in Germany. When I got to NAS Memphis there was a small lake that had Wildflower Sloops (12 footers). I took the written test to sail and got qualified to sail them. I took sails and rudder with me and headed toward the boats. You can guess what happened when I stepped on the deck covering on the bow with my weight plus gear. It was an immediate flip. Very comical for those who were watching.

Cruisers Forum: Thanks for the happy birthday wish!

kind regards,

Rakuflames · 21-03-2012, 14:26

How about funniest ENTRANCE to a dinghy? I (age 65) wanted to go on a club weekend sail, but had a conflict with leaving Saturday morning. So that afternoon I drove to a pre-selected spot on the shore of the cove where everyone was anchored, duffel bag in hand. As I stood on the shore, several teens were fishing, and occasionally glancing my way, looking puzzled.

After a few minutes, a dinghy started moving close to shore, rowed by a 70 year old man. He gallantly stepped out into the water, took my bag, and took my hand as I climbed in, and rowed me out to his boat.

The looks on the faces of those teens was a study!

tager · 21-03-2012, 14:38

Not exactly an exit, but about a week ago I was aboard my 6.5' leaky skiff with a buddy, drunk, rowing back to shore, with one oar. We made it, but only barely, because a good samaritan in a kayak gave us another oar halfway. Water filled up the entire floor of the dink, and the freeboard was about a half inch.

mjwarner · 21-03-2012, 15:21

Ok. I got two. The first is my husband's. The second is all me. Here are the links to the stories.
Laughter, the best medicine? | S/V Journey

Maintain dignity at all times | S/V Journey

S/V Antares · 21-03-2012, 16:39

All liquored up and at night I was getting on our boat in the Bahamas and my foot slipped and I fell in the water. I lost one of my only pair shoes and had to fly out in a few days. I got on "Open Mike" during the cruisers net and confessed to loosing the battle with gravity and if anyon found a shoe floating please call. A fellow boater found it the next day about an hour before I flew out in bear feet!