Aground: Failure of skill, failure of judgment, bad luck

[waterman46]

Anyone who spent any time as skipper of his own boat, who says he never ran aground is a liar or just not very adventurous. Here on West Coast we don't have much thin water, but when we go up-river to the Delta there is seldom a trip up there that doesn't include a little minor slicing of the mud. I never had a tow either, but was just a bit embarrassed by all the power boaters gawking at the big sailboat going nowhere.

[markpierce]

Originally Posted by waterman46

... Here on West Coast we don't have much thin water, ...

I beg to differ. A vast amount of the San Francisco estuary has very shallow waters. For example, check the charts for Suisun Bay. The middle of that bay is non-navigable.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suisun_Bay

[waterman46]

Originally Posted by markpierce

I beg to differ. A vast amount of the San Francisco estuary has very shallow waters. For example, check the charts for Suisun Bay. The middle of that bay is non-navigable.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suisun_Bay

I dont need to check the charts, I know that area well. That sandbar has caught many boats. Yes while the central bay is deep there are great areas around 3 other sides that are very shallow. But I was referring to the entire coast outside SF Bay as well.

[Don C L]

Originally Posted by markpierce

I grounded four times one night. In 1963 my father had me take his Columbia Defender with four-foot draft from a boatyard in San Rafael to home berth in Oakland.

No radio. ... My guardian angel protected me and saved my father from panic if I was overdue.

Good thing you had a Columbia Defender!
True, other than the Bay (which has an average depth of 7 ft as a bit of trivia,) there is not a lot of shallow channels, BUT at least down here at the Channel Islands, there are definitely things to watch out for and they are not nice soft, gentle sloping sand or mud bottoms. Local knowledge helps a lot, or close calls that make you put a big red x on your paper chart. Once in my youth I thought I'd run close in down the south side of Anacapa Island, and since my long keel slid over the kelp nicely I liked to wander into the kelp beds. The big kelp beds on the south side of Santa Cruz Island nearby are all in deep water. As I looked over the side into the (20' deep) clear water green water hoping to see some fish or a ray or two, I saw a huge rock outcrop rise up from the depths to within a few feet of the surface. I'm still getting the willies just thinking about it. Knock on wood, I haven't hit yet, but I am humble, very humble... and hopefully a little less foolish... but some of those things.. you just have to know where they are...

[markpierce]

Originally Posted by Don C L

Good thing you had a Columbia Defender!...

That's why my current motorboat has keel-protected propeller and rudder!

[clownfishsydney]

We ran aground in 2015 when entering Round Hill Creek at 1770 in North Queensland. We followed the marked channel and the chartplotter but hit the sandy bottom. Got it off after a few minutes.

The next day, Queensland Maritime came and moved the channel marker we had rounded further into the creek and changed it from a green starboard marker to a red port marker! I asked how long it had been like this. "Six months'! Still have no idea why the local volunteer marine rescue unit did not tell us this when were asked for advice about entering the creek.

[danielamartindm]

Groundings, like aviation controlled flights into terrain, happen for many reasons. If a vessel is equipped with run-of-the-mill GPS ("there's my vessel and these are the water depths around it"), the human factor comes into play more- attention being focused on the wrong things; but shoaling, and the inaccuracy of charts also plays a big role- especially in the passes of skinny Florida waters.

[admiralslater]

I have done it all three ways , sometimes all at once

[Tia Bu]

In my experience, the most frequent causes of groundings are:


1) Precise, electronic navigation aids: sonar, chartplotter, and radar.
2) Very experienced navigator paying close attention.
3) Local knowledge.
4) Crystal clear water.


I'm not making this up.

[SV Bacchus]

Originally Posted by Tia Bu

In my experience, the most frequent causes of groundings are:


1) Precise, electronic navigation aids: sonar, chartplotter, and radar.
2) Very experienced navigator paying close attention.
3) Local knowledge.
4) Crystal clear water.


I'm not making this up.

Getting complacent will, sooner or later, bite you.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by SV Bacchus

Getting complacent will, sooner or later, bite you.

[Scotty Kiwi]

Originally Posted by jimglasair3

As another newbie...I gotta wonder if the new Garmin technology in their Panoptix transducer would help much? Supposed to be able to look ahead and get a bottom profile and picture of obstructions?

In inquired into forward look sonar. The recommendation was against it, due to it tending to report weeds, disturbances in the water, bubbles etc as earth, and lack of accuracy to a distance that enables reaction. That's years ago.

I'd be interested to know if the technology has improved.

[Scotty Kiwi]

And how do the locals get their "Local Knowledge" when the channel moves or there is shoaling? A local scraped, or ran aground. Try to avoid it, but really, it's normal.

[NevisDog]

Originally Posted by Scotty Kiwi

In inquired into forward look sonar. ...I'd be interested to know if the technology has improved.

For the price of that sonar, you can buy another boat!

[jimglasair3]

$2k for the transducer...what kind a boat ya gonna get for that? It's a lot for a transducer, sure, but with the price of boats these days? I do believe good old fashioned seamanship will generally keep ya out of trouble, but then there are the unknowns. If you have a lot invested in a boat, I still wonder if the new technology will help?