Well that's not supposed to happen.

What a moving story. I hope everything will work out well for Jamie in the end such that his future sailing endeavors are all the more enjoyable because of what he's been through. Best regards to Jamie and thanks for sharing!

A few years ago I was sailing as a deckhand aboard a 157 foot wooden schooner, during a race from Charleston SC to Bermuda. I don’t think I can really go into much detail, but we experienced a partial knockdown and I saw my life flash before my eyes. We were on a broad reach and the main boom dipped into the water, filling the mainsail with water and tearing the boom off the mast. In that moment the entire rig had started shaking, and I remember seeing water pouring over the rail on the aft quarter and my stomach dropped. In the end, we broke lots of stuff, and spent hours trying to get the main back in working order. Nobody got hurt, but it was definitely a close one.

<a href="https://www.cruisingworld.com/how/dismasted-trimaran-creek" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.cruisingworld.com/how/dismasted-trimaran-creek</a> My brother in laws sister wrote a piece about one of our adventures for cruising world. She changed some things but for the most part its true!

My story begins in a small town located on the Southern shore of Lake Erie. I was one of three people that were to deliver a 63' wooden classic (meaning old) boat to Baltimore Maryland. The trip would require we cross Lake Erie to the Welland Canal onto the New York Barge canal then to the Atlantic Ocean. We got underway late afternoon in the middle of October. The trip ended even before 24 hours had elapsed. During the night the winds picked up which produced larger waves. The captain of the vessel said “She doesn't like beam seas”. So we kept altering course to keep the bow into the building waves. Then just before sunrise we felt and heard a sharp crack. Soon after I noticed we were riding low in the water, seconds later the instrument went dead. The captain went to the engine room to investigate. Yes indeed, we were sinking. We were able to get a Mayday broadcast sent. In less than 5 minutes our 63' boat went under. Lucky for us the cabin roof broke loose and that became our life raft. It was an eerie site watching the boat, running lights still on, sink to the bottom. A little over an hour later a 47' Coast Guard rescue boat arrived. I had developed hypothermia from the chilly October water temperature. The Coast Guard crew determined they needed to get me to the nearest port with a hospital. This happened in 1999 and one of the local newspapers reported that we were the last shipwreck of the century.

Not personally, but we have a friend who was diving off the coast of New Zealand, and got separated from the group by the current. After awhile he was a mile or so from the boat. Fortunately, he had the wisdom, he says came from God, not to fight it. Then the boat captain figured out the direction our friend should have drifted, and set the compass heading for that direction, and so our friend lives to tell the story today! I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want to be out in the ocean, by myself, about a mile away from the boat that got me out there in the first place. Our heart goes out to Jamie, so sad for his misfortune :(, but also so glad he was beached and not drowned. :) So glad he has a positive attitude about it, wish there was some way we could help to ease the pain of it all.

For a minute there I thought it was YOUR boat up on the sand there! Yikes! Can you update us on your friend when you have a chance? Does he have a YouTube channel? If not, please let us know when he is back in the water and underway and maybe post a picture or two. Poor guy.

Good to see you three looking so well and Lenny has grown so much already.

Worst sea disaster.. My dad, mom, brother and I were coming into a small harbor on Bornholm (a small Island in Denmark). It was quite windy and the harbor was small, surrounded by larger boulders forming the outer pier. My dad at the helm was fighting to keep the bow in the wind. Mind you, this is a 12 Ton wooden boat with a three cylinder engine, not at all capable of properly pushing this boat, even in calm weathers. As we were about to through our lines, the wind got the better of us and we 180’d, hammering towards the rocks. My dad was quick enough to get it in reverse that we stayed close enough to the dock to throw a line to a man, kind enough to hook it. As we were pulling ourselves back towards the dock, a small daysailer came hammering into the harbor at uncontrollable speed, heading right towards us. The captain of the boat managed to throw his rudder in the other direction and missed us by a couple of feet, but the wind got a good hold of him and they rammed the rocky piers at full speed. As we were more or less secure, I quickly threw our dingy in the water with a tow line and started rowing towards them. The captains sun also threw his dingy in the water and motored over to meet me halfway to grab the line. As he grabbed it, it fell in the water, and for whatever reason (possibly panic) the son threw his engine in reverse, tangling the line in his propeller. The captain of the small boat, now rocking and slamming the rocks, started yelling at his son and wife (without any tangible directions) and she went down below.. which was not entirely smart, as they had water gushing in. Anyway, I had to row back to our boat, grab another line and tow it over. I hitched it on and my dad, using the sail winders, started to pull them free of the rocks, just enough to let them steer onto shallow water where they could ground the vessel (they had a double keel) on sand, until the coast guard could come and tow them over to the crane that could lift them out. We were unscathed, except a lost line and a few dink’s in the paint. Their vessel was totaled with a large three hole on their side where they had hit the rocks. Just goes to show how important it is to realize when it is too dangerous to dock and safer to stay out. We probably would’ve been better off not trying to go in to harbor in those conditions, and we consider ourselves quite lucky that we weren’t the ones banging on the rocks..

Loved the sqwaaaa!

As long as the front didn’t fall off.

Oh no! I love this guy and his story- so glad he shared! Well, the only thing I can think of is this time I went on my very first sailing regatta for two weeks in the BVI when a hurricane came through and forced us to dock the boat and hit up the hotel in Spanish Town! The next morning much of the dock was rippled, sail boats destroyed, trees, houses, vehicles demolished. But our sweet monohull sailboat survived meanwhile our house was completely flooded without power in St.Croix lol! Most invigorating, exciting and amazing sailing experience I ever had! Loved every minute! 🙏❤️ ⛵️

Mine is just that my lovely, less than a year old catamaran SV Aya ended up in a big pile of boats in Nanny Cay Marina from Irma. Totaled. I took the insurance money. I could have bought it back for $10k but just couldn’t imagine how I would clean up all the damage. I was not in BVI’s when it happened. Haven’t been back since. I know someone did buy her from the insurance company and I hope she is cleaned up and making someone else happy on the water now.

Oh what a sad story for your friend! I don't know, is there any kind of insurance for this kind of event? Hopefully yes, because I just can't imagine the costs involved in putting his beautiful boat right. It was so very nice of you to invite him to sleep over, giving him a "family feeling" for a change. Like Jamie said, Lenny is getting his boat life together all ready and being with this different person didn't seem to bother him at all. Or perhaps Jamie is a Dad just looking for a kid to take care of and Love?

We were on a catamaran charter in the exumas and sheared off both of the lower units. We were stranded off a little island for 4 days before we could get parts shipped in. Missed out on the pigs because of it. (Back before it became over touristy because of Instagram)

Ouch

First time ever sailing with my best man and capsized off the coast of Mantoloking NJ in icy waters (shark infested :) and the mast got stuck on the bottom. Had to be rescued by the Coast Guard, checked for hypothermia, and luckily not arrested for underage drinking :)

Looks like the vid went out general delivery. When I was 5 or 6 the carb on our cabin cruiser caught on fire. My pops extinguished it but then we were no go and no power for radios. A flare and waving an oar got us yanked in by a string. When I was 15 a stretch of bad luck on a ketch I was able bodied crewing scared me worse. Losing the little diesel entering a narrow bar cut at flood tide. Yeehaw those were rocks we missed on a sleigh ride. We tied to a dock and the neighbor died in his sleep. The alcohol stove erupted in flame. I come down from working on deck to find fire all over the galley until soda extinguishers were deployed That was a fun summer job. Two months after buying Eoti, the AC turned off, the cabin filled with smoke and I was fighting a lazarette electric fire. The shore power cord melted through. 50 years of boating, breaking, and f’n up stuff. Fire freaks me out. Extra smoke detectors, extinguishers, a formal plan, and practice are real on our boat.

Oh poor Jamie!! So nice of you to offer him a wine and a place to stay (and a wine 🍷)!

Lenny is so dang cute!!!

Interestingly In flying (I fly a lot of long distance single pilot) if I have 2 small issues it’s back to the terminal or find somewhere to land before No 3 comes along.

Crazy sad story, but at least no one was injured! Just to let you know, it seems to be working from the Patreon app today. 🤷‍♀️

That does amplify the way issues can stack up very quickly against you when single handed.

OMG! How awful! One bad scratch on top of another. My heart goes out to all sailors. Jamie is a master of composure & we all wish him well. Georgetown of all places, one of the oldest cities in SC.

My home port is a little south of Charleston in Savannah, Ga. I always tell newcomers that the ICW and the local rivers are a chain of sandbars connected by some water.

Oh no that is so sad! :( Does he have anywhere where people can donate? A gofundme? Just something to help him get back on his feet.