I had a delivery crew onboard with me sailing my 40 ft vessel from NQ down to Sydney. Despite having plans to enter Hervey Bay Marina around 0100 , the delivery skipper decided that anchoring out in the fairway in 25 knots of breeze, against the tide ,was a better idea. So after 2-3 hours of dragging ,I told him we were going into the marina.He protested that it was too shallow, he advised that I was then taking command of the vessel, I advised him I was, We tied up at the marina with no incident and all had a sleep . I was woken up at 1000 by what seemed like a train hitting the boat ., so i quickly rushed upon deck. The delivery skipper had decided to detach the screecher , without any notice to crew, in wind gusts exceeding 30 knots , there was a current wind warning for Hervey Bay and surrounding areas.
The 100 sq meter screecher unfurled in the high wind , the delivery skipper tried to hold onto the furler but was thrown around like a rag doll . The sail eventually got caught in the rigging , not only was the rig in danger of coming down , but the vessel was alongside and in danger of breaking its mooring lines and being totally out of control. There was obviously too much pressure on the halyard to lower it , so the halyard was cut . Now the screecher was flying above the 17 m mast like a kite , quite the spectacle . Eventually we lowered it , completely shredded, cabin window smashed from the furler hitting it , delivery skipper battered and bruised .

I asked him WTF are you doing working on a sail , in a marina , in 30 knots of breeze ?????
Why did you not notify crew of your intentions and have a safety back up plan ????

His reply " I am the master of this vessel and I do not need to ask anybody"
"I was trying to get a wrap out of the screecher "

My reply

" FFS its blowing 30 knots plus , what were you thinking ?"

His reply

"There was a lull"


The sheer arrogance and negligence from this clown is next level

I obtained his insurance details , terminated his contract and he left the vessel

There was close to 20 K in damages, he has denied any liability and still refers to himself as a Captain , what a joke

Anyone using a professional delivery skipper beware , check their history well . I am sure some do not like having
owners onboard as they are exposed as inept

That's a sorry story for sure.

I would be putting a new anchor on the shopping list before replacing the sail.

cammd said..
That's a sorry story for sure.

I would be putting a new anchor on the shopping list before replacing the sail.

If you don't know how to set an anchor , the quality of the anchor is irrelevant

Sad story but there are clowns who are clueless in every profession be it electricians, plumbers, accountants or solicitors.
One of the reasons that I try to do absolutely everything myself. On the very rare occasion where I can't im not afraid to make a pest of myself by asking lots of questions and keeping a very close eye on them.

DIY is not always possible but it keeps life interesting and with AI and YouTube it is getting easier and easier. Caught my friends accountant out recently on quite a big mistake with his smsf by using chat gpt.

Chris 249 said..

KaneK said..

cammd said..
That's a sorry story for sure.

I would be putting a new anchor on the shopping list before replacing the sail.

If you don't know how to set an anchor , the quality of the anchor is irrelevant

A lot of the time yes, but as someone who has recently swapped all my anchors over to modern ones it seems that they will often hold even for people who don’t know how to set them.

Commiserations about the damage, I’ve seen a couple of delivery skippers who seemed quite low on sailing skills.

I am often relying on mine to reset itself with every change of the tide.

cammd said..

Chris 249 said..

KaneK said..

cammd said..
That's a sorry story for sure.

I would be putting a new anchor on the shopping list before replacing the sail.

If you don't know how to set an anchor , the quality of the anchor is irrelevant

A lot of the time yes, but as someone who has recently swapped all my anchors over to modern ones it seems that they will often hold even for people who don’t know how to set them.

Commiserations about the damage, I’ve seen a couple of delivery skippers who seemed quite low on sailing skills.

I am often relying on mine to reset itself with every change of the tide.

julesmoto said..

cammd said..

Chris 249 said..

KaneK said..

cammd said..
That's a sorry story for sure.

I would be putting a new anchor on the shopping list before replacing the sail.

If you don't know how to set an anchor , the quality of the anchor is irrelevant

A lot of the time yes, but as someone who has recently swapped all my anchors over to modern ones it seems that they will often hold even for people who don’t know how to set them.

Commiserations about the damage, I’ve seen a couple of delivery skippers who seemed quite low on sailing skills.

I am often relying on mine to reset itself with every change of the tide.

So what are you using?

Rocna mk2 33kg with no anchor swivel. I had a 22kg sarca excel and never had any issues with it either. I just wanted to go bigger and got offered a deal on the rocna at the time.

The 33kg is one size over recommended for my boat.

Btw. I have a lewmar chain lock just forward of the windlass that automatically locks, ie you have to hold it up to pay out chain. It recently saved the boat. Anchoring in Pancake creek in strong wind on tide conditions, 25 to 30, the windlass came loose. It literally fell off. The bolts going through the deck snapped off, I since discovered one was missing snapped off sometime in the past. Without the chain lock we could have been in real trouble very fast as Pancake Creek is a very tight anchorage. The engine was still on but trying to control and recover the chain whilst staying off the rocks would have been difficult and possible dangerous.



The rocna set itself first bite, we didnt get a chance to set it, it dug in and the chain lock controlled the chain. I then had to effect a temporary repair and go into gladstone to sort a proper repair a few days later.

Kankama said..
Sheesh - that winch must have had some load in the past to shear the bolts. Do you think a previous owner did not use a snubber or something?

There was a snubber on board when I bought the boat, I assume the chain lock was used as well as a backup. That's what I do.