Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire What's the most "Nautical" moment you've ever had?

Saltwater experience-

Left Sabine Pass about dark one night, headed for Pool Rig 452, which was about 100 miles due south, of South Marsh Island. There was a storm blowing in and we were in the Scorpion, a 90' aluminum hull crew boat. I dont know how high the waves were, but the captain said that if we weren't over half way to the rig, he would turn around and go back. Trying to set on the benches was useless, you got more 'air time' than setting time. Made me 'sick as a dog'. Took 12 hrs to get there.

Freshwater experience-

A friend and myself went duck hunting on the Miss. River. We were in an old boat I had at the time, a 14' Tidecraft with a 20 hp Merc. We put in at the Port of Lake Providence and motored about 5-6 miles down and across the river, turned up a slough, broke ice and put out the decoys. One of, if not the best, duck hunting trips I ever went on. We gathered the ducks and started back about 1 pm. Now that 20 merc and been giving me trouble staying in gear and when we hit the current (headed upstream), it wouldnt go. Shifting fork was wore out. Now being industrious young fellows, we had prepared for this mishap. We had brought along a 9.8 Johnson, so we promptly put to the bank, swapped motors and was going to be merrily on our way, or so we thought. That 9.8 could barely push that heavy boat against the current. I headed straight across the river, thinking if anything happened, we would be on the side the truck was on. By the time we made it to the La side, we were 1/2 mile downstream of where we started on the Miss side. That motor couldnt get the boat 'on plane', so we just creeped up the river, spray from the waves hitting us, waves from the tugs/barges rocking us all over the place. Did I mention it was freezing? We had on slicker suits and coal buckets under our legs, and when we got back to the truck, about 5 hours later, we both had 1/2" of ice on us. But, we had made it back to the truck and started on what was usually a 2 1/2 hr drive home, but because of the interstate being iced over, it took us about 5 hours. Now we had left home around 1 am and got back home about 11 pm (22 hrs). My friend looked at me and asked what I was going to do tomorrow and I said "Nothing, how about going duck hunting?". He agreed, so we borrowed another friends duck boat (around midnight), and took off for the same place. Ahh, to be young again!

Cooper

Spent a couple of years working on the large push-boats on the Mississippi River. Lots of interesting stories. I guess the most "nautical" would have been just north of Memphis Tennessee in January. A large storm rolled in about 2 AM. It was one of those Shock and Awe experiences as far as the extremely high wind gusts and impressive lightning show. I got a buzz from the captain asking to report to the Wheelhouse. When I arrived, the Lightning was to a point of being blinding. The temperature was in the mid 20's and black ice was building fast. Several of the barges we had in tow were full of grain and covered by dome style fiberglass covers. Through the early stages of the storm, the wend had blown open the hatches and now the rain was coming down fast threatening to ruin the grain. It was just my luck that all of these barges were line up on the port side of our tow. The next 45 minutes was spent walking the fiberglass covers which had a sheet of ice about .5" thick on them and closing and latching the hatches. to my left was the rest of our cargo, and to the right and about 16 feet below me was the Mississippi and 80+ft cliffs blanketed with Kudzu with no shoreline whatsoever. The wind was in the 50-70mph range and the lightning never stopped. I new that if I missed even one step, I would be in the black of the River and would likely never be found alive or dead.

That river work is some ass clenching stuff. I only worked on the 65 and 75 barge pushers that did work on the rivers, but rode the boats some. That current can be CRAZY and not a lot of room to move around in.

I have nothing but respect for the guys that run those boats on the big rivers.

So I guess you would know what its like to put out wing cables on wet barges with to few hands! Talk about an interesting lifestyle! No doubt that experience helped mold who I am today.

When was into SCUBA in the 80's, I was diving off Florida, where the Gulf Stream comes closest to the US. My buddy & I missed the anchor line and so by the time we surfaced, were quite some distance from the boat.....and they were trying to get the other divers on board, though they signaled us that they had seen us. It was very late afternoon/early evening, and pretty soon, only the very tip of the main mast with it's blinking light could be seen. You could only see the boat once every 3 or four waves. As we crested each one, I would take my camera and point it towards the boat and trigger the strobe. About the 4th time I did this, the boat was only visible every 7th wave...we were moving! I saw the boat turn towards as we crested one wave, and from that point, it took them 30 minutes to overtake us, and yes, it was now dark! When they got us on board we got a severe azz-chewin' (along with that was the knowledge that only the strobe allowed them to see and locate us), and the capt. had to call the coast guard and let them know we were recovered. The CG gave use the same azz-chewin' when we got back.

Most humbling time for me was fishing the horseshoe kelp on a clear calm day, and a Tico class cruiser clears the breakwall at 5 knots.. Abreast of us, just a few hundred yards off, it stands on the gas and just takes off right now. Squats down and wooooshhh.. That fugger was showing off, and we all were standing there with slack lines going " wow.. "

Got to ride on the USS Guadacanal (LPH 7?) twice. Once in Carribean, once in The Med. Hit a nice storm off Greece on way to Turkey. Rode back to Piraeus on USS Raleigh. Lots of fun and games.

Made a landing at Coronado off the USS Bristol County. Some old LST. Everyone should have to ride on an LST at least once in their life.
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Probably the time a twenty four year old me decided that a 16' open bow boat was adequate to run out on Lake Superior for a look at the pictured rocks. The wind was blowing off shore and conditions slowly and steadily got rougher and rougher.

That several mile run back to Munising in the face of that rough water was one of the worst boating experiences I've ever had. Even worse than the time I was on a 24 foot boat on Lake Huron during a thunderstorm with 10' breakers.

Steel-

She looks like the bouy tender Woodbine and Acacia we had ported here after we lost the Escanaba in the north Atlantic on escort duty to a torpedo. Only 2 survivors and a lot of Coasty widows that the community looked after for years. This small town did a war bond drive to pay for the Escanaba II. She was launched in 1946 I believe.

We still have a ceremony honoring those lost every year. The last remaining survivor died a few years ago. And the Escanaba III was recently launched.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USCGC_Acacia_(WLB-406)

flipped a zodiac coming in the mouth of packery channel, out going tide with about 12 ft breakers. lost around 8000 in rods and tackle.

check out this video
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...b.583828998355821&type=2&theater

Not sure how I'd pick my "most", but this one always comes to mind:

OOD at night, surfaced submarine, not raining but rough seas. every seventh wave is breaking over the bridge.

I'm up there with one lookout. Normally might have a JOOD, and second lookout, but it's so nasty we didn't. We're wearing full raingear, but we're soaked after the first wave.

We got into a pretty good rhythm, the big waves cracked like a tree trunk snapping letting us duck behind the "windshield", so we'd just get drenched on our backs, then stand back up and wait for the next crack.

An hour into this pounding, the lookout bends down to tie his shoe, big wave cracks, I duck, he stands up, no chance to brace himself, he takes it full in the face, puts him down like a punch in the jaw. He was on the raised bench behind me (probably not a good idea in hindsight) and was tethered to the boat or we might still be looking for him. Had to get a relief for him pronto, told the new guy whatever you do don't tie your shoes.

WOW! That last ship was in some really big stuff!

Most "nautical" saltwater ride was aboard the MV Tustumena Sept 1996, across Prince William Sound from Whittier to Cordova. 80kt east winds, gusting to over 100kt, 30' seas.

We ran aground as we made the turn around Salmo Point into the Western Channel, leading into Orca Inlet, when the wind blew us sideways into the mud at Deep Bay. The ferry took such a pounding from the seas that it jammed the front cargo ramp and we lost the bow thrusters when we were driven into the mud.

The Captain was cleared in the subsequent CG investigation as there was nothing he could do to prevent the grounding except to not make the trip. What was supposed to have been a five hour run across PWS was a 14 hour adventure. Two huge Crowley Marine tugs that accompany the oil tankers in and out of Valdez and another big tug from Valdez were required to get us off of the mud.

Most "nautical" freshwater was my first trip in a cataraft going down Eagle River in Uncas' 14' Aire. I was rowing, he was teaching me the ropes, and I went over a 6' waterfall that was created between a big rock and the shore (cliff face). The fit was so tight that we popped through the opening like a cork out of a champagne bottle, completely airborne. Lost two, brand new, floorboards when we hit. I was immediately hooked on catarafts.

Ed

Nov 10, 1975
11 ton of herring on board--6-ton on the stern--5 ton up on the bow. 2 100lb anchors down--tied up in the lee of St Ignace Island on Lake Superior. Kept the big Cummings diesle slow idle all night and used the spot light to keep checking shoreline to make sure we wern't draggin.

The 'Big Fritz' didn't make it.

My most memorable nautical moment was when I was thirteen years old fishing for cohos out of La Push WA with my dad and my friend. My dad's 12' boat wasn't seaworthy so we rented a 16' fiberglass closed bow skiff and put my dad's 10 hp Johnson on it.

It was way under powered and would only do 10 to 12 mph at best but it was a seaworthy craft.

We were chasing schools of salmon and ended up about six or seven miles off shore. There was typical Pacific NW long spaced out 4' or 5' rollers when the afternoon winds kicked up. The fishing was good and dad didn't want to head back in but I finally pestered him enough to call it day.

On the way back it started blowing to the point where there was 3' wind blown chop, plus the rollers, and whitecaps.

The skiff was plowing along when we slid on top of a wave that was double crested. It was a trough about 12' wide and 7' deep. On my side of the boat I looked up and saw a wall of water towering over my head that I could almost touch.

That's when my sphincter twinged and I had the single most memorable nautical moment of my life.

The boat motored out the end of the trough and the moment was over as quick as it happened. It was rough going all the way back in though. I distinctly remember looking at the back of the boat and seeing six or eight inches of water sloshing around but ...

We made it back safe and sound, soaked to the bone, and running on fumes. We caught fish though so it was a good day.

Bristol Bay Alaska, 1981. It was a dark and stormy night. like all are on the bay. well mostly. sister boat was running a Chrysler marine. water in the bilge shorted the starter and she was dead in the water.
we rigged a tow off her bow to our stern in a triangle and started towing for the Queen cannery. had to turn into the storm as it got heavy. I really don't know what height the waves were but I have pictures somewhere of the 38 foot metal boat with 4 feet of clear air under her. thought we were going to tear the transom off. 16 hours and 5 parted lines later we made the Queen.
T rest of the fleet beat us there by about 12 hours. still can hear the capt. yelling at me from the bridge when I flubbed a bowlan.

Thought of another one...

Working on Rig 452 and a work boat came in with some drill collars we needed. Of course there was a storm blowing, seas were 12'-15' (I was told). I dont really know how big the waves were, except they were BIG!

Crane operator asked another fellow and myself if we would get on the boat and get the collars. Didnt order us to, asked us, it was that bad.

We agreed and down we went in the basket. We tied two lines across the back of the 290' workboat and hooked ourselves into the lines. Then we had to unstack the collars, 3 at a time (they were chained to the side, in a group of 15), keep them from getting loose, and hook them for the lift. The boat captain would go 'into the waves' while we were getting the lift ready, but had to position the boat 'across the waves' to make the actual lift. The waves would come over the sides of the boat and wash us across to the other side. The only thing that kept us on the boat was the lines we were hooked to. IIRC, these were 7" drill collars and weighed about 110 lbs/ft, approx 30' long each, so if any had gotten loose, it would have been extremely bad, for us (the other fellow and I).
We made the 5 lifts in about 3 hours, that's how bad it was. And, yes, I got 'sick as a dog', again!

Only time I ever got sea sick was in an amtrack making a landing. I was sitting right behind the driver. Machine was having some engine trouble. Driver had engine bonnet up and between driving and messing with something on engine filled inside with smoke and diesel fumes. Top hatches were secure. To this day I can't take diesel fumes either.
Sick as a dog.

I had a dive instructor tell me it was 'all in my head', getting sea sick, and he proved it. I had gone out on a 35'-40' dive boat, in the gulf, and had gotten sick. The next time we went out, the instructor brought his 20' bay boat and I rode in it. Went to the same place as before and I didnt get sick.

He claimed it was because I expected the big boat to be stable and it wasnt, that's what made me sick. On the small boat, I expected it to 'rock and roll' and because I expected it, I didnt get sick.

At least that's what he said and I guess he was right.

I've been out several times in small boats, since then, and never had a problem!

Yep, those are all 180's, like the Ironwood.

I don't know anything about a 'new' Escanaba.