by JORIDAPILOT » 24 May 2015, 17:17
A minor cats-arse-trophy as it ended up could have been much worse.
Last year whilst still at Saxon we returned from a day out to find the pontoon space completely full. Fenders all on the port side ready to turn round. Those of you that know Saxon will appreciate that you have to moor port side to so you have the stern to the forklift for retrieval. As the pontoon was full we parked on the opposite side so that the MDL staff could pull us round once they had made some space. The opposite pontoon is very short and we were bow on to the forklift.
Mrs Joridapilot jumped off with the bowline and went forward and I followed with the stern line, little did we realise that I had left the boat in reverse gear, we soon did realise when the boat was moving backwards, not fast but surprising how much momentum is generated even at idle speed, and we hadn't got either line around a cleat, too late for the bow line, I tried to hold onto the boat, about midships, by the coaming and was pulled along the pontoon by the boat. I very soon ran out of pontoon to walk along and was soon hanging off the side of the hull with nothing to put my feet on.
Fearing a severe soaking and the boat heading off for the east bank of the Itchen I suffered from an enormous adrenalin rush, somehow a Sampson like strength appeared in my arms and I managed to hurl myself through the canopy framework, I didn't know that I could even fit!!, and I crashed onto the cockpit floor in a huge heap, from then on it was simple to find neutral and then navigate back to the pontoon with only a severely bruised ego, not even a wet foot. Needless to say I have not done the same thing again, and I always check before leaving the helm. Had I not got back aboard Jorida would have caused damage to two other boats and ended up aground along way from home.
As an aside, you should have seen Paul the forklift driver move, he had seen events unfolding and was round in a flash, considering that he had had his 2nd heart attack earlier in the year I was very impressed.
"Boatless"
High & Dry and a million miles from the sea.