Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length.

[Roger in France]

Yes OK, I have  heard it before and I should have known better.....

Took my yacht to the local lake (BIG lake) but before I sailed I thought I will just change the batteries. Then, oh damn, not enough new batteries for a complete new set. Ah well just put in what I have and leave some old ones in. Range check, OK. Off she went into the stiff breeze and sailed nicely under control close to shore. A good beat out into the lake, suddenly no control. The yacht started to disappear completely out of control towards the far shore. PANIC.

Very rapid pack of all the gear into the car, 15 minute drive, two bridges later and a very long walk down a railway track and fight my way through virgin forest to the shore line. Ah, there she is with a fisherman trying to pull her in with his net (there are always fishermen about in France). I arrive on the scene and the friendly fisherman now removes shoes and wades in. Rescue complete.

The yacht was fine, I was embarrassed at my stupidity but I now have a new friend as the fisherman lives very near me and French fishermen always have a bottle of wine to hand!

Roger in France.

[GOGSAMWE]

Gee, Roger..

"More Than Lucky " I'd say 

And after sharing your new friends bottle of vin de plonk , did you become a "Jolly Roger" 

Seriously though, phew, you were lucky.. and we should all learn from lessons like this !

Thanks for sharing your "moment" with us !

Steve

 

[White Ensign]

Roger, I just can say: Welcome to the club. But for having a drink with him you shouldn`t ruin your boat.......- just ask him!

Jörg

[Welsh_Druid]

Yes OK, I have  heard it before and I should have known better.....

Took my yacht to the local lake (BIG lake) but before I sailed I thought I will just change the batteries. Then, oh damn, not enough new batteries for a complete new set. Ah well just put in what I have and leave some old ones in. Range check, OK. Off she went into the stiff breeze and sailed nicely under control close to shore. A good beat out into the lake, suddenly no control. The yacht started to disappear completely out of control towards the far shore. PANIC.

Roger in France.

Oh Dear !!  You too  :)  Yes it happened to me this weekend as well.  Not the battery but a connection failed. Yacht carried on steadily to windward away across the (very) large lake - no control whatsoever.  Two club members send their power boats after it. They catch it up just at the limit of our eyesight as somebody was going for binoculars and manage to push the bows round. Back on the other tack it starts to come back to our shore. Then it turns downwind and goes like crazy - leaving the tugs behind.

After a while it goes back on the windward tack away from us again - the tugs catch it up and push it round again - but with skillful manoeuvring, one each side of the yacht, they keep alongside to stop it turning again. Success - it came  back to our bank.

It pays to have helpfull friends to sail with - thanks to Stavros and another clubmate.

Don B.

[White Ensign]

A shipmate of mine (fast-electrics-section) use to say: Nicads are really empty when you pick them out of the boat and you just hold two hollow paper-wrapped tubes in your hands  ::)

[justboatonic]

Reminds me of a time long ago when a mate and I went flying our gliders from the top of a hill. I was up first so flew off. He came along, chucked his glider out into thin air and realised he'd no rudder control. A lot of shrieks and curses were heard while he frantically tried to control the beast with just elevator control.
He eventually landed about a mile away in the valley. Subsequent investigation showed he'd change his rudder \ elevator on one stick to be on separate sticks but, in his rush to get airbourne forgot and tried to control using just the one stick!

Moral, always check everything before you commit your model!

[Tug]

I also have to hang my head in shame, I have launched with the radio switched off!

But my biggest fo'par I launched without fitting the rubber bung in the 1 metre yacht

it was very windy and nothing unto-ward was realised until the boat stated porpoising

as the water lurched from pointed end to blunt end [naval term,] it was considered sensible to bring it ashore to check,
 [brain a bit slow these days]

It cost me a new servo and a new sail winch, a lesson well learnt!