The Stupidest Mistake that Puts us in Danger | Ep 32

[@chrispool9062]

i like how you Narrate the videos.

[@3in1Machining]

Dear Alex & Lars, I do recall some time ago both my wife an I sent you an encouraging email not to give in. Now look at your views, almost doubled. Its always a pleasure to see a young handsome couple enjoy life and thanks for sharing your experiences with us. Your chose of music compliments the videos. Alex, you can sing quite well do not be embarrassed in sharing. Continue on your odessey. Kind Regards Graham & Carolyn. P.s we are old people and enjoy your adventures. Good sailing

[@BitcoinNewsTodayLive]

A wooden dowel as a dipstick is a great cheap option. Add diesel 1 gallon at a time, dip it, and cut a notch with a knife at each level *wink* Great episode!

[@robertwilliams8974]

I have done the same dumb thing and now always carry a full jerry can. You did well and learnt how to avoid that situation in future. Also, good on you for sharing your mistakes as well as your many successes. Cheers!

[@NavikaSailing]

Yep sometimes you have to learn the hard way!!

[@user-mj6sl9qv8j]

Great stuff thanks. Non-sailors likely won't understand how hairy that was - probably thinking why not just get in the dinghy! The difference between holidays and a life of adventure ;-). We ALL get caught out - the risk is part of why we do it. Lars had it right though - you still had options. Couple of thoughts (you've no doubt had when not berating yourselves for getting in spot in first place) is to have kept the main up ready to go and to rig an anchor snubber to reduce snatch load.

[@miketcq8]

Glad it all worked out safely in the end.

[@BitcoinNewsTodayLive]

I'd have been tempted to heave too when the engine died. Much more comfortable. The T37 heaves to like a charm.

[@guy.h]

Thanks for sharing this. Hindsight is always a wonderful thing and of course, KZbin is full of armchair sailing experts who never leave dry land. IMHO you dealt with the situation very well, no-one got hurt, nothing got damaged and you had a good sail ... sounds like a win to me

[@NavikaSailing]

Thanks Guy, really appreciate your message. Sharing this kind of thing always opens you up to all sorts of opinions & ‘should’ve done differently’s’ but your comment is a nice reminder to not take it all too much to heart!

[@jimjam3s]

Use a single foam ear plug to fight sea sickness. Works very well for me. Glad you made it ok.

[@NavikaSailing]

Oh never heard of that! Will try that out next time, fingers crossed it helps!

[@DesertDogJournal]

Thanks for sharing your mistakes. You’ll probably save someone’s boat someday because of your story.

[@bethlef5168]

We always enjoy your videos! Stay safe

[@NavikaSailing]

Thank you! 🙏

[@karllawls6579]

Great job overcoming the difficulties and getting in safely. Appreciate your dedication in getting it filmed as well !

[@JagLite]

Exciting! That's cruising. All is good until things go wrong, the danger is when multiple things go wrong. No engine, okay it's a sailboat. No anchor ready to go? Big problem. Halyard jammed can't get the sail down? Bigger problem. Sun going down with no engine, on a lee shore, with a jammed main halyard at the mast head so you can't drop or reef the main and the anchor stored below because you thought you were going to be tied to a dock... That's when very bad things happen. You did great. You knew what to do and did it, and knew what to do if you had to leave the anchor to sail away from the lee shore. Usually it is not one problem that causes catastrophe, it is a cascade of problems that does it. We are glad you made it in safely and have learned from the experience.

[@andyhedley1250]

Wow, so glad you guys are safe..

[@arottie4097]

Well done guy's! Way to keep your wit's about you, while under duress!!

[@shandyguy211]

Lovely to see the apartment after so long, and the familiar sights around Duquesa, thanks for sharing! Ironic about running out of diesel when you past a Repsol gas station at 5:18…cool foreshadowing! Glad you guys safely negotiated the issue, and am so impressed by how calm and sensibly you dealt with the situation. I’m sure your meditative techniques helped you calm your mind and think through the problem to come up with several alternative options! Good experience to have to build your confidence in knowing you can deal with unforeseen issues xx

[@NavikaSailing]

Haha hadn't actually noticed the foreshadowing!! Yes it was funny being back in Duquesa, it's been so long since I was last there and so much has changed. Nice to go back. You're right, helps build confidence in ourselves and the boat when things like this happen. Thanks for following along! Love to you & Pam!

[@trailingarm63]

You need an auxiliary diesel tank - failing that a Jerrycan. Good film.

[@NavikaSailing]

Yeahh we do! Making sure we always have some back up now anyway

[@michaelvanwinkle7919]

Good decision making. What projects do you two have for the boat over the winter? Any sail or navigation instrument changes?

[@TheSkidon]

Lovely boat.

[@NavikaSailing]

thanks Bob :)

[@stevecrombie5357]

Thank you to all the good people out there, we never get to hear about you enough. Do they not have towing services that you pay a yearly fee to have access to? Glad you decided to forgo the Atlantic crossing if there were concerns. And we got to have pizza, all's right with the world. Stay safe.

[@NavikaSailing]

We got unlucky! The RIB that they wouldve used to tow us in was out of the water for repairs... obviously

[@chilesauce7248]

Handy tip; keeping a full fuel tank helps to stop moisture contamination of the fuel.

[@NavikaSailing]

Yes completely agree. This was an exception because we were deliberately running low to refill tax free in Gibraltar 😂 Then we turned back before we got there...!

[@hellkell8693]

There are flexible metal sounding tapes you can use to drop down the diesel filler pipe that follows any curves in the filler pipe. That might be an option for fuel levels.

[@Cptnbond]

Thanks for sharing, yes it could have gone worse, you were lucky. What surprised me in his episode is the total lack of any use of a PFD when setting the anchor in that weather. A MOB situation could have been very tragic. Cheers.

[@NavikaSailing]

Sure, we're pretty lax with PFDs. At sea we would've had that jacklines rigged, but MOB on anchor 30m from the beach? To me that's a swimmer. I mean our buddies were kitesurfing past us. It's hard to tell in the video though. We weren't worried for ourselves, just concerned that if the boat started dragging we would've had to sail off and hove to when really we wanted to be in port.

[@chrisdowning9626]

P. S. Interesting to see that spanish marinas still not that bothered about cruising yachts if it doesn't suit them, nearly twenty years on. You did well and enjoy a bit of a relax.

[@michaelbundy3867]

That didn't look like fun at all. Getting that anchor up without an engine would be tricky but as you said tie a fender on it . Well done for filming it all.

[@NavikaSailing]

Absolutely! Would've meant ditching it to recover later. Luckily didn't come to that

[@allan8004]

Glad you made it OK in the rough conditions, good job all around, nothing like something like this to give a "hay always carry a spare drum of fuel", bet you do next sail! and a quick question for the beautiful lady on board, do you have a sister that sails on the boat "Zephyr" as in the you tube channel sailing Zephyr ? she looks and sounds a bit like you, all the best, Al

[@NavikaSailing]

Hey Allan, yeah we're glad we made it in safely and definitely learnt our lesson! Haha, no we haven't met but I've heard of them! Will check them out :)

[@rolanddunk5054]

Hi, is there any means of rigging a fuel tank indicator or making a dipstick for your tank while it is empty,plus a spare can of fuel for just such an occasion..just a thought..glad you made it safely in.

[@NavikaSailing]

Hey Roland :) thanks yeah a fuel indicator would be a great addition. Not obvious to install on our tank but sure its possible. For now we're keeping a closer eye on engine hours and keeping a spare jerry can onboard! Worst part was we had the Jerry can already but hadn't filled it....

[@guy.h]

@@NavikaSailing if there is a metal top to the tank, you can drill & tap a hole (maybe 3/8 BSP) for a nipple and then an end cap. The cap comes off and you can then dip the tank through the hole. You can get a small bar brazed onto the cap as a handle

[@sventropy6734]

Might be an idea to always have an emergency 20ltr can of diesel on board .

[@NavikaSailing]

Yeahh that's the lesson I think!

[@Outrageousconduct]

And get a new fuel gauge !!

[@GypzyJack]

Yeah, as Roland Dunk suggests below it would be worth putting a fuel sender unit in the tank, and running a wire to a gauge in the cockpit...and in the meantime a 2x2 cm (1/2x1/2 in) wooden dipstick which you could even file gradations on it so you can plan quantities required under worst case scenarios before passages. Having said that the tank inspection plate is likely screwed and sealed to avoid fuel spillage in the bilge so creating a temporary entry point for a wooden dipstick is going to be a challenge. However, risk profiles at sea rise dramatically sans fuel.

[@NavikaSailing]

Exactly - a sender would be great but our tank is difficult to adapt. And you're spot on about the inspection plate, about 15 bolts to undo! I think with a closer eye on the engine hours, being a bit more conservative and spare diesel on board we should be alright. challenge here was that we were trying to run the tank low to fill in Gib!

[@iainflintoff9647]

I think the issue of revenue generation for new and emerging channels since 2016, has dropped off the map somewhat mainly due to market saturation. Sometimes people may self internalise that maybe it is a content issue affecting revenue generation, especially through donations. But I’m not sure this is the case. I’ve seen some channels, putting out excellent content lately, who are pretty new to this market, which has seen their subs ratio number balloon to 50,000. But then when they list their donators, they are under 20. Compare this to someone like ran sailing, that had maybe 100, patrons back in 2017, with around the same number of subscriptions. Crossing the Atlantic will certainly boost your subscriptions, but you need to work out whether ad Gen, will cover the expenses, if the donators aren’t there… good luck

[@NavikaSailing]

Thanks for these reflections Iain. At the moment we're not on Patreon yet, doing these for posterity and fun for now. Might consider that in the future.

[@whathree]

Interesting, is that a halyard swinging in the breeze at 7:10

[@sellsidedream8766]

Why cant you sail into the marina?

[@john-747]

Good suggestion, even with Jib

[@NavikaSailing]

Yeah this is what we wanted to do in the first place, but we called the marina to give them a heads up and they explicitly told us they had a 'no sailing in marina' policy. In hindsight we should've just ignored that, sailed into calmer water, dropped the hook temporarily and towed ourselves in with the dinghy as Lars Kristian there writes. But at the time we couldn't remember either if there was quite enough space to do that safely.

[@john-747]

@@NavikaSailing thanks for quick reply, yes you totally correct, no sailing in marinas policy, I remember now in Melb, RMYS, we could not sail into dock.

[@GypzyJack]

Your other option, if you don't feel confident in sailing to an anchor point under a reefed staysail--something you should practice--and you don't have someone to provide you with some fuel, is to put the dinghy in the water and use it to tug the boat into the last 50 metres of closing distance to your anchor point, being careful to approach that anchor point from upwind with plenty of line that you can put on a winch.

[@NavikaSailing]

We wanted to sail in but the marina refused permission do to so. In hindsight we should've ignored that and gone in under sail and anchored inside the wall. Then we could've dropped the dinghy safely and towed into the spot. What caught us by surprise here was being totally unable to launch the dinghy due to the swell (and our davit hoisting lines are too short!)

[@GypzyJack]

@@NavikaSailing Try using a little notebook, getting into the habit of logging fuel input quantities and engine hours consumption rates to always have a calculated balance of fuel on hand, or in the case of you millennials, create a spreadsheet using the Numbers App on your iPhone(s). Us old accounting types have our ways yer know! *chuckles* In any event, keeping a couple of jerry cans on hand will always be a good backstop.

[@GypzyJack]

@@NavikaSailing The great part of all this is it puts you both squarely on the learning curve trajectory, preparing you both with the skills & mindset to take on the Atlantic & Pacific. Remember the peril of a false economy. Unless you can consistently buy your fuel at a discounted price what you save at the one-off bowser is loose change compared to the potential impact on the risk profile. Good luck, you two!

[@maximilianbck6518]

That was slightly scary, glad you guys made it out safe and sound! And good job with the filming, Alex!

[@NavikaSailing]

Thanks Maxi!

[@tiborkiss9186]

guys, get a 1 eur car diesel filter in any car shop and a few meters of fuel line. than make the diesel line from the tank in a way that the first filter to clog up would be he car diesel filter and this filer is easily accessible. than you can just change the cheap car filter. behind he car filer here can be a diesel-water separator - this way you can ge rid of he water building up in the tank due to condensation. Cheers.

[@cnc75adventures49]

Can you put a stick in your tank to measure your fuel level ?

[@SailProMarina]

Valuable lesson learned eh ? Diesel tanks are meant to be FULL at every opportunity and ALWAYS a 5gallon jerry on deck. And anchoring out there ? Ya that would be a 12:1 scope and require at least a 60lb Rocna or Force 40 to hold ya there. Well, glad it worked out guys.

[@NZL50505]

Well done for your honesty & self-awareness. By your own admission you made a series of poor decisions that could so easily have ended differently. You put yourselves into a dangerous situation which relied upon others to help get you out of difficulty (which they did fortunately). I really hope you use the time to reflect and maybe even consider taking some extra lessons - maybe hire a more experienced skipper to spend time with you onboard Navika rather than joining a class on another boat? Because speaking bluntly, I don’t think you guys are ready to cross the Atlantic yet and I’m pleased you are not doing it this year. I hope you can use the time to continue enjoying yourselves in the Med but also to accelerate your rate of learning. Btw, despite my comments above I’ll continue to subscribe & watch even without your transat because your overall demeanour and style is likably watchable!

[@NavikaSailing]

You live on a boat for long enough and of course you're going to make mistakes. But at no point during this situation were we or the boat really in danger. I had multiple options in mind for alternative solutions that I actually mentioned in the video. We were lucky that guy was around because it avoided having to sail further, hove to or wait out the swell. But all was ultimately under control, if uncomfortable. These condescending comments are a shame because it reinforces this culture of inaccessibility to sailing. I have my Yachtmaster Offshore and Alex has her skippers licence. We've owned sailboats previously and have been sailing our whole lives. We share this kind of content because yea, we're human and shit can still happen, and we want to be open. Friendly advice, suggestions and support is awesome. But I've found that these comments tend to be more about inflating ones own feeling of authority and making others feel small. Apologies for the bluntness, but I feel strongly about this since I see so much of this self-authorised lecturing in the sailing world and would rather see a positive and constructive environment than an 'old salt knows best' culture.

[@NZL50505]

@@NavikaSailing Ok well the last thing I intended was to come across as condescending but I can see how it easily reads that way. And yes I’ve made as many mistakes as anyone if not more. In fact I’ve sometimes noticed that my own experience (or familiarity) with a given situation creates complacency which leads to problems. I guess the message I was trying to convey - all be it not very kindly - was that you didn’t look ‘battle-hardened’ for a challenging transatlantic. Last thing - and relating to my comment about your ‘likeable watchability” - I applaud your openness & honesty in sharing your experiences warts & all. And I hope my earlier comments doesn’t dissuade you from doing so in the future. It wasn’t my intention to offend you but with hindsight I totally understand your reaction. For which I apologise.

[@NavikaSailing]

Thank you for this response, and apologies if I read too much into the tone I felt there. I really appreciate this. I completely agree with the complacency point, particularly living on board it can feel like 'life as usual' sometimes and it gets easy to miss things. All the best

[@NZL50505]

@@NavikaSailing Hah! I’m pleased we cleared the air on that! And if you ever make it as far as NZ then I’d be delighted to buy you a beer to apologise in-person!

[@smash7777-]

For all the experience and whatever, it seems running out of fuel is a schoolboy error and I don’t even sail. Glad it all worked out and you both made it to land safely. 👍

[@chrisdowning9626]

I still don't see any lifelines, in those conditions. Bof, bon, bah, alors!

[@johnskorich3047]

Do not ever sail with people who are stupid.