BLUEMOMENT

It was something of a coincidence that 'Coast' last night was focussing on the tides - how they work and the power that they exert on our lives at sea.

I was at a barbecue on Saturday - under a gazebo - it was raining - and met a lady who sails with friends of ours. They have a boat in the Gareloch way up North, but Nigel the boat owner kept his Centaur 'Windcharm' at Kippford and still did a fair bit of sailing around the Irish Sea and the Solway. To my dismay she said when I asked after him that on Friday's tide she broke her mooring and was washed all the way up the Urr to Palnackie, where according to this lady she 'sunk'. She said that he had gone down to see her that afternoon but that she was full of mud.

Last year when Windcharm was moored right at the bottom of the river - the last buoy - she had had a similar experience on the ebb and had washed away to Heston Islet, but I don't think too much harm had come to her. This year Nigel was pleased to get a new mooring just off the jetty in the village, but clearly disaster has struck this time.

Will find out more when I can.

Dougie the Mate wrote:To my dismay she said when I asked after him that on Friday's tide she broke her mooring and was washed all the way up the Urr to Palnackie, where according to this lady she 'sunk'. She said that he had gone down to see her that afternoon but that she was full of mud. ...
Will find out more when I can.

I bought an anchor from Andy at Kippford Slipway on Saturday, just as he was setting out to raise a boat from the mud. I presume it's the same one. Not much detail to add to your account, really. For those who don't know the area, we have Jolly Big Tides in the Solway, which means Jolly Steep Banks to the rivers. The boat (assuming it's the same one) had gone nose first into the soft mud bank, wedged there, dried out with the stern 45+ degrees down and then filled as the tide came back in. A hell of a mess, according to Andy, and my heart goes out to the owner.

The recovery plan, incidentally, was to pump her out when the tide was down, seal all the hatches and then let the tide lift her out. I presume she'll be ashore in Kippford by now.

Wandering boats are not unusual in the Urr, especially at Springs. A couple of years ago a friend lost the entire season when his Seal 26 - a lifting keel boat - was washed up on to the Merse at the Spring Equinox and had to wait months for a similar tide to get her off. Another friend was lucky enough to get his boat back into the river on the next tide when he had a similar experience. The biggest worry for everyone is the damage that can be done to other vessels when a boat breaks her mooring in such currents.