62_Kiwi
Lieutenant Junior Grade
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2002
- Messages
- 1,159
Here is one of my all-time favourite (true) stories from an old copy of "Boating New Zealand" magazine - extracted from an article written by Mark Fossey.<br /><br />This true story happened on a cloudless summer's day in sunny Auckland Harbour. A 12' runabout with a 15hp outboard at maximum throttle is towing a seabiscuit. The skipper is steering a wide circle and looking back over the stern watching the seabiscuit when he hits his own wake. Had he had an observer on board, as required by law, he would have had no need to look astern to check the sea biscuit.<br /><br />Snug on his plastic seat at the dashboard, he feels safely wedged in and so displays a rather stunned expression when he is bounced out of the driver's seat. Unable to comprehend his sudden removal from the helm, he can see the seabiscuit, the seagulls perched on the beach and the yachts anchored nearby...<br /><br />Then he lands astern in a grade three belly-flop. He surfaces to see his boat whizzing away from him and the line to the seabiscuit screaming past, just within reach.<br /><br />It's too tempting. Lurching through the water, he graps the rope and holds on. It only takes a second before the searing pain of rope burn tears through his fingers. He lets go. Another second passes before a well-inflated seabiscuit and it's terrified passenger brutally dunk him from behind.<br /><br />Surfacing yet again he watches wide-eyed as the runabout just misses the varnished stern of an anchored superyacht. There is also the strange phenomena as the un-manned boat executes a series of massive bunny hops. The untamed power causes the runabout to stand on it's motor and become airborne. Then, as the rope to the seabiscuit tightens again, it nosedives. Levelled out again the craft takes off, reaches flying speed, and does it again.<br /><br />All around other boaties tremble as the mad, motorised stunt boat heads their way. The skipper's terrified eyes grow as large as dinnerplates as the boat heads towards him. Fortunately it misses him. Each time the runabout does the flying manoeuvre it partially submerges on landing and ships a few gallons of briny. The seabiscuit passenger also helps hold it back and in short order the boat fills to the brim and the motor stalls. No damage. No disaster, except a long swim and a while drying out a motor and boat.<br /><br />Be warned. The skipper now has a 20' trailer sailer that can be taken anywhere in NZ and he acknowledges that he has never really sailed before....<br /><br />
