Hey Brian,

I've been remarkably lucky over the years, most of my problems have been pretty minor. And, keep in mind, many of the mechanical issues I've had (such as the runaway blown engine you mention) have come aboard twin-screw powerboats in inshore waters, so I've always been able to limp back in unassisted...

One of the bigger challenges I've ever had, was taking a lightning hit about 90 miles off Fernandina, which killed virtually everything aboard the boat. Couldn't start the engine, although if we'd had long enough jumper cables aboard, or were willing to try to re-lead cables direct to the starter, we probably could have. but we weren't that desperate, we had favorable sailing conditions that allowed us to sail back into Wassaw Sound and right up to almost within shouting distance of the docks at the old Palmer Johnson yard in Thunderbolt. I really wanted to try to sail into the dock without help, but it was late at night, and the tide was flooding, so we dropped the hook to wait for the more favorable ebb in the morning, but by that time the wind had died completely, and we finally called for the yard's workboat to bring us alongside... I don't think I ever told that story here, as the owner was my oldest/best client ever, and the boat was for sale at the time... (grin)

So, I'm hard-pressed to think of a time where I couldn't eventually get a boat to it's destination, and only one trip that I bailed on immediately comes to mind. About a dozen years ago, some guy was pleading with me to bring his Hunter 40 from Montauk down to the Chesapeake. It was a trip I really didn't want to bother with, I could tell the guy was a cheapskate, and sounded like trouble, but I had some free time, and agreed to give it a shot. So, I spend a whole day getting out to Montauk, and as soon as I see the POS I knew it was a mistake. His RIB was inverted on the foredeck, the freakin' bottom covered with about a 2" thick growth of barnacles... I leave Lake Montauk the next morning in sloppy conditions, and within 5 minutes of clearing the jetties, the engine starts dropping RPMs... Pretty clear handwriting on the wall, so I turned back, and walked away... The guy was pissed, never even reimbursed me for my expenses or my time going out there, and back. And, about a month later, I get a call from the manager of the marina where the boat had been, the guy had skipped out in middle of the night without paying a substantial bill for yard work and dockage, so I'd obviously done the right thing. Of course, after a bit of time in the business, one quickly develops a 'feel' for jobs that are likely to be trouble, and I knew this one would be trouble right from the get-go, but went against my better judgement anyway...

One thing that amazes me about this discussion as it has played out on the forums, is the number of posters who seem to have come out of the woodwork claiming to have had some astonishing amount of miles offshore... 200,000 miles seems to be the magic number... (grin) Now, I've racked up well more than that over the years, but the majority of miles I've traveled has been coastal or inshore, on fast motor yachts and sportfishermen capable of running 20-25 knots, where I could tally 5K miles on the meter in course of one good fall delivery season... For those guys doing offshore deliveries to the islands and whatnot, it's really tough to squeeze more than one trip to the Caribbean per season, how some of these guys might be racking up some of these numbers of "bluewater miles" is hard for me to imagine... True, my delivery work has not been my sole form of livelihood, but back when the good times were rolling, I think I was about as busy as most running boats, and I'm still among the dwindling number of those still standing after the bottom of the industry fell out in '08, so I have to scratch my head at some of these claims by some that are being bandied about...

No one knows better than you, those mythical "200 Mile Days" are few and far when sailing offshore... But running a Fornicatorium, it's barely an 8 hour day... (grin)

best regards,

Jon