Could have been worse!

[uncas]

posted 11-06-2005 09:17 AM
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Potential nightmare...

Forgot to mention on my earlier thread.....While I was at the boatyard getting ready for winter storage..I found myself the only one there at night...

It was a wet windy sorta night by the way...
Got out on deck....smelled an electric fire...sniffed a bit more, looked at the new pavilion being built for boat owners to sit and relax over a grill, etc...and saw small flames glowing in the dark...Had not really caught yet but was thinking about it......Initially, thought it was the lights from passing cars reflecting off the building in the rain...
Then sniffed again...Nope.
Jumped onto the dock in a foot of water ( exceptionally high tide )...padded my way, barefoot, to the owner's house...wasn't there...Jumped into a borrowed truck and headed down the road to the Hamburg Yacht Club ( as I had seen the building lit up . Ran in and reported a fire at the yard...
Finally put out by the local fire dept. Not much damage luckily...
First the building could have gone up along with all of the masts stored in an attached shed...Secondly, there were at least 10 woodies at the dock...down wind, which could have been damaged....
The reason for the fire.the sump pump and..a circuit breaker which was old...did not break...Rumor from the local fire chief...old breakers do one of two things, break all of the time...or don't break at all.
For those with cell phones...had a new one but no service in the immediate area...So much for modern tech.

Added note...this pavilion is gonna be great for those using the boatyard...Grills, all the comforts of home, great for gatherings and picnics..and BSing after a long day. Wish more yards would think about catering to the boaters after a day sailing or powering

And you can all guess what a boatyard fire at a wooden boatyard could have done...

[ 11-06-2005, 03:49 PM: Message edited by: uncas ]

[Ken Hutchins]

Dammed glad you had the common sense to investigate and take action, the vast majority of people would not have recognized the problem until it was too late.

[ssor]

Did anybody say "thanks"?

[uncas]

ssor...there were a lot of thanks...One guy is rebuilding ( another woodie ) in a shed and hasd a brand new mast..in the shed...still in the wrapper...He was thrilled...It was his birthday...hence the gathering at the Hamburg Cove Yacht Club that night. What a present!!!!
Also...side bar...He knew who I was...my father sponsored him for the Cruising Club, his father was in the same class at Yale as my father, and his mother went to boarding school with my mother back in the '30's. Small world.

Ken...that is for having been a fireman and EMT for fifteen years. Gotta do what one has gotta do..
jamj

[ 11-07-2005, 07:25 AM: Message edited by: uncas ]

[ssor]

Ya never know when you're gonna meet someone interesting.

[uncas]

ssor...Agreed...Hard to believe how many people I met on the trip to Newport who knew someone, who knew someone, I knew...
A very long list!
jamj

[Ian McColgin]

Good job.

[uncas]

Ian...From what I know of those on the forum....have wooden boats etc..Not one would have done differently...

[uncas]

PS...am hoping the pavilion for us boaters will be ready next spring...Certainly plan on using it a lot when I am in CT.
It should go well with the Tuesday night
" Steamer night " ( pot luck...and well attended and the food...well watch the waistline ). The owner of the yard puts these on...Winter/spring/summer and fall.
Went to a few of them and had a fantastic time.. The only yard/marina which comes close to developing this kind of family atmosphere is one I stopped at in Rock Hall.
I know that the Hinckley Yard would never make these kinds of efforts.