Scary Incident at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel

[theoldawg]

Posted on The Chesapeake Angler - Tidal Fish Forum - Knife Content

Scary moment at the CBBT tonight

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Hey guys,
We got down to Virginia Beach last night after a horrible rainy and foggy drive. The fog was terrible this morning so we slept in a little bit. Headed out around 11 and caught some nice schoolies jigging.

Headed in for dinner and then back out on Lee Tippett's Maycraft around 7:30 to try for the big boys. Well, around 9:30 we heard a distress call on the VHF. Lee jotted down the coords and we shot off to their location. It was sort of rough but the tide was ROLLING! An inboard Shamrock had just missed a monstrous anchor bouy they use to anchor barges off of near the 4'th island. The poor guy caught the giant mooring rope in his prop. This spun him around 180 degrees at full speed and put his transom against the current.

When we got there his transom was starting to get pulled under by the current. It was a bad situation to say the least. We idled up next to him and threw him a serrated knife. He was able to cut the rope free and started drifting away. Thank goodness. The next stop probably would have been to have them hop on board and let the boat sink. . .

Anyway all was well so we went back to fishing. Quite an experience. By the way, there was alot of chatter on the radio and other people must have heard him call. He sounded on the radio like he had seen a ghost he was so scared and nobody else even made an attempt to help him, which isn't right. . .

 

[austinguy23]

Please define:

"schoolies"
"jigging"
"Lee Tippett's Maycraft"
"coords"
"inboard Shamrock"
"mooring"
"transom"

 

[Razorz]

Please define:

"schoolies" (i'm guessing a small game fish)
"jigging" (fishing,or trolling)
"Lee Tippett's Maycraft" (a ship?)
"coords" (Co-ordinates)
"inboard Shamrock" (another ship >.<?)
"mooring" (no idea)
"transom"

(no idea, lol)

Scary story indeed man, it's good to know there is still unselfish people
out there and one with a trusty tool too :] props to you :thumbup:

 

[ericb445]

What are you talking about?
I hope you made it out ok, what ever happened.

 

[longbow]

They were fishing and responded to a distress call from another boat in trouble. THEY were the only ones to respond to the call. Rule of the sea is if you hear a distress call closest immediate vessels respond for aid to the boat in distress. Good job, keepem sharp

 

[ryts100]

Please define:

"schoolies"
"jigging"
"Lee Tippett's Maycraft"
"coords"
"inboard Shamrock"
"mooring"
"transom"

All I know is, coords=coordinates.

 

[Bolt-action bultema]

Schoolies-fish that school up as to form bait balls

jigging-a method in fishing

Lee Typpett's Maycraft-a boat of the Maycraft manufacture which belongs to an individual named "Lee Typpett"

inboard shamrock-a type of boat.

mooring-a floating object which is anchored to the floor of the ocean by multiple points as to prevent it from drifting-used to attach boats, in this case, it would be bigger than a minivan, and likely made of metal.

transom-the flat portion at the rear(stern) of a boat.


Stories like this make me sad. The occupant of the shamrock should have had a knife. especially on boat, there should be at least 4 knives, 1 machete, and an axe (at least on a sizable sailing vessel.

 

[cgmblade]

Please define:

"schoolies"
"jigging"
"Lee Tippett's Maycraft"
"coords"
"inboard Shamrock"
"mooring"
"transom"

schoolies - fish
jigging - fishing
Lee Tippett - person
Maycraft - brand of boat
coords - co-ordinates
inboard - inboard motor versus outboard motor
Shamrock - another boat
mooring - the big rope on the buoy used to anchor barges
transom - back of the boat

 

[SPXTrader]

Please define:

"schoolies"
"jigging"
"Lee Tippett's Maycraft"
"coords"
"inboard Shamrock"
"mooring"
"transom"

1) A school of fish or a fishermen's term for a run of fish
2) A method of fishing, usually involving bottom fishing
3) The name of Lee Tippett's boat
4) ryts100 already got this one
5) A type of boat with the motor inboard as opposed to hanging off the transom
6) Something you tie your boat to
7) The back end of a boat, usually what outboard motors are attached to

 

[Esav Benyamin]

Great story. Too bad no one else even tried. But all it takes is one -- the right one!

I could leave this here but it's not really about the knife, so I'm going to move it to Wilderness & Survival Skills, where I know they'll appreciate it. I will leave a permanent redirect, though.

 

[99f250]

Kudo's to you! It always feels good to help someone in need.
P.S. Did you get your knife back?

 

[moonwilson]

Buncha landlubbers around here.

Dude got his prop caught in a big ass rope, which spun him around and held his boat at an angle, backwards, with the current pushing up against him, threatening to swamp/flip and sink the boat. Perfectly simple.

That would definitely have sucked if nobody had been around to help. Dude would have gone in the drink, which is very cold, and been swept out to who-knows-where. There's a good chance he would have been killed if nobody had bothered to lend a hand.

 

[Rotte]

Someone owes someone a beer.

I'm just sayin'...

 

[Bushman5]

self edited. never mind

 

[kgd]

Cool story. It was probably still a bitch for them to detangle the props once freed up while drifting away. Can't imagine somebody not having a knife on board their vessel, but I suppose it happens. Sad that others didn't come to aid the person. Had there been another boat around, they could have coordinated something once the boat was a drift, towing them to a safer spot.

 

[Skimo]

Sweet ending to a scary event, good thing these guys listen to their radio!

 

[Smash05]

I was going to say "who gets on a boat without a knife" but I forgot the company I was in. Good ending, way to be prepared and willing to put those preparations to use helping another.

 

[theoldawg]

Kudo's to you! It always feels good to help someone in need.
P.S. Did you get your knife back?

Sorry for the confusion - I was not the the "good guy" in this indident.

The "good guy" goes by the forum name of "Francis" on The Chesapeake Angler Forum - I was merely passing on some good knife karma.

By the way, the fishing grounds at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel are quite prolific; but they are also very dangerous at this time of year.

 

[dougo83]

What are you talking about?
I hope you made it out ok, what ever happened.

This is why I carry the SALT on the boat. Ok..maybe I just carry it because I like knives...

Glad to hear everyone made it out ok though.

 

[valcas1]

schoolies=slang term for small striped bass, not legal to keep. IMO