Courting Disaster
Posted: Sat Apr 14, 2007 9:23 pm
Having launched Seren last week today was my first opportunity to sail. I now accept the inevitability of disasters when I take the boat out for the first time. Things like tying the dingy on over jib sheets, you know the sort of thing! Well today I almost did it proper.
I was quite pleased at avoiding running aground at Abermenai Point at the Caernarfon end of the straits so dropped the hook and went below to brew up. Took the oil lamp off the top of the stove, where it had been for the past few days, and put the kettle on then about a minute later the whole lot burst into flames. Somehow paraffin had leaked out of the lamp and formed a puddle around the gas ring. Frantically I looked for the fire blanket but it was not were it should have been so, in desperation, I gave the stove two short blasts with the extinguisher. Suprisingly, this worked and so I don’t have to fill in all the insurance stuff (doesn’t a lot of powder come out of those things?) With lots of black smoke belching out of the forward hatch at least I gave all the other boats a bit of a spectacle.
It took ages to clean up all the mess but at least no damage done. May be I shouldn’t have changed the boats name.
Terry
I was quite pleased at avoiding running aground at Abermenai Point at the Caernarfon end of the straits so dropped the hook and went below to brew up. Took the oil lamp off the top of the stove, where it had been for the past few days, and put the kettle on then about a minute later the whole lot burst into flames. Somehow paraffin had leaked out of the lamp and formed a puddle around the gas ring. Frantically I looked for the fire blanket but it was not were it should have been so, in desperation, I gave the stove two short blasts with the extinguisher. Suprisingly, this worked and so I don’t have to fill in all the insurance stuff (doesn’t a lot of powder come out of those things?) With lots of black smoke belching out of the forward hatch at least I gave all the other boats a bit of a spectacle.
It took ages to clean up all the mess but at least no damage done. May be I shouldn’t have changed the boats name.
Terry