Have you ever fallen into the canal?

[nebulae]

Yes,when 6 years old, before learning to swim(Nobody about,man 100 yards away thought he heard something,vaulted a 6ft wall and hooked me out),once got left in the water 1 mile offshore during a race.(inflation tube had disapeared inside the life jacket,had to keep afloat until the rescue boat arrived)once at Stratford in the canal.,Been boating for 60 years,still learning.

[blackrose]

Lived on a boat 15 years, not fallen in once. I've jumped in, but never fallen.

 

That's what I said after about 10 years, and then I fell in!

[David Mack]

I've seen someone just walk straight off the end off a pontoon in a marina thinking it went the full length of the boat. It didn't. It was a half length pontoon.

There was a YouTube video posted here a year or two back from a cctv camera at the Mailbox in Birmingham showing a woman walking straight into the canal while walking head down, all her attention on her smartphone.

[Daiboy]

Not in the cut but in the Thames. Moving boat, let the stern rope go before I was in control and the boat said bye, bye so I took a leap of faith and missed. Straight in the river complete with phone, fags and wallet. Managed to grab the stern rope and eventually hauled myself back on board whilst the current took me downstream.

 

I'll probably fall in the cut tomorrow for posting this!!!

[Radiomariner]

Not fallen in, but accidentally jumped in. Lesson learned:- Never jump ashore holding a mooring line without checking that there is sufficient slack in the line!

 

SWMBO on the other hand has lots of experience in this subject. I would never tell her this, but on each occasion it was quite an hilariously event!

[mark99]

I think I posted this before but consider this - it was worse because it took so long to fall in..........trying to reverse out of a bend.

 

 

1) Get pole, place carefully one end on neighbours hull at waterline

 

2) Lean hard over and push hard on my end of pole to try to push my back end of boat around a tight bend

 

3) Pole skids off neighbours hull

 

4) I with great reflexes(?) immediately drop pole and grab other boats roof handrail and form a human bridge between my boat and his

 

5) My boat decides to move outwards stretching me out further like I'm on a rack with me looking face down at the water

 

6) Push off with toes trying to simultaneously pull myself (a sort of "chin up" for those that are familiar with the gym) on neighbours boat

 

7) Whilst at one time, I could chain a 30lb weight to my waist and do multiple "chin ups, I found out that these days I can't even do my own bodyweight! and fell in.

[John V]

Reading all these posts has reminded me of other times I have been in

 

The "Good Old Days" on the Stort when there was a distinct lack of lock landings. The trick used to be to hurl yourself at the jungle on the bank and hope there was land under there somewhere, sometimes there wasn't...sometimes there was but the undergrowth was so thick you sort of bounced off and slid gracefully backwards into the water.

Of course when there were landing stages they were often very small, wooden and VERY slippy

[WhiteSuit]

After several years of hiring and share ownership I fell into the murky waters of the Middle levels on our first night out on our own boat. I slid , gracefully, from the plank which is always required in these waters for a full dunking. I emerged with green weedy hair to great hilarity from the wife. We had not even opened the bottle of champagne we were celebrating with!

Second occasion was in front of a full audience while setting off from the bank in Braunston. At least the boat was not in gear. I obviously presumed the boat was a couple of feet longer than it actually was.

At least I feel I have done my bit in the hilarity stakes.