I used to think that going to the local boat ramp for a couple of hours on a Saturday afternoon was great entertainment.
Fiona and I walked down to Milford beach to watch some of the returning long weekend launches come back into Milford Marina in a 20 knot easterly coming up your backside. This is a real challenge as the entrance is quite narrow and with the surf, you can easily broach and head onto the rocks on either side of the entrance. Its not for the faint hearted.
As we crossed the bridge and walked down to the sand, I mentioned to Fiona that the mast we could see and the way it was bobbing around looked as though it was on the beach. As we got closer, there it was. I immediately rang Coastguard but they already knew about it and help was coming.
It seems the poor chap misjudged the tide completely and was forced to turn around in the channel (almost impossible) and lost control and ended up on the beach. There were lost of volleyball players who volunteered to help in the water. Coastguard arrived and towed them off with a jet powered rubber boat. A very lucky fellow and what a long day he had!
After that, we sat back and watched the boats come in on the easterly.. Everyone I saw did the return to Milford pretty well but what an afternoon of drama and action.
Bugger It, we are off - www.buggeritweareoff.com 
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