Running aground.
The first thirty seconds matter most — reverse before the ground holds you. After that, slow down. The tide is now the captain. Read its direction before you do anything else.
On first touch — full power in reverse.
The boat is still moving and the bottom hasn't grabbed her yet. You have seconds, not minutes, to back off before she settles in.
- 1
Engine — full power in reverse.
Same instant you feel the touch. Don't wait to confirm. Push the throttle back hard.
- 2
Sail — back the main, release sheets.
If under sail, back the mainsail to reverse thrust, or release sheets to spill the rig and reduce heel that pushes the keel deeper.
- 3
Or — crash-turn toward deep water.
Turn back along your incoming track — by definition that's water you just came from. Don't guess at deep water you can't see.
- 4
Read the tide.
The next move depends on whether the tide is ebbing, flooding, or absent. Check your tide table or app now.
The tide decides what comes next.
Which way is the tide running? The procedure splits three ways.
Ebbing tide.
The water is leaving you. Protect the hull and prepare for the next flood.
Go to steps ↓Flooding tide.
The water is coming back. Anchor up-tide and wait to be lifted.
Go to steps ↓No tide.
You're not getting lifted. You'll have to pull her off yourself.
Go to steps ↓If you're near an active waterway — transmit a Sécurité.
State your position and that you are aground. Other vessels may need to alter course around you.
↗14Emergency CommunicationsDeploy an anchor in the direction of deep water.
Use the dinghy if you can launch it. The anchor holds her position when the tide returns and gives you the line to kedge off with.
Protect the hull as it touches bottom.
Place fenders, floorboards, or sail bags between the hull and the ground on the down-tide side, especially where the keel meets the bottom.
Check the hull for damage now, while you can see it.
Walk around if it's safe to step off. Look for cracks at the keel root, around the rudder skeg, and at any through-hulls. Photograph anything suspicious.
When the tide floods, seal the boat for the rise.
Secure hatches and companionway against water coming over the lower side. If the hull is sound she floats off; if she's damaged, the same rising water fills her.
If you're near an active waterway — transmit a Sécurité.
Position + aground. Once. Other traffic should know.
↗14Emergency CommunicationsDrop an anchor up-tide.
The rising tide will lift the hull. The anchor up-tide keeps her from being pushed further onto the ground by the same current.
Wait to be lifted off.
Time the rise against your tide table. Don't run the engine until you feel her floating — props in mud just dig in.
Once afloat — engine slow ahead, take in the anchor.
Pull yourself off via the anchor rode as soon as the keel is clear, then continue under your own power in clear water.
If you're near an active waterway — transmit a Sécurité.
Same drill as the tidal scenarios.
↗14Emergency CommunicationsPlace an anchor on a long rode, in the direction of extraction.
Row it out in the dinghy. The longer the rode, the better the mechanical advantage when you winch yourself off.
Heel the boat to reduce draft.
Move crew, sails, and any movable weight to the side facing deep water, then run a halyard out to the anchor:
- Hoist the dinghy or a water-filled jerrycan on the halyard
- Or have crew swing on the boom out to windward
- Heeling 10–15° can lift a fin keel free of the bottom
Engine slow astern, sheet released, as she comes free.
The moment the keel un-grounds you'll feel her rotate. Have the helm ready.
If the hull is damaged:
If the grounding cracked a seam or punctured the hull, you have two problems at once. Run the Flooding procedure in parallel — water management is now the priority over getting off the ground.
↗01FloodingIf she's holed and filling faster than you can pump:
Gear for this moment.
The equipment we'd want aboard if this alarm went off right now. Each piece earns its place against a specific step above.
A second anchor you can row out on a long warp is what pulls you toward deep water when the engine can't.
View gearSpread the load where the hull lies on the bottom so a soft grounding doesn't become a damaged one.
View gearTurns a winch and an anchor rode into real mechanical advantage — or rigs a clean line for a tow.
View gearSeaWise may earn a small commission on these links — it helps keep the procedures free. We only list gear we'd carry ourselves.
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