It's
been a fun-filled week or so since we left, some of it boring, some a
little too exciting/frustrating. We had a cold 50 mile run through
icy winds and snow to end up in a sheltered anchorage for a night and
left early for Oriental the following morning. Bowling along a canal
with the main up, we were verbally hauled over by the USCG for a
safety check......why they seem mystified at our manoeuvres as we had
to get the main down, turn and get alongside in a restricted space
always bemuses us but there it is. They ran through the usual,
wanting to see life-jackets, pointing out that the jackets we have on
board do not have USCG approval rating...why should they we wonder
when they're perfectly acceptable in Europe but heh.. Inspection
completed we went to head off and found, moments after the bow line
had been released, that we had no forward gear and the bow began to
swing out into the current. Luckily the safety checker was stood
there with a line in his hand and we were soon back alongside.
Negotiations began on how long we would be allowed to stay and we
managed a grudging 45 minutes whilst we found out what the problem
was. Initially we thought it was gearbox but as the problem
alternated between no forward but reverse and vice versa it had to be
something to do with the linkage. And so it was - a locking nut had
worked loose allowing the linkage to revolve. So a lucky escape
really as had we lost reverse when coming onto the dock we'd have
speared the other yacht who was hauled over with us.
Onto
Oriental and I had doubts about the depth of the entrance. Calls to
fishing boats brought no response but a passing cat. informed us the
channel was shallow and he’d gone aground drawing 6’ some years
back.....however we could see fishing boats moving slowly in so felt
comforted. And so we would have been had I not stupidly decided I should
leave the green buoy to starboard which is a complete reversal of how
it works over here....with the cats warning of shallow depths I
wasn’t too alarmed when the depths began to fall but when we hit
the mud my feelings changed!! We began the process of extracting
ourselves but an hour later had got no where...a passing fishing boat
refused to assist as his 13’5’ restricted his ability to change
direction in the channel and instead he called TowboatsUS. The bottom
line for them was they would charge $13 per foot +$160 per hour or
roughly $600 to get us off. We carried on extracting ourselves....Bee
has an indescribable amount of tenacity and kept up a constant
barrage of energy and encouragement and eventually we were off...only to go aground
again as we sort to get back into the channel. I despaired, Bee kept
us going and off we came and into the anchorage for a nights rest.
Filling up with fuel the following morning we met a guy who we hadn’t
seen for several years who happened to be having a coffee before
returning to his new boat to continue the re-fit. Timing is a funny
thing.
The
next long section took us through a couple of known shallows and a
military firing range. We got through the shallows with no problem,
but the approach to the range was dominated by gunfire. The CG
weren’t that helpful so we went on, knowing that if they were
firing we’d be turned back and need to retrace to a poorly
sheltered anchorage with the forecasted blow for the next day. But
the firing had no warning lights or patrol boats and we were through
and relaxed as we approached our anchorage for the night. The day was
calm, and about 4pm, turning too soon after our mark, we went heavily
aground! By heavily I mean a subsequent check, whilst waiting for the
tide to return, showed a mere 5’ amidships where we need about
7’....so well into the soft mud. Quick calcs. showed we wouldn’t
be able to do much before 8 and more probably 9pm. But as the hours
passed and no returning flow of water could be seen we began to get
concerned....the weather began to deteriorate; rain and increasing
wind. I call the USCG to check the next high water and explain the
situation. Beyond asking whether we had Salvage Insurance!!!!!!, had
enough food and water for the night and a anchor they could offer
nothing. We lit the fire to keep us warm in the impending rain and set to work to extract Hannah. A backed stays’l kept
the bow pulling away from the bank and, with the helm hard over, the boom well over to port to tilt us, a
raising tide and some serious use of power we came off. By now the
tide is flooding in, the rain and wind are increasing and it is DARK.
We’re in a channel about 45 metres wide and in the confusion of
coming off, looking for the next mark we hit the bank on the other
side. But with our stern into the current and the wind astern it can
only be a matter of time before we’re off. As I’m reporting in to
the CG Bee yells we’re off. We are but going sideways toward the
green marker. Desperately I accelerate , pushing the tiller hard over
to bring the bow into deeper water and facing the tide...we hit the
bank again but this time all the shallow is to our right. The rain
and wind continue, the tide has picked up speed and we’re cold. But
luck is with us and we manage to get off a third time and accelerate
slowly into the channel...TOO slowly and I find we’re going
backwards toward the bank we’ve just got off.AAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH I
cannot believe the mess I’ve got us into but we remain clear and
slowly move toward the channel entrance. But the tide pushes us
sideways rapidly and the depth drops rapidly. We reverse hard and a
combination of prop-walk and the tide spins us so that we’re now
facing back toward the green marker. We continue to try and reverse
but now away from the damned marker, somehow I need to get Hannah
turned and facing both wind and tide. And it’s at that point, when we hit stern on, my
spirits sink and I doubt we’ll be able to get off again. We have a
very heavy, deep full keeled boat with a comparatively small engine
and we’re in a bad situation. Not particularly dangerous as it’s
all mud but we’ve already heard a local towboatUS hailing us over
the radio and the costs will be prohibitive. I suggest to Bee we
might have to lose a significant amount of money to get us out of the
mess.”Before we think about that” she says “let’s have one
more go” Despite knowing the chances of it working are slight, that
though the tide is going to lift us that same tide and wind
combination being beam onto us is likely to push us further onto the
bank, I agree. I gun the engine harder as Bee, sat on the boom,
screams "we’re moving"!!! And slowly, so so slowly we began to come round into the
stream and now, at all costs, we had to get Hannah round and facing
both weather and current. Well we did and inched toward a
marker, selected a spot that would, we hoped, keep us out of the
channel and dropped the hook, some 8 hours after we’d first hit the
mud. As we were so close to the channel we stayed up all night to
keep a lookout for barges that run and with the fire running all
evening we were able to dry off and warm up.
Spent
the next day recovering, sheltering from a blow and then moved on
down to meet up with R&J. Now we’re in Southport awaiting a
wind shift to take us outside and down the coast toward Charlestown.
So
there it is, a couple of inexcusable, fundamental errors on my behalf
and a determination not to be beaten on Bee’s enabled us to save
ourselves. I’m a lucky man.