Grounding in the Chesapeake

[Robin Meigel]

Yet another merry misadventure single handing this past weekend.

I sailed to Shaw Bay in the Wye River on the eastern shore to raft with 10 other boats. The annual "Womens' Cruise". While the raft was being formed, Bob Lowenstein and Suzanne of CD36 "Magdalena" fame were eavesdropping on channel 72. They asked whether "Pacem" was a CD 27 and we chatted a bit. They were anchored in Tilghman Creek, just across the Miles River.

Our eleven boats were rafted by 5 PM, at 6 PM during cocktails a cold front blasted in. The raft was ordered by the raft captain to break up, each anchoring on their own. No problem, I dropped the 8-10 lb lunch hook in the dark and debated whether to drop the 16-22 lb danforth as well. At about midnight the wind was still from the north and I had not budged, but I decided to plant the larger anchor anyway. I dropped the 22 lb anchor right at the bow and tied the rode off at 30 feet. By the next morning the wind had clocked to the northeast and the big guy was fully paid out and taut, taking some strain off the smaller one. I was close to shore with 12-15 knts blowing on shore but holding solid. The three anchor boats that had been holding the raft originally got hopelessly snarled and stayed that way through the night

I made coffee, watched while TowBoat U.S. came and unsnarled the big boats and waived good bye to the others as they left.

'Reefed the main and changed to a smaller headsail. Started the engine and decided to take the big anchor in first, as it is the more awkward to clean and stow. The little one held fast. Now it was time to take the little one in. I take this one in at the stern, where I have a fastener on the stern rail to stow it and can reach the tiller right away when it is up. But, the engine in reverse wasn't helping and it was too much for me to haul in by hand. So I took it forward to use the windlass to bring it up. Nose into the wind, crank, crank, now I'm away. The wind caught the bow and swung her toward shore. No problem, I thought, I'll just steer her nose through it and veer away. But there was no engine thrust and about that time wind and waves carried the bow into the shore.

I had been working on my departure for the better part of an hour, and was tired and sore from battling the two anchors which had been dug in hard. In fact, I doubt I could have brought up either one without a windlass.

Anyone watching from a house on shore would have seen me working up the small anchor, nose into the wind, plop the anchor temporarily on the bow, race back to the cockpit to grab the helm as the nose blew around toward and plowed into shore. I could have sold tickets. I said out loud, "you lost." Then I brought the little anchor back to the stern and tossed her over to minimize further movement in the onshore direction.

And took a nap to wait for high tide (predicted for 4-5pm). Before napping I had made contact with Magdalena who had yet to weigh anchor and offered to detour to Shaw Bay and assist in due course.

At about 1 pm I thought I felt the boat float. The depth sounder still read 00, but there was perceptible floating motion. I put the engine into reverse, but didn't hear or feel the familiar "clunk" when the transmission engages. The cable was OK at the throttle end. Then I checked the transmission end of the cable. Whaddyaknow. The cable is ordinarily bolted into a plate on top of the engine and held in place. The bolts had come off and it was flaying in air. So I bolted it back in place and NOW I had thrust. In the time it took to re-bolt the cable into position, the tide had come up another 2 inches and I backed right off. My whole ordeal had lasted about 4 hours, part of it napping.

Lessons learned: There is no good time to learn that your transmission or throttle cable isn't functioning. Also, it was the right decision to drop the second anchor; I was able to sleep soundly. It really worked well. And keep a friendly CD nearby in the neighborhood. The threat of humiliating assistance works every time.

Robin Meigel
"Pacem"
1979 CD 27

[Randy Roorbach]

How I love the stories on this board. I have a couple of "lee shore" stories that I could tell...it's great when skippers share their misadventures along with their fair-weather accounts, there's so much to learn. I've still got the willies from that CD 26 single hander's Bermuda passage story (not that it was a misadventure exactly). I go back and read it every once in a while. I'm terrified that I'll try it!

Yet another merry misadventure single handing this past weekend.

I sailed to Shaw Bay in the Wye River on the eastern shore to raft with 10 other boats. The annual "Womens' Cruise". While the raft was being formed, Bob Lowenstein and Suzanne of CD36 "Magdalena" fame were eavesdropping on channel 72. They asked whether "Pacem" was a CD 27 and we chatted a bit. They were anchored in Tilghman Creek, just across the Miles River.

Our eleven boats were rafted by 5 PM, at 6 PM during cocktails a cold front blasted in. The raft was ordered by the raft captain to break up, each anchoring on their own. No problem, I dropped the 8-10 lb lunch hook in the dark and debated whether to drop the 16-22 lb danforth as well. At about midnight the wind was still from the north and I had not budged, but I decided to plant the larger anchor anyway. I dropped the 22 lb anchor right at the bow and tied the rode off at 30 feet. By the next morning the wind had clocked to the northeast and the big guy was fully paid out and taut, taking some strain off the smaller one. I was close to shore with 12-15 knts blowing on shore but holding solid. The three anchor boats that had been holding the raft originally got hopelessly snarled and stayed that way through the night

I made coffee, watched while TowBoat U.S. came and unsnarled the big boats and waived good bye to the others as they left.

'Reefed the main and changed to a smaller headsail. Started the engine and decided to take the big anchor in first, as it is the more awkward to clean and stow. The little one held fast. Now it was time to take the little one in. I take this one in at the stern, where I have a fastener on the stern rail to stow it and can reach the tiller right away when it is up. But, the engine in reverse wasn't helping and it was too much for me to haul in by hand. So I took it forward to use the windlass to bring it up. Nose into the wind, crank, crank, now I'm away. The wind caught the bow and swung her toward shore. No problem, I thought, I'll just steer her nose through it and veer away. But there was no engine thrust and about that time wind and waves carried the bow into the shore.

I had been working on my departure for the better part of an hour, and was tired and sore from battling the two anchors which had been dug in hard. In fact, I doubt I could have brought up either one without a windlass.

Anyone watching from a house on shore would have seen me working up the small anchor, nose into the wind, plop the anchor temporarily on the bow, race back to the cockpit to grab the helm as the nose blew around toward and plowed into shore. I could have sold tickets. I said out loud, "you lost." Then I brought the little anchor back to the stern and tossed her over to minimize further movement in the onshore direction.

And took a nap to wait for high tide (predicted for 4-5pm). Before napping I had made contact with Magdalena who had yet to weigh anchor and offered to detour to Shaw Bay and assist in due course.

At about 1 pm I thought I felt the boat float. The depth sounder still read 00, but there was perceptible floating motion. I put the engine into reverse, but didn't hear or feel the familiar "clunk" when the transmission engages. The cable was OK at the throttle end. Then I checked the transmission end of the cable. Whaddyaknow. The cable is ordinarily bolted into a plate on top of the engine and held in place. The bolts had come off and it was flaying in air. So I bolted it back in place and NOW I had thrust. In the time it took to re-bolt the cable into position, the tide had come up another 2 inches and I backed right off. My whole ordeal had lasted about 4 hours, part of it napping.

Lessons learned: There is no good time to learn that your transmission or throttle cable isn't functioning. Also, it was the right decision to drop the second anchor; I was able to sleep soundly. It really worked well. And keep a friendly CD nearby in the neighborhood. The threat of humiliating assistance works every time.

Robin Meigel
"Pacem"
1979 CD 27

roorbach@discovernet.net

[Will W.]

Good job getting unstuck. Especially the crafty nap technique! I'm sure I would not have been that calm about it. Keep on sailing.

Will Wheatley
Suzi Q
CD25
Sailing From Chesapeake Beach, MD

Yet another merry misadventure single handing this past weekend.

I sailed to Shaw Bay in the Wye River on the eastern shore to raft with 10 other boats. The annual "Womens' Cruise". While the raft was being formed, Bob Lowenstein and Suzanne of CD36 "Magdalena" fame were eavesdropping on channel 72. They asked whether "Pacem" was a CD 27 and we chatted a bit. They were anchored in Tilghman Creek, just across the Miles River.

Our eleven boats were rafted by 5 PM, at 6 PM during cocktails a cold front blasted in. The raft was ordered by the raft captain to break up, each anchoring on their own. No problem, I dropped the 8-10 lb lunch hook in the dark and debated whether to drop the 16-22 lb danforth as well. At about midnight the wind was still from the north and I had not budged, but I decided to plant the larger anchor anyway. I dropped the 22 lb anchor right at the bow and tied the rode off at 30 feet. By the next morning the wind had clocked to the northeast and the big guy was fully paid out and taut, taking some strain off the smaller one. I was close to shore with 12-15 knts blowing on shore but holding solid. The three anchor boats that had been holding the raft originally got hopelessly snarled and stayed that way through the night

I made coffee, watched while TowBoat U.S. came and unsnarled the big boats and waived good bye to the others as they left.

'Reefed the main and changed to a smaller headsail. Started the engine and decided to take the big anchor in first, as it is the more awkward to clean and stow. The little one held fast. Now it was time to take the little one in. I take this one in at the stern, where I have a fastener on the stern rail to stow it and can reach the tiller right away when it is up. But, the engine in reverse wasn't helping and it was too much for me to haul in by hand. So I took it forward to use the windlass to bring it up. Nose into the wind, crank, crank, now I'm away. The wind caught the bow and swung her toward shore. No problem, I thought, I'll just steer her nose through it and veer away. But there was no engine thrust and about that time wind and waves carried the bow into the shore.

I had been working on my departure for the better part of an hour, and was tired and sore from battling the two anchors which had been dug in hard. In fact, I doubt I could have brought up either one without a windlass.

Anyone watching from a house on shore would have seen me working up the small anchor, nose into the wind, plop the anchor temporarily on the bow, race back to the cockpit to grab the helm as the nose blew around toward and plowed into shore. I could have sold tickets. I said out loud, "you lost." Then I brought the little anchor back to the stern and tossed her over to minimize further movement in the onshore direction.

And took a nap to wait for high tide (predicted for 4-5pm). Before napping I had made contact with Magdalena who had yet to weigh anchor and offered to detour to Shaw Bay and assist in due course.

At about 1 pm I thought I felt the boat float. The depth sounder still read 00, but there was perceptible floating motion. I put the engine into reverse, but didn't hear or feel the familiar "clunk" when the transmission engages. The cable was OK at the throttle end. Then I checked the transmission end of the cable. Whaddyaknow. The cable is ordinarily bolted into a plate on top of the engine and held in place. The bolts had come off and it was flaying in air. So I bolted it back in place and NOW I had thrust. In the time it took to re-bolt the cable into position, the tide had come up another 2 inches and I backed right off. My whole ordeal had lasted about 4 hours, part of it napping.

Lessons learned: There is no good time to learn that your transmission or throttle cable isn't functioning. Also, it was the right decision to drop the second anchor; I was able to sleep soundly. It really worked well. And keep a friendly CD nearby in the neighborhood. The threat of humiliating assistance works every time.

Robin Meigel
"Pacem"
1979 CD 27

willwheatley@starpower.net

[Randy Bates]

Yet another merry misadventure single handing this past weekend.

I sailed to Shaw Bay in the Wye River on the eastern shore to raft with 10 other boats. The annual "Womens' Cruise". While the raft was being formed, Bob Lowenstein and Suzanne of CD36 "Magdalena" fame were eavesdropping on channel 72. They asked whether "Pacem" was a CD 27 and we chatted a bit. They were anchored in Tilghman Creek, just across the Miles River.

Our eleven boats were rafted by 5 PM, at 6 PM during cocktails a cold front blasted in. The raft was ordered by the raft captain to break up, each anchoring on their own. No problem, I dropped the 8-10 lb lunch hook in the dark and debated whether to drop the 16-22 lb danforth as well. At about midnight the wind was still from the north and I had not budged, but I decided to plant the larger anchor anyway. I dropped the 22 lb anchor right at the bow and tied the rode off at 30 feet. By the next morning the wind had clocked to the northeast and the big guy was fully paid out and taut, taking some strain off the smaller one. I was close to shore with 12-15 knts blowing on shore but holding solid. The three anchor boats that had been holding the raft originally got hopelessly snarled and stayed that way through the night

I made coffee, watched while TowBoat U.S. came and unsnarled the big boats and waived good bye to the others as they left.

'Reefed the main and changed to a smaller headsail. Started the engine and decided to take the big anchor in first, as it is the more awkward to clean and stow. The little one held fast. Now it was time to take the little one in. I take this one in at the stern, where I have a fastener on the stern rail to stow it and can reach the tiller right away when it is up. But, the engine in reverse wasn't helping and it was too much for me to haul in by hand. So I took it forward to use the windlass to bring it up. Nose into the wind, crank, crank, now I'm away. The wind caught the bow and swung her toward shore. No problem, I thought, I'll just steer her nose through it and veer away. But there was no engine thrust and about that time wind and waves carried the bow into the shore.

I had been working on my departure for the better part of an hour, and was tired and sore from battling the two anchors which had been dug in hard. In fact, I doubt I could have brought up either one without a windlass.

Anyone watching from a house on shore would have seen me working up the small anchor, nose into the wind, plop the anchor temporarily on the bow, race back to the cockpit to grab the helm as the nose blew around toward and plowed into shore. I could have sold tickets. I said out loud, "you lost." Then I brought the little anchor back to the stern and tossed her over to minimize further movement in the onshore direction.

And took a nap to wait for high tide (predicted for 4-5pm). Before napping I had made contact with Magdalena who had yet to weigh anchor and offered to detour to Shaw Bay and assist in due course.

At about 1 pm I thought I felt the boat float. The depth sounder still read 00, but there was perceptible floating motion. I put the engine into reverse, but didn't hear or feel the familiar "clunk" when the transmission engages. The cable was OK at the throttle end. Then I checked the transmission end of the cable. Whaddyaknow. The cable is ordinarily bolted into a plate on top of the engine and held in place. The bolts had come off and it was flaying in air. So I bolted it back in place and NOW I had thrust. In the time it took to re-bolt the cable into position, the tide had come up another 2 inches and I backed right off. My whole ordeal had lasted about 4 hours, part of it napping.

Lessons learned: There is no good time to learn that your transmission or throttle cable isn't functioning. Also, it was the right decision to drop the second anchor; I was able to sleep soundly. It really worked well. And keep a friendly CD nearby in the neighborhood. The threat of humiliating assistance works every time.

Robin Meigel
"Pacem"
1979 CD 27

Am I the only one who finds the fact that these guys called an outside service to untangle their rodes just a tad ridiculous?



randy.bates@baesystems.com