Darwin Too groaned to an abrupt stop, causing all aboard to collectively express something that is often abbreviated "WTF?" these days. The alarm on the depth meter had made its presence known a split second earlier; a quick glance confirmed the worst. We were stuck in the mud in water that was but 5 feet deep, and it would appear that we were at least 100 yards from the channel we were supposed to be following. Engine went to full reverse as per our training, and the yacht slowly extricated herself from her folly. As we were unsure of the path we had taken to reach this peaceful corner of hell, we made our best guess, and motored slowly for all of 100 feet before being slammed to a stop on another shoal. The crew was getting unhappy after a fine day of sailing. The helpful voice on the radio told us to go back and pass to the port side of the red nun on the other bank. 10 feet of water - hurray! And then the alarm beeped yet again, less than 7 feet now. With a mounting headache we slowly chugged over to Nimbus, and followed her lead in dropping anchor and rafting up. The anchor bit on the second try; I now understand why it worth spending more on an electric windlass to retrieve the anchor chain; pulling up 120 feet of rode by hand is a bit strenous and not very dry, although it is sort of fun to be pulling a 12,000 pound boat through the water by sheer muscle power.
(Check out the beautiful spot where we anchored, on Hunting Creek)
And then it was time for a drink and to haul out the crab lines while DELICIOUS lasagna was heated in the oven. The cliches were only too accurate: fine food, great company, a remote part of Maryland accesible only by boat: does it get any better than this?
2 comments:
Sounds like a wonderful time.
That's an understatement! You gotta come next time!
Post a Comment