My three days of sailing with the elderly couple (90 & 86) on a Hunter 44 DS began easy but developed into challenging conditions. Our first day on the water, the winds were at first very light, the boat barely moving. But after a couple hours the wind came up to a pleasant 10 kts out of the south and remained so for the rest of the day. We sailed easily with good speed for a couple hours, and we all enjoyed it. But I could see that they were growing weary of the boats motion, gentle as it was. They were unaccustomed to this much activity and outdoor stimulation.
We'd planned to go for dinner at a resort with a marina on the east side of
The next day the wind was really up. A front was moving in. It was blowing about 15 kts in the marina, which is sheltered by the Vinoy Hotel and trees in a nearby park. Out on the bay the wind would be stronger. The slip we were in is oriented east/west. The strong south wind made getting out tricky. We motored out of the marina basin, and I set sail with a deep reef in the main.
I could see that the Yacht Club was hosting a regatta. There were a lot of boats of various sizes racing around the Bay, and in these wind conditions it looked like exciting sailing. Our sailing was slower and controlled. I needed to keep the boat as comfortable as possible. But the wind was building – steady 20s and gusting higher, nearing 30 kts. Even reefed as I was, the boat healed to a degree that was becoming uncomfortable for my passengers. I put the main sail entirely away and sailed under jib alone. The boat heeled less now, but the wind was kicking up a chop on the Bay that made the boat pitch and roll. There was nothing I could do about that. After only a couple hours of sailing they were ready to go back in.
When we motored into the marina basin I knew that there was no way I could safely single-hand this boat into its slip. It was gusting up to 30 even here. I called on my cell to find out who from Sailing Florida's staff was around. I learned that Patrick, who I'd seen there earlier, had left on a sail with the owners of the catamaran. I called the boss, Capt Dave, and learned that young Kevin was on the way down to the marina. Kevin is only about 20, a part time student and part time employee. He's been with us for only about a year, but he has become a competent boat jockey. And he has nearly completed the requirements for getting his entry-level Coast Guard license.
The marina basin has moorings for transient boats that don't want to be on the dock at the marina. I decided to pick up a mooring and wait for help to arrive. Soon after I'd secured our boat on a mooring, I saw another boat from our fleet, the Hunter 31, coming into the basin. I figured that like us, they'd been chased back in by the high winds on the Bay. I knew they were bareboat charterers and that even in calm conditions they'd be expecting help from Sailing Florida staff to get back into their slip. I waved them down and told them to do as I did – pick up a mooring until we had help on the dock.
It wasn't long before I saw Kevin on our docks. I called his cell. I'd seen that there were two other boats out of our fleet that had come in before me. Rather than try to get into their slips, they had gone side-to at the t-head on the end of our dock. The charterers on those boats were also waiting for help to get moved around to their slips. I said to Kevin that I was okay where I was. If he wanted, he could get those other boats moved off the t-head before helping me in. Kevin said he wanted to help me in first so that I could then help him deal with the other boats. That made sense.
I had arranged dock lines so they draped along the lifelines in a way that Kevin could grab my bow line as I entered the slip, and, as soon as I was in and stopped the boat, I could grab a stern line and jump to the dock. It was vital to get dock lines on cleats as quickly as possible. The south wind would blow the boat away from the dock and into the next slip the moment I stopped. I started the engine and dropped the mooring.
The boat needed to go into its slip stern-to. If it was docked bow-in the shore power cords wouldn't reach the receptacles. My elderly passengers were staying on the boat. They needed shore power. To get my boat into its slip I'd have to back down the fairway between docks and then turn to port into the slip. Prop walk and the strong wind made the alternative – going down the fairway bow first and then backing in – an impossible maneuver. But in these conditions, backing through this confined space with boats and concrete docks on both sides would not be easy. I'd have to back going north with a very strong south wind. I anticipated that the wind would tend to turn my bow one way or the other. To prevent that, I'd need lots of steerageway – lots of speed so the keel and rudder could prevent the bow from twisting. I set the boat up to back down the fairway. I got the boat gong fast in reverse. Nonetheless, just as I neared the mouth of the fairway a gust of wind caught my bow and turned me. My stern was now headed directly for the corner of the concrete t-head. Quickly I used lots of forward thrust to regain control and get away from the docks.
I took a breath. Looked back down the fairway I'd have to negotiate. Saw Kevin waiting at the end of the finger pier where I'd need to turn in. Set the boat up again, then reversed into the fairway even faster than before. This time I was able to maintain control in the fairway. But the turn in was a quick, delicately judged moment. I remember a moment of thinking - this must be a little something like slamming an F-18 onto the deck of an aircraft carrier. Kevin had a boathook to get my bow line in hand. With the boat still only halfway in the slip, the wind pinned the leeward rub rail at about midships against the piling that separates my slip from the neighboring one. I stopped the boat, grabbed my stern line, jumped to the dock and got a turn on a cleat. From there we were able to man-handle the boat the rest of the way in.
After my boat was secured, plugged into shore power and my passengers settled in the cabin, Kevin and I began rounding up the other boats. There were the two Catalina 350s on the t-head to move into their slips. Then the Hunter 31 that was out on the mooring. While that was still going on three other boats came in the marina basin: the Catalina 445 with the owner driving, the Catalina/Morgan 440 with one of our free-lance skippers and the Beneteau 37 with another free-lance skipper. Kevin and I wrestled all of them into their slips too.
This kind of activity is like working a rodeo. It's fast paced action using ropes to try controlling beasts that don't want to be controlled. We got everyone in. No one injured. No boats damaged. Like any adventure, after it's over, if you've prevailed, then you can laugh and say, that was fun!
No comments:
Post a Comment