Home is the sailor..........
2005-05-26

The nor'easter that has battered New England for the last three days will certainly be etched in my mind for a long time. I've never seen weather this ugly for so long of a period. There have been three foot waves in the cove and that never happens.
I was worried about the boat and went down to check on it yesterday afternoon, but I couldn't get out there because the weather was so bad the launch wasn't running. The day before a friend and fellow member lost the whole end of his finger trying to get from the launch to the boat. Not cool.
I checked things out from shore, it looked fine, I had a glass of wine and headed home to make dinner. Little did I know of what was ahead.
It was 8:58 pm. I know this because my big LED alarm clock was staring at me when I took the phone call. "Ron, this is Mike, your boat is not on the mooring." I let that process for a second and then jumped into some shoes and a jacket and headed out the door.
I drove like a mad man but the 3 minute ride seemed to take forever in the gusty windswept rain. I knew it had to be blown down the cove and was probably sitting there smashed on one of several rocks or tangled up with another boat. I thought about our insurance deductable and how my new TV was probably a total loss too. I drove right into the north lot and ran down E dock which was bucking like an amusement ride. By the time I got to the end of the dock I was soaked. The boat was no where to be found.
I headed to the bar to round up a search team. A couple of people got in cars and went off to search. Mike went to get his spotlight and I waited. I called M.E. and she bagan to cry. Our baby was gone. A huge powerboat pulled up to the fuel dock. The marina next door was breaking up. Wonderful...
Just as I was ready to jump in my truck and join the search, some yelled we found it, we found it. I asked where and they said off B dock. I figured it was on the beach off the park, but they said no, it was between B and C docks and so it was.
The wind was blowing a steady 45 knots when we headed up the dock. It was so bad one woman literally had to crawl on her hands and knees to get down the dock. The rain was completely sideways and we were all soaked. When I got the the spot I was amazed. The boat was mostly in one piece and had wedged itself between a piling and a motor sailor in an almost a perfect parking job.
How this boat got from my mooring and this dock I'll never be able to figure out. It had to miss several moored boats, take a sharp right hand turn and then snake between 5 docked boats to end up where it ended up. Nice parking...
I jumped aboard and started the engine. The wind was howling so much I couldn't tell if it started and had to look at the instruments. I had no idea how we were going to get her out. I need to back up in the teeth of the gale pinned to the dock and miss several boats, all in reverse. Fat chance.
Anopther guy jumped on board, Johnny the Chin gave a yell and pushed as hard as he could and I gunned the engine and out we popped. We barely missed one boat, then another and unbelievably I was in the middle. My heart was beating 100 miles an hour as I throttled down some and we cleared the end of the dock amidst the now four foot waves. The other guy, I never learned his name got out docklines as I headed down wind. Even in neutral with no sails up, we hit 10 knots as we sped past the fuel dock.
I turned us around and now we were in the teeth of things. Waves were smashing over the bow and you had to literally yell in someones ear to hear them. People who live on board in the slip right next to the one were were trying to pull into never heard a thing dispite all the comotion and yelling. Yes, it was that loud.
I figured I had one shot to get this done and managed to hit the dock perfectly. Everyone pitched in and lines, lines and more lines became the mission. By the time we were done it looked like the boat was macramed to the dock. We were safe.
I did a quick search for damage, but it was just too dark to tell anything. We checked the other boats in the area and the one I was backed up against had a little paint on her and a little bit of bent hardware. Besides that nothing major was evident as we trudged soaked into the bar.
I told the bartender, free drinks for anyone with a wet head. I was so wired I ordered schnapps, a double. Then another and I finally started to settle down a bit. I called M.E with the news and then called the club manager. The wind picked that moment to rip off a chunk of roof flashing and water began to pour into the hallway near the phone. Sweet.
One of the guys came in with what was left of my mooring pennant. The one inch triple braid was shreaded like so much confetti. I threw it in the truck and headed home. I couldn't sleep I was still pumped up. I had another drink and watched tv until 1:00 am. Life goes on.
So this morning I went down to check out the carnage. The transom is pretty banged up and missing a lot of gelcoat, but the glass is sound and there are no leaks. Thank god for a kevlar hull. The rub rail on the port side was covered with what looked like shredded cardboard. That was from the inch of wood I ground off the piling. Besides that the only other damage was a bit of rubber from a dock rub strip, maybe when we tied the boat up.
I called the insurance company, and then the guy we were rubbing against. I checked with the club manager who said I could stay were I was so I plugged in the power and turned on the heat. Maybe later if the wind finally does some I'm put it in a better space but right now we both aren't going any where.

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