We got to pull a fellow boater off the rocks today.
Next Tuesday is Macara's birthday, so we suggested that she bring a girlfriend up to the boat for the weekend. Barely 15 minutes out of town the poor girl gets car sick. Uh oh, is she going to be okay on a boat. Turns out she was fantastic!
Saturday we take the girls for a cruise. We put Knot Yet up on step and ran her out to White Cloud Island, she needed a good run. Then we put her in sightseeing mode. We drifted back in along the north shoreline, doing crafts, watching movies, having snacks... down stairs. Dad had a great ride up on the flybridge :-)
The girls had planned that we would spend the night on the hook. A south-east wind and a girl that gets car sick. I don't think so. Back to the dock.
Sunday morning starts with "let's go for another boat ride." So, we take them for a short trip to go swimming, do lunch, paint some nails. All good stuff. I changed the oil in the genny.
We were almost back to the marina, when we overhear a radio call to the marina requesting help. A sail boat had been blown up on the rocks and was taking a beating in the surf. The marina doesn't really have a rescue boat and there weren't a whole lot of power boats on the water. Lots of sailboats, yes???
We interrupt their call and offer our assistance. Come on girls, let's go!
We arrive at their location, and yes, they needed help.
A swing keel sailboat, so they had managed to get themselves blown right up on shore. No place that I wanted to be. So, I found myself a place in about 9' to 11' of water and proclaimed that I was not coming any closer. Kerri grabbed one of our spare anchor ropes and a large ball fender and floats it out off the bow. The rest was pretty much up to them. I did my best to hold our position backing into a breaking surf while the one poor guy makes his way out over the slippery rocks and through the surf. The life jacket was a good idea, because he took a beating. After about 15 minutes he has the line back to their boat.
I start to back away and they aren't moving an inch. With both guys naturally clinging to the high side, they were driving their keel down and into the rocks. I couldn't get them on the radio and they couldn't hear us over the wind and the surf. What we were trying to tell them was to get on the leeward side of the boat. They thought we were motioning for them to get off the boat. So, the one guy obliges! Jeez, now we got one guy in the water, but the boat has broken free.
So, now we are sitting there asking ourselves, "what just happened?" Were these guys together or was he a cottager that came out to help. The guy makes his way to shore and starts walking to the nearest cottage. Nope. Our rescued boat tosses us our line back and circles back to pick up his buddy. OH NO! This doesn't look good at all! You see this tiny little dock was only 200m or so from where we had rescued him. Largely the same conditions. It took 3 or 4 tries, but the guy finally gets on board. It was pretty much a horror show to watch. The boat was bouncing wildly! Bouncing off the dock, probably off more rocks. Luckily nobody got hurt.
Remember my little birthday girl and her car sick friend? Well the girl friend is fantastic! Actually helping out and being a sweetheart. Macara isn't enjoying this at all! Too rough, too much drama. She is worried to death the other folks aren't going to be okay. She is pretty certain we are in pretty big trouble ourselves. I am grateful she had her friend along to talk to her, because that would have been just one more distraction for Kerri and I.
Knot Yet is a fine vessel! I don't think that I could have done this in the Sea Ray.
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