Never do today what you can put off till tomorrow! Actually, that is pretty bad advice and usually I don’t do that. I like to take care of minor problems before they are a major problem. In the beginning of September, I had one of those minor problems escalate fairly quickly.
It was a beautiful Saturday but very windy. Our friends were coming along and we were going to head out and anchor for lunch. The forecast was for the winds to pick up with gusts over thirty knots. I double checked with our guests before they even came out to see if they would like a rain check since they are not boaters. They declined and the outing was a go. We left the dock around noon and I headed dead south from James Creek to the western side of Shinecock Canal. There are some high bluffs there that typically block the wind. There are also quite a few fish trap markers floating around so you have to be very careful.
Just leaving the mouth of James Creek we took some heavy spray, not something normal for our boat. Once clear I was able to put the boat up on a slow plane and the ride was not bad. The closer we got to the south side of the Peconic Bay the smoother it got and I was able to increase speed to the normal cruising speed. In no time at all we were just a few hundred yards off the shoreline and inside of the fish trap markers. I moved west toward the canal to get in the lee of the taller bluffs.
Finding a good spot was easy since there were no other boats around. I turned the boat into the wind and dropped the anchor. Once I was sure the anchor was set, I signaled the First Mate to shut down the engines. I stayed on the bow for a few minutes just to make sure the anchor was holding and when I was satisfied it was, I walked to the stern down the port side. And that was the first problem that arose that day.
From under the stern, I could see a long length of polypropylene line floating, maybe three eights of an inch in diameter and a good ten feet long. That’s not a good feeling. I muttered a few choice words under my breath and told all on board what was going on. They all said “we heard something funny before we anchored”.
We have been boating on the Peconic almost thirty years now, and this is the third time this has happened. Once we had to haul the boat and once, I was able to pull it out while shifting into reverse for short moments. This time when I tried to pull the line out it did not budge. So, it was time to go swimming. Lucky for me (luckier still for our guests!) I had a bathing suit onboard. I keep a good mask onboard also. One thing I don’t have onboard is a good sharp knife. I had an old diver’s knife from my dive master days and a folding plier/ knife/ screwdriver combo tool. I picked up some of that line and tried to cut it with my diver’s knife. It was more like cutting a tough steak with a butter knife. The combo tool however, cut through it fairly quick with the serrated blade.
I stood on the swim platform, got the life ring in the water floating with about twenty feet of line just in case, put on my mask after spitting in it and dipping it in the water, and jumped in. My first thought was “wow this is cold” and my second thought was “man, the tide is really moving fast”! I could not see my toes because of the poor visibility, and I was trying to decide which way to head under toward the prop. I tried from the stern first and found it to be too far under from the swim platform. I came around to the starboard side and with my leg outstretched reached to find the propeller shaft. having found that I had a better idea where to go, all mostly by feel.
I still had not taken the combo tool in the water because I wanted to see the problem first. I took a deep breath and under I went. Grabbing the prop shaft forward of the strut I felt my way aft heading to the prop. By the time I got to the strut it was time to get another breath. Back under I went, finding the strut and heading to the prop. I found I could see when I was about a foot away, but still used my hands to feel along the shaft for that inevitable ball of line. I felt some more, nothing on the hub of the prop, and there I could see it, a single loop of line around one blade! Reaching over I grabbed it and went back to the surface.
The line was only about twenty feet long with a tiny float on one end and shredded on the other. The crew must have heard that little float hit the bottom of the boat a few times. I never heard or felt it at the helm and the engines never slowed down from idle speed. I believe someone hit the marker and after cutting it free tossed it over. I was the unlucky one to find it. We took it back to the marina and into the garbage it went. Note to self, get a good knife on the boat.
Once back on the boat I went to use the transom shower. We basically had not used the fresh water system the entire season and when I started to spray myself down the water absolutely smelled horrible. I could not finish the shower and dried off. Note to self, flush out the fresh water system frequently.
We had lunch and as time went on the wind gusts had picked up. About this time the Coast Guard came on the VHF with a safety broadcast talking about high wind gusts and small craft warnings. The boat was swinging back and forth on the hook, and I decided it was time to head home. We got everything stowed as the engines warmed up and I went up to the bow to pull the anchor. Using hand signals to my First Mate to creep forward I got some slack in the anchor line and started winching it up. And here came the biggest problem I let slide this season. When the line came up to the chain splice it would not go through the windlass. It just sat there while the windlass chewed at it. I really did not need to be standing there in thirty knot winds while still cold from my swim fighting this damn splice. Something I had noted a few months earlier.
Very much aware of what could happen to my hand if it went into the windlass, I twisted and turned the splice all different ways while hitting the raise button on the windlass. Finally, it grabbed and I was able to haul the remaining forty feet of chain.
We had an easy ride back with the seas and no problems docking. Our guests left and we spent a few hours washing the boat down and flushing the engines.
Note to self, replace the old anchor line. And I did, in October!
