3 for l
Three seasons ago during a violent thunderstorm which blew through the Western Basin on Lake Erie, we were anchored in the North Bay at Kelley's Island. It is not sheltered at all from the north and the storm came through from the northwest. My decision was to put my first mate ashore and ride the storm out at anchor. After dropping her off at the state park shelterhouse, I motored back to the boat, secured the dingy, started the engine, put on my foul weather gear and listened to the weather reports. When the storm first hit, the boat stood up to the gusts and I was feeling very secure, but when the waves built to 4'-6' in a very short time, the boat went adrift. I will never know if the anchor rode snapped or if the anchor dragged. What I was dealing with was a lee shore over my shoulder and a 10hp Westerbeke trying to hold its own in the wind and waves. Several times it appeared that I was going to beat the surf , but every time I would make a little headway, the storm would turn me beam to the waves and I would be pushed toward the shoreline. This went on for what seemed like an eternity, but what was actually about twenty minutes. I even saw the sun coming out just as I felt the first bump. The wind let up, but the surf pushed me further and further toward the shore and I sat helpless while she bumped along and eventually lay pretty much on her side. The storm was over so everyone who had watched a number of boats being washed ashore were all out to see if boats and crews were ok. Several guys came out to help me flip the dink right-side up and after we cut the tangled anchor rode, we used it to try to pull the boat off. By this time, the surf was about gone, and the boat was aground with no chance to move it by timing our tug-of-war with the wave crests. Someone suggested that we try to lift and push it with his Kubota tractor, so he drove it out into the (now shallow) water and we tried unsuccessfully to lift and pull. Here is where the first damage occurred. Lifting a boat with a small tractor while both are on a soft sand bar is a recipe for trouble, but being a thrifty soul, I decided what the heck, maybe it'll work and I won't have to call BoatUS. The bucket put some nice gouges in the transom. OK, so now it's time to call Boat US. While we waited for the tow, I packed up the dink and cleaned the outboard up. The towboat got us off the bar, but not without a few hard bumps. The keel joint was compromised and we began to take on some significant water. My first mate decided that we were going to find a slip at the marina on the south side and wait the night and any further storms out. Sometimes it's best not to challenge the mate's logic... so we tied up at the fuel dock, compliments of the Seaway Marina. Did I mention that we were taking on water? It was while settling in that I discovered that the automatic bilge switch was no longer working. I ordered the mate to share the watch with me and on the half hour we were to alternate pumping the bilge with the manual switch. She slept like a baby. I was up every half hour pumping the bilge until we sailed back to our home marina in the a.m. for a haul out and keel repair.. So much for the chain of command... And now to end this tale with a bit of irony, while we were getting situated, a cigarette boat came along side. Being courteous sailors, we asked if we could help the driver tie off. He staggered around in the boat, found an orange electrical cord, and after lighting a cigarette, tossed the cord to us, explaining that he had driven through the storm in his brand new boat. He was three (or four) sheets to the wind. There is no justice in the world. His wife and two daughters came up a short time later and she explained that there was no way that she was going to ride in that boat across the lake from Detroit in a thunderstorm... Smart woman. She drove to Sandusky and took the ferry out to Kelley's. We were on the hard for about three weeks in July while repairs were made. He drove his boat back to Detroit the next morning.
