OK--so the President was in town last weekend and they had a thing at the resort which is somwhat close to the beach that we normally drop the hook at so the kids can go swimming. We scooted down the coast about 2 miles further and dropped the hook on what we thought was a nice sandy area...in jump the kids and other pax for a swim.
My sister in law jumped in with a snorkel and mask and as soon as she did she came right up and said--Hey....you should see this, there are cables strung across the bottom at about 30 foot intervals all around here. With a sick stomach my wife swam ahead to where the anchor bouy (an absolute must in my book!) was and looked down the 22 feet to our BIG Plow Anchor and sure enough, there is about pointy 8 inches sticking out from under the bundle of cables and the chain is running about 20 feet along the bottom (covering another bundle of cables) before rising to the bow of my 45' Hunter.
ARGGGHHHHH!!!!
Needless to say this is where that anchor bouy comes in handy. I handed the gaffing hook to my wife and said, "I'm going to taxi the boat up the the bouy, you grab it and use it to pull forward, when the anchor is free we can raise the chain."
Worked like a champ!!
The cables were not on the chart at all, there was no sign or other marking on the shore, yet 10-20 bundles of cables lay there for all the world to catch.......... Sailing can be such an interesting and educational experience!
Jimlay
