The Boat had a Rough Day

I busted another rudder. Not the one I already repaired. The other one. Also the bimini ripped and it's frame was ripped free of the fiberglass, and the tv antenna collapsed. The entire boat is in disarray. My plan this morning was to sail about 30 miles to a creek just north of Norfolk. I checked the weather forecast online and listened to the weather radio. There was a small craft advisory with winds 15-20 knots from the north. No problem. I did the Potomac crossing in worse weather. I'm now a salty sea dog. This will be some fun sailing.

I got out of the creek and the conditions were exactly as forecast. The wind was less than I had dealt with the other day, but the waves were bigger. They had built up quite a bit as the wind had traveled down the bay. They were bigger than I had ever seen on the bay. I was really surfing!

My route today would take me across the mouth of Mobjack bay. I would be way out in the bay for most of the trip. As the trip progressed the weather began to build. The wind grew stronger and the waves bigger. If it wasn't for my gps, I would have thought that I had somehow wandered past Norfolk and out into the ocean. The waves were huge. I kept telling myself that this type of boat has crossed oceans. If it can do that, then she and I can handle anything on the Chesapeake. We were handling the conditions just fine. Then a wave picked us up and as we came down the backside, the boat did almost a complete 180 into the wind. I tried to turn her back around, but she wouldn't respond. I thought maybe I snagged a crab pot, but there were none way out there. I thought maybe somehow the anchor had leaped out of the anchor locker and was holding us, but no. Then I looked at the rudders, and one was busted.

We foundered a bit while I collected my thoughts and assessed the situation. The foundering actually wasn't all that bad and I contemplated the worst case scenario that I would just get pushed down the bay until the weather let up. The waves were big, but I didn't think they would be able to flip the boat. Finally I decided to lower the sails and motor. I wasn't excited about getting out of the cockpit, but thought that was the route to take. With the sails down and the motor running, I did have some steering and I began making progress. In a little while I saw land in the distance and knew that this nightmare would end.

When I told people that I bought the boat and that I was going to Florida and possibly the Bahamas, often I would get a response of "oh you're going to cross the ocean, how exciting." I explained to them that the Bahamas are a day's trip from Florida, and that I would never dream of crossing an ocean in any boat. Days like today are exactly the reason why. When you are on the ocean, there is no port to duck into if the weather turns bad. And if something goes wrong, you're on your own. There is no hospital to go to, or marine parts store to pick up a few things. In the bay, I know that I'm going to spend the night in some creek, no matter what. And if worst comes to worst, I'm going to call the Coast Guard on the radio, and they are going to come save my sorry ass.

Anyway, I now have a new most harrowing sea tale. The old one was when Glen and I got blind sided by a Summer thunderstorm. And if someone asks me what my favorite beer is, I'm going to tell them it's the can of Bud that I drank in a creek after crossing the lower Chesapeake in November. I've had enough of adventures and am ready to hit the ditch and start motoring down the Dismal Swamp.

I'll add pictures to this post tomorrow, so that you can see the damage. Oh, and a giant FU to the National Weather Service.