(I am sorry, Jeremie, but I have to tell this story.)
We've had some motor problems with our boat. Not sure what the deal is, but whatever it is shouldn't be happening to a new boat. Not to mention the speedometer only works when it wants to, the fuse to the trim tabs (the things that balance the boat so it goes straight instead of leaning to one side or the other) keeps tripping, and the gas gauge is stuck on full.
We should have put gas in the boat for our trip during Crab-fest weekend. But he said we had plenty of gas . . . look, it says it's full.
We should have put gas in the boat on our trip out the following Sunday when we went fishing, but we didn't. We have plenty of gas in the boat.
We should have put gas in the boat last Friday night when we went crabbing. What a difference that could have made.
We dropped our pots and tooled around for a couple hours. Uncle Hank and Jeremie were pulling them up every so often to see if we had any keepers. Uncle Hank kept saying "Let's pull that one real quick before we go." He said that about four times. Now it's after 9:15 p.m. and the days are getting shorter. It is now dark out. We are a mere 10 minutes from rounding the shoal into Squalicum Harbor when the motor dies. Jeremie starts it. It dies again. Could it be that the motor has finally given up on us? He starts the kicker motor . . . our little 9.9 hp motor that's meant to get us back home when/if the main motor fails. We move a little closer to the harbor. It too dies. We float a few more feet before coming to a standstill. Could it be that we are out of gas? It is dark. We are only 3 minutes (or less) from the harbor. No wind. No waves. No oars. No gas.
Bellingham Bay was the calmest I have ever seen it. The moon was full and the sky was pretty clear. We could see all the pretty lights of Bellingham . . . how romantic. Right? Right.
Uncle Hank. A husband in denial. A wife in a really bad mood 'cuz we could have gotten gas two trips before this one. And only one beer left.
No boats are coming or going. We are the last ones around.
Phone calls are made. Which friend is going to drop what they're doing on a Friday night to come put their boat in the water to bring us gas or tow us? We have one friend with a boat that doesn't work, and two family members with boats who live in Skagit County.
I suggest we put a call in over the radio to the Coast Guard. They can put out a call to other vessels who may be willing to help. So we did. After a lot of saying things like "U.S. Coast Guard this is Heads or Tails. Over." and "Heads or Tails. Out" a bunch of times, we were able to draw the attention of a sailboat with six college students off in the distance. They didn't hear the call over the radio, but they did see Uncle Hank trying to flash S.O.S. with our giant flashlight. They came over and asked if we needed help or if we were just messing with them.
We were towed in by a sailboat. Very sad indeed. They asked if we had any oars . . . we didn't. They handed us theirs because we would have to untie before getting to the dock and row in . . . sailboats have a deeper draft than small powerboats, so they couldn't bring us all the way to the dock. We untie from them and Uncle Hank and I are leaning over the edge of our boat trying to row. We head straight for a very large yacht that is moored up in its slip. Jeremie is still up in the bow of the boat and easily pushes us away from the yacht. Hank and I are rowing. The oars are short, so we have to lean way over the edge. And we row. Finally we are at the dock. The sailboat comes up the edge of the dock and Jeremie hands them back their oars. We thank them profusely and ask for their phone number so we can pay them. All they asked for payment was that we help out a boater in need.
We go straight to the gas station. Our 55 gallon tank holds 56 3/4 gallons.
And the next day the boat went into Olympic Boat Center to address all of the other issues we've been having.
And I bought my husband a pair of oars.
The moral of the story . . . women have intuitions that shouldn't be ignored. And always have more beer on board.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
H: "Where were the Coasties? How come the Coasties didn't respond?! Were they going to let you drift out to sea?"
Kath: This is hilarious!!! The images of you and Uncle Hank rowing with your little sailboat oars in your big boat in the ocean... priceless. Truly.
At least you didn't have to swim for it. That could've been fun.
Of course a little sailboat came to your rescue. We have helped out a few stranded boaters on the lake in our little sailboat. Wish we could have been there to help. I do agree with Kathy: It would have been hilarious to see you and Uncle Hank hanging off the sides of the boat rowing...truly priceless.
Hee! Where was the video camera to record this event? Add that to the list of items to always have; right behind gasoline and beer.
Thanks for sharing and making me laugh!
Post a Comment