Fun and games in the flood!
'Sarf & West mate, Sarf & West'
Pete Bernfeld
Mon 28 Jan 2013 20:19
About 0200 this morning I noticed that we were literally spinning like a top. I went to investigate, as you do and found that the two anchor chains had become firmly entwined.
As a first step I managed to untangle the anchor buoy that I had set up for the second anchor then considered my options. We had dragged and were getting a little close to the boat behind me. After an hour we were still getting a little closer top the boat behind me so time to do something.
At this time there was a 'mayday' call from down stream, near Breakfast Creek. Apparently four boats had broken free and had piled into some others and there was a not so slow train, or should that be boat, crash going on. Nobody answered so I stepped in. The boat wanted to call the water police but the number was on his mobile which had a flat battery. I tried calling on CHN16 but nada then somebody else heard what was going on and called the W on his mobile. Now I really had to do something so I made a general VHF call for anybody in the Botanical Gardens anchorage with a dingy in the water, could they assist me to re-anchor. I was going to need help because the two chains were still firmly together in wedded bliss and I couldn't manage to get two anchors up on my own, at least while they were twisted together..
Michel from Viatrix was awake and came over. It took us an hour of messing around but eventually we untangled the chains and moved. I was on the helm so yes, it is my fault. We dropped anchor too close to the wall and in the course of moving I got too far out into the current stream and away we went. Of course, the engine which had been producing power on demand now chose to overheat and there was no way back out of the current. I shouted to Michel to get 30 metres of chain down which he did and we came to a grinding halt (phew!). I fetched up next to Glen who had moved about four hours earlier than I did with a similar problem. As we were getting a bit too close for comfort I veered out another 10 metres so now I'm sitting in a 7+ kt (estimated from the bow wave) current. I've also acquired a fairly large log which has a strange liking for my anchor chain and is wedged sideways under the boat.
So, here we sits, hopefully at any rate and wait for the deluge to diminish. It should do in about 12 hours so here's hoping I don't drag. The current is so strong I can't get the anchor up! I did think about putting the second anchor down again as some sort of insurance but frankly if the main anchor drags and gets tangled up.....At least this way if something does give way I can zoom downstream, faster than I could ever motor on two engines and that's for sure!
Luckily, very luckily as it turns out, yesterday Paul from Calypso went ashore. He has a 15hp outboard which only just got him back to the boat against the current but at least I now have eggs and sausages for the next four days. The prospect was one meal of beans and rice then rice, rice and rice! Oh, I also have some porridge so I wouldn't exactly have faded away but it would have been quite tedious, particularly as it's not too advisable to partake of the old vino tinto given the present conditions. Speaking of which, clear blue skies so perhaps my batteries will now start to top up. The one solar panel had no solar to play with and obviously running the engine for an hour a day was OK to use the little inverter to charge the lapdancer & phone but messing around with the windlass, even with the engine running was a drain too far.
Right, time for tea. I hope that's the excitement for the day. I shall console myself with the thought that in the last 13 days I've sold 56 books. Not exactly rivalling JK Rowling but it's a start. Thanks to everybody who brought a book and particularly those who took the trouble to post a review on Amazon.
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