Wildcat (Sailboat)

Wildcat

(or: Four Hours exiting Marco)

Day 1Left Key West 7 AM, arrived Marco 8 PM
Day 2Left Marco 7AM to 11:30 AM!, arrived Boca Grande 8 PM

We had sailed from Clearwater to Key West in the Key West Conch Quest race, our eighth time doing the race..

Wildcat was a 40 foot racing catamaran. Being a racing craft it only had a 9 HP outboard motor, not enough power in many situations. It also had 4 feet of topsides – murder to try to push against the wind!

Sunday in Key West.
We got up at 7 as usual and Tom said
“I want to get back to Clearwater.”

We headed north out of the Bight Marina up Man of War Harbor.
We had a good sail up to Marco, getting in just at dark. A group of college kids were on the dock as we pulled up. Tom tied off the bow, the kids tied off the stern.

Arrived Boca Grande 8 PM

Tom was in a great rush to get a beer and was off. I put things away and then caught up with him.
At midnight when we got back, the boat was not where we left it. (Error #1, did not check the stern line)

Stern line came lose, boat was carried by the tide and wind in between the docs.

Tom insisted that the bartender released our stern line because Tom had not left a tip. In actuality, I had not checked it when the kids tied it off.

Tom then tied off on dock three before going to bed, he thought that he had done well and that we would be more protected in this new location. We thus went to bed.

Monday:

At 7 AM (begin Hour 1) we got up and decided to leave. The wind was maybe 15 knots. Tide 4 knots. After looking the situation over and trying four times to get the bow out far enough to get back adjacent to the dock (the wind and tide pushing back harder than we could push). The outboard was not of much use, the wind was so strong. I suggested to Tom that we hail a passing power boat to take our anchor out, then we could get out. Tom said “No G .. D…. power boats.”
In frustration I threw the anchor over the starboard pontoon as far

as I could, then, pulling from the port pontoon, I got the boat rotated around. We were free of the prison between the docks, we thought!

(Begin Hour 2) With the tide running four or five knots and the wind blowing 15 knots, we had had a hard time. Now we tried to pull up the anchor. No go. With both of us pulling we could not budge it. There was no roller on the stern to winch it so we tossed the anchor line on to the dock and when we sensed a lull in the wind we pulled away –stern first. Suddenly Tom called stop.

(Error #2) The anchor line had fouled on the rudder!

 I put the outboard into neutral and we drifted back to the dock. We cleared the anchor line from the rudder and this time made sure that the anchor line did not again drift onto the rudder.

We waited for a lull and slowly backed out again. As we backed I could see the anchor line rapidly paying out from the coil on the dock. I thought that the current must have taken the line and it was all going to payout -leaving us with no way to get the anchor. Suddenly the engine quit.

We were 150 feet from the dock. Three times between this point and when we hit dock # 1, I had tried to restart the motor but as soon as I put it into gear it stopped.

(Error #3, rode caught the prop) It turned out that when we had put the anchor rode back into the water after clearing the rudder, the anchor rode had indeed missed the rudders, this time it slid down the engine until finally it wrapped twice around the propeller! We ended up drifting west and south before getting pinned (“T” boned) on the dock #1 downstream from where we had started (see sketch above).

(Begin Hour 3)

(Problem #4 stuck on the dock #1 – we were held by the forestay!)
The combination of wind now about 20 knots and tide was so strong we could not push off. The outboard was of no help. For an hour we tried and tried but to no avail. Finally, ignoring Tom’s earlier protest, I flagged down a power boat. It took three tries (the tide forced him downstream every time he started to pull) but he finally pulled Wildcat backwards enough so that we could spin it around 90 degrees and get parallel to the shore!

We then pulled ourselves up to the dock #2. We were back in the same spot where we had started the night before.

We were successful in retrieving the anchor using the winch with the line passed over the bow roller. We finally were back to square one, only 3-1/2 hours later.

Tom and I then sat back and discussed how we were to get away from this dock, we again disagreed. Tom wanted to go forward. I wanted to reverse from the dock.

Tom said “I am the owner and captain of this boat and you are to do as I say! Put it in forward and, when I give the signal, put it full speed ahead.”

Tom gave the signal after he pushed off as far as he could and jumped aboard.

He was only able to push it 6 inches away from the dock. The boat immediately slid back to the dock. I futilely tried to push off as we slid by.

Then Tom hollered STOP ! I reached for the throttle but wham, we hit the far dock #3 before I could do anything.
(Error #5, rudders need to pull you away from dock, not push you toward it when there is a stiff wind.)
Mad scramble ensued to get tied off to the docks.

Letting the boat be blown to shore was not an option, the hull was so thin you could see light through it, and the concrete would have eaten it up!

Fortunately there was no damage other than a 4” hole above the waterline where the shell was damaged.

However, we were in the same position we had started at 7 AM , except turned around, and were again trapped between the docks. The outboard could not push us against the 25 knot wind! I again ignored Tom’s protest and flagged down another powerboat. He tried three times to pull us out but with the continuing tide rushing by, and the high winds he himself was pushed downstream every time he started pulling on Wildcat. I was on the easternmost dock with Tom in the boat when Tom told the power boater to forget it and leave. I hollered to Tom to give the anchor to the powerboat. Tom shook his head no. I screamed as loud as I could: Give him our anchor!!! 

(#6, use help when you need it.)

This time Tom agreed and passed the anchor to the powerboat. The powerboat took the anchor 300 feet out into the Marco River and dropped it there, we pulled ourselves out to the anchor and were off.

All of this took less than 20 minutes, yet we had been there for 4 hours.

We had an uneventful sail to Boca Grand and then home.
Powerboats are useful in a pinch!