Still Crossing the Sea

By Friday we were making minimal headway in very light wind and Friday night our boat speed read 00. We kept all sails up in hope that we could at least minimize the drift away from Mazatlan. Then, around midnight, the wind shifted, and though boat speed still read 00, gps speed, which is speed over ground, registered a whopping 1.3 knots. I was on watch, so I pointed us as close to north as I could and kept her moving at the snail's pace onward. By 6AM, we were 6.9 miles from port, but still drifting along at 1.5 to 2 knots. We had all four sails flying with preventers keeping the mizzen and main booms from dancing when in the light winds. A gorgeous day with the promise of landfall.

We were about two miles off the entrance to the jetty when the wind died completely. So near and yet so far. The marina manager, Elvira, had arranged a tow into the marina from the jetty entrance, but we had to get there. Having patched the dinghy in San Jose using 3M 5200 (as suggested by Jim Elvers) we had it to use. Michael lowered it over the side, we attached our 15 hp Johnson outboard, and then he tied the dinghy off to the starboard stern quarter and let it give us propulsion. By now the seas were almost flat, so I drove and he managed the dinghy, and we were able to get just inside the big island. Elvira promised the tow boat would be out soon.

Soon turned into almost two hours. We'd drift for a while, then Michael would start the outboard and I'd steer clear of shallows, then we'd drift and wait. He could climb off the dinghy and over the rails to get back on board and into shade. Lovely being so nimble and strong because he did that about six times.

Finally, the fishing boat arrived. According to the cruising guide, there was 12 feet of water all across the channel. The guide was mistaken even though it is a recent reissue and updated version. The driver didn’t mention the issue of draft. It was quite a shock when we came to a screeching halt, the tow rope jerked his boat around, and we leaned, leaned, turned, crunched, turned toward the wall of rock and breakers, while the radio from the tow boat remained silent. I motioned to the captain to veer away with us with us, to pull us out and not try to drag us through. Finally, he seemed to get the message and Sea Venture freed herself.

And this is why we have a full-keeled boat. A fin keel/spade rudder would have been hard pressed to have gotten out of that mess with no damage.