Mayday, Mayday!
03 January 2019
Two words when spoken over the radio will grab your attention in a hurry. We had moved back to Black Point yesreday to do laundry before pushing further south and we' we're preparing to visit with friends when we heard the frantic call. There was a 35' sailboat that said he was sinking and didn't know where the water was coming in. At the time there were a couple of feet of water over the floor boards; fortunately, there was a Coast Guard helicopter in the area that responded immediately to their call. After a tense few minutes the sailors advised they had found the leak and plugged the hole while the whole anchorage awaited further news of their condition.
As it turns out they were only 3 miles from us and a Good Samaritan in a high speed runabout roared out to lend them assistance. Another boat offered a high speed pump to get the water out and the stricken sailboat managed to limp into our anchorage a couple of hours later.
It certainly was a reminder to everyone how quickly things can deteriorate as speculation grew as to the cause of the problem. It was a good time for everyone to check backup pumps, emergency plugs and through hull fittings in an effort to avoid a similar event. As it turns out, while pounding into 4 foot waves they blew out the center of the knot meter which left a 1 1/4 hole in the bottom of the boat under the Vee berth. Other then a very wet boat the only equipment failure seems to be a solar charge controller.
The winds have moderated nicely over the last couple of days so we'll be moving to new areas to explore. We enjoyed a good hike yesterday and plan some more snorkeling later today.
Today's picture is from the archives taken while we were in St. Augustine.