shit happens
02 August 2016
30/07/2016
Shit happens
With our Raymarine monitor replaced and supposedly to be all updated, it was time to take it for a test drive. We decided to return to Fitzroy Island for some more snorkelling, and Rest & Recreation. So off we set. As we headed out of Trinity Inlet following the channel out we lost our depth sounder again…………..grrrr, well this is when things got interesting, to say the least.
Still motoring in the channel without our depth sounder, one would think they would be fine and have plenty of water under ones keel, after all we are still in the channel, right. Well this turned out to be not the case.
To cut a long story short, we run out of water under our keel, yes we were “stuck in the mud”, “ run aground”, “beached”, remember we are still inside the channel markers, so this became rather a shock as we thought this was the safe depth area……………..NOT.
After a few unfriendly words were spoken out aloud, our thoughts went into rescue mode. Ok, no worries. We checked on the tide, we had another 30 min of outgoing tide before it turned. We would just sit and wait for the incoming tide to set us afloat and we would be free to sail on……….NOT.
Sounds good in theory, and perhaps running aground somewhere else, it would be this simple. This was not to be the case.
Remembering, this is Cairns harbour, the channel is like the Auckland motorway in peak hour traffic. Its 1000 hrs, and all the large tourist boats are heading out to the reef for the day loaded with tourists. These boat move through the water at great speed.
At first we thought we may be able to use the wake from these large, fast, people moving boats that they produce to bounce us off the bottom, then accelerate, to get unstuck……………….NOT
What then followed, was a rather horrible, scary situation.
As these large people mover boats approached us, water [what little we had around us] was sucked away from us causing kestrel to tip to a 30degree angle port side [left] then as their wake hit us we were tilted starboard [right] 30 degrees. This motion seemed to happen in slow motion. This happened 5 times. Every time this happened we wondered if Kestrel would return upright.
And she did. However an experience we would not like to repeat.
Finally with the incoming tide we were able to be set afloat in which we returned to Trinity Inlet, where we indulged in an alcohol beverage to charm the nerves.
After a, not so friendly phone call to RayMarine, it turned out all our software and not been updated by them, causing the loss of the depth sounder again. This problem is now fixed.