I Lost My Boat!!!:

Or - How to get your heart rate up to 180 without that nasty stair machine or running 5 miles and getting all sweaty, etc. I had departed Santa Cruz and motored over to Capitola to spend a day and night - nice little beach town and good anchorage with access for the dinghy at the wharf.

On Tuesday, I sailed off the hook and enjoyed a nice 4 hours across the bay to Monterey - nice breeze, no fog, good sailing, great day. The anchorage at Monterey is just north of a big commercial wharf that forms the north side of the marina and I set the anchor in about 20' - sand - about 100 yards off the beach, backing the boat down toward the beach as any wind and swell would be from the ocean toward shore. I took the usual sights on shore to make sure the anchor was holding and spent two days visiting Monterey.

Thursday, I took my laundry ashore to some machines at the marina and about 11:30 I was talking with a couple of other cruisers and pointed out my boat, with most of the mast visable above the wharf about 200 yards away. The weather had turned that morning and there were dark clouds and even a few thunder claps in the distance, and about 45 minutes later, while I was taking some clothes out of the dryer, I glanced over the wharf just to check the boat and couldn't see the mast. Well, I looked a little more, and then did a brisk walk over to the wharf and could only see open water where my boat had been anchored!!

Looking out to sea there was nothing !! On the beach, for miles, nothing !! I thought: 'Call the Coast Guard', but then remembered the Harbormaster's office was directly above the wash machines, so I hurried back there, found him, and announced that I had lost my boat.

"36 foot cutter out of Washington?", he asked.

"Yeah", said I, and he responded: "She's not lost - just over there in slip H-20. Some other folks anchored near you reported she was dragging anchor so the Coast Guard went out and brought her in here. You're welcome to stay in that slip till 4 p.m., if you like and go ahead and plug into the shorepower. Fill your water tanks too, if you like".

Well, of course, by that time the old heart was about into fibrillation, so I took a few deep breaths and asked for more detail. Apparently, soon after I came ashore, another sailboat with a couple on board anchored near my boat, and within a few minutes the wind shifted 180 degrees and began blowing briskly offshore. This caused my boat to swing around and probably broke the anchor free - not a problem - as it would re-set as it dragged down in the new direction. But apparently it encountered a nice bed of kelp and didn't set immediately, allowing the boat to begin to drift toward the other sailboat, causing them concern to the point that they radioed the Coast Guard to ask for help. When the Coasties boarded my boat to deal with the dragging anchor, they had no alternative (liability issues) but to tow her into the marina and put her in a slip. By the way, they left the anchor hanging at the waterline, with a ball of kelp so thick that there were no flukes visable. (For you boaters reading this - it was a 20 kg Bruce).

Following my discussion with the harbormaster, I opted to stay in the marina for the night and take advantage of the four docklines tied to the four big cleats on the dock to settle my nerves.

After getting my laundry together and working the adrenaline out of my system, I was able to enjoy the evening. The "World's Largest Sports Car Auction" was taking place the next two days at the convention center adjacent to the marina, and Thursday night was the preview showing, so I spent several hours looking at newer to 40 year old, "showroom" condition Ferraris, Porches, Jaguars, Shelby Cobras, Maseratis, etc, etc - what a show !!! Several cars from the '60s with reserve prices over $300K !! The one nice thing for me ?? - Complimentery beer and snacks to settle the exciting day.

More later, Terry, once again aboard S/V Secret O' Life