The word for our latest adventure is "Sentinel"
Columbus Day week-end we made plans to find a new spot to anchor for a long relaxing week-end, knowing that our sunny warm days were coming to an end soon. We had heard folks talked about "Price Creek" so we looked it up on active captain and made that our destination. That Saturday we prepped the boat with wonderful food to cook, plenty of beverages to drink and anything else we could think of to make our week-end complete.
There was not much wind in the harbor so we motored all the way to the entrance of the ICW
Then under the Ben Sawyer Bridge
I can't remember what the name of a boat that passed us but I swear it looked like a floating condominium it was so big, the picture does not do it justice.
It only took us a few hours and we were at our destination, Price Creek. It was a great location we were only minutes from Bull Island and Capers Island by dinghy (good thing we brought plus 1 with us) So we went through the drill, dropped anchor, got "plus1" prepped and put the engine on her.
A great start to a long week-end. The sun was setting a bit so be fixed our signature rum drinks and had a few snacks while we enjoyed the sunset
Then fixed a little dinner and took the best picture of the day!
Morning came with no problems during the night we got up to checked the anchor a few times but it was holding well.
Walter and I had talked about bring fishing poles once we got our fishing licences. We are now legal so Walter rigged two poles to bring on this trip. We were not sure what, if anything we would catch, but thought it would be great to give it a try. Presto, we each caught a fish, to small to keep but very exciting to catch.
We both could not wait to go dinghy over to Bull Island, we read that it is the biggest uninhabited island on the East Coast, hard to believe. What fun, I found the best seashells I have ever seen and also found my first whole sand dollar
After a few hours we took the dingy to the other side of the inlet to Capers Island. Not as many shells, it was clear that the tides really influences the two beaches in different ways
We had enough adventuring for the day and wanted to head back to the boat before sunset. I was also making dinner in the pressure cooker that night and needed enough time for prep and cooking.
On our way back to the boat we came around a small bend in the creek before we got to the boat when we noticed that it had moved (a lot) to the other side of the creek but not off enough to make us panic that the anchor had dragged (we had a lot of line out, the water was fairly deep) so we boarded, unpacked our gear, poured our famous rum drink and decided to play a friendly game of scrabble. It had been some time since Walter had played scrabble so I was reading a few of the instructions to get him up to speed again. While reading I looked up and we suddenly were on the completely other side of the creek. Walter's head snapped up so fast to look after I made the observation about how we moved.
Walter jumped to his feet to check the anchor and in a fleeting moment the anchor line was under the boat not just under the boat, under so tight that he feared that it had wrapped around the keel and we were dragging. So we went into controlled panic mode that is if there is such a thing.
Trying to recall all that happened is a little blurred, but I think I can remember all the highlights. As we were drifting into the weeds, Walter jumped in the dinghy asking me to get him the spare anchor out of the locker. Of course it was like wrestling a octopus trying to get it out without break something on me or the boat. I got it to Walter as quickly as I could. His plan was to drop and set the back up anchor in hopes that it would stop the boat from drifting any further so we could figure out for sure what happened and also from spending the night in the weeds while waiting for towboat US.
Still things are a blurr but in a hours time, somehow we figured out where the anchor really was. Walter was able to get a tiny bit of slack in the anchor line allowing me to untie the line from the boat pull the end underneath the hull of the boat and get it completely clear of the keel. Walter gave me back the loose end, I tied it off and started to bring the line and anchor in with the windless until it was all back on board. Mind you were are still anchored with the spare anchor but still to close to the weeds and shallow water for any sort of comfort. By this time Walter was getting really skilled at using the dinghy as a tug and was able to maneuver us out of the weeds so I could start the engine and put the boat into gear and move to a safer place.
We got Walter back on board and tied up the dinghy so he could move the boat just a bit off from where we originally anchored. Success, we were safely anchored just before it got dark out. While Walter cleaned up the deck of the boat from our hour of curious I started preparing the dinner I mentioned earlier and poured a nice glass of wine.
Dinner was great, I did pork carnitas in the pressure cooker with tortillas, fresh cut cilantro and a touch of lime juice. A few more glasses of wine while Walter and talked and laughed about our mishap and realized that the tide change was pretty quick and strong in the creek. We decided that we were really fortunate that it did not happen in the middle of the night, especially as the night was turning out to be a bit overcast.
We were exhausted so we got ready for bed and set an alarm for the tide change so we could get up and check the anchor. We were a little traumatized and did not want a repeat of what happened earlier.
I was so tired but a good night sleep was not happening for me. I think Walter did just fine, at least that is what I figured by the snoring.
The alarm went off, we both sprang to our feet and were on deck before you knew it. Walter immediately went to check the anchor and would you BELIEVE IT! In what seemed like a split second the boat moved and the anchor line was back under the boat and we were heading for the weeds and shallow water, again. My fear came true, it was the middle of the night and a cloudy night at that. We pretty much repeated the same routine, spare anchor, dinghy, colorful language and now flash lights. Not sure how long it took to get the anchor line untangled and the anchor reset but it sure felt like forever.
No more sleep for us, we decided that we needed to take turns checking on the anchor the rest of the night at least until the sun came up. Neither one of us wanted to go through that a third time. The sun could not rise quick enough, finally I could see my hand in front of my face, there was a light at the end of the tunnel or should I say creek. We were in a huge need of caffeine so I put on a pot of coffee while Walter prepped for our departure.
The trip back to the marina was a bit of a let down we were exhausted and cranky. We had started the week-end out so nicely and we were really enjoying ourselves.
Sentinel (definition: a soldier or guard whose job is to stand and keep watch)
Walter and I were the soldier or guard for a night but I can guarantee that we will never leave the marina with out a proper sentinel for our anchor. PROMISE!
