After situations occur, we usually figure out a different way that we could have handled it.
On a
mooring at Marina Cay, we were getting ready to
head off to our next anchorage. May have been
Cooper Island, or Norman.
My brilliant self knows we are getting low on fresh
water and at our two next
anchorages there is none available to fill our
tanks. Here a marina cay, wonderful , easy, laid back, small , friendly, great
food and drinks , beautiful beach, etc., we can fill our vessels fresh
water tanks.
The trades are blowing fairly strong, about 18 to 22 . The are blowing off the
dock, and so I called on the
VHF to advise the
dock master that we could use help with the docklines to keep the
boat from being pushed away from the dock. No answer.
So, I decide to take our moorings issued dink and check to see if they have bollards, or
cleats at the gas /water dock. Pulling up to the wooden dock, I check everything out, and see that Erica and I, if we move quickly can tie up with no problem.
I had been having an interment glitch with dink out board
motor throttle, but it seemed to be OK. Dink running, it is time to
head back to the
boat. I increase the throttle and the
engine goes el berserko. Bloody roars at full
power and it is in
gear. Throttle is jammed full open.
The dink, and myself, are now
racing thru the
mooring toward our boat. The
wind is pretty strong. Erica is down below, closing hatches, securing any loose
gear, and getting the vessel ready for sea.
Circling around the boat, I shout over the screaming
outboard, for her to come up top side. Up she pops and as I going roaring by...tell her. " Stuck Throttle, get ready for the painter, will shut down
engine ! "
Now, I am used to
docking or approaching into the
wind. So around I come. She has the starboard life line gate open. I will approach at roughly the speed of
dinghy light, and shut the engine down. My forereach will allow me to coast smoothly up to the
hull , and I will hand her the dink painter. No worries.
I have to time it right, as I do not want to restart the engine at full
power, nor shift it into any different gears at full power. One shot.
Well, here comes Capt. Denny in the bounding , bow up,
racing inflatable, and by now the whole mooring field is having a grand time enjoying the show.
Perfect approach. I yank out the shut down cord, and all is quiet. Erica is standing by to receive the painter. Now, dear friends, remember those strong winds. The dinks forereach is nearly non existent. The silent beast is dead in the water.
There is no fore reach. none. I come to a dead stop a few feet too short. The painter will not reach Erica. The winds are drifting me astern at a fairly good rate.
There are no oar locks on the dink,
Leaping up to the bow, , I grab an oar, and start paddling toward the boat, I am up on the bow of the dink paddling Hawaiian canoe style, first one side and then the other. No progress. I am at the mercy of the wind gods.
I am mightily paddling, and the dink is rapidly drifting down wind and away from the boat.
I hear one of our neighbor boat's dink rattle to life. He comes up along side, starboard, and I grab on to his dink, he grabs mine with one hand and in a few seconds I am handing the painter to Erica.
All was well. After dropping off at Marina Cay, I called the Moorings on
the
VHF, and told them of our dink
motor problems and that we would be tying up to the T dock side - to dock, to get a new dink motor, and also top off our water.
Turns out, the Mooring dingy manager, meets us with a nice new dink and
motor at the docks and tows our old dink away . We get water and a few provisions and thank the moorings dock staff. We are on our way to the Willy T...for some party down time.
Now, I could have made life much simpler with the runway dink, by approaching from up wind. Shut it down, and let the 20 mph trades drift me down to the boat. But, then again, who would have entertained the usually peaceful and kicked back Marina Cay cruisers.
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