Late last nite, I received a call from the harbor master where I moor the
family sailboat, a 1962 28'
Pearson Triton. The harbor is exposed to the north but most (yes, most) winds are SW during the summer months. After Labor Day, the
weather patterns shift and the fall storms can kick up. Well, one hellacious storm kicked up last nite. 50+ Kt winds out of the NE with a 45 mile fetch kicks up some serious waves. The harbor is shallow where I moor, about 12' which limits wave size, except the winds were just too much. 20 boats in local harbors went on shore - 3 in my harbor, including mine. The harbor shoals gradually with sand being the predominant bottom, unless the
wind is NE. My
boat got pushed onto a rocky shore (I hope my pic shows up on this thread). The situation looked quite desperate. I got the call last nite about 9pm. I live 270 miles away but have family close by. They went to the shore but, of course there was nothing they could do. My brother got us first dibs on the recovery crew early this morning. The picture shows our beloved boat (we
kids grew up on her - named after my late Mother) lying on her port side right at the shoreline. It looked bleak. When the
salvage crew arrived, they looked down below and saw little
water in the
hull. There was little visible damage (the pulpit is bent upward -
collision?). When the boat was finally lifted it was clear that the boat had suffered mostly cosmetic damage on the port side midships below the
water line. The
gelcoat has been chipped off the solid
fiberglass hull. No other damage. The
rudder is even intact! I suspect the storm surge (we call them seiches in the Great Lakes) added nearly 2' of
depth allowing the boat to ride the waves all the way to the shore where she grounded, lay over on her side and took the crashing surf on her starboard side. There may be some damage to the "deadwood" between the ballast and the
rudder mount - I will have to inspect more closely. I suspect the
mooring pendant parted - I have 2 of them - 3/4" thick 3 strand line. Chafe guards in strategic locations. We have used this type pendant for 50+ years. Will have to rethink.
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