Tuesday, July 20, 1993

Well, it happened again, exactly as it did two days ago, except this time Roy was at the wheel instead of me, thank goodness. We left Belhaven around nine. Less than two hours later we were aground in 3 1/2 feet of water. I don't think Roy quite believed me the other day when I insisted we were in the middle of the channel when we went aground, but today he had to believe himself; we were right smack dab in the middle of the channel when we went aground. While we were sitting there, I wrote a polite letter to NOAA, letting them know what I thought of their ICW.
Roy made several attempts to kedge us off, but the bottom was mud, not sand, so the anchor didn't hold. Several boats went by, including a tug, without offering to help. Some of them kicked up quite a wake, and we hoped the wake would float us off. The boat moved a little bit but didn't get off the shoal.
We thought we'd have to sit there until the tide came in, which wouldn't be until five or six o'clock in the evening, but around one a very nice couple came by in a large powerboat named "Vitamin Sea". They pulled us off in about ten minutes. After that, it was easy. We went for miles up a straight canal that was 14 feet deep at mid-channel. We stayed a couple hundred yards in back of the "Vitamin Sea", going at their speed of 6 1/2 knots. That's faster than we usually cruise, but we didn't want to lose the "Vitamin Sea". We figured as long as we were directly in back of them, we couldn't get into trouble; they'd have to go aground before we did.
A lot of Navy jets kept roaring overhead, probably out of Norfolk, 100 miles from here, a few minutes for those babies, 2 or 3 days for us.
In the evening, Nancy and Carl on the "Vitamin Sea" called us on the VHF. They said they were going to spend the night anchored near Bay Point and wondered if we'd like to stay there, too. They invited us over for a glass of iced tea or whatever. We thanked them and soon were anchored snugly in very calm water.
We paddled over to their boat and were dumbfounded by its size. It's 44 feet long, 18 feet wide, and weighs 44,000 pounds. The interior is like a house. The engine compartment alone has more room than our entire boat. Roy could actually stand up in it! When he goes into our engine compartment, he has to fold himself up like an accordion. I always say he looks like a bunny rabbit going into his little bunny hole.
Everything looked so new and shiny. There were oak floors, lots of cabinets, a real shower, a large dining area, etc., etc. But I'll take the Jofian any day.
Carl lived in Petaluma many years, so he knows right where Richmond is. Nancy's from Pittsburgh, PA. Now they live in Florida, where they own a boat-storage business on Lake Okeechobee.
We invited them over for supper to thank them for pulling us off the shoal. It was snug, but everything went well. They're a very pleasant couple.