It was a beautiful August afternoon in Maryland, and my fiancée, her granddaughter, and I decided to take my 28-foot cabin cruiser down the South River and out into the Chesapeake Bay to the picturesque Thomas Point lighthouse, 5 miles from the marina. Once there, we decided to visit Annapolis, about 7 miles farther across open water dotted with crab traps. We went down Ego Alley and meandered through nearby Back Creek before heading home. I had noticed the voltmeter reading low and slowly dropping, but I pushed on.
– GET A VHF RADIO –
Safety Tip Provided by the U.S. Coast Guard
A VHF marine band radio is your first line of communication on the water, allowing you to talk to the Coast Guard and other boat traffic. Use Channel 16 only for hailing and emergencies.
The seas had picked up to about 2 feet on our bow, making for a rough ride. Suddenly, the boat jerked and veered hard to starboard. I looked around and saw the anchor line leading behind our boat, pulling a crab-pot float (more on this later). The anchor had jumped off its hook and deployed. We stopped the boat, and I hauled in the anchor, which had its shank bent 45 degrees.
I went to restart the boat and nothing. Both banks of batteries were apparently dead. I thought about checking the engine compartment, but the boat was rocking a lot.
We donned life jackets, and I called TowBoatUS. I deployed the anchor again, but we kept drifting because it would not dig in. We were lying sideways to the 2-foot seas, and the cooler and refrigerator down below upchucked their contents. The granddaughter also upchucked her contents all over the cockpit.
– CHECK THE WEATHER –
Safety Tip Provided by the U.S. Coast Guard
The weather changes all the time. Always check the forecast and prepare for the worst case.
Ninety minutes later, Capt. Greg with TowBoatUS showed up and towed us safely back to our marina.
We made it in before dark. Upon raising the boat on its lift, I noticed that there was a metal crab pot firmly wrapped around the prop. So, we would not have been able to make it home, even if I had found and fixed the loose battery connections that had prevented the motor from restarting.
Read Next: The Importance of Wearing a Life Jacket
– INVEST TO IMPRESS –
Safety Tip Provided by the U.S. Coast Guard
A boating course is a great way to gain confidence and boat-handling skills. A little practice now will make it look easy when everyone is watching.
What we did right: donning life jackets, keeping calm, deploying the anchor to slow our drift, and having three working cellphones and a handheld VHF. Had I gone into the engine compartment to troubleshoot, I could have been injured with the severe rocking.
What we did wrong: not fully checking everything before leaving the boat slip, not stopping in Back Creek to check the voltage drop, and not staying clear of the crab-pot area. I have since installed locknuts on the battery connections to keep them secure and tight.
Jim Anderson
Davidsonville, Maryland
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