I was heading for an anchorage near Beach Haven, NJ. It was a little breezier than I like, but we were moving along nicely. I had been warned about the Intra-Coastal Waterway in New Jersey. It is really shallow and many of the larger boats choose to take the Atlantic route. But, I've got a 2 foot draft, n worries. My shallow water alarm went off on several occasions. I've got it set to warn me when I have less than 2 feet of water under the keel. Usually, I just probe around for deeper water and all is well.
About 3p on June 30, as I was cruising toward Beach Haven, the alarm went off and I couldn't find deeper water. I tried to back off. Nothing worked and finally, with the tide going out. I was hard aground.
I called the USCG for assistance and they contacted BoatTowUS for me. About an hour later rescue came... sorta. The guy on the rescue boat assessed the situation and said that there was nothing he could do. We'd have to wait for the tide to come back in. It hadn't completely gone out, so I was 7 or 8 hours away from being pulled off of the sandbar. So, there I sat watching the tide continue to go out. I wound up in inches of water and heeled over at about a 30 degree angle.
The guy came back around 9p to reassess the situation and decided that it would be a couple more hours. The tide had begun to come back in and I was mostly afloat, but still unable to move. He finally came back around 11p. He approached my boat and tossed me a harness to tie to my bow cleat. By now, the wind was howling and it had begun to rain. He told me to hurry, like a needed prodding. As he started to back away from my boat, he fouled the tow line in his starboard engine. He raised the engines out of the water. I could see that it was a mess. He asked me it I had a knife. I had bought a knife at West Marine. Supposedly the best at line cutting, it is the third time it has come to the rescue.
He got the lines cleared and restarted his engines. It was a hard pull, but suddenly I was off the sandbar. He told me to make for Beach Haven (not the anchorage) Yacht Club. I would be able to tie up at the fuel dock for the night. I had never navigated in the dark before. Suffice it to say that it was a harrowing final 5 miles to Beach Haven. The wind continued and the tide was ripping, but I managed to get tied up at the fuel dock for the night. I went to bed and slept the sleep of the exhausted.
About 3p on June 30, as I was cruising toward Beach Haven, the alarm went off and I couldn't find deeper water. I tried to back off. Nothing worked and finally, with the tide going out. I was hard aground.
I called the USCG for assistance and they contacted BoatTowUS for me. About an hour later rescue came... sorta. The guy on the rescue boat assessed the situation and said that there was nothing he could do. We'd have to wait for the tide to come back in. It hadn't completely gone out, so I was 7 or 8 hours away from being pulled off of the sandbar. So, there I sat watching the tide continue to go out. I wound up in inches of water and heeled over at about a 30 degree angle.
The guy came back around 9p to reassess the situation and decided that it would be a couple more hours. The tide had begun to come back in and I was mostly afloat, but still unable to move. He finally came back around 11p. He approached my boat and tossed me a harness to tie to my bow cleat. By now, the wind was howling and it had begun to rain. He told me to hurry, like a needed prodding. As he started to back away from my boat, he fouled the tow line in his starboard engine. He raised the engines out of the water. I could see that it was a mess. He asked me it I had a knife. I had bought a knife at West Marine. Supposedly the best at line cutting, it is the third time it has come to the rescue.
He got the lines cleared and restarted his engines. It was a hard pull, but suddenly I was off the sandbar. He told me to make for Beach Haven (not the anchorage) Yacht Club. I would be able to tie up at the fuel dock for the night. I had never navigated in the dark before. Suffice it to say that it was a harrowing final 5 miles to Beach Haven. The wind continued and the tide was ripping, but I managed to get tied up at the fuel dock for the night. I went to bed and slept the sleep of the exhausted.
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