Date: Tuesday, 20 Sept., 2005
Location: Mill Creek, Patuxent River, near Solomons, MD
Current position: N38 20.195' W076 30.218'
We wake up early this morning, for some reason. The wind is up to around 15-20 knots and we decide we might as well remove the tarp we use to cover the forward hatch since we're already awake. The tarp allows us to keep the hatch open when it rains and keeps the sun off the deck, both of which keep the boat considerably cooler. If it gets windy, however, it creates "windage", giving the wind more surface area to push against.
Mark goes up on deck just before dawn to check the anchor and start taking off the tarp when he notices that a boat that pulled into the anchorage yesterday morning looks closer than he remembers it being last night. After a couple of minutes it becomes apparent that the boat's anchor is dragging - and it's bearing right down on us.
Repeated whistles and calls don't produce any response, so we get out the air horn and give it a few blasts followed by shouted "Your dragging!"s.
Finally, when the boat has about 100 ft to go before hitting us, a fellow appears from below and acknowledges our call. He goes forward and starts hauling on the anchor line. Then another, older fellow comes out on deck, thanks us, and stands there until Mark "suggests" that he get control of his vessel.
The older fellow finally decides the best course of action is to start the engine. He goes below and a few seconds later pops his head back out of the companionway and shouts "I can't get it started". Sigh. By now they're only about 50 feet away and we're getting ready to hang fenders off the bow and rails, preparing to try and fend off a boat that likely weighs over 10 tons.
Finally, with about 35' to go (less than a boat length) he gets his ailing engine smoking and coughing and sputtering and manages to get his boat back under control. By now, however, he's dragged across in front of us and we're starting to get worried that the anchor his crew is busily hauling might catch our chain, pulling our anchor loose, causing us to drag, and creating a right tangled mess.
They finally manage to get the boat away from us w/o causing any problems and, thankfully, it all worked okay in the end. They reset their anchor (after several unsuccessful tries) and, though a bit upwind of us, are far enough off to the side to give us a good miss should they start dragging again. We're keeping a close eye on him, however, as NOAA tells us to expect "a possibility of 45-50 mph gusts, hail, and severe thunderstorms in the afternoon and early evening". Never a dull moment....
Mark & Julie
s/v Rachel
