Funny story about securing my boat

[mfairman491]

We have a place in Atlantic Beach, NC. It is on the sound in a cove, and we have a pier with a boat lift. After a day on the water with our cousins on our 22' Palm Beach pontoon boat, we are all sitting out on the deck feasting on blue crabs caught off the end of our pier. After a while I looked out at the pier and noticed the pontoon boat isn't on the lift and the first thing that pops into my mind is "Where did I put the boat"? Looking out over the water I see our pontoon boat floating across the cove about 100 yards away and counting. I yell a few expletives and run down the pier and without thinking, dive off into the water swimming toward the boat. Luckily, the wind is not blowing too hard and I am gaining on the boat. I am swimming like I'm in the Olympics so I can get to the boat before it reaches the other side of the cove and crashes into someone's pier or boat. I notice that I'm not in very good shape and I'm getting tired. It's then that I recover my sense of mind and think to myself "this is a very stupid thing I'm doing". I keep swimming towards the boat but start thinking I'm not going to make it. I'm getting really tired but I can't stop or I won't catch the boat. I get to within about ten feet of the boat and I'm pooped...I can't go another step and I'm thinking I'm going to drown out here and I'm only ten feet away! As I turn upright to tread water, it is then I realize the water is only three feet deep... so I walk over to the boat and climb on. Luckily, I left the key in the ignition so I am able to crank it up and get back to our pier where I am met by my supporting family as they are crying because they are laughing so hard! You should always be wary of rising tides!

 

[*mtrbtr*]

Re: Funny story about securing my boat

Great Story .....I think every boat owner has done that once at least.

 

[soggy_feet]

Re: Funny story about securing my boat

I've lost my boat off my mooring twice.

One time it pulled the helix anchor out of the bottom in a storm and drifted 100 yards into a swamp.

The other time, fortunately, I was on it, sleeping.

A friend and his wife who hadn't ever been off the farm other than to take their honeymoon in Wisconsin at a Dairy Convention came up and stayed with me for a weekend.
He woke me up excitedly the first morning telling me how we drifted.
The only drifting we had done was from one direction to another from the evening to morning wind shift. He expected to see the same landmarks out of the window that he saw when we went to sleep.
I explained the situation, and then went back to sleep (it was early).
The second morning on the boat, he woke me up again, even more excited, telling me how we had drifted.
A little irritated that we had to go thru this again, and this time I'm feeling a little hung over, I firmly told him we HAD NOT drifted, and then pulled the shades open to show him.

CRAP. WE DRIFTED.

Guess I hadn't attached the boat to the shackle on my mooring as well as I normally do the night before, and it slipped off the line during the night. We had drifted SIX MILES across the bay in the dark, and when I fired the boat up, we had run out of water and I was practically in someone's yard.

Sidenote, things like that are why I think a dusk to dawn anchor light should be mandatory on any boat left in the water. It's on even if you're not there (or aware) to turn it on.

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: Funny story about securing my boat

A lot of tooners here get the solar powered lights just for that reason.