The day started well. We left Pelican Bay, Cayo Costa, just west of Fort Myers, Florida, at 0630 for the best tides. Our safety inlet was Venice which we reached around 1245. It was a nice sail with east-northeast winds around ten knots. I kept the motor running to boost our speed since we wanted to get to Sarasota, if possible. Our goal that day was Big Sarasota Pass (NOAA chart 11425), a wide body of water but shallow. When I looked at the charts, it was apparent that we would be able to get in from the west but it would be close. I also called Sea Tow for their opinion of the inlet. They said that with a four and a half foot draft we’d be fine. Find marker six and approach at forty degrees.
As I looked across the water, I couldn’t find red six, but I could find eight! The tide was high and I felt confident that we’d have more water than what was on the chart. We prepared to turn in. Sara went up to the bow to watch the water. All goes well for three minutes then the water got skinny quickly. First the shallow water alarm went off. At this point I knew there was about a foot and a half of water under the keel. I didn’t turn back as I was confident in the charts. Then suddenly bump… bump. Crap! Sara started to run back to the cockpit and yelled, “We touched bottom!”
I quickly shifted to neutral and hauled the dinghy in from behind us and shifted again to reverse. After about thirty seconds, we were still bouncing on the sandbar and unable to back off. Next, I had Sara push out the boom and I went forward with the tiller hard to port thinking I may be able to heel Hiraeth and use the engine to push us around. We made a little progress but not enough. We were hard aground and I wasn’t going to be able to get us off with the motor.
The water was getting rough with an east wind that was starting to kick up. To be safe I called TowBoatUS for the first time to make use of my unlimited towing. The dispatcher indicated that the towboat would be on site in forty-five minutes to an hour! Well, the tide was going out now, so I knew it was just going to be harder to pull us off. I didn’t want to be bouncing of the sandbar for an hour. I decided to attempt to kedge off.
Sara and I put the outboard on the dinghy and piled in one hundred fifty feet of rode and the bruce anchor. I motored out to deeper water and tossed the anchor overboard then raced back to Hiraeth and hastily tie up the dinghy (more on this later.) Sara told me while I was out that the Coast Guard just issued a thunderstorm warning with thirty knot winds and dangerous lightning. They recommended keeping an eye out for water spouts! Perfect. The anchor rode went through the bow chock, we wrapped it around the mast winch and started cranking it in. We cranked and cranked.
Sara tailed for me and we just kept cranking. Fifteen feet, thirty, crank, crank, forty-five… bouncing along then something felt different. We were starting to come off the bar!
Sara not wanting my arms to cramp up recommended trying to motor off. I thought that was a great idea (while still supremely confident in my stamina). I went to the cockpit and put it in forward. Sure enough we bounced along a little longer and then we were off! Sara was hauling in anchor line like a mad woman. Soon there was only fifty feet of rode out and all of the sudden the engine stopped cold. It didn’t sputter or cough, it just died.
I won’t repeat the words that ran through my mind just then. What could have happened? I tried to start it up again but of course there was nothing. I thought maybe the anchor rode somehow got caught up in the prop. Then I saw the bitter end of the dinghy painter pulled taught on the toe rail and I knew what happened. Darn it!
Well, we were still anchored and the wind was blowing us away from the bar. So as powerless as I felt, at least weren’t going to be blown back into nearby sandbars. I thought about jumping in and untangling the painter but the sea state was pretty rough and the lightning had us a little leery about going in the water under the transom. Since TowBoatUS was already on the way, we decided to sit still and let him tow us in.
It was a good thing we did because I don’t think I could have found the safe water through the pass on my own. Our charts were completely wrong. Finally the towboat captain brought us to safety where we tied up to a mooring ball for the night. The next morning I dived in and cut away the offending dinghy painter. I checked the engine and was able to start her right up. Amazing.
Lessons learned:
- Don’t trust your charts in these inlets!
- Corollary, trust your depth sounder!
- Don’t be in such a rush you lose track of your dinghy painter.
