Caribbean Compass Yachting Magazine - December 2019

— Continued from previous page
It’s a horrible feeling, being grounded, especially
when you are the one who spent six weeks on the
hard, painstakingly sanding and anti-fouling your new
boat’s bottom, rebuilding your rudder and repairing
your keel.
Local guys in small boats
will guide you to a mooring
— or tow you off the reef!
made it back onto the mooring ball we had just left.
Securely tied to the ball, we breathed a sigh of relief
and let the jelly legs and heart rates recover.
Fortunately, damaged egos are cheaper to fix than
damaged yachts, and we had put only a few scrapes on
the keel’s anti-foul. Inspecting the bilge, we found no
Top Tips for Leaving
a Mooring Ball
in Strong Wind
• Prior to leaving the mooring ball, take a few minutes
to discuss worst-case scenarios. What is the exit
strategy? What is the backup plan?
• Ensure every line on deck is securely stowed.
• Keep a strong, long rope on board in case you need
a tow if the worst happens.
• If other boats are very close to you, put out fenders
and, if possible, have someone on board holding a
large roving fender that can be used if it looks like your
boat might touch another.
• Make sure your windlass is powered up in case you
need to use it. Seconds count.
• Before letting go of the mooring lines, ensure your
bow will fall off in the direction you want to go.
• If you don’t feel confident leaving a tight spot, ask
a fellow cruiser for some assistance; they may be able
to use their dinghy to push the bow of the boat in the
direction you want it to go, much like a bow thruster.
Kite surfers gave the kids piggyback rides,
and they had a blast.
Thankfully, due to the location of the anchorage, we
were protected from the swell: with reef in front,
behind and to the left, there were no waves crashing
over us, and the boat wasn’t bouncing around or
pounding on the reef. But the keel was on the bottom,
and our beautiful yacht looked rather out of place.
I frantically donned my snorkeling gear to dive in
and inspect the damage as Erin put out a VHF radio
call, explaining that we were grounded and asking if
anyone could help pull us off. As soon as I dived under
the water, I could see why the engine stopped. In all
the excitement I hadn’t noticed the nylon rope that
was now pulled tight from the deck, over the side and
under the boat. I hadn’t secured it properly before we
left the mooring, and it had fallen overboard and been
caught in the prop while we were reversing out.
Luckily, a local guy came to the rescue with a small
boat that had a 75-horsepower outboard. He proceeded
to drag ROAM off the reef with a towline and we
sign of water ingress. We thanked our rescuer and
agreed on a price for his efforts — he had, after all,
saved the day.
It seemed the school of hard knocks was still in session.
We had paid a small price due to our inexperience,
and we had learned a valuable lesson of what not
to do coming off a mooring ball in a tight spot. We also
learned to make sure your yacht never has a rope or
line unaccounted for.
After this experience, we were wondering what our
next lesson would be! Although I felt embarrassed
after the incident, no one was hurt and the boat was
fine. One thing I’ve noticed about cruising is that
these types of mishaps seem pretty common, and you
can’t let a bruised ego get in the way of a good time.
If you are able to laugh at your mistakes, while learning
from them, cruising on a yacht can be a lifechanging
experience, and in the end, everybody loves
a good story.
december 2019 CARIBBEAN COMPAss pAGE 27