You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
Raul called for a break at 2pm when the tide was at its lowest<br />
and to prepare for resuming work at 5pm when the tide was<br />
scheduled to start rising. Water was now barely waist deep and<br />
Esperanza with her 2.7m draft was already heeling. Everyone<br />
swam back to shore with teeth chattering, bodies shaking<br />
from cold and exhaustion, hands blistered from all the rope<br />
handling, and bare feet bruised from accidental stubbing.<br />
Work resumed at 5pm but without the Coast Guard this<br />
time. Rinalyn Mulle and crew of giant banca Mark Angelou,<br />
8 meter length with 2 truck diesel engines, arrived to help.<br />
News of our predicament were already all<br />
over our small town and calls from friends<br />
and strangers offering their help were<br />
pouring in. Multiple efforts by Picasso<br />
and Mark Angelou to pull Esperanza free<br />
failed and Raul called off operations at<br />
dark for safety reasons. Raul secured<br />
Esperanza best he could- anchor in<br />
front + one line tied to the mooring + one line tied to Mark<br />
Angelou and a stern line tied to one of the concrete piles.<br />
The weather cleared up (miracle #4) and Esperanza, with<br />
a broken engine and windlass, stayed in place the whole<br />
night. Raul and I went home but had to walk the last 200<br />
meters because a big acacia tree had fallen across our road.<br />
I envied Raul as he slept like a baby while I managed only<br />
a few hours sleep as images of the numerous boats that ran<br />
aground in Mabini, Batangas and Mindoro going around in<br />
social media and the news kept hounding me.<br />
Raul and I were up at 4am and aboard Esperanza at 5am<br />
to take advantage of the high tide. With Picasso and Mark<br />
72<br />
With Picasso and Mark<br />
Angelou pulling in<br />
tandem, Esperanza still<br />
would not budge.<br />
Angelou pulling in tandem, Esperanza still would not<br />
budge. At around 8am, 3 French sailors with 60+ years<br />
of sailing between them came aboard and told Raul what<br />
to do- we tied Picasso to port with full engine ahead, we<br />
raised the main sail (miracle #5- the wind changed direction<br />
and started blowing a gentle gust in the right direction to<br />
propel the boat forward), while all of us on board hiked out<br />
at starboard to force it to heel. Then at Raul’s command,<br />
we all ran as one to port, then back and forth to wiggle the<br />
keel free (the same way they sank a pirate ship in Pirates of<br />
the Carribean film). Excitement was mounting as we could<br />
feel the keel moving a little at a time. Other<br />
men from shore and other boats joined us<br />
and after several rounds of running back<br />
and forth, Esperanza finally plopped free<br />
from the mud amidst triumphant cries and<br />
backslapping. It was an exuberant moment<br />
for everyone albeit brief because of the<br />
urgent work on hand- bring down the sail<br />
as the wind was picking up and we had no engine, and most<br />
importantly, to safely moor Esperanza.<br />
After the dust had settled, it was time to ask the important<br />
questions- what the hell happened?! Where did we go<br />
wrong and how can we prevent that from happening again?<br />
The culprit was broken pennants due to age and UV<br />
degradation. These are our learnings:<br />
1. Always be prepared for the worst. The fact that we are<br />
leisure sailors and sail only when the weather is ideal (sunny<br />
and nothing beyond 15 knots of wind), is not an excuse for
Change language