Back in 2006, my wife and I were in our third year of boating, and on a boating vacation in Georgian Bay, Ontario, Canada. The weather became unsettled, so we opted to explore Parry Sound and enjoy the marina.
Days passed. We continued to sit tight. But we didn’t want to spend our vacation in the marina. Fellow boaters assured us that nothing could touch us in Regatta Bay at Windsor Island. So, off we went. I remember one boat with an anchor out in every direction, and thought that was a bit much. We laid anchor, tied off the stern to shore, and settled in.
At about 2 a.m., we woke to the sound of thunder. I felt the gust front pass over. The bow swayed, and then—silence. I’m pretty sure that’s when the anchor pulled out. The next sound was a loud bang. I unzipped the side panel of the camper top and found myself staring at a boulder. I started the engine and tried repeatedly to reset the anchor, but I had no luck. To further complicate things, the stern line got caught in the prop. My mouth was dry, and I worked at keeping my fear under control. I jumped overboard and frantically freed the rope from the prop. I got back aboard and tried again to reset the anchor.
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I started signaling for help from neighboring boats using a flashlight. The guy with the anchors in every direction boarded his dinghy and made his way over in the rain! My wife and I stood there, she in Victoria’s Secret leopard-print underwear, hoping he could get us anchored again. He took our Danforth out in his dinghy, and finally, together, we got it to set.
I thanked him profusely.
We learned a few things from that frightful night. One, know the consistency of the bottom you are anchoring in, and use the correct anchor for it. Two, use a floating stern line to keep it out of your prop. Three, do your best to keep cool and not to panic so you can think of solutions. Good luck. This was our first real emergency, and I think we did OK.
Robert Manera
Brampton, Ontario, Canada
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