Trip Day 9

October 1st, woke up about 3 am since I was not sleeping well anticipating the final day and the winds expected. Used the head and checked the mouse trap. He had taken the peanut butter bait and got away again! I think he is too big for the trap and just leans over and licks it off, never has to step on the trap!  Anyway, I reset with P-But and this time spread it all over so if he got greedy he would get whacked. Went back to bed.  

Woke again with the sound of the alarm at 5 am.  No mouse in the trap and it was raining again!  I went through my normal routine but in the process noticed the overhead lights were dimming!  I knew that meant a low battery issue. I was pretty much ready to go so I went immediately to start the engine. But it would not start on BAT 1. I switched to BOTH and it started. Thank goodness!  

I let it run for a good 10 minutes and in the meantime checked the fire from last night to make sure it was out, but with all the rain, that was not an issue. The wind was brisk so I surveyed my exit route since I had rocks just off my port stern and a vertical rock wall on starboard.  I decided I would be okay and the wind should blow me pretty much straight back. 

I untied and quickly hustled aboard pulling the gang plank with me. I slowly backed away and at about 10 to 15 feet from shore the engine died and would not turn over!  I actually considered jumping over with a rope, but decided quickly that futile!  This was not in a good situation with rocks all around and the only thing between me and Canada was open water! 

If anchor does not hold I could drift onto rocks on Canadian shore, bad in itself, but also an illegal entry! I did have my passport and NEXUS pass with me, which helps.

I quick glanced at my chart on the tablet to check the extent of the shelf around the island (see below) because getting the marginal anchor to hold was going to be iffy at best, even in shallow water. 

Skipper Rock Island 
Note the shallow shelf I wanted to grab before drifting into deep water. 

Click to enlarge - Rocks all around!

I quickly got the anchor over the side and put it down just before exiting the shallow area around the island.  The anchor rode was too short to hold in deeper water (see top chart depths).  I got the anchor down but it dragged for awhile before finally catching a rock. See chart and note below indicates the boat drift before the anchor holds.  It looked like I was clear of the rocks but it was swinging occasionally very close to rocks near the starboard, side just south of the boat. About 75 feet! 

Rescue on Skipper Rock Island
(click to enlarge)

Next I got on the radio and starting calling for help, but the radio was giving me a message the battery was low, which of course I already knew!  No one answered after numerous calls.  I then started calling anyone that could hear me but to no avail.  I brought along a handheld VHF radio for just such an emergency and tried calling on it. I could see a boat heading toward the base and thought since they were line of sight they would answer, but they did not!  Evidently they did not have their radio on or were on a different frequency. I had not yet called on emergency channel 16, but that was next.

I continued calling over the next 10 minutes and finally got an answer from base.  I found out later that no one is normally at the desk until 8 am, and it was about 7:30 when I began calling. After quizzing me and trying a few more things to start the engine, they finally dispatched assistance.

By 8:30 a support boat arrived with two crew and a power pack and in short order we had the engine going again but there was no explanation why the batteries were so low. One of them got back in the support boat and the other was going to steer me clear of the rocks.  Didn't trust me I guess! However, it took sometime before we could get the anchor up because it was jammed under a rock.  With some maneuvering we finally got it free and began working around the island toward base.  I soon dropped off the second crew and continued on my way arriving near base to pick up the pilot around 9:30 am to take me in the final leg to the dock.  I was still stressed over the close call!  

Day 9 - Skipper Rock Island to Base

Satellite Track - Skipper Rock Island to Base
(Distance 5 NM, ave. spd 2.7 kts, max. spd. 6.3 kt, I was late for 9 am check in!)

I hustled getting the stuff off the boat and into the car because rain was threatening again.  As soon as I finished and had the kayak tied on the car, it began to rain again, hard this time!  I paid the bill and made some notes for them before I took off. 

The trip was overall successful, in spite of weather, but I had my moments, including this latest exercise which just added to list of problems!  I was glad to be on the road heading to Bemidji where I planned to spend the night with my sister Mary.

If you read this blog to the end you may be interested in my other blogs:

An eight day Shanty Boat Trip on the St. John's River in north central Florida in April 2016.   

Several summer Voyages of S/V Dash starting with my retirement cruise on the upper Great Lakes in 2012 to the final voyage for the new owner in 2014 from Superior to Chesapeake Bay.  These were all aboard the 32' catamaran I owned for seven years and sailed out of Grand Marais, MN.

I hope you enjoyed this adventure!