The Unforgiving Sea
I will never know why things go bad in a run of things. It seems like it really does turn ugly for days at a time.
This last week a big charter boat sank out of Homer where we go fishing. Luckily another boat was close enough to pick up everyone. Saturday another large charter boat went down in the same area. Yesterday a charter boat went down out of Seward. The crew was picked up in time also.
Yesterday I went along on as a deck hand on the 27 feet Sea Sport that we almost rolled over in a big wave last week.When we reached our fishing grounds about 30 miles out of Homer, we were making a turn and hit something that was submerged.
We were in 140 feet of water. None of us saw what we hit, but it destroyed the large propeller, which caused a bad vibration in the main drive.We had a small 10 hp outboard kicker for trolling, but it wasn't much power to push a big boat.We did manage to catch our limits of halibut before heading back towards Homer.
The main engine could only run at about 5 miles per hour due to the vibration.The only thing in our favor was the tide was coming in, which help push the boat towards Homer. The bad thing was that we had two rocky points to get around before we had any bays that we could run in to, in case the wind came up. The cripple prop would not have been enough help to keep us out of the rocks if the wind did start to blow.
With all of those good things, the fog dropped in and we could see only a short distance. It was a strange feeling being out in the ocean and not being able to tell which direction was what. I knew that Homer was North by North-East. I also knew the tide was flowing North. There were a lot of rocky points and rocky islands between us and Homer harbor, and it wasn't a straight line. My partner and I conceiled our concerns so as not to scare the others on board. We both knew it was going to be a long day.
We were one of the lucky boats with radar and an elite GPS system. We heard several "MAY-DAYS" from boats that were lost in the fog. The Coast Guard was out trying to find boats all afternoon.
The GPS lead us through the dense fog, around the rocky points and right into the boat harbor. It took us all afternoon to make the 30 miles back to safety, but we did.
I guess the thing that bothers me most is the fact that bad things are out there submerged under the waves. Things that cannot be seen and things that can sink a boat in 5 minutes.I don't like not being in control of bad things. I know boats travel out there everyday, and make it back safely.It's a game of chance. Most of the time it's fine, but sometimes it's not.
The 39 degree water is as unforgiving as an ex wife.
I am suppose to be going back out in a few days. Between now and then I'll be doing a little soul-searching. I made it out twice. I wonder if I can do it again??
This last week a big charter boat sank out of Homer where we go fishing. Luckily another boat was close enough to pick up everyone. Saturday another large charter boat went down in the same area. Yesterday a charter boat went down out of Seward. The crew was picked up in time also.
Yesterday I went along on as a deck hand on the 27 feet Sea Sport that we almost rolled over in a big wave last week.When we reached our fishing grounds about 30 miles out of Homer, we were making a turn and hit something that was submerged.
We were in 140 feet of water. None of us saw what we hit, but it destroyed the large propeller, which caused a bad vibration in the main drive.We had a small 10 hp outboard kicker for trolling, but it wasn't much power to push a big boat.We did manage to catch our limits of halibut before heading back towards Homer.
The main engine could only run at about 5 miles per hour due to the vibration.The only thing in our favor was the tide was coming in, which help push the boat towards Homer. The bad thing was that we had two rocky points to get around before we had any bays that we could run in to, in case the wind came up. The cripple prop would not have been enough help to keep us out of the rocks if the wind did start to blow.
With all of those good things, the fog dropped in and we could see only a short distance. It was a strange feeling being out in the ocean and not being able to tell which direction was what. I knew that Homer was North by North-East. I also knew the tide was flowing North. There were a lot of rocky points and rocky islands between us and Homer harbor, and it wasn't a straight line. My partner and I conceiled our concerns so as not to scare the others on board. We both knew it was going to be a long day.
We were one of the lucky boats with radar and an elite GPS system. We heard several "MAY-DAYS" from boats that were lost in the fog. The Coast Guard was out trying to find boats all afternoon.
The GPS lead us through the dense fog, around the rocky points and right into the boat harbor. It took us all afternoon to make the 30 miles back to safety, but we did.
I guess the thing that bothers me most is the fact that bad things are out there submerged under the waves. Things that cannot be seen and things that can sink a boat in 5 minutes.I don't like not being in control of bad things. I know boats travel out there everyday, and make it back safely.It's a game of chance. Most of the time it's fine, but sometimes it's not.
The 39 degree water is as unforgiving as an ex wife.
I am suppose to be going back out in a few days. Between now and then I'll be doing a little soul-searching. I made it out twice. I wonder if I can do it again??
posted by Bubba at 11:16 PM
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