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#12
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![]() "Wayne.B" wrote in message ... Chuck's discussion about flares has reminded me of a little incident we encountered Sunday evening while approaching Block Island, Rhode Island from the south east. For those who don't know, the south end of BI has very high cliffs rising almost vertically from the open Atlantic. At the base of the bluffs extending out for several hundred feet into the water is a boulder field left over from thousands of years of wave erosion to the shore line. It is a very scenic location but not very hospitable to boats drifting with no power. We were coming in from the east after a late afternoon run from Marthas Vineyard. There were patches of fog and haze and visibility was less than a mile. As we approached Block Island I could see a 20 something center console close to the cliffs and boulder field, apparently fishing the tide rips. When we got closer however the boat started waving a red flag and it became apparent they were trying to get our attention. I turned toward them and got close enough to talk. They were without power of any kind, no radio, and no cell service because of the high shoreline behind them. Within minutes they would be in the boulder field and surf line, five people onboard including a couple of kids. I backed in as close as I dared and they were able to throw us a line which Mrs B caught on the first try. We towed them away from the cliffs and I headed west towards the harbor entrance at 5 kts while alerting USCG of the situation. I was hoping they could meet us prior to the inlet and take the boat inside since I have no insurance for towing, nor training or experience with that sort of thing. USCG and SeaTow proceeded to get into a half hour discussion about who should do the job, meanwhile it was now 7:00PM and getting foggier. USCG finally decided they would take over the tow from us and we met a mile south of the inlet. Mission accomplished on our part. There are at least several morals to the story. One is that the value of visual distress signals should not be underestimated, even if it is only a red flag. Even if they had a working radio, the close proximity of the cliffs would probably have made it ineffective to the north just as happened with their cell phone. There were few, if any, boats to the south that day except us. Another point is the value of a second engine, even if it is only a ten horse kicker. If we had not happened along when we did, they would almost certainly have broken up in the boulder field and surf. It's easy to imagine the result of that. Even if they had been able to get to the beach alive and uninjured, there's a high probability of spending the night there with no one aware of their situation. Be careful out there. And where was the anchor? |
#13
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On Wed, 01 Aug 2007 04:44:57 GMT, "Calif Bill"
wrote: And where was the anchor? Absolutely right, should have been the first thing they did. |
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