Perhaps we should have followed the pack!
I posted this on Facebook yesterday afternoon and it garnered quite a response.
As we had lunch on shore today, we watched three boats come into the anchorage and pick up moorings instead of anchoring. Why? Why risk attaching your boat to a mooring of unknown quality and then pay for that privilege when it is not necessary? In contrast, we anchored in two different spots in this bay, with ground tackle that we can inspect and thus trust, and the bottom is perfect sand. Our anchor buried itself before we even really backed down on it. I just don’t get it.
The weird thing about this particular situation is that none of these vessels appear to be charter boats (although a forth boat, a charter cat, came in and picked up a mooring later in the day). As this link indicates, anchoring is not prohibited and the moorings are not free. The bottom is sand, 10-20 feet deep, and there is plenty of room. I am not judging but I find the situation puzzling.
Sadly, as it turns out, I guess we should have followed the pack. Mid way through the night we were awoken from a deep sleep by a shudder and an awful crunching sound. When we came out to inspect, we found that our boat had been driven onto some rocks. Apparently our anchor rode had snapped! Fortunately the damage occurred only in a water tight area of the bow. We’re now on a mooring trying to figure out what to do. 🙁
God you know what….Sorry guys! Don’t question your decision as moorings can snap too! Glad you guys are safe, I am sure shaken, but it could have been much worse. Stay strong!
Duct tape will hold for awhile!
Ouch that looks nasty but could have been much worse by the looks of things! Glad everyone is ok! Probably will need to haul the cat out and re-glass the hull, if you can get at that area from the inside at all it won’t be that bad, if not its a real pain to fix, but I’m no pro with fiberglass! Good luck!
I hit realized its April 1st…hope this is an April fools joke haha
Wow, guys, I am sooo sorry to hear that. Having the rode break or a shackle break when you’re either sleep or away from the boat is one of my big fears. Happy to hear no one was hurt… except the boat of course.
aprilfools…….thats not ZTC…!!..LOL
Ouch!!! Only one thing to do. Haul out and get it repaired now. Also hire a good surveyor as your boat is foam cored and the impact could have caused delamimation in areas far exceeding just the area of impact. Good luck.
!^%#$^%!$@^%$!!!! It took me a few glances to realize I was looking at a chunk of fiberglas missing and not a poorly painted on manta ray. I am soooo sorry for you two, what an awful thing to wake up to. I hope you can get things sorted quickly and please tell us if there is any way we can help you!
You two hang in there! Thankfully not worse and all things can be fixed. It just sucks right now but hang in there and you will get it sorted out. Be Safe A**2
It will buff out! Happy April Fools day! Feel free to edit this out, but too bad you couldn’t have figured a way to make the blog upside down. That seems to be the big hit today.
So where did you move to? The island behind the cat doesn’t appear to be the same one in yesterday’ picture of the Quill.
Seriously hope is A well rehearsed April’s fools joke by a couple with lots of spare time in their hands with very good photo editing software.. Were is the aspirin startin to feel something creeping up to my scalp ugh, LOL. Best wishes ZTC!
If it’s not an April fools joke possibly I should fly down and fix
It for you !!! I work cheap ( think Rum )
Good job getting Rocky back onto the roller with a snapped rode.
Well damn! So sorry. Thinking of you guys and glad it’s not worse.
Not bad, not bad Photoshop at all. Happy April Fool’s Day.
WOW-WEE-OUCH. Glad you are ok…….
Where’s my calender…..
That’s a mighty big weave in the fiberglass cloth that makes up your hull. : )
Got me. I actually sent an email to the wife with the link. Damn.
That is an awfully large glass weave on that boat 🙂
We too hope this is an April Fools joke. If not, let us know if we can help. K&D
Hi Mike
If you are looking for somewhere to get the damage repaired, at St. Kitts Marine Works they have people who repair fiberglass as they build catamarans there. The haul out is inexpensive and immediate. They are located right under Brimstone Fortress on the northwest corner of St. Kitts. The person to talk to is Bruce 869-662-7515. Also, you can check in at Sandy Ground two miles away. Sorry to hear about your bad luck.
Why did your rode snap? Why no anchor alarm? Sounds fishy to me….
If I didn’t pull my own AFJ I would have been feeling really bad for you… have a terrific day!
Nice photoshop! Happy April Fools!!
Agreed — it’s not ZTC — AND my “that’s a photoshop” alarm bell is ringing…..
Mike??
Our first night in St Thomas Virgin Islands and we set our anchor, backed down ,went to town in light winds. All is good. Walking back with our friends who also are on a sailboat, he points out his boat and??? Shit, ours is gone!!!! Turns out it had dragged and was now across the anchorage with many boats and people around it. We backed down hard and thought all was good. When we came back to our boat and took over from the fellow boaters who had taken and secured her and called the coastguard and did I mention Sea Tow was on scene? I lifted the anchor and found 75 to 100 feet of old rotton rode wound around the anchor. We must have hooked it when we first set our anchor the first time. Just the luck of the draw. We did hit another boat and just a bent stanchion. A $50.00 repair to them. Now I sit gun shy in 25 knot winds.
That looks like the result of an impact from another boat or the sharp end of a dock rather than rocks.. there’s no scraping. Is this an April Fool’s joke?
I hope it is… but you sure had my stomach turning.
Great news, Finally we will not have to read endless posts about hiking around some dumb island, nor partying with your friends, or exercising on your tramoline.
Now maybe we’ll get some good posts about fiberglassing, sanding, spending money. etc. Have a great April 1st day.
Soooo. If the ground tackle was so easy to inspect, why didn’t you? Snorkeling is a much easier way to inspect a mooring ball!
I don’t see any night travel on the spot tracker. The damage looks photo shopped. In the photo, your boat appears further offshore than in the tracker? Satelite photos show some rocks on the bay, but it looks fairly flat shorline. Where is the keel damage on the float?
Ouch that really sucks..
Mike
Really sorry to hear about your grounding……..hope the damage is superficial and you can sail onto another island who can do a professional repair on ZTC