Running Aground

Running Aground

A frequently heard axiom of sailing is that there are basically two kinds of sailors: those who have not run aground; and those who have……  This is sure true for me. 

Snickerdoodle has run aground twice over the past twenty six plus years at Lake Pend Oreille.  The first time was the stoves fault.  The second time might have been my fault…… 

The first time, Kathy and I were headed to Button Hook Cove at the west end of Idelwild Bay.  We were coming up on the Farragut State Park public launch.  It was mid-April and a Wednesday.  I asked Kathy if she would perk a pot of coffee.  The stove was the Princess pressure alcohol stove that came with the boat from Catalina.  Those stoves have a bad reputation for flare ups: and the stove did so that morning.  Kathy had about a three-foot high flame that threatened to melt the curtain rods.  So, I volunteered to make the coffee if Kathy would steer the boat.  I was about to “fire up” the stove when I suddenly found myself on the v-berth.  There is a sand-bar reef a couple hundred meters east of the public launch.  And, Snickerdoodle’s keel found it… stopping our ~5 knot speed through the water very quickly.

The other time that Snickerdoodle ran aground was when I was sailing with my niece, Anne Marie.  We decided to take a break and have lunch at Lakeview.  Again, it was spring time.  As we headed very slowly toward the old dock at Lakeview, the keel touched down in the sandy bottom.  We were going so slowly that I didn’t even feel the boat stop.  The motor continued to run, but we weren’t getting any closer to the dock.

In both cases, nothing was damaged - - except perhaps for pride. 

Regardless, these two incidents have reinforced the idea that a skipper must be prepared for such events with knowledge and the right equipment.

First of all, a skipper must know what NOT to do.  Reed’s Nautical Companion has some pretty good advice.  “Unless you are absolutely sure that it is a small shoal with deeper water ahead, do not apply power and try to push your way across the shoal.  You will only drive yourself harder aground.  Do not immediately shift into reverse and increase power in an attempt to back off – you might suck up mud and bottom vegetation into the engine water intake… AND you might damage the propeller.”

Ask several questions… Is there water coming into the boat?  Where exactly are you?  How did you get there?  Where might you find deeper (safer) water?  Is there a tide?  Rising or falling?  I was sailing with my brother Bob on his Friendship Sloop near Ketchikan Alaska one day when we hit a well-known (to both of us) rocky reef.  Fortunately, the tide was rising and we floated off in a couple minutes.

When Snickerdoodle ran aground near the Farragut public launch, we did put the engine in reverse to no avail.  It was only after I used the boat’s whisker pole as a push-pole (remember Mike Fink, king of the river, in the Davy Crocket shows?) that we were able to back off the sand bar.  I thought to myself after we were free and on our way again, “Boy, I’m sure glad that it’s Wednesday in April.  No one will have seen us aground.”  It was only then that I noticed a busload of elderly folks up on the ridge with binoculars and video cameras…  So much for not being seen.

When Snickerdoodle ran aground softly at Lakeview, it was easy to put the engine in reverse and back away into deeper water.

Even if you think that you’ll be able to get off the shoal or reef safely, this may be a good time for a “Security, Security, Security” broadcast on your VHF marine band radio.  This broadcast will alert other boaters that you have a situation that you are dealing with; where you are; what you think your actions will be, etc.

If you are really stuck though, what are additional things to try?  One thing to try on a sailboat is to try heeling the boat over to one side or the other.  Heeling the boat will decrease the pressure on the keel and perhaps the boat will become “unstuck”.  I’ve seen pictures of sailboats using a weight on the end of the boom; and the boom swung out to one side of the boat to pull up the keel.  Or, you could take the anchor out to the side of the boat and use a halyard secured to the anchor rode to heel the boat.

If heeling the boat isn’t enough, you might have to kedge off.  This is most effectively done if you have a dinghy.  With the dinghy, you can transport the anchor some distance away from the boat (deeper water) and drop the anchor.  Use one of the primary winches and winch yourself and the boat into the deeper water.  Often, you will kedge off stern first.  You might want to rig a bridle from the stern mooring cleats so that you can keep the kedging line centered over the transom.  If kedging off isn’t working, think of the gear on the boat that might be loaded into the dinghy and allow the boat to ride higher in the water.

Remember that if you’ve hit a rocky shoal or reef to make sure that the boat has not been holed.  Take some time and thoroughly inspect the boat’s interior – making sure that there isn’t any water coming in.  This procedure should include pulling up the floorboards to inspect the bilge and the keel bolts.

If the boat won’t come loose with kedging, you might have to call for assistance.  Remember that the skipper of the boat that comes to assist may expect to be rewarded.  If the boat that came to assist cannot pull you free, it still might be able to create a wake that will float you free.

Once free from the shoal or reef, inspect EVERYTHING!!!  There may be damage to the keel, keel bolts, engine, hull, rudder, etc.

Hopefully, your running aground adventures will be easily resolved like mine have.  But, just in case, think about and have a plan.