Ever Had One Like This? There Are Rules.

44. Ever Had One Like This? There Are Rules.

I timed my exit from the shoreside restaurant and the hot college girl I had just banged, to coincide with the next bridge opening. Getting out of the small, shallow dock was tricky, however. My boat draws 5 feet and my depth guage showed 4 feet, 10 inches of water beneath me. Using my mooring lines, my diesel motor and some help from a few men onshore helping to push, I was able to slowly back out and continue my journey.

It was mid-afternoon now. Only a few hours of daylight left to make some headway and find my next anchorage or marina. I forged ahead making reasonably good time. Then I had to traverse a series of four bridges in a 5 mile span. They all went smoothly. Two of those were “call ahead” for open on demand, one was on a schedule (which I timed correctly) and one was tall enough for my 60 foot high mast. Beyond those bridges, the Waterway was clear for the next day or so.

I studied my charts searching for a marina or a suitable anchorage. There didn’t appear to be any marinas reachable before dusk. I did find a large bight with 4 to 8 foot depths shown on the charts about an hour away. I headed toward it at full speed.

Bights are where the shoreline curves inward forming a bay. They are found in oceans, rivers and lakes. Bights are usually rather shallow or have rocks or other obstructions on the bottom. Thus, they are clearly marked on nautical charts. The one I was headed for showed depths of 4 to 8 feet. I need 5 feet. Dicey, at best, but is was my best alternative.

Approaching the bight, I saw 4 other boats on anchor, a good sign, but only 1 other sailboat with a deeper keel, however. I tried to radio the anchored boats on the VHF radio for depth information but nobody responded. I guess nobody “had their ears on” as we say. I slowly entered the bight at idle speed, keeping one eye glued to the depth guage. Once I was safely out of the “ditch”, I quickly dropped hook and set the anchor. I was in 6.5 feet of water. In such shallow water it didn’t take much scope to prevent dragging.

After I was convinced my boat was going to stay put, I shut down the motor and poured my dram. I surveyed my neighbors through the binoculars. All boats were occupied. Two power boats had people visible on the aft deck enjoying cocktails. I dropped the dinghy, threw my scotch bottle in my backpack and headed out to make new friends.

The first boat, a rather large cabin cruiser, had two people enjoying cocktails on the aft deck. They looked like rather fuddy duddy, old farts. Not likely to party. I waved and shouted greetings as I passed by. The other boat showing people was a much newer, albeit smaller boat, maybe 30-35 feet.