It’s been an eventful month. Immediately after the last post the weather turned foul and the boat had to be moved from the bay a couple of times. On the last trip we took Watanga into Poole Harbour for a couple of days, dropping in at the marina to fill up with water in preparation for our September trip.
We were nearly back on the mooring when everything went wild. Alarms going off, instruments went haywire. We immediately shut down the engine and switched off the batteries, finding 2 small fires in the process. Fortunately they were very small and could literally be blown out.
Dead in the water and being pushed by wind and a metre swell toward the beach we had to act quickly. Drop the anchor was the first thought. but with no power I would need the spanner to loosen the windlass clutch, but I didn’t know where it was. Sails of course were an option, but time to raise them and with the conditions it was iffy whether there was enough room.
Getting some help seemed the way to go at this point. With that done we could then try to resolve this ourselves and if someone turns up, all well and good.
Friends Andrew and Hilary had just gone by in their motor boat so I gave them a call. They arrived so quickly that all thoughts of anchoring or sailing went out of the window, and within a couple minute we were being towed to our mooring.
Lesson learnt
Not being able to drop the anchor immediately, was a minor panic moment, and the answer to that is that the spanner for the windlass will now be kept m a prominent position, ready for any future emergency.
With unknown amounts of damage to the electrical system the season was declared over and the boat is now out of the water.
Getting her to the boatyard is another story.
4 Kidneys and a Wonky Leg 