Boats Aground

Tropical Storm Andrea came through Oriental. She seemed to enjoy herself, but she left a little chaos in her wake. I drove by the river this morning. It was full of white caps and churning water.

Later at the Oriental Harbor, the strong winds had blown the water out of the creeks and marina, leaving a mucky sludge. The oysters did not appreciate being revealed.

But worst of all, a couple of boats at anchor in the harbor found themselves aground when the water dropped. You can spot a grounded boat easily because her mast will lean drunkenly to one side. See the two? The boat on the right is white; the one in the center of the photo is a large, red steel-hulled boat.

In this photo you can see the white boat is leaning over more than it was earlier. (The red boat is leaning toward us.) It snapped its two anchor lines and the owner had to go drop a new anchor. But it had already run around while it was anchorless. We smelled diesel fuel spilling somehow. This kind of weather is to be expected down here, and a boat run aground is not too horrible; when the water rises, it will float again. The only real concern here is having the anchor lines snap. Nobody wants a boat like a loose cannon, tossed about in a storm. But thankfully, no harm was done here.

From this angle you can see how far the boat is leaning. Good time to scrub the keel! The wind was already dying down and we all hope the water will be blown back into the river and the creeks tonight.

The red boat just on the other side of the white boat is also grounded. The owners are French and live aboard, so I do hope their boat is righted soon. It was just in shallower water and found the bottom when the water lowered. These are our exciting doings here in Oriental when the weather takes a turn!