SV Sine Timore: Nautical disaster

Paradise Fishing Lodge, El Salvador

That was really ugly! Probably the worst lack of judgement that I have had in recent memory. This is what happens when Susanne is not around to keep me from making idiot decisions.

Today was moving day, when I was going to take the boat up the estuary to its more permanent home at Paradise Fishing Lodge. Because of the tidal nature of the estuary, the best time to do this is at high slack. Because of the direction that the boat was docked at Bahia. If I went too early, I would have to back up against the current, something that I knew would not go well in this boat.

This morning, the high tide at Libertad (the closest tide station) was at 10 AM. By 10:30, it sure looked pretty good around the boat, with the water barely moving. I had enlisted the help of Ron from Dawn Trader to accompany me onboard, and several guys were there to help with the lines on the dock. A bit of wind, from directly astern, had come up and was a bit of a concern, but I still felt it was doable. I was wrong!

Unbelievably still intact

Things went bad very quickly. As soon as we got backed out of the slip a couple of feet, the wind swung the stern over hard to port and the bit of current that was still running forced us onto a collision course with the sailing vessel Heavy Metal, which we plowed into rather hard. At this point it was suggested that I give up and go back to the slip, but with the current trying to push us sideways, this did not appear to me to be an option. I continued to motor backwards, scrapping along the side of Heavy Metal, using our solar panel as a fender, until our stern got past theirs. when the wind and current now forced us backwards onto the end of their dock.

Still progressing backwards, we scrapped by the end of the dock and found ourselves pinned sideways onto the front of the Marina's big catamaran. One of their very pointy bows met with our solid rail, just aft of the solar panel, which took up the strain by putting a nice bend in it. By some miracle, our bow actually started swinging out against the wind and current at that point, and I was finally able to motor away from our predicament.

Needless to say, the trip up the estuary and docking at Paradise was somewhat anticlimactic after that. I gave Ron a ride back to Bahia in the dinghy and was able to inspect the damage done to the boats and docks. Basically everything there looks unscathed. It helped that Heavy Metal is an unpainted aluminum hull which appears pretty much indestructible.

Once I was back onboard Sine Timore, I was able to better assess the damage. A few nasty scrapes in the wooden rub-rail (I guess that's what it's for) and a sadly bent stainless steel rail. A bit of a ding in the gallows support as well.

Using techniques I have perfected from years of driving and repairing beater cars, I was able to patch together a rail-straightening rig, using a handy cement post beside the stern of the boat. It may not be perfect now, but I think it came out pretty good, all considered.