Brain Switched Off

Appletree Bay, Vt
No LL

This morning we woke to find dense fog at Valcour Island. That provides motivation for sleeping in late and taking lots of time with our morning coffee. Finally, around 10 o'clock, we were ready to go. We started hauling up the anchor. Uh Oh. It was stuck.

I used our super powerful windlass in low gear, suitable for pulling stumps. It didn't help. A man on another sailboat leaving shook his head. He shouted over, "I can see your stern sticking up in the air. Your anchor must be stuck. There's a rock there. It is a very dangerous place for anchors." Double Uh Oh.

I started using the engine to move Tarwathie forward and back, hoping to break the anchor loose. No effect. I was about to try harder when a man and woman approached in a dinghy. They were Quebecers but their English was passable. The man said, "Don't bother. I have a mask and snorkel and I can dive down to free it." Wow! I thought, how nice of him. He prepared to dive but before jumping in he eyed our anchor buoy.

You see, we sometimes attach a line to a hole in the front end of the anchor, and attach that line to a little buoy. It helps to mark where our anchor is, which helps others to avoid anchoring too close to us. It also helps to trip the anchor should it become stuck on the bottom. That's why they call it a trip line. WAIT! What was wrong with my head. The first thing to try was to pull on the trip line. The man in the dinghy realized it sooner than I did. I guess my mind was just not in gear.

To make a long story short, the helpful man gave one slight tug on the trip line and the anchor pulled free immediately. Duh. Thank you kind sir for saving my from my stupidity.