Jamie

Finally the rain had stopped. The boat should be dry by now from the rain getting in the mast at the partners and the fixed ports and all other places unseen. The ports that had been removed and covered with white plastic trash bags and duct tape and the ones not yet removed yet were leaking as well. It was time to replace those ports but the weather had not cooperated last weekend. After emptying the bilge it was found with three inches in it later during the week. Luckily while cleaning the bilge the float switch wires were bumped and pulled and the negative broke free its splice to the pump wires, quite easily I might add. It was repaired and seemed to really power the pump afterwards. Better to break something and fix it then to have it give up its life when no one is around, especially a float switch in the bilge.

The boat was gladly back on it’s mooring with the Rickenbacker Bridge and ever growing Miami skyline gracing its sunsets. A relief after having been pinned down
on the north side at the end of pier B. The north, northwest winds kept the starboard spring and stern lines tight and even though she warned me not to try to pull out on such a windy and rainy night I had to make the attempt.

After having inspected the mooring lines ensuring they were free I headed back to the boat in the confidence it was possible to get it out of there single-handedly.
So I let go the lazy lines, studied the working lines and eased one or the other to see how
the boat reacted in the slip. The wind on the starboard quarter immediately tried to push the boat down to the piling and the bow towards the next boat over. I waited for the wind to give me a break, quickly released both lines and started to ease her out.
It didn’t take but a second or two for me to be pinned against the piling and my bow nearly scraping the next boat over. I gave it some power to ease out a littler further only to have the stern pivot around the piling and to find my self with a power boats anchor platform just above my toe rail in-between my stations, it’s anchor scraping on my side. I told Pam to wait below as she had no rain coat and in the cold she wouldn’t be able to do much good. In spite of my efforts at the wheel to exert some control over the situation I was helpless. And I knew what Pam was hearing down below as any sound against the hull is greatly amplified to anyone inside, creaking, groaning and scraping and lots of it.
On the inside it sounds as if the boat is taking a beating.