Some People Just Don't Think

[Brian C.]

This is more of a rant than a rambling (and maybe a cautionary tale for some). So anyway, I have a 14' Beetlecat which, fot those who do not know, is a small wooden catboat. I moor her in a protected cove near my parent's house on a small 50 pound mooring. This mooring has always been sufficient for my litte Beetlecat and she has ridden out a few hurricanes and tropical storms on this mooring with no problems.

Due to my work schedule and other boat projects, I do not yet have my boat in the water. However, on Cape Cod if you do not drop your mooring in after the winter the harbor master will start calling you (because of the long waiting list for moorings they rightfully have a strict "use it or lose it" policy). Accordingly, my mooring went in mid-May. I should note at this point that my mooring is fairly close to shore and a rock jetty and, at low tide, is located in shallow water.

Anyway, I woke up on Saturday morning to see a 25' Grady White powerboat sitting on my mooring. I really did not care and just assumed that someone was visiting a neighbor for breakfast or something and decided to use my mooring rather than anchor (more on that later). Because I did not plan on putting my boat on its mooring that day I figured it was no big deal and the boat would be gone soon. The boat was still there at 5PM - I thought it odd but again did not get worked up as I had other things on my mind. That night, Cape Cod got fairly windy and at one point in the night, when I woke up and heard the strong breeze, I thought "I hope that boat is not still on my mooring." Sunday morning I woke up and immediately looked out at the water. Sure enough, the Grady White was still tied to my mooring, it was low tide and my mooring has dragged due to the wind and chop it created. The Grady White was bouncing off the bottom as it rode on the chop due to the shallow water and, as the wind shifted, the boat also bounced off the jetty. So, I contacted the harbor master and he spent about 2 hours trying to locate the owner of the boat. It turns out the boat belongs to a neighbor who just purchased the boat and claims to have thought that the moorings were either the property of the town or the subdivision. Then, believe it or not, he took another 3 hours or so to move his boat! I am not exaggerating when I say this boat was either hitting the bottom (lucky for him it is soft sand and mud) or the rock jetty every 10 seconds or so. Of course, despite having met me previously and now knowing I own the mooring, he has neither called me to apologize nor moved the mooring back into its proper location. Not that I really care (he probably would put it in the wrong location anyway), but you would think he might make contact and apologize for his mistake and maybe thank me for keeping an eye out for HIS boat! Believe me, if he had asked me (and assuming the mooring was sufficient for his boat, which it is not) to use my mooring until I needed it, I would have gladly allowed it.

So, there is actually a purpose to this long rant. This story is a good reminder for us all as we sail around this summer. When you pull into a new anchorage and see an empty mooring, as tempting as it may be to take the easy path of picking up that mooring rather than anchoring, beware. We have all been there. I am guilty of it too. However, remember, you have no idea what condition that mooring is in and whether or not it is sufficient for your boat. However, if you properly set your own anchor, you will know that you are safely anchored.

Happy sailing!

[xroyal]

Good point.

Stinkpot or not, the poor boat didn't deserve this pounding.

[Tim]

While comfortarbly riding to my own anchor, I frequently watch in amazement when cruising sailors--often in large, expensive boats--roll into a new anchorage and just grab the first mooring they see. Never mind the right or wrongness of doing that...but how does one know what is on the bottom for tackle, or whether the mooring has ever been maintained? The chain might be holding on with a lick and a prayer. People will trust their boats to a mooring as if there were some guarantee that all moorings were excellent and perfect. But that certainly isn't the case!

Frankly, the only reason that anchoring is a pain at all is because in so many places it's hard to find anchoring room amid all the plopped-in "destination" moorings which, at least in many remote Maine harbors, are unregulated and are growing in number in leaps and bounds. These are moorings often owned by weekend warriors, not by people who might live in the cove, and are there for these warriors' use whenever they arrive. Destination moorings are a pet peeve of mine, and I've written about this in the past. I won't bother to repeat it now. Suffice it to say that I believe waterfront landowners in remote coves have the priviledge to place moorings at will, but that's it. And I don't belive in over-regulation, either.

I think it'd be kind of fun, if I were lucky enough to live in a waterfront area, to put out a big, nice-looking mooring ball and chain...and then attach it to a couple cinder blocks on the bottom. Then I could sit back on my deck and watch the fun. Of course, these days, I'm sure I'd be sued for damages and mental anguish over such a thing. Wonderful world, this.

Stinkpot or not, the poor boat didn't deserve this pounding.

Sounds like it might have been the owner who deserved the pounding. The boat was just an innocent bystander.

[bcooke]

I think it'd be kind of fun, if I were lucky enough to live in a waterfront area...

A perfect evenings entertainment. Let them sue me, there is nothing left for them to take :-) Just make sure there is insufficient water under the mooring so in the event of a very calm evening they will at least be on the hard.

Personally, I know I have good ground tackle so I never pick up moorings unless they are offered to me. It is amazing to me that most boat owners will not (as it seems to me) even consider riding on their own anchor. Apparently it is terribly unsafe and only a mooring (just an anchor with a ball on the end mind you) is acceptable.

Maybe they are right and it is me that is crazy.

-Britton

[Figment]

ugh.

I'm just waiting for the day that this happens to my parents, who habitually pick up unknown moorings and tie their 36' sportfisherman FROM THE STERN CLEAT.

they'll deserve every ounce of whatever happens, of course, but I still dread having to pick up the pieces afterward.

[Tim]

...it is me that is crazy.

That one's too easy. You get a get out of jail free card today.

[bcooke]

You get a get out of jail free card today.

I feed you glorious mouthfuls and you refuse to bite... to what do you attribute your excessively generous nature today?! :-)

-Britton