Two novice boaters, Gary and Jim,
bought an old Morgan 41 sailboat in the St. Petersburg area and ended up
stranded at the Wiggins Pass fuel dock for several days in January.
This was their first sailing
experience and in many respects their first boating excursion. Putting into
various harbors each night on the trek south to Marathon, they came into
Wiggins Pass to avoid the strong winds which had greeted us all. Seeking safe
harbor, they had no idea that our water depths were so unfriendly to vessels
other than pontoon boats and the adventurous. Their vessel, Anjalaca, draws
50-inches, a rarity in our channel for most of a normal day.
After spending a few days repairing various
components on board, they were set to launch with an escort of Angel and
Pegasus on the bump tide of a Sunday. But that was not to happen as their
starter motor quit. They diligently replaced the solenoid, thinking that was
the problem, but to no avail. After trying other options, they got the full
Good Samaritan treatment from members of Flotilla 96.
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| Anjalaca braves the Pass behind Pegasus |
Phill Smith acted as babysitter, advisor,
confessor, chauffeur and research assistant. Emily Harris contributed an old Cruising
Guide to the Florida Keys. Ned
Herrmann and Michael DiPierro rebuilt their starter motor Tuesday afternoon. By
Wednesday morning, January 18, they were ready to brave the channel on the bump
tide at 1015 hours.
With Dr. Phill and Mike DiPierro on Pegasus,
the sailboat was rigged in a pre-emptive stern tow arrangement and motored out
of the channel. Reaching the cross channel at the north-south crossing, she
began to scrape ground, but with full throttle and Pegasus pulling, she
breached the shoal and made it to the S-turn.
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| Breaking tow, Phill Smith in the foreground on Pegasus. |
Carefully navigating the remainder
of the channel to the Alpha marker, she met up with a sailing buddy waiting for
her outside the channel and they headed south to their next stop, likely Marco
Island, on their way to the Keys.
As we broke the tow, they
expressed their sincere thanks to all the folks who helped them over the past
few days and said how remarkably welcome they felt in a strange place. A good reason to “Pay It Forward.” Story and photos by Michael DiPierro
