I called my sister last night for an update on her location. She and her husband had boarded a 60-foot Ocean Yachts sportfish in Massapequa, New York, with plans to run from Long Island’s south shore up to Newport, Rhode Island. The boat is owned by a couple they cruise with frequently. The four friends have made the trip to Newport a couple of times in the past and were looking forward to a lively ocean run and then a few nights at a great summer destination. But things didn’t come together as they’d planned.
They were about 30 miles east of their departure point, cruising at a slow speed in some fog, when the boat came to a grinding halt. A sandbar brought the big Ocean to a standstill. While the hit didn’t have the teeth to damage the fiberglass hull or propulsion, the impact drove the passengers out of their seats and the refrigerator in the galley straight out of its wood cabinet and onto the salon floor.
“We’re all okay,” she assured me. “And the boat is in good shape too. We got lucky. All we really lost were a dozen eggs that flew out of the refrigerator.”
And then she shared the rescue portion of the story. How her alarmed crew was so grateful for the assistance of another crew on a passing boat, who offered to help pull the 60 off the sandbar. But the Ocean was too big, so they called Sea Tow. A response vessel was on site in 30 minutes. The other boat hovered nearby until the Ocean and its occupants were safely under tow.
My sister was disappointed about not getting to Newport, but the experience was interesting for her. She and her husband have been cruising on their own 50-footer for some time, but they’ve never been rescued before. And while she knows this rescue was tame, it was an emergency situation that taught everyone onboard new lessons.
The opportunity to learn: Is that the reason rescue stories captivate boaters? I know rescue content resonates with Soundings readers because these stories always rank highest in the editorial we produce for our print issues and digital platforms. Our staff is fascinated by them too. We always look for the regular dispatches sent to our emails by the U.S. Coast Guard. They document the kind of white-knuckle scenarios no one ever wants to experience on the water but should prepare for anyway.
Our colleague Lydia Mullan at sister publication Sail learned about preparation and lessons the hard way last June, when she entered her first Newport to Bermuda race. She joined the crew aboard a J/122 to bolster her offshore-racing resume and get a good story in the process. But she quickly went from reporter to participant in a harrowing rescue when the J/122 collided with submerged debris and then began sinking. If you haven’t read her page-turner of a tale yet, check it out at sailmagazine.com, or listen to the podcast Lydia did with Power & Motoryacht’s Editor-in-Chief, Dan
Harding.
Those are some of the rescue accounts that have caught my ear and imagination recently. But like you, I’m always keen to hear another good sea story. Have you had a rescue experience that you want to share with Soundings and its readers? If so, I hope you’ll drop us a line, because one way to learn how to be better at boating is through the lessons learned by other people who love the water too.
This article was originally published in the October 2024 issue.
