Slow Boat

Where we stayed:  Calabash Creek, South Carolina (right on the North Carolina border)

Sunday.  All day, we cruised past Myrtle Beach housing developments. We were looking forward to our planned anchorage, at Calabash Creek.  "Peaceful . . . scenic view of marshes . . . " said the guidebook. "Short dinghy ride to great seafood restaurants."

The site called for two anchors: The honkin' big plow anchor, off the bow, and our petite Danforth, off the stern.  Cap heaved the Danforth over, we ran the boat forward to set the anchor, the current tugged us backwards, and almost too quick for thought the anchor line wrapped around the prop.

There we were.  Up a creek.  Dead in the water.

Less than an hour of daylight.

And why is it we happen to have a grappling hook on board? Ah, that's ANOTHER story

Before we left on this trip, we DID pay big bucks for the boat equivalent of AAA:  Towing service.  When you wrap a rope around the prop, you can ask them to send a diver, in a wetsuit, to come and solve the problem.

What is it?  The whole Man Against Nature/conquest thing? The thrill of slipping over the side of the boat at dusk with a knife in your teeth? The premise that, if you call a repairman, and the repairman solves your problem, he gits to take yer woman? Whatever, it's a guy thing.

Bill was determined to fix this himself. He stripped to his skivvies, went over the side literally with a knife in his teeth, into the 50-degree water, and submerged. Crew hovered anxiously w 911 on speed dial.

The happy news is Cap got the rope off the prop--AND he didn't succumb to hypothermia. (Though it seemed like a close one to his personal paramedic).

We did lose our little anchor, so next day, we set out in the dingy with a grappling hook to drag the bottom.  Not very easy to cover the ground in a neat grid when you are rowing a dinghy with a sliding seat and 13-foot-long oars against wind, tide and current.  Luckily, a new anchor is $69.99. Cost of a brave Captain? Priceless.