"Mayday, Mayday"

You hope never to hear a "Mayday" call on the radio. And then, yesterday, I did. Just a normal, sunny afternoon in Simpson Lagoon, St Martin. A voice comes on the VHF, "Mayday, Mayday. Sailboat is disabled near the French bridge and about to go aground." Several boats responded immediately with questions, but the caller was off the air. Probably trying to save his boat. Music is moored about 1/2 mile from the canal entrance to the bridge, so I hopped in the dinghy to go see if I could be of any help. First question, was he inside the lagoon or outside. As I approached the canal, I did not see anyone obviously in trouble, so I headed through the bridge to Marigot Bay. As I exited the canal, I saw a sailboat off to the left  towards the beach bobbing heavily in the waves that build as the water shoals. The good news was the cavalry had already arrived. The boat was surrounded by 4-5 dinghies, including a larger RIB with a good size outboard. A tow line was already in place. As I came alongside, I realized I know the boat and owners. It was "Mary Anne 2", John and Julia. Evidently, they were early for the bridge opening to enter the lagoon. Backing down, he had run over the wire security cable that had come loose from his dinghy. It wrapped on his propeller shaft, disabling the engine.  They have sailed nearly 60,000 miles, and this is the first time this has happened.

The good news is that the team quickly got "Mary Anne" towed into deeper water and properly anchored. I hung around and helped John as he dove to remove the cable from the shaft with bolt cutters. Luckily, there was no damage to the propeller or shaft when he tested the engine. Sharing a beer as he and Julia let the adrenaline dissipate, John commented that he had called on Channel 16 first and got no real help. He then switched to Channel 10, the cruisers general hailing frequency, and got help immediately.

All's well that ends well. And another story to tell.