Roque Island setback

Well, if roadside blueberries weren’t enough excitement, we found some more. This morning we awoke and were sails-up and underway by 6:50am so we could catch extremely favorable wind and tide conditions for the first big jump DownEast toward Roque Island.

About three miles out from Frenchboro we caught a lobster float and line. They stopped us in our tracks and we had a hard time even spotting the line. It was on a toggle below the surface, impossible to see. But it was at just the right depth to catch Cupcake. We cut the line and carried on sailing. But as the wind died a bit I had a feeling all was not well. I started the motor and put the engine in gear just long enough to hear the sickening thump thump of a float and line wrapped around the propellor shaft.

We had a quick discussion and decided the prudent move would be to turn around a head back to harbor to deal with the problem. So we sailed back into the tide and wind (which got very gusty as we approached Frenchboro) and dropped anchor back where we started the day. I’m very proud of the crew for excellent short tacking in challenging conditions (dodging shallows, more lobster floats, and an anchored sailboat that was right in the way).

I made a call to SeaTow (that’s AAA for boats) to find out if they provide diving services. They do not. So that means I need to don my wetsuit and mask and get into the 54 degree water so I can get under the boat with a knife and clear the snarled line and float from the propellor shaft.

My language skills are insufficient to describe how much I do not want to do it. The sky is overcast, the air temperature is cool, the wind is gusty, and my mood is low.