# spearing trip from hell



## reefcreature (Oct 3, 2007)

got to navy point ramp shortly before 7am Saturday. put the boat in the water and let it warm up while Tom(Hayworthfloors.com) and a friend of his Brandon to arrive. they got there a short time later and we got the boat loaded and off we went. we really didn't have any spots we were going to because we wanted to see what the seas were like. once out of the pass the seas were a little rougher than we wanted but was still do-able and decided to stay closer to shore.

first stop was paradise hole. Tom has never dove there and i have shot some nice size snapper there before. once on site brandon was hooked up on a snapper before we even got the anchor set. brandon was along for fishing not diving which was fine by me. the bottom finder was lit up with fish so we geared up and down we go. vis was not to good at top and even worse on bottom around 4 foot if that. after a few minutes we decided to surface empty handed. my bottom time was 15 minutes, max depth of 105

with the seas still rough we decided to hit the Meek liberty ship. we were the only boat on site when we got there. set the anchor suited up and down we go. vis on bottom was far better than the first dive around 25ish i would say. but the fish were all under except for a few that would not let you get close enough. after a 30 minute bottom time up i go, did the safety stop and seen Tom had already got in the boat. when i got in theboat we noticed a nasty looking storm coming in fairly quick. 

now this is where things start turning against us because neither tom nor i removed the anchor from the wreck that it was hung in. after a few minutes of trying to play it out of its hang up we forced it out with the boat. by this time the storm was getting closer and the waves were gettin much bigger. oh yea we are in my 20' pursuit. heading back to the pass was a bit more intimidating because it was lightning some and the seas were getting rougher. keep in mind we are loaded down with dive gear, a large cooler full of ice and drinks about 40-50 gallons of fuel and fish that Brandon caught made my old boat very sluggish but still very manageable.

making headway to the pass and just under a 1/2 mile from shore everything is doing good when all of a sudden there is bang and the motor revs up real high. i throw it in neutral and the motor idles fine. put it back in gear, nothing. the prop is not spinning in either direction. now we are in deep do-do.Tom throws the anchor in while i call tow boat us. the anchor will not set and we aredrifting towards shore at a fairly good pace. i grab the stern anchor and throw it off the front but it is too small to do any good. only good thing was the anchors were keeping the bow pointed into the waves. i call the coast guard to inform them of our predictiment. by now we have entered the surf zone with 4 foot waves crashing on us and in moments we were on the beach.we jump out trying to keep the bow pointed into the waves but were not able too due to the rough surf.

we are all fine but maybe my pride is hurt a little. my boat did fine saturday sitting on the beach as we were trying to get it off but the waves were keeping from letting us do it. i called my wife to come get me while i tie the boat down and remove the electronics and gear for its stay overnight on the beach. got a boat lined up and bought 300 feet of rope to help get it off the beach the next morning at high tide. but it wasn't meant to be. i'll let the pics tell the rest. i did manage to get it home sunday night about 10:30 thanks to my step kids and there friends


















sunday morning and afternoon


----------



## no woryz (Oct 2, 2007)

Wendell, I am sorry for your trouble but I am glad everyone made it out okay....It could have endedalot worse than it did....I will call you tomorrow to fill you in on the details about the GB hwy mission and saturdays request for the unit by the SO.....

Clint


----------



## mpmorr (Oct 3, 2007)

Thank God you guys made it back, that is all that really matters.Like the saying goes "any landing you can walk away from is a good landing" God bless you guys and he was most definitely watching over you, could have been real bad.


----------



## Jhoe (May 4, 2009)

Glad to hear you got your boat, and most importantly yourself back, ok and safe. If the trip from hell ends up with all being well and a good story, just be glad someone is looking out for you. you'll definitely be laughing about this horrible experience in a couple years


----------



## Orion45 (Jun 26, 2008)

Glad you guys are all OK. What happened to the prop? Did you hit the sandbar and spin the hub?


----------



## Corpsman (Oct 3, 2007)

That really bites. How are you going to retrieve your boat? I dont know about towboat us, but seatow does not cover "hard aground" I'm really sorry that happened to you guys. Glad everyone is safe.


----------



## tigerbait (Oct 1, 2007)

Thank goodness everyone is OK. It does sound like you spun the hub.


----------



## MSViking (Oct 11, 2007)

Man o man, what a story!! Reality is if you boat long enough these things will happen. sounds like you played it correctly. So I can't tell from the pics, how did story end with boat?



MScontender


----------



## Brandy (Sep 28, 2007)

Glad all are ok.


----------



## reefcreature (Oct 3, 2007)

i did get the boat home late sunday night. once i got it off the beach, towboat us towed it back in to macs marina where they have a fork lift to lifted it out of the water so it could drain.

i didn't hit a sandbar but broke the drive shaft going to the foot(at least that what is sounds like). i have been boating most of my 47 years and this is the first time i have had any serious problems so i guess that isn't too bad. i knew i should have stayed in bed with the wife


----------



## HateCheese (Oct 2, 2007)

Glad everyone is ok, and sorry about the boat. Hopefully it won't be something expensive...


----------



## Telum Pisces (Sep 27, 2007)

Dang man. Glad everyone is ok.


----------



## reefcreature (Oct 3, 2007)

gonna have to rewire all the electrical as far as i can tell right now the hard part is getting all the sand out of the bilge causing a bad list to portfound all my boat parts but the livewell hatch. luckly the motor didn't go under.


----------



## diverdwn (Nov 13, 2007)

be careful when you open the gear case fill on the foot- I had a drive shaft break once on an old evinrude ficht; when we cracked the screw it literally blew oil 20 feet from the pressure. glad to hear everybody is ok.


----------



## Orion45 (Jun 26, 2008)

> *reefcreature (8/12/2009)*gonna have to rewire all the electrical as far as i can tell right now the hard part is getting all the sand out of the bilge causing a bad list to portfound all my boat parts but the livewell hatch. luckly the motor didn't go under.


Sorry about the broken shaft. That was going to be my second guess ... but a very remote possibility.

As far as removing the sand, you'll have to wet vac/ scoop out as much as possible thru any access hatches and/or deck platesyou have available. Once you clear as much sand as possible, you should the be able to flush must of it out by elevating the bow as much as possible while the boat is on the trailer. Make sure that the boat is tied down securely so that is does not slide off. Check your anchor gear stowage compartment in the bow. The compartment should have a small drain which leads directly into the bilge, if it does, you'll be able to run water into it and flush the sand aft where you can then wet vac it outand let it drain out thru the transom drain. Personally, I wouldcuta small round access hole in the compartment and then install a deck plate with a srew in cover. This can be easily done since thecompartment is normally thin molded fiberglass. This will allow you to use a couple of water hoses to create alarger volume of water necessary to flush the sand towards the rear of the boat. It's going to take a lot of water. Also, it would help if you could raise the bow of the boat as high as possible using the bow eye or the trailer tongue. This however, is assuming that you have the necessary supports andlifting gear to accomplish the task safely. PM me if you have any questions.


----------



## angus_cow_doctor (Apr 13, 2009)

Wow.. And I thought I had seen some bad breakdowns on my boat. Yours is definitely worse. Were the anchors you were trying to use wreck anchors or Danforth style? I don't understand why they did not hold, especially in that shallow of water.

I keep an extra anchor at all times on my boat just so I have options, as well as some extra anchor line. I locked up a lower unit in panama city pass one time, and was getting REAL worried. Anchor held ok, but had to get towed back to the marina.


----------



## reefcreature (Oct 3, 2007)

what bugs me most is my pirate flag is gone! got in Belize when i was down there. guess i gotta go back:letsdrink


----------



## spb65 (Mar 15, 2008)

Glad you made it back safe. One way to look at it is you have a storey from hell to tell for decades to come.


----------



## reefcreature (Oct 3, 2007)

yea, that will be one story to tell for a while. and i hope the only one to tell as well.

there is one person i want to thank for helping. but for the life of me i don't remember his name. he is from bayside towing, he got permission from fort pickens rangers to drive his 4x4 out on the beach where we were able to hook a chain to the rear and winch it around to face the waves. doing this stop the waves and sand from crashing into the boat allowing us to remove water and as much sand as possible before being towed back. if were not for him i probably would have lost the boat. so i owe him bigtime.:bowdown


----------



## spear em (Oct 4, 2007)

i want to dive and shoot fish off of that boat. glad u got her home. i will be your wing man any day.

:bowdown


----------



## reefcreature (Oct 3, 2007)

spear em, you are welcome anytime but you will probably have to wait till next year or sooner hopefully. depends when i can get itgoing again.

Wendell


----------



## floater1 (Oct 31, 2007)

mike told me all about it sorry we didn't get your phone call in time but that was one hell of a storm next time we are out together we need to get together and run the same vhf channel anytime you wanna go let mike know and we will set it up i go all the time


----------

