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More Personal Experiences

 

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Throughout my site I complain about the Chief Petty Officer in Boothbay Harbor. He really did destroy what could have been a wonderful experience. Actually it was even with his being there but there was no need of giving anyone papers saying they were in charge and then telling them every single simple little thing that they could do.

 

The biggest problem was his determining whether or not it was safe to get on or off the island. He really had no idea while sitting at his desk in Boothbay Harbor. He might have fog up in the harbor or we might have fog and he could be clear but he always made the judgment, regardless of whether or not he had any criteria to base this judgment on.

 

One day in February it backfired on him, the coxswain, and even the assistant keeper on the island. I know I had often said no landings and the chief had overridden this decision.

 

We arrived at the island in the early afternoon with a brisk NW wind blowing. I took one look at the damaged boat slip and told the coxswain that conditions were not favorable to land. The coxswain had previously called the assistant keeper, who told the coxswain things are fine so myself, my wife, and were loaded into the peapod and we went to shore. We hit the boat slip quite hard but the assistant keeper hooked the long cable to the peapod and we pulled it up just far enough to let my wife and I out.

 

The assistant keeper was to take the boat back out because “he had more experience” in boat than I.

 

I  went out to the logistics boat and loaded in a months supply of our groceries and a few things we had picked up for him and his wife while he waited on the slip to hook the cable up when I returned.

 

All went well, I landed the boat, but with the tide so low the propeller on the outboard hit the rocks and had to be turned off. He got the hook in the ring in the bow and held the boat just like we always did but the winch cable was stretched out more than usual and formed an arc. When the slack was removed from the cable by the winch the hook, because of a faulty clip jumped out of the ring in the bow of the boat.

 

The following wave made it impossible to hold the boat. I tried to get out to help but before I did it drove one of the old iron rods that had held the old rain in place, pushing it through the side of the boat up near the bow. He went to get the hook but the next wave rolled the boat over in the surf dumping all of the groceries and me into the water. He jumped in the water with me and we began to salvage any groceries that we could. The plastic wrapped bread was floating and somehow was soaking up water and soda, canned goods, and everything were scattered all over the shore in about 2- 4 feet of water.

 

My wife, who had been up on the slip ran down a couple steps and over some ice to try to help. She, who was over 7 months pregnant at the time, fell on her butt and from where I was it was like her belly went one way and her but the other but she managed to get through it and wasn’t hurt. I was watching that while I was tossing the groceries up on the rocks. I don’t think I have to mention how cold the Maine waters are in the middle of February.

 

The water was so cold we just threw everything we could find in the weed, rocks, and water up on shore and somehow pushed the boat off, after getting it off the steel rod, and got it on the ramp and hooked back up to the winch.

 

The combination of the faulty hook and the damaged boat slip are the real causes for the misadventure but the landing should not have been attempted in that sort of weather. My decision had been correct in that I didn’t advise it and I think for a while some guys on the boat actually realized that I was more competent that what they chief was telling them.

 

The coast guard would not reimburse us for the loss even though it was against my decision. I believe this is why I had such a hard time with being responsible for everything and having zero authority in actuality. This would be one of many of my decisions that would be overridden while living on the island.