On the Hip

Our propeller was sill vibrating in a most unsettling manner when we moved the boat to Nalunega so we decided to move the boat under sail to shallower waters of the Lemmon Cays rather than risking motoring until we could diagnose the issue.  The trip to Lemmon Cays was a short 10 nautical mile hop and relatively uneventful until we started to enter the narrow reef-lined channel into the bay.  Kees and Mart had kindly agreed to tow us ‘on the hip’ (alongside) through the channel until we could drop anchor.  

The winds were relatively high and our maneuverability was limited by our lack of motor and our proximity to a rather daunting reef.  Under these circumstances,  Kees brought the big Pjotter alongside  with great skill as though it were a calm day on the IJsselmeer.  Unfortunately, as we tied up one of the fenders was too high and as the boats met there was an awful scraping sound. Ugh! Once we were safely anchored we investigated the damage and discovered a large and deep scrape in the immaculate hull of the big Pjotter.  Seb and I felt absolutely terrible to have been the cause of such a rent and Kees and Mart were incredibly kind in downplaying the damage.  Thank you! 

Once again Kees, Mike and Seb set about analyzing the propeller, took it off again (underwater of course), realigned it slightly and since then it has worked like a charm.   Difficult to express the relief and gratitude that we felt once again.