It Takes A Village........

......To Have A Real Adventure!

Truth be told, an “adventure” is just a near disaster mitigated by the skill of our crew,  the kindness of strangers, and  the passage of time (not to mention a few  cocktails). And a true “adventure” rarely has a single root cause. No, it takes a village of smaller problems to add up to the full blown ”adventure.”

And such was our visit to Sheboygan……

As we journeyed southward from our overnight stop in Kewanee, we received a confirmation email on our reservation at the Harbor Center Marina in Sheboygan. In it they informed us that their usual “big-boat” dock was out of commission due to winter damage, , and we would be moored on the wall at the “South River Pier.”  Ok, we thought, we’ve been “on the wall” in marinas before without incident.

As we entered the Sheboygan breakwater we learned that the “South River Pier” was actually a mile from the marina on the Sheboygan River and involved a very low, duck-crap-coated, spider-infested  fixed dock along a seawall promenade, accessed by two staircases about 100 yards apart.   Jack the dock hand met us, helped with our lines, and  then worked to try to tidy up the dock (using hose and nozzle we loaned him) as there were four other boats (a club group from Kenosha) right behind us looking to join us on the South River Pier

It was then we learned that the marina facilities were a 30-minute walk or a 15-minute dinghy ride away. And that we had power and water service and access to a public restroom in a nearby park, but no other marina amenities. Jack gave Kathleen a ride to the marina office for our check-in, where she pointed out the lack of access to the pool, laundry, secure restrooms, WIFI, etc. and negotiated a discounted rate for moorage.

Ok, so not an ideal situation but we decided we would make it work. And for the first couple of days, that’s what we did.  We walked the river promenade, socialized lightly with  folks on the promenade, found a beach for Admiral Maggie, explored the downtown area, and made some dinner reservations. We even walked to the marina to pick up a package that we had shipped there.

But then the weather began to deteriorate. Slowly, at first. The wind rose a bit, some rain fell,  the wind blew some more. We adjusted our fenders and spent a  rocking  second night as the SE wind blew some waves up the river channel.

On the third day, our dock neighbors from Kenosha all left,   giving us the opportunity to shift our mooring 50 yards or so upriver and closer to a staircase.    We decided to make this move manually, with the two of us managing three lines from the dock and “walking”  the boat along. And all went well for the first 20 feet or so.  Then the wind decided to howl, pushing the boat away from the dock and we were fighting to keep a grip on the lines.

 It reached the point that Wade had to drop the stern line to avoid being pulled in the water. Fortunately, Kathleen managed to cleat off the bow line to the dock. In the process, we dropped  the midship line in the water. ( And did we mention that it was now raining, too?)  Irish Lass was now tied to the dock by a single bow line in a 20+ kts of wind-driven rain. Oh, ####

We recruited help from a passing homeless guy (yes, really) and from the captain of a NOAA survey vessel also moored on the wall. The former helped us get a second bow line cleated to the dock, while the latter provided a step ladder that allowed Wade to climb over the bow rail and to make his way to the helm to start the engines. The plan was to power the boat to a better position along the “South River Pier.”   And the rain and wind continued.

Remember the midship line we left hanging? Well,  as soon as Wade began maneuvering the boat, it wrapped around the starboard propeller, stopping the engine. And as he turned the boat with the port engine and the bow thruster, it did the same to the port propeller. Fortunately, the bot had enough momentum that he was able to bring it back to the dock using the thruster, where Kathleen and our brave  volunteers managed to secure bow and stern lines. Thank you dear God! And Whew!

Now we needed a diver. OMG!

We left a message for a nearby drive shop and Wade went to hang out of their porch until they opened in an hour. He also reached out to Sue, the AGLCA Harbor Host for Sheboygan. Kathleen called the marina, who said they might know somebody. And about an hour later, we got a call from Saint Al the Diver, who offered to come right down and clear the rope tangled in our props. After 45 minutes and a small fee, He had a tangled mess of chewed up dock line on the dock,  cleared and tested propulsion, and a smiling photo of Saint Al the Diver and his helper. Amen.

St Al The Diver and son

 

Remains of brand new 35' dockline

Sue the Harbor Host offered to take Kathleen on a grocery run and a few other errands while Wade squared thew boat away. She and husband Rick have just finished their four-year  Great Loop voyage  aboard Fire Escape earlier this summer. To us they became like angels walking the earth.

And this was all before lunch. Sheesh.

But  then the weather got even worse. Sustained winds reached 30 kts with gusts to 35.   Rain squalls blew in and out. And, we learned, the Corps of Engineers has a portion of Sheboygan’s south breakwater under demolition, leaving a gap that allowed SE winds to push 3–5-foot waves up the river channel past (you guessed it) “South River Pier”. By 3:00, waves were breaking over the dock and Irish Lass was  bucking so hard her fenders would not stay in the water. We were worried the boat would wind up on the dock or we might get caught between boat and dock. It was frightening (and unsafe).

About that time,  Harbor Host (and angel) Rick from Fire Escape came by and said he had arranged a slip for us at the little Sheboygan Yacht Club. Thank you, dear God! Of course, we said “Yes!.”    It was a bit dicey maneuvering Irish Lass in the wind and waves to this new location and into the designated slip, but Rick and Sue met us with two volunteer dock hands and made us secure. The wind was still howling but we were now had a stone and concrete breakwater between us and the waves. Amen! And,  as we watched, the final two boats from “South River Pier” (including the NOAA vessel, forced their way on the marina’s sheltered fuel pier,  over the marina’s protests. So, everyone was now safe.  Amen!

View from our safe slip at the Sheboygan Yacht Club

View from Maggie's Beach in 30 kts wind

And to top it all off, Rick and Sue offered to buy us dinner. Not wanting to leave Admiral Maggie aboard during the storm, we countered with an offer of dinner aboard.  We settled on them finding and us funding an authentic Sheboygan Bratwurst Feast, which the four of us shared aboard. Single and double brats with mustard and pickles and  onion rings, French fries, and fried cheese curds on the side. It was a wonderful evening for all (except perhaps our cardiologists), and we enjoyed  quiet night’s sleep.

Angels and Harbor Hosts Rick and Sue from Fire Escape

Two days later, with the storm’s fury abated, It was clearly time to end this “adventure.”  We bid a fond “So Long, and Thanks for all the Brats” to Sheboygan (and “So Long, and thanks for Nothing” to Harbor Center Marina)  and continued our journey southward toward The Rivers.

More to come!

Thanks for following us

Wade and Kathleen Griffith and fur-Admiral Maggie

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