Fouled Propeller And Risky Decisions.

Our MOB got stuck on the rudder while we were practicing MOB under sails. Pickup didn’t go as expected, and we accidentally went over the MOB.
This event just goes to show you how careful you need to be when doing MOB, and that is exactly why we practice. And it is exactly why I LOVE IT when things go “wrong” when we practice because it’s a beautiful invitation to learn something new.
We weren’t sure if the prop was wrapped or not, so we decided not to use the engines at all.
We need to find shelter, drop anchor, or grab a mooring ball. We tacked our way up to Sandy Cay in BVI. The other option for anchorage was closer but in a more confined area where we didn’t want to risk an unsuccessful mooring ball approach or anchor.
We found our close reach angle to the mooring ball. Speed control by furling headsail and easing main. While the first tack towards the mooring ball unexpected strong current (look at the way the propeller spins after we grabbed the line out) pulled us downwind, so we continued to sail to the other tack with the sails we had.
We grabbed the ball, spilled the main all the way (we kept the main up because we couldn’t bring it back up as the line was holding on for dear life).
Smart we didn’t use the engines because we weren’t sure if we wrapped the propeller or just the rudder, freeing it was easy even though the current was surprisingly super strong I couldn’t outswim it as you can see that's why the leeway was so bad.
I used to panic over situations like this and sometimes didn’t stop to think about what is the safest way to do something, almost cost me my life once. Take this piece of wisdom from me, if no life or boat life at risk, take a moment to really think the course of action, breathe, brief, and then act.
#sailing #mob #fouledpropeller #safety #oranTeach #sailingvirgins #protip #practice #sandycay #bvi