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South Coast Seacraft
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"Reluctant" gets a slip (and nearly a tornado)
Reluctant is my 1974 22ft South Coast. I say mine, while my father bought the boat, and owns the boat, he has graciously let me keep it "for the family." Although my fiancée Donna, my brother Greg and I are the only ones that use her; the whole family lives the experience vicariously (I love to tell tall tales, and this boat has provided many!). Two years ago I spent the winter with her parked in the street in front of my house in Atlanta, Ga. and worked, a "refit", which included hours of loves labor and $800.00 worth of materials. I learned much about her condition in the process, finding what I can (and cannot) repair or refurbish in 6 short months. In the previous three years, I had spent nearly a week each year on three different adventures, with much anxiety as well a pleasure. This boat was new to me and I was unsure how to treat her (and how she would treat me); but the trips left me with vivid memories of sunsets and sailing. I stayed on the boat in the following waters: St.Andrews Bay (Panama City, Fla.), Destin Harbor (Destin, Fla.), and the Brickhill River on the inland side of Cumberland Island (St.Mary's, Ga.). I lived large on these trips, and only twice had trouble visit nearby; but I digress . . . back to recent, more clearly remembered events. Last year I kept the boat on it's trailer in a marina at Lake Lanier, just north of Atlanta. The dry-dock was 50 ft from the launching ramp and it’s dock, in a quiet cove with just enough wind to take you out, a calm start . I loved the relaxed beginning and end of each sail, although the trailering was work, the boat always seemed safe and happy on land under the towering pines. This year the lease came up and a slip was available. Given the only constant is change, we (my brother and I) split the expenses and now she floats, bobbing and rocking, in a windward slip. The docking lines took 10 hours to secure and more than $100 of supplies: shackels, thimbles, snubbers, lines, spring lines, and fenders. All this and she rocks in her little slip, with her bow and forecastle sticking out beyond the short dock, above the open water. This being The year of rain and storm, I had reservations about a new windward slip, none of consequence, and we had great fun on her first voyage to her new slip. We tied up in haste with lines and fenders we had on board, that evening in the dark, looking her over repeatedly, feeling the lines would hold in a storm. We went home with great bravado, proud to have a boat ready in the water. That week a tornado hit the next county, with an estimated 132 million dollars in insured damage to homes and neighborhoods, just 20 miles from the boat. Many trees were down and power was out with little hope of returning within the next few days. I got a call at work from the dockmaster advising "you might want to come look at her TODAY, she's listing pretty badly" and "we've had winds over 40 mph". I had a new sense of urgency to my current plans for dock lines as my father and I arrived at the dock. The Sailboat was fine, although filled with water. It seems my brother and I, after our last sail, had left a film canister plugged into the cockpit drain, which keeps water from splashing up "the porthole" when we sail. The rain and storm had filled the cockpit as well as the boat, up to the cushions, and she wallowed in the water. It was fast work bailing her out AND NOW. . .the Reluctant has over 10 docking lines, three snubbers, four fenders and she floats, well secured, in water that is mostly, calm as a duck pond! regards Ray Swords
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