FROM THE HELM

By Mike Benjamin, SV Exodus, President SDSA

LESSONS LEARNED

The past few months I’ve enjoyed poking fun at hosting guests and at boat repairs and normally, I prefer to keep things light.  However, this month my wife Ronna and I are writing about two events that happened to us just last month in the hope that others can learn and hopefully avoid these disasters.  If you have a story that others can learn from, I encourage you to share.  At the end of this article, I’ll tell you how.

A Broken Mooring (Mike)  

While cruising the BVI we decided to treat ourselves to a high-end resort marina. The facility just reopened and was beautiful. Moreover, they recently installed about a dozen brand new moorings. It was blowing about 15-18 knots, but the mooring field was well protected, so we grabbed the mooring designated to us by the resort, having reserved on Dockwa, and tied off.  The mooring lines were all bright white and new, the ball was shiny, and the splices and thimble looked good. From all appearances we were secure. I then went swimming and, as I usually do when possible if water clarity and depth allow, I dove the mooring.  Again, all was shiny and new right down to the bottom. However, I did notice just the slightest amount of chafe on the line just above the ball. Not enough to worry about except if you are compulsive (guilty), so I added a backup safety line through the ball-top shackle.

At about 18:00, we dinghied around the corner with another couple who were moored next to us and enjoyed a delicious dinner at the resort. We returned to the boat around 20:00 and went to bed a few hours later. It was now blowing a steady 18-20 and we were rocking.  Although it is not my normal practice on a mooring, I set my iPhone anchor alarm and went to sleep.

At about 00:30 the alarm went off.  Surely the wind had died, and I must have drifted in the opposite direction outside the alarm zone. I was on a brand-new mooring that I had inspected, this must be a false positive.  In my sleepy state I just enlarged the zone (mistake #1) and laid back down. A few minutes later the alarm went off again. Now concerned, I went upstairs to the cockpit to check things out. Of course it was a moonless pitch-black night. Groggily I looked at the mooring field and thought the other anchor lights did seem a bit further away than they should be. While trying to orient myself I shone a flashlight around, but not behind me (mistake #2). I then studied our track on the anchor alarm and realized that we were definitely moving! I immediately started the engine and turned on all the instruments. I yelled for Ronna to wake up and join me with flashlights and marriage savers. As she entered the cockpit, now with instruments and the engine on, I shone my flashlight over the stern. I just can’t describe how horrifying it was to see rocks and a cliff face just a few feet off the stern. And then, a second later before I could react, the boat shuddered as it hit bottom.  In the next split second I saw the mooring ball next to us, realized that we had drifted across the bay and that the mooring pendent, my original line and my safety lines were all under the boat.  Risking a tangled prop, I shouted to Ronna at the helm, “Gun It!”  She immediately accelerated the boat, which at that point was fortunately pointed away from the rocks.  In the next few seconds, as we put distance between us and the cliff, I prayed that the lines wouldn’t wrap around the prop leaving us powerless and likely sideways on the rocks, maybe losing the boat.  Thankfully, there was no fouling and when we were out about 100 yards Ronna put the boat in neutral and I went up to the bow to retrieve our original line and the safety lines.  As I did so, I watched that shiny new Ball float away with the white new pendent still attached to the top.

We paused to catch our breath and to decide on our next steps.  The boat was maneuverable and there were no apparent leaks into the bilge.  We probably should have just dropped an anchor behind the mooring field but at that point we just wanted to leave the area.  In the pitch dark it is not so easy to reposition, especially when the anchorages are all full.  We motored for about an hour and found a spot far from anyone and anchored. The next day I dove to check the damage. To my dismay one of our two rudders was cracked in half with the bottom missing and there were several dings on the bottom of the keel. With one intact rudder the boat was maneuverable, and we were on our way to find a repair facility. Many thousands of dollars later, we are repaired and have resumed our travels.

I write this as a cautionary lesson. Although the story could certainly have been far worse, if the break occurred during dinner and out of our sight, or if I had not put on my anchor alarm, or if the mooring lines wrapped around the prop, in hindsight I believe I could have avoided the damage and there are lessons we can all learn:

1. Moorings are no guaranty of safety. Although new, my mooring had clearly not been put to the test and either ripped out of the bottom or broke somewhere below the waterline.
2. Unlike anchors, moorings don’t drag, they break free instantly.
3. You are probably always better off on your own ground tackle.
4. Always set an anchor alarm on anchor or on a mooring. Certainly, do so if its blowing hard.  There are several good ones for mobile devices that don’t require Wi-Fi.
5. ONCE SET, DON’T IGNORE YOUR ANCHOR ALARM...EVER.
6. Look behind you.
7. If conditions are rough, leave your instruments on all night so you will have instant situational awareness, no matter how groggy you are.

Ciguatera (Ronna)

“There is Trigger Fish on the menu,” I told my friends.  “Don’t order that. We see Trigger Fish while snorkeling and they are too pretty to eat.  Besides, you shouldn’t eat reef fish.  Reef fish may have Ciguatera, which believe me is bad.”  That was the warning I gave my friends as we sat perusing the extensive menu at a beautiful USVI resort.  This was their farewell dinner.

My point here is that I knew better!  Since we started cruising full time in 2017, I had heard about Ciguatera.  I knew it was in some reef fish and that it caused “neurological” issues, though I had no idea what that meant (unfortunately, I do now).

When the waiter came to take our order, I ordered the lamb.  While everyone else was placing their orders, I watched as a few servers came to the adjacent table and delivered at least three gorgeous whole fish to other guests.  The fish looked amazing, deep fried, crispy and delicious. 

“Just a minute! Hold on!” I said to our server. “What is that?”  I pointed to dishes being served at the next table.

“That’s the Red Hind. It’s fabulous.”

“I want that! Please change my order.”

I did not think before I changed my order.  I did not ask if Red Hind was a reef fish.  It looked fabulous, we were at a luxury resort, and I simply turned my brain off while gluttony took over. 

And that changed my life, because my fish had the Ciguatera toxin.  Within 12 hours, I was sick with what I thought was a 24-hour stomach bug.  I could only get out of bed to use the toilet.  Our friends left that day, and I could not even get out of bed to say goodbye. 

By evening, I thought I was getting better.  I was worn out, for sure, but the stomach symptoms were abating.  We did not cancel our next guests who were coming the following day.  Mike and I were able to provision, do laundry, and get the boat ready, though I was dragging. 

By evening, I was starting to feel very odd.  I was itchy all over my body, from the bottoms of my feet to my head, with no visible rash or bumps or bites.  I went in for a swim, and my arm muscles hurt after a stroke or two.  A short walk made my leg muscles ache.  When I put an ice cube in my glass or held a cold soda, my hands felt like they were burning. My tongue and mouth felt numb. I was exhausted.  I called the GW doctors (luckily, we had continued this fabulous medical service) and I also put a call into my PC.  Initially, they were both stumped. The GW docs put me on antihistamines and told me to keep well hydrated. Every day they followed up. Was I getting better? I was not. These bizarre symptoms can indicate many awful things, and they wanted to get to the bottom of it.  

On day three, one of the GW docs emailed me and asked if I had eaten any reef fish lately, and everything clicked.  Stomach issues, followed by these neurological issues, are classic symptoms of Ciguatera poisoning. I googled Red Hind, and sure enough it is a reef fish in the Grouper family.  When I got back to Boston (to wait out the above rudder repairs), I had blood work done to rule out just about everything else, and my PCP concurred with the diagnosis of Ciguatera poisoning. 

Unfortunately, there was nothing to do but wait it out. No alcohol. Constant antihistamines. 

At the time of this writing, it has been over a month since I ate that Red Hind.  I'm slightly better.  I think I am a little less tired, a little less itchy, a little bit less sensitive to cold, but I have not made any significant improvement.  I have read and heard from others who have had this (or who have friends that have had it) that symptoms can last many weeks or even months.   I live on non-drowsy antihistamines every four hours during the day, and Benadryl at night.  If I am late with the meds, I start to feel itchy and tingly, especially in my fingertips.  I do not yet feel like my old self.

I know this will get better.  I don’t know when, and the uncertainty is unsettling. 

Eel, Grouper, Tilefish, Snapper and other popular fish are reef fish.  If you do not know what the fish is, Google it.  It does not matter where you are - whether you have caught this fish yourself, or you are in a five-star restaurant. Right now, the Virgin Islands (British and US) are hot spots for Ciguatera and there is no test to figure out whether a fish has the toxin.  There is no way to cook out the toxin from the fish.  The fish may look and taste delicious. Stay away.  Please, be smarter than I was. 

Cruising comes with inherent risks.  Try as we may to avoid disaster, if you do this long enough, eventually it may find you.  Keep learning.

There is a new Group in the SDSA App called, “Salty Lessons” for posts only.  I encourage you to share your cautionary tales so the rest of us can benefit from your experience.