 My wife Marie and I were cruising down the Hudson River (New York), during September 1999 in our Aloha 34
Paramour on our way to the Bahamas for the winter. Unfortunately we had a rendezvous with Hurricane Floyd which blasted up the east coast of the U.S. at that same time.
We had motored down to the 79th Street Marina in New York City to get a mooring for a few nights but were turned away because of the strong winds predicted for the next day. Without the benefit of local knowledge
of a secure anchorage nearby, we elected to motor back up the Hudson River 22 miles to Croton on the Hudson just north of Tarry Town, where we had enjoyed a secure anchorage the past evening. I chose to anchor rather than take a marina slip because I was afraid of being trapped in a marina with surge or with high winds breaking boats away from nearby slips
and damaging our boat.
We anchored with our 45 lb CQR and 75 feet of chain in 10-12 ft of water over a soft bottom. (Three times the scope called for that depth with all-chain rode.) That very morning in the same location, before we went to New York, I had hauled up the anchor with mud and clay on the flukes, so I thought it was a secure bottom. I had a Fortress anchor on the bow but failed to use it as I was overconfident in the thought that the big CQR would hold in that type of bottom.
We stripped off the furled genoa, dodger windows, and bimini to reduce windage for the anticipated blow.
With the darkness came the wind It was predicted to reach 30-40 knots, gusting to 50. Along with the wind came torrential rainfall all night. We had water dripping in the cabin where we never had before. What an awesome experience. The boat pitching and rolling in 2-3 ft. waves all night long. It felt like being in a washing machine tumbling around with the damp clothing.
We tried to get some rest in the double berth in the main cabin. I popped my head out of the hatch to check our position throughout the night. Our position was hard to determine because the rain obscured the landmarks. I could see the light on shore and the anchor lights of the other boats in the anchorage. They all seemed to be in the same place.
With the light of dawn I could see that we had indeed dragged anchor and were close to the beach. Just after checking the depth sounder (7-9 ft.) we soon started to hit bottom in the troughs. We were now dragging backwards onto the beach. I had to act quickly before the rudder was damaged.
We started the engine to try and power off but quickly found that we had lost our steering. I had failed to tie off the wheel to prevent the rudder from violent movements overnight in the swells. Either the steering cable had broken or had come off the quadrant. I frantically secured the emergency tiller and had Marie power ahead into deeper water while I tried to bring the chain aboard with the manual windlass.
The bow was plunging underwater in the troughs. The chain kept slipping off the gypsy as I tried to crank it in. I kept losing ground whenever chain spilled out before I was able to jam it with the chain lock. All the while trying to keep all ten fingers on my
hand. I finally was able to let all the 200 ft. of chain out and cut the 30 ft. yellow poly rope securing the bitter end of the
chain. The howling wind and rough seas quickly spun the now free bow around and we were
immediately solidly aground. Paramour was now in about 4 ft. of water broadside to the beach and waves. There was no way I could have released the dinghy on the foredeck and secured the outboard motor to take an anchor to deeper water.
I radioed for help and the U.S. Coast Guard responded with a vessel on the way. It was at this time, as I poked my head out of the companionway, that the rollers smacking the boat broadside splashed the VHF radio just inside the hatch and it started to short
out. My handheld VHF also started to loose power just at this appropriate time. An anchored sailboat in the same harbour helped by relaying messages between us, the Coast Guard and Tow Boat U.S. While waiting for help I pumped the bilge and water didn't appear to return.
The Coast Guard was first on the scene about an hour later and indicated they were prepared to pull us off the beach. We accepted the tow and took a long rope from their bow to our windlass. The Coast Guard boat was off our transom and proceeded to pull us upright and astern. In the motion from moving us from laying on our starboard side to our port side I heard the ugliest tearing, cracking, crunching sounds coming from Paramour.
As soon as they pulled us into deeper water I saw that the carpet down below was floating. I got word to them by shouting from the bow (as both my radios were now down) that we were taking on water and we had no steerage. The Coast Guard vessel now tried to tow us as quickly as possible to a nearby marina with haulout facilities.
Meanwhile, Marie and I were frantically bailing down below. We both had large pails and the automatic bilge pump was working well. However the cockpit was filling with water as the debris from the cabin was now clogging the cockpit drains. The engine quit about now when the air intakes went below water level. With hand motions and yelling I told the Coast Guard that we were in trouble. They stopped and threw us a line that was attached to a portable pump. I pulled the pump to us but was unable to get it into the cockpit as it was half the size of a 45 gallon drum. The Coast Guard vessel came up to us and a crewman jumped aboard to help. Now the two of us were able to bring the pump aboard and open it up and get it going.
With this delay Paramour settled lower in the water.
The Coast Guard crewman was in the cockpit with the pump, along with Marie who was keeping the cockpit drains free. I was below keeping the hose strainer free of debris. It was clear that the pump couldn't keep up with the water inrush and Paramour settled further into the Hudson. The water down below was now up to my waist and waves now came over the transom.
It was time to abandon ship.
I climbed out of the cabin and headed toward the bow with Marie right with me and the Coast Guardsman following.
Now came the tricky part: climbing onto the Coast Guard vessel with the two boats smashing together in the 3-4 ft. chop. I hesitated out of fear of being squashed and missed an opportunity. I finally jumped aboard and Marie was right behind me. Marie hesitated and activated her inflatable life jacket and then jumped.
She didn't make it!
She fell into the water just short of the Coast Guard boat and was hanging on to the tow rope with one hand and to the deck of the Coast Guard boat with the other.
The Coast Guard vessel had no ladder or pole
and had a metal railing around the transom at waist height. Even with me and two other Coast Guard crew leaning over the rail, we couldn't reach Marie as she was just out of our grasp.
Paramour now started to drift off, so at least Marie wouldn't be crushed between the two boats. But what a fearful, frustrating thing. The metal railing in our stomachs was preventing us all from reaching her. Marie was waterlogged and tired from bailing and had no upper body strength to help herself out of the water. Finally she let go of the tow rope and thrust her left hand in the air and I grabbed her hand and a Coast Guardsman grabbed her sleeve. Now two of us had a piece of her, but we were going nowhere. We couldn't pull her aboard and she couldn't help herself. Her life jacket was giving her flotation, but also obscured her visibility.
The Coast Guard skipper left the wheelhouse and came down to help. With four of us pulling and heaving we got her aboard.
We now had to rescue the Coast Guard crewman on Paramour. He was still on the sinking boat, which was now about 30 feet astern, hanging onto the starboard shrouds. He jumped into the water and swam towards us. His mate threw him a line which he was able to grab and we pulled him to us. We now had the same problem with him that we had with Marie. We couldn't reach him while leaning over the stern rail. He had more upper body strength and pulled himself up a bit. We all grabbed a piece of him and yanked him aboard.
I then watched as Paramour settled below the Hudson stern first and saw the bow disappear below the water. She settled on the bottom in about 30 feet of water with the mast sticking out from the spreaders on up. I was stunned.
When the boat was subsequently hauled ashore, it became evident where the water had been coming in . When we had been pulled off the beach, the rudder was torn from the skeg and twisted at a 45 degree angle. This opened up the rudder shaft, allowing water to enter the boat. The starboard side that was pounding on the bottom had only a couple of layers of antifouling paint removed!
HARD LESSONS LEARNED
The boat was insured but not sufficiently on contents. Improvements we had made on the boat, such as a $7,000. osmosis repair, were NOT included in the hull value. Always use at least 2 anchors in any winds over 20
knots. Secure the wheel or tiller in violent motions while anchored. Perhaps look for a marina that would be protected from the predicted winds. Call for help before you end up on the beach.
INSURANCE DETAILS
We were whacked with a lot of deductibles in our claim.
Under normal conditions, with a total loss with this U.S. carrier, there is no
deductible. However, when the cause was a NAMED windstorm (hurricane Floyd), it was double the
deductible (from 2 to 4%, or $1,600.) We had a $40,000 (U.S.) hull coverage.
There was a 10% deductible on the dinghy and motor, representing another $280.
We only had $2,000 coverage on personal effects and contents. I don't know what I was thinking then; the computer was worth that alone. The coverage ought to have been 10 times the amount.
The surveyor at the site got three quotes to remove the wreck from the river. Two were for $30,000 and one was for $8,000. Guess which one he took? In any event, we were only covered for $5,000 liability insurance for that removal. We had to make up the remaining $3,000 difference plus 10% or $500.deductable on the liability. Another $3,500 off the hull value.
I'm telling every boater I know to check their policy for wreck removal. If the third estimate had been for $30,000, we would have had insurance coverage that left us with hardly anything.
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