Tow, tow, tow your boat...

First Grounding - Deltaville, Virginia, just outside of Dozier's Regatta Point Yachting Center. I’d better let the Captain tell you about this.

Wayne: Well, as the saying goes, it is not if, but rather when, you will go aground. After all of the difficult areas we have been in, I certainly did not expect to go aground in the middle of a well-marked channel, going to a marina with a lot of other sailboats (usually a good sign of adequate depth). As usual, I had even checked with the marina before entering, but they didn’t warn us and we got stuck in four feet of water in a boat with a five foot draft.

Fortunately, the bottom is mud, so there was no damage to the boat. Our boat has a modified full keel with great protection for the rudder and propeller. We also have unlimited towing service with BoatUS. Several years of membership fees quickly paid for themselves as BoatUS arrived in less than thirty minutes and pulled us out. After getting us free, he towed us through another shallow area and pulled us out again through that. He said this channel was a major problem. I am disappointed that the marina was not better informed (it is a very large major marina in the area), and I spoke with them about the problem when we finally got in.

Now I have to figure out how we are going to leave without getting stuck again. We will leave at high tide to get an extra eight inches of depth (we were at about mid-tide coming in), and talk to more locals, who usually know the best route through the channel.