VaVa'u - Emergency Haul Out

VaVa'u - Emergency Haul Out Catastrophy!

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This was one hell of an emergency haul out. With a broken propeller strut (P-strut) this was not what I expected or wanted. The only saving grace was that there was no damage done to Mouse Pad as bad as it looks.

It all started when I told Don, the yard owner, that Mouse Pad was bow heavy and that extra support should be put under the forward section. He failed to head my warning which the following photos show the results of not listening to the ships owner!

The first part of the process of a haul out on rails is to cradle the boat and support it from under water. A diver is used to go down and as the boat is slowly pulled up until she is sitting in her keel until all the additional supports are inserted. Supports take the form of pieces of wood and bits of tree trunk and stumps. In this instance the diver had to borrow my spare mask. I gave it to him as a gift later. As you can see, so-far, so-good!

Now for the disaster!

As you look through these photos you will see that there is almost no damage done to Mouse Pad in this incident. The first photo and a couple of others display how close to a major disaster it came! On closer examination there was less that an inch either side of the bow when it fell into the cable track header. I was on the boat in the cockpit and it was a slow and strange feeling when Mouse Pad knelt down. Friend who were on the dock were in more of a state than I was. I have always felt safe on Mouse Pad no matter what mother nature of some act of God is thrown at us. I must admit that a few minutes later I was a raving idiot! Wow what a relief it was when I found out that there was only a couple of scratches to the paint.

Here I am getting a better look at the damage derived from the drop or Mouse Pad kneeling down.

Here are a few more photos taken form a high on the road. It was a strange scene for a boat and an even stranger angel for her to be sitting at! You will have to look carefully to see the mast poking itself up through the grass and hills. An even closer look shows the strange angle she is sitting at.