Bad Luck Boating

Nothing is worse then breaking down on the water when you have big plans for the day. Last week a 47’ Grand Banks went out for a day cruise from Tacoma to Seattle. They had their boat serviced earlier in the month and everything checked out. With no problems in the foreseeable future they set out for a nice time on the sound. Of course, that’s all of our expectations as we leave the dock.
The 47’ Grand Banks stopped off at the fuel dock to make sure they had plenty of gas to make their round trip. After fueling up, the Captain attempted to start the engine; however instead they heard the worst noise to hear at the beginning of your cruise… click, click, click. Their batteries were dead. After realizing they had left their jump pack in their garage, they contacted Vessel Assist for a jumpstart. The BoatU.S. dispatch center relayed the call to the Vessel Assist Tower out of Tacoma, who successfully was able to jumpstart the boat. The 47’ Grand Banks was back on the water and headed north.
After approximately an hour later, the BoatU.S. dispatcher that initially assisted the owner of the Grand Banks received another call from the mariner. With a huff and a puff, they requested assistance again. This time they ran across a floating dock rope in the water and fouled their prop. Thinking their day was ruined, they expected the slow tow back to Tacoma, arriving to port with their heads down and ego’s deflated. Luckily, the Vessel Assist Tower was able to do a dive to avoid the long tow back and un-foul the prop. The Grand Banks was once again underway!
After enjoying dinner in Seattle, they Captain and passengers decided after such a hectic day they better get back to Tacoma and set out again with expectations of a smooth journey. Shortly after these false hopes filled their hearts, they were once again dead in the water. Their boat was overheating with no sign or reason for the problem. Once again contacting Vessel Assist, they requested assistance. The Vessel Assist Tower got their boat under tow and tucked them away into their slip in Tacoma.
The dispatcher who assisted the boat and saw them thru their rough journey received a call from the BoatU.S. Member about a week later. They thanked her for the rapid assistance and her sympathetic tone. They stated they returned to their boat the next day to investigate the overheating problem; however the boat started fine. To test it, they ran it to Seattle and back and guess what….. not one problem. Sometimes you can blame nothing when it comes to boating except bad luck.