The rest of the Go Vacations #9 story:

As I posted in the earlier, this takes place in the late 80's when the First Mate (ONLY mate, as she always reminds me!) were working as a Moorings crew on a Morgan 60 schooner.

2 days later we were on a mooring at the Bitter End. We had picked up a mooring closer to Kilbride's in order to get some breeze coming through the cut between Saba Rock and Bitter End on this calm evening. The first mate preparing for dinner and our charter guests were enjoying boat drinks, watching the sunset behind Mosquito Island. As I was getting the BBQ going, I noticed a boat come motoring up the Sound. A little late for anyone be arriving, I thought to myself...wait, could it be?

Yes, it's Go Vacations #9!

They motor around a bit, finally deciding to pick up the mooring directly in front of us. But that one didn't have a
pennant attached. It probably had been removed by the BE staff since the mooring was out of position and fairly
close to ours. But the crew somehow manage to get a line tied to the mooring ball, and GoVac #9 settles back,
with its stern a boat length ahead our bow.

I should have said something right then, but as the breeze was light and steady I didn't think it'd be a problem.
Plus I didn't want to add to their stress levels given the misadventures described earlier in this thread. After dinner,
drinks and pleasant conversation our charter guests and us retired early, having spent the the day beating up to
North Sound from Marina Cay, and enjoying the amenities at the Bitter End.

Sometime after midnight, I hear a strange noise... it's not loud, but I get up to check things out, and mostly to see
where GoVac #9 is sitting. Coming on deck, I'm shocked to see their boat has slid back about 25'.

The stern and cockpit of GoVac #9 are *underneath* Flying Ginny's bowsprit!

The breeze is light, and boats are not pitching, so no need to panic...but something has to be done.
I grab their backstay and push it away from our sprit (that was the noise). Well, I guess I gotta get them up.

Now, the Morgan 60 schooner has a 5' or so bowsprit and platform. Standing on the end of our sprit,
I'm 10' above the water but right over GoVac's cockpit. I'm looking directly at the companionway hatch
and down into their darkened main cabin.

"Ahoy, Go Vacations #9!, anybody up?". No response. The crew is fast asleep, of course.
Again: "Ahoy GoVac #9!". After a bit I see the face of a young women appear in their companionway.

She rubs the sleep out of her eyes. She sees me. She screams.

"Eeeeek! Harry! Harry get up! Eeeek! There's a man on our boat!"

"No ma'am, it's OK. I'm on my boat and you've drifted into me", using the most comforting voice I can muster.

She disappears below, still screaming for Harry to get up.

"Hmmm, this not going well", I groan.

A few second later, Harry appears, blinking, in their companionway.
"Evenin' skipper," I greet, "seems we have a bit of a problem here."

Harry looks around, and sizing up the situation exclaims "You've dragged into us!"

"I don't usually drag upwind", I respond tartly.

I explained that the reason their mooring had the pennant removed was that Bitter End didn't want people to use it,
it likely had a problem and their mooring was dragging downwind and down current.

"What can do I do now? It's dark and besides, all the moorings are full."

"I can find one for you and help you get tied up."

So I jumped in the dinghy with a flashlight, crept through the mooring field at zero-dark-thirty, found an unoccupied
mooring way over by Biras Creek and came back. I led GoVac #9 over to it and handed the mooring pennant up to
arry on the bow.

After securing the mooring lines, Harry says to me "Thanks for helping us out."

Then he adds in a whisper: "It's kinda been a rough trip."

"No problem, glad to help. By the way, how long are you guys out for?"

"This is our last night..."

And from below, his lady yells, "THANK GOD! We are never doing this again!"


Well, that's not so much an 'almost disaster' story, I guess. Just one of the tales from the best job the First Mate and I ever had.