Alright fellow Steemians, I have to share this story with you.
Last night, Charlie, mom and I were invited to go to our friend’s house for a BBQ. The idea was to go boating on their 30 ft Sea Ray boat called “Good Vibes” for the fireworks. We all piled onto the boat with drinks in hand ready to see an amazing show and boated up the intercoastal to the pass into the gulf.
Our friends John and Ali of Kokomo Charters know a lot of people, so they decided to tie our boat to a 2 bedroom yacht with a salon, and then tied that one to an even bigger boat. On top of that a smaller boat was tied to us on the other side. This was pretty cool all being tied together.
We go onto the one boat and checked it out. It was big but completely trashed so it wasn’t that pleasing to the eye. All of a sudden the Captain on the first yacht said “This isn’t going to work”. The wind was picking up so hard, and the water was so choppy, I thought we were going to hit each other, being tied together. We eventually broke apart and went to different areas to watch the fireworks.
The sky became completely black at 7:30 when it doesn’t get dark around here until after sunset around 9:00. The wind started to really pick up and huge raindrops start to fall. Crazy lightning bolts are a step away from us staring us straight in the face. Not to mention we are in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico with metal all around us!
The police and coast guard closed the pass back into the intercoastal, so we were stuck in the middle of the gulf. They effectively locked us out for a few hours. We couldn’t escape!
Charlie, mom and I are freaking out at this point thinking this is it, we are all going down tonight! We all get in a big huddle, laughing and crying, and just being scared shitless.
We were telling each other that we love you and if we go down it’s been real. Then the rain starts to let up. The music is blaring Rebelution. As soon as we thought we were out of the woods the rain starts to come down even faster whipping us, feeling like pins and needles on our backs. Lightning picking up even closer to us getting bigger and just freezing in mid air.
As the rain is pounding, my mom felt water rushing up on her feet. We all looked down and noticed the boat started filling with water. John went into below deck and found out the bilge pump wasn’t working so It wasn’t able to pump the water out. At that moment we thought about abandoning the boat as we were going down. John took a big Yeti Mug and started bailing out water from the boat, but it was barely working. At that moment the pump kicked on and we breathed a sigh of relief.
The water finally went down, and the rain had finally stopped, and we were able to enjoy the fireworks and the rest of the night. Once the adrenaline left our bodies, we slept like babies.
- Courtney
Glad you had a memorable experience. They just legalized fireworks in Iowa this year. Prior to that we had to go to Missouri to buy them. They are still cheaper there. Feel welcomed to check out some of my blogs when you have time. Blessings - Troy
We've had a couple close scrapes in our 30' Morgan Sailboat, but nothing like this!
I don't understand why the police and coast guard would block off the entrance back to the intercoastal. Was this some sort of road (water) block to catch a particular vessel or were they just trying to stop a mass exodus?
I've also never heard of a boat filling with water that fast, bilge pump or no. Was there a sea-cock left open somewhere? Or did something damage the hull of the boat and cause a leak?
@winstonalden Hi, I am going to be honest with you I'm not real familiar with boats and how they operate. That would be a question for John the Captain:) The reason they blocked the jetty was because of the fireworks, they were still planning to have them, which eventually they did:) Thanks for reading!
It sounds like you've got the boating scene all figured out, then! In most cases it's better to have a friend with a boat than to have to own a boat yourself. All of the fun and none of the work!
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wow, thanks goodness that you guys are well..amen. Pls next time , allow me to join as I can use a big drum to bail out water faster than John!!! however I pray that it will not happend again. Bless you guys and keep steeming.
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Oh that must be really hard for you in that 'struck' kind of situation. Especially when it is raining and you are on a boat in the middle of the gulf. If I were you, I'd be terrified. Thank God you're all fine. Take care and wish you all the luck in the near future @courtneywarner
@cryptonet we were terrified! what do you do? There was nothing you could do but to pray!
Hei ready for love
It's so nice of you to share such refreshing moments with friends and family, specially @charlieshrem . There was so much to enjoy; the company, the BBQ, the rain and the fireworks.
Yeah it's funny @ilyastarar I get urges now to share things on Steem when certain experiences arise:)
I love water but being in that situation, I would faint! lol glad you guys came out of that well.
Your boat is POWERED by SteemPower!
No need to worry...
Resteem...
We used to have a beach house on 30-A near Seaside and the same thing happened to us! Unfortunately, we were on a catamaran with children and I swear Ive never been so scared! Glad you made it back with a great story too!
God is good.
Nice, thanks for sharing
life experiencing wow
Good to know you are safe...thanks for steeming
...the water was a little scary last night!!! :) Great fireworks...and I'm glad you're all safe!!
That would have freaked me out! Glad that still you had a great time @courtneywarner despite the inconveniences!
Yes @progressivechef, never a dull moment with @charlieshrem and I:) Thanks for reading:)
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Glad you had a memorable experience...... Waiting for your latest post.....
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Glad you had a memorable experience. They just legalized fireworks in Iowa this year. Prior to that we had to go to Missouri to buy them. They are still cheaper there. Feel welcomed to check out some of my blogs when you have time.