It wasn't a dark and stormy night, but here is how the adventure went.
Tuesday, about 0730, the hired divers showed up and gave us more information
about the damage to PT3. These two had already worked on the hull last
week, when the Coast Guard hired them to assist them getting it out of the
navigation channel on the river. After they got it raised with airbags, the
USCG ordered them to sink it away from the channel.
The divers said that the hull was mostly intact, as far as they could see.
There were 10 holes of various sizes and places, but the one they could not
fix the last week was an 18 X 32 inch gash right up from the keel on
starboard side, which is right where the hull takes the most pounding when
it cuts through the water. The area just above that spot, tracing a line up
to the bow on the center line, also called the chine, had already leaked
before the mishap, so we knew that it had only been weakened further.
Worse, there was no way to get onto that area a single patch to cover it
completely, because of the shape of PT3's hull. So that meant that we would
be traveling with an open hole no matter where we went.
The divers got going. We had four volunteers other than the owner helping
us out. We finished cleaning out obstacles from the inside of the hull
while the divers patched it. I wound up tending hose for one of the divers,
and handing him stuff while he patched the hull. We worked through low
tide. PT3 was now resting on the muddy bank of the creek, anchored in place
by lines tied to the local trees. We had enough patches on by about noon,
so we got a 6 inch pump, and ran the intake into the hull. While the tide
was coming in, and the pump was working, the divers patched the large breach
I mentioned, and PT 3 started FLOATING!
The pump stayed ahead of the water coming in, but all the patches leaked.
This wasn't really news to us, as we had been warned this was normal. But
looking at the water flowing in steadily, the reality that I would probably
be on the hull for the trip south to the marine railway kicked in! So I
started looking at the patches VERY CRITICALLY. And we did make one
suggestion to the divers. They had used a thin wood board on the big
breach. We asked them to re-inforce it. Boy am I glad we did.
At about 4:30, I realized that it was ready to go, and I tried to steer the
team that way. We had perfect weather. Unfortunately, what we didn't have
were lights for the tow craft, commo between the two boats, and a plan- we
didn't really expect that this boat would float. None of us there had
enough experience or confidence in the process we were in. What we did have
was one bad diesel in the tow craft, five tired puppies, and dark
approaching. We heard that bad weather was approaching, and I wanted to get
out of there before then, but it just wasn't in the cards.
So we towed PT3 away from its site of sinking, and anchored near the mouth
of the creek, right next to the Delaware River. Then we set up watch for
the pumps, and caught a little sleep while we planned for the next day. We
would only have four people to work the tow.
I set the alarm on the cell phone for every two hours, and went to sleep.
The pumps stayed ahead of the water pretty well. But none of us could
really sleep. I was up at 0009, 0222, and 0444. At 0444, I just poked my
head out of the bunk, looked at the hull to make sure it was level, heard
the pumps running, and went back to sleep.
Tuesday morning, about 06:30, we all got up. Everything was in order.
Except we could not start the Starboard engine on the tow boat. It would
turn, and not start. Bad news with a diesel on the water. They the starter
stopped working. More bad news. We needed to get fuel, so we left PT 3 and
all went up the creek on one engine two hundred yards to a landing where we
could refuel.
Two crew members got on the starter, tearing it apart and rebuilding the
starting solenoid. Bad contacts. The fuel truck arrived, and we took on
200 gallons while they ground hopped the starter. Worked. Now we crossed
our fingers and hoped the engine would start. IT DID! Five more gallons of
gas for the pumps, and we headed down to grab PT3.
We all took a deep breath as we hooked onto PT 3. We hooked on with an old
braided cotton tow line (BAD IDEA) and headed down the creek. It was only a
few minutes to the Delaware River. If you want to look at how we went, we
left out of Bridgeport NJ, down Raccoon Creek, and then south on the
Delaware River to the Cohansey River, to a marine rail near Bridgeton.
About 40 miles by road. About 60 miles by water.
We turned onto the Delaware River, and the fun started. The tow line
parted. We had centered a figure of eight in the middle, had it roped onto
two stern cleats on the tow boat. The one side parted, and the safety line
and second side held. So I tied a Bowline and figure 8 in the rope, and we
adjusted the center for the lost length, and we headed south again.
Right before we left, we had called a friend of the owner to have him pick
us up at the destination. He was going to be there anyway, as he was going
out on a fishing boat for half of the day. Well, he told us that none of
the boats were going out, as the river and bay was too rough. We didn't
like it, but really didn't have a choice. We HAD to get it to the railway.
PT 3 had to come out of the water. The pumps told us that.
Seas were anywhere from 2 to 3 feet, and further down, they were 4-6 feet.
The weather forecast said 3-4 feet, but I was there, and they were 4-6 feet.
We hadn't hit the Delaware Memorial Bridge yet, when the tow line parted.
At this time, the seas were in the 3-4 range. The tow boat cut its power,
and we drifted closer. Too fast for us to stop, CRUNCH. We put another
hole in PT3, this one above the water line, about twelve inches by five
inches.
Okay, deep breath, and we rigged a new tow line, from Anchor Line. Two
separate pieces. I figure 8'ed them and threw them onto the tow boat. It
was now keeping its distance. Pumps were still pumping, now a little
faster, because while we are stopped, the waves are hitting us pretty hard.
Okay, we're hooked up, and everything is going well. We start off again.
By this time, about three hours went by. We were just south of the Delaware
Memorial Bridge. We are keeping an eye on the pumps on PT3, and they are
working well. Our friend gives us a time check. At this point, it is 2:00.
We are not feeling real confident at this point. We are down in the hull,
looking at the patches flex from the waves, and it makes me feel very
mortal. But there is too much to do. Keeping watch over the pumps, making
lines neat, bow and stern watch... Jesus, am I ever glad I never joined
the Navy.
The owner and I are on the stern of PT 3, catching a breeze, and avoiding
the diesel fumes, when we feel ourselves slow down. There was a sudden loss
of power in the starboard engine of the tow boat, the same one we had
problems with earlier with the starter and injectors. We stand on the bow
of PT3 watching the captain pulling the hatches. He steps down, and
manually powers up the diesel. Somewhere, some of the throttle linkage has
slipped. It is not the engine. But there is about twenty feet of throttle
linkage, and it looks like he may be wiring up the throttle with bailing
wire to keep the speed up because all that linkage is through solid boat on
4-6 foot seas. He takes a guess, and lucks out. The linkage slipped off of
a pulley right inside the control box on the steering station.
After that, it was another two hours of bobbing like a cork, breathing
diesel, and listening to pumps and watching patches. I look down into the
bilge, see an eel, and think that at least one of the three living souls on
PT 3 will live if she goes down. 33 tons of boat doesn't like to go down
alone. We found a half sodden chart of the area we were sailing in, and
followed our progress down the bay.
It was quite a feeling when we got to the Cohansee River. It was right at
high tide. It was a beautiful, somewhat relaxing ride up the river for
another three hours. We had started at 10:00 in the morning. We tied up at
8:30 in the evening. We didn't get things neat until about 10:00. None of
us had eaten all day. None of us had slept particularly well in the last 36
hours.
But we saved her...
PT 3 is hopefully right now on a railway. I left her tied up 200 feet from
the rail, so I'm going to take a stab and say nothing happened. I'm going
to call today to see if she's okay and will post the list when we get her
going. I will put photos of her on the website when I get a chance.
I want to thank all those who offered support physical and moral. I will
keep the list posted as things develop.
john@astory.com
http://www.astory.com
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Sat Sep 02 2000 - 09:32:34 PDT