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So, last night was a bad night.
I got home from work, and wanted to relieve a bit of stress. I lubed up the driveshafts on the Mystic 114, and charged up two of my 6s packs and told the misses I was going for a quick run of my boat down at what we call in Portland Maine, "Back Bay" ..... its a bay that goes totally dry at low tide, and fills up during high tide. There is a walking path all around the bay which is about 4 miles around. High Tide had just hit its time meaning the current was starting to go out, but the bay was still very full.... water was fairly calm, and I was going to run her easy.
Well, that's where the good stops. I tossed the boat in the water and did about 6 mid throttle 60-70mph passes, never really got after it... well on the last pass the boat hit a bit of chop and rocked a couple times and overturned. Ironically the wind was coming at me, but the current was going out. This is the Ocean mind you, so here in Maine its not frozen but is around 45 degrees temp wise. I normally bring my fishing pole with the rubber hook on the end, but left it in the misses vehicle from the weekend.... really didn't think I'd need it. For some reason still unknown when it overturned the juice was lost to both motors, so I couldn't fan boat it in like I sometimes do on my past twin boats... it kicked in for a second and was headed inland, but then the motors kicked off. So long story short the boat is around 20 yards out in the bay, and it started heading farther out to sea.... So what did I do, yes the wrong thing... I had some shorts in my car, and threw them on, and started in the water... I don't know if it was me being emotionally attatched or not, but the water didn't seem that terribly cold.... I started heading out, and I got about 10-15 feet past where I was last able to touch my feet on the ocean floor.... That's when it hit me, I remembered all the stories of folks drowning trying to recover their prize "toy" boats. I turned around to look back and could feel the current pulling me out to sea, and it was quite a strong current ( I am a very strong swimmer) .... So I swam back to the last area I could touch my feet, and looked out at the boat.... thought to myself, YES I probably can make it out to the boat, but then I need to push the boat and myself back to shore..... Do I think I could have done it, YES I do... Do I think I maybe after spending more time in the water the very cold water could have gotten to me... YES very possibly.... And the fact of the fast moving current pushing me out to sea, and reading and hearing HERE on OSE about how dangerous it is to swim to recover your boat. I've swam after my boats in Ponds, and Lakes, but never the ocean... and never where there was any "real" current.... So that's when I says to myself "is it worth it". I shrugged my shoulders, and said "NO" its just a "toy boat", Yes it was a $2,500 toy boat.... but still a toy boat
I called the misses while watching the boat drift farther out to sea, it was on its top and though sealed well with tape... I figured that over a bit more time it would slowly start to fill up and I would see sponson tips up... that is if I indeed had enough floation in the hull... which I "think" I did.... I watched the boat drift Farther, and Farther out into the now coming moonlight, and bid my MHZ mystic 114 a fond farewell. I knew it would drift out until it got sucked under the large bridge coming into the city and out to the open sea... and fact was it was now dark.
I must thank the misses Daniella.... the one who tolerates me, allows me to spend lots of $ on my silly hobbies, and who always has my back ..... She truly is a trooper as far as dealing with my R/C hobbies. She came down from home to the back bay and watched the boat drift out to sea. At this point I was cold as the darkness, and the water temp finally started making me shiver. We drove home, I took a hot shower quickly.... She told me she had just put new batteries in the Maglight Flashlights, and that she thought we should walk the other end of back bay in the darkness to look for it. I literally told her, "Babe, I don't think we have any chance in finding it... its probably already out to sea". I myself saw how quick the boat was dragged away from the get go... the current was quite strong and only getting stronger on its descent to low tide. She said lets just go.... so I threw on some heavier clothing and we headed back over to the back side of the bay.... this is NOT a small bay, it BIG. We wandered the edge of the bay with our flashlights standing on the rocks and looking into the ocean edge.... she said lets go down over this bank so we can follow the rocks down close to the "outlet" which is where the water goes out to sea under the large 6 lane bridge that comes into the city of Portland. We climbed down the bank... walked along the rocks getting closer and closer to the bridge, boy on this side of the bay the water was CHOPPY... the wind had turned and it was now going the opposite direction right at us now on the opposite end of the bay from where I was running the boat. There was a small spot where erosion had made a small inlet right before the bridge... fact is there was little place to even stand down there... and I couldn't see anything. Well that's when Daniella hollard "babe, what is that about 40 feet to the left of you".... I hollered back what are you talking about, I don't see anything.... she said I see something, well her eagle eyes, her persistence.... saw my MHZ mystic 114 propped up on a couple rocks... just sitting there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I made my way over to it in literal disbelief... there it was, one of the motors was spinning very slow which had chewed one of the props up pretty badly, and the other had some nicks too.... the boat itself had a tiny, tiny nick in the rudder blade, and a few tiny chips in the right side sponson... and a couple tiny chips in the front of the sponsons... tiny meaning easily fixable, and no structural damage whatsoever.... I sat there on that rock for 5 minutes looking for some "real" damage to the boat.... No scratches on the hardware other then the nick, and I guess my taping of the hatch and O-rings on the screws that hold the hatch on worked... the boat only had about 1/2 cup of water inside the hull..
I can't believe I got the hull back, I still don't know why I lost use of the motors as everything sat right were it need be... but at this point I don't care. I have my boat back, and I'm here to write this stupid embarrassing story. Could I have retrieved my boat by swimming.... probably.... was their a chance I might not have been able to... YES, and had it not been for all the times we've warned one another on this site not to swim after our boats... I no question would have tried. Is the 10-25% chance of being dragged out to sea along with a toy boat worth it. 100% NO.
I don't know who to thank more, OSE, Daniella, or the good LORD..... but I have my boat which floated on its lid 2.5 miles straight shot the whole trip across the bay, and sat there waiting for me.... I'm very glad I didn't float with it.
Thanks OSE, Daniella, and all those who ever think of swimming after their boats... DON'T do it, you have a much better chance finding your boat if your still on this Planet.
God Bless you all.
I got home from work, and wanted to relieve a bit of stress. I lubed up the driveshafts on the Mystic 114, and charged up two of my 6s packs and told the misses I was going for a quick run of my boat down at what we call in Portland Maine, "Back Bay" ..... its a bay that goes totally dry at low tide, and fills up during high tide. There is a walking path all around the bay which is about 4 miles around. High Tide had just hit its time meaning the current was starting to go out, but the bay was still very full.... water was fairly calm, and I was going to run her easy.
Well, that's where the good stops. I tossed the boat in the water and did about 6 mid throttle 60-70mph passes, never really got after it... well on the last pass the boat hit a bit of chop and rocked a couple times and overturned. Ironically the wind was coming at me, but the current was going out. This is the Ocean mind you, so here in Maine its not frozen but is around 45 degrees temp wise. I normally bring my fishing pole with the rubber hook on the end, but left it in the misses vehicle from the weekend.... really didn't think I'd need it. For some reason still unknown when it overturned the juice was lost to both motors, so I couldn't fan boat it in like I sometimes do on my past twin boats... it kicked in for a second and was headed inland, but then the motors kicked off. So long story short the boat is around 20 yards out in the bay, and it started heading farther out to sea.... So what did I do, yes the wrong thing... I had some shorts in my car, and threw them on, and started in the water... I don't know if it was me being emotionally attatched or not, but the water didn't seem that terribly cold.... I started heading out, and I got about 10-15 feet past where I was last able to touch my feet on the ocean floor.... That's when it hit me, I remembered all the stories of folks drowning trying to recover their prize "toy" boats. I turned around to look back and could feel the current pulling me out to sea, and it was quite a strong current ( I am a very strong swimmer) .... So I swam back to the last area I could touch my feet, and looked out at the boat.... thought to myself, YES I probably can make it out to the boat, but then I need to push the boat and myself back to shore..... Do I think I could have done it, YES I do... Do I think I maybe after spending more time in the water the very cold water could have gotten to me... YES very possibly.... And the fact of the fast moving current pushing me out to sea, and reading and hearing HERE on OSE about how dangerous it is to swim to recover your boat. I've swam after my boats in Ponds, and Lakes, but never the ocean... and never where there was any "real" current.... So that's when I says to myself "is it worth it". I shrugged my shoulders, and said "NO" its just a "toy boat", Yes it was a $2,500 toy boat.... but still a toy boat
I called the misses while watching the boat drift farther out to sea, it was on its top and though sealed well with tape... I figured that over a bit more time it would slowly start to fill up and I would see sponson tips up... that is if I indeed had enough floation in the hull... which I "think" I did.... I watched the boat drift Farther, and Farther out into the now coming moonlight, and bid my MHZ mystic 114 a fond farewell. I knew it would drift out until it got sucked under the large bridge coming into the city and out to the open sea... and fact was it was now dark.
I must thank the misses Daniella.... the one who tolerates me, allows me to spend lots of $ on my silly hobbies, and who always has my back ..... She truly is a trooper as far as dealing with my R/C hobbies. She came down from home to the back bay and watched the boat drift out to sea. At this point I was cold as the darkness, and the water temp finally started making me shiver. We drove home, I took a hot shower quickly.... She told me she had just put new batteries in the Maglight Flashlights, and that she thought we should walk the other end of back bay in the darkness to look for it. I literally told her, "Babe, I don't think we have any chance in finding it... its probably already out to sea". I myself saw how quick the boat was dragged away from the get go... the current was quite strong and only getting stronger on its descent to low tide. She said lets just go.... so I threw on some heavier clothing and we headed back over to the back side of the bay.... this is NOT a small bay, it BIG. We wandered the edge of the bay with our flashlights standing on the rocks and looking into the ocean edge.... she said lets go down over this bank so we can follow the rocks down close to the "outlet" which is where the water goes out to sea under the large 6 lane bridge that comes into the city of Portland. We climbed down the bank... walked along the rocks getting closer and closer to the bridge, boy on this side of the bay the water was CHOPPY... the wind had turned and it was now going the opposite direction right at us now on the opposite end of the bay from where I was running the boat. There was a small spot where erosion had made a small inlet right before the bridge... fact is there was little place to even stand down there... and I couldn't see anything. Well that's when Daniella hollard "babe, what is that about 40 feet to the left of you".... I hollered back what are you talking about, I don't see anything.... she said I see something, well her eagle eyes, her persistence.... saw my MHZ mystic 114 propped up on a couple rocks... just sitting there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I made my way over to it in literal disbelief... there it was, one of the motors was spinning very slow which had chewed one of the props up pretty badly, and the other had some nicks too.... the boat itself had a tiny, tiny nick in the rudder blade, and a few tiny chips in the right side sponson... and a couple tiny chips in the front of the sponsons... tiny meaning easily fixable, and no structural damage whatsoever.... I sat there on that rock for 5 minutes looking for some "real" damage to the boat.... No scratches on the hardware other then the nick, and I guess my taping of the hatch and O-rings on the screws that hold the hatch on worked... the boat only had about 1/2 cup of water inside the hull..
I can't believe I got the hull back, I still don't know why I lost use of the motors as everything sat right were it need be... but at this point I don't care. I have my boat back, and I'm here to write this stupid embarrassing story. Could I have retrieved my boat by swimming.... probably.... was their a chance I might not have been able to... YES, and had it not been for all the times we've warned one another on this site not to swim after our boats... I no question would have tried. Is the 10-25% chance of being dragged out to sea along with a toy boat worth it. 100% NO.
I don't know who to thank more, OSE, Daniella, or the good LORD..... but I have my boat which floated on its lid 2.5 miles straight shot the whole trip across the bay, and sat there waiting for me.... I'm very glad I didn't float with it.
Thanks OSE, Daniella, and all those who ever think of swimming after their boats... DON'T do it, you have a much better chance finding your boat if your still on this Planet.
God Bless you all.
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