First we tried the gentle way. Skipper on the bow trying to follow the chain around the corners it took to wrap itself around the rocks, while I do my best to steer the boat the intended way. Still stuck.
Then the tough way. With brute force and maximum revs on the engine, the braking strength of the anchor, the chain, the boat deck as well as the nerves of the crew are tested to the limit. Still stuck.
Finally the smart way. Remembering the triumph card of sv Mylady with her super good back-off ability, skipper took the wheel and motored around our anchor and then reversed full force the other way.
The tension loaded anchorchain gave a jump and fell slack. Did the chain break? I couldn't tell and feared the answer. I winched the chain back into the anchorlocker while skipper kept motoring fast backwards. We both were immensely relieved to see the anchor coming above water.
"Do you dive?" a local fisherman and his wife asked when we went ashore.
"No. Why?"
"There's a pot of gold down there where you were stuck. You're not the first one. We've seen lots of chain and anchor go down there, never to come up again."
'This is James Morill country.'
