Jacking up your boat.........(it's easy)

One amazing thing about sailing is that the ocean is one vast road with relatively few people on it. The possibilities seem limitless. But there's a catch. Unlike driving a car (where you don't care what's under the asphalt), you definitely care what's under the water..........and you pray it's more water. Sometimes, Neptune disappoints.

Case in point.........this sailboat seems to have misread his chart. The channel probably looked wide open at 6:00 PM.........probably coming in hot........thinking about his/her first Manhattan........maybe some chili-dogs.....and BAM..... right into a reef. Boat totaled..........insurance company citing the "gross negligence" clause as reason not to pay...........no chili-dog for you, you two-bit so-and-so.

This actually happens a lot. Between running into other boats, not anchoring properly, and running aground, the loss rate on yachts is very high.

Charter companies have come up with ingenious ways to quickly repair their battered boats and get them back out to sea. This catamaran didn't run over a hoppity-hop. This is how you can jack up a catamaran (literally) to fix the rudder and prop. Pretty cool.

Hopefully we will stay out of pictures like this.