Sometimes it seems like the only time the wind isn't blowing is when I'm on the boat. Today was another zero wind day although at least the sun came out and it was nice and warm.

The first challenge of the day was having my chart plotter re-boot going against the ebb tide in Banes Channel. I throttled back, shifted into neutral and waited for the plotter to come back up. The rest of the transit was without incident, until I arrived at the Island.

After a couple of attempts to set the anchor it became apparent that there was no reverse gear. And just to be sure I shifted into reverse and revved the engine. Reverse not only didn't engage, the transmission started making a strange noise. It was a whirring noise, not a grinding noise so at least that's something. The coup de grace was realizing forward gear was no longer working either.

By this point I had drifted into only 9 feet of water. Given that the tide was continuing to ebb until dark and I had no propulsion, I ran to the forward storage locker and retrieved a paddle. As it turns out, It's quite difficult to paddle a 10,000 pound boat but I managed to get to a safe depth before dropping the anchor.

With nothing to do but try to figure out how to get home, I removed my shirt and enjoyed a cold beer. I placed a call to Barnucka to see if he could come and get me in his boat, Inkla. Sadly there was no answer. Not long after that, a small zodiac entered the bay. I waved him over, thinking it was the ranger who patrolled Chatham Island on behalf of the native band owners. It wasn't.

It turns out it was Mark Shepherd who was taking his wife and daughter on a valentine's day tour around the Island. I asked if he'd give me a tow to my mooring buoy and he agreed after his Valentine's cruise. I told him to take his time.