Hi Guys! I'm Baaaack!!
Got up at 6am and headed out in steady 30 kts. gusting to 45 out of the northeast. The waves weren't big due to the shallow water but it was a steep chop and the rain was coming sideways and we were taking lots of water over the bow but we were snug and safe in the cuddy cabin.
We arrived on the scene about 7 miles south of us directly SW of the Bodie Island lighthous on this chart:
http://xpda.com/nauticalcharts/12205...0INSET%201.png
The boat (a Tartan 37) with 3 aboard was hard aground to the west of marker #1 and on the beach of the small island there. Capn' Stu set and anchor and we backed down on the Tartan and threw the hawser to the crew and they put their lines through the eye and we hauled. Their lines parted twice under the strain so we sent them a bridle we had which stood up to the strain. It took an hour of steady pulling but she finally came free but snapped her rudder in the process (ouch!). She was really a salvage job but we got her off as a standard tow trying to give the guys a break.
We then towed her to port for repairs without event but into the teeth of the wind and chop. Got some coffee and fuel and motored back to the docks arriving at noon. Six hours total time and a nice adventure for me.
Talking to the owner of the boat...it is apparent that when they had places to be and when the wind let up a bit yesterday afternoon they decided to make a run for it ignoring the fact that gale warnings were posted through today. They were running under job and motor when they lost the engine and were blown quickly out of the narrow channel. Had they immediately deployed their anchor they could have possibly avoided being driven so hard ashore...but it was dark and things happened quickly. They simply should not have left the dock. They were very nice guys and I felt sorry for them after a long night on the beach but they had a very expensive lesson this morning.