Been there, but don't ever want to do it again

Backing towing a tender.
Leaving a marina enroute home I decided to tow the tender instead of putting it on deck. This marina has a lot of cross current and a piling about 10' astern that must be backed around. I was worried that the tender would get caught between the boat and the piling so I prepositioned it around the piling by letting out the painter. You guessed it, as I backed out the painter sank and wrapped the prop. Lesson Learned. Keep a short leash on the tender when backing. Also it helps to put a float or two on the painter to keep it on the surface. Some suggest Polypropolyne line that floats, I don't like it because it last about a year then the UV rays degrade it. It becomes brittle and hard on the hands. Another idea is to move the dingy to the bow until clear of the slip(s) then walk it back to the stern. Pick a way that will work for you....I don't ever want to be freeing my prop in nasty marina water again!

Moonlight and Terror on Fleet's Bay

Green Monster
Chris, my wife and first mate and I entered Pulpit Harbor located on North Haven Island on Penobscott Bay, Maine last July. This was our first visit to this very popular and difficult to find anchorage. Its entrance is invisible until one is quite near and is famous for the large 20 to 30 foot rock that guards the narrow entrance. This rock has been inhabited by an active osprey nest for several hundred years. Anyway after entering the harbor it branches left and right with lots of boats in the center and left areas. My wife thought it would be nice to have some privacy and suggested anchoring in the right side where we would be all alone. I thought there was probably some reason this part of the harbor was unoccupied but a quick look at the chart looked OK so we dropped anchor, cooked dinner had some wine and went to sleep. Next morning I awoke early, stepped into the cockpit and discovered a high green wall 3 feet from our stern! Turns out that my quick check of the chart had overlooked a small asterisk! When the 12 foot tide went out that asterisk had become a large seaweed covered pile of rocks!! They were close enough so that I could step off the swim platform and collect mussels without getting wet. Afterwards we shortened up on the rode to put some distance between us and the "green monster". I guess there are two things we learned from this, 1) if there is no one in a very attractive part of a popular harbor there is probably a reason, and 2) wear your glasses when checking your charts. At least we learned this the easy way and the mussels simmered in white wine and garlic were delicious.