Revenge of the Eelgrass
Recently as I was sitting peacefully in my Chaise lounge looking over the water, I noticed 3 guys in a motorboat… not motoring but seemingly "in distress". I shouted if they were OK and they made the gesture that they were fine. They didn't look fine. The wind was coming up and the boat was drifting towards the rocks on the shore.
Where I live on the upper Gorge Inlet there is very little water at low tide… maybe 2-4 feet… if that in some places. There are dead heads and debris that are not marked so it can be hazardous at times… especially at higher speed or in a fragile watercraft.
It is also a spawning ground for herring and many other kinds of sea life as the eelgrass is healthy and plentiful. Powerboats do not venture up here during low tide and a speed limit of 5 Knots max is clearly posted though often ignored and, unfortunately for the fish and our fishing industry, not enforced.
This guy (in the non-motoring motorboat) is someone who is often seen screaming back and forth across the inlet at high speed ripping out eelgrass and causing big wakes… not too cool.
He decided to bring his boat up at low tide and his jet engine was clogged with "egg/fry filled" eelgrass. He was dead in the water and drifting. So, I launched Nimble and rowed out to offer a tow. It is awkward to tow a jet boat with a rowboat in the wind, but I couldn't watch him run aground on the rocks so we (Nimble and I) gave it a try. We made it about 2/3rds of the way back to his dock when another neighbor came out (very slowly) in his powerboat to lend a hand.
The Solo 14 performed very well. I was not surprised. It was slow going, but we moved along steadily. The Solo 14 handled the force of the towline "yanking" on the transom and the outriggers didn't budge or bend with the added force. I was happy. They looked a bit embarrassed to be rescued by a rowboat but were grateful just the same.
I guess what comes around goes around… hard to call it a win for the eelgrass though. This delicate habitat is not only a nursery and larder for many wild species, it turns out to be a major sink for carbon and is the kind of place that needs extra care.
By Andrea Guyon, Whitehall Rowing and Sail
