It has taken me a long time to write this story. Mostly because it was a bit of a traumatic experience that I wasn’t mentally ready to revisit until now. Boating safety has always been something I’ve taken seriously regardless of who is on my boat. But having young kids who are non-swimmers on the water has caused me to revisit our safety procedures on and around the water. But maybe I should start from the beginning. Two years ago I purchased a 32’ Wellcraft Cabin Cruiser ocean boat in Marina Del Rey. The boat was old and needed some love. My plan was to drive it up to Port San Luis and haul it out in the boatyard to do some work.
Unfortunately, that plan failed miserably! My dad and I departed from Marina Del Rey and were having the trip of a lifetime for the first couple of hours. Then about ten miles offshore things started to unravel when my port side motor died. This effectively took away our ability to steer the boat. This is because, with a twin screw boat(2 motors) that doesn’t have bow thrusters, you rely on the motors to turn you. When both motors are working you can put the port motor in reverse and the starboard motor in forward and it will essentially spin the boat to the left like a top and vice versa. But with one motor not working on a boat with small rutters our turning radius was severely comprised. On top of that, my trim tabs weren’t working due to a hydraulic fluid leak so the boat was riding bow high and compromising our line of site.
Our closest safe harbor was Ventura so we limped the boat on one motor into Ventura Harbor. With million-dollar boats everywhere and no steering, it was a terrifying experience but we managed to get the boat docked without hitting anyone. That night in the marina we realized that we had sediment in the carburetor filter. While I was replacing the filter, a relatively easy job, I managed to break one of my steel fuel lines. To fix it we needed a part that wasn’t going to be easy to find. So we jumped in an Uber and headed for Autozone. We ended up finding a steel fuel line and a bender and we were able to fabricate a workable situation. The next morning with things in working order we decided to head back out on the water for the remainder of the trip to Port San Luis.
This is where it got very serious. At about 15 nautical miles offshore between Santa Barbara and the Channel Islands, the port motor died again. We didn’t know it at the time but we discovered later that the port-side fuel tank had sand in it. So here we were, in the same situation as the prior day with no steering and headed for a safe harbor in Santa Barbara. Then the other shoe dropped and we lost our starboard motor. Now we were dead in the water with a building swell. The swell was at 8 to 10 feet at about 8 seconds and we could barely see the oil derricks between us and the shore. Luckily my dad jumped down into the engine compartment and was able to get the starboard motor to fire. Again we limp the boat into the harbor with no steering, and harbor patrol puts us in a slip next to Kevin Costner’s yacht which I did not want to hit. Luckily after a few laps around the harbor, we got into the slip without incident.
At this point, my nerves were shot. I talked to Harbor Patrol and was able to rent a transient slip for two weeks. During this time I had a boat mechanic rebuild my starboard cylinder head and we did some electrical work. Our last leg of the journey from Santa Barbara to Port San Luis would require us to navigate Point Conception which is the third most dangerous waterway in the world and our weather window was closing. Point Conception is a high-compression zone that is capable of fierce wind and waves. The area is dotted with sunken boats and in Santa Barbara, I heard some horror stories from the local fishermen. Having an engine failure was not an option. It would likely mean we would get blown into the rocks on our leeward side and would require a Coast Guard rescue.
However, at this point, I was feeling pretty good about everything so I took the boat out for a test spin before leaving the Harbor. It did not go well. The starboard motor overheated and once again we came into the harbor on one motor. But this time we couldn’t stay, there was a sailboat regatta leaving from Santa Barbara taking up every slip and I had overstayed my welcome. The problem was the boat still wasn’t ready for the voyage.
I spoke to several boat towing companies and couldn’t find a captain that was willing to tow me around Point Conception. I had a membership to Sea Tow but was out of their coverage area so no luck there. Without many options or mechanics available I decided to take the boat out of the harbor and put it on anchor on the south side of the Santa Barbara pier.
So there I was, stuck, out on a rolly anchorage that would end up being my home for the next couple of weeks. My wife brought the boys down several times while we were in the Santa Barbara harbor but now that I was out in the waves the stakes were a lot higher. You may be thinking that doesn’t sound all that bad being on a boat in Santa Barbara, but what I didn’t mention is that the toilet on the boat stopped working. The joker valve was bad and West Marine didn’t carry the one I needed. This meant every time I needed to use the restroom I had a two-and-a-half-mile paddle in a kayak back into the harbor. It wasn’t our biggest problem but it was definitely an issue. My kids were three and one at the time, and with two non-swimmers onboard safety became a major priority.
We had to know exactly where the kids were on the boat and what they were doing at all times. Transferring the kids from the skiff to the swim step of the big boat was challenging. Plus, the boat wasn’t fitted with netting or tethers so going out onto the bow was a no-fly zone without mom or dad present so the boys had to basically stay in the cabin or behind the helm to play. Out on a lake boat, it is reasonable to keep your kids in their life vests for the few hours you are on the water but when you live on a boat it isn’t quite as feasible. You can’t expect them to sleep in a PFD. It was a real learning experience for me and the boys. Fire extinguishers on the boat seemed like good toys to play with, raisins were being tossed in the water, cooking was a real challenge in the waves, and puzzle pieces and crayons were everywhere. It was tight quarters to say the least.
With no real plan to get the boat fixed in Santa Barbara, it became apparent we needed to get it home. Not to mention I was missing work, costs were adding up, and I had now been living on the boat for a month after planning a one-day trip. I started reaching out to trucking companies but the height of the boat and its 12.5’ beam meant it was too tall for overpasses and too wide to truck without a permit. We finally found a trucking company willing to work with us and a route without overpasses and got the boat home to its mooring in Port San Luis after a month.
It was an experience I’m not likely to soon forget. My time in Santa Barbara wasn’t all bad, I fished a ton, saw some beautiful sunsets, and got lots of beach time. So I guess the question is, was it all worth it? My wife might have a different answer but I would say absolutely. Since then we have really dialed in our procedures with the kids on the boat. It has been such a great experience for the kids, they have seen tons of seals, sea lions, otters, starfish, whales, and seabirds. But one thing is for sure, the ocean is no joke, and being prepared is key. This was a hard lesson to learn but a valuable one.
I’d like to say thank you to my dad for going on this journey with me and being my rock. I’d also like to thank my wife for holding it down on the home front when things were uncertain. And I’d like to thank you, the reader for taking the time to read my story. Hopefully, my rookie mistakes can be a lesson to those of you planning on heading out onto the high seas. I’m not trying to discourage anyone, in fact, it’s the opposite. We have had a great time in the water but be prepared, bring spares of everything, and make sure your electronics work.
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