Ran into a little problem as we left the marina on Friday. I overshot the approach into the AICW from our marina fairway and soft grounded the boat on the "other" side of the AICW (outside the channel markings). I shut down the engines and generator and checked our location relative to depth contours and tide schedule. Then I called TowBoatUS to have us pulled of the sand bar. Within 30 minutes TowBoatUS were at our side rigging up the tow lines. So far, so good. However, as we were being pulled across the sandbar our props snagged something. and when I restarted the engines and engaged them into gear, something caused our propellers and engines to shut down. Fortunately, we were just across the channel from a full service / working marina. I called the marina, explained our situation and asked if they could put the boat on the travel lift to see what the problem was, they said "Sure, bring her in." Our tow boat operator maneuvered us through the marina and slung us onto the travel lift. The marina guys pulled the boat only to reveal a tangled mess of one-inch-thick anchor rope line and a chain-link leader wrapped around and through our props.

Long story very short: the boat is on the hard while the props are sent out for repair. With some luck we should be back in the water on Friday. In the meantime, with the boat out of the water, I’m having the bottom painted (with anti-foulant paint) and having all of the barnacle growth removed. We'll also get the running gear and trim tabs treated with anti-barnacle paint that should prevent future barnacle growth.

So, we’ve rented a car, found a local B&B in which to stay and have begun exploring the area. Although this experience has been a setback for us, the boating community continues to be very responsive and helpful.