By: Capt. Sue Nerud
Several years ago, I was introduced to scalloping. What a beautiful area to boat, play, fish, and of course scallop! After scalloping that day, I made my way to a local fish diner and spent the evening discussing the area waters with local boaters. At one point, a boater mentioned a rock, I thought wow, it actually has a name, it’s got to be huge. After further questions, Gomez Rock is actually more like an oyster bed, but apparently a big one at that.
We had been boating all weekend and following the same GPS tracks, this Sunday morning was no exception. The difference was, I had inadvertently forgotten to check the tides. Since I had been following the same tracks all weekend I figured we would be fine. Famous last words, right? I was up on plane and suddenly felt a little shake at the helm. It was so slight I almost didn’t power down but when I went to turn, Alpha Mare would not change course. My first thought was my shift cable snapped. Either way, I powered down to check it all out.
I sent my first mate back to check it out while I stayed at the helm. He said “Sue, trim up, bring your outdrive up”. I said “It is up!”. The expression on his face was something I will never forget. “Sue, your lower unit is gone!” Yes, it appears I had experienced the infamous Gomez Rock!
After further investigation, it was completely sheared off, almost like someone had cut the lower unit off. I had hit Gomez Rock at the exact perfect angle that it sheared the lower unit cleanly off. All I could say was, thank god we were up on plane. Had I been traveling slower, this story may very well have a much darker ending. No one got hurt, other than my ego and of course Alpha Mares’ lower unit. Weeks earlier, I had purchased a new stainless-steel prop, which was now missing. But I was determined to find it, and find it I did. Not only did I find my lower unit, but another large prop was also discovered. It appears I was not the only Captain to visit Gomez Rock! I leave you with another quote “ Each day, a new day.” To clean water, good seas, and blue skies. Captain Sue.
— Capt Sue Nerud @ Alpha Mare