Getting out

The channel is dredged. Finally. The digging machines have made the channel deep enough and wide enough for Juno to get through. But only barely. We got over the bottom with only inches to spare. At one point, we didn't have anything to spare at all, bumping the keel on the sandy bottom. It was one of the most stressful experiences of my life. Early in the morning we took the dinghy out into the channel with a depth sounder and found that there was a safe path out to sea. We hurried back to the boat and made preparations to leave, informing our neighbors that we would be running aground shortly and would need their help (and dinghy motors) to get back off. We pulled the dinghy up onto the deck and made the boat ready for sea. Then we cast off the dock lines and headed for the channel. The main depth sounder reported depths nearer and nearer the keel as we drew closer to the blue water ahead. Then, the depth reached 1.6 meters, the exact distance from the waterline to the keel. The boat lurched forwards and tilted as though going over a speed bump. My dad opened the engine throttle, seeing that the bow was already surrounded by blue. We surged forwards and finally shot clear of the shallow water into the open sea. Now we are in the port of Vathi on the Greek island of Ithaca. We have broken free of the marina of Sibari at last.

-- By Orion
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