Dispatch from Shipwreck Island, Abacos

Australians Again Readying To Refloat Anna Marie, 6-1/2 Years Later

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It’s been over 6-1/2 years since Hurricane Dorian swept through the Abacos with winds of up to 185 mph. That’s a whole 2,403 days ago. The 89-foot motoryacht Anna Marie was dropped 300 feet from the water on a remote, hardscrabble section of Great Abaco. Not long after, her owners began their epic self-salvage effort, which has evolved over time in a process of trial and error.

It had been a while since Loose Cannon had heard from the boat’s owners, an Australian couple named Geoff Bradley and Jenny Kelly. Then, last week this note arrived via email.

By GEOFF BRADLEY

Thanks for enquiring if we’ve moved on from our project. We haven’t. We had to take a break and return to Australia, I was given a new hip, thanks to a very good and free medical system. I am now well rested and in good shape.

When we returned we had some setbacks that we need to overcome, we left heavy Jack’s, a tool box with jack hammers, circular saws and other tools in a fibreglass box on the swimdeck. Also on the swimdeck was all our parthway lumber that the skates rolled over. Unfortunately when we arrived back they were in the water or had floated away.

The engine room had taken in water that our Bahamian mates had pumped out. We knew there was water ingress through the rear thruster but it surprised us how high the water had been in the engine room. Famous last words when leaving for Australia: Don’t worry about the stuff on the swimdeck, Jenny, if the water gets that high. She’s floating.

We were only here a short time and another big tide was about to hit, we were hopful of pulling her out but discovered the leak that we’d fixed in the thruster wasn’t the cause, we’re pretty sure that water came in the through holes before it had a chance to float. We calibrated how much water was in the engine room as we pumped it out. 14 ton, 28,000 pounds approximately. Plenty enough to stop a potential float.

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I don’t think the water got as high as the starter motors, they should be okay. Probably need new fuel transfer pumps and the generator will need to be renewed. Twelve-volt wires that were under water need work as well.

The good news from that unfortunate oversight is the stern moved port two feet even with that water coming in. The problem is the boat is now off its skates and the path, therefore lowering her about two feet and embedding the keel into limestone, particularly the keel tip.

We have also lost airbag jacks that we used to balance the boat and on top of that there was water so cold that there was a big fish kill so working in the water was not an option until recently.

Jenny is in Australia for another month helping her parents who are in their 90s get organized for the home straight of what has been a fulfilling life.

One part of that life had been spending a few months on the Anna Marie traveling from Manhattan and through the Erie canal, finishing in one of our favorite places. Kingston, Ontario in Canada. Therefore they got to see an interesting part of the waterways. My father-in-law, being someone who takes pride in his lawn, couldn’t believe the chess-board lawns some American homes have. He must’ve said quite a few times, “Look at that lawn, unbelievable?”

So, what’s the plan from here to refloat? We thought about investing $10,000 to get two salvage bags here that will lift and roll, salvage bags are only $1,000 each, add transport and taxes in two countries and the labour required to get them out to the island and there goes another eight grand, we called a salvage guy who uses these bags and asked his advice, he said at 400 pounds per bag you need heavy equipment, backhoe etc. We can’t get heavy equipment here, the area around us is too shallow.

He did have an idea that he’d used previously. He built airtight plywood boxes and suggested we look at that option. We have worked out we can build 4 boxes 2@ 1,700x600mm x1,200mm and 2@2,400×1,200x400mm. Fully submerged this will give us lifting power of 4.5 tons when the boxes are placed under the cockpit/swimdeck and ahead of the rudder prop area.

We also have approximately two tons or more of old generators and other stuff and a tender up top. This will reduce weight and add flotation, we’re also talking about pumping 1,000 gallons of the 2,000 gallons of diesel forward to even out the weight.

In the last big tide we had water go above the load line for the back half of the boat and the water was a foot or so below the load line at the bow.

Fingers crossed with the through hulls blocked, no water ingress, the weight removed and the floatation plywood boxes in place, that we have success. The water was about one foot above the swim deck in the last big tide.

If this isn’t successful, it’s going to be hard because most of the working area is underwater, for example where you place jacks.

Hope this answers your enquiry. We do run into the odd person who recognizes us after reading your articles. They say they wondered where we’re up to with the refloat.