He Followed the Chart Plotter…Straight Into a Sandbar! | Grounding 42ft Catalina

This evening, I received a call for a sailboat that had run aground off of the Bird Key Yacht Club. As soon as I called the customer and he said he was stuck just outside the entrance, I knew exactly what sandbar he got stuck on as I’ve pulled numerous boats off of that bar. I don’t know when it changed, but as long as I’ve been working here, the actual channel and the one displayed on most chart plotters don’t line up, and since the original piling that used to be the green marker is still there, it can get a bit confusing getting in there.
Now this guy was pretty stuck as the tide was still falling, but after almost 20 minutes of pulling and wiggling back and forth, I was able to get him free! Unfortunately for the customer, he didn’t have a membership with us, so he ended up having to pay what would’ve been 7 years of membership dues for this one job.

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AI-Generated Description:
Tonight’s rescue started exactly how all great boating disasters start:
A phone call. “This is embarrassing, but… I’m stuck just outside the entrance to Bird Key Yacht Club.” And at that moment, I didn’t need coordinates. I didn’t need screenshots. I didn’t even need a description.
I already knew the exact sandbar he was perched on—because that thing has claimed more boats than I can count, and I’ve pulled so many off it I should probably charge rent.
See, the real channel and the one on most chart plotters parted ways sometime back in the Jurassic era. Nobody knows when. Nobody knows why. And the old piling that used to be the green marker is still sitting there like a confused museum exhibit, pointing boaters directly toward regret.
So I show up and—yep—there he is. Keel buried. Tide dropping like it’s late for a meeting. This wasn’t a “light bump.” This was a “the ocean has made a decision” level grounding.
After almost 20 minutes of pulling, wiggling, rocking, twisting, sweet-talking, and using horsepower the way it was NOT intended, I finally got him free. The boat popped off the bar so hard I think I gained XP.
But then…The bad news. He wasn’t a member.
Which meant that this one heroic rescue, this single glorious act of nautical liberation… cost him the equivalent of seven years of membership dues.
Seven. Years. For one sandbar hug.
Moral of the story:
Join the program. Trust the real channel. And don’t let your chart plotter gaslight you into a sandbar.
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