Soooo the first night of trapping looked like it was going to be successful. Clear skies, a super full moon (hasn’t been seen since March 1993), and the winds weren’t bad. We spotted a mink 5 minutes in, but we just missed him with the net….and then the motor stopped turning. We were stuck only being able to turn left, and it wasn’t budging.
We anchored the boat, and I started making phone calls. DNR told me they wouldn’t be able to get to us for hours because they were busy up north arresting some drunk people on Santee River. I decided I would give the ranger of Cape Romain a call…that didn’t really work out. He is new to the area and was trying to Google map my location. The refuge manager then called and told me she couldn’t get me and wasn’t going to allow the ranger to either…lovely.
Once informed that the boat has been known to leak hydraulic fluid, Dr. Yarrow and my new technician, Mike, managed to remove oil from the boat and funnel it into the hydraulic fluid reservoir, and it worked!!! We were able to get back on our own by 10:30 instead of waiting to be rescued and getting back after midnight.
And thanks to Cady for hanging in there and eventually getting me to laugh….as well as for sharing a bottle of wine with me to celebrate our return haha J
