Crabs in a freshwater river?

We began our trip north this year the same way we always do – a long trip down the Columbia River.  The main difference this year is that it took us about a week to actually get to the Pacific.

Astoria Bridge

We ended up getting a line from a crab pot wrapped around our prop and prop shaft about 25 miles upriver from the ocean.  You’re right to think that’s crazy – there are no crabs in a freshwater river, so there shouldn’t be any crap rope attached to crab pots, either.

It turns out that freighters and ocean-going barges regularly hook the crab pots out on the ocean and then drag them across the bar and miles upriver.  At some point, they break free of the boat and then are left waiting for an unsuspecting boat to drive by and get tangled up.  This time the unsuspecting boat and crew was us.

There was too much current and chop to safely dive under the boat to cut away the line, and too much current to sail into the narrow channel of the marina without a motor.  So, we called for a tow into Astoria.

Tow into Astoria

Crab line on prop shaft

Once we were safely tied up at the dock we checked out the prop and shaft with our camera.  We decided to hire a diver cut away the line and a mechanic reviewed our engine/shaft alignment to verify our belief that no serious damage was done.

Offending crab line

After a week of work, we left again the following weekend.  This time, we made it about 50 miles north before we  hit another crab pot in the middle of the night about 8 miles off the coast of Washington!  This time, it seemed like the float got wedged between the prop and the hull – we were able to turn the prop shaft by hand in reverse from inside the boat to release the float and get back on our way.

This was our tenth trip up the coast and first (and second!) time we’ve had trouble with crab pots.  We always keep a lookout, but there is only so much looking that can be done in the pitch black of a moonless night.

It was definitely unlucky to have two encounters with crab pots this trip, but we feel very, very fortunate that we avoided any serious damage either time.  We’ll gladly accept a week delay instead of damage to our trusty diesel and any of our running gear.