One of the Nine Lives of Charles and Mary Kay Rotert
By Mary Kay Rotert
Some 40 years ago, the yacht club was returning home after a Potomac River cruise up to Washington, DC. On the final day of travel, winds were stiff, and there were rolling waves in the Chesapeake Bay. Most of the fleet elected to wait one more day in their safe harbor in the lower Potomac, but three boat captains decided to “stick their noses out,” and see just how bad it was.
They included:
- Charles & Mary Rotert aboard their Kadey Krogen, “Patchy Fog”
- Norm & Betsy Heller aboard their Kadey Krogen, “Serendipity”
- Fred & Linda Byrum, aboard their “Lord Nelson Tug”
As they neared Smith Point, Charles Rotert was at the helm, and Mary Kay was doing the navigating. Charles calmly said to her, “I think we have a problem.” As Mary Kay looked up, Charles slowly turned toward her with the steering wheel in both hands! It had come cleanly off the pedestal and could not be re-attached.
Charles tried in vain to climb the ladder to the topside steering station, but the boat was heaving so badly in the heavy seas that he feared he would be thrown overboard. They engaged the emergency tiller in the stern but could not see around the high super-structure of the Kadey Krogen.
“Patch Fog” was tossing wildly in the seas and was being blown toward the shoals of Smith Point. She was in danger of being broached with every wave.
The Hellers and Byrums hove to but were helpless to render any real assistance. With Mary Kay struggling on the tiller to keep the boat pointed into the wind, Charles struggles to try and engage the autopilot. When it finally clicked in, “Patchy Fog” began to make a wide, slow turn down the Chesapeake Bay, where they would at least have the wind behind them—and following seas. It was impossible to turn around and return to the safety of the Potomac River.
Mary Kay prayed to every saint she could think of, to keep the autopilot engaged.
As the three boats neared the Rappahannock River in a tight convoy, “Patchy Fog” again made a wide, slow turn into the river. Once in the calmer waters of the lee of the land, Charles was able to climb up to the top steering station and bring “Patchy Fog” safely home to Carter’s Creek.
At the Commodore’s Ball that year, Charles Rotert was given the yacht club’s first “Helmsmanship Award.”