A co-worker was sailing with his family in Lake Superior recently, about
a half-mile offshore. The chart showed at least 150 feet of water all
around, which was confirmed by his depth sounder. So he's sailing at
5-6 knots when... he struck a rock.
No substantial damage to the boat, but it surprised the hell out of him.
He took the position from his GPS and reported the rock to the harbormaster.
Maybe the charts will be updated some day.
And just to show you that this guy's boat is not only drawn to shallow
water...
...he was anchoring off one of the Apostle Islands this summer, in an area
where the chart showed 15-20 feet of water. He lowered his anchor and
payed out his rode - all 175 feet of it without the anchor touching bottom.
He pulled it it, figuring on some strange tangle, but it came up free. He
slowly lowered the anchor again, waiting for that moment when the rode
he payed out would slack a bit. Never came. All 175 feet went out.
He returned to the cockpit and checked the chart, getting an updated GPS
fix and eyeballing the surrounding terrain. Right at his exact location,
the chart showed a depression in the bottom - 200 feet. It was no more than
50 feet wide, but he had managed to find the center of it.
-- Eric L. Pederson P-19 #970, Necessity Bloomington, MN