Finding a “Needle in a Haystack”

The volunteers that host regattas can be competitive too, and this report shares a behind-the-scenes incident on the Chesapeake Bay in Annapolis, MD.

We were the “Gate Boat” at the 2026 Sailing World Regatta, positioned near the finish pin recording downwind finishes as a check for the Signal Boat. The J/105 class was finishing under spinnakers when one of the boats hooked the tetrahedron finish mark and started pulling it downwind.

We immediately hoisted an M flag and finished the rest of the fleet, but then noticed the tetrahedron was no longer attached to the J/105 … it was simply gone, sank to the bottom of the Chesapeake Bay in 35-feet of water.

When we arrived back at shore, we notified the Annapolis Yacht Club Equipment Director of the lost tetrahedron, anchor, two chains, 100-foot rode, and a high-tech sailing instrument attached to the mark.

He mentioned that he had a grappling hook in case we want to go back out there and search for the gear. We thought about it for a few hours and then texted our crew, “Come early tomorrow – we’re going to look for that mark.” Our team enjoys a great adventure!

The grappling hook was small, about 12 inches in diameter, made of aluminum. Right away we changed out the line for a heavy, long towing line and began our search. Our skipper had pinged the location of the Signal Boat the day before and knew the distance and angle to the finish mark.

However, conditions were bad with 20 knots of wind and big seas, and the grappling hook was too light to sink to the bottom. We added a six-foot heavy chain, but it still didn’t seem to be dragging the bottom so we attached a mushroom anchor right above the hook.

We located the area and began trawling back and forth in an East and West trajectory, every once in a while yelling that we were close to the right spot. The grappling hook seemed way too small to be effective and the turns were always a worry with two engines. After about 45 minutes, we changed to a North to South route and bingo … we found that needle in a haystack!

With considerable effort we pulled up the whole thing. The mark was deflated and filled with water so a knife was deployed to empty it before dragging it onboard. We retrieved everything … the mark, anchor, rode, towing line, three chains, mushroom, grappling hook, and the high-tech sailing instrument which had a green light still shining.

Submitted by AYC Race Committee Paul Parks, Kathy Parks, and Chip Devine from Sundog, an Axopar 37.