Hey guys… So I am near panic again…. I was checking the wind forecasts for the coming days last night and discovered that the nasty is coming here Friday night to Saturday morning.
I have been at anchor in the nasty before and it really scared me… I cried… I do not like to be scared… and there is no place we can go to escape this one. We are going to be in trouble soon. We are going to take a beating again… and praying the anchor holds thru the nasty. IF the anchor drags…. we will get wrecked fast…. and that is terrifying potential danger to live thru.
We are going to Crab Cay today because we have to get into position for our crossing back to Florida on Monday/Tuesday. So WildChild has to get north, into the northern sea of Abbaco soon. Crab Cay is usually a good anchorage with wind/wave protection for about 280 degrees of
protection. It will give us good protection for tonight and we will still have cell tower access for internet and can get wind forecasts. Too far north into Great Sail Cay and there is no cell coverage. So Crab Cay is our best staging point to wait for our weather window for our crossing.
Our problem is that there is 2 nasty fronts about to combine
over Florida Friday night and they will extend further south than they normally ever do and hit us here in the Abbacos by Saturday morning. These scary winds over 40 knots will hit us hard and clock around 180 degrees. So we need island protection for a specific 180 degrees to give us shelter from this coming nasty…. AND THERE IS NOT ANY SUCH PROTECTION AVAILABLE…!
So what do we do…? What can we do…? how can we best situate the yacht today for the best possible protection…? Where can we go…? WildChild is too big/deep to get into any of the marinas around here.
So here is what is about to
hit us… The winds Friday will be from the South East and run along the main island of Abbaco… then Friday night the winds will be strong and getting stronger thru the night from the South West…. then by Saturday morning they will peak at around 43 knots and
then clock around as the line passes over us and hit us from the North West. Around here in the Abbacos North west and South East are the hardest winds to find shelter from.
Cab Cay is usually great protection from South East
winds. So a good place for us to hide from tomorrow’s (Friday’s) winds. But by Saturday morning when the winds clock around from the North West Cab Cay will be completely vulnerable and the waves will just pile into there and smash up like crazy. You never want to be inside a horseshoe bay when the waves pile in… it can get very steep and very rough.
So it looks like we are in trouble. I have been inside the yacht riding out the nasty before and it is extremely stressful (especially if you own the vessel). The nervous fear of waiting in terror for the sound of something breaking or the signs of the anchor breaking loose and you suddenly start dragging towards the rocks in the nearby shallows… knowing you are about to get wrecked. Praying please please let the anchor hold… please let the boat hold strong and not break anything under the tremendous strain of the extreme forces being exerted on it for hours and hours. Sitting in the cockpit waiting to react quickly (big IF ) IF something gives way suddenly, but not being exactly sure what you will do to save yourself and the vessel.
Last time we got hit by this in Moorehead city North Carolina the forecast was for gusts only to 38 and we got gusts up 53knots…. we were supposed to have sustained winds of only 28 knots… we had sustained winds over 40 knots…. I do not trust the wind guessers to give me reliable information… they are wrong a lot. BUT… maybe they will be wrong the other way… maybe the winds will be less than forecast? That would be lovely.
Last time we got hit by the nasty at anchor it ripped the bow roller apart and snapped our anchor snubber. It blew out the wind generator and took me days to fix. Mostly what I remember is the taste of fear in my mouth for hours… I remember how it feels to sit thru this… I remember crying. I remember the emotions and raw feeling and the worry and the mental images of the potential dangers. The making mental plans for IF this happens then what will I do…? Wondering if I will be swimming for shore in this at any moment as the ship break free and wrecks.
I hated it… I promised myself I would never be at anchor thru that kind of nasty again… I promised myself I would pay for a marina and tie up to a safe dock… BUT… there is no such option for WildChild here, she is too big… too deep.
I am so scared and very very nervous… can I eject..?
Nope… I am the Captain and it is my yacht… I HAVE to face this head on whether I want to or not.
I know I am going to cry again…
Accepting all prayers for safety…
Captain Lexi
…. the scared chicken again….