What the sky looks like before all hell breaks loose...
08 January 2016 | Georgetown, Exumas, Bahamas
What started out as a quiet night at anchor in Georgetown turned into the one of scariest nights we have experienced on Boundless. Earlier in the night, we noticed a wall of clouds off to our south. Thinking they were going to pass by us, we sat down to a quiet dinner at anchor. While we were eating, the clouds to the south collided with a front from the north and caused a derecho. Our calm night quickly turned into chaos. Within 30 seconds we watched the wind go from 10 to 20 to 35 to 57 knots. All of this with no warning and not accompanied by any rain. We quickly sprang into action as the boat pulled back on the anchor, snapped our bridle, spun our wheel over hard, and started bucking in the growing waves. The navigation software indicated that we had not dragged anchor so Chris ran out on the bow while Chuck started the engines. Chris held the flashlight and guided Chuck forward on our anchor to relieve some of the pressure. The VHF started blowing up with people notifying boats that were dragging anchor and heading toward them. We kept a close eye on the boats in front of us and noticed them pulling up anchor while trying to keep safe distance. Luckily, Boundless was not in close proximity to any other boats. The wind sustained at 35-45 for about an hour and by midnight, the wind and seas were calm with the stars shining bright. Even though our nerves were frayed, we managed to sleep a few hours during the night.
The next morning, the VHF cruisers net was full of tales of the carnage suffered over the night. Boats dragging anchor, colliding with other boats, a boat on the beach, broken steering cables, dinghy’s flipped and missing, solar panels gone, hatches ripped off, and miscellaneous stuff blown off boats. One poor little vessel was pounded by a much bigger boat and has pretty much ended the sailing journey of her poor owner. Boats were reporting winds up to 90 knots and 106 just north of our location. So thankful there were no injuries reported!
We loaded up our tools (and Chuck’s knowledge of anything related to boats!) and headed out to help where we were able. Talking with fellow cruisers, we realized everyone was startled with the suddenness of the wind. One lady even mentioning she ran out to help raise the anchor with only her pj’s and no underwear but glad to know everyone was so engrossed in their own problems and didn't notice the full moon. It felt good to laugh after all the tension.
Looking back, we felt well prepared for the situation even though it was so scary and feel blessed that we are safe and no damage to Boundless. Now we look forward to a fun week with our guests from cold Michigan!