As you probably know, Hurricane Paul passed by Banderas Bay (where I am) and slammed into Baja. I had been watching a fellow sailor's blog whom had left San Diego the same day I did, September 28, bound for Mexico (not this picture). The big difference was they were sailing down and I was flying down. The last blog post they had put up until yesterday, was the day before Paul hit. Paul had hit right where they were along the Pacific coast of Baja...almost a direct hit. I had been worried about these guys since, and had said more than one prayer that they were OK. This morning they finally put up a blog and their boat was blown ashore in Magdalena Bay. All people got off the boat safely and they are now trying to float their boat and have it towed to Cabo San Lucas for repairs.
I also saw on the internet that Bahia San Carlos, Sonora, which is where we were last summer, took quite a bashing from Paul. Several boats were washed aground (pic) and at least one boat lost. I also read another sailor's blog who was in Santa Rosalia (where Sharon and I were 1 year ago) and they took quite a bashing there also...although all boats and people were safe.
Hurricanes are considered one of natures most destructive forces. As we approach what is technically the end of hurricane season, October 31, I will continue to keep a close watch on the weather so as not to get caught in a late season cyclone. If that means hanging around Banderas Bay a little longer, so be it. In the mean time there is a certain luck of the draw involved as I could have been right in the middle of things if Paul had shown up a year earlier.