Well that was fun---NOT!!
01 February 2012 | Vuda Point Marina, Fiji
blowing and raining.
At 0600, just as I was about to get up(early riser), the wind started to blow in earnest. To make it that much better, Mother Nature added rain to the mix. As I was about to get up, we heard a "thunk" from right behind us(we sleep in the stern). Out Hydrovane(wind steering gear) had hit the small wooden ramp behind our boat that allows us to get to the marina. It had happened before during the last blow, but we had tightened the bow lines and thought all would be fine. Apparently NOT! I grabbed a pair of swim trunks while Tracy grabbed some shorts and we raced for the deck. The LAST thing we wanted(we maybe not the last thing) was to have our wonderful Hydrovane damaged. I grabbed a set of leather gloves along the way and we raced forward on deck. The wind was howling around us slapping us on the port(left) side as well as the bow of the boat sending us bobbing around in our slot(no slips here). I quickly undid the port line from the forward cleat and slipped it around our windlass(motorized gizmo that normally lifts our anchor). Unfortunately the chain for the anchor was still attached so I had to put a clip on the chain and tie it off so we could (A)--keep the anchor on board and (B) get the chain off the windlass). With the chain removed, I slipped the port bow line on the windlass and hit the button slowly pulling in on the line as rain pelted the two of us. In a foot and then two. Tracy went to the stern to see how we looked. We needed a bit more so I hit the button again. In another two feet. Now we were fine. The stern lines to shore were tight, so Tracy loosened them a bit on the port side and we were a good three feet from the ramp. The wind continued to howl around us and the rains continued as we sat in the cockpit(along with Blue-one of our cats) and watched as we swung around our slot missing the ramp as well as the boats on either side of us. I guess the tightening we did a few days ago(at 0100) wasn't quite enough though this was a much stronger blow. How come these blows happen in the night and not during the day when we're all awake? Mother Natures practical joke?
It's now 45 minutes later and the rains have stopped and it's calm outside. No wind at all. Just another of the fronts passing through from the tropical depression that swept past here yesterday I guess.
Hey, I was about to get up anyway. Tracy(always the smart one in the family) went back to bed. With an adrenaline headache but she's trying to get a bit more sleep. I'm sitting in the main salon typing this as the sun slowly comes us. At least we think it is. It's still totally overcast. We haven't seen the Sun in days. AH, the joys of the rainy season in Fiji.