A Blustery Welcome
04 February 2009
We're glad to be here but the winds have kicked up quite significantly and we need to spend the entire day on the boat. The predicted cold front, comes through exactly as predicted at around 5:30 a.m. and almost instantly the harbour turns into a maelstrom. Winds kick up to in excess of 30 knots and we here lots of frantic calls on the marine radio about boats dragging their anchors. This can be a very dramatic and often dangerous happenstance. The strength of the wind, combined with the waves kicked up by the wind can push the boat so hard that the anchor cannot hold and the boat is at the mercy of the elements. In trying to regain control lots of things can go wrong; boats cal collide, get wrapped around each other's lines, injuires can occur and many other bad things. The likelihood of this happening and the consequences are exacerbated by the congestion in the anchorages in Georgetown.
I'm really concerned about Sea Sharp holding and am up in the cockpit ready to react in the event of us dragging or another boat dragging down on us. I look over and see Audacious dragging through the anchorage towards other boats. They get up and regain control and re-anchor without incident but you can be sure that it would have been very tense on their boat. There are several other dragging incidents; some in our anchorage and others elsewhere in Georgetwon Harbour. But, the assistance and camaraderie are so strong that boaters instinctively come to the aid of those at peril and we understand that there was minimal damage.
The winds blow hard all day and while the glorious white sand beaches which surround our anchorage beckon, we dare not leave the boat. We read and putter all day, stranded on our boat/home. I actually begin and finish a book today on my kindle (I've probably read twenty or more books since leaving on our cruise).