Comments on: How We Almost Lost The Boat In St.Kitts

By: Norm

Norm — Sat, 21 Nov 2015 18:38:11 +0000

Holly Shit!! Two extremely terrifying incidents. I think all sailors have thought about getting off their anchor in a hurry. When fishing for halibut, I would take the end of the roe underneath then round back over the bow rail and attached a harmonious orange fisherman’s float to the bitter end. Being able to unclean the anchor pitch the float over the rail chase the fish and come back and retrieving anchor was needed several times for fish over 300 pound.

I couldn’t come close to touching the terror of some of these moments. The closest I can come was on delivery off Cape Mendocino in a gale with the wind blowing the tops off the waves that sounded like freight trains crashing (required earplugs in the cockpit). Waves would break over the Stern fill the cockpit with 50° water, making it a cold tub. As the storm abated the wind settled down, but the waves were still there. It was kind like a roller coaster ride and after the great big thrill hills were out of the way you had the small ones at the end, but it lasted about 18 hours.

By: SV Mary Christine

SV Mary Christine — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 16:14:02 +0000

Holy Cow, Brent!! That is a great story!! I’m so glad everything turned out well for you. Great choice with the Rocna!! You’re absolutely right about hoping for the best and planning for the worst. It has saved us many times as well. We really appreciate you taking the time to tell your story!! It’s great for everyone to hear!

By: SV Mary Christine

SV Mary Christine — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 15:58:35 +0000

Those pictures were all taken after the fact :) NO way did I have time to grab a camera in the first hours of that day. It was a bit easier when our adrenaline dropped. We’re glad to be on the sunny side now :)

By: SV Mary Christine

SV Mary Christine — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 15:56:36 +0000

Bill, that would have definitely been ideal.

Wow, tacking at anchor is not fun – we know what that feels like!! Rocna is an excellent anchor and would be our first choice if our Delta wasn’t working as well as it has for us. Great story – thanks for sharing!!!

By: SV Mary Christine

SV Mary Christine — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 15:54:25 +0000

Absolutely Capt! More experience is absolutely right. The next three squalls we had immediately after that one weren’t nearly as bad as they might have been without first having the ferry incident.