Just Cruizin On Bluemoon

Log 66

I have broken the log up as it would have been too long... Log 65 is the first log then this one...

What a day!... (12th July) what started out as a glorious and wonderful sun filled day,after a very early morning squall... it suddenly changed into what seemed like a raging storm... a Sumatra.

We had only really heard about the Sumatra's and experienced small 30 - 35 knots gusting in, shaking everyone around then it was over.... yet this time we were to face a major crisis of the worst kind for us, on the 3rd and biggest Sumatra of over 53 knots and of course it was in the early hours and all was pitch black...

We noticed a sudden cloud build up with a very dark lining warning us something was coming. We lashed everything down tightly and cleared everything away just in case. As the build up grew bigger and closer we could see that what was approaching threatened to be a Sumatra, which actually was going to happen. The wind came in with such a force and the rain felt like needles on our skin and eyes, treating us like a pincushion!

Jono and I were 'playing' in the rain which was fun and also sore! LOL Mini moon was lashed down to the side of the boat but was snapping fiercely at the side which posed to be a problem,but we could not move her out of that position in that wind. Then after an hour or more, the wind calmed and we decided to lift her up and secure her on the davits and tie her down as more clouds even bigger and darker were approaching us fast!

We re-secured the the cover and closed the solar panels which was a saving grace!

The wind had died down to about 20 knots and the only thought that came to mind which I voiced was... 'the calm before the storm'... 

When the very dark and fast moving clouds were over head we could see another front (Sumatra) coming at a speed now, and more severe... you could see the wind on the ocean and within not even 10 minutes the ocean had whisked up to a rough sea and we were now rocking quite wildly! The other boats further down the bay were having it no easier!!Over 43 knots came blasting into this little bay.... many of the boats dragged and were not having any fun! The realization hit that we are like little toys in such strong winds.... though thank the Lord for the double anchor as that was what kept us from dragging.... it appeared at first that we were dragging, but realized it was just the 35 meters and the 10 meters on the anchors that were straightening up - keeping in mind we were only anchored in 1.4 meters of water!!!!

It was adrenalin pumping  for all of us!! Things were blowing around, and so for the next few hours we went through a real hard lashing...  the waves were breaking... and you could not see the boat in front of you at 30 meters!!

PFM were dragging along with a few other boats! They had logged 50 knots while we only logged 43... how was that possible? It was just the calibration on the different logs... so it should have been 50 as a few other yachties also clocked 50...

Jono and I were complaining that it was unfair! We also wanted to clock that in a nice bay in daylight and at anchor... and as you all know how the saying goes... be very careful what you wish or ask for as you may just get it and we got alot more than we wished for!!!

After a very full day of heavy winds and rough seas, bobbing around like a ball in the ocean... we were very grateful to be anchored by the second little islet (where we beach bluemoon) with only one BIG boat upfront and port of us, so we did not have to worry about any boats dragging into us... or so we thought!

The Front and Sumatra was coming directly from the west and we had all the other boats downwind of us. It was terrible watching these boats dragging and trying to re anchor in such strong conditions! Also a dingy was whipped up out of the water and flung into the boat midships with such force! Everyone was on high alert! The wind was now cyclonic and hitting us from every direction.  The rain hitting down on us hard made us all feel like pin cushions!

PFM had unbeknows to us checked the weather and along with a few other boats headed for the marina which was already full 100 meters from us! 

Things settled down to a Calm before the Storm....  unbeknowns to us!!!

We all had a shower and thankfully John and I had made a Bryani earlier in the day which was just what we needed! We all watched a DVD then finely went to bed feeling exhausted after such an action packed day! John fell asleep instantly while I had this sickening feeling!! I could hear the rain and wind coming and that sound of a freight train is the best way to explain it to you... then the sound we most dreaded to hear... something was graunching under the hulls!!! In a panic at that sound I woke John and we dashed up on deck - dressed in just a shirtless t-shirt and underware! 

The rain was pumping through the saloon wetting the couch and everything in its grasp! Next thing the port side was being graunchedl... within seconds of realzing the problem, the wind hit with such force we were all thrown off guard!! That wind!!

The waves were crashing next to the boat as we were stuck and could not move into the wind!!! We could not move and so we were broad on!

Taking such a beating!!! It was hard to hold on!! Then the side flap escaped and was flapping wildly and all over the place.... I was almost blown overboard if John had not yanked on the flap while rolling her up!! We all helped as the wind was vicious!  It was absolute chaos! You could not see! If we thought the weather had been harsh earlier in the day we had no clue how violent a 50 knotter plus could be!! The problem we faced was that we had gone over our bridle and anchor....  and being so shallow was bad as the chain was hooked on what we thought was the sail drive... and so could not use the motoron that side and we had no change of moving anything with just one motor in this very strong wind. The we decided we had no choice as we could maybe loose our sail drive or graunch right through the glass!!! What to do!!! What to do!! In the heavy strong rain and wind, John put on his rain jacket and in the rush he managed to mishook the zip and start choking himself!!!  My gosh, at that same moment I yell at John who is batteling that that BIG boat was dragging and coming staight for us!!!!! We were still stuck and could not break free!! Justine grabbed the horn which broke at the mouth piece the minute they tried to use it!!!!! Talk about luck!!! I shouted for the whistle and Jono taped the mouth piece and so we were all hooting and whisteling and shouting at the tops of our voices... which Praise the Lord woke the guy up!! He must have thought we were mad! Dressed in nothing, with the mast light on hanging over the bow to see where the chain was laying, running back relay the info as you could not hear nothing!! The guy on the boat who was watching the circus on our boats then realized that he too had a little crisis as he had dragged with the buoy he was on and was very close to the rocks! Katrine had dragged onto the rocks and a blue monohull was blown right up onto the rocks!! Thank goodness it was a steel boat! Eveyone was dragging and yelling and screaming... Each one concerned with his own crisis!! It was mayhem! 

So with out knowing if the chain was hooked on the sail drive or the keel, we were now in a dangerous position with the force of 50 knots, and the waves crashing violently by the boat!! John used the port motor to force the chain loose which suddenly it did! With having chocked himself he had managed to break the hold, breath deeply and focus on the problem at hand... Bluemoon moved with such speed into the wind we were all thrown! Totally drenched and buzzing as if we were all on a high! Jono and Justine had pulled me more than once before I was blown away!!! I could hardly hang on!!

When the wind abated some, the guy on the BIG boat came over and asked for assistance to get his boat into the marina as he was single handed, as his wife had gone to Thailand. So Jono and Justine went to assist while we were motoring Bluemoon into the wind if she went off with the gusting winds... this lasted till past 5am which was exhausting! The kids eventually went to sleep yet still highly strung... John eventually slept in the cockpit and I was just not sleeping at all!! I was truly on a high and watched the sunrise with my fiftieth cup!!  The morning after showed signs of the surprise attack of wind and rain....  everything looked so much greener and cleaner! There were hardly any boats of the 20 that were anchored yesterday....  that blue monohull was still on the rocks.... every thing was so quiet... I just cannot explain that feeling.....

Thinking about it... we were actually all prepared and worked so well together! As John said thinking about the crisis, we could have used our Genoa to help us turn the boat when we could not use the motors... hopefully there will not be a nexdt time hey!!

The whole day we kept watch and alert... now exhausted with cuts and bruises all over us which for the life of us could not remember getting!! My fingers are sore! Swollen and achy which was definitely from the hanging on for dear life!

I managed to snoozed from 4 that afternoon till 6. John spent most of the day sleeping along with the kids... I woke him up for us all to share a good cuppa at around 9:30pm then we all went to sleep which even if there was another Sumatra we would not have woken!

The following day was glorious and bright!! They had taken the mono at high tide off the rocks and moored her up in the marina... John and I fetched water and said hi to PFM who slept like babies that night and never knew the chaos going on right outside the marina!! LOL Jono and I felt so guilty about our wishes and decided after that experience, we would never again ask for anything near those proportions!!!

We have ordered our two props and are just waiting to see how long it is going to take before heading off for Thailand to renew our visas, as we will not have enough time to head South unless we rush - which is not what we want to do and we have no real reason to rush.. so our fate has lead us yet again in another direction and so we will go with it for now.

Our chimes have been repainted and renewed and are looking just so pretty hanging up all new again... I have been making mobiles and chimes with all the shells and wood and am pleased to hear the sounds of our bamboo chimes which looks so colourful and gives such a lovely sound!! Only problem is I am running out of space! LOL

Today, two days later ...  it is so misty!! Everywhere is like a fog covering the moutain and ocean around us.... no wind... so we just wait and see what the rest of the day has to offer... all still aware of how quick things can happen.

Please drop a note as we have not heard from alot of you guys... and it would be nice to know you are all still okay! We do miss you all!!

Till the next log, keep living life to the fullest!

John, Jenny, Justine, Jessica and Jonathan