Ep 154 Fighting Squalls on Passage to Martinique (Plus Boat vs. Reef)
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- čas přidán 26. 08. 2024
- We depart St Lucia on Passage to Martinique, seeing 20-25 knot tradewinds, but squalls build in the afternoon, presenting wind speeds into the high 30’s (37 knots). For those unaware, these quickly become serious conditions. An un-reefed sail will be torn to shreds in a matter of moments.
And upon arrival in St Anne, Martinique, we witness an Island Packet cruising yacht run full speed (under power) into an adjacent reef. I didn’t get footage of the actual crash, but I’d say they were close to being dismasted.
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Good to see you are still out there. Been following for a long time. Nice to see a video drop. It's like an old friend dropping by unexpectedly.
Thanks so much Gerald. We love knowing there are people out there sharing the experience with us.
Epic goodness as always!
Thanks Dan.
Nice video - and one very impressive boat. Pretty good crew as well ;)
Many thanks!
Well done folks. Just another day at the office. As an older sailor iI like your approach. Preparation, competance, and skillful execution. There are plenty on you tube I would not want to be onboard with
Hi David. Thanks for the kind words. We do try our best to be professional in our approach and not be the "drama" channel. Unfortunately, the CZcams algorithms encourage a drama fueled story arc, complete with meltdowns, dangerous risk taking, and the like.
Nice video guys.
Thanks DG. How is life these days?
Fair play to the IP on the reef, these things happen as the most of the world have the markers transposed. I could easily see a European having a brain fart and forgetting that in the caribbean, your in the land of red, right, retun.
At least the owner had the foresight to buy a boat which not only has a fully enclosed keel with no bolts but also a mast which is keel stepped for added protection. If I was to choose a grp boat to ram onto a reef, an island packet would make the shortlist.
Glad to see your still out there doing your thing.
Good post and I would agree wholeheartedly, especially as regards the robust construction of the Island Packet yachts. However, I think a lot of sailors get used to harbors that have marked channels mostly geared toward keeping ferry routes clear of anchored sailboats. But this obviously cannot be counted on. That entire harbor (Le Marin/St Anne) is nothing but reefs and shallows, and if they had been blown onto the reef as a lee shore, they would have been truly screwed. It's well charted and the skipper clearly wasn't looking at where he was going.
If you decide to go to Dominica, be careful where you port. Most mooring are just old engines near Portsmouth. Locals will likely mess with your boat. Stay south if you have to.
Wendy and I are not fans of Dominica, for a number of reasons. Generally, islands with active rainforests tend to have rivers that carry a lot of silt and organics into the water, making them poor swimming and snorkeling locations. Next, islands with active, or even dormant volcanos often have black sand beaches. Again, for swimming, I like to be able to see the bottom. It's what makes the Caribbean such an amazing swimming/snorkeling location. Finally, as you mention, security is always suspect there. The PAYS guys up in Portsmouth have taken over all the mooring balls and nobody on the island F's with those dudes. They're rumored among the cruisers to be ex-drug dealers/runners and they have the look of it. They are older, but a baseball bat suddenly appearing is always in the back of your mind. They have a hut near the Purple Turtle, and they'll be in there playing dominos during the day. Very friendly to deal with if you're a client. There was a story on Noonsite earlier this year where a local paddled out on a plastic kayak and stole a dinghy from a catamaran. They PAYS guys heard about it and "recovered" it by the next day. I always imagined a brutal beating to go along with this violation of their turf.
Squalls didn't appear to be to bad. Think of them as a free boat wash. Ever considered inflatable fenders to save massive space?
Yep Brian. That's why I posted the video. Sailing Aquarius was recently dismasted on the same passage highlighted by us (St Lucia to Martinique). In our case winds went from low 20's to 37 knots in the time span you saw ... 30-45 seconds. And it's clear to me that you being dismissive of such means you haven't experienced it in real life. Not having radar and not being on guard would have left us fully exposed to winds that would shred your sails in the time it takes to come into the wind. As for the fenders, we've seen them and are somewhat envious. However, we do have the ones we have, and use them regularly enough that pumping and deflating would become tiresome. I've also observed that they're kind of a fabric design that I think could puncture easily. The big rubber fenders that came with the boat (Polyform) are truly impressive when it comes to durability. On passage we store them in the dinghy. And thanks for being with us.
'Slugs and snails and puppy dog tails'. Is that the same in the US?
I think so.
Enjoyed that thanks for sharing - great sailing.😀👍⛵️