A Minor Inconvenience Versus a Big Problem

Hoooo boy, did we get a dose of new learnings yesterday! Yesterday we got
slapped with a big 'Don't you get cocky now' message! We've been having our
first big Norther since Marathon and the day before yesterday we
congratulated ourselves because we 'thought' we were finally getting the
hang of this stuff. The weather gods and Murphy must have had a good
chuckle and decided they'd teach us cheeky monkeys a thing or two. Okay,
okay! We're humbled again!

The anchorage has gone from still, flat and calm to rocking and rolling.
The wind has been clocking around S, SE, and spent yesterday from the SW.
The only points our anchorage are open are SW and W which means that the
waves and wind from the SW rush right in off the sea. Now we're tied up to
a mooring ball and we didn't think the wind was going to be that strong so
even though there was a mooring ball available in the more sheltered harbor,
we decided to stay put. And the wind actually wasn't that bad, but for some
reason the waves rolling were much bigger than what the wind would normally
generate. So we bounced and bounced and bounced all day long. Key Learning
1 - If a more sheltered anchorage presents itself when there is going to be
a blow, take it.

It's been hot so we've been keeping all the hatches open. A key learning
from another day was to close the back ports just over the bed because
otherwise the exhaust blows in when you run the engine, so we closed those
during the running of the engine and then I reopened them once the engine
was shut down. We spent some time up on deck keeping an eye on the waves
and bouncing around. When I came down below I heard some splashing in the
rear cabin, ooooohhhh nnnnnooooo! Those big splashy waves had backwashed on
the back of the boat and onto our bed. Ugh, seawater bed, not nice.
Seawater takes forever to dry and the salt which remains on the fabric gets
damp at the slightest hint of moisture (and we're sitting on top of the
OCEAN!). I was probably the closest I've been to a major meltdown than I've
been on the whole trip, most things I can handle, but not a wet bed.

Steve was an absolute hero, totally calm, checked things out and discovered
that because of all of the padding, sheets and quilts on the bed, the
mattress had not gotten wet. All of the padding, sheets and quilts had
gotten wet, but the mattress was dry - yyyiiiippppeeee! Sanity was
restored, the bed was remade and at some point we'll get the bedding dry.
Key Learning 2 - If there are waves and you don't want to have a wet bed,
keep the bed ports closed!

We played various dingy games during the afternoon trying to get the dingy
tied up properly after we found it wedged under the swim ladder. The seas
were too bouncy to put the heavy outboard motor back on the big boat (it
weighs 80 pounds and we have to use a winch and halyard to lift it). A
heavy outboard engine is not something you want swinging around on a rope in
big wind and bouncy seas so the dingy and motor stayed in the water often
bouncing as high as the lifelines. Steve finally got it tied on to the
stern to his satisfaction this morning. Key Learning 3 - If it is going to
be blowy, put the big heavy outboard away before it gets too blowy to get it
off the dingy!

There's probably a 4th learning in there, don't just pay attention to the
wind, the waves can be as big, if not bigger, problem. The wind is a good
10 - 15 knots more than it was yesterday, but because the wind has clocked
around some more to the N, now coming at us over the island rather than
directly from the sea, the waves are much smaller even though there is more
wind.

We continued our bouncing on through the rest of the afternoon, through a
steak and pasta dinner (excellent comfort food!) and a cup of tea on deck
with the stars. We bounced off to bed and spent the night bouncing on our
dry mattress.

At about 3:00 in the morning, Steve got up for a look around and said there
was a boat where it shouldn't have been. I took a look and there was a boat
behind us. Now behind us is a short space of water and a little inlet
ringed with rock walls. The boat was pointed bow in towards the rock walls.
It had come untied from its mooring ball or the mooring line attaching the
boat to the mooring line had snapped, and during the night it drifted until
it was facing (and possibly on) the rocks. The boat was completely dark
except for its anchor lights. Just as we were getting out the VHF radio
and figuring out what to do, their lights came on and they backed off the
rocks and headed back to their mooring ball. We couldn't see what damage
was done, but they were moving so that was a good sign.

All of sudden our problems of yesterday became minor inconveniences - theirs
was a really big problem.