Out of order

Not Betsy, the blog! Today's post will follow this evening's story. It is 2:30am. We found an anchorage at Mile Hammock Bay. It is well protected and 10' deep throughout. We cruised in late around 6-630 and dropped anchor. I retreated to the V-berth to meditate, but it didn't last long. I could hear the wind picking up and suddenly the Captain was shouting- I could sense his concern. By the time I got to the helm, I knew we were in actual trouble. A thunderstorm had rolled in and within seconds our anchor was dragging and Betsy was spinning. Dad ran to reel in the anchor and told me to take the controls and keep us off the other boats. It was pitch black out. I could barely see the other boats, only their anchor lights were visible, but they saw we were moving and quickly turned their lights on. I could see that Captain Ralph was motioning something, but couldn't hear a thing and could only see which direction he was pointing when the lightning flashed! We needed to get over top of the anchor and the wind was blowing strong. The engines BOTH stalled as we drifted back toward another vessel. Holy crap what an adrenaline rush! We switched positions as the anchor is heavy when covered in mud. I swear I ripped that thing off the ocean floor in a matter of a few arm lengths. It landed on the deck with a thud and nearly onto my foot! Fingers crossed I didn't cause any damage, but frankly I couldn't have done anything differently in that moment. The Captain righted our ship and we motored around a bit to avoid other boats until the storm passed. Good, bad, or ugly, this kind of epic intensity will make you feel alive. Note to potential interns: we have an iron-clad liability waiver and signing is non-negotiable!

Somebody asked for AIS? The Ralphs know when to let big brother watch our backs! Hell I would have preferred an angel. If anyone has the sweet hookup, call me ASAP at IWA - SSC - ARED. 

We again set anchor when the wind calmed down but were beyond paranoid as there were other storm cells in the area. Check the news. You would never have known with the beautiful day of motoring we had!

We set up our radar and plotter so we could monitor the relative positions of Betsy, the surrounding anchored vessels, and the shore line. I set an anchor alarm (AnchorWatch app) and checked the tides. Unwilling to take a chance, we decided to maintain night watch. I sent the Captain to bed since he is an incredibly early riser and could take over in the wee hours of the morning. I am here writing now to pass the time, but am looking up every other sentence to view the closest boat and check the radar screen to ensure we aren't drifting. The Captain sauntered up around 145 and I assured him all was well. I don't see any more weather coming in tonight and tomorrow looks calm. I couldn't sleep if I had to. WHAT A RUSH! If you want to get the juices flowing (thank you Bob Bitchin'), I highly recommend anchoring out in a storm.