Journal Entry August 1, 2005 Wind, Rain and a Big Cat

Author: Pam

During the night the wind and rain escalated, our calm serene anchorage turned into a different place entirely. Early in the morning we stuck our head out of the companionway to check on the other boats and our position in the anchorage. There was a catamaran anchored near by that seemed to be swinging a lot on their anchor and within an hour it was obvious they were dragging. We went out on deck to keep an eye on their progress in getting their anchor set and ended up being involved in a situation that got out of hand. The wind was up to at least 30 knot gusts and the cat did not have the engine power to move against the wind. They also did not have a windless and the man on board was on the deck pulling the anchor by hand. Before we knew what was happening the cat was sitting on Tournesol’s anchor chain and bearing down on her bow. The four of us were trying to fend the two boats off of one another. The next thing we knew the captain of the cat was standing on our anchor chain to gain leverage and in an instant fell in the water. I know in that moment Scott and I both felt the same emotion as we encouraged him to move away from the boats, the boats were not more important than his life. Finally there was a lull in the wind allowing the boats to separate and they were able to motor a safe distance away. It was a particularly difficult situation, they did not speak English (we didn’t even know what language they were speaking) and it is very difficult to fend off a catamaran due to how low the boat is in the water. While they were pulling away from Tournesol another boat anchored nearby pulled up their anchor and moved to give them plenty of room. They finally anchored safely and no one else dragged their anchor the rest of the day.

The rain fell heavily all day and we stayed inside, except for the periodic peek outside. At one point I looked out to find the water around Tournesol completely brown. At first I thought there was a strange light from the sun, but quickly realized it was mud runoff from all of the rain. It was a completely different anchorage then we had arrived in a few days ago. The rain continued steady throughout the day, but the wind settled down in the early afternoon. We decided in the late afternoon to venture out and try to get some fish for dinner. Dressed in shorts and a light rain jacket we headed over to pick up Rachel on Starship to go to shore. We docked at the fish market and were delighted to find they had mahi mahi. We then decided to go to the grocery store, Rachel wanted to get a baguette. We went to both stores and as often happens that time of the day they were all out of baguettes. It was just as well, I don’t know how she would have gotten it back dry, we all looked like drowned rats when we got back to the boats.

Scott cooked the mahi mahi on top of the stove in butter and white wine. It was a delicious treat after such a dreary day.