A Tale of Two Moorings
What a difference a night can make. We each make decisions daily; often times without realizing their future profound impact. Yesterday, we chose badly. Fortunately, today we got it so right.
Yesterday started with a decision to head northeast to an island called Anegada. After an hour of pounding against ferocious winds and big seas we remembered that there are cocktails on other islands as well and we looked for the closest anchorage as the weather closed in. DECISION POINT: We chose Cane Garden Bay, which looked as good as anything else on the chart. While most cruisers forgo mooring buoys in favor of anchoring, this bay was littered with buoys making anchoring very difficult. The concern when anchoring among buoys is that either your boat will swing and hit one or, more menacingly, you will collide with a boat that is on a buoy which has a different swing radius. DECISION POINT: We took a mooring ball - the problem with the bay is that it featured both an unpredictable ground swell near the mooring balls as well as swirling winds emanating from the surrounding mountains. The result being the most exciting "passage" we have ever made when attached to a mooring ball. Oh, and it rained and blew 35 knots, non-stop.
Why not deploy a stern anchor? Good idea - DECISION POINT: Tom took a terrifying 100 yard ride hauling an anchor and 100 yards of nylon line through the waves; tossed it all overboard and arrived back safely only to watch in horror as the anchor dragged all the way back to the boat. That is 5 hours he will never get back.
DECISION POINT: Undaunted by the weather, we set out for dinner via the dinghy riding huge waves. As we approached the very rickety looking dinghy dock it occurred to us that while the waves were continuing we needed to stop. Only a panicked reversing maneuver prevented us from landing on top of the dock (seconds later a less fortunate dinghy was tossed over the dock). Mahi sandwiches and conch fritters remained a dream... The ride back featured our dinghy catching air, waves breaking in our laps and a final terrifying leap from the dinghy to the stern of our boat which towered 10 feet above at the waves crest. Beefaroni never tasted so good. Notice a trend on our decisions? 0 for 4 but still alive.
Having the advantage of the clarity that comes from not sleeping, we set out to change our luck. The first step was to make a rapid escape from Bay of Broken Dreams. Given that the wind conditions had not changed, we set off for a more protected anchorage at Norman Island. Dangerous mooring balls? Scarce and well-spaced. 65 feet of water to anchor in? No problem - 300 feet of chain and a serious anchor. Mahi sandwich? Blackened or with jerk sauce was the reply from the beachfront restaurant. You get the picture - today was a perfect day.
And the best of all? A chance rendezvous with Mark from Wavelength who did his Old Man and the Sea impression by rowing a quarter mile to our boat in 20 knot wind. Hope he asked for an outboard for Christmas. It was great to see a friendly face in this beautiful anchorage.
Yesterday started with a decision to head northeast to an island called Anegada. After an hour of pounding against ferocious winds and big seas we remembered that there are cocktails on other islands as well and we looked for the closest anchorage as the weather closed in. DECISION POINT: We chose Cane Garden Bay, which looked as good as anything else on the chart. While most cruisers forgo mooring buoys in favor of anchoring, this bay was littered with buoys making anchoring very difficult. The concern when anchoring among buoys is that either your boat will swing and hit one or, more menacingly, you will collide with a boat that is on a buoy which has a different swing radius. DECISION POINT: We took a mooring ball - the problem with the bay is that it featured both an unpredictable ground swell near the mooring balls as well as swirling winds emanating from the surrounding mountains. The result being the most exciting "passage" we have ever made when attached to a mooring ball. Oh, and it rained and blew 35 knots, non-stop.
Why not deploy a stern anchor? Good idea - DECISION POINT: Tom took a terrifying 100 yard ride hauling an anchor and 100 yards of nylon line through the waves; tossed it all overboard and arrived back safely only to watch in horror as the anchor dragged all the way back to the boat. That is 5 hours he will never get back.
DECISION POINT: Undaunted by the weather, we set out for dinner via the dinghy riding huge waves. As we approached the very rickety looking dinghy dock it occurred to us that while the waves were continuing we needed to stop. Only a panicked reversing maneuver prevented us from landing on top of the dock (seconds later a less fortunate dinghy was tossed over the dock). Mahi sandwiches and conch fritters remained a dream... The ride back featured our dinghy catching air, waves breaking in our laps and a final terrifying leap from the dinghy to the stern of our boat which towered 10 feet above at the waves crest. Beefaroni never tasted so good. Notice a trend on our decisions? 0 for 4 but still alive.
Having the advantage of the clarity that comes from not sleeping, we set out to change our luck. The first step was to make a rapid escape from Bay of Broken Dreams. Given that the wind conditions had not changed, we set off for a more protected anchorage at Norman Island. Dangerous mooring balls? Scarce and well-spaced. 65 feet of water to anchor in? No problem - 300 feet of chain and a serious anchor. Mahi sandwich? Blackened or with jerk sauce was the reply from the beachfront restaurant. You get the picture - today was a perfect day.
And the best of all? A chance rendezvous with Mark from Wavelength who did his Old Man and the Sea impression by rowing a quarter mile to our boat in 20 knot wind. Hope he asked for an outboard for Christmas. It was great to see a friendly face in this beautiful anchorage.