Well this was fun!
Scary, but fun!
This will be a very ho-hum story to you seasoned guys out there and you will maybe laugh at me here, but it was an experience for me!
First off all, before I get into the melo-drama, this week I took the boat all the way to Whitehall NY (88 miles) and jumped onto the NY CAnal System for about a 12 mile U-turn,,,,,,,,,VERY COOL, and next year I will try for an extended canal cruise!!
Now to the DRAMA.............
Last night we were anchored in Mallett's Bay, VT. Report was for powerful T'storms & strong winds from the NW,,,,waves 4 to 6 FEET!!! (I got this report fairly late as I had no internet access for nearly 2 days) Well okay, so after sunset we put the hammer down and ran the 5 miles across the bay to the north side and I tucked us into a small bay that faced,,,,,NorthWest. ANd I pulled in nice & tight to shore with only maybe 500-600' of exposure, thinking that I was 100% ready for anything. 5ft of water under us, cold cold wine on tap and suppertime close by. We poured some wine and congratulated ourselves as the rain & thunder started to get intense.
And the wind started, make that THE WIND,,,,,,and it started shrieking, with rain blowing sideways,,,,,,probably the strongest winds I have ever seen except for a mountain top were making these 2 40+ footers anchored nearby bounce around like bathtub toys! It was really cool to see, right up until the fog closed in and I could see only the shore. Meanwhile my little cruiser was flying all over the place! And then I noticed a dock and a big pile of rocks.
We were moving, fast,,,,,,,,,my anchor had not held and we were being blown right out of the bay and tossed by 2 foot waves! But before we'd hit open water we were going to pile up on that dock, or those rocks! YIKES,,,,not cool
My engine started immediately - thank goodness. But I could not see and I had my anchor out there still,,,,don't want to run my prop into that! First order of business: get off the darn shore, only a few dozen feet away,,,,gps showing 1.5 ft under my drive -Yilkes again! Inched forward enuff to get some breathing room and swung it around so I could back up, and I did this for a couple hundred yards & hoped that the anchor had caught - no luck. So I backed up some more into the center of the harbor and gave my GF the wheel and some instructions: keep making this tiny circle while I get the anchor up. Once accomplished it was just a matter of trying to control the boat in that intense wind while keeping it in the harbor, off shore and away from the big cruisers still in there. Slowly the storm passed, visibility improved and I regained my position even closer to shore than before!
And here I dropped TWO anchors, both from the bow, poured a new, larger glass of wine and breathed a sigh of relief,,,,,,,,,,and waited for the next storm to come thru.
Reports today mentioned a 70 mph storm, damaged boats from running aground, but thankfully nobody hurt. I would not have wanted to experience that damn storm out near the middle of teh lake!
ANd I do realize that this is not the most horror-filled storm event ever witnesssed, but it was very strong, very intense and very much demonstrated that disaster is always a possibility.
And now that I have survived it: well I guess that I have just a tad more experience to draw from now.
Hopefully my instincts were correct and I acted properly.
At least I hope so!
Sarah
This week, in my own backyard so to speak, a Canadian man drowned while doing something with his anchor right off of Valcour Island, on a very calm day too. Talk about one helluva lot of activity at the marina, but all for naught.
So Sad............
Scary, but fun!

This will be a very ho-hum story to you seasoned guys out there and you will maybe laugh at me here, but it was an experience for me!
First off all, before I get into the melo-drama, this week I took the boat all the way to Whitehall NY (88 miles) and jumped onto the NY CAnal System for about a 12 mile U-turn,,,,,,,,,VERY COOL, and next year I will try for an extended canal cruise!!

Now to the DRAMA.............
Last night we were anchored in Mallett's Bay, VT. Report was for powerful T'storms & strong winds from the NW,,,,waves 4 to 6 FEET!!! (I got this report fairly late as I had no internet access for nearly 2 days) Well okay, so after sunset we put the hammer down and ran the 5 miles across the bay to the north side and I tucked us into a small bay that faced,,,,,NorthWest. ANd I pulled in nice & tight to shore with only maybe 500-600' of exposure, thinking that I was 100% ready for anything. 5ft of water under us, cold cold wine on tap and suppertime close by. We poured some wine and congratulated ourselves as the rain & thunder started to get intense.
And the wind started, make that THE WIND,,,,,,and it started shrieking, with rain blowing sideways,,,,,,probably the strongest winds I have ever seen except for a mountain top were making these 2 40+ footers anchored nearby bounce around like bathtub toys! It was really cool to see, right up until the fog closed in and I could see only the shore. Meanwhile my little cruiser was flying all over the place! And then I noticed a dock and a big pile of rocks.
We were moving, fast,,,,,,,,,my anchor had not held and we were being blown right out of the bay and tossed by 2 foot waves! But before we'd hit open water we were going to pile up on that dock, or those rocks! YIKES,,,,not cool

My engine started immediately - thank goodness. But I could not see and I had my anchor out there still,,,,don't want to run my prop into that! First order of business: get off the darn shore, only a few dozen feet away,,,,gps showing 1.5 ft under my drive -Yilkes again! Inched forward enuff to get some breathing room and swung it around so I could back up, and I did this for a couple hundred yards & hoped that the anchor had caught - no luck. So I backed up some more into the center of the harbor and gave my GF the wheel and some instructions: keep making this tiny circle while I get the anchor up. Once accomplished it was just a matter of trying to control the boat in that intense wind while keeping it in the harbor, off shore and away from the big cruisers still in there. Slowly the storm passed, visibility improved and I regained my position even closer to shore than before!
And here I dropped TWO anchors, both from the bow, poured a new, larger glass of wine and breathed a sigh of relief,,,,,,,,,,and waited for the next storm to come thru.
Reports today mentioned a 70 mph storm, damaged boats from running aground, but thankfully nobody hurt. I would not have wanted to experience that damn storm out near the middle of teh lake!
ANd I do realize that this is not the most horror-filled storm event ever witnesssed, but it was very strong, very intense and very much demonstrated that disaster is always a possibility.
And now that I have survived it: well I guess that I have just a tad more experience to draw from now.

Hopefully my instincts were correct and I acted properly.
At least I hope so!
Sarah

This week, in my own backyard so to speak, a Canadian man drowned while doing something with his anchor right off of Valcour Island, on a very calm day too. Talk about one helluva lot of activity at the marina, but all for naught.
So Sad............
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