I Will Kiss My Anchor...

I will kiss my anchor when we bring it up and sail in a couple of days from St. Lucia to Martinique.

We were anchored in calm and peaceful Rodney Bay last night--facing east with about 10 knots of wind when we were suddenly hit with a squall that turned us west towards the ocean. The winds, within seconds, accelerated to 40-50 knots followed by swells and breaking waves of 5-6 feet.

There were boats anchored all around us but we kept our eyes on Aloha--anchored adjacent to us. If Rascal stayed the same distance from Aloha, it meant our anchor was holding. If not, we were in trouble and could end up on the beach.

Over the next hour we heard people yelling and saw boats all around us lose their anchor holds and drag towards the beach. But Rascal (and Aloha) held! The wind, waves and rain stayed up for 45 minutes before they subsided.

A mayday went out when one boat crashed into the rocks--but nothing we could do. When we got up this morning we saw one sailboat had been dis-masted and another was on the beach.

I love my anchor...