What is with the weather in paradise?
Sailboat in Marina Vallarta
From Mazatlan to Z-Town; lightning, southerlies, 80 knots in Banderas Bay – yikes! Basic prep in the unusual conditions this winter seems to be to prepare for the worst. Basic skills plus a few precautions can make the difference between an uncomfortable night on the hook and a dangerous one with an expensive outcome.
Make sure your anchor gear is good and the snubber deployed. I have not heard many people complain about engines and anchor gear being too large. Be ready to go to plan B at a moment’s notice i.e. before dark, scope out the anchorage, know where to move to find a lee if the wind changes direction (which it seems to be doing alot of this winter). Is the dinghy on deck and tied down? Know your neighbors. Does their anchor gear look sufficient? Is someone aboard if the weather turns? Do you have enough sea room to maneuver out of the anchorage easily at night? The surf that was breaking 200 yards away could be right on your transom if the seas build. If your neighbor’s boat looks a little dodgy, it might be a good time to consider sliding over a few hundred yards to get out of the potential line of fire when the boat drags.
What other tips do you guys have to prepare for less than perfect weather in paradise?
February 6th, 2010 at 11:33 am
Nice post, Craig. I like to have a lot of chain, a good snubber with excellent chafe protection, and I like to anchor next to similar boats with similar gear. In other words, I don’t prefer to anchor next to a boat swinging at anchor on line because it will probably swing unpredictably relative to my boat. Even if the anchor is heavy and the windlass breaks down (I carry a spare windlass motor), it’s less of a headache to retrieve it, or abandon it, than pulling the boat off of a beach.