I know I haven't posted in awhile. I've really just been hanging out, kitesurfing, reading, and enjoying the fact that I don't have to scrape the windshield. But last night, Christmas Eve, game me something to write about.
I'm anchored in Clifton Harbor on Union Island, and I've been here for a few weeks. In just the last couple days, the yacht traffic really picked up, and the harbor is nearly full of boats. I'm anchored as far forward as possible, just behind the shallow area where we kite. When I say "forward", it's because the wind here almost always comes from the east. Almost.
Christmas Eve brings a brilliant light show from a nearby thunderstorm, and after watching for a while, I go to bed early, as is my norm while on the water. The storm intensifies after midnight, and I am jolted out of bed by the unmistakable shock and thump of the boat hitting ground. I run up and see that the wind has switched 180 degrees, and I am now over the shallows. I thought that I had room to swing in all directions, but it is currently dead low tide, and I've run out of room. I'm not stuck, I'm just bouncing. I start the engine and pull forward, then run out onto the foredeck (naked) in a driving rainstorm to shorten scope by hand. Did I mention that my windlass is broken, and I'm waiting for a part coming by FedEx? So, with that taken care of, I reverse to keep from coming too close to the French boat which was behind me and is now in front of me, and when my boat falls back, it is no longer hitting bottom.
This is the strongest electrical storm I have seen in two years of cruising. In fact, it's the strongest electrical storm I have ever seen. Fortunately, there doesn't seem to be a lot of ground strikes around here, it's mostly cloud to cloud. I have time now to go below, put some clothes on, and check the radar loop on the internet. There is no end in sight. I'm going to be on anchor watch most of the night.
The harbor is chaos. It is brilliantly and frequently lit up, though for only for milliseconds at a time. The wind continues to swing through 360 degrees, and the storm continues to rage. One boat near me has stuck in the shallows, and those aboard are scrambling around when, as I watch, it comes free and smashes into another boat on a mooring. I see another boat which has drug anchor and is pinned sideways on the reef in the middle of the harbor. There's a lot of activity on the radio. I facilitate what I can over the air, but there is no way I'm leaving my boat in this. I guess my Christmas present is that my boat made out OK.
At one point during the night there is a lull in the storm, and I shout over to the French boat, which is now abeam me (all four of them are on deck).
"Merry Christmas!"
"What?"
"I say Merry Christmas!"
"Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!"
