Can we escape Hurricane Beryl? | Ep118
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- Опубликовано: 3 июл 2024
- It's not a position anyone wants to find themselves in. Sitting at anchor with a category 4 hurricane heading straight for you!
The usual mundane problems of life become insignificant and all focus goes to the storm. As everyone knows though a forecast isn't really much more than an educated guess when it comes to weather, there have been major improvements for sure but there is no certainty in this.
The track of the storm is all important a difference of 20 miles can be the difference between experiencing a bit of a stiff 30-40 knot blast and a boat breaking 150 knot mailstrom.
It's not something I fully appreciated until witnessing it first hand but hurricanes are almost closed systems, getting just that little bit away can mean you feel virtually no effect fr4om them whatsoever. On the flip side being within one the effect you will feel is massively dependent on positioning. The strongest winds in a hurricane are on the inner wall, frightening concrete smashing forces, the next strongest is the front right leading edge as the hurricane moves, this 'fat side' can extend out further than elsewhere and is more difficult to escape from.
The good thing about being in a boat of course is that you can move! So when the track of hurricane Beryl moved from crossing near the South coast of St Vincent down to just off the North coast of Grenada this was too close. If the forecast was spot on we would experience strong, but hopefully not unmanageable wings in the South of Grenada. If there was a further 20-30 mile wobble to the South though we would be toast!
So began the mass exodus from Grenada, a fleet of little ships probably not seen on this scale since Dunkirk!
This video tells the whole story and was put together in difficult circumstances as things happened so if you enjoy it please do make the effort to press the subscribe button it costs you nothing and helps us out a lot as RUclips may actually suggest our videos to people instead of burying them!
If you're interested in some of the things we showed in this episode I've got some website links below;
Ecoflow: We've found them to have the best solar generators so we also got their portable Aircon unit and now their fridge. We recommend them all.
EcoFlow US:bit.ly/46BfWPz
EcoFlow UK: bit.ly/46G9aYh
Vision Anchor: We will do a little test video on this unit when we've had a chance to use it properly, but I'm impressed with the build of this little smart marker buoy so could be a useful thing;
www.visionanchor.net/
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Let’s take a moment to recognize the fact that Steve did all this alone… AND filmed it for us! Well done.
… and edited, and released a full length Beryl video before any other RUclips cruiser. Well done.
These are the days. A old man full of vitality sailing away from a hurricane by himself, yet connected to the world. Thank you for sharing your journey. Glad to see you faired well, we were worried for you. Fair winds.
I second the motion except I'm not sure Steve would appreciate the 'Old Man' comment😁😁
Happy belated birthday Steve! Good call on heading South away from the winds.
I've just seen some footage of boats that decided to stay in Prickly bay - and can confirm you absolutely did the right thing getting out of there!
Happy Birthday Steve. Congratulations for your prudent hurricane planning. 😎
Happy birthday. Glad you made the decision to head south.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Steve! Remarkable episode, you seem to take every in stride, "prepare for the worst and hope for the best". Love the new anchor alarm.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I am glad to hear that even 14 hours is enough to escape to Chacachacare at 5.7 knots on average speed as calculated. Greetings from a young sailor, Daniel
I’ve been thinking about this channel after hearing about the hurricane so was happy to see you posted a video that all was well.
Well, that's a relief! Along with many others, I'm sure, I'd been very worried about you. Thanks so much for going to all the trouble it must have taken to edit and post this video so quickly. Take care and belated Happy Birthday! 🤗
Thanks for all your hard work in keeping the shop open !!
Well done Steve, good decision
Glad to know you left Grenada; no doubt the correct decision. And happy belated birthday!
Hindsight is 20-20. Based on the information you had at the time and your location far out of the shelter of an enclosed bay, with time to sail away from the hurricane, I think your decision was spot on. And as we now know, the hurricane tracked away from a direct hit as predicted. Great call, great preparation, and skills to boot. 💪
Prickly Bay has boats grounded with some partially underwater. Definitely reach around your shoulder and pat yourself on the back.
Happy birthday Steve ! 🎂🎁. Great video, one again you show that your a real salt and know your ropes ! 👍🏻👍🏻
Happy Birthday! Great work Steve! Thanks for the video! Good decision to move!
I happened to check Marine traffic out of curiosity and the second boat I clicked on was Fair Isle what a surprise, agree with your choice to leave. I have lived in South Florida on and off the 66 years I’ve been around so have way too much experience with Hurricanes. They can do wobbles where the eye reforms maybe 25-50 miles off from the general movement of the storm. This saved me once from a CAT 5 when a 25 mile change in landfall from the predicted meant no damage just a week without electricity and 25 miles south of me total devastation. Putting 80 plus miles between predicted landfall should be good most of the time. The models have become pretty darn good at 24 hours out and at 12 they are even better. As a former pilot I’m a bit of a weather nerd and follow the you tuber that you were watching too. The rest of the season is not going to be fun so be safe out there!!
Nice job single-handing through a hectic week. Your seamanship is showing, Steve! Glad you've got cold beers.
Wondered what you would do and followed you on the tracker. Well done for single handing your way out of trouble. Judy returns "what have you been up to whilst I've been gone?" Steve "oh, nothing much".
We took a different approach. We anchored in the center of Woburn Bay away from other boats, played out 325 feet of 10mm chain and trusted in the oversized anchor (Rocna) and huge bridle after hard backing down on two engines at 3000rpm.. We then reduced as much windage as possible on our leopard 46 (sails etc), made sure the bilge pumps all worked and then evacuated. Leaving the boat was a hard decision, but if 80+mph comes your way there is very little you can do if you drag. We applied the Skip Novak philosophy of a large primary anchor (and did not tandem anchor). Boat didn't move an inch and we were back to normal that very afternoon. Virtually all of the issues in the bay were related to mooring balls - a number of Amel were damaged or drifted onto rocks/ mangroves. One boat sank. Multiple in the mooring field bashed into each other. But Woburn was magnificent at keeping the worst away - the reef stopped the waves, and the hillsides dissipated some of the wind energy. The Trinidad run wasn't an option for us because we couldn't move till late on the Friday - if there was a mechanical issue on the crossing we risked being enveloped with big seas (something that others experienced). We also become a liability for others to assist. Don't think we were particularly 'stupid' for staying - we just measured the risk the best we all could, and im glad everyone got out safe with either decision...
Yes I think a good ground tackle properly set is a very good option with the excellent holding we have in this area. I would be concerned about others dragging into you though especially with a catamaran. My position in Secret harbour was actually very good which is why I considered staying for so long. There was virtually no one to drag into me and I think with our ground tackle unless the centre moved further South again and put us in the 100mph zone I should be good. In the end I just though I have a boat built for the sea and I am quite comfortable in heavy seas so it makes no sense for me to stay. As you said there's little you can do at anchor if things get really bad but there's plenty I can do at sea.
I came across a video of quite a few boats washed ashore at Prickly Bay (sailing New Horizons)
Your sage seafaring instincts were spot on
Good decision to leave Grenada - glad you two and Fair Isle are safe. And, happy belated birthday!
Happy Birthday, Steve! And glad to see you are doing well following Beryl
Best video you’ve done. Thank you and hats off to you. Oh and happy birthday.
Very well done considering you are on your own, always a pleasure. Thanks for sharing.
Great video! Boy, if a hurricane can move at 45 mph, then I would probably want a boat that could move at 55mph at least!
You only have to side step it by 40 miles really, so that’s a days sailing and and day out you should have a pretty good idea of it’s track. So if you are on your boat and in a position to go it really should be a straightforward manoeuvre. Not quite as good if you are North of the storm as the effects extend further to the North than the South in a hurricane but you would still be getting out of the way of the really dangerous stuff if you set sail the day before. Make sure you see the episode out today to see what it’s like to get caught!
thank you for the update. Jana and I wondered where you all were... good choice to sail south... and not to take the chance. Good on you captain. Stu
Glad you were safe! Safe travels. ❤
Happy belated Birthday. Was thinking of you when I saw the weather, and very impressed by your judgement. Great video as always.
Belated happy birthday Steve🥃 Had to laugh at the 120 mins of agony, I was expecting to see wreckage 😀
Happy birthday Steve.
I have no doubt that Fair Isle is perfectly capable of taking a Tornado on the nose. However, better safe than sorry.
Thanks Steve for the mention, I hope youve now resolved your fridge problem. Good Winds .
Well the freezer is still broken but we have the ecoflow!
Hi,many happy returns Steve.cheers ,Roly🇬🇧.
An epic film Steve. Well done. Total respect to you.
Nice video and excellent seamanship! Glad you are well. Hoping for a speedy recovery for those who were impacted. Cheers
paul is the best he solved our fridge problems nobody could!
We may sail back to Lagos just so he can fix our freezer!
Brilliant! Thank you for sharing.
Happy birthday steve Hope all is well and that you made it safe as the hurricane looked nasty. I was in andrew in Miami and i have to say it was soemthing i will never forget. greetings from the Brit in LA. Going to see the Stones next week in LA. Much love to you both x
Happy Birthday new subscriber from Miami!!!
Brilliant Steve.
Happy belated birthday. We thought of you and Judy and so glad you are well. Well done!
Good decision, well done mate.
Good call. Good seamanship. Well done Steve.
Glad you are all safe.
Remarkable trip. Impressive, well done.
Happy Birthday, fantastic sailing and thinking about the best plan, well done 👍
Great video Thank you
Always better safe then sorry, so leaving was the right thing to do. Plus you got a bonus great sail out of it.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! Just had mine on 20th JUNE. CHEERS from HERE! STAY SAFE!!!
For your portholes, I have seen plastic rain guards that are fixed above, so the rain spills over and away and not into the portholes.
Interesting, I’ll look out for some
Well done Steve sailing single handed. An exciting video for us to watch. Happy birthday.
Happy birthday. Thanks for sharing your adventures
Fantastic episode Steve, worth every effort you must have done to make it so timely? So refreshing to see someone dealing with a genuine emergency in such a calm and seaman-like manner vs the current ‘RUclips’ dramatic presentation style of some others unnamed😀😇
So good I had to watch it twice….belated happy birthday btw.
Ouf! So glad you escaped this unscathed! I was worried about you guys! 🤗😘
Happy birthday, Steve. Good decision!
Thank you for sharing it was very informative, interesting too 😊
Man did you made the right decision to sail south !. Grenada got wiped !.
Well done, true British class under pressure Steve. Great episode
Happy Birthday & a good call ⛵
👍 well done !!!
Tough time to be solo. Good call on heading south.
Happy Birthday Steve…glad you are safe
Served on the carrier Lexington during hurricane "David" in 1979. What I saw, no Yacht could survive. Every single wave ( 30 to 40 foot) was a breaker. A Yacht would be rolled on every wave, for hours. Not to mention, tons of water crashing on the hull every 7 to 10 seconds. The seas were pure white and the air filled with sea foam. Would have been impossible to steer or survive.
Yes, if there were any chance of having to be within a hurricane then I would not have been there. I presume the captain of the Lexington was dismissed? What on earth was he doing getting caught in a hurricane? even in 1979 we knew their paths pretty accurately and unless the carrier had lost all engines there would be no reason to be anywhere near it!
@@svfairisle We had to go to sea for the ship to survive the hurricane. Though waves crashed over the bow for hours, the ship survived. Don't know how we would have fared if propulsion had been lost. Presume there were no problems for the Captain, as there is nowhere to hide in the Gulf of Mexico, the ships operating area.
well done!
Happy Birthday 🎉🎉🎉
You're so calm and my guess is coz you and Judy were the News team that were always running in to document a war when everyone else was running out. So this hurricane 🌀 run was just another day at the office for you. 😅 Amazing episode. Thank you ⚓🙏🏼⛵
Cool video!
Happy Birthday Steve 🎉🎉
I love this video
It would be good to have the anchor thingy illuminated at night to prevent people from running over it in the dark.
Happy belated birthday by the way.
I know what you mean but I'm not so sure. It has reflectors all around, if it had a light then if there were a few of them in a bay it could be confusing for navigation. I don't think the buoy would be a hazard even if hit, it's going to just run down the side of the boat. I don't think it would go under a boat and would have very little chance of hitting a prop. Also the unit already has to power the telemetry back to the boat, a light, even a tiny LED one would significantly shorten the time it can operate before recharge. Perhaps some tiny solar panels could fix that?
What a fabulous birthday Steve!
Well England won, that was good!
Great documentation of the evolution while doing it all yourself.
Keeping options open is the key to success. Did you have to leave? Likely not, but leaving reduced the downside risk of the storm moving the wrong way after you can no longer safely respond.
Excellent demonstration of seamanship. As we would expect.
Thank you. Generally one doesn't think of one being able to _outrun_ a storm in a sailboat. With enough warning and good weather maps one can dodge pretty good it seems.
Yes exactly
Your best video ever, probably. Good decision making. What made you change your mind?
The predicted path got too close and the hurricane too powerful. Up until that morning they were talking about a Cat 2 storm with the centre at least 50 miles away, that would give me possibly very strong winds, but almost certainly something I could ride out okay with good planning. However the new stats of 30 miles away and a Cat 4 was just too risky, one wobble in the last few hours before it hits and I could have been very near the centre and nothing survives those sorts of winds. We are setting sail for Carriacou tomorrow to take some aid to the island and I want to talk to the guys in the hurricane hole there. I counted at least 40 boats piled on top of each other at the Eastern end of the mangroves on the drone footage ive seen. I think their stories will put pay to the notion you can survive anything tied into mangroves. They didn't and they couldn't have all had inadequate lines!
Good to see that you are safe, it was the right decision to sail south. Did you clear out of Grenada or just left and came back in again?
just left and came back, I think formalities go out of the window a bit when theres a Cat 4 hurricane coming!
Saw some video that most of the hauled out boats fell over in the boatyard, from hurricane.
friends in the mangroves became attached, everything is fine)
Is the new cooler/fridge ok on the sail locker ?
They normally need a bit of space around them to stop overheating.
Great Video, Take care M
I’ve made sure the right hand side where the compressor is had a 2 inch gap, I have a piece of 2x4 on the floor to stop it moving. It’s not ideal but there is a big air space above it which does get warm, but I try to open the sail locker from time to time to air it. It’s better than having it within the body of the boat and heating the inside is my thinking. Maybe in a cold climate I will move it to the pilot berth where we store most bulky things
Nice video Steve. Glad you got things squared away in a busy week. Question: Can you try a quality RV refrig on the boat? They make some very good quality ones (much larger than that Ecoflow one) that are isolated and wouldn't require all the boat interfaces like the old one you struggle with. Just curious...
Yes it's just a question of space. If I were designing a boat from scratch I think I would not have an inbuilt fridge but go for some sort of slot in unit that could be replaced as a unit. The only downside to this is you need to find a way to deal with the heat the fridge / freezer produces. When you're in the tropics you don't want anything that adds heat inside and at least the in built units like we have dissipate most of the heat through the keel cooler into the water. One of the reasons I fitted the EcoFlow unit into the sail locker as I don't mind it heating that area.
Glad all ended up well, was wondering if youd head south. Happy Bday, hope Judy made it back on time. Fridge seeemd to work well but seems not too practical for a cruiser (size/capacity). Does that anchor alarm device work when absolute GPS position changes ? If you drag just having relative position wont alarm.
For a full time cruiser the fridge is definitely an extra, for a daysailer / weekend cruiser it might fit the bill very well though. I would have killed for something like that sailing of the East coast of the UK in my 20's. The anchor buoy has its own GPS so has an absolute position. I will talk to the tech guys there and get the full low down before we do a proper test video.
Those geo engineered hurricanes are a real pain in the ass ,,, Mr gates does not own a yacht in Jamaica though so that’s all good .
Happy Birthday 🎉
Happy birthday
I'm fairly new to this channel but the first thing I thought was "OMG Judy and Steve on Fair Isle are sailing around Grenada!!!" Then I realized Judy was traveling. But fearless Capt. Steve set out to sea to face Beryl, head on if need be! Bravo! ❤
My thoughts and prayers are with all the people devastated by this terrible storm.🙏
good move just get out of the way . Plus if it did hit you have zero control over other boats dragging
🎂🙏❤️👍
The anchor float is a great idea, the only concern I would have is if someone runs over it at night. A night light on it would be good in my opinion. Happy trails mate.
Not sure about a light, could be confusing for navigation in some cases and would use precious power. I think the buoy would take a hit without damage, may need to test that!
@@svfairisle Fair enough but I would consider the that it would be no different to an "anchor light". A simple LED would not consume much power and would be better than someone getting the cord wrapped around their prop. That would not be fun to deal with at night.
Wow! The anchor buoy is worth its weight in gold if it merely prevents someone from anchoring overtop of your anchor, IMO.
Belated happy birthday, Steve!
Go and sit in Bonaire/Curacao for the season too late to go North.
Yes thats the plan
@@svfairisle Have fun there Steve Bonaire's great for diving as you probably know.
Hardly Dunkirk, your on holiday.
I live here I'm not on holiday.
@@svfairisle OK, sailing holiday.
Look Mr. When it is in hurricane season in the Caribbean, you have a good option for now, it is Panama Gunayala Archipelago, otherwise Go. Venezuela (terror) or Colombia (another terror)
The active anchor buoy is a great idea. The separate detaching fully sealed wireless charging radio electronics module is a good idea.
17:57 did the boat behind you take his mast down somehow for the storm, or was it always down?
No it’s mast less, a renovation project
Good call. 👍