Thank you for sharing this Raffi. Very good information and a sobering experience. We were underway motoring near Denerau at the same time this happened too you and had white-out conditions with driving rain; thankfully no microburst though! Your comment about 'putting the boat away" hit a real chord with me as I am often guilty of not doing this, particularly on short hops, so it is something I will work to improve! - it I have also re-shared it with a meteorologist friend at Gulf Harbour Radio who is also a cruiser as I'm sure he will be interested. Cheers
Good you doused the sails when you did! As sailors, we should always listen to our instinctive, gut feelings - 'better safe than sorry' and a (small) genoa can always be deployed in a hurry in case of engine failure in a crisis. Glad no damage was sustained and the nearby reefs were avoided - imagine you slept well once you'd anchored! (PS I always keep a foulie jacket hanging within easy reach from cockpit when on passage - hypothermia can set in surprisingly quickly if you're wet in strong wind.)
Raffi, I read this account of your explanation of a microburst to Sunny and your scary experience in navigating through all this. WOW! That was very scary and dangerous and it sounds like you did a tremendous job in navigating Wind River through all of that turmoil. VERY IMPRESSIVE! So glad you got through it and are safe and Wind River appears to have made it through in good shape. Both of you are to be commended to the highest degree. THANK YOU for the information and please stay safe!
There’s a quote that you used to say to me, I think it is something like this:
“A good Sailor uses his masterful skills to avoid situations that need his masterful skills”…?
While you couldn’t have avoided this situation, you did use your mastery in preparedness and following your gut instinct to help you avoid what could have been a more difficult situation. ♥️
Thank you for sharing this Raffi. Very good information and a sobering experience. We were underway motoring near Denerau at the same time this happened too you and had white-out conditions with driving rain; thankfully no microburst though! Your comment about 'putting the boat away" hit a real chord with me as I am often guilty of not doing this, particularly on short hops, so it is something I will work to improve! - it I have also re-shared it with a meteorologist friend at Gulf Harbour Radio who is also a cruiser as I'm sure he will be interested. Cheers
Good you doused the sails when you did! As sailors, we should always listen to our instinctive, gut feelings - 'better safe than sorry' and a (small) genoa can always be deployed in a hurry in case of engine failure in a crisis. Glad no damage was sustained and the nearby reefs were avoided - imagine you slept well once you'd anchored! (PS I always keep a foulie jacket hanging within easy reach from cockpit when on passage - hypothermia can set in surprisingly quickly if you're wet in strong wind.)
Raffi, I read this account of your explanation of a microburst to Sunny and your scary experience in navigating through all this. WOW! That was very scary and dangerous and it sounds like you did a tremendous job in navigating Wind River through all of that turmoil. VERY IMPRESSIVE! So glad you got through it and are safe and Wind River appears to have made it through in good shape. Both of you are to be commended to the highest degree. THANK YOU for the information and please stay safe!
There’s a quote that you used to say to me, I think it is something like this:
“A good Sailor uses his masterful skills to avoid situations that need his masterful skills”…?
While you couldn’t have avoided this situation, you did use your mastery in preparedness and following your gut instinct to help you avoid what could have been a more difficult situation. ♥️
I’m so glad you’re ok!
Thank you Raffi…You are definitely the skipper I would want on my cruise around the world….Dick
So glad you are safe!!❤️