This video was taken about 150 miles from St. Petersburg, after our 3 thunderstorm. We were successful avoiding storms that we encountered earlier in the crossing, simply by sailing around them. Mother nature only lets you cheat like that for a limited time. Early one morning, just after sunrise we noticed a thunderstorm forming to the south and behind us. We thought we could outrun it like the other storms. Not this time. We were running with full sail at full speed when a gust hit. Sunny Ray rose up on top of the sea and started surfing at a scary speed. I was thinking capsize. We tried to round up to drop the main, but the apparent wind speed increased dramatically as we turned and the wind took control. Our mast was shaking and wiggling like a noodle. The noise was intense. We tried to drop the main but the wind was pulling on it so hard it wouldn't drop. Quick thinking Marty used our reefing system to pull the sail down to 1/3 it's normal size and we could get control of the boat again. Everyone sighed in relief and we sailed at top speed out of the stormy area. It was time for coffee.
Cheers, Dan
Hey Sunnyray crew,
ReplyDeleteSo excited to finally see a post from the deep blue! I've been checking the blog daily waiting for news.
Thanks for the video, got to feel like I was on the boat with you for 1:40.
Keep avoiding those storms and sail safe!
Mona Mae
Thank God for "quick thinking Mart"! Love you. So fun to see he blogs!
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