[if you missed it, read cruising part 1]

Waiting for a thing you fear is almost worse than the thing itself.

The more we sat here waiting, the more freaked out we started to get. Jake suggested that we pass the time by playing a game, something to distract us. Since we don’t really have any games onboard, we pulled out the next best thing; Spanish Flash Cards!!! So I guess its not really a game, but it was kind of fun (and funny) practicing some common and not so common spanish phrases as the sky grew darker and colder all around us.

The clouds started rolling in fast. We heard the first signs of the monstrosity far off north, and started to really worry about how bad this storm would be. At first it didn’t look like it was going to hit us. But a few minutes later, we saw the brunt of it headed right for us.

Jake and I did a final pass inside the boat, making sure all the hatches and port lights were closed and secure. We also made sure that we grabbed anything loose on deck below, since it looked pretty ominous. I asked him about the dinghy, the one thing we ‘sort of’ tied down but he said it probably wouldn’t go anywhere.

Outside, gray skies turned to green. National weather sirens started howling. Apparently there were typhoons and tornados associated with the storm…not just heavy rain and lightening. Initially we thought maybe we should bail on the boat and head to shore…but it was too late by the time we had the idea. We were stuck out here whether we wanted to be or not.

The wind started howling and then the sky lit up. Before long, it sounded like the world was ending. There is no insulation on a boat, so the sounds of the storm were magnified 10-fold. The lightening and thunder were crashing all around, the wind was searing through the anchorage at over 70 mph and the rain was a deluge. Jake was paranoid that our anchor would pull (and rightly so since it was our very first time anchoring). We really didn’t know if we could trust it in these crazy conditions. So we started up the motor, just in case we started to drag into the other boats, docks or land.

As time went by, the storm seemed to get worse. Not sure how that was possible? Both of us were at our wits-end, freaking out, ready to bail on all of this and head to land. Outside there were things banging around (mostly halyards and jacklines) and other miscellaneous things in the water. Both of us were absolutely terrified. Lightening was pummeling down in huge streaks. It would crash so close that the sound would rattle the entire boat. It was like someone firing a gunshot mere inches from our ears.

At first, I sat huddled in the corner of the settee with my fingers in my ears, praying it would pass soon (and not kill us). Jake couldn’t stand not watching the storm, so he stood in the companionway with his head peaking out of the hatch.

After a particularly strong gust burst through, both of us heard a very large crashing sound against the mast. We saw the dinghy go flying up. (I knew it wasn’t tied down enough). The thing weighs over 70lbs, but in these gale-force winds, it could have been as light as a feather. Jake ran out to the foredeck and threw his entire body into the dinghy to wrangle it back down on deck. I went up to make sure everything was okay in the cockpit, since we still had the engine running. He made his way back, completely drenched.

Jake stayed in the cockpit as the worst of the storm finally passed us. But it was still coming down hard and fast, for another hour at least. I managed to grab the video camera to shoot some of it (which you can watch at the end of this post), but the worst of it had passed.

The sharp pangs of fear started to waver. It looked like our boat would be okay (though there was still a lot of lightening). The wind chilled out a bit and the rain abated. The sun actually peaked its head out from under the clouds which was a very happy sight.

Once the storm passed, both Jake and I were in a bit of shock. We didn’t speak. We just sat there in a daze. Did that just happen? It was the longest 2 hours of our lives. Thankfully nothing on the boat was damaged. The anchor didn’t pull and we were okay.

As the evening went on, the sunset began to unfold and was absolutely spectacular. It lit up the land with brilliant shades of green as the sky turned orange, pink and red. We also saw a double-rainbow out over the sea. Funny how nature can be terrible and beautiful at the same time.

That night, our dinner consisted of a can of chili and some saltine crackers, and we shared a cookie. Not the most exciting meal, but it tasted like heaven. We were so happy that the storm had passed and we all survived (including Bosco). It was one EPIC day!

Bordeaux! Bordeaux!

Video of our first cruise