As
morning came, and we began to survey the results of Winston, it was overwhelming
to see the destruction.
Sv KaijaSong, Kaija and I were among the very few
lucky vessels/crews in the anchorage.
Of the 52 vessels in
the anchorage we were one of only 7 that did not break free of its
mooring.
Most of the damage we witnessed
that day was the result of boats breaking free and colliding with other boats
causing a domino effect.
At one point I
did see our friend Jim on Sv KaloKalo rapidly drifting past us within a hands
reach dragging as it turns out, not only his mooring, but also his anchor. We
saw glimpses of Karen and Cheryl on Sv Interlude drifting down the anchorage
dragging their mooring. Our friends
Lonnie and Bono Sv Good News took a direct hit from a larger vessel and
sandwiched between three other boats which virtually destroyed their rigging
and toe rails.
What a Mess!
22 boats were now resting in some fashion on
the land, partially submerged or in the mangroves in various states of damage. We saw first hand the overwhelming devastation resulting from the sustained winds of Winston. It became obvious that most of the damage to these boats was caused by collision. That is one boat breaking free from it's mooring, then drifting free to collide with another and then another until the domino effect was complete. We saw boats that had been moored at the far western end of the anchorage that had traveled the entire length of more than a mile thru the anchorage like a pinball machine until finally coming to rest in the mangroves at the extreme eastern end of the bay.
KaijaSong was virtually unscathed. Our mooring was located just enough out of the mainstream to avoid the many boats that had passed us in the storm. We sustained some slight damage to our stern and propeller caused by a local ponga that had capsized and got stuck
under our boat during the height of the storm.
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