Dry Tortugas- 3 boats ran aground

[mbrabeck]

On April 17th, 2023 am we were anchored at Dry Tortugas harbor. The evening before I dove the anchor and found holding difficult with loose dead coral bottom. At 0615 am a small squall woke us up and we dragged towards our friends boat Unity.. We pick up anchor and moved inside of Fort Jefferson. Tight anchorage with many boats. We re-set our anchor in very good holding, anywhere between 9 ft of water to 23 ft of water and about 65ft of chain (we were in about 12ft of water). Tricky with making room for ferry boat coming in and out, as well as sea planes consistently landing..

As the afternoon wore on, put futile attempts of gathering a weather forecast from the National Park or the Ferry Captain were fruitless. There was no indication of any weather, but the wind did change direction, eventually dying out towards late afternoon. Off in the distance, we noticed significant OD, with could building across the sky.. As the sun set, lightning stretched across the horizon of the building weather. Our captain Peter Brabeck agreed that we stow everything. Dingy, outboard, paddles boards and any loose equipment was tied down. Peter noticed that the boat next to us had earlier dropped anchor with very little chain and a lot of rhode. He specifically said that he was concerned that this boat could drag anchor. (Know this, I felt that we could have gently said something to him earlier).

We gathered foul gear in anticipation and rode out the lightning storm as it approached. …this is an excerpt from my wife’s publication on medium, Brittany Brickweg….

As it moved closer, the rain started to fall, before we knew what was happening the wind was blowing over 50 kts. Hail and rain flew horizontally from the sky stinging our faces and making it impossible to see the boats anchored next to us. Our anchor was dragging and pushing us closer to another boat, Don’t Blink, and to shore! Another boat, Unity, dragged right by us and then we lost sight of her. It was cold, impossible to see, and wind howled making it hard to hear. We started the engine to try and drive into the anchor to keep it from dragging however Paper Moon’s engine was no match for these winds. With one final gust, Paper Moon healed to her side, with the mast laying horizontally and we lost all control. We heard long blast from another’s air horn indicating emergency. Then just like that, the winds eased, Paper Moon righted, and the rains calmed. It’s as though she, Mother Nature, knew we had enough.

Matt was monitoring the anchor chain for dragging, Peter at the helm guiding Paper Moon into the wind, and Trevor relaying to me communications between Matt and Peter. Janaya grabbed foul weather gear, buttoned the hatches, and on standby to start windless to pull anchor. Paper Moon held us tightly and protected us from the lightning infested waters. It was scary, we were shaken, but we worked as an amazing team; keeping everyone safe and Paper Moon intact.
Three boats ran aground that night but fortunately there were no major injuries. We all had a new found appreciation for the ocean, for each other, and for being alive.

As an FYI, I cruised for 7 years across SP and Asia. We took into consideration our swinging arm along with trying not to shock loading the chain while trying to motor into the wind. There were so many variables to consider that we did our best with what info we had and made it out of the storm. Special thanks to my cousin Peter and his crew…

[rognvald]

Hi, M,
That's why they have paid moorings at the Fort. It's a big coral shelf with thin sand in most places. Rognvald

[5BTM]

Did you notice the barometer reading before the event?

I bought this pocket forecaster decades ago, it is remarkably accurate, at least at my location.

Making a note to keep a couple of pairs of ski goggles on board.