Anegada Passage

[been bit]

Hi to all you experienced sailors. i am an inexperienced sailor who crossed the Anegada on March 7-8. Our cat dismasted halfway across. Can anyone tell me what the conditions were that night. Would you have done your crossing in those conditions? We were travelling from Bitter End to Simpson Bay.

[Southern Star]

Not sure how you can get historical weather for the passage, but did you have wind insturments? As to what anyone else would have done, what kind of boat were you sailing (make, model, vintage), how did you lose the rig (i.e., what failed), what sort of seas/winds were you experiencing, were the waves breaking, what point of sail were you on, what was your speed over the ground, what sail did you have up or were you under bare poles, etc.,etc.

Glad to see you made it back in one piece.

Brad

[been bit]

We were sailing a 2004 Jaguar 36'. The port shroud let go. I was told the winds were at 28 and I wouldn't know what a breaking wave is but we were getting pretty wet. I don't remember what p.o.s. we were at. Must ask hubby.I think our speed was 7.4 knt with main and gib. But I guess that's what I'm looking for, "historical weather" for that date. Does anyone know if that's available?

[been bit]

p.s. we were all in one piece, the mast in three.

[marty9876]

Who was the charter company?

[Joli]

I have grib files from that date. It shows the wind speed around 20 knots from the ENE with a 2.7 m swell. If you want I can e-mail it to you. Also any local weather station should have the information on record.

Actually I may have seen the boat when going into the lagoon after the days racing. Was the boat anchored outside the bridge with the spar laying on the deck?

Originally Posted by been bit

Hi to all you experienced sailors. i am an inexperienced sailor who crossed the Anegada on March 7-8. Our cat dismasted halfway across. Can anyone tell me what the conditions were that night. Would you have done your crossing in those conditions? We were travelling from Bitter End to Simpson Bay.

[Zanshin]

Glad you survived! The port shroud failure would mean you were heading on a tack to the south of St. Martin but you must have been pounding into the waves - those waves caused by what was referred to recently as "perfect storm conditions"? Didn't the wind shift to pretty much due east from NE during that time period as well?

At 28 knots of wind on a catamaran I assume you had 2 (or more) reefs in the main and the foresail was partially rolled in, right? Those are tougher conditions than found about 90% of the time in this area.

I've done that passage a couple of times in a monohull and been pounded and beat up each time. I always swear to myself that I will motorsail next time but never do, I'm just too proud, I guess.

I wouldn't have left the BVI in a sailboat in conditions like that.

How bad was the dismasting for you and did you return to the BVI?

[been bit]

Hey Joli that was us for sure. We ended up motoring toward the on coming regatta on sat. I would really appreciate if you could email me the said info. I'm not familiar with this site. can u get to my address or must i post it for u. We sure got a beating on the passage especially cuz the Jaguar has such a wide beam and sits low. We motored to Simpson Bay but that was the end of our cruise. We had an amazing experience and have not been turned off sailing in any way. That was our baptism by fire. The guys took 3 hours to pull everything back on board using the winches and power windlass. Ended up being a 22 hour crossing.

[Joli]

Glad it worked out ok and no one was hurt. If you send me a note with your e-mail I'll send the Grib File. Also the video is up for the regatta showing the winds on the 8th. It was very pleasant.

Home*-*Heineken Regatta

[slomotion]

The Anegada passage is the major channel where the Atlantic meets the Caribbean, and it often displays 'local' conditions notoriously different from the rest of the NE Caribbean. So, possibly you experienced a sea/wind event which could account for this failure.

Nevertheless, if a less than 4 yr. old shroud cable parted (as distinguished from a broken fastener, chain plate, etc.) I'd be inclined to suspect that the shrouds were either way out of adjustment or under-engineered to begin with.

I don't know about the 7th-8th, but about 10 days later sea conditions in the entire area were severe enough to explain your result:

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ert-13689.html

[Southern Star]

Gregor Tarjan in his book Catamarans - The Complete Guide for Cruising Sailors indicates that the manufacturers of some modern cruising cats are specifying shrouds that will break before the wind forces on the sails reach a point that would cause a wind-induced capsize. I can't say if that was the case with the Jaguar, but it is a possibility. If the winds were 20 knots, then she should have been reefed regardless of the state of the seas. It is entirely possible that the localized conditions could have been much worse; certainly, you could have expected gusts substantially higher than the 20 knot winds shown on the grib files.

Either way, your parted shroud may have been a blessing in disguise.

Brad

[imagine2frolic]

been bit,

I love that attitude that this is only a baptism, and you are not turned off to sailing. The amount of knowledge you have gathered will make your life much easier on the boat from now on. BEST WISHES in getting everything straightened out, and continuing on..........:cubalibre

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha Been Bit,
Welcome aboard! You are now an experienced Sailor (Australian: Yachtsman or Yachtsperson).
I've been sailing on sailboats since the early 70s and never been dismasted. Sounds harrowing. Glad everyone was ok. Sorry the boat suffered.
Kind Regards,
JohnL