Thank you for the kind words. this following was from an account of the Norwegian
cruise ship 'Breakaway'... now imagine what this 2
hurricane survivor Westsail went through, and then survived 2 weeks at this sea, before she was finally slammed into the reef sideways at night which finally cracked her 20K#
hull and put her on the beach. All of Kevin's new, professional sail making
equipment and 3-needle sewing machines were in the hold intending for the business to be re-established in St. Augustine. They were all destroyed and everything had to be abandoned. Here is that report about that large
cruise ship in this same storm;
"
"Sincerely, it sounded as if the boat was just going to break in two,” Walsh-Matias said.
On their way back to New York at the end of last week, they sailed through the massive storm. The term "bomb cyclone" (the colloquial version of the more technical "bombogenesis") refers to a storm in which pressure drops rapidly — at least 24 millibars in 24 hours.
"It was the scariest thing I've ever experienced," Walsh-Matias said. "The waves were over 40 feet and it was continuous — children crying, people seasick, vomiting all over the boat.”
The Coast Guard says that waves on the Atlantic were up to 40 feet. With winds howling and the cruise ship rocking, passengers feared for their lives.
" Now imagine yourself in a 32 foot boat with
lost engine/lost
power, having to tie your hands to the tiller for days and nights, bare poled, drogues out and anchors/chain cut free to keep the bow-plough at the bottom of the trough more under control. The last
anchor (not on a chain) chafed then broke and allowed the seas to push Ellipsis over the reef. The Westsail was specifically chosen because of her canoe stern (following/upset sea) and her over-all stoutness. She gave up her life, but she did what she was designed to do; she saved theirs. RIP Ellipsis.
After she was stripped by the locals (including the new Beta Marine), another storm beat her and broke her up that no piece remained larger than a car
hood. I should add some pictures of the break up just to show the
power of an angry sea. Sorry if I sound so sappy- blame it on the heartache that won't go away.