Crazy Weather Plagues Cruisers & Snowbirds

Snowbirds who flew south of the border this week in pursuit of winter tans must be sorely disappointed, as a bizarre stint of torrential rain and heavy overcast has been plaguing the Central Mexican coast. In Banderas Bay, conditions last night in the La Cruz anchorage turned from uncomfortable to horrific in a matter of minutes, when winds increased to 70 knots, causing roughly half of the 25 anchored boats to drag.

As winds increased from 40 to 60, then to 70, short, steep 8-ft wind waves pounded the fleet, causing the snubber to break on the Ventura-based Catalina 440 Blue Aweigh. As the remainder of the sloop’s 300 feet of chain paid out from the pressure, skipper Mike Dobson wisely motored at full throttle into the blow. His boat held her position, but boats all around it were on the move. At one point the big Garden ketch Arctic Pearl bore down on Blue Aweigh, threatening to T-bone her, and there was nothing that Mike or his wife Lisa could do to keep Pearl‘s six-foot bow sprit from slamming into the Catalina’s stern railing assembly. As the tip of the sprit entered the cockpit, head-high, Mike actually put his hand on the bronze star that adorns the sprit’s tip. Luckily, Arctic Pearl slid away on the next swell without doing further damage.

Meanwhile, Stepping Stone‘s anchor dragged, sending her perilously close to several other boats. Then, the Siletz, OR-based Maple Leaf 42’s all-chain rode parted, and she was quickly driven toward a nearby beach. Her engine was no match for the power of the oncoming waves, and despite an attempt to put out another anchor, she was driven onto a narrow strip of beach between two ominous rock jetties. As skipper Elias Anderson and his wife Sarah readied their daughters, Kimberly, 16, and Savona, 5, for an emergency bailout, the boat heeled over onto the sand. But moments later a big wave lifted the 28,000-lb hull, and suddenly the family realized they were afloat again. Sarah quickly fired up the engine, Elias put the hammer down, and they were able to regain control, steering the big ketch into deeper water.

When the torrent eventually died down, roughly half of the anchored fleet took shelter for the rest of the night in the adjacent Marina Riviera Nayarit, which fortunately had plenty of slips. As far as we can tell no boats were actually lost, but many suffered minor damage. Stepping Stone will haul this week to make repairs in her heavily-laid-up fiberglass hull.

Longtime residents of the area say they have never seen such conditions in the wintertime. Only during the only hurricane to strike here in recent memory — several years ago — have winds ever reach such velocity. Rains continue today, but so far winds are a non-issue. Time for cruisers to lick their wounds and thank the gods, as the carnage could have been much, much worse.