kateandjohnsail.boats

A storm was brewing to come down on Chania from the north, and we know how to prepare for a storm. We got out the winter lines, which are like shock absorbers. These are kept in our “garage” and I always feel resentful of the space they occupy with their heavy, ungainly presence, but of course they are necessary in the same way that an ugly, lifesaving fire extinguisher is necessary.

We bought and installed a new rubber shock absorber for Quintessa’s anchor snubber. And the trusty new anchor was set in with 160 feet of chain: a 10 to 1 rode necessitated by some junk in the middle of the harbor floor. We had an extra line midline on the windward side secured to a strong iron ring on the city wall. The dinghy was pumped out of all the water it had collected from the last downpour.  

We had the passerelle raised and the boat pulled forward, and kept the instruments on to read the wind velocity as the night progressed. The various lines strained noisily and the boat creaked with the stress of the bouncing waves, but we were as prepared as we could be.

We actually slept reasonably well, until the dreaded BUMP at 6 am. We knew that bump; the thud of 19 ton boat tapping stone wall. You have no idea how quickly the two of us can get up and out. John turned on the engine and we pulled against the lines at 1500 rpm to stay off the wall. Winds were gusting up to 40 knots and the water in the harbor was dancing. (If you look at a map, you can see that Chania has a big harbor entrance and two more entrances further in. We were within the second entrance, where the transient yachts are moored). The engine was keeping us in position but the stress on the lines was great.

John called a Pan-Pan on Channel 16 explaining our situation, and the Coast Guard sent a man. We were able to get a stern line to him and secure it. Next we put out a line from midships, and used our power winch to pull the boat upwind back into position. His job finished, the Coast Guard man left and we then turned our attention to the bow. The trusty new shock absorber was working, but the powerful wind was straightening our anchor chain. We opted to pull in more chain, which meant pulling in the snubber, which we could not re-set under so much tension. It was a good trade-off, though, as we had gained some important distance from the wall. Meanwhile, the winds went down just a little and there were intermittent downpours.

Let it be clear that the huge hole in the quay was present before Quintessa ever arrived!

After consulting various media so assess the weather forecasts, John came across a Greek Reporter article with this summary: “Greece is currently facing a rare “triple threat” of weather phenomena: storm systems arriving from Italy, a cold front descending from Siberia, and a layer of Saharan dust sweeping in from Africa.” It does feel a little better to be told your troubles came from “perfect storm” conditions rather than some form of negligence. Certainly there have been lessons learned; we should have better secured what was the leeward side, knowing that wind shifts are common.

We also re-confirmed what a blessing it is to have help come when you call; the Coast Guard arrived, as did the One some of you were praying to for us at the time. More friends gave aid as morning progressed, including Johanna and Paul, who delivered warm croissants.

I am writing and posting this blog in real time, time made available because we will spend the next 24 hours or more aboard Quintessa monitoring the situation, hoping to awaken to gentle sunrise tomorrow.