Our Worst Fears, Witness to a Shipwreck in a Hurricane (Calico Skies Sailing, Ep.164)

We arrive into San Carlos in the Sea of Cortez Mexico looking to hide from a massive hurricane that is less than 24 hours away. Because of our shallow draft and small size (36ft length, 4’2 draft) we are lucky to score a slip in a marina that is fully packed. We move from the anchorage into our spot which offers 360 degree protection and waste no time preparing for the big storm.

First we add extra docklines then we remove our bimini to reduce windage. We secure the headsail, tighten our sail cover and make sure all lines are very secure. The rain begins to come in by late afternoon and the sky looks ominous. Our friends on SV Delos and SV OneLife are out in the anchorage where the motion is already beginning to increase.

At 5 am Bill awakens to see a gust of over 40 knots. Calico Skies is relatively steady in our very protected slip and the motion is nothing to complain about. Meanwhile out in the anchorage it’s a different story and our friends on OneLife describe a scene of violent chop, screaming winds and dragging boats.

We take a walk when conditions begin to subside though winds are still over 35 knots sustained. From our position in the marina looking out into the harbor we bear witness to the dragging boat and watch as it creeps towards the shoreline. All the boats in the anchorage are pitching violently back and forth and we have never been more happy to have a small sailboat!

The next day we begin to undo all the work we did yesterday and prepare Calico Skies to sail again. A dinghy ride to the harbor reveals that a total of two boats dragged and were shipwrecked on the beach. It’s a devastating sight and hard to see one of our worst fears realized by fellow cruisers.

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