Caught in a FORCE 9 GALE | Ep 104

This is the worst prolonged storm we’ve been caught in on Fair Isle, three days of constant winds the wrong side of 30 knots and regular gusts up to 48 knots at the height of the storm.

This intense low developed very quickly out of a cold front that was tracking SE. We were 350NM offshore at the time so there was nowhere to run, but Fair Isle was built for these conditions, even if we aren’t, so we managed to battle on through the storm and didn’t have to resort to turning and running with it.
We did hove to for a time in the peak of the storm in the middle of the night, but apart from that we kept sailing strongly which is a testament to the boat (and a very good test of the recent mast foot repair!)

Filming in these conditions is not easy, not just because it kills cameras and is sometimes dangerous to do, but because by the end I basically hadn’t slept for 4 days (Judy had, she can sleep anywhere!) So please do show your appreciation by subscribing to our channel if you haven’t already, it costs you nothing and really helps us out with the YT algorithm. If you are new to the channel please do make a point of subscribing and hitting the notification bell. We try to always post quality films by limiting them to once every two weeks and taking great care with the production to produce something thats enjoyable to watch.

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