In 2015, our friends Lee & Rachel Cumberland were onboard their Tayana 37, Satori, tied to a mooring buoy in a Bahamian anchorage when a severe line of thunderstorms rolled through. The rare weather phenomenon known as a “derecho” wreaked havoc throughout the Exumas with 100-knot gusts and torrential rain. At the height of the storm Satori’s mooring lines parted. In darkness, Lee ran to the helm, started the diesel and drove the boat full speed onto the only clear stretch of sand in the harbor, effectively beaching the boat in order to save her from the rocks.
Meanwhile, 50 miles to the south in Georgetown our friends Tom and Darlene Herrington onboard their Ericson 35, , had trusted their anchor, a gigantic Rocna with a chain/rope rode combination, and only realized how bad the night had been when the next morning more than half the boats they had been anchored among simply weren’t there anymore.
