Microburst in Salinas Anchorage

I was aboard Wandering Dolphin enjoying some tasty pancakes. Kristopher was giving me the brief on his new Home Depot bought awning and how the grommets were holding up surprisingly well. It was then I noticed black clouds streaming just overhead very very rapidly. It was time to head home. Not three minutes later I was glancing over my shoulder as I piloted the dink in an incredible burst of energy from mother nature. The grommets were not doing so hot, in fact the awning was just about gone. At that point I was in instant swells in the anchorage. As I passed large center cockpit boat named Psyche the blast of wind hit it and she went on her beam with the entire keel exposed. I felt what I can only describe as a shock wave. The wind splayed out in all directions, the temperature dropped dramatically and by the time I got back to Christa I was shivering.

When I watched SV Psyche go over on her side I knew something very abnormal was happening. I believe that the initial blast of wind was 60 to 65 knots. It took me about a minute to get back to Christa. I struggled in the wind and sea in the dink to aim her so I could land on Christa. The blue kayak parted its bow line and hovered in the air, attached only by the stern line, then crashed alongside just as I was making my crash landing in the dink. I watched Christa go over on her beams end several times as she came taut on the anchor line. I remember yelling "hold on Christa hold on." I barely made it aboard. The cabin was a mess as everything slide and crashed that wasn't stowed. I got the engine fire up and the screeching wind generator off. I then rigged a secondary snubber as I was worried that the snubber would part and the strain would jerk square onto the windlass which I feared would have been ripped out of the deck. I engaged the engine to try and alleviate the strain on the ground tackle. The rain was driving but I could see that the boats in my immediate vicinity thankfully were not dragging, most were on two anchors. Just then I noticed poor Don on Sunshine dragging his mooring rapidly and heading for someone's docks and then front yard. He with help of a couple of other cruisers were able to get a hook down. Amazingly no damage was done to anyone. I am amazed that my tackle held up so well. I was on a 6 to 1 scope, all chain with the 44lbs Deltaset anchor. I think I may have moved up to five feet. Hard to say exactly, but if I did move it was not by much. I think the wind was steady in the 45 to 50 knot range with the higher gusts. The initial blast was like a bomb. Kristopher watch a waterspout knock several boats over. The weather service reported several known waterspouts in the area. Just crazy.

What is ever crazier is all of this was spawned by a tropical storm many hundreds of miles away. The feeder bands yesterday brought in wave after wave of torrential rain and thunderstorms. Thankfully only one microburst. So in other news were all keeping an eye on Ike which should pass more than 300 miles to the north of Puerto Rico. A very powerful but compact storm. At current track I'm not sure we will feeling any effects. Lets hope not!

Capt Chris