Lessons Learnt from Earl

Hiding from Hurricane Earl: 2010  

Having spent the previous two years cruising a bit quicker than we would have liked because we were always later than planned in getting out of the hurricane zones.  (Ed. Ahem! Largely due to spending a great amount of time undertaking repairs or upgrades.)  First year southwards to Trinidad, then 2009 north to Deltaville.  So we were a bit surprised when, on arriving at South West Harbour, Mt Desert Island, (way up north in MAINE, next to Canada would you believe) we found out a hurricane was on its way.

And due to arrive in the next couple of days. Bloody hell! 

We tried to get into North East Harbour but it was already full of local sailors who were obviously much quicker than us to respond to hurricane warnings.  To be fair though we had been advised that South West Harbour was probably going to be okay but, when a local lobster fisherman and owner of a lobster coop advised that South West Harbour was not the place to be, we followed his advice and hot-footed it to Somes Harbour, at the northern end of Somes Sound.  Fortunately, we were one of the first to arrive and found a good spot to anchor and, over the next day or so, watched as quite a few sailboats joined us or had a look but then departed after probably deciding it was a bit crowded. 

For the next day or so we prepared by getting frequent weather reports, putting out two anchors in tandem (on 200 feet of chain) and digging them in seriously, we took down our sails, and generally stowed things in expectation of a boisterous hurricane.  As it turned out and as the hurricane came closer, while at the same time losing power, we did not need to take down our canvas or fill up the dinghy with water (as originally planned).  On the night of the big blow the wooded hills surrounding Somes Harbour certainly felt Earl’s wrath but, down on the water, our anemometer registered its highest reading of only 34 knots.  A bit of an anti-climax as things turned out but I’m sure it was better than a real hurricane blow.

Fog creeps in ahead of Earl:  Hiding on anchor in Somes Harbor