living with lightning at anchor

Living with lightning at anchor

Living with lightning and thunderstorms at anchor is never easy, but after you’ve been doing it for a decade you sort of get used to it. There’s really nothing you can do except sit back, sip your ginger beer and think happy thoughts.

The joy of going back in the water after doing some work on your boat is often tempered by anxiety. Is everything going to work? Is the boat going to leak? We found a couple of problems, but they weren’t bad enough to stop us sailing. So after a couple of days of testing all systems and waiting for the transitional monsoon weather to settle, we went for it.

Sheltering in our favourite spot proved impossible because of the strong swell. But since Sabah’s western shore is lined with coves and bays Jamie picked out a new place to drop the pick. As he predicted, the water was flat when we tucked up inside Agal Bay; the winds might get up, but as long as the fetch isn’t coming into your chosen anchorage you should be pretty comfortable.

living with lightning at anchor
Searching for shelter in a rolly sea

Within minutes of arriving, the rain came down in spades and the storms started. A friend had given us a bottle of his home-made ginger beer just before we left Kudat, so we put it to the test while we sheltered from the elements under Esper‘s dodger. And just as Liz finished the bottle, we heard the loudest clap of thunder since arriving in SE Asia. Jamie had the camera rolling as it went off…

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Peace and fair winds
Liz and Jamie

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