Originally posted August 4, 1014, by cruisingrunner
I just wasn’t feeling today’s run. It was a beautiful day with no rain and just a slight breeze. But every step took every bit of determination I could muster, and I did stop a few times to rest, under the guise of stopping to snap a few photos, of course. Maybe it was the searing sun, maybe it was the red wine I drank last night, or maybe it was my to do list clicking through my head since we are leaving for a two-day passage in the morning. But really, I think it was the feeling of dread I just couldn’t shake after hearing the news this morning that a boat we know of went aground on the reef in Suwarrow. Suwarrow. We were just there. I can picture the anchorage and the reef vividly in my mind, and I remember a sheltered anchorage with good holding even if there were scattered coral heads just dying to wrap the anchor chain. I don’t know all the details but either their anchor dragged, or their ground tackle failed and one minute they were just regular cruisers like the rest of us, and the next minute their world was ground to a halt. I don’t know if the vessel will be salvageable. Sometimes they are, but a lot of times they just become those underwater wrecks that we snorkel and dive on because they collect all sorts of marine life.
The thing is, we’ve all had close calls where we only scraped by with a little bit of luck. Pretty much everyone out here has such a story to tell. For us, our cruising journey could have ended within the first month if it weren’t for that little bit of luck finding us at just the right time. Our anchor dragged and we hadn’t started using an anchor alarm yet. Luckily it happened while 1) Tim and the boys were still awake, and 2) They were outside and in a position to notice rather than inside watching a movie or something. If it had happened after we were all in bed, we would have ended up on the rocks. I shudder to think of it.
My heart goes out to the people in Suwarrow.
-D.
Gresham Family Exodus 