We left Hope Town Thursday morning (January 11) in company with our friends on Noodin with storm clouds forming in the Southwest. It had been raining hard for days, and we were ready for a change of scenery. We planned to get wet but it would only be about 8 nautical miles to Marsh Harbour, about an hour and a half. Once there, we would anchor in its big protected harbour and start staging our trip to the Exumas.
I was at the helm when we turned toward our final waypoint into Marsh Harbour. The first sting of heavy rain hit my face like hail. The storm came up fast and furious, as did the rain, wind and waves. Within minutes, lightning lit up the sky in what seemed like every direction. The wind began howling. Matt took the helm and steered us toward the open sea.
“This is going to suck for the next 15 minutes,” he said. “Right now we need to get some distance from the land.”
I huddled under the dodger and just watched the storm unfold, telling myself, “It’s going to be ok. It’s going to be ok. It’s going to be ok.”
The thunder and lightning were getting closer together now, the eye of the storm approaching. The rain and clouds shrouded the land and we got confused momentarily about which direction we were headed, but confirmed our compass setting and depths and set the autopilot to keep us going out to open water. We saw our friends on Noodin in the distance, and it gave me comfort that we were not alone.
We were both sitting in the cockpit when a bolt of lightning struck so close, I screamed and covered my ears. Matt’s eyes opened wide. “Ok, that one was close,” he said.
We checked to make sure all of our systems were still working — instruments, the autopilot, the engine. Whew, we didn’t get hit. Matt reminded me how the boat is grounded to protect us from a direct lightning strike.
The lightning was unbelievable — striking horizontal across the land, and from the water to the sky, or the sky to the water. It was an experience that made you feel alive while also fearing for your life.
The storm lasted about 20 minutes, and when the rain let up, the temperature dropped about 10 degrees. Soaking wet, we turned toward the harbor and shivered our way to an anchorage.
Our friends on Noodin suggested happy hour. The sun came out. And there were rainbows.
Anchored in Marsh Harbour after the storm. We’re spending a few days here to wait for better weather to head further south to the Exumas. Weather has been unusually cold and blustery for the Bahamas and we’re ready for more sunshine.
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