So. That puts your heart in your mouth. Jim was cooking breakfast for the guests, he started turning things off and I looked for the boat keys and rang someone and asked them to pick Jim up at the dock….

It’s been blowing hard for a few days, and it’s always at the back of your mind that something might go wrong when you aren’t onboard.

We were very lucky. If she’d gone on the reef with this weather, she’d have been pounded to bits, and lost. And if it had happened at night, maybe no-one would have noticed. Like I said, heart-stopping.

Over the years we’ve helped save many boats, and maybe we’d built up enough Karma, because certainly some friends and some total strangers saved Charmer for us.

By the time Jim got there, an anchor was down and she was secure… bouncing up and down, but safe for now. We will have to wait for things to calm down a bit, and also work out how to recover the mooring and get her back on it.

In the meantime, our heartfelt thanks to everyone for going to the rescue, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!!!!

Update Saturday 20th… I am posting this as a blog, because so many people have contacted me because they heard what happened by word-of-mouth. As of yesterday we have Charmer reattached to her mooring, just by line for now, but hopefully soon with new chain, etc. Still investigating what went wrong. Jim found the mooring at our second attempt with a grappling hook at dusk last night, and we then scrambled to haul up 70 m of chain and anchor then motored the couple of hundred yards in failing light. Back in the lee of the island, she feels like home again, and not like being on a roller coaster in the wide open anchorage. The winds haven’t dropped. We’ve had to relocate several boat trips and kayaking tours because our usual put-in points are too rough. Luckily with the mangroves giving shelter for the kayaks, and the option of several beaches nearby, we’ve managed to keep everyone happy….