CLOSE CALL - SwT 110 - I RATHER SAIL IN A TROPICAL STORM 

Thank you so much for watching and for sharing your experience as well. Martinique is one of the most crowded and busiest anchorage I ever stayed so when a storm hits there it for sure would be a interesting place to be. Thank you for being here 🍻

Thank you so much for watching and for being here. It’s quite big difference between our channels with different audience as well so it’s how it is. So many great channels out here also, so I’m thankful and humble to see me channel is growing. In this context it’s always nice to cooperate a bit with others as well as sharing experience and how to etc. All the best and cheers 🍻

Thank you so much for being here and always leaving friendly comments. Much appreciated! All the best and cheers 🍻

Thank you so much for subscribing and coming here! Much appreciated and hope you will enjoy it here as well. I’m very thankful towards Rick wanting to help me with my channel. All the best and cheers 🍻

Thank you so much for watching and for subscribing! I also learn new things as I go and it’s such a good feeling. Welcome aboard the BE FREE adventure. All the best and cheers 🍻

Yeah a ketch with a mesan is definatly perfect in conditions like this. Normally with a long keel even better. Happy to hear you love your boat as it normally means you take good care of her as well! Thank you for being here and for watching! All the best and cheers 🍻

Thank you so much for your kind words Steven. I’m happy to know you enjoyed this episode as well. I never turn down a good conversation over a beer or two so hopefully our paths will cross one day. Thank you for being here and all the best 🍻

Thank you so much for your kind words and inspiring feedback. Much appreciated knowing hard work with episodes can give some value for those who are interested. Thank you for watching and for being here. Cheers 🍻

I totally agree...that was a fantastic explaination.....thank you Commander Tom...

Thank you so much for being here and for watching. Really happy to know you enjoyed this one and felt it valuable. Your feedback is much appreciated. Cheers 🍻

Thank you so much for your kind words and sharing your experience as well. A salad of chain and anchor is not fun, and if a storm or even som gusts starts messing up it’s a shitt show. Knowing how much hassle it is with insurance and how many sailing without as well makes decisions easier. I knew I would be fine just in for a tiring night or two. Thank you for being here! All the best and cheers 🍻

Happy you enjoyed this and also thank you so much for your questions. Deep draft vs shallow draft is like furler vs no furling main sail. Often strong opinions based on lack of knowledge and experience. We all heard the “sailor” telling you need to learn to handle your boat before installing bow thruster right? This sailors intentions is to make you feel less competent and trying to lift them selves up to kings and masters of sailing. In reality only exposing how little they know. Also it’s normal to defend own decisions and reasons for why buy etc. So often it’s hard to get really objective answers. Ask a sailor about his boat after it’s sold and you get the truth. However there is some facts hard to ignore when it comes to keels, depth and also material. Not to forget how it’s attached to the hull. As long as we focus on cruising boats and not racing with counting keels and foiling and daggers etc. The thinner and deeper keel the higher up against the wind you can point. The shorter fatter and longer the less pointing. Shallow draft needs compensation in weight in the keel. Meaning overall weight of the boat is increased. A typical 40 foot shallow draft would then have less weight left for other things without compromising its seaworthiness. Not many know this. Adding weight in your mast eats weight from your keel. So building an Eiffel Tower at the stern of a boat is normal but not necessarily good idea. At least not for performance but in some cases even with safety and seaworthiness in mind. And for a long distance sailor knowing a 40 foot shallow draft already have stolen 3-400 kg from your load capacity should be strong argument to at least start looking at how much weight and where you place this. Long-keel in general sailing slower and points pretty poor compared to more modern design. In fact lots of new cruising catamarans would even point higher than a long keel boat. However a long keel boat have its strong sides loved by many long distance sailors for many valid reasons. Especially in terms of being safe and robust. It’s strongest argument it’s solid as a Sherman Tank. So if you planning on hitting reefs and shallow spots on a frequent base this is definitely the boat to look for. However downside is pretty rolly and sails not very good in general. Deep draft keel only have two disadvantages compared to long keeled and share one of this disadvantages with shallow draft. This is keels being bolted to a grid. Some better than others. A long keel is here superior towards deep or shallow keels mostly bolted to the hull. There is some exceptions, but leaving this out for now. Keel drag is interesting and then we digg into physics. But in general I believe I can get away with saying Deep draft sails better, faster, points higher, and less rolly at both sea and at anchor. Shallow draft points slightly better than a long keel boat, roll almost as much but sometimes less draft than long keel boats as well. At anchor shallow draft will swing more than deep draft and long keel. It’s all about surface/resistance. Shallow draft gives you option to go close to a beach almost like a catamaran. How smart this is a different story. So it’s pro & cons with everything and sometimes you would have to compromise. If cruising in the Bahamas is the plan, shallow draft or a cat would be my choice. I would prefer to have long keel boat, but to much in love with sailing fast and efficient. So it’s really not often the depth of my keel is creating any issues. Maybe 2-3 times in 4 years cruising the Caribbean. Look at it this way, how often do you think 2-3 foot difference makes much of a difference where to anchor? Compare depths on shallow draft vs deep draft must be done on same size and model. Anything else would be comparing a camper van vs a bike in who can easiest enter the shopping mall. This is how I often see this discussions. All the best and cheers 🍻

Thank you so much for watching! Happy to know you found some takeaways here. All the best and cheers 🍻

Thank you so much Sophia! I’m happy your house is safely anchored and no houses or garages drifting down the streets... Man this was a hard week and difficult to explain. Anyway thank you for being here and always being so kind. All the best and cheers 🍻

Thank you so much for your kind words and for watching as well. Your feedback is much appreciated 🍻

Thank you so much and welcome to my channel! Very generous of Rick trying to help me break through the wall of noice her on RU-vid. Much appreciated and thank you for being here. All the best and cheers 🍻

Thank you so much for watching and for appreciating the effort put into this episode. Cheers 🍻

Thank you so much for subscribing and for being here. Much appreciated also for Rick’s effort trying to give me a hand here. All the best and cheers 🍻

Thank you so much for watching and for being here! All the best 🍻

One of my harder weeks for sure! Thank you so much for watching and for being here 🍻

Ha ha🤣 Yeah scary things 🤣 Especially the queens! Cheers 🍻

Thank you so much and for stopping by here as well. Much appreciated what Rick did trying to help me grow my channel. All the best 🍻

Thank you so much for watching and for your comment. Glad you enjoyed

Thank you so much for watching and for being here! I’m happy to hear you found this content interesting and useful. All the best with your sailing adventure and fair winds my friend. Cheers 🍻

Thank you so much for watching and your kind words. You’re absolutely right it was a time consuming video to make. So I’m happy you noticed and enjoyed. Much appreciated! Cheers 🍻

Thank you so much for coming here and welcome aboard! Hope you will enjoy my content as well. All the best and cheers 🍻

Thank you so much for kind words and for watching. Happy you enjoyed this episode and found it worth spending your time. All the best and cheers 🍻

Thank you so much for watching and happy to know you got som value out of your time here. All the best 🍻

Thank you so much for watching and for kind words. All the best and cheers 🍻

Congrats being the first commenting this humorous thing! Could not resist making it as it’s so close to the feeling I had. Happy you enjoyed this! Cheers 🍻

Thank you so much! All the best and cheers 🍻

@@SailingwithThomas 👍👍

Thank you so much for watching and being here! Cheers 🍻

Thank you so much for subscribing and welcome aboard! Much appreciated and hope you will enjoy. All the best and cheers 🍻

Thank you so much for watching! The ice cream was epic!!! Could be after being stuck on my boat exhausted after the stormy week it was extra good. I’m so thankful that Rick was so lucky. I was right behind and saw it all in slow motion almost like his guardian angel made sure he landed softly. I can promise you he looked beaten up but considering the circumstances it’s a miracle it was not worse. All the best and cheers 🍻

Thank you so much for watching and for being here! Interesting comment and for sure anchor in rivers or places with strong currents is another game. This can for sure be pretty demanding and needs experience. All the best and cheers 🍻

Thank you so much 🍻

Thank you so much for kind feedback. Cheers 🍻

Thank you my friend! It was surreal feeling being inside a Tetris game, and pretty exhausting as well. It makes you wonder though why some anchor in front of you all over again after dragging towards you 3 times🤣 Luckily it all ended well. All the best and cheers 🍻

Thank you so much! Please remember there is many ways to do things and I don’t have the blueprint. But happy to know I can inspire and motivate to expand the horizon. All the best and cheers 🍻

Ha ha🤣 Thank you! Thor Heyerdahl is my hero so I take it as a compliment! The first adventurer crossing the Pacific that went viral hitting the front pages globally. He was a pioneer and imagine what he could done if RU-vid existed in 1946. All the best and cheers 🍻

Thank you so much for watching and for sharing your experience as a viewer and what you enjoyed. I try to give as realistic experience it’s possible but on a flat dimension like a screen it’s really challenging sometimes. Especially the depths and size of the waves. So like you explained having the camera closer sometimes helps. I’m happy to know non sailors also enjoy this channel and off course you can say and use whatever maritime terms you like. Fair winds is always better than good luck, especially if your a salty superstitious sailor. Then it’s lots of words never to be said on a boat. All the best and cheers 🍻

Thank you so much for watching and your kind feedback. The ice cream was to good not to share... but yeah it was a lot! Almost like a never ending story when the lady was topping it up. Even said that’s enough as I could get lots of more on top🤣 All the best and cheers 🍻

Wow! Congratulations with your new boat and upcoming adventures. Thank you for sharing! Who knows we might be anchored in the same bay sharing a sundowner one day soon. All the best and and thank you for watching. Cheers 🍻

@@SailingwithThomas Who knows, we might. I’m originally from Sweden btw, but you might have figured that out. Cheers!

Ja du skrev ”hälsningar från Waikiki” så det ante meg at du i det minste kunne litt Svensk pga skrivefeil. Oversatt ville vært med svenske bokstaver😀 Men ikke alltid det stemmer. Svensker er alltid hyggelige seilere å møte uansett hvor man er🍻

@@SailingwithThomas Tja, vi Skandinavier har val det gemensamt tror jag.

Thank you so much and welcome aboard here! Much appreciated as well as Rick’s effort to help me with my channel. All the best and cheers 🍻

Thank you so much for watching and your kind feedback. All the best and cheers 🍻

Thank you Manuel for being here and taking your time to leave a nice comment as well. All the best and cheers 🍻

Cheers 🍻

Thank you so much for watching and your kind words. Time spent in preparing is always good investment and time saved later. Cheers 🍻

Thank you so much for watching and your kind feedback. All the best and cheers 🍻

Thank you so much for your kind words and really well formulated experience you share as well. Anchor and chain salad is a success formula for disaster. This was the main reason for dodging dragging boats. When tangled up you have limited options in bad weather. Form my experience Italy was among the worst places to anchor. Crowded and never ever seen so many anchor so close and on top of your anchor or even cross chains... Absolutely a nightmare especially being alone. All the best and cheers 🍻

Thank you so much for watching and also paying attention to the weather as well. All the best and cheers 🍻

Who knows what future brings, but thank you so much. All the best and cheers 🍻

Thank you so much for watching and your kind words. The canal transit with costs and documents needed etc will be shared here in not very long time from now. Soon sailing back to Panama to start the process. As most long distance sailors I’m also waiting and hoping for a solution from Starlink without restrictions in operation area. Meanwhile chasing best data packages from different operators have become a sport in itself. Uploading here is sometimes a challenge not only in the perspective of costs but coverage and enough data. So interesting fact is in Martinique you can buy a no limit SIM card from digicel that works throughout the entire Caribbean including Panama. Meaning the plan you pay for in Martinique (the only place you can buy this) gives you something that’s not available at eg. Grenada, and even at 1/4 of the costs of limited data plans. This is even from my experience the best working and fastest network in remote places like San Blas. Unfortunately last year Digicel changed their rules due to lots of sailors not paying their bills. So now you need a European bank account being able to get this plan. Yeah I’m really waiting for the SL and was hoping to have it before my Pacific crossing. But looks like this still only will be a dream for me. All the best and cheers 🍻

@@SailingwithThomas Yes, the Starlink has been "coming soon" for a while now. I have been eagerly waiting for it and some to try it too. Good potential and game changer for sure. Good to know about Digital though, despite the bank hurdle. As far as anchoring, I didn't understand the episode entirely as to why it was such an issue until I heard in Rick's episode that your boat has a 11+ ft draft. Then, it made all the sense. Keep up the good work.

Thank you so much for your reply and also happy you understood the challenges. All the best and cheers 🍻

It’s really not that difficult with a trustworthy windlass that’s powerful enough. I replaced mine to a stronger and faster. Also installed a hard button at the helm so I can operate everything without leaving the cockpit. I look at the chain and know when to help with the engine without needing to be at the bow. I have made jokes about it before that my two most important crew members are my windlass and my autopilot. As solo sailor this is places worth investing money. All the best and cheers 🍻

No questions are stupid as long as they are genuine. Riding out a storm by engine is possible but depending on the space you have available and also timeframe not to forget the force of the storm. With my boat having twin rudders means I would have to go at least 1-3 kts forward being manoeuvre-able. So her I would run oft of space in minutes. Luckily I have a strong oversized engine capable of lots of wind on my nose. But would run low on diesel after a week. I did consider going out the channel and ride it of on the leeward side of this island. All the best and and thank you for being here. Cheers 🍻

@@SailingwithThomas thanks for the clear explanation. 😊

Your most welcome and thank you so much for being here. Cheers 🍻

Thank you so much 🙏🏻 Cheers 🍻

Could not resist😀 Cheers 🍻

Hi there and thank you so much for watching and your question. Maybe I should make a detailed video about this in the future. Normally there is no problem for me to see the chains behaviour and by this depending on the wind I let the windlass do the job step by step taking in the slack. Sometimes I give a bit push with the engine and even bow thruster if needed. I have an upgraded windlass capable for bigger anchor as well, so it’s also less risk of stressing the windlass engine. All the best and cheers 🍻

Thank you so much for watching and your question as well. I’m definitely no expert on this topic with only 5 years at anchor. However from my limited live aboard experience I would say the capacity of your windlass is the first point. On my boat 35 kg anchor is considered as more than sufficient, however I have no problems handling a 56 kg anchor. Some anchor dig better than others like Rocna and Mantus. From what I have experienced it’s all about having enough chain out before any tension giving the anchor better angle to digg deep. Then feed out more and tension up again and finally tension up to 2000RPM is my formula working for me. So my conclusion is your windlass would be your main concern before having any issues with the anchor being to big to set properly. But then again there is many others out there with more expertise and experience with anchor than me. I have sailed my entire life but only 5 years as full time at anchor. All the best and cheers 🍻

I would guess so, but the sea floor here is really hard outside the sandy patches. However I’m pretty impressed by the Mantus anchor my friends at Sophisticated Lady has, so might convert from my much beloved and trusted Rocna. All the best and cheers 🍻

Not that easy, as you would need momentum forward greater than the drifting forces. Best boat to handle this would be a catamaran if strong enough engines as they have propeller on each hull. Remember we are talking about gusting winds up to tropical storm force. Main challenge with a twin rudder configuration as on BE FREE is no propeller wash on the rudders. Propeller sits in the middle and rudders out at the sides. Meaning a strong bow thruster could help slowing down the swing. Unfortunately most modern yachts are delivered with way to weak thrusters. Even a normal single rudder Modern Design yacht will struggle keeping bow against wind slowly going backwards feeding out chain. You are normally better off going backwards as slow as possible keeping momentum and steering. But theory and reality in combination with space between shallow spots or other boats normally is the greatest challenge. Should probably explained this better in this video. Thank you so much for watching and your questions! Alle the best 🍻

Yes I have sailed many seasons in the Mediterranean and there it’s mostly med mooring, some easier than others. It can be a challenge sometimes if lots of wind (Typically Aegean Sea) but most of the time there is lots of helpful sailors around to catch your stern line. You would need a remote controlled free fall option on your windlass as solo sailor, so the chain feeds it self out while backing in to either a dock or to shoreline. If it’s windy you don’t have time to wait for chain to feed out from a slow windlass. Places crowded with charter boats often have lazy lines (mooring lines) ready making docking even easier. All the best and cheers 🍻

Welcome to my channel and thank you so much for watching and your question as well. Yes BE FREE is not only capable of a safe and comfortable Atlantic crossing but even a full circle navigation. Strong and very well built boat. I have sailed her through hurricane force winds and waves that would scare the most experienced sailors. I have sailed since age 7 and most likely I will give up before my boat. All the best and cheers 🍻

@@SailingwithThomas Thank you for answering my question. You are an interesting and entertaining person, I enjoy watching your adventures when you are alone and with your friends! Thank you for allowing people like me to partake as you voyage through life.

Thank you so much for watching and your kind words. I’m using a 40 kg Rocna and a 33 kg Rocna. The 33 kg for normal use and change to 40 kg for really bad weather if predictions says it will be a storm. In case of serious bad weather I have the 33 kg attached to a 6 meter chain after the 40Kg. In this case I only used the 33 kg but with lots of chain. No issues except from others dragging around me. But thinking of upgrading to a 56 kg Mantus because being alone in crowded places is a challenge with two anchors if it needs to be pulled fast. All the best and cheers 🍻

Thank you so much for heading over here🙏🏻 Hope you will enjoy my channel and content as well. I’m really thankful for Rick and Maddy wanting to help me grow my channel. All the best and cheers 🍻

Thank you so much for watching and your question. Wind vane is not really ideal for this boat due to several factors. Boat speed and wide body with twin rudders is some, and also the dinghy garage. When I really need autopilot is flat downwind sailing in conditions balance and trim is difficult. In this situations a windvane is not very reliable. Sailing on a wind vane change your course with the wind, not always what you want. I know lots of sailors believe this is the only solution, but to me it’s a bit outdated and not for boats above 16 meters with boat speed often reaching 14 kts. My autopilot setup is very reliable and also fully redundancy. Double stand alone hydraulic systems, and double up with computers and displays. Meaning I can even cross use computers and hydraulic independently. Also as a solo sailor having computers handle boat position when getting sails up is handy, not to mention in no wind situations going by engine following a course while interval sleeping. All the best and cheers 🍻

Hi Kevin your question is very good and not naive at all. In some situations a stern anchor is very helpful and especially if it’s current or waves making you wanna avoid rolling the entire night and day. Some places it’s even mandatory to use this due to compact anchorage and no room to swing. However in strong winds like squalls that change directions you want your boat to point against the wind. The power you get sideways if having a stern anchor not aloud you to swing freely would in most cases make things worse. Lots of interesting techniques and various ways like most normal in Nordic countries is windlass and anchor at the stern. Bow to the island with anchor from stern holding you out not hitting the rocks. So there is many different ways in different locations with different challenges. All the best and cheers 🍻

@@SailingwithThomas thanks for that long reply Thomas, l am in Sweden and see alot of boats with stern windlass. Makes sense, if anchoring off a little rocky island. Just did not know ,in your anchoring situations. Now l know. Cheers🍻

Thank you so much and happy to answer any questions as good as I can. Cheers 🍻

I’m kind of a Radar addicted sailor for sure. No I dont have a rain catcher but have rigged some temporary solutions to try it out now and then. As solo sailor my water supply onboard last almost to long, so water is not really a challenge onboard BE FREE. I can last for 2-3 months on my onboard drinking water, and in only short time my watermaker tops it up again. All the best and cheers 🍻

Hi there, and thank you for being here. I normally take down my Bimini if I know the winds potentially exceed 50 knots. I have not had any issues with fittings as mine are upgraded and thicker. Even my cockpit arch was designed to withstand hurricane force winds with solar panels attached. It’s made of 2mm thick 48mm tubes with curves for extra rigid strength. When I designed and had this made almost 7 years ago I knew I was at some point going to be exposed to extreme weather. Swinging at anchor are a challenge for most modern yachts due to hull design. A long keel heavy displacement yacht swings different, just as a catamaran also swing different to us again. I use a storm bridle and have this attached to my anchor chain by default whenever I anchor. You can reduce the swinging a bit by extending the length of your storm bridle. The downside is more cleaning on the rope and bridle as it do get growth sitting a lot under water when light winds. So I try to adjust this accordingly. The stronger wind the more I feed out. I don’t have a anchor sail as it’s not so practical on this yachts configuration. But it’s something I have been thinking about now and then. Hopefully this answers some of your questions. All the best

@@SailingwithThomas Many thanks Thomas. So I suppose you have custom made bimini rail fittings. One issue with storm bridle is it usually fastened to the cleats, so further aft (although I sometimes run the ropes through the davit) what may make things worse. But yes, logical, having long ropes will immediately put tension on the boat's nose instead of extending/inclining the otherwise vertical part of the chain... confirmed by the fact that the boat swings anchoring deep in gusty conditions. All the best!

He definitely knows his anchor game! Also perfect having a pilot into anchorage with local knowledge in a place where charts are not that accurate. Thank you so much for watching and for being here🍻

Ha ha🤣 Yeah better hide my Unicorn it might send wrong signals 🍻

Hi there and thank you so much for watching and your question. I have Rocna but will soon change to a 56 kg Mantus. All the best and cheers 🍻

@@SailingwithThomas I have a 35 pound Bruce/Claw on mine. Will be switching to a 45 pound Mantus myself soon.

Thank you so much for watching and for being here! Much appreciated and also very thankful for Rick trying to help me Cheers 🍻

Thank you so much my friend! Cheers 🍻