So now that your meteorological lesson is over you might be wondering what it was like for us experiencing it.
We were able to predict with some accuracy, I might add, just what to expect from Hurricane Patricia due to excellent forecasting (EEB Mike and WindyTY.com), information from the marina office and hotel and information from the weather channel. What we did not know and never knew was where Patricia would actually come ashore. At times it looked like we were going to be a direct hit!
We had three days to prepare. All hands were on deck. This included the owners of boats that were in the marina, the marina staff and the guys whose job it is to look after specific boats. All tarps and awnings were removed and stowed. Solar panels were lowered and tied down. Anything that could blow away was removed from the deck and stowed below. The water tanks were filled. The batteries were fully charged. Extra provisioning was done. We took some extra wraps on the Genoa and staysail to prevent them from possibly unfurling and laid out extra dock lines. The dinghy was secured on deck. We were as ready as we could be.
We also decided to remove the dodger after this picture was taken. You can see the spring lines that helped to keep the boat from be pushed to tightly onto the dock.
Friday morning came and we, along with most of the boat owners, took up the offer of a reduced rate and booked a room in the hotel. We were allowed to check in early so at 10 o'clock we brought our stuff up to the room. This included important boat documents, passports and extra cash. We had a fridge in the room so we also brought up some of our food - crackers, cheese, sandwich fixings, fruit. All of our rooms overlooked the marina so we were able to keep an eye on our boats ( no pun intended).
We had a beautiful delux room with a king size bed and a bath tub! You must remember we live on a 37 foot boat so such luxuries are just that -luxuries.
At this time the rain had just started and the winds were blowing about 20 mph.
That is our boat on the third dock in the middle. The one on the right hand side of the finger with the blue sail cover.
David returned to the boat to make one final check of our lines and such. Everything was good so he returned to our room but he did not come empty handed. In one hand he had my stuffed moose from Finland ( our mascot) and in the other was some Grand Marnier. What a guy!
Nothing to do at this time except wait and pray. Not wanting to let an opportunity go by, I decided to have a bubble bath and some of that GM.
David decided to have a siesta as it could very well be a long day and night!
No one would have guessed that we were preparing for a Category 5 hurricane in the next 7 hours!
By early afternoon the winds had started to pick up along with the rain. At one point I was sitting on the bed emailing family when all of a sudden I was splattered with glass. A small piece of the tile from the roof had broken the small side window. It took me a few seconds for it to register just what had happened. But I was not cut or anything and because it was a side window very little water came in. David was able to patch it up with a few towels.
The wind was coming from the East and as a result was hitting our patio door on a bit of an angle. But you could hardly make out the boats in the marina!
The large pillars between the suites was preventing a direct onslaught of rain. But the water still managed to seep through so we had to put towels along the bottom. There really was quite a lot of water on that part of the floor. We moved all of our stuff into the bathroom and sat on the bed located well back from the patio. And the noise from the wind was deafening.
It is amazing that through all of this we were able to send emails and stay in contact with family and friends!
I was looking out the window at about 5 o'clock and saw the boat beside us swing across the slip on an angle. One of the lines had obviously given way. Within 30 seconds I saw three of the marina workers run over to that dock and start re-securing Total Devotion. David could not stay in the room and just watch this happen. There was also a lull in the winds so he put on his rain slicker and went down to the docks. We realized later that this was the start of the wall of the eye passing over.
I looked out from the window anxiously watching the activity on the docks. The cleat on our finger that was keeping Total Devotion's port stern on the dock had pulled right out of the dock. The boat did suffer a minimum amount of damage to the topside on the starboard side when it rubbed up against the dock. But really only a scratch.
Once this was taken care of the guys noticed that Karpesa's lines were also letting go. Now there were eight guys on the dock helping to re-secure her lines. They decided to move her over to the other side of the slip so that the wind would be pushing the boat onto the dock. This takes some of the strain off of the dock cleats. This was how our boat was tied up. And then the spring lines to the other side keep the boat from being pushed too hard onto the dock.
The lines on Leibling also looked like there was some potential to let go so those lines were tied around the pilings. Poncho told me after that him and Alejandro checked each dock and all of the lines every hour. At one point during the height of the winds they were actually holding hands to support each other! I tell you - these guys went way beyond the call of duty to protect our boats. I cannot say enough to about them!
With much relief I see David's yellow slicker returning to the hotel. At this time the phone rings and it is the front desk informing me that they have arranged a buffet dinner for us in the Grand Ballroom. So David met me there. We sat with the director of the hotel and it was then that we were informed that the eye was passing closely over us. It ended up passing 29.5 miles north of us which put us right on the wall!
When it hit land it slowed down the forward movement of the hurricane and so we had a couple of hours of relative calm. They put on an amazing feast for us and the staff in that short time, including chicken, ribs, fish, salads, vegetables, rice and fruit and cake for desert. The director, Edwardo, even had one of the guys go to the tequila Bar and bring back a bottle of Herradura - we are talking a very good bottle of tequila. One of the top 18 in the country! So we had a toast on the house! To celebrate our survival!
The room that they chose to have the buffet is actually a part of the hotel that is built into the Rock - almost like a bomb shelter. They had also put up cots and blankets and pillows for anybody who needed a place to sleep. The hotel had a good reservoir of water as they have their own water treatment plant and they have a large generator. At this time we still had power though.
We were so protected in the ballroom that we did not realize that the hurricane had started moving again, the wind had changed direction from the SSE and was building up strength. But this put us right in the lee of the hill. So when we got back to our room we actually had to look outside to see if it was still blowing and raining as no rain was being blown directly on our balcony this time. The estimate is that the winds topped out somewhere between 75 and 100 mph.
But the same was not to be said for Perula and Cuixmala and Chemala. Patricia came to shore at 165 mph. Apparently the towns are no more but the good news is the fact that all the people had been evacuated and so far there are no reported deaths. This area is also sparsely populated. It would have been a much different story if Patricia had come to shore at Manzanillo or Puerto Vallarta.
Another blessing was the fact that Patricia did not bring as much rain as originally forecasted. So even though there were floods and mudslides, the damage was a lot less than it could have been. A lot of damage was due to falling trees. Many plantations of bananas and papaya trees were demolished. It looked like someone had gone through with a machete.
It continued to rain and blow through the night. As Patricia moved further and further inland those winds eased off and by 0700 am it was over.
We went back to the ballroom for a wonderful buffet breakfast and then back to the room to pack up. Time to get back to the boat and assess the aftermath.
We had just experienced an incredible 12 hours. By morning I felt like I was part of a movie. After waking up to a sunny day one had to wonder if we hadn't dreamt the entire thing.
But I have to say that during it all we were never scared. The hotel staff and marina staff were incredible. There was never any sign of panic or mayhem. Some large windows had broken in the lobby and lounge and there seemed to be water everywhere but people just quietly dealt with it and kept everyone safe. The director and managers were always around to give comfort and support and ensure that we were okay. They would personally call us in our room to let us know that the food was ready! And they looked after their staff as well as themselves. Amazing!
So now that Patricia has passed it is time to assess. And so I move on to Part Three.
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