Saturday, February 27, 2010

It Takes a Tsunami to Leave Tenacatita

Well, at 7 am this morning we woke up to a "Sécurité, Sécurité, Sécurité" warning regarding the 8.8 magnitude earthquake that hit the coast of Chile this morning. NOAA issued a tsunami warning for the entire Pacific coast including Mexico and California. According to the warning:

Tsunamis can be dangerous waves that are not survivable. Wave heights are amplified by irregular shoreline and are difficult to forecast. Tsunamis often appear as a strong surge and may be preceded by a receding water level. Mariners in water deeper than 600 feet should not be affected by a tsunami. Wave heights will increase rapidly as water shallows. Tsunamis are a series of ocean waves which can be dangerous for several hours after the initial wave arrival.

Now, we always sleep with the VHF radio on, "just in case" and this morning was one of those "just in cases." We woke to the Sécurité, logged on to the internet to check the NOAA warnings, talked among the other boats in the Tenacatita anchorage – we even had to dinghy over to some of the 30 plus boats anchored there in order to wake them up because they do not sleep with their VHF on, -- prepared our boat, raised anchor and made our way out to sea. Now, in 600+ feet of water we are enjoying a beautiful morning sail. Since Tenacatita is such an awesome anchorage (one of our friends has been there for over four weeks) and the dolphins were swimming all around the anchorage this morning, it took a tsunami warning to get us (and them) to raise anchor and head out. We have now decided to make our way to Melaque (19 degrees 12 minutes north by 104 degrees 41.4 minutes west) for a few days. We will pick up provisions and do laundry and then make our way back to Tenacatita. It is too nice an anchorage!

Always some sort of excitement.

Michael

12 comments:

  1. This kind of excitment I DON'T NEED!!!!!!!!!!!
    I listen to the news & swallow hard. I never know how close these events are or how they can affect you.
    As usual all I can say is be safe, be healthy and have fun -- I hope it's fun!
    Keep us posted.
    Love you Hugs & kisses
    M. F. B.

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  3. Hello Again- Please stay safe our thoughts are with you!!! Hugs - the Blechermans!!!

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  4. Glad to hear you guys are okay. We were wondering how/if you'd be affected. Barb - received your gift for Jonathan the other day. Thank you! He will send his own thank you note. Miss you.

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  5. That sounds like a bit too much excitement for me!

    Happy Purim to everyone! We have no heat here today..furnace is broken. Making good use of our fireplace.

    Sammy had his hernia surgery on Monday and has had a great recovery. We were told he might be off school for a week but he actually went back on Wednesday. We often need to remind him to take it easy because he is doing so well.

    Tess got back from the Phillipines this week...thank God! She was off for 7 weeks and we really missed her.

    We're off to deliver our mishloach manot....Have a great time at sea today.

    STay safe...
    xoxo
    Boppy

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  6. never a dull moment!
    glad you were able to "make lemade out of lemons" - so to speak.
    keep us updated.
    stay safe.
    miss you guys.

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  7. Thank you for updating us (we love hearing about your adventures). You are always in our thoughts and hearts. Sending you virtual hamantasian!
    xoxoxo~
    The Oestreichs

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  8. Glad to hear that you are all safe. Your adventure definitely is exciting. Have a happy Purim ---

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  9. Hi Guys,
    So glad you are fine and let everyone know this... The first thing I thought of was how the Tsunamis warning might affect you.
    Be safe and enjoy your new anchor spot until you can go back.
    Big hug,
    Sharon, Matthew and Rebecca

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  10. Please keep us updated when you are in range of wifi... We are all thinking of you!

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  11. All I could say is "Sorry I missed this excitement", now that I know that you are all safe and sound!
    I must say that I am glad that you are all alert and aware of following warnings and heeding instructions.
    Keep up all the fun and excitement...
    Lots of love...

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  12. WOW!! Your experiences and memories of them are always going to be with you! SO glad you are safe and enjoying this adventure.
    Love Phyllis

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