sudden squall in zihaut

we had a very exciting (and scary) evening yesterday.  jim put up the boat cover (at my insistance) to help keep the boat clean from the boobies and pelicans.  we had just settled into the cockpit to watch the sunset and watch the lightening flashes move around the bay.  then we heard the thunder.  a few sprinkles of rain and we closed the hatches.  just as we were discussing how wonderful the cool weather was, the squall hit.  we were pelted with horizontal rain that felt like hail, and the wind (clocked at 35-40) caught our sailcover trying to make us airbourn.  it dragged our anchor and us into another boat.  while jim was scrambling to take down the boat cover i was fending off the bow sprit of the other boat.  i had to untie our dinghy and both kayaks to give to them for safe keeping.  we got the motor started and reanchored in the dark once we knew nothing would fowl the prop.  later we discovered jim's kayak paddle was gone and a couple back cushions for the kayaks and a pair of his shoes.  no real damage to either boat.  we were lucky.  it could have been worse.  in the aftermath of debriefing we realized (okay i realized) how important it is to always always always be prepared.  don't leave things on deck, don't leave boat covers up at night.

sorry, no pictures of all this.  it wouldn't have been a pretty sight, both of us dripping wet.

today it's calm, slightly overcast, and we have 3 boobies sitting on our bow.

this is not a boobie

more to come.