We woke this morning to find Madrone’s deck covered in pine needles.
A couple of days ago, we pulled into a small caleta (cove) in advance of an approaching low pressure system. Most places in the world, anchoring strategy for an oncoming storm is to have enough room to let out a long length of chain to help the anchor hold. Here in Patagonia, the approach is different.
Instead of finding an area with enough room for a long length of chain, best practice is to drop anchor close to shore before backing up to rocks and securing the boat with two, three, or four lines ashore. This holds the boat tight against the tree line, which acts as a wind break against the storm. “The trees are your friend,” is the local wisdom.
We followed the local recommendation, and the result is that we have no idea how strong the storm winds actually were. The wind at the shoreline of our caleta was usually only 5-10 knots, with occasional stronger gusts rattling the rigging. Madrone stayed put while her crew marveled at the torrential rain.
There must have been quite a bit of wind, though, because of all the pine needles on deck. The wind at the top of the trees was probably strong enough to blow the needles off the trees while Madrone rested calm and secure below.
If cleaning up pine needles is the worst thing that happens during a storm, we’ll take it.
