"We learned a lot. " That is so important! The most important is that you all were safe...and you were! Yes! I am sure there are other important outcomes....but some people don't bother to review and learn. Also, I am thankful that this happened to you in an very protected area, and not at sea. 1. Some comments are valuable and some are not. 2. People learn best by experience. You are doing great!

I sail for almost 30 years at sea with ships from af 250 meters and more . Now we also go to sea with a sailboat 13 meter. Every ship reacts differently every storm is different . You did well and fortunately you can still tell the story so it is a lesson for next time. And yes every video of sailors is different and everyone reacts differently so don't get crazy. You are still there so well done. Greetings from the Netherlands and looking forward to your new video.

Love that Ella is your life jacket police! Keep up the good work Ella!

There will always be negativity by people. That comes with having a channel unfortunately. Don't let that bother at all. Every channel goes through it and just have to ignore those and appreciate that they're comments although negative is helping the algorithm for you . Your a newer channel and I think your doing great and learning as you go like every channel before you.

Look 90% of the people that say something about the way you handle the weather have never ben there. You made it through and are alive. You well always think about what you did and you will improve. Thats the way life is. So are there things you did wrong? Maybe. Are there things you did right? Of course. Ya'll are still here! So just like the old saying goes. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger and Wiser! So keep learning and having fun out there. And injoy life. The only thing I would say is, Maybe watch the weather the best as you can. And try not to go out in the Heavy stuff. But I do know weather does come up and is unexpected. So until next time. Aloha from the Big Island of Hawaii! Aloha

Every cruiser/sailor has one of these blows at some point and we all think about what we would have done differently afterwards. You did enough right that you came out of it ok. Living and learning! Enjoyed sharing Tambi’s birthday with you at Great Harbor Cay. Maris Stella

Good points. Glad you guys are ok

That’s one of the reasons I quit posting videos - the trolls and the idiots made it not fun anymore to keep posting. Please don’t worry about one person complaining that you’re dragging out the content - you guys are doing fine. I shouldn’t have let them get to me and I hate that you guys feel bad that someone thinks you might be dragging out your content. Also, for the ones that said you convinced them to not go cruising - I think that it’s a good thing. Too many people don’t realize that this lifestyle is really stressful at times and it is definitely not for everybody - it’s also the reason I don’t want to cruise full time…I appreciate and look forward to my time away from the boat. But you’re doing a service by posting these kinds of videos because this sh!t is not for the faint of heart and people need to know they these kinds of nights happen from time to time. Keep up the good work.

I’m an armchair quarterback and I really appreciate how you guys are so decent and sharing so I can learn. You did well, and what’s more you learnt plenty and then helped us all by sharing it. I know you don’t need to be told, but for every negative comment there are a hundred people who feel the exact opposite and silently appreciate your work. You soon will have a lot more experience than me so I am keen to learn from you in case I win lotto and can afford a cat. On my (years ago) 23 foot sailboat I once was anchored and an unexpected tropical squall tore in and I could barely see the heaving bow of my boat from the cockpit, (or the lee shore just behind me). It taught me to think ahead and ready things in case it all goes wrong at once. One thing I hear you say that I think you might be slightly overconfident on is your anchor. As you say, it’s is a good anchor, well setup and can handle a huge load. But even the best anchor can fail in some ground situations. You can have a great anchor holding nicely in moderate wind that suddenly lets go if it rises a bit because the sand was only 10 inches deep and had hard rack below it. It’s generally on the charts (but not always) and however confident you are in the anchor you should if possible prepare yourself and the boat for a dragging situation if aboard during strong winds. As I say, I think you did well, and really really appreciate how open and honest you are about everything. You are doing good in the world with this channel and that is on top of raising a great family. Well done and thanks.

The most important thing about this is that you have now experienced a high wind event while at anchor. You know that your ground tackle is good, you found some things that you need to add/change with your lighting, and you have taken time to learn more about the various systems you have at your helm. Yes there may have been some things that you could have done better but with your lack of experience you just didn't know what to expect. Now you have some experience and have taken time to better understand your systems so that the next time you need to rely on them you will have more confidence in what they are showing you. Hang in there and keep learning. Somethings you can only learn by doing or making mistakes. You can only hope that the mistakes don't end up being too expensive.

Thanks for sharing your hot wash. I liked Corey's comment that all the book knowledge and classes can't fully prepare you for what Mother Nature can throw at you. I equate it to having your first kid . . . there is a steep learning curve regardless how prepared you thought you were.

We are in our second year living full time aboard our Lagoon 440. We've been through 2 tropical storms and plenty of 35 knot gusty nights. I would trust in your anchor, as Mantus/Rocnas have a fantastic reputation. We have a similarly oversized rocna on our 440 that has only dragged a few times. One thing I can recommend is that when you know a storm is coming, flip on those engines and RESET your anchor. Back down on it so you have that peace of mind before the storm comes in. We've been in situations where we planned 2 days in advance for a big blow coming through, and still dragged. Why? Because I didn't check the anchor in the hours leading up to the storm. I had backed down on it 2 days earlier, but we were swinging all over the place in the days leading up to it. Always good to test again if you know you've been swinging around. Hope you get everything fixed up quickly and hope to see you out there! SV Saguaro

Definitely have the engines on whenever a lee shore, dragging (your boat or other boat(s)) situation occurs. Control is much better than “ loss of control .” Another thought from decades of captaining airliners: Captains must set the tone in all situations-good and bad. A lot can be learned through learning from other’s examples. Because y’all don’t have a lot of Captaining experience (not talking about sailing experience here, but Captaining a crew experience) maybe the movies (sailing, airplanes, even military) can give you both good and bad examples. Doing this debrief is great. We do this constantly in aviation. Self critique is the most effective. Don’t worry if you feel you didn’t do the best job (period). Just own up to what happened, make a plan in how you will do better (not perfect) next time, and move forward. For what experience your logbooks currently have…well done. Captaining/sailing/flying is a constant improvement process 👍

Thanks for being honest and go over the good and bad! BTW, blue light will not ruin your night vision.

You should be very proud of yourself . For overcoming the Storm .and keeping your Family safe .. That's what Counts most of all. Getting true it and coming out the other side.Congratulations on not panicking.You can hold your heads up on hi.You came true He'll . and lived to tell the tale.you are doing a Fantastic job . keep up the great work and be happy.☘️

You guys did great and every storm and sitation is different. You have to love that arm chair quarterback.

Wow... I didn't see those last 2 weeks of Video's, so I just went and watched... Far-out man... the main thing that I got was how calm You guys appeared to be and stayed!!!! I know you said you were shaking inside (I would've have been too) but you didn't panic, one of my Motto's is 'panic slowly' But your boat, anchor and yourselves saved you and your kids yes there are things you will have now learnt for next time and that is ok too... at the end of the day life is all about learning and being stretched eh, take care, look forward to more adventures sailing and such. Ned

The main thing is y'all are ok!! Just mark it as a learning experience

Keep up the good work. We had a similar event sailing at anchor with strong wind against current. Difficult situation in a cat. I have been told a longer bridle might help. I am about to change mine also. I will let you know if it helps. Have fun and good job dealing with this.

Nothing wrong with inexperience. No one starts boating with full knowledge and experience of what they will need. It is a constant learning and process of getting better at what you do. There are some fundamental rules that has to be implemented. Whether you have been sailing for 1 day or 1 year. There can NOT be two captains on a boat. It has nothing to do with men and women, it has lot to do with who is better equipped and have more experience. There are only two adults on your boat. For crew you have a child. In case of an emergency you can't have two captains ordering each other around. Someone has to be in charge. Planning a trip together, making decisions on what color to paint the walls, what to eat, where to anchor could be a joint decision. It is not a reflection on the weakness of the other if you decide who the captain is. Management by consensus is anarchy in an emergency. Don't let anyone's ego get bruised. Decide among yourselves who is most qualified is to be the captain. If you are absolutely positively sure neither one of you have leg up on the other, flip a coin and decide who that person is who will bark out the commands and plan of action when there is no time to debate. Don't assume two heads are better than one when seconds count and you are taking minutes to decide. I watch other couples doing what you are doing. There are some where the husband and the wife are BOTH licensed captains. When one is on duty, while the other is sleeping, cooking or painting or whatever. However there is one captain and that is who is in charge. It maybe different later on when one gets more experience than the other. Take it for what is worth, because there is nothing malicious in what I just wrote. Panic is best handled when only one of you is panicking.

My advise as a military pilot and Great Looper with lots of boating experience...skip the red lights. Go to blue/green. Better on the eyes.

You'll enjoy the Bahamas and Caribbean where you can literally see your anchor and dive on it to confirm that it's well dug in and there's no obstructions in the area. We've been boaters/cruisers for almost 40 years and we still learn from others as well as experience. I'm part of the lifejacket police....things can go bad too quickly in a storm to start getting jackets on.... especially with kids, even in the cockpit or below. You guys did well. It'll be a good story down the road 😊

Great video with much nicer weather, and with a repaired seagull striker. KZfaq's algorithms tend to be a task master. I've looked at some of your older episodes and boy have you put in a lot of work. I crewed on a Leopard cat 3 yrs ago ( standing rigging work, solar install, new hot water tank install etc etc) with plans to go south to the Bahamas, but covid restrictions cancelled trip. Note that Bahamas during the midst of the Covid restrictions had rules to require cruisers to get a gov't administered $100 Covid test everytime they sailed/motored to a new Bahamas Island- that certainly would have eaten into the cruising kitty. Luckily they ended it after uproar and sailing media questions. If you happen to go for multi-color LED tape/strip light for general cockpit lighting makes sure the strip is fully encapsulated- the salt air killed the above cat's light within 6 mths. Have fun in the Bahamas.

Night vision binos, jack lines, vests on when storm hits

If at some point in time you are looking at having off grid air conditioning ( without using a generator) take a look at fellow Ytuber Emily & Clark's Adventure, an episode of about 1 yr ago. He is an engineer and designed a low draw AC unit that works off 12v and says a 100ah lith battery could run all night. The system is being manufactured commercially, is less than $1,900, as I recall, and about 4500-5000 BTUs. Some episodes show him installing unit in a cruiser's sailboat. I have no connection with company or Clark, just think it is a great low draw AC unit.

As far as starting your engines and putting them in gear, that is a mixed bag. Better to get a good set initially just like you did. Nice job! Of course, if you start dragging, then firing them up and taking action is appropriate. The risk is fouling a prop on an anchor line, etc. As far as the actual damage/failure, that was an anomaly and I am not sure I would have thought about being concerned about that line either.

Don’t you just love arm chair sailors ! We are about 18 months in front of you , your doing well and yes it’s a learning curve. Those that are griping or threatening to leave the e issue is with them not you. With AIS I would politely disagree with you , every boat should have transmit and receive . Keep going , keep enjoying it !

Your inexperience means you should wear your life vest on passage. Please be careful. Always check that weather forecast.don’t rely on one forecast system the other cruisers look at 3 to make sure there are no surprises.

Engines off was a mistake.. your striker most likely broke/compromised during the front coming through and finished breaking during its exit.. due to the load placed on it. Why is everyone using phones and iPads as nav tools (I use for aqua maps , I’m not a Fudd) plotters ( updated) and radar are so much better. IMO y’all need to pick who’s the Captain of the Boat….. IMO that’s not a shared responsibility.

People like to be armchair quarterbacks. You don't have anything to be yourselves up about.