Live and learn. You are definitely doing both! :) Respect mate. Glad nothing worse happened, and you did well to keep relatively calm. Easy for me to say from an armchair, my hat is off to you for doing it all, but I do think you could do a couple of things slightly better for next time. Firstly in that situation I believe you need engines on, not just keyed ready. That way you have time to check exhaust water and let them warm up before needing them. Secondly when you get to the high load on the anchor, no matter how good it is, it won’t hurt to have some forward throttle on both evenly. That reduces the load on the anchor, allows a bit more catenary in the chain (which will reduce shock loads) and might just help if the holding isn’t good on that bottom. Secondly I think wet weather gear and life jackets for you two who might need to suddenly go on deck. Thirdly have fenders ready (I saw two but more is better) in case someone drags on you. Fourthly maybe your radar can ‘target’ objects? If so you might be able to designate nearby boats as targets so you will be able to see if they are dragging even if you are not. All of this is from my theoretical understanding and not a great deal of actual experience. So I might be wrong but wanted to help if I could. In any case, good onya for getting out there and doing it. Good onya for being willing to share mistakes so others learn. Sorry this was long…. hope you have fair winds and following seas as you sail on.

Hi everyone! Mistakes were made and we have chosen to show them. We are learning fast and now we will be much more prepared for next time. We may make a video discussing our mistakes for other people to grow with us. It’s frustrating that more of the established sailing channels on KZfaq don’t present their content this way. A calm sea doesn’t make a seasoned sailor! Thank you all for your support. Derogatory, rude and vile comments will not be tolerated! If you don’t like our channel, there are plenty of fairytale sailing channels to watch.

Heavy winds and rain when you’re @ anchor, close to other boats and land makes everything seem 10 times worst. I use to travel back and forth from Miami to the 🇧🇸 on a small sailboat. The truth is that you will see worse conditions as you continue your journey to cross oceans. Mother Nature is no joke, plan ahead with predicted weather and consider worst case scenarios. Stayed stow for sea and remain calm and safe. Thank you for sharing. You guys did great working together and keep everyone safe. Gear can be fixed or replaced. Keep each other safe.

If your rig bro with 40 nights of wind better now than later out on the ocean it must have been a week already it’s probably a blessing in disguise I will pray for you guys to get your boat back in shape so you can get onWith your dreams

I have nothing but respect for how your channel represents your experience truthfully. We too had some horrific experiences during the 2 hurricanes that passed through florida this year and because of that, we have decided this lifestyle is not for us. Bravo to you for your commitment to continue on your journey and present it to the world.

Will be interested in what the experts say happened and how the fix comes together. Stick with it. You guys did great for first time riding out an intense situation.

Unbelievable footage!

Thanks!

In our part of the World 30 to 40 knot winds(anything less then 30 knots is a breeze and this coming weekend we might see 45 knots) are part of normal life for many month,s of the years. Moorings here are very heavy and we always advice visiting yachts to have a anchor ready on deck in case a emergency happen for some reason. Advice for other places.Always dive any mooring ,even if locals tell you its fine. During the dive, establish what material is at the bottom,rocky, grass, sand or mud and choose a standby anchor that work best for that specific material. Not all anchors perform similar in all conditions.

Carter is a beast. he should be a storm chaser. :)

Also some striker setups have a lower section (below the crossbeam) with cables going to hulls. The other purpose of stikers is to help the crossbeam resist the upward and sideway pull of the jib/genoa/code zero and even the mainsail etc, thru that forward stay.

When in a storm and risk of dragging increases we turn our engines on so we can lower the pressure of the anchor or if we drag we are in control

Glad you are all safe and well. Tula tech talk from 2019 explains the seagull striker and what it does. Get all of you rig checked to be safe.

I am pleased you are all safe. Boats can be repaired.

I think you can have a lot more confidence in your anchor after this episode. I would suggest you were fortunate this happened now and not offshore. IMO this setup on the front of your Cat was either under-engineered or more likely had stress fatigue and corrosion from many years. Hopefully whatever repair you do will be something more robust.

Seagull striker- its primary purpose is to support the forward crossbeam and prevent wracking of hulls forward of the primary crossbeam below the salon usually under the mast. Think of the striker as helping to form 2 triangles- the 3 sides being crossbeam, cable and the near vertical legs of the center support legs of the striker. Usually strikers don't have wires/cable going to the mast- did yours? The stay inside the roller furler is usually the only thing that holds up the mast from the bow unless you have an inner forestay for a cutter like rig. Your cat's manufacturer should have a replacement Striker post and it is possible you just need 2 replacement attachment feet. Possible they could be machined locally. Hope you are able to quickly solve your issue and continue trip south.

You need to get a professional rigger to inspect the entire rig. the martingale sheered off because of the independent movement of the two hulls . the cross beam connects them and the martingale tensions them. metal fatigue and corrosion caught up. this is a warning that every fitting is a questionmark.

May have been the anchor bridle pulling - pushing because it was not totally free from the bowsprit lines ? Anyway, anchor held great and only small damage

I hope you are all recollected and repaired and on your way. I don't intend this to be mean, but I think that the snapping of the seagull striker might have been a very good thing. I don't know what caused it, but I suspect that the connections were weak (age?) and that if it didn't happen now, it would happen to you out at sea. Also, the whole thing was very stressful and you got through it. Things will break and you will get through it. My suggestion (good or bad) would be to watch some videos of boats that had incidents at sea...Not to scare yourself, but so that you can get an idea of how to handle issues...what people did right and what they did wrong. For example, in one video, the guys were wrestling with broken rigging at night but failed to put on lifejackets. This one is from Beau and Brandy who got a large crack in their hull and it ends very well: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/m5yJdtRlyOCUZo0.html I don't suggest this to instill any fear in you, but rather, like running a fire drill, so that you can gather some ideas and suggestions and plan for what you would do in different situations. Many of the people whose boat sank have a follow up video where they discuss what went wrong and what they might have done differently. I like your solution of phoning a friend. Best wishes!!!

I wonder if given the opposite directions and current and wind you had load from the snubber lines on the seagull striker. The position of the damage does not make sense for rig overload. Good luck for only having some cost for manufacturing new parts and no more.

were are everyones life jackets?

A few weeks ago basik went through a cat 5 in the sea of Cortez. They clocked 70 knots. I knew it’s scary but as long as you’re holding. You’ll be ok. May have some damage. But you might want to give their episode a watch.

I’ve was always thought that you’re seriously persons! If the situation was that hard why nobody was wearing life suits? Mainly the kids! Come on!!!