Our kids left today, so we were to head back to our slip at Windmill Harbour. We invited two couples we knew from our Chicago area ski club from 40 + years ago to accompany us. They both retired to Hilton Head. We had a pleasant cruise to Palmetto Bluff for lunch and then headed toward Windmill Harbour. We kept checking the weather and radar all morning....all clear. As we finished lunch, we noticed dark clouds forming. We had about an hour and a half trip back to WH. The weather turned BAD. We saw dark clouds form all around us with lightning everywhere. We were just outside the lock at WH when the storm hit. We turned around to wait out the storm. We were in Calibogue Sound. We could see the line of the front advancing towards us but could not turn into it....visibility was nil. To stay ahead of the storm, we just continued to Harbour Town (where we had departed hours earlier). We almost made it.
 |
| Disaster Preparation! |
We got to the entrance of the HT marina just as the squall hit. The harbormaster clocked winds at 45mph with a 5 knot current. We were blown into the harbour, no way to turn back. John did an absolutely superb job of docking Knotugal in horrific conditions. We are also thankful to 2 dock hands that came out in pouring rain and lightning to help us. Our onboard guests remained remarkably calm throughout. Later, the harbormaster told us she had been here 35 years and only seen conditions like this 6 times, with 5 of them involving major crashing of boats. She had great praise for John. We are relieved and thankful tonight.
Evidently, 2 squall systems had formed and had come together. It was just one of those things where Mother Nature made it interesting for us...not.
 |
| This was the same storm we got caught in! |
