LESSONS LEARNED
1 TAKE CHARGE
Keep your communication tools fully charged at all times. Had we not had the ability to contact the Coastguards, our predicament would have been far more frightening and the outcome possibly less positive.
2 KEEP IN COMMS
Keep contact details for key sailing authorities handy for the areas you’re sailing. Having the phone and VHF contacts for the Royal Oman Coastguards readily at hand made contacting them straightforward. Their immediate response instantly reduced our anxiety and stress.
3 MOVE WITH THE TIDE
Keep relevant tide timetables to hand during any passage. We were sailing in an area of relatively small tidal movement. Knowing the exact time of high tide and its height would have saved us anxiety when the boat didn’t initially refloat at the time we were wrongly told was high tide.
4 SPACE OUT
When anchoring in areas close to steep inclines that could create katabatic winds, leave sufficient space for the maximum possible, or even a 360° swing. Alternatively, have both a bow anchor out with plenty of chain and a stern line strongly fixed.
5 KEEP A WEATHER EYE OPEN
Heed weather warnings – both official and informal. Although, the websites we consulted forecast winds of 10-15 knots in our general area, a local fisherman told us ‘wind’s coming’. We should have listened!