Logbook

We were wrapping up our New York / New England / Canada trip when a panicked look at the forecast showed Hurricane Simon making a direct hit on Mazatlán at Category 5. Plans changed in a hurry, and we headed home several days early.

By October 11th, Simon was strengthening off Mexico’s Pacific coast and approaching Category 5… and its unusually small eyewall and exceptionally slow-moving nature made changes in strength and track particularly difficult to predict.

Landfall was still several days away, but this is not the kind of storm you wait around on. With considerable uncertainty about the path, we put our hurricane preparedness plan into motion to get SV Counting Stars as secure as possible. Hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst.

Dock lines were doubled, with chafe protection added. Sails and canvas came down and cushions were stowed… for the first time in years, she was fully naked without her sails!

Three days of boat prep later, Simon was still spinning out in the Pacific… but the good news is that it was moving away from us!

Of course, we didn’t get long to enjoy that news. Now we’re watching the next storm closely and somehow, this one looks even more bizarre. What a hurricane season!

Update: As it turned out, Simon was the last major storm to threaten Mazatlán this season.