Sea Survival: How to Battle a Storm on the Isles of Scilly

[@saturday7]

That was most informative to see the characteristics of the depression as it approaches and tracks overhead. Really good account of the wind shifts and pressure details.

[@sailingpolaris]

Thanks - we didn‘t get too much shooting during the peak winds… it was impressive and we are glad to have come out of it unscathed. I saw it emerging on Windy and as we we decided to stay and sit it put I thought this might be interesting…

[@saturday7]

@@sailingpolaris What struck me was how rapidly the situation changed with the Northerly wind shift. From a breathless calm to a howling wind in short order, bringing boisterous conditions, the adjacent yacht pitching heavily. Reminded me of an anxious night I spent hoping my anchor would hold until the wind abated. Always a relief to come through. Nice work with your timely preparations.

[@sonjadeweerdt5800]

What a fascinating video! Especially from my safe home! I appreciate the precise way you reported the way the wind and barometer behaved according to plan. Watching your boat I saw a boat beind you coming rather close, that was scary. I encountered something like this on the west coast of Ireland long time ago. Winds were force 8 to 9. We were anchored in one of the lochs there with a not very good anchorground. We survived but with a lot of damage. So this brought back memories.

[@sailingpolaris]

Thanks for watching and for your comment. I saw this coming and thought this would be a picture book opportunity to observe how the centre of a storm passing right through our location. Some boats were not so lucky. One motor sailor went on the rocks to be refloated a day later, another yacht was lost. No casualties luckily…

[@ooweesaler]

That was interesting. Rather you than me. I think I would also have passed a line through the riser chain (under the bouy) rather than just on the top of the bouy. Also some fenders out not sure if that would be a good idea? I was thinking providing some protection from drifting boats.

[@sailingpolaris]

Thanks, and thanks for your input with the raiser chain - this had not occurred to us. Fenders: My humble thought is that this is just another thing banging and risking of becoming lose. And chances are that they aren‘t in the right place where they are needed.

[@tristanheal]

Hi - I have a question about ensigns. I've watched many of your videos (they are all awesome by the way). Sometimes you display different ensigns. Mostly you fly a Norwegian flag, but in this video you are flying the ensign of the UK Royal Ocean Race Club. What makes you choose a particular ensign over another?

[@sailingpolaris]

You are a good observer, thank you for watching - so here‘s the flag story: When we bought Polaris in 2017 we lived in the UK and registered her in Britain. The British ensign is usually red, but members of certain clubs and associations with permission of the King are allowed to fly a blue ensign instead. As a member of the Royal Ocean Racing Club (well identified!) up and later of the British Cruising Association we did fly the respective blue ensigns. Since 2024 we are no longer residents of the UK but of Switzerland and therefore we changed the registration of Polaris to Switzerland and we now fly the Swiss ensign. All these national flags are flown on the stern. A foreign vessel must also fly a so called courtesy flag of the country it sails in if different to its nationality. Hence while in Norway we fly a Norwegian flag on the mast.

[@tristanheal]

@@sailingpolaris Ah makes sense. I think because I was watching the videos in a random order, it only appeared to me that you were swapping ensigns. The change of country registration makes sense. I'm not sure why I ever thought you were flying a Norwegian flag as an ensign (clearly not as observant as I thought). Can't be many marinas in Switzerland though ;)

[@Coleen_West]

Why not tell us what make and model sailboat you use? No videos on this at all for some reason.

[@sailingpolaris]

Hi Coleen Polaris is a Bavaria Cruiser 46 (2017). We plan a „Boat Tour“ Episode this winter that will show the boat with all the modifications we have made. The KZbin channel description has all this information and more details can be found on our website www.sailingpolaris.uk

[@Coleen_West]

@@sailingpolaris ..ah, thank you very much. Love the sailboat. Not sure why, but when I reread my comment/question, it came across as harsh.. Certainly wans't meant to be. Love those Scotland lock videos. So nice!