Leading the Escapadevideo
A 50 Knot Squall Hit Before We Even Left | Day 0 (Ep-215)
14 May 2026 · 20 min · 16K views · Florida
What this video covers
A 52-knot squall hit the boat at anchor in Key Biscayne, Miami, before the crew could depart — one of only a handful of gusts that intense in four and a half years of liveaboard sailing, including previous highs of 62 knots in Greece and 56 in Turkey.5:27 The squall passed, and the crew — Janae, Jase, and new crew member Tom — departed for the Ragged Islands in the Bahamas, the first leg of a passage from the United States to Colombia.1:18 Motoring out of Key Biscayne, they crossed the Gulf Stream at 4.8–4.9 knots SOG, fighting the current but choosing to motor rather than face wind-against-current conditions.18:04 A newly installed wind anemometer showed a 30–40 degree discrepancy between apparent and true wind; the crew located the manual, motored directly into the wind, and recalibrated it to an acceptable reading.8:43 Watch schedule runs four hours on, eight hours off, rotating among three crew at 0600, 1000, 1400, and 1800.17:00 The saloon table was converted to a bunk for the first time on passage.11:59 The crew also addressed spray hood repairs, including missing roll-up straps and unfinished stitching on new clear windows.3:35
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