Epiphany Sailingvideo
IAM STILL ALIVE! I SURVIVED HURRICANE MELISSA DIRECT HIT ON EPIPHANY!
October 31, 2025 · 41 min · 43 views · Great Guana Cay
What this video covers
The skipper of Epiphany, a 1972 C&C Yachts 39, records a Facebook Live from anchor at Little Farmers Key in the Exumas while Hurricane Melissa passes directly over Georgetown Exuma, roughly 30–40 miles away.0:24 He had been anchored in Georgetown for five months, treating it as a hurricane hole, but when the storm's track shifted north and placed Georgetown in the eye's path, he pulled anchor around 8:30 p.m. and ran north up Exuma Sound in darkness through 12–16-foot seas, experiencing prop cavitation on the 10-ton boat before surfing through Little Farmers Cut to reach shelter behind Great Guana Cay. All instruments are down and shore power is lost; his Garmin inReach is on but contacts report they cannot link to it.8:15 He has been awake roughly 40 hours.1:26 The storm reportedly produced gusts of 241 mph over Jamaica before weakening over Cuba; he estimates it may still be 125–200 mph at landfall.35:17 He recounts a prior near-loss in November 2023 when an unlabeled circular storm with 75–85 mph winds drove Epiphany onto a beach near Bimini, from which the boat was recovered.24:38 The core lesson he states: when a hurricane track shifts and puts your anchorage in the eye, pull anchor and run regardless of mechanical problems or sea state.11:45
Boats in this video
More from Epiphany Sailing
From Epiphany Sailing — see the channel’s boat, crew, and every analyzed video.
The Sailing Directory Newsletter
One email with the fleet's best finds — the moments, boats, and stories worth your watch time. Enter your own address to get your own copy.