Surviving a Tsunami

By Cheryl Ainsworth

Peter and I came from independent sailing backgrounds and met when we were involved in yacht racing.

In 2003 we departed Fremantle on our first Stolen Kiss (a 43-foot centreboard that was believed to be an S&S design) and cruised to Darwin, spending time in the Kimberley

In October 2003, departing Darwin, we sailed up through Indonesia, with our destination goal being Langkawi, Malaysia, for Christmas.

Our First Stolen Kiss anchored in the amazing Maldives on our Indian Ocean Cruise

Our Second Stolen Kiss a Hylas 47 waiting out a blow on the way to the Whitsundays 2013

In the following 6 years, we sailed around SE Asia and the Indian Ocean, returning back to Darwin to sell the boa and buy another on more distant shores

In 2010 we purchased a Hylas 47(another S&S design) in San Carlos, Mexico, and cruised Baja California for 3 years before sailing down to Panama, crossing the Pacific, and arriving in Bundaberg in December 2012.

After a decade of amazing journeys and meeting wonderful people, we sailed back to Fremantle and sold Stolen Kiss. We now puddle around Fremantle on a different boat. Our blog can be found here: http://yachtstolenkiss.blogspot.com

Like many aspects of cruising, being prepared for events that nature throws at us is important This is no different to being on land, as highlighted by Australia now coming to terms with the need to improve our preparedness for fires and floods

With cruising, we can list potential hazards as being most likely through to possible but unlikely. Being aware and prepared allows us to manage situations successfully as they arise. Everyone has their own risk assessment for different events and will make their own decisions accordingly

In this feature article, we share our experience in the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami in SE Asia and what we learned in the hope that readers of AHOY who one day find themselves in a similar situation could avoid disaster.

Read the full article in the AHOY Sailing February Issue (2023).