Over the course of the past 24 hours, the Baja peninsula has been hit with a major category 3 hurricane (125+mph), a tornado, and an earthquake. The Rascal was anchored in La Paz, a sheltered harbor that has seen tropical storms before, but never a storm of this magnitude (only two other major hurricanes have hit the peninsula since they began to keep records in 1960). Forecast models for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday all initially predicted that Hurricane Odile would gradually weaken and move northwest, but each time an update was published, Odile strengthened and inched north towards Cabo and La Paz. A friend (who was looking after the boat, while I was home in the states) rode out the storm at anchor in La Paz harbor until the high-test anchor chain broke loose early this morning, just before the eye moved over La Paz. She managed to beach the Rascal and get onto land where she clung to mangroves through hurricane force winds and driving rain until she was eventually rescued around midday. I'm happy to report that she is safe and uninjured, but several boats in the harbor seem to have sunk and several people are still missing. The condition of the Rascal is unknown. I’m working to get back to La Paz as soon as possible. I'll share more information when it becomes available.
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