Marooned Aussies Back on the Move: 22 Inches in 60 Seconds, 'HAPPY' (Video)
In Fifth Year Aground Anna Marie Keeps Crawling Seaward
Four years, seven months and 22 days ago, Hurricane Dorian slammed Great Abaco Island with one-minute sustained winds of 185 mph with gusts over 220 mph. Geoff Bradley and Jenny Kelly and hapless inlaws tried to ride out Dorian at anchor off a remote part of the island.
After 36 hours of pure hell, the people were all okay, but the 89-foot motoryacht Anna Marie was left high and dry 300 feet from the water. The inlaws took the first rescue helicopter to Nassau and jetted back to Australia, while Geoff and Jenny stuck around and eventually began the recovery effort that has been grinding along ever since.
Their efforts were episodic and oh-so gradual as they relied on a system of cables, pulleys, dollies and anchors connected to an industrial-strength electric winch. Progress was interrupted by mechanical failures, health issues and, most recently, some months back in Australia on family business, but now the couple has returned to Great Abaco and reporting movement.
Bear in mind that since 2020, they have managed to move the boat over a distance of a football field, right up to the water’s edge where they were challenged by irregularities in terrain that would be almost unnoticeable to anyone not trying to drag 44 tons of aluminum across them.
Yesterday, Geoff and Jenny reported via a friendly YouTube channel GlobalHopper’s Travels that 1. They had adopted a new technique using interlocked “skates” over a steel I-beam, 2. They had tested it for a period of 60 seconds, and 3. During that time, the boat moved 22 inches. They had one word to describe their success:
‘HAPPY’
Loose Cannon has had roughly a thousand new subscribers since the last story on the Anna Marie saga. To get a look at a dozen or so earlier stories, visit the website and type in the search term “Bradley.”
So happy for them. Such tenacity! Good thing their boat is aluminum :)
Ditto and tenacity and perserverance!