I was weathering Hurricane Odile in the Sea of Cortez when a gust registering 125kts finally broke the anchor chain that was holding my boat. The sailboat was swept across the harbor and it beached on a sandy shore, covered with mangroves. I knew that the boat might be swept back out into deeper water when the wind shifted, so I tried to get out onto the bow to set another anchor that I had stored below.

The wind, rain, and waves were raking the boat as it lay beached there and in the process of trying to set the other anchor, I was swept from the deck of the ship. I tried to swim back towards the boat, but the wind and waves were far too strong and I climbed up into the mangroves to try and take some shelter. It was totally dark, I couldn’t see anything because of the blinding rain, and I had no idea where I was.

I had my ResQLink+ in my life jacket and activated it immediately. My location and information were sent to Mexican Search and Rescue authorities and after a long night of hurricane force winds battering me in the mangroves, a boat made it out and rescued me from the beach.