I HATE STORMS WHEN ANCHORED!

Our intention was to stay a few days in Treasure Cay. We stayed nine. Most of days were beautiful, warm and sunny but the day the storm blew through is the day everyone remembers and talks about.  There are few things in this life that I strongly dislike such as Brussels sprouts, spiders, mosquitoes, and mean people, but I HATE STORMS when anchored. I dislike them when in a marina but I HATE THEM when anchored. You think I have strong feelings about storms? Anyway, we received word that a pretty strong storm was on it's way so we double checked the anchor line and waited, and waited, and waited.  The wind picked up and several boats moved from the anchorage to the marina. I began to wonder if sticking it out in the anchorage was such a good idea. What did they know that we didn't? Evening came and other than some wind and a pretty lightning show in the distance it appeared the storm was going to miss us! Tom went to bed and as usual I stayed up to play on the computer. Then it happened. About 10:30 all heck broke loose! The wind was blowing so hard we were nearly spinning on our anchor. One minute you could see the entire harbor as if someone had turned on a sky light, the next streaks of lightning would hit the ground and water nearby. The thunder was almost a constant rumble.  I woke Tom up, we needed two people on watch. You could see flashlights on all the boats, everyone on watch.  The space between boats in an anchorage is crucial in this situation, as you swing you must remember that the boat next to you will also, and not necessarily in the same direction at the same time. You also have to remember that you have no clue how much rode he put out compared to you.  We watched as two sailboats put out fenders, they were swinging dangerously close, their owners out in the rain checking anchors. I couldn't sit, finding myself moving from the aft deck to the fly bridge and back. It seemed the storm would never let up. Finally at 12:30 am, the rain quit and wind died down. The lightning continued to light up the sky in the distance but we felt as if this nasty beast had finally moved on. Now exhausted but pleased that our anchor held we went to bed. Laughter really needed a fresh water rinse but I would have rather used a hose.