Waterspout

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by HopCar

That really is a very striking photo.
I once saw three water spouts in a line moving south to north in Biscayne bay. They didn't look quite as threatening as Cheechako's one.

Crossing the GS once I had two on radar. Able to ID their course and avoid.

[robert sailor]

Yes there are two types the fair weather ones you mention and the other type is from the base of a CB cloud and is in a completely different league. Those pics are not a fair weather spout. Great pics by the way.

[JPA Cate]

Wow, Cheekako, scary picture!

We've seen three in a row between Pancake Ck. and Lady Musgrave Is. in Queensland, Australia, the "fair weather" kind. Impressive enough at a distance. Seemed to be traveling on our course, and eventually dissipated.

Ann

[Dave_S]

I watched one in Darwin, it moved around a number of anchored boats quite closely without hitting one and without much disruption to the water or the boats. The way it missed the boats it almost seemed as though it was repulsed but the boats didn't move much so I guess it was just luck.

[senormechanico]

Originally Posted by DotDun

Rocna

Nah, a 12 gauge pump with double 00 to blow it out of the sky !

[SailingFan]

Back in about September, 1989, we were off St. Thomas in the VI and I witnessed two waterspouts doing the tango offshore St. Thomas. It was amazing to see because they were so narrow an serpentine. About the same month, Hurricane Hugo made a pass through the area, made a wreck of St. Thomas itself, and eventually struck Charleston, S.C. (a somewhat unrelated other story).

Still, when observing these things, I recall that the singular cumulus cloud they were dangling under was barely even what the Navy termed "Towering Cumulus" and so I suppose that given that the sky was otherwise largely clear (with the approaching cirrus from Hugo, of course), and due to the fact that this cloud was barely worth comment otherwise, they would have been called fair weather spouts. I still recorded and transmitted sighting of the pair of waterspouts to the Naval Oceanography Center, but had a tough time getting the Chief to actually take a look and believe what I was seeing. He did say afterward it was cool, but never apologized for disbelieving me. All he had to do was take a look at the closed circuit flight deck camera feed, because the Navigator had them on there as well when I came down from the flight deck to announce my discovery.

I never did get along with that Chief. I know he did not seem to like me very much. Probably as a young kid I was a pain in the azz...

Ah, the joys of being an Aerographer's Mate in the USN... We did get to see most of the really cool weather and sea life critter stuff first hand, though!

[Cap Erict3]

We flew through a line of water spouts in a Bell 212 in the late 70's near Cameron, La. Quietest bunch of guys I can remember crew changing with.

[meatservo]

Funny, hit a seagull driving a 407 and diverted to Cameron, aft and right cyclic and it went through the left chin bubble...


uncaged

[glynhome]

Suijin, is that the island of Susak in the Adriatic? I sail there regularly and that is a scary photo.

[Russo]

All I can say is wow and wow!

[Suijin]

Originally Posted by glynhome

Suijin, is that the island of Susak in the Adriatic? I sail there regularly and that is a scary photo.

I have no idea, was not there, just quoted it from the photo caption lol.

[boatman61]

During my last delivery September last on the DuFour 'Yaki Tori'.. we were on our way to Sicily after leaving the Strait of Bonifacio.. about midway down/40 miles off Sardinia, two spouts had formed several miles ahead.. very active weather system, thunderheads, squall patches etc.. anyway.. 700 odd metres ahead the sea started swirling clockwise and spray began rising vertically.. and the cloud began funnelling down to meet it.
I yelled down to the owner to get up fast as I started the engine and altered course to the N to head into the wind which had suddenly veered and strengthened.. we dropped main and furled the genny while charging away at 6+knots.. headed N for about 3miles before I felt it safe enough to start bringing the boat slowly back round to the SE'ly course we'd been sailing..
In the meantime the funnel had been completed and had started following the course of its siblings W toward Sardinia..
Does amazing things for the circulation..

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate

Wow, Cheekako, scary picture!

We've seen three in a row between Pancake Ck. and Lady Musgrave Is. in Queensland, Australia, the "fair weather" kind. Impressive enough at a distance. Seemed to be traveling on our course, and eventually dissipated.

Ann

Just to be fair and clear for everyone... I did not take that picture! I just thought it was an interesting form of waterspout...

[a64pilot]

Here is a poor cell phone video of one we saw several years ago when doing a surface interval between dives, little baby one.
http://vid1216.photobucket.com/album...ps787b83b7.mp4

[HopCar]

A64, perfect music to go with your video. Did you do that on purpose?