Turning Around (due to storms)

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by mobjackjohn

Yep...welcome to the Chesapeake Bay...summertime...the nice weather is coming our way my man...good move on your part...the waves are very steep (due to a fairly shallow depth)...the breeze will eventually (day or so) clock around to the south or southwest...and give you all some nice sailing northward!! Fair Winds friend..

Thanks!

It's not like I haven't seen it before growing up on the Eastern Shore but it has been 40 years or so.

We had old power boats back then.........no radios though. No Comms at all

One hazy day back in the 70's in July, we were fishing near Stone Rock (across the channel from Watts Island) and the volunteer Coast Guard came around warning of a big storm.

We as teenagers were like whatever.........and opened another beer after they left.

In about 30 minutes, we spotted the high dark clouds and decided it was a good time to try and start the old 40 Johnson.

By the time we got the anchor up and began to get moving, the winds were picking up and we planed out the old 16' Whirlwind and headed for Schooner Bay.

We just made it when it hit hard.

https://www.google.com/search?q=16'+whirlwind+boat&biw=1261&bih=576&sourc e=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjFteKwgdrNAhVK22MK HZetAYMQ_AUIBygC&dpr=1.5#imgrc=dUunAQpPucJgxM%3A

[kmacdonald]

I was going to sail from Cambridge Md to St Michaels MD on Friday but had to stop short at Tilghman Creek for the night because of approaching storms. Several boats in the anchorage dragged in a passing storm but were able to recover. I heard on the radio several urgent weather warnings both north and south of where I was. You almost have to sail when there are thunderstorm warnings or you would never get out at all. You just need to be flexible and have options for shelter.

[zeehag]

thomm you turned back before your own nav lights cruised past you??
ft myers beach exit in a t-boomer is a bitch(thats where we turned around due to the passing of us by our own nav lights. yes that does happen... omy.they were smarter than were we--they were headed back into protection as we headed out being bashed.....). you did good. big boxy seas suck.
glad the boat i cruised gom was opb.... so much to break so little time.....

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by kmacdonald

I was going to sail from Cambridge Md to St Michaels MD on Friday but had to stop short at Tilghman Creek for the night because of approaching storms. Several boats in the anchorage dragged in a passing storm but were able to recover. I heard on the radio several urgent weather warnings both north and south of where I was. You almost have to sail when there are thunderstorm warnings or you would never get out at all. You just need to be flexible and have options for shelter.

That's the idea I had when I left the dock around 2:30 - 3:00pm. You cannot hide from every thunderstorm.

I was sailing out of Little Creek though heading North along the CBBT crossing two Shipping Channels the worst being Thimble Shoal Channel. Not many places to hide and limited options due to the bridge

I saw the storms and heard the reports then made my decision which was correct after later seeing the buoy reports of NNW gusts to 48 knots along the Bridge. The wind was SSW on the way out before the storms hit

http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/show_plot.p...time_label=EDT

http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/show_plot.p...time_label=EDT

http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/show_plot.p...time_label=EDT

Had I sailed I would most likely have had to tack back to the SW after the wind change to get away from the bridge which would have had me headed almost back where I came from.

[Don C L]

I had to chuckle, sounds like me. I'm sure I'd be tempted to keep going too! "No reefs, 5hp, no problem!" In my younger youth I did a few somewhat foolish things and enjoy looking BACK on them. Now if I see a few clouds, or my son stubs his toe or my daughter feels queasy, I am the first to say, "OK, trip's over! We're going home!" But Dad, it's not that bad... "No buts, ready about?" We're not even a mile out yet! "Helm's alee!" But we wanted to see dolphins!
My God, what has happened to me? Parenthood. I've become the neurotic worried parent I used to make fun of!
OK that's it. Pack up the car, we're all going bungee jumping today!

[zeehag]

it is easier to turn back in 2-3 ft boxy seas than in 6-8 ft boxy seas.
ask me how i learned that one ha ha h aha h ah aha thank gods it was not my boat...ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. just another reason to remove nav lites from bows and raise above waterline 10 ft....

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by zeehag

it is easier to turn back in 2-3 ft boxy seas than in 6-8 ft boxy seas.
ask me how i learned that one ha ha h aha h ah aha thank gods it was not my boat...ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. just another reason to remove nav lites from bows and raise above waterline 10 ft....

Definitely.

I learned that one coming out of Beaufort Inlet near Morehead City, NC as a 20 old. I didn't realize how steep the waves could get there.

My teenage wife and I barely made the turn in our 17' boat with 55 HP Homelite 4 stroke outboard.

[zedpassway]

Almost everyone has an iPhone(well not me but my wife does). With that you can see the radar on the storm, how big it is, what the winds are, exactly where its going, etc.

There is simply no reason in this day and age to be out there trying to guess. Too many people do not have the concept that sailors are not mermaids. We are not born and bred in the water, and we are susceptible to drowning an hypothermia. Storms can be very very dangerous even for professional sailors. In them you only have three choices of action(run with the wind, heave to, or lie ahull). Read about the 1979 Fastnet race.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by zedpassway

Storms can be very very dangerous even for professional sailors. In them you only have three choices of action(run with the wind, heave to, or lie ahull). Read about the 1979 Fastnet race.

For coastal cruisers though, there are sometimes limited options.

You may not be able to heave too or lay a hull due to bridges and other obstacles.

[zeehag]

Originally Posted by thomm225

For coastal cruisers though, there are sometimes limited options.

You may not be able to heave too or lay a hull due to bridges and other obstacles.

we were slammed in gom many times, in open seas and in icw there--damn it rains hard there....
there are anchorages and there are marinas and restaurants in icws, so options are greater in number than out in open seas. if there is a bridge height issue there are ways to correct for that-- see "boat balls", a video i cannot post due to bandwidth issues. if the tug n tows are tied up, seek safe protected cove or bay for anchoring for at least a day or a marina.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by zeehag

we were slammed in gom many times, in open seas and in icw there--damn it rains hard there....
there are anchorages and there are marinas and restaurants in icws, so options are greater in number than out in open seas. if there is a bridge height issue there are ways to correct for that-- see "boat balls", a video i cannot post due to bandwidth issues. if the tug n tows are tied up, seek safe protected cove or bay for anchoring for at least a day or a marina.

Thanks for the info on the boat balls but this bridge can be crossed at the tunnels. I was just worried about being anywhere near it during the storms

I should have explained it better.

The bridge is basically between the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean and is 17 miles long. It has two shipping channels that cross it at the tunnels. It also has 4 islands marking the entrances to the tunnels. Several sailboats have been destroyed on those islands over the years

My creek is a mile or so to the west of it......I was planning to head North along the bridge and anchor at Kiptopeke for the first night of the holiday weekend which is how I begin many of my sailing trips North this time of year with the SW Wind

Btw, before the bridge was built the ferries docked at Kiptopeke.....and Little Creek. It was quite an exciting thing to ride them as a child

CBBT Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel

[Madehn]

so as a private pilot when flying i always keep one adage in mind-- "i'd a whole lot rather be down here wishing i was up there than up there wishing i was down here." same thing applies here op made a good decision and lives to sail another day. also getting away with pushing your luck does nothing but reinforce bad behavior-- it is why the most dangerous time for pilots is somewhere around the 500 hr mark-- sometimes they have pushed their luck a few times and gotten away with it- that is when mother nature says "gotcha"