The Gales of December

[sparklegirl50]

We are in the midst of heavy weather here in Baltimore. Our usually comfortable cat is bouncing like a cork in her slip. We have gale warnings, tornado warning, flash flood warnings (not worried about that one). The Captain said this morning, winds were at 30 knots. It is blowing like stink, and our Christmas tree has fallen over.

Anyone else in the area riding this out???

[Doodles]

We're at the mouth of the Potomac (Virginia side) and its not bad. The forecast says its blowing 20 outside and the NOAA tornado warning for the area is over in an hour, so I guess we've seen the worst of it.

[sneuman]

We're just south of you on the Magothy on a north-south slip, so not too bad.

[sparklegirl50]

Lucky you. It is truly nasty here. Neither of us is prone to motion sickness, but we're both feeling a tad green right now!

[velero]

Steady 30 plus w/gust to 47 at the Thomas Point Lighthouse. I wonder if it will turn around to the west where I will be bouncing a lot.

NDBC - Station TPLM2

[sparklegirl50]

We thought maybe it was letting up, but has picked up again. Making the bed has become an all-morning affair. I can only go below for a minute or two then have to come back up. So far, I have managed to strip the bed, but no clean sheets yet. Haven't managed to go below to brush my teeth yet, either. Yee Hah!

[rebel heart]

We rode home some 25-35 knot stuff a few days ago on a 20 hour passage, primarily at night. The gale warning flags were up, which I thought was a little overkill. It was windy, but hardly "survival conditions".

[hummingway]

Originally Posted by rebel heart

We rode home some 25-35 knot stuff a few days ago on a 20 hour passage, primarily at night. The gale warning flags were up, which I thought was a little overkill. It was windy, but hardly "survival conditions".

35 knots is generally considered a gale and enough to be a problem for a small boat. Gale warnings here are often accompanied by a small craft advisory. What I might consider fun sailing weather could see a small boat swamped.

[sparklegirl50]

Same here; I think it is probably a tad too blowy for anyone right now.

[Doodles]

Guess I spoke too soon ... we just got blasted! Rocking and rolling now, plus the tornado watch was extended to 10:00.

[rebel heart]

Originally Posted by hummingway

35 knots is generally considered a gale and enough to be a problem for a small boat. Gale warnings here are often accompanied by a small craft advisory. What I might consider fun sailing weather could see a small boat swamped.

Normally in San Diego, barring a storm, we'll see top wind gusts at 20 knots in a month. A rigger friend of mine said he can't find any work down here because there just isn't enough stress on rigs to cause problems (he's from San Francisco).

The small craft advisory pennant was up for a good week and a half straight, just ending two days ago, and during one of our passages they upgraded to gale. We had some people looking at us like we were crazy for going to sea in it, meanwhile they were sitting in an anchorage that was about to be totally exposed to the wind shift and become lee shore situation.

Now the big swell, those I could do without.

[High Heels]

Guess that cold front from the West moved in more Northerly than they originally planned...we were under a tornado warning from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. in the Raleigh, NC area, and it never touched us where we are west of Raleigh...just a little gusty winds but nothing over 15...

[ActiveCaptain]

We're on Bald Head Island, sort of an offshore island off the Cape Fear River inlet in North Carolina. It was a wicked storm last night. I'm at the marina in a protected basin. Winds here were sustained 40+ kts with a tornado watch in effect until 9 am (now passed). I put out 4 additional lines and 3 additional fenders at 3:30 am after seeing 1/3rd of one spring line fray. It's still blowing with 30's gusts now.

[velero]

Its now from the NW to WNW, yikes the docks are going to be under water...... It going to be a rough tonite... Keeping my fingers crossed that the wind dies a little bit and changes direction....



Forecast as of 12:00 PM EST on December 1, 2010
Synopsis For The Tidal Potomac And Md Portion Of The Chesapeake Bay
A cold front will pass through this morning. High pressure behind the front will build over the waters for the latter portion of the week. A Small Craft Advisory will likely be warranted for portions of the waters this afternoon through Friday.
Gale Warning in effect until 2 PM EST this afternoon
Small Craft Advisory in effect through late tonight

Forecast as of 12:00 PM EST on December 1, 2010
Chesapeake Bay From Pooles Island To Sandy Point-
This Afternoon
W winds 20 kt with gusts to 30 kt. Waves 1 ft... building to 3 ft late. A chance of showers.
Tonight
W winds 10 to 15 kt with gusts to 25 kt. Waves 3 ft... subsiding to 1 ft after midnight.

[YOGAO]

...since the "answers are blowing in the wind...."

Fair Winds,
Mike