Heavy Weather

[msponer]

Originally Posted by gjordan

The tanker was taking green water a third of the way down its decks while we were dry and comfortable .That video was truly nasty conditions, but what direction you are going has a great effect on your conditions.

I sometimes wonder if it's more comfortable on a small boat. I mean, in addition to not having huge open spaces inside to stumble across as the boat pitches and rolls, I've sometimes been in large waves and it was more akin to climbing hills and coasting down them than bashing through them.

Of course an enormous boat is way safer if the waves are breaking. But if the tops are just a little pokey on the top and not dangerous? Not sure it's so clear that bigger is better.

Also, this makes me want to keep the anenometer broken. Who wants to know for sure that it's Force 8-9-10..?

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by msponer

I sometimes wonder if it's more comfortable on a small boat. I mean, in addition to not having huge open spaces inside to stumble across as the boat pitches and rolls, I've sometimes been in large waves and it was more akin to climbing hills and coasting down them than bashing through them.

Of course an enormous boat is way safer if the waves are breaking. But if the tops are just a little pokey on the top and not dangerous? Not sure it's so clear that bigger is better.

Also, this makes me want to keep the anenometer broken. Who wants to know for sure that it's Force 8-9-10..?

Well yes, may be, if you compare little boats that go with the waves vs big boats that go into the waves.... but I find that a strange comparison. In conditions like with the war ship in the video, a small boat would not do better. Don't forget that the ships shown here are still making way forward, not heaved too or behind parachute that small boats would be doing that decide not to turn and go the other way.... and still float...

ciao!
Nick.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by msponer

I sometimes wonder if it's more comfortable on a small boat. I mean, in addition to not having huge open spaces inside to stumble across as the boat pitches and rolls, I've sometimes been in large waves and it was more akin to climbing hills and coasting down them than bashing through them.

Of course an enormous boat is way safer if the waves are breaking. But if the tops are just a little pokey on the top and not dangerous? Not sure it's so clear that bigger is better.

Also, this makes me want to keep the anenometer broken. Who wants to know for sure that it's Force 8-9-10..?

LOL... that was the general thinking over here in the sailing world of the 60's n 70's...
4.5-5.5 foot was the general headroom in boats upto 27ft... our attitude was simple... cooking is safer sitting down.. a bum shuffle is safer than walking..
and lets face it.. only need it for sleeping and somewhere outs the rain...
We were so macho we crossed the Channel in 15ft sailing dinghy's... sleeping bag and boom tent with camping stove...
Still dunno why the G/F's never wanted to come.... it was great fun..

[S/V_Surya]

I am feeling sea sick......

[mrohr]

Big boat ,small boat? Seems like SURVIVAL conditions for almost craft.

A fine argument for knowing which way the tide is running,but I would wager that 6 hours latter it would still be white knuckles.

For those contemplating sailing to the antipodes,they would do well to study the local boats from these N. sea waters and compare them to what is offered at the boat shows.

[Bash]

Originally Posted by rubyjean

My wife & I rode out two of those last summer.

Time to take a forecasting class? Pay particular attention to the concept of "weather window."

[rubyjean]

Originally Posted by Bash

Time to take a forecasting class? Pay particular attention to the concept of "weather window."

We did, but got caught twice. The fronts came a day ahead of there prediction. Happens I guess, was'nt looking for a bad trip. The weaher off the west coast was terrible this year. My point is that we can all get caught, but we all need to be prepared. we were never in serious trouble. My boat can handle alot more than I want at my age. Bu with age comes skills. Happy sailing...Michael..

[msponer]

Originally Posted by boatman61

LOL... that was the general thinking over here in the sailing world of the 60's n 70's...

Is it no longer the thinking, or did you just move on?

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

Well yes, may be, if you compare little boats that go with the waves vs big boats that go into the waves....

By "small boat" I mean anything that's not a ship. A Sundeer of course feels a lot better than a smaller boat in a short chop, but would climb and stay on top of these large waves in the same way as a Norsea. In more style, of course, probably with techno music blaring through cockpit speakers... But the overall vibe would be one of climbing hills instead of pounding.

I know videos calm the seas, and that I am especially bad at judging the vibe from a video (given that Bruce Roberts thread, which apparently has winds equal to this video), but... I don't agree that these are "survival conditions". The tops look tame and not dangerous, like these have built for a while and are stable. So, yes, maybe hove to if we wanted to go to windward, or close reaching if you are a Sundeer. But they still look reachable or runnable, and not the kind of thing you'd start doing capital-s Survival things unless you felt there was a good chance for a rare and dangerous wave in this set. Or do you guys feel like if the seas look like this then it's likely there'll be a one-in-a-hundred wave that could kill you, a sheer cliff of vertical water that's breaking (as in the Perfect Storm video clip)?

[boatman61]

[QUOTE=msponer;876741]Is it no longer the thinking, or did you just move on? By "small boat" I mean anything that's not a ship. A Sundeer of course feels a lot better than a smaller boat in a short chop, but would climb and stay on top of these large waves in the same way as a Norsea. In more style, of course, probably with techno music blaring through cockpit speakers... But the overall vibe would be one of climbing hills instead of pounding.
QUOTE]

What dya think... lol
previous boat a Hurley22, current a Corribee 21....
Mind I did have a Bendi 331 and a Cherubini 37 before them...
Maybe regression would be more appropriate...

[osirissail]

Yes, impressive - sort of a reminder about who really is more powerful - you or Mother Nature.

There is also a video on the web of a US nuclear aircraft carrier in worse conditions than this video. The waves were reaching over the flight deck some 60 to 80 feet above the waterline.

I served on a US aircraft carrier in conditions like this when I was considerably younger. For "fun" we would stand up on the flight deck near the bow and jump up when the bow reached its highest point and then fall back down to the deck as the ship plunged down. Looking back - that was rather stupid behavior, but fun at the time.

[ReMetau]

Reminds me of when I was in the Navy on the aircraft carrier America. We did a North Sea cruise and were always closing the hangar bay doors due to breaking waves coming in.

I would watch the cruisers and destroyers around us bobbing around and half those ships would go under water before popping back up for the next wave.

[Rhapsody-NS27]

Originally Posted by forsailbyowner

wow looks like fun

+1

[rubyjean]

Originally Posted by ReMetau

Reminds me of when I was in the Navy on the aircraft carrier America. We did a North Sea cruise and were always closing the hangar bay doors due to breaking waves coming in.

I would watch the cruisers and destroyers around us bobbing around and half those ships would go under water before popping back up for the next wave.

I too was on the America, 1968 returning from it's west pac cruise. When rounding the horn west to east encountered huge seas breaking over the flight deck. The flight deck was 120' above the water line. They were about 1/4 mile apart, but still impressive. Welcome home sailor.
..Michael..

[Triton318]

I was about to eat lunch, now I'm feeling a bit queasy.

My baptism by fire in the Navy was in 1982 aboard a frigate heading to Pearl Harbor from San Diego. Nowhere near as bad as in the video, but I remember sitting in the radio room, on watch, repeatedly throwing up into a small trash can.

[Khagan1227]

Originally Posted by ReMetau

Reminds me of when I was in the Navy on the aircraft carrier America. We did a North Sea cruise and were always closing the hangar bay doors due to breaking waves coming in.

I would watch the cruisers and destroyers around us bobbing around and half those ships would go under water before popping back up for the next wave.

I was a bobber in those cruisers. I've been through 3 hurricanes, one a cat 4. Even in the worst I wasn't too worried, until the flooding alarm came in. Lost a deck hatch that lead to an elevator shaft that serviced 5 decks and caused the flooding. We lost a ship's bell, the elevator hatch, and three superstructure hatches and 75% of our radio antennas.

I can tell you from personal experience that at least one of the cruisers I was on could do a 49 degree roll and still right itself.