Does anyone ever choose to weather storms offshore anymore?

[Mr B]

Big ships dont come into it, They have the horse power and length to plow thru it,
They also have a schedule to meet,

I really dont get small boats, Going upwind in severe storms, Or head on into huge waves,
Where sailing down wind is comfortable and safe,

[fxykty]

Originally Posted by Mr B

Big ships dont come into it, They have the horse power and length to plow thru it,
They also have a schedule to meet,

I really dont get small boats, Going upwind in severe storms, Or head on into huge waves,
Where sailing down wind is comfortable and safe,

Big ships have fuel economy and cargo safety to mind - they do not choose to go head to storm if they can avoid it. Hence routing services like the one I referenced in post 103.

If you need to claw off a lee shore or the way to the safety is upwind then that’s the way you go. It’s not always possible to sail downwind. And it’s not always safe to sail downwind (think drogue with no sail up, or lying to a sea anchor).

[El Pinguino]

What are we talking about here..

Named storms...

Storm force winds sometimes found during the passage of a frontal system...

Or 'stormy weather' as used in common sailor speak which often involves anything from a fresh breeze upwards.

Three different usages.... three different answers....

And that is before we consider what is a 'safe' anchorage...

[Mr B]

Originally Posted by fxykty

Big ships have fuel economy and cargo safety to mind - they do not choose to go head to storm if they can avoid it. Hence routing services like the one I referenced in post 103.

If you need to claw off a lee shore or the way to the safety is upwind then that’s the way you go. It’s not always possible to sail downwind. And it’s not always safe to sail downwind (think drogue with no sail up, or lying to a sea anchor).

Why are you near a lee shore in bad weather. ??????
Im never closer than 5 miles off shore.
I can go North, South or West, East is land and I stay well away from it,
Going South, West is land and I stay well away from it,

I drag my drive leg, (Drogue) and sail down wind with a foot of Genoa or bare poles, Depending on wind strength. I keep it under 10 knots,

As for laying to a sea anchor, I dont want my boat or me to get battered,
Ive never been in a situation that I cant sail down wind in comfort and level, No matter what the sea condition is,

I also dont have a great urgency to be any where, So I dont have to fight the sea to be any where,
So it takes me a week longer to get where Im going, That dont bother me either,

But every one is different, How they battle the sea is up to them,
I like to take it easy, and get there with out a broken boat,

I never Battle the sea, It will win every time,
4000 Nmiles and I havent broken any thing,

4 metre waves broke the show welds on my dinghy Davits,
That was winds and waves on the nose, I wasnt happy with that, They have now been rewelded properly, They wont break again,

[Hhew]

This all sounds warm and cozy - find some sea room, heave to, and get a nice night sleep. But nobody is talking about what happens when things don’t go exactly as planned, and the rig is in the water, or the floorboards are floating, or there is a lot of blood involved. When the answer is to pop the epirb and get on 16, hoping for one of the big guys to alter course and come get you, or for the CG to fly out and pull you off, you just made your bad risk decision someone else’s problem. Probably should think a few steps ahead before leaving a safe anchorage.

[Na Mara]

Your not really going anywhere much hove to. Mostly you just drift sideways. I wouldn’t call “going up wind”

[bencaters]

HMS Bounty left New London facing an oncoming hurricane, thinking sea room was the answer. Ship foundered, captain lost his life

[Tom and Maje]

Not if I know about the storm. We've been in minor storms at sea when we were already out, but weather routing has helped us avoid the worst of them.

Maje

[HabibiDah]

What the hell...everyone else has posted on this thread. I might as well.


I was a Marine Corps Pilot who spent a lot of time on Naval ships at sea and flying in all sorts of weather, especially in the Pacific. Three things I learned:


1. Don't F&ck with Mother Nature. She always wins.

2. When faced with bad weather, run away!
3. It's better to on shore wishing you were at sea, than at sea wishing you were on shore.


I was on aircraft carriers. We spent ALOT of our time just running away from storms. If a ship the size of an aircraft carrier that is designed to take damage and keep floating runs from a storm, then I'm going to be right behind it! (Literally, since they do 30 knots and I'm struggling to get 8.) And as someone else mentioned, if you think you are going to just calmly ride out the storm, you haven't seen a real storm at sea. I've been in a carrier when it was tossed around like a rubber duck in an amusement park wave pool. I can't imagine being in a small craft in that kind of weather.



As far as at sea or in a harbor is concerned: Navy ships would be beat to pieces at a pier and have so much windage they probably couldn't be constrained without damage, so the only choice is to go to sea. But again, they can run at 30+ knots. With a 24 hour lead time, they can move out of the cone of danger of any oncoming storm. For a small craft, see rule 3 above. I can't outrun a hurricane or typhoon. I'd rather not be in a marina -- too many potential projectiles. I want to find a river or inlet that barely fits my boat and use every chain, line, and anchor I have to tie off to...well...everything.



Good judgement comes from Experience. Experience comes from bad judgement.


The superior captain is one who uses their superior experience to make decisions that keep them from needing to use their superior seamanship!

[CaptJPMcGuire]

Read the report on the sinking of "The Pride of Baltimore" very experienced Captai, lovong crew. A series of small faults sank the ship!

USCG will not be there to save the boat unless there is achance they might get back alive themselves! Things have changed.
See The Perfect Storm--they tried and they were lost

[Pegu Club]

In our limited experience, we choose a hidey hole, when Isaias went over the Choptank River last week, we were up Island creek anchored, peak winds hit low 60s mph, it was fast moving thankfully for us, we had very little fetch, it was our highest wind speed at anchor. We felt being up the creek was a better choice for us than being at the docks. You do what you feel is right, being out in the ocean in a big storm is not on my agenda if I have a choice.

Fair winds,

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by CaptJPMcGuire

Read the report on the sinking of "The Pride of Baltimore" very experienced Captai, lovong crew. A series of small faults sank the ship!

USCG will not be there to save the boat unless there is achance they might get back alive themselves! Things have changed.
See The Perfect Storm--they tried and they were lost

Bar them going missing most of that film is pure imagination and Hollywood heroics.

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by wingssail

You see, my friend, there are Southern and Northern hemispheres

Yes. I stand corrected.


I defaulted to N hemisphere.


Thank you for pointing this out!


barnakiel

[Adelie]

Originally Posted by Na Mara

That wave that rolls you is the major risk offshore. It won’t always result in a dismasting, particularly if you are hunkered down with as much mast support engaged as possible, but stuff will get broken that’s for sure.



As I sad, both choices carry risk, the question is why the shift in our assessment of them?

I think there has been a significant shift in those that go to cruising. It used to be that
The bar to entry was higher so the folks that went had a lot more experience.

A year or so ago there was somebody asking about cruising on a MacGregor 26X or M because he thought he could outrun storms in that.

For folks with low to moderate experience being ashore or near shore is safe, that’s their comfort zone.

For folks with a lot of experience sailing thru foul weather standing offshore may be safer to them depending on the available anchorages.

[fatherchronica]

What if it were not a storm, but rather a tsunami warning?