Got caught unprepared in high winds again

[Hoodsail]

Curious what folks opinions are regarding the utility of radar in viewing storm/rain in your vicinity to aid in anticipation of what is coming...watched a video of Patrick/Rebecca Childress using their radar to gauge oncoming weather along the south western coast of Africa with good effect...I dont have radar, just a barometer/my eyes so interested in its benefit, or not...thnks

[Stormsignal]

Originally Posted by capn_billl

I guess just another typical sail.

Especially if you are not sailing a Junk Rig.

[Sailing Ohm]

Originally Posted by Hoodsail

Curious what folks opinions are regarding the utility of radar in viewing storm/rain in your vicinity to aid in anticipation of what is coming...watched a video of Patrick/Rebecca Childress using their radar to gauge oncoming weather along the south western coast of Africa with good effect...I dont have radar, just a barometer/my eyes so interested in its benefit, or not...thnks

I don’t have a radar either, to poor at the moment, but I can see it’s advantages especially at night. During the day I’d probably really not use it but at night it’s benefits seem to be really substantial.

[TabbyCat]

How about getting a barometer that warns you of impending bad weather? We have a recording barometer that beeps when the pressure changes by more than 3mb. It's dead accurate. Every time it beeps, even if we are under beautiful blue skies, we look at each other and say, "let's reef" (or drop the sails). One time off the Galapagos, we reefed 10 times in 24 hours. Wind- no wind- wind- no wind- crazy, but we finally got there. Ours uses wax coated paper , so no messy ink. It tends only to beep when bad weather is coming (pressure dropping fast) although we have on very few occasions heard it beep on rising pressure (fair weather). So having the recorded history allows us to check quickly after hearing the beeps that it is indeed a falling pressure / bad weather situation.

[Flagfish]

Originally Posted by LittleWing77

Increasingly, I think we'll be encountering situations like this with the trends toward unsettled weather that we're seeing because of global warming.

LittleWing77

Oh, ok. Global warming, eh? And here I thought sailing had always been like that.

[Stormsignal]

Originally Posted by LittleWing77

Increasingly, I think we'll be encountering situations like this with the trends toward unsettled weather that we're seeing because of global warming.

Hope this is helpful,
Fair winds!
LittleWing77

My dear Little Wing who thinksGlobal Warmingis the cause of tricky weather.

Get thee to a library and read up on nautical history.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by Stormsignal

My dear Little Wing who thinksGlobal Warmingis the cause of tricky weather.

Get thee to a library and read up on nautical history.

Couple of comments:

I wonder how those chaps back in 1703 measured the wind speeds? I suppose they might have had an anemometer on a spire of Westminster, but then I wonder who calibrated it? Seriously, bandying about numbers like that for an event some 400 years ago is kinda specious. Yes, it was a really bad storm, possibly with even higher wind speeds, but I don't see what that has to do with thunder storms off Florida today. Winter storms are a bit different in origin than TS or rotating storms (cyclones).

Which leads to my second comment: Thunder storms are thermally driven events. Without reference to anthropomorphism, there is no doubt that worldwide temperatures are rising... huge amounts of data to support that. This leads one to believe that there are more thunderstorm genesis situations than in recent previous times... just as LW has posited.

Jim

[Tanqueray]

When I get caught in a blow, I usually run down wind some...takes a huge load off the sails, makes the run way easier on the crew, and brings some great speed.

Certainly if you are in a potential broach, you may need to cut the jib sheet loose and then clean things up after the winds die down some...

But for me, I tend to head downwind if I have the seaway and things can stay under control...

I was out once and I was expecting a big weather shift when a front came through...I said out a ways and everything was great. I tacked around to head home and thought it was going to be a great sail, with the wind just behind a beam reach....should have been a great, easy sail back.

But after I tacked, with wind from the south, I noticed that ahead of me, winds were hard from the north (I could see low clouds at the water level blowing hard from the north), wind and waves developing very quickly and fog along the shore (that I could not see and which was going to quickly be a lee shore).

Like you, I dropped the sails as quickly as I could, but not before the wind shift pushed the boat in a circle. I fired up the Yanmar and motored out of the storm...

No seaway in this case to run downwind, and in 30 knots, not sure I would have wanted to run that hard down wind....

Always a learning experience!


Greg

[TMarvin]

Hmm that sounds like a normal day on the Texas coast... I usually head as steep upwind as possible to take most of the stress off the rig and keep sailing. At 20knts though, I'd do a reef in my main on our 40ft catamaran.

[danstanford]

Originally Posted by Stormsignal

My dear Little Wing who thinksGlobal Warmingis the cause of tricky weather.

Get thee to a library and read up on nautical history.

No need to be so dismissive, if you had a point it was lost in the sass.

[Stormsignal]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

Couple of comments:

I wonder how those chaps back in 1703 measured the wind speeds? I suppose they might have had an anemometer on a spire of Westminster, but then I wonder who calibrated it? Seriously, bandying about numbers like that for an event some 400 years ago is kinda specious. Yes, it was a really bad storm, possibly with even higher wind speeds, but I don't see what that has to do with thunder storms off Florida today. Winter storms are a bit different in origin than TS or rotating storms (cyclones).

I was simply pointing out that inclement weather is not a new thing.
Even the IPCC cannot say with confidence that storms have become more frequent.

Which leads to my second comment: Thunder storms are thermally driven events. Without reference to anthropomorphism, there is no doubt that worldwide temperatures are rising... huge amounts of data to support that. This leads one to believe that there are more thunderstorm genesis situations than in recent previous times... just as LW has posited.

Actually the increased temps are mostly in the higher latitudes and with respect to the claim that a warmer world leads to more frequent severe cyclones/hurricanes:

See my replies in blue above.

[Stormsignal]

Originally Posted by danstanford

No need to be so dismissive, if you had a point it was lost in the sass.

If I were dismissive I would simply have ignored her assertion.

[lateral]

There's blows and BLOWS of course. Cells of 40+ usually have signs.
I have finally refined it to, reefing depends on who I have on board.
If any conservative/anxious ppl reef on hoist, if capable and adventurous usually too late.

Last weeks sail was DDW 7nm , then 30nm at 110° T, which ended up as
beam reach 20-30knt. So no reef as just best mate and I. Admiral demurred,
again.
Second leg was gusting to 30 and overpowering us so had to stay on main sheet, but still comfortable, and PIA to reef so thinking it would ease
pressed on. And turned out so.
Champagne from then on. 20-25 @90°A
What I love about sailing, you just don't know whats in store.
Whether to reef is definitely a dilemma.

[Nauticus]

Originally Posted by tilostahl

Admittedly my experience in Florida is limited, but I remember distinctly that at 3:55 pm we would pack up our tools and go indoors, because at 4:00 pm the thunderstorm would hit. EVERY BLOODY DAY. So furl your sails at 3:55 and you'll be right, mate.

We must be a similar age. I too remember this growing up with my grandparents in Florida.

[mjscottinnc]

Weather and sailing have been close companion from the beginning of time. I’ve experienced the exact same thing all along the east coast of the US from Jersey to Florida and up into the Gulf in summer for the past 50+ years. Sometime predictable, sometimes not. Adapt and overcome. You will see it again, there are places on the worlds oceans where it is much worse on a routine basis. Nice job, keep going out.