Taking refuge in a port during a storm

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by pdenton

The hell you can't.
pdenton

ummm.... the hell I can't WHAT? Tell me quickly before I make some dreadful mistake.

Jim

[pdenton]

Do whatever needs to be done and damn the torpedos. A long standing law of the Sea.
Hence any port in a storm
pdenton

[Cadence]

I would bet it depends on where you are? One size does not fit all.

[zeehag]

florida storms--sail through . they end fast.
surprises only happen to the brain dead and comatose, as all weather is visible in advance-- cannot see them at night but you feel the pre conditions--changes in sea state and air movement and sounds. all is part of the impending doom by which you are allegedly surprised.
in daylight it is easier to see. visible changes in sky and winds. read them and learn the meanings of each subtle or not so subtle change. growing cloud cover is a dead giveaway. patterns of those clouds.. can you see that line squall coming your way?
can you see the clouds that will cause issues and recognize those issues???
why do you think you are a sailor if you can not do these simple tasks and recognize your weather--do you even know the patterns of your local daily weather?? and in different seasons can you say what is normal and what is impending doom???
do you know how to see growing cloud cover in darkness?? remember those lil bright things you call stars--can you see them and if so, where is the end of the visibility of these stars--all kindsa ways to know what is happening around you. so important to know weather IFF you consider youyrself a sailor.
no this aint taught in most asa classes not even advanced. but if you learn via an old salt with a real and earned captains license--merchant marine and navy--you will. the more you sail the more you know.
you will never stop learning about weather or about sailing. there is always moire to learn. always.
i know ann and jim and some others on this forum know this stuff. they aint dead yet. good work kids.
there are others i know also know this stuff. they are my age, thereabouts ,. or slightly less old ha ha h aha ha this is also known by water folks -- fishers, tug boat operators---so many different --even oil rig workers. hahaha they live in it, they have to know.
so do yourself a huge favor and learn your weather , as you are not a sailor until you know your weather. that was my second lesson at age 7. "a GOOD sailor knows his weather"
my uncle was not overly talkative and he expected us to use our gods gifted brains for something . he taught us well. we learned responsibility for others and ourselves and boat and respect and how to address those we respect, which is also part of sailing, historically.
we learned mark twain for two fathoms depth of river, and how to read our knotted line for boatspeed. he made a new one each trip we took.
this is important info iff you wish to use sailing for anything --racing, cruising--bobbing in ocean.
no storm is a surprise. my uncle saw and felt the line squall we were "caught " in about an hour before it showed obvious cloudy skies and big wind.
we had time to get to a shoal and anchor down and hunker before it came--we even made food and ate before it hit. was excellent lesson. we had no engine on that antique sloop.
i had a squall come at me in zihuatenejo one night--something woke me at about 120 am.
ok listening-- nothing . roll over... then the tarps made a different than usual sound--wind had changed. ok.
out onto deck i look around. i see a tiny spec of intermittent light quite far to the west of us. waaay out to sea.
ok. watched it a bit --until it was obvious where it was headed. by then it was 2 ish am.. i hunkered boat well for a storm while anchored without a protective shoal very close to a potential surf line.
let out chain, tied tarps lower to cabin and made sure nothing gonna pull me anywhere i didnot want to go --took me a coupla few minutes--as i worked i noticed the increasing wind from yet another direction, and the lil cute storm was getting larger and actually closer. ok. we had 2 -4 hours of a squall then peace.
no issue. ye deal with it and live. someone dragged -- they were not awake at the early part of the adventure to prep and storm awakened them. the lighting was only noisey from half hour out. the visual was gorgeous. i would not want to have faced it out at sea in pacific. pacific ocean gets wicked before she has had her coffee.

[pdenton]

Maritime Law.
Common sense.
Act in haste Apologize at your leisure.
USCG regulations specify that when a boat or its crew are in danger, whatever action needed is Required to be taken. If your family die because of your failure to take immediate action you can be fined $10,000.
Consider cricket as an alternative to yachting.
pdenton

[SailFastTri]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

Another perspecitve:

Many boating accidents occurr when landlubbers mistakingly assume they must get inland to ride out bad weather...and take unecessary risks to run jetties etc in bad conditions...when they would have been safer offshore. Plenty of YouTube videos documenting some of these bad decisions.

If you've got a well prepared seaworthy boat, and know how to handle it in foul weather, you will be just fine offshore in anything shy of a hurricane.

Agree with the first paragraph, but the second paragraph is just hubris or bar talk (IMHO) .... Experienced people in seaworthy boats can get in big trouble (or die) in a local squall or t-storm.

Stuff happens. Better to be tucked into a safe place before a storm hits (not always possible or realistic though). Nobody ever said living is safe.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by SailFastTri

Agree with the first paragraph, but the second paragraph is just hubris or bar talk (IMHO) .... Experienced people in seaworthy boats can get in big trouble (or die) in a local squall or t-storm.

Stuff happens. Better to be tucked into a safe place before a storm hits (not always possible or realistic though). Nobody ever said living is safe.

Like you say...stuff happens...while ideal to be tucked away in a safe harbor...it doesnt always work that way....especially on longer crossings or somewhere notorious for intense local weather like the Gulf of Mexico (GOM).

Rode out a front in a nicely protected marina once while listening to Mechanical Mike (NOAA) report seas to "five-zero feet" in mid GOM...sure glad I was not out in that...boat was heeling significantly in the slip.

A competent crew on a well found well prepared boat should have no serious troubles well offshore up to and including tropic storm conditions. Not to imply they cannot have trouble...life isnt always safe.

Local squalls can be very intense, but normally seas dont have time to build so its just managing the wind. Have been in plenty 50-60 knots...one with gusts to 95 mph per NWS...that one was on an inland lake! Hove to. Intense, but manageable.

Worst Ive riden out offshore personally was CAT 1...pretty intense, but no problems. I do hope to never do it again though...and certainly nothing stronger.

[JPA Cate]

Yes, for the people with less experience here, of course it's best to not be there, but the whole issue is more complicated than that.

There are a plethora of modern boats I would not want to ride out a Cat 1 cyclone in, but on the other hand, have been out in one. The storm was forecast to go close to Tonga, but it came right over Raoul Is., where we had sheltered. After the eye passed, we had to leave what had become a lee shore. We worked our way out of the anchorage, then hove to, and all was well. However, the boat in question had been built to withstand extreme conditions, and it was a relatively small storm, fast moving, too, so the seas never got up to "phenomenal", the very idea of which I find terrifying.

Ann

[pdenton]

Hi Ann
Tomorrow, I'm going to send you two chapters from my about to be published novel Women against the Sea about among other things a cyclone I sat out in the Whitsundays. Hell, I'll send the whole thing. There are some formatting problems but the story is intact and the order of the Seasons may be different in the final edit.
pdenton

[pdenton]

Hi Ann.
I did the "browse" bit but maybe the file was too big. If you or anyone else wants to read send me an email. luxembergphd@gmail.com
pdenton