Re: [Cal_Boats] Storm Delivery

David - I was much luckier than you were. We had planned for 2 months to go out this past weekend to meet up with a bunch of people we "met" on the internet who are cruisers with kids. The forecast was for the mid 90's all week with heat indexes over 100 deg and wasn't changing as we'd hoped. We decided to bail on the raft up due to the heat and the potential for sea nettles to ruin any chance of swimming to cool off and just head straight across the bay to Herrington Harbor Marina which has a big pool and picnic facilities. Well, the week before we were to leave my freshwater pump stopped working, my head started acting up and my fuel filter needed changing. Long story shortened somewhat, I was still working on the boat on Friday evening and to beat the heat we had decided we'd at least get a couple of hours of the 6 hr trip under our belt and anchor out and if we felt good we'd just do the whole trip in the cool of the night. Well, as the work toiled on I called my wife and told her we'd have to leave in the morning. About midnight I was at my work trailer getting some fuel to put in the boat and I saw lightning off to the west. So to judge how much time I might have I pulled out my phone and opened my radar app (great app for sailors btw) and I have never seen a storm move so fast!! I watched the loop several times and the red area of the storm got across the bay in no time and where I am is about 16 miles from the eastern edge of the bay. Based on what I saw, I guessed I had maybe 10 minutes before I got hit. Like you, I get a bit lackadaisical with the forecast because here on the Chesapeake it is pretty much the same all summer,"high 90+ chance of thunderstorms, some may be severe". While this one was moving fast I wasn't particularly worried but did want to be off the boat when it hit. Well, I didn't make it. When the initial winds hit they were very, very loud and I thought I was going to be in a tornado. Earlier I had eased my windward dockline to make it ieasier to get on and off the boat . . . well now with 60-70 mph winds blowing it toward the finger pier I had to tighten it back up. As you can imagine, trying to pull a 19,000 boat broadside into those winds wasn't gonna happen but with the boat only an inch from being ground into the finger pier I had to do something. Fortunately I was able to sit my ass on the deck and push off with my legs and get a fender between the boat and pier. This whole time I was really thinking a tornado was gonna hit at any time it was so loud. As soon as I got the fender in I ran to my truck to wait out the storm. I didn't want to leave as I was pulling a 14' trailer and had to drive down a rough brick road with huge old trees on both sides that drop branches with every storm it seems. Turns out it was a good decision as one broke off and took out a power line while I was sitting there. After several minutes I felt a lull in the wind as my truck wasn't rocking as bad anymore. I ran back to my boat and was able to tighten the dockline thankfully. I then ran back to my truck and as I was running down the dock some lawn chairs were blown out of a powerboat and a gasket on the water service valve exlploded for some reason spewing water all over. Bottom line is we could have looked at my radar app before we pulled out of the slip and not seen a thing. Because it was moving so fast it would have caught us after we were out on the water. Had we survived the crossing of the bay we'd have gotten to the marina only to find out they had no electricity, toilets or showers as apparently they are on a well. When I got home I turned on the weather channel and they said the storm was moving at 55 mph with winds in excess of 60. Glad you made it out okay. Paul From: david dobbs <tm… [at] yahoo.com> To: Cal_Boats <Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com> Sent: Sun, Jul 1, 2012 11:45 pm Subject: [Cal_Boats] Storm Delivery Today was the day I finally launched, after some longer than expected projects. The yard guys had already put her in the water, we just had to pay the bill and go. A quick trip to the locks, a 10 minute wait and we locked through. Only 11am. Uneventful trip upriver and we were on the open lake by 12:30. The weather radio was going off the whole trip with one severe weather statement after another. Should have been a clue, but those guys cry wolf so often that I have tended to be skeptical, until we got 2 miles from my harbor. We had closed up the hatches and put our inflatables on a few minutes earlier. There was no warning, we suddenly were in terrible wind and rain coming right from our destination. I had the engine cranked as much as I thought safe, but I couldn't head directly into the wind because that would take me to land and visibility was zero. The lake is only about 40 feet deep here, so waves built quickly. The only thing I could think of to do was turn north and take the seas on the port quarter. We ran that way for what seemed like an hour, waves washing over the boat, the boat rolled severely. At this point I told my brother not to worry, these Cal29s have been around the world. But I was worried too. Finally it starts easing up and I see the 68th Street water intake crib 300 yards away. It's 3 miles out and with it for a bearing I can get back to my harbor. By the time we got back the lake was flat again and it was only a mild drizzle. We later found out that the bad part of the storm had only lasted 35 minutes. There are lots of power outages, downed trees, etc. in the aftermath. Oh, I forgot the hail; in the middle of it my hat blew off and we got pelted with fairly large hail. The winds were clocked over 60mph. That's the worst I've been in, and it wasn't fun, not even a little. Hell of a way to start the season. David Dobbs CAL29 411

Man thats some story. I was running weather support for a friend in the same region. Every three days he gets an update. I did not see it either on the Grib data from NOAA. He's 70 something and was running his Bayfield 32 from Long Island to S. Carolina and back when he got hit. I went back to check the gribs for that date and well its just not there. Strange. Here's his story if someone is interested. Makes me an advocate for AIS....read on if it interests you. http://sparrows-adventure.blogspot.ca/ see June 25 post and following. regards /ch On Mon, Jul 2, 2012 at 11:30 PM, <pw… [at] aol.com> wrote: > > > David - > > I was much luckier than you were. We had planned for 2 months to go out > this past weekend to meet up with a bunch of people we "met" on the > internet who are cruisers with kids. The forecast was for the mid 90's all > week with heat indexes over 100 deg and wasn't changing as we'd hoped. We > decided to bail on the raft up due to the heat and the potential for sea > nettles to ruin any chance of swimming to cool off and just head straight > across the bay to Herrington Harbor Marina which has a big pool and picnic > facilities. > > Well, the week before we were to leave my freshwater pump stopped working, > my head started acting up and my fuel filter needed changing. Long story > shortened somewhat, I was still working on the boat on Friday evening and > to beat the heat we had decided we'd at least get a couple of hours of the > 6 hr trip under our belt and anchor out and if we felt good we'd just do > the whole trip in the cool of the night. Well, as the work toiled on I > called my wife and told her we'd have to leave in the morning. About > midnight I was at my work trailer getting some fuel to put in the boat and > I saw lightning off to the west. So to judge how much time I might have I > pulled out my phone and opened my radar app (great app for sailors btw) and > I have never seen a storm move so fast!! I watched the loop several times > and the red area of the storm got across the bay in no time and where I am > is about 16 miles from the eastern edge of the bay. Based on what I saw, I > guessed I had maybe 10 minutes before I got hit. Like you, I get a bitlackadaisical with the forecast because here on the Chesapeake it is pretty > much the same all summer,"high 90+ chance of thunderstorms, some may be > severe". While this one was moving fast I wasn't particularly worried but > did want to be off the boat when it hit. Well, I didn't make it. > > When the initial winds hit they were very, very loud and I thought I was > going to be in a tornado. Earlier I had eased my windward dockline to make > it ieasier to get on and off the boat . . . well now with 60-70 mph winds > blowing it toward the finger pier I had to tighten it back up. As you can > imagine, trying to pull a 19,000 boat broadside into those winds wasn't > gonna happen but with the boat only an inch from being ground into the > finger pier I had to do something. Fortunately I was able to sit my ass on > the deck and push off with my legs and get a fender between the boat and > pier. This whole time I was really thinking a tornado was gonna hit at any > time it was so loud. > > As soon as I got the fender in I ran to my truck to wait out the storm. > I didn't want to leave as I was pulling a 14' trailer and had to drive down > a rough brick road with huge old trees on both sides that drop branches > with every storm it seems. Turns out it was a good decision as one broke > off and took out a power line while I was sitting there. After several > minutes I felt a lull in the wind as my truck wasn't rocking as bad > anymore. I ran back to my boat and was able to tighten the dockline > thankfully. I then ran back to my truck and as I was running down the dock > some lawn chairs were blown out of a powerboat and a gasket on the water > service valve exlploded for some reason spewing water all over. > > Bottom line is we could have looked at my radar app before we pulled out > of the slip and not seen a thing. Because it was moving so fast it would > have caught us after we were out on the water. Had we survived the > crossing of the bay we'd have gotten to the marina only to find out they > had no electricity, toilets or showers as apparently they are on a well. > > When I got home I turned on the weather channel and they said the storm > was moving at 55 mph with winds in excess of 60. > > Glad you made it out okay. > > Paul > -----Original Message----- > From: david dobbs <tm… [at] yahoo.com> > To: Cal_Boats <Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com> > Sent: Sun, Jul 1, 2012 11:45 pm > Subject: [Cal_Boats] Storm Delivery > > > Today was the day I finally launched, after some longer than expected > projects. The yard guys had already put her in the water, we just had to > pay the bill and go. A quick trip to the locks, a 10 minute wait and we > locked through. Only 11am. Uneventful trip upriver and we were on the > open lake by 12:30. The weather radio was going off the whole trip with > one severe weather statement after another. Should have been a clue, but > those guys cry wolf so often that I have tended to be skeptical, until we > got 2 miles from my harbor. We had closed up the hatches and put our > inflatables on a few minutes earlier. There was no warning, we suddenly > were in terrible wind and rain coming right from our destination. I had > the engine cranked as much as I thought safe, but I couldn't head directly > into the wind because that would take me to land and visibility was zero. > The lake is only about 40 feet deep here, so waves built quickly. The only > thing I could think of to do was turn north and take the seas on the port > quarter. We ran that way for what seemed like an hour, waves washing over > the boat, the boat rolled severely. At this point I told my brother not to > worry, these Cal29s have been around the world. But I was worried too. > Finally it starts easing up and I see the 68th Street water intake crib 300 > yards away. It's 3 miles out and with it for a bearing I can get back to > my harbor. By the time we got back the lake was flat again and it was only > a mild drizzle. We later found out that the bad part of the storm had only > lasted 35 minutes. There are lots of power outages, downed trees, etc. in > the aftermath. Oh, I forgot the hail; in the middle of it my hat blew off > and we got pelted with fairly large hail. The winds were clocked over > 60mph. That's the worst I've been in, and it wasn't fun, not even a > little. Hell of a way to start the season. > David Dobbs CAL29 411 > > > > > -- /ch

One of the things Ive been contemplating is a Jordan series drogue not for the ocean but for the Great Lakes and bodies of water like the Chesapeake and Delaware that get steep and choppy waves making heaving too almost impossible. With a drogue off the stern, you can settle in and ride it out without the need to take it broadside. Do you think it would help in a scenario similar to what you experienced. Lake Erie get 10-15ft waves in 30 minutes or less and they are typically 3-5 seconds apart. Square waves we call them. /ch On Tue, Jul 3, 2012 at 2:16 AM, chris123 <ch… [at] gmail.com>wrote: > Man thats some story. >

Paul, What's that app called? I think I need it! David From: "pw… [at] aol.com" <pw… [at] aol.com> To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Sent: Monday, July 2, 2012 10:30 PM Subject: Re: [Cal_Boats] Storm Delivery David - I was much luckier than you were. We had planned for 2 months to go out this past weekend to meet up with a bunch of people we "met" on the internet who are cruisers with kids. The forecast was for the mid 90's all week with heat indexes over 100 deg and wasn't changing as we'd hoped. We decided to bail on the raft up due to the heat and the potential for sea nettles to ruin any chance of swimming to cool off and just head straight across the bay to Herrington Harbor Marina which has a big pool and picnic facilities. Well, the week before we were to leave my freshwater pump stopped working, my head started acting up and my fuel filter needed changing. Long story shortened somewhat, I was still working on the boat on Friday evening and to beat the heat we had decided we'd at least get a couple of hours of the 6 hr trip under our belt and anchor out and if we felt good we'd just do the whole trip in the cool of the night. Well, as the work toiled on I called my wife and told her we'd have to leave in the morning. About midnight I was at my work trailer getting some fuel to put in the boat and I saw lightning off to the west. So to judge how much time I might have I pulled out my phone and opened my radar app (great app for sailors btw) and I have never seen a storm move so fast!! I watched the loop several times and the red area of the storm got across the bay in no time and where I am is about 16 miles from the eastern edge of the bay. Based on what I saw, I guessed I had maybe 10 minutes before I got hit. Like you, I get a bitlackadaisical with the forecast because here on the Chesapeake it is pretty much the same all summer,"high 90+ chance of thunderstorms, some may be severe". While this one was moving fast I wasn't particularly worried but did want to be off the boat when it hit. Well, I didn't make it. When the initial winds hit they were very, very loud and I thought I was going to be in a tornado. Earlier I had eased my windward dockline to make it ieasier to get on and off the boat . . . well now with 60-70 mph winds blowing it toward the finger pier I had to tighten it back up. As you can imagine, trying to pull a 19,000 boat broadside into those winds wasn't gonna happen but with the boat only an inch from being ground into the finger pier I had to do something. Fortunately I was able to sit my ass on the deck and push off with my legs and get a fender between the boat and pier. This whole time I was really thinking a tornado was gonna hit at any time it was so loud. As soon as I got the fender in I ran to my truck to wait out the storm. I didn't want to leave as I was pulling a 14' trailer and had to drive down a rough brick road with huge old trees on both sides that drop branches with every storm it seems. Turns out it was a good decision as one broke off and took out a power line while I was sitting there. After several minutes I felt a lull in the wind as my truck wasn't rocking as bad anymore. I ran back to my boat and was able to tighten the dockline thankfully. I then ran back to my truck and as I was running down the dock some lawn chairs were blown out of a powerboat and a gasket on the water service valve exlploded for some reason spewing water all over. Bottom line is we could have looked at my radar app before we pulled out of the slip and not seen a thing. Because it was moving so fast it would have caught us after we were out on the water. Had we survived the crossing of the bay we'd have gotten to the marina only to find out they had no electricity, toilets or showers as apparently they are on a well. When I got home I turned on the weather channel and they said the storm was moving at 55 mph with winds in excess of 60. Glad you made it out okay. Paul From: david dobbs <tm… [at] yahoo.com> To: Cal_Boats <Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com> Sent: Sun, Jul 1, 2012 11:45 pm Subject: [Cal_Boats] Storm Delivery Today was the day I finally launched, after some longer than expected projects. The yard guys had already put her in the water, we just had to pay the bill and go. A quick trip to the locks, a 10 minute wait and we locked through. Only 11am. Uneventful trip upriver and we were on the open lake by 12:30. The weather radio was going off the whole trip with one severe weather statement after another. Should have been a clue, but those guys cry wolf so often that I have tended to be skeptical, until we got 2 miles from my harbor. We had closed up the hatches and put our inflatables on a few minutes earlier. There was no warning, we suddenly were in terrible wind and rain coming right from our destination. I had the engine cranked as much as I thought safe, but I couldn't head directly into the wind because that would take me to land and visibility was zero. The lake is only about 40 feet deep here, so waves built quickly. The only thing I could think of to do was turn north and take the seas on the port quarter. We ran that way for what seemed like an hour, waves washing over the boat, the boat rolled severely. At this point I told my brother not to worry, these Cal29s have been around the world. But I was worried too. Finally it starts easing up and I see the 68th Street water intake crib 300 yards away. It's 3 miles out and with it for a bearing I can get back to my harbor. By the time we got back the lake was flat again and it was only a mild drizzle. We later found out that the bad part of the storm had only lasted 35 minutes. There are lots of power outages, downed trees, etc. in the aftermath. Oh, I forgot the hail; in the middle of it my hat blew off and we got pelted with fairly large hail. The winds were clocked over 60mph. That's the worst I've been in, and it wasn't fun, not even a little. Hell of a way to start the season. David Dobbs CAL29 411

David, its a free app for Droids called Radar Now. Paul From: david dobbs <tm… [at] yahoo.com> To: "Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com" <Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com> Sent: Tue, Jul 3, 2012 17:25:32 EDT Subject: Re: [Cal_Boats] Storm Delivery(Paul W) Paul, What's that app called? I think I need it! David From: "pw… [at] aol.com" <pw… [at] aol.com> To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Sent: Monday, July 2, 2012 10:30 PM Subject: Re: [Cal_Boats] Storm Delivery David - I was much luckier than you were. We had planned for 2 months to go out this past weekend to meet up with a bunch of people we "met" on the internet who are cruisers with kids. The forecast was for the mid 90's all week with heat indexes over 100 deg and wasn't changing as we'd hoped. We decided to bail on the raft up due to the heat and the potential for sea nettles to ruin any chance of swimming to cool off and just head straight across the bay to Herrington Harbor Marina which has a big pool and picnic facilities. Well, the week before we were to leave my freshwater pump stopped working, my head started acting up and my fuel filter needed changing. Long story shortened somewhat, I was still working on the boat on Friday evening and to beat the heat we had decided we'd at least get a couple of hours of the 6 hr trip under our belt and anchor out and if we felt good we'd just do the whole trip in the cool of the night. Well, as the work toiled on I called my wife and told her we'd have to leave in the morning. About midnight I was at my work trailer getting some fuel to put in the boa