caught in storm

Veg

Veg

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Finally got caught in a storm on the river... 50-60mph gusts, choppy white caps everywhere and pretty tall ones for the river, very low visibility, pouring wind driven rain and culminating in some nice hail to round out the experience. Nav lights on, found a visual reference (Sunnyside Marina with their yellow canopies), slowed down, did my best to keep the bow to the wind while staying in deep water, and pretty much held place while riding it out. My thoughts:

First of all, kudos again to this awesome boat because it wasn't even bothered by the nasty chop out there, in fact if it didn't sound like the canvas was gonna totally rip off and visibility hadn't disappeared, I could have easily kept cruising through it. Once off plane, it got WET! LOL Huge splashes on the windshield and it's nice to verify that the wipers do work as advertised LOL. I was glad it was all glass windshield forward and not mostly canvas.

Second, I'd say of the possible dangers, the one of running into another boat was at the top of my concerns. I could make out at least three boats around me also riding it out, including the huge paddle boat that came blowing my way a bit too close at one point (yeah, I figured if someone was gonna get nailed by lighting, it would be him).

Third, who the heck was the d**bas* on the 38' Sea Ray bridge boat who came cruising down the river on plane in the middle of the storm? It's a miracle, sir, that you didn't run into another boat. But if you intend to run on plane in the middle of a storm like that, please turn on your nav lights?

Turns out that I had enough fuel to ride this out for over half an hour and then get back to the marina with fuel to spare, but it's a good reminder to not cut it too close when planning your fuel consumption for your trips.

All in all, it didn't turn out to be nearly as scary as I thought, though I'll try my best not to do it again!
 
Not to hijack Ernesto's thread too badly but this is related and seemed like the best place for it. I boat on Lake Michigan and a few weeks ago set out to cross over to the Michigan side just after a storm rolled through. The radar was clear, the water flat and it looked like an easy crossing. About 6nm off Chicago we came across an overturned dinghy. I called the CG who asked that we hold station while they sent a boat out to collect it. That took a little over an hour. Shortly after we got underway another system blew in and started to produce a fair amount of lightning. This didn't make us too comfortable so we decided to head towards the nearest shore, about an 8-10nm run. We did that and eventually got into a familiar marina on the Little Calumet River.

My question is what is the risk of getting struck by lightning? We decided to ditch towards land when the electric portion of the storm was still relatively far away. Visible lightning preceded the thunder claps by several seconds. I've heard some theories that the lightning will sort of form a cage around the boat and actually go to the water but didn't have any real interest in testing that. There are certainly lots of situations in which people must get caught out on the water in an electric storm. I can tell you that looking around and realizing we were the tallest thing for many miles wasn't too comforting.

Ben
 
quote:
Originally posted by HaveADay

....... About 6nm off Chicago we came across an overturned dinghy. I called the CG who asked that we hold station while they sent a boat out to collect it. That took a little over an hour.
Click to expand...


That's the kind of thing that makes you think twice about calling them the next time.

I called them once about a sailboat that had broken fromm its mooring and was drifting towards other boats in an anchorage. They didn't seem to care and did nothing even though this was in sight of their station!

Same thing happened once when several boats reported a sailboat sinking within sight of their station. Nothing! It sank with just the mast above water and remained there for months.
 
quote:
Originally posted by rawidman

That's the kind of thing that makes you think twice about calling them the next time.

I called them once about a sailboat that had broken fromm its mooring and was drifting towards other boats in an anchorage. They didn't seem to care and did nothing even though this was in sight of their station!

Same thing happened once when several boats reported a sailboat sinking within sight of their station. Nothing! It sank with just the mast above water and remained there for months.

Click to expand...


It really is the kind of thing that makes you think twice and that's really too bad. It had been crazy windy earlier in the day so when I saw the dinghy I figured it just blew off but I also figured that if something else had happened and I just cruised right on by I'd feel really awful. I knew when I called it was likely to cost me some time. I had no idea it was going to cost me THAT much time. The thing I always find interesting in dealing with the CG is the level of rigidity from the people you deal with. I thought it was interesting they didn't seem to take it too seriously in terms of their vessel response but yet they issued a pan-pan for it every 15 minutes for the next three hours. Sometimes just a little hard to figure unless you look at it through the lens of very rigid procedures that don't get adjusted much for the circumstances at hand.

Ben
 
quote:
Originally posted by HaveADay

About 6nm off Chicago we came across an overturned dinghy. I called the CG who asked that we hold station while they sent a boat out to collect it. That took a little over an hour.

Click to expand...


Why didn't you just take it with you instead of waiting an hour?
 
quote:
Originally posted by In the know

quote:
Originally posted by HaveADay

About 6nm off Chicago we came across an overturned dinghy. I called the CG who asked that we hold station while they sent a boat out to collect it. That took a little over an hour.

Click to expand...


Why didn't you just take it with you instead of waiting an hour?

Click to expand...


I suggested exactly that to the CG. They wanted to pick it up and be able to survey the area and make sure there was no debris. Additionally I was on my way to another state and about four CG jurisdictions away.
 
I've only been caught out in lightening storms a couple of times. Once I was in a marina with lots of other things much higher then I was. So I just slept in while the storm blew through. Another time I was anchored out, but there where several sail boats in the anchorage, so again, I didn't really worry much.

The last time, I felt like a sitting duck. I was anchored out; my boat was the only one. I lower the antenna, turned off the power at the battery switch and listened to the VHS on my handheld. I heard that a bridge a couple of miles away had been struck by lightening. That storm took three hours to pass out of the area and we were sweating it the whole time!
 
quote:
Originally posted by rawidman

quote:
Originally posted by HaveADay

....... About 6nm off Chicago we came across an overturned dinghy. I called the CG who asked that we hold station while they sent a boat out to collect it. That took a little over an hour.
Click to expand...


That's the kind of thing that makes you think twice about calling them the next time.

I called them once about a sailboat that had broken fromm its mooring and was drifting towards other boats in an anchorage. They didn't seem to care and did nothing even though this was in sight of their station!

Same thing happened once when several boats reported a sailboat sinking within sight of their station. Nothing! It sank with just the mast above water and remained there for months.

Click to expand...


Next time tell them you can see drugs on the boat.

That will get them moving.
 
With regards to lightning, don't think that because something like a sailboat is nearby it will be the likely be the target.

In 1988 we were about 1/2 mile from a cruise ship running a parallel course through a storm. KABOOM! We took at hit. Lucky us. It took out everything electronic & started a fire in the headliner. The diesel kept running.
 
I like to think I am somewhat protected. When I had my hardtop built I had them install a counterpoise and it is bonded to the support structure which in turn has (2) 1/0 wires to Dyna-plates. We have been in numerous storms with major lightning and haven't been hit. With lightning it's more the luck of the draw than anything else. Still I'd rather have my set up then antennas and canvas overhead.
Bill
 
quote:
Originally posted by Capt. Bill1

quote:
Originally posted by rawidman

quote:
Originally posted by HaveADay

....... About 6nm off Chicago we came across an overturned dinghy. I called the CG who asked that we hold station while they sent a boat out to collect it. That took a little over an hour.
Click to expand...


That's the kind of thing that makes you think twice about calling them the next time.

I called them once about a sailboat that had broken fromm its mooring and was drifting towards other boats in an anchorage. They didn't seem to care and did nothing even though this was in sight of their station!

Same thing happened once when several boats reported a sailboat sinking within sight of their station. Nothing! It sank with just the mast above water and remained there for months.

Click to expand...


Next time tell them you can see drugs on the boat.

That will get them moving.
Click to expand...

That would make it far more complicated and time consuming.

I think I would have given the CG the position and declined to stay around. Staying could have put you in danger as far as weather or other deadlines.
 
Ernesto, glad to see that you made it out safely. Sounds very similiar to my experience a couple of years ago. I will say that since then if I see any storm heading my way I get off the river. The storms lately seem to blow up right when they get to the river.
 
quote:
Originally posted by HaveADay

quote:
Originally posted by In the know

quote:
Originally posted by HaveADay

About 6nm off Chicago we came across an overturned dinghy. I called the CG who asked that we hold station while they sent a boat out to collect it. That took a little over an hour.

Click to expand...


Why didn't you just take it with you instead of waiting an hour?

Click to expand...


I suggested exactly that to the CG. They wanted to pick it up and be able to survey the area and make sure there was no debris. Additionally I was on my way to another state and about four CG jurisdictions away.

Click to expand...


Doesn't sound like they directed you to stay with it - sounds like they asked. If you wanted to split, there was no compulsion to stick around. Although, giving them two lat/long positions at least 15 minutes apart would be a really helpful thing to do before departing, so they can drift it out from last known position to datum for determining a commence search point.
 
Really no rhyme or reason to lightning... have heard the theory about umbrella of safety close to boat, but oddly enough it was always in relation to sailboats! I spoke to the marina one time and they said the sailboats never get hit while docked. I know people who were sitting on windsurf boards and lightning struck the water close enough they could feel it in their hands and legs... always best to stay as much inside as possible. Definitley disconnect any electronics... at home I do the same.
 
Whoever told you lightning never strikes sailboats at the dock should talk to the owner of the sailboat was docked at a marina near us and got hit, then caught on fire!

We were in a similar storm on Delaware Bay, coming back from the Chesapeake this summer - but without lightning. Visibility was near zero, and there was so much rain that the radar was useless. We slowed to idle speed and had all hands on board looking out for other boats. Not a pleasant experience, luckily it only lasted about 1/2 hour.
 
quote:
Originally posted by November Charlie

quote:
Originally posted by HaveADay

quote:
Originally posted by In the know

quote:
Originally posted by HaveADay

About 6nm off Chicago we came across an overturned dinghy. I called the CG who asked that we hold station while they sent a boat out to collect it. That took a little over an hour.

Click to expand...


Why didn't you just take it with you instead of waiting an hour?

Click to expand...


I suggested exactly that to the CG. They wanted to pick it up and be able to survey the area and make sure there was no debris. Additionally I was on my way to another state and about four CG jurisdictions away.

Click to expand...


Doesn't sound like they directed you to stay with it - sounds like they asked. If you wanted to split, there was no compulsion to stick around. Although, giving them two lat/long positions at least 15 minutes apart would be a really helpful thing to do before departing, so they can drift it out from last known position to datum for determining a commence search point.

Click to expand...


You're absolutely right they didn't direct me to stay. They asked if I could initially. I said I could wait for a little while. A little while turned into a little while longer and at that point I'd invested that much time it seemed silly to split.
 
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