Any get caught in that storm yesterday?

R

Rorschach

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I was at my marina in Eastport cleaning the boat after a nice weekend at Great Gun.

Started to rain pretty hard. We were still cleaning up inside and decided to wait on the boat until it blew over. Me, the Admiral, our 7 year old twins.

Winds got severe quickly. Lightning, thunder. I have an end slip, tied off at one side. Three lines - a bow, stern, and spring. Winds were hitting the boat perpendicular (I have a Sedan - presenting my profile to the wind). I was seriously concerned that the 3 5/8ths lines were not going to be enough to hold us to the dock (bow, stern, aft spring).

Fence sections blown down, trees uprooted. The most severe storm I have seen in years. I don't know if other areas were hit as hard. It came up quick and got bad in a hurry.

The highest winds I have ever been on the water with were 30-40 knots. This made anything I have ever seen look like a light breeze.

Had we actually been out, I really don't know if I would have been able to keep the boat off the beach. Never saw anything like it, except maybe hurricane Gloria years ago.

Anybody else see this storm? The day was so beautiful, the main reason we left was my concern about the tide in Moriches and that thunderstorms were forecast. But I thought a lot of people would have stayed out longer and been caught in it.

I would really like to know what wind speed I was looking at.

Hope everyone got home safe.

Vic
 
We were over at watch hill during the storm.

We had friends visiting who just had to go to the beach. Actually I checked early in the morning and it said possible thunder storms but I did not really think much about it when we went out.

Just as we tied up the first cell started to come through, mostly over land so we were fine. About an hour later the 2nd, larger cell came through. We got back to the boat and had the canvas up just in time. Very strange to see a few people leaving during this. Lighting kicked up and the wind was wiping. We stay dry and waited about 40 minutes for it to pass, then had an uneventful ride home.

I wonder how those 3-4 boats I saw leave in the middle of it faired?

Was nice to see 1 fishing boat (outriggers) and a sail boat in a close proximity. Figured they would take the bolt before us.......
 
Be aware that with lightning, it is not always the tallest object that gets hit. Last weekend at our marina one of the dock poles got struck - three boats down from it was a Silverton that was about 15' higher than the top of the pole, and it did not get hit.
 
I was out in Noyack fishing on a friend's boat. Beautiful all day, we came back in around 4pm or so and were cleaning the boat and fish when the storm started. At first we didn't think it would be a big deal but it got bad real fast and we went to take cover in his car. Within a few minutes the boats in his marina were rocking all over and we decided to move the car when a sailboat up on blocks near where we were parked was moving... By time it was done there were trees down, power out, and we had to detour on the way home to avoid a couple of roads closed due to the trees.
 
Luckily we made it back to the dock, washed the boat down, and closed it up in plenty of time before the storm hit.
My son and I were in the car outside Target on 110 when it hit while my wife and daughter were inside shopping. They missed the whole storm but said they could hear it on the roof while they were shopping and the power went out while it was going on. The temp thing in the car read 90 when they went in and dropped to 74 by the time they came out 15 minutes later.
We drove home and saw a few trees down along the way. Some houses and stores had lost power.
I took my wife's car out to gas it up at about 7:30 and got caught in the second one. It was weird to see trees down that were standing just a few minutes before when I was driving back from the gas station.
We live right across from the Bethpage Golf Courses and I heard that three of the five couldn't be played today because of all the trees and branches littering them.
 
My gal and I went right though the worst of it in the Sound going from Giant's Neck to Old Saybrook. The absolute worst I have ever been in. Lighting all around us. Many, many bolts. Wind had to be 50+ and torrential rain. Seas kicked up. Heard a mayday and other calls. Radar was useless. One second on course, next 60 deg off course. Couldn't see a thing. Nearly hit the buoy with gps. Saybrook light was out! Inner lighthouse was lit. Would have led us through the breakwater if I hadn't caught it. When we left Giant's Neck, it wasn't raining. Just storm clouds on the horizon and weather radio had the storm 40 miles away. I figured 6 miles to the Connecticut river won't take long in a 30 Sea Ray - go. Once in a while the sea gives you a reminder.
 
I was at Greenport visiting friends and stayed a little too late. Not that it looked bad. We shoved off from Mitchell's Marina at 4:30 PM, cleared the breakwater, made the turns and were 1,000 yards from Orient Point light off of Long Beach, bound for New London, when it started to rain, hard. I went down below to steer and in the time it took me to climb down the ladder, Orient Point Light disappeared in the driving rain and the sea came up. I lost sight of the lighthouse and since my radar and GPS are only on my bridge, I had only the compass to steer with. We were looking a big waves, driven from our port quarter and I turned into them. Some of them were huge and the wind was howling. I figured I couldn't run into the head seas for long without beaching on Long Beach, so I turned right and swung us around. Not good. I saw a 38-ft. sailboat trying to hold against the wind. When we turned, the wind roared into our shelter cabin, soaking us. I thought I'd go in circles.

We were in seas that looked like the North Atlantic, sometimes, when we went into the wind, we'd bury the stem of the boat in green water. The boat and the engine worked fine but at one point, I thought about going over. When I made those turns, from head sea all the way around, the boat would slide over, dumping everything on the deck. It righted itself, as it should.

The admiral was checking for other boats around when the wind really blew up. I heard a crash and my Bimini top flashed by into the water. The seas built and we crashed into them. The admiral was on her knees, next to me.

In about 30 minutes (seems like a lifetime) the wind and rain let up and I went up onto the fly bridge. The radar was still working as was the GPS. Both VHF and antennas had been snapped off.
 
Sheesh! That sounds like a novel! So you lost your bimini and your antennas? Wow. Guess this is a good reason to check weather before heading out. I don't think the storms just popped up. I was home and they were tracking them on radar for a while. I am thinking about adding weather rader to my boat as well. The weather channel does not always seem to cut it and its nice to see how big a storm is when your in it or which way it is moving.
 
"Once in a while the sea gives you a reminder"

Damn right.

I heard a report that winds were 70-80 mph.

I'm thinking of making a few purchases myself. Like an EPIRB, heavier ground tackle, xm satellite weather, and anything else I can think of to be better prepared.

Anyone think XM satellite weather is worth it?

Glad you all got home safe.

Vic
 
quote:
Originally posted by Rorschach

I'm thinking of making a few purchases myself. Like an EPIRB, heavier ground tackle, xm satellite weather, and anything else I can think of to be better prepared.

Anyone think XM satellite weather is worth it?

Glad you all got home safe.

Vic

Click to expand...
Vic
We Don't have XM but have realtime weather on PC with Aircard
Have all chain ground tacklewith big Bruce anchoe and a Fortress backup( have bolt cutter on board to cut the chain if needed)
I also picked up one of these last year from BoatFix
http://www.boatfix.com/shop/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=30676
 
If you have a compatible chartplotter, I've heard the XM weather data overlay is a very good tool to have. For those that don't have the newer multi display chartplotters there a couple other alternatives that may help you out. The squalls in summer that pop up late in the day, although usually short in duration, can be violent and intense. No fun to get caught in. Most of the time you can see them on your radar. Just set the range to it's highest setting and you may have to adjust the sensitivity but if there's a thunderhead/anvil shaped cloud in the area it should be very apparant on the display. Another little trick is to tune your radio to an AM station. You'll hear the lightning come over as as a burst of fuzz or distortion. Lastly, these squalls are always preceded by a mini cold front. You'll feel a chilly gust, followed by a drop in temperature. Unfortunately, by the time you feel the temp. change, it's usually to late as you're about to be walloped.
 
I heard that one boat capsized in Branford and two boats collided also in Branford. Everyone fished out. No serious injuries. That mayday I heard still haunts me. Anyone know where to read the Coast Guard activity reports before they appear in the magazines?
 
My current ground tackle is a 35 lb Delta, 30/150 (the stock set). I'm doing some research into what kind of anchor/chain I should upgrade to - any recommendations welcome.

I have an aircard/router on the boat and I'm checking out weather sites - www.wunderground.com seems good, but I am open to any other recommended services. I am also looking to get a backup GPS, and I thought the Garmin 478 would be a good choice because it is portable (so I could potentially use it on a future dinghy) and supports XM Weather.

I will be setting up a small ditchbag for next to the helm. I like the PLB Andy, but I am still evaluating PLB/EPIRB/GPIRB alternatives. I know BoatUS has a rental program for EPIRBs and possibly GPIRBs now - going to call them tomorrow to find out.

My next big cruise is in August - going to Montauk, Block, Old Lyme CT (sister in law beach house), and Greenport. I want to be very prepared for that trip.

- Vic
 
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