Summer racing on a downwind beat from Annapolis down the bay, in a 35 foot sailboat with a ½ oz. spinnaker flying nicely in 35-45 knots of wind, we were suddenly sailing by the lee when a 55 foot Swan sailboat behind us took a full broach knockdown. Less than 2 minutes later we took a knockdown from the same wind and broached with the mast and all sails under water. It was a complete whiteout from the thunderstorm, nobody had on a lifejacket and we were all hanging from the rail as the boat slid downwind. We struggled to get the mainsail back into the cockpit, the spinnaker had been shredded into a 1000 pieces and we finally righted the boat. With only 100-200 feet of visibility in any direction, trusting to our instruments, we got back on course, put up a ¾ oz. spinnaker in 50-55 knots and proceeded on. We finished the race 6 hours later, still in a full gale and corrected to 8th place in class, in a fleet of 105 boats. Lesson learned = with a thunderstom approaching put on that lifejacket.
what was your worst thunderstorm experience?
- Thread starter CWOT
- Start date
CWOT, Here in norhwest Florida we have some awesome thunderstorms both over land and water. I flew professionally for almost thirty years and have spent a great deal of time running from those boomers in various aircraft. They are not quite so easy to outdistance on a Grady! We have had a couple of those Kodak moments that you describe in the Gulf with burning horizontal rain moving so hard and fast that you could not open your eyes. Every round hole on the boat turns into a screaming whistle! Also the lightning was crashing everywhere around us so hard and frequently that it was probably killing bait! When NOAA sounds that alarm and advises everyone to evacuate the Gulf and seek safe harbor they are not joking! I think that this pales in comparison to you knock over!8)
Ken
Ken
It was 2001 and we ran our 208 Walkaround from Freeport, Bahamas up and around the western edge of Grand Bahama Island to West End, Grand Bahama island.....a nice trip of about 22 miles. After a nice lunch, we began the run back to Freeport, running in about 60 feet of water, right along the coast. About 10 miles into the run home, a FAST moving squall line was running us down from offshore and behind. It was a wall of black and we had absolutely ZERO places to hide! We buttoned up as best we could and when the visibilty went to zero in steady 6-8 footers off our starboard aft corner, we then could only navigate by depth! From our location, Freeport was "around the corner" so running via the GPS was not an option for me. Staying in 60-80 feet would keep us about 2 miles offshore. We set our speed to that we basically rode in the trough of the waves and neither stuffed the bow, nor took a wave over the stern!
The storm finally ran us over and cleared out, leaving us pulling into the Running Mon Marina looking like two drowned rats! We had thought that we'd be moving up to a used 29/31 Tiara but we decided that very day that we were going to stick with Gradys and are now on our third Grady and 13+ years of Grady ownership!
The storm finally ran us over and cleared out, leaving us pulling into the Running Mon Marina looking like two drowned rats! We had thought that we'd be moving up to a used 29/31 Tiara but we decided that very day that we were going to stick with Gradys and are now on our third Grady and 13+ years of Grady ownership!
While this is nothing compared to what I just read in the previous posts, here it goes....
A couple of years ago we had just bought our first boat, a 2004 18ft Bayliner Bowrider. Me, the Wife, the kid & two friends went out for a maiden voyage on the Rappahanock. About an hour into it, black clouds and 4-ft swells came out of no-where, we were getting tossed around like I had never seen before and I had to act like everything was fine since the others seemed to be pretty scared as they were putting on their life jackets. I was very new to boating and dodging crab pots, not to mention trying to keep the speed of the boat the same with the waves. Right in the middle of all this going on, my wife says..."Can I drive?"... Well, still trying to act like everything is fine and knowing I couldn't say no, I said, "Okay, you steer and I will do the gas". She seemed to be having the time of her life as we shot across the river back to the marina. As we pulled into the Marina, I was finally able to take a deep breath. After that day, I spent countless hours learning the River, its obstacles and knowing when to head back in due to coming storms. We have since upgraded to a 2004 209 Escape. Grady White is the BEST.
A couple of years ago we had just bought our first boat, a 2004 18ft Bayliner Bowrider. Me, the Wife, the kid & two friends went out for a maiden voyage on the Rappahanock. About an hour into it, black clouds and 4-ft swells came out of no-where, we were getting tossed around like I had never seen before and I had to act like everything was fine since the others seemed to be pretty scared as they were putting on their life jackets. I was very new to boating and dodging crab pots, not to mention trying to keep the speed of the boat the same with the waves. Right in the middle of all this going on, my wife says..."Can I drive?"... Well, still trying to act like everything is fine and knowing I couldn't say no, I said, "Okay, you steer and I will do the gas". She seemed to be having the time of her life as we shot across the river back to the marina. As we pulled into the Marina, I was finally able to take a deep breath. After that day, I spent countless hours learning the River, its obstacles and knowing when to head back in due to coming storms. We have since upgraded to a 2004 209 Escape. Grady White is the BEST.
JUMPNJACK said:
Jumpnjack: One time we were out fishing when those low scudding clouds racing towards us told us to up and go for home. I told the Admiral we would out run it when a lightning bolt hit the water somewhere in front of us, "are we still outrunning it"? the Admiral asked.
Wow, my story is pale in comparison to those. Anyway, I was a young guy, around 23 and out enjoying a master craft with a 6' pole for wake boarding. The storm clouds rolled in and we picked up to head home. At barley an idle the hairs on my neck and arm stood up, a split second later 'crack'!! within 30' from the boat a blue bolt touched down. I looked my pals in the eyes just to make sure i was still alive. I dont think we spoke a word until getting to the dock and in the truck. I will never forget how violent of a sound the bolt made.
What an interesting subject! Some of you may have seen the old movie "White Squall" this is exactly what CWOT and his fellow sailors encountered. What Gary M describes is what is known to us here in NW Florida as the "Black Squall". It will make you think about the shrimp boat scene in the "Forrest Gump" movie "about then God showed up!" 8)
Ken
Ken
Took my sister and her young daughter out for a day on the water...Beautiful day...sun shining...went behind Assateague...saw the ponies...also saw a fast moving wall of black coming from the south...told my sis it was time to go...we jumped in the boat...hit the throttle....BLERRRPPPPPP...engine trouble...stupid ethanol gas...we're in limp mode...going to be in limp mode for 140 streets....the black wall engulfs us...lightening is hitting the water all around us...I thought it was just a matter of time before one scored a direct hit...my sister and her daughter (not boaters) were white as ghosts...I thought we were dead meat...took over an hour to limp home in the Perfect Storm...a trip that normally takes 10 min....I didn't watch the weather channel that morning...something I always do to see if there is a storm on the way...Now I check the weather for days before a trip and also burn ONLY non-ethanol in all my boats 
.
.Two experiences come to memory- The first was on an O'Day Day Sailor (sixteen foot center board sailboat) about 30 years ago on Lake Ontario. At the time, I was about 35yrs old and had a strong young crew about 25 yrs old. We were racing in the National Championship and the wind kept building to a bout 22knots when we rounded the windward mark and headed down wind. Out of the corner of my eye I could see boats beginning to flip and I told my crew not to hoist the spinnaker. I told him to put his life jacket on and he said he didnt need it. The boat jumped on to a screaming down wind plane and I was sitting on the transom(to keep the bow from burying) clutching the tiller in an awkward position. The bow was shooting and spraying water all around /the transome-rudder was shooting a big rooster tale and we were sailing on the edge. I couldnt see behind us for gusts but soon thereafter a huge bolt of lightning struck about a 1/4 mile from us. My young crew then said " I am going to try to get a life jacket on then at least they might find our bodies" I yelled at him to try to keep the boat balanced while putting on the jacket and he was perfect. The boat stayed on course for a half mile or so and I could see flipping and turtled boats all around. We managed to stay upright and the Race Committee shortend the course. I will never forget those words from my crew.
Fast forward about 30years (5years ago) my wife and I went on a 35 day cruise out of Boston up through Newfoundland Greenland Iceland Norway Etc. The boat (ship)was 700 ft. long Holland America Maasdamm- Coming home we went through the Davis Strait between Greenland and Newfy. The weather kept deteriorating with force four, five, six coming up on the wind screens. Fianally, it hit a full scale storm (I think it was force8) seventy knots of wind and They said the seas were about 25 ft. high. So, how scared was I ? Funny thing, the boat-ship rode it pretty well -they closed all the deck doors so nobody could get washed over. The dining room dish cabinets had to be tied together as the doors swung open and some dishes got sprawled all over. We watched the storm in the Crows nest lounge which is very far foward and up very high. We could get a great view of how the bow would rise twenty or so feet and come down and seem to crush the waves. There was a side to side rolling motion along with the pitching up and down motion. It was awesome experience to watch the seas _looked like a gigantic wash machine- and the boat so capeably handling the bad conditions. Almost all the passangers were pretty experienced sea travelors on this long voyage and took the conditions pretty well. Excepting that there was more incidents of the dreaded Mal de Mere, the most passangers took everyraise thing in stride. Oh and the dining room was about half full for dinner. Going to bed and sleeping was kind of funny as we almost slid off the bed in the rolling seas many times. The storm lasted about 5 or 6 hours and was very memorable but not near the terror I had in the small boat. Lew :goodjob
Fast forward about 30years (5years ago) my wife and I went on a 35 day cruise out of Boston up through Newfoundland Greenland Iceland Norway Etc. The boat (ship)was 700 ft. long Holland America Maasdamm- Coming home we went through the Davis Strait between Greenland and Newfy. The weather kept deteriorating with force four, five, six coming up on the wind screens. Fianally, it hit a full scale storm (I think it was force8) seventy knots of wind and They said the seas were about 25 ft. high. So, how scared was I ? Funny thing, the boat-ship rode it pretty well -they closed all the deck doors so nobody could get washed over. The dining room dish cabinets had to be tied together as the doors swung open and some dishes got sprawled all over. We watched the storm in the Crows nest lounge which is very far foward and up very high. We could get a great view of how the bow would rise twenty or so feet and come down and seem to crush the waves. There was a side to side rolling motion along with the pitching up and down motion. It was awesome experience to watch the seas _looked like a gigantic wash machine- and the boat so capeably handling the bad conditions. Almost all the passangers were pretty experienced sea travelors on this long voyage and took the conditions pretty well. Excepting that there was more incidents of the dreaded Mal de Mere, the most passangers took every
raise thing in stride. Oh and the dining room was about half full for dinner. Going to bed and sleeping was kind of funny as we almost slid off the bed in the rolling seas many times. The storm lasted about 5 or 6 hours and was very memorable but not near the terror I had in the small boat. Lew :goodjobGrowing up in So. FL I have more than I can recount.
Scariest was when I was 9 and we had a 16' plywood boat with a home made cabin, 16 hp Scottatwater.
Hit us just S of 125 st bridge to Miami Beach. (Broad Causeway)
60 mph wind, rain, hail and 3-4' chop in Biscyne Bay.
My Father handled it well but I was petrified.
Took a long time to get over it.
Move forward 36 yrs and had one in Little Buttonwood Sound Key Largo.
Anchored for the night when it hit,
50 mph winds, damatic lighting.
Anchor dragged, went up on the bow retrieved anchor and idled into the wind to hold position.
3-4 times the compass would do a 180 due to the wind.
Had I not known my position relative to flats & mangroves it would have been nasty.
Finally anchor held.
Then there was that time in Bimini...
Scariest was when I was 9 and we had a 16' plywood boat with a home made cabin, 16 hp Scottatwater.
Hit us just S of 125 st bridge to Miami Beach. (Broad Causeway)
60 mph wind, rain, hail and 3-4' chop in Biscyne Bay.
My Father handled it well but I was petrified.
Took a long time to get over it.
Move forward 36 yrs and had one in Little Buttonwood Sound Key Largo.
Anchored for the night when it hit,
50 mph winds, damatic lighting.
Anchor dragged, went up on the bow retrieved anchor and idled into the wind to hold position.
3-4 times the compass would do a 180 due to the wind.
Had I not known my position relative to flats & mangroves it would have been nasty.
Finally anchor held.
Then there was that time in Bimini...
In 1967 my wife, my parents and I were returning to Annapolis from Oxford, MD in our 30' Alberg and were about mid-way in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay when a wall of black approached from the south. My wife and parents had "mal de mare" and had gone below about a half hour before the wall of black appeared so I was captain and crew all rolled into one. I managed to get the jib down and furled but the squall hit before I could douse the mainsail. BAM! the wind and rain hit like a freight train. The Alberg had her ear in the water even tough I had slacked the main to a full luff. By the time I wrestled the main halfway down the mast (seemed lie a lifetime) the squall passed. A few minutes later the "crew" emerged from cabin feeling fine! Winds were easily 60 mph. Now we check all the commercial and marine weather channels before venturing out even on sunny days. We also wear life vests at all times when on the boat.
Not a thunderstorm tale: In August 1990 we were racing our Watch Hill 15 in Fisher's Island Sound in the standard Saturday afternoon race. The whole racing fleet had become becalmed in a stifling hot doldrum and we all had to put over and anchor to avoid being swept back. The Captain in an adjacent sailboat jumped in for a short swim to get some relief from the sun and terrible heat before the winds picked up for the usual late afternoon south westerly. Well the tide was ebbing strong at about 2 1/2 to three knots and the captain ( astern of his vessel) soon found out that he couldn't out swim the ebbing current to reach back to his boat. So here we all are anchored (these are skinned out racing sailboats with nothing but a hull and racing sails) and unable to reach the captain in distress. His crew let out a line over the transom but it was not long enough to reach the captain. His crew finally floated a life preserver to the exhausted captain and he was able to summon enough energy (barely) into his stroke so that he finally made it to the line and was pulled back to the boat. The whole event took place over about an hour. The fleet now carries portable VHF radios to reach the committee boat and wear life preservers regardless of weather.
Not a thunderstorm tale: In August 1990 we were racing our Watch Hill 15 in Fisher's Island Sound in the standard Saturday afternoon race. The whole racing fleet had become becalmed in a stifling hot doldrum and we all had to put over and anchor to avoid being swept back. The Captain in an adjacent sailboat jumped in for a short swim to get some relief from the sun and terrible heat before the winds picked up for the usual late afternoon south westerly. Well the tide was ebbing strong at about 2 1/2 to three knots and the captain ( astern of his vessel) soon found out that he couldn't out swim the ebbing current to reach back to his boat. So here we all are anchored (these are skinned out racing sailboats with nothing but a hull and racing sails) and unable to reach the captain in distress. His crew let out a line over the transom but it was not long enough to reach the captain. His crew finally floated a life preserver to the exhausted captain and he was able to summon enough energy (barely) into his stroke so that he finally made it to the line and was pulled back to the boat. The whole event took place over about an hour. The fleet now carries portable VHF radios to reach the committee boat and wear life preservers regardless of weather.
In the late 80s my father inlaw, 2 of my brother inlaws and I went blue fishing in the cheaspeake bay at the southwest middle grounds. We were in a 19 ft thunderbird trihull cuddy cabin with a 4cyl mercruiser engine. It was a calm day with flat water. We anchored and started chumming. After a few minutes I looked up the bay and told them that we better pulll anchor and get the heck outa there. They looked at me and asked why because there were no storm clouds and the water was still flat. I told them that the sky didn't look right and I didn't like the way it looked. We hadn't gotten the anchor on deck when the wind hit us. No storm just high winds and it came up fast. Now this boat was not made for rough water and I can't tell you how big the waves were but I took the rolls 1/4 on the starboard bow and when the whitecap hit I would turn the bow straight into it. It would not have taken it 1/4 on as I am sure it would have swamped us. The white cap would come over the bow and hit the windshield. I prayed that the motor would keep running and it did. This went on for a good 2 hours and it seemed that I would never get to Pt lookout and back in the river were it wasn't as rough. I was the only one on the boat with any boating experience so it was up to me and man was I give out when we finally made it to calmer waters. When we got back home my father inlaw came out the cabin were he and one of the others had stayed the whole time. He jumped off the boat ran down the dock, kissed the ground, looked back and said "I ain't going with you no more unless you get the queen mary"!!!. That didn't last long as he went back with me 2 weeks later. We heard later that the wind gust from that storm was 55 mph. I wish I had a grady white then. After riding in my 22 seafarer my neighbor who has a 30 ft sportcraft couldn't believe how good that grady rode in rough water.
Neat stories from all. Growing up in Miami and fishing the gulfstream just about every weekend provided me with some similar experiences. But lately, all I can say is that my Sirius Weather Radar is worth its weight in gold. Even up here in Maine I wouldn't boat offshore without it.
I grew up in Central Florida where we had more lightning storms than anwywhere else in the western hemisphere. So I have a healthy respect for thunderstorms. In my high school class we had some classmates in our senior year killed when they were on a boat in Lake Monroe on the St. Johns River when it was struck by lightning.
I was off Key Largo fishing in my 192 about 6 years ago and we came in and the kids wanted to snorkel so we stopped at White Banks as Molassis Reef was full of boats. I saw a big storm to the north over the Everglades and tuned into NOAA where they were giving marine warning for the Biscayne Bay area for this storm which included 50 to 60 knot straightline winds. We were well south and west of that and a snorkel head boat pulled up and dumped her minions of reef rats in the water. I recall the Admiral being concerned and my gut was hey, this guy has a huge liability and his 70 foot head boot had radar so, he knew it was safe. The Admiral and my youngest who was maybe 5 at the time and I went for a snorkel about the reef there. Then we hear the siren on the head boat and I look up and there is a black wall cloud heading our way. Hawk Chanel stood up from its usual 2 foot choppy swells to 4 to 5 short choppy water in what seemed like seconds.
We raced back to the boat where my daughter, our friend Stacey and Kyle stayed aboard. We dropped our front and side curtains and I let us free of the mooring buoy and then started to button up the center peice of sunbrella on the walk through when water started coming over the bow. I told the Admiral to keep her into the waves as I could feel the boat turning about. I stood up and turned white I suspect. We got the boat moving forward at about 12 to 15 mph with the bow up. My kids were silent and even Kyle who enjoys the boat was holding onto the seat with white knuckles. Cole started to cry and I comforted him. I asked if he remember seeing the poster in the Grady dealer where it said. Storm is coming, get the Grady? He said yes..I told him the boat was engineered and built to take rough seas...by the time we made it to the entrance of channel to Largo Sound the storm had passed...but it was the longest 7 mile ride in a boat that I have ever had...on the flip side that 192 handled it well. It was sea worthy when it mattered...
I was off Key Largo fishing in my 192 about 6 years ago and we came in and the kids wanted to snorkel so we stopped at White Banks as Molassis Reef was full of boats. I saw a big storm to the north over the Everglades and tuned into NOAA where they were giving marine warning for the Biscayne Bay area for this storm which included 50 to 60 knot straightline winds. We were well south and west of that and a snorkel head boat pulled up and dumped her minions of reef rats in the water. I recall the Admiral being concerned and my gut was hey, this guy has a huge liability and his 70 foot head boot had radar so, he knew it was safe. The Admiral and my youngest who was maybe 5 at the time and I went for a snorkel about the reef there. Then we hear the siren on the head boat and I look up and there is a black wall cloud heading our way. Hawk Chanel stood up from its usual 2 foot choppy swells to 4 to 5 short choppy water in what seemed like seconds.
We raced back to the boat where my daughter, our friend Stacey and Kyle stayed aboard. We dropped our front and side curtains and I let us free of the mooring buoy and then started to button up the center peice of sunbrella on the walk through when water started coming over the bow. I told the Admiral to keep her into the waves as I could feel the boat turning about. I stood up and turned white I suspect. We got the boat moving forward at about 12 to 15 mph with the bow up. My kids were silent and even Kyle who enjoys the boat was holding onto the seat with white knuckles. Cole started to cry and I comforted him. I asked if he remember seeing the poster in the Grady dealer where it said. Storm is coming, get the Grady? He said yes..I told him the boat was engineered and built to take rough seas...by the time we made it to the entrance of channel to Largo Sound the storm had passed...but it was the longest 7 mile ride in a boat that I have ever had...on the flip side that 192 handled it well. It was sea worthy when it mattered...
5 or 6 years ago I was 20 miles off Islamorada in the Fla keys trolling for dolphin and a storm blew up from nowhere. The sky turned black and 40nmph straightline winds from the west with a torrential down pour ensued. Seas went from 2 to 3 to 6 to 8 in a matter of minutes but the most nerve wracking thing was when the rain subsided enough to see, right at the edge of visibility on the horizon (probably within 5 miles) were three very large water spouts in all directions. Felt like being in a 10,000 acre open field in Kansas on foot with a tornado in the distance.