• Sailing is all about the Weather.

    Big into the exploration of Atlantic Hurricanes since Katrina came uninvited into his world, James (Jim) Gurley (JamesG161) has followed every Tropical Storm birthed in Atlantic, Gulf and Caribbean waters since. Being a boater, he knows that we often need more time to prepare than we get from the TV weather folk. Jim relies on the science of storm development to share early warning info with friends and fellow boaters.

    Early in 2018, Jim and John Shepard, (JSSailem) started to chat about the weather data available. John asked Jim to help forecast Pacific NW storms, and this morphed into discussions on weather forecasting.

    For John, sailing in the PNW is sometimes hit and miss. One day is ugly, then a string of beautiful days but no wind, followed by a series of blue-sky days and 12 knot breezes. Being ready for those great sailing days means you need to look to the Pacific Ocean and what is brewing. John has been into Pacific NW Weather since the 1970’s when his first PNW November storm hit bringing more than 40 days and 40 nights of continual rain.

    Together we want to share information, new APPs, safety, and thoughts about letting the weather help you. Identify some of the resources for sailors and help prepare you for your next sailboat outing.

    It is far better to go out on the water knowing what to expect in weather terms, than to be out on the water and see dark ominous clouds suddenly appear, unprepared.

Hurricane Zeta <--- TS Zeta <--- Invest 95L

Jun 21, 2004
2,532
Beneteau 343 Slidell, LA
Initial report is good. Lost power around 6:30 pm. Some shingles off roof & fence gate blown off hinges. Dock neighbor said that boat appeared unharmed. Will take a better look in AM. Guesstimate gusts of 75 mph; saving grace was extremely fast mover. Strong cold front moving thru tomorrow am!
 
Feb 14, 2014
7,399
Hunter 430 Waveland, MS
Hold on baby!!!
Damn it... she did not hold
Good news I am fully insured but $2k deductible on named storm
i did my calculation and 4- 10,000 lbs lines for a 10 foot surge... but we got a 14 footer.:oops:

Snapped all 4 lines :yikes:

Proving floating boat Float!!!
No holes in hull but Rudder on land.

IMG_1574.jpeg


The bright spot is where the hull rubbed a piling.
____
Surge predictions were 6-9 feet, but as they noted "Experimental"

I am sure this pictures will make the local news.:p

A very big...
DAMMIT JIM...

PS: House is ok , no power for now
 
Feb 14, 2014
7,399
Hunter 430 Waveland, MS
Just got power back!:wow3:

Boy did i have trouble sleeping. Mind rushing to all the possibilities of our boat problems.
------
Soon as day breaks, I will go aboard to double check diesel tank and engine oils.

Best thought was the HOLD Tanks were empty.:dancing:
______
I left 2 Cabin LED lights on and they were on when we saw the boat.

Thus the heartbeat of our boat is still Beating:):)

Hopefully just a simple Stern lift and she is back in the water.:pray:
Jim...

PS: Coffee brewing and I do have a big smile
 
Feb 14, 2014
7,399
Hunter 430 Waveland, MS
This is what happened.
Good example of Storm surge.
StormSurge.jpeg


Note the change in wind direction too. If that had not happened my rudder would still be in water. See pict above #43


Peak gusts 90.1 knots, sustained 81 knots , which means we were near the East Eye Wall.

Another notable item is Water Temperature.
Zeta pushed warmer Gulf Waters in to the Bay of Saint Louis and now cooling back as cooler River water returns.
Jim...
 
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Oct 1, 2007
1,856
Boston Whaler Super Sport Pt. Judith
Just got power back!:wow3:

Boy did i have trouble sleeping. Mind rushing to all the possibilities of our boat problems.
------
Soon as day breaks, I will go aboard to double check diesel tank and engine oils.

Best thought was the HOLD Tanks were empty.:dancing:
______
I left 2 Cabin LED lights on and they were on when we saw the boat.

Thus the heartbeat of our boat is still Beating:):)

Hopefully just a simple Stern lift and she is back in the water.:pray:
Jim...

PS: Coffee brewing and I do have a big smile
Wonderful news.....
 
Oct 22, 2014
20,992
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
Jim and his family are ok. But Saba is not doing well. Zeta was a bad girl. :banghead:
 
Jun 21, 2004
2,532
Beneteau 343 Slidell, LA
Wonderful news.....
Jim,
Sorry to hear about the boat. Hopefully rudder is only damage and can be replaced w/o too much trouble. Y’all had a bit more wind East of us. I used twelve 5/8” lines and she weathered the storm unscathed, Much to my surprise. Hoping that Saba is back in ship shape soon.
 
Jan 5, 2018
187
Hunter H34 0828 New Orleans
E43AB851-3CAB-4A23-A48F-1EB456762A0D.jpeg
D6084CB9-B0B2-4B88-8E92-4E4A96F3F7AD.jpeg

D6084CB9-B0B2-4B88-8E92-4E4A96F3F7AD.jpeg
38028210-36CE-452A-980F-4ADCF0F33020.jpeg

Some pics from the new Floating Concrete Municipal Yacht Harbor in New Orleans. My H34 faired well. Just a bent stantion.
Quite a few big boats pulled the cleats from the dock?? A couple De-Masted big boats due to debris tangled in the shrouds.
A lot of trailered sailboats were knocked off their trailers.
5’ surge took out a lot of the dry storage.
A few dozen roller furlers let their jibs go...
 
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Jun 21, 2004
2,532
Beneteau 343 Slidell, LA
Some pics from the new Floating Concrete Municipal Yacht Harbor in New Orleans. My H34 faired well. Just a bent stantion
Shannon, good to hear that she weathered the storm well. Hope this is the last one that we deal with this year!
 
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Nov 6, 2006
9,884
Hunter 34 Mandeville Louisiana
Sorry to see that you had a bit of mess, Jim. Glad that you and yours and the house is good.. Hope ya get her refloaated without delay. Good luck, friend..
Shannon, Glad you and jmce did well on thefloating docks.. That was quite a test for the new marina..
 
Feb 14, 2014
7,399
Hunter 430 Waveland, MS
OK all, I am going to start a new post on the full, start to finish, of my boat's returned to service.

But here is the proof of a 14 foot wave the happened just at the Cat 2 peak and winds shifting from SE to SW as the EYE passed over @kloudie1 and @BigEasy . I was on the East Eye Wall worst wind side.

JGlassBoat.jpeg


That boat was lifted by a wave over 2 finger piers with 6 foot bollards in the slips, beyond the fuel dock canal. Even over that palm tree.

Then it sat down fully intact on a an empty lot.
That was NE of his slip about a 100 yards away. NE said it happened when the winds shifted, to SW.

Note my diesel fuel is $2.60 bio-treated :)
_____
Huge number of local pictures of boats flipped, ashore , on marina piers.

5 marinas damaged along the MS coast.

This one did not move but was in slip next to mine. [owner is employee of/on a NOAA boat ]

Endevor.jpeg


Here is my good news..
Grapefruit.jpeg
Grapefruit cross pollinated with an Orange, smaller and sweeter.

Solar winds harvested, about 300 on ground by Zeta.:dancing:

Heading to check on my beached boat now....
Jim...

PS: Thanks to all about concerns for me, My Admiral and boat.:):)
PSS: Seatow has a barge that can lift my boat. My insurance carrier moved quickly. I will put all in new thread soon.
 
Jan 1, 2006
7,039
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
It might be better to drift away from your slip and end up on some marsh or field than land on the marina poles.
 
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