The weather today wasn't too great (30 - 50% chance of precip, depending on which site I looked at), but it was better than the past several times we've tried to go out so far this Summer, and being our last chance to go sailing for 3 or 4 weeks (and not knowing if our part of the Gulf would be even be suitable for sailing then due to the oil spill), we decided to go for it and just keep a close eye on the weather.
Our chartplotter receives XM weather, so I was constantly watching the radar on the sail to Cat Island (about 2 hours away). When we arrived at the island, there was a storm cell about 15 miles to the north of us, but it appeared to me that it was moving slowly northeast (winds were from the southwest, which may have unduly influenced my interpretation of this cell's movement). I didn't pay much attention to that one, instead watching a developing cell to the southwest that was considerably further away. I figured we could dinghy ashore, and just watch the sky to the southwest for signs of this storm approaching.
After the 10 minute dinghy ride, we had only been ashore for 15 minutes or so when we started hearing thunder from the north, and observed a noticeably darkening sky. My wife wanted to head back to the boat, but I insisted that this storm was not moving towards us. After a few minutes, I reluctantly agreed that we could head back to the boat, so I could show her on the radar and ease her concerns.
Of course, she was right, I was completely wrong. The radar showed what was becoming more and more obvious with the darkening sky... this storm was moving towards us, and FAST. I deflated and stowed the dinghy, and then we pulled up anchor and got out of there.
I'm not sure whether or not that was the wisest move. I didn't feel comfortable remaining anchored there, because we were only in about 5.5' of water (we draw 4'), and I was concerned that a wind shift due to downdrafts from the storm might swing us around towards shallower water. Looking at the movement of the storm on radar, and the shoals of the tip of the island we'd have to avoid, I figured that we could run to the west and only catch the edge of it, and that's how it worked out, but just barely (caught some gusty winds, and 10 minutes or so of moderate rain), as my wife closed all the hatches and hunkered down with the kids in the v-berth.
Anyway, I'm wondering what the best way to handle these kinds of situations would be in the future... I got lucky and didn't have to plow right through this one (or have it plow through me), but it was very close. Aside from "don't go out when there's a good chance of storms" (since during the Summer down here, these storms can pop up at any time in the afternoon), is it generally more desirable to be underway and trying to maneuver away from the worst of it, or would we have been better off simply dropping the anchor and riding out the storm down below? Our boat bucks like a bronco back and forth while at anchor... I'm not sure how it would behave in especially strong winds and confused seas. But there's only so much running away you can do at 5 knots.
There were two other sailboats in the area (both went through the stronger part of the storm than us), and although it was hard to tell for sure from that distance, I believe at least one of them stopped and anchored.
Also, I was amazed at the movement this storm exhibited. When we left the boat to go ashore, it was just meandering well to the north of us, with maybe a slight NE track. Yet when we got back to the boat after a half hour, it had not only blossomed in size considerably, but it was also moving decisively to the SSE.
--Michael
Our chartplotter receives XM weather, so I was constantly watching the radar on the sail to Cat Island (about 2 hours away). When we arrived at the island, there was a storm cell about 15 miles to the north of us, but it appeared to me that it was moving slowly northeast (winds were from the southwest, which may have unduly influenced my interpretation of this cell's movement). I didn't pay much attention to that one, instead watching a developing cell to the southwest that was considerably further away. I figured we could dinghy ashore, and just watch the sky to the southwest for signs of this storm approaching.
After the 10 minute dinghy ride, we had only been ashore for 15 minutes or so when we started hearing thunder from the north, and observed a noticeably darkening sky. My wife wanted to head back to the boat, but I insisted that this storm was not moving towards us. After a few minutes, I reluctantly agreed that we could head back to the boat, so I could show her on the radar and ease her concerns.
Of course, she was right, I was completely wrong. The radar showed what was becoming more and more obvious with the darkening sky... this storm was moving towards us, and FAST. I deflated and stowed the dinghy, and then we pulled up anchor and got out of there.
I'm not sure whether or not that was the wisest move. I didn't feel comfortable remaining anchored there, because we were only in about 5.5' of water (we draw 4'), and I was concerned that a wind shift due to downdrafts from the storm might swing us around towards shallower water. Looking at the movement of the storm on radar, and the shoals of the tip of the island we'd have to avoid, I figured that we could run to the west and only catch the edge of it, and that's how it worked out, but just barely (caught some gusty winds, and 10 minutes or so of moderate rain), as my wife closed all the hatches and hunkered down with the kids in the v-berth.
Anyway, I'm wondering what the best way to handle these kinds of situations would be in the future... I got lucky and didn't have to plow right through this one (or have it plow through me), but it was very close. Aside from "don't go out when there's a good chance of storms" (since during the Summer down here, these storms can pop up at any time in the afternoon), is it generally more desirable to be underway and trying to maneuver away from the worst of it, or would we have been better off simply dropping the anchor and riding out the storm down below? Our boat bucks like a bronco back and forth while at anchor... I'm not sure how it would behave in especially strong winds and confused seas. But there's only so much running away you can do at 5 knots.
There were two other sailboats in the area (both went through the stronger part of the storm than us), and although it was hard to tell for sure from that distance, I believe at least one of them stopped and anchored.
Also, I was amazed at the movement this storm exhibited. When we left the boat to go ashore, it was just meandering well to the north of us, with maybe a slight NE track. Yet when we got back to the boat after a half hour, it had not only blossomed in size considerably, but it was also moving decisively to the SSE.
--Michael
