Wave height - how high have you been?

[Kenneth Pfaff]

Not a very good judge, but seem to be at least ...

ten foot waves. This happened at the beginning of Sept, when we were heading from Stamford CT heading home to Haverstraw NY (on the Hudson). They were calling for small craft warnings later in the day so we left Stamford about 7:30am. After an hour or so the waves just kept building and building. It reached the point where I knew we shouldn't be out there. We road them all the way down Long Island Sound, until we got close to NYC, where they just died. It was only for 3 hours but it was very nasty. Next time we will hold up in the marina and not venture out.

 

[Steve Winkle]

OHMIGAWD!!

There we were, heading for Guadaloupe from an idyllic stay in Les Saintes. Good wind around 20 kts from the east and the seas were 4 - 6 ft. when we left Les Saintes. Typical Caribbean sailing weather. Not for long!About an hour out of Les Saintes, we got caught in a squall in which wave size increased dramatically from the aforementioned 4 - 6' to 10 - 12'. Admittedly, this is a judgement call based on how much of our boat was below the tops of the waves when we were in the trough. At the bottoms, we could see only water. Lots and lots of water. But seconds later, we crested and could see other boats experiencing similar conditions. Because most of the wind effect disappeared at the bottom of the troughs, we were motorsailing with doubly reefed main and jib rolled to about 50%. Strangely, though, the winds didn't seem to have increased that much. Later we heard that another charterer wasn't so lucky. Coming from the lee of Guadaloupe, they were knocked down as they passed the southern end of Grande Terre and were hit by the full force of the eastern wind. Seems they couldn't (or didn't) get their jib furled and had full sails when they were hit by the full fury of the wind. Luckily they survived, but evidently it soured some of the novices to the point of vowing never to set foot on another sailboat in their lives.Meanwhile, back on our boat, my wife was excitedly telling me how much she didn't like the conditions we were in. Mind you, her choice of vocabulary in describing her feelings, doesn't merit repeating. Suffice to say, she wasn't thrilled. However, bless her heart, once at anchor that night after a pleasant meal and bottle of wine, she asked, "Well, where do you want to go next year?" Music to my ears!Fair winds,SteveS/V Options

 

[kenny arceneaux]

12 footers

sailing off of st. lucia. this was exciting for the first few hours, but after 9 it got to be very tiring. the best part was long lining for tuna. made for a good dinner that night.

 

[Joe Ratliff]

Wave Height

The largest waves I have driven boats in were approximately 25 to 30 feet measured from trough to peak and very steep. These were encountered during January, 1986 about a mile offshore of the Ventura Harbor entrance. They were generated many miles offshore by a large winter storm (not local) and then built quickly in the shallow river delta near the harbor. The sets were 3-5 waves with frequencies of 30 seconds and intervals between sets of about five minutes.I was driving a commercial, 55 ft., twin-diesel Jeffreys with 50 passengers and crew. The first set took us by surprise when I saw the first wave about 200 yards off our stern. I instinctively and immediatley turned the vessel 180 degrees, jammed the throttles forward and headed for the wave. We raced up the front and reached the top as the wave was breaking. As we topped it, I cut the throttles to reduce our speed before falling into the trough. Two more 30 footers were in the set and I performed the same maneuver. We then idled back and counted the time for the next set to pass. Then, knowing this interval I waited for the following set to pass and then turned the vessel back towards the harbor and raced for the entrance. The next set and the frontal wave caught up with us right at the entrance and the "Sunfish" became a 55 foot surfboard which I controlled with the throttles to keep straight on the wave face. Luckily, we obviously made it and I became a believer of always watching behind, especially in relatively shallow waters and during winter months, whether there was a local storm or not.Sailboats require different moves and I don't recommend taking such waves on the bow because you usually don't have the power of momentum to get over the top. I have run down sea in these conditions, but keep in mind if you are fin-keeled, it is very difficult and stressful to keep the boat tracking straight without broaching.Good Luck!

 

[Jim]

My Wife said

Well, not really, she didn't say that.The largest waves...I was crewing in the Newport Ensanada and I was waked (woken?) up to take the helm at midnight for a 4 hour shift. (Islander, 41)I don't know how big the waves were, but I saw the stars disapear as the big combers came rolling in. The period was very long and the ride was farily smooth. I found a rythum to the helm and could antisapate the correction as the boat rose on each wave. We were very close reaching and I could see the leading edge of the jib light by a (steamer?) light on the mast. For my first ocean race it was a real confidence builder. I haven't seen any waves that large since and that was about 10 years ago.

 

[Bill Berns]

Perry Lake storm

I have a Macgregor 21. A friend and I were out on Lake Perry when a fast moving storm caught us. I was able to get the sails down and tied before the wind hit. We tried to get back to the marina by motoring but didn't make it. It started to rain and hail and I lost my bearings. I couldn't see anything. We estimate the height of the waves at the worst to be about 7ft. Heading into the wind and the waves just threw the boat around and I couldn't keep a heading. Going with the wind, we were surfing and again I didn't have any control. The most stable way was to go parallel with the waves. The boat rocked and pitched a lot and the propeller on the outboard was out of the water as much as in, but I was able to maintain some control of the boat. We finally were able to determine where we were and I was able to beach the boat and wait out the storm. The next day, we found out the winds at the lake were 70mph.

 

[Ray Schmidt]

1960 Bermuda Race

Enroute from Newport, Rhode Island to Bermuda during the 1960 race, we had 30 foot seas and 50 MPH winds with gusts to 80 for 2 days. We blew out all storm sails and were busy sewing them together to avoid broaching. Each crew member spent 2 hours on the wheel, tied down so that both hands were free to hold the wheel because the waves were breaking and rolling down on top of our 55 foot ketch. Kept storm sail and mizzen trimmed. We were at hull speed, 8 knots, all the time. Our navigator was tied to the mizzen mast to be able to hold the sextant at the end of the second day when there was some visibility. He could only see a horrizon when the boat was at a crest of the wave. During this time, we only saw one other top of mast when we were on a crest. We were never on a crest at the same time.

 

[steven f.]

surfing to Key West part II

We can certainly relate to the Key West story. NE winds sustained at 40kts with gusts, waves around 10-12 (according to the shrimpers out there with us). Surfing down the waves under bare poles at 8.5 knots, arrived in the NW channel at 0130 hrs. Gee, can't wait till the next trip to Cayo Hueso....

 

[Tim McCarty]

12-15 footers ON LAKE ERIE!!

No one ever believes me, but, it's the God's'honest truth...August 3, 1996...my two cousins and I were returning from Put-In-Bay, back to the western shore of Lake Erie. We were sailing my '82 h27 (at the time, I'd only owned her for less than a year, AND, had only been sailing for about 3 years prior). As we left PIB, the waves were about 3-4 feet. Winds were building. By the time we reached West Sister Island, which is about half way back, we were in total chaos...waves were 12-15 feet with the occasional 18 foot rogue wave. Seriously! It was all chop...not rollers. Maximum depth about 30 feet...stressful situation. Making way at about 3 knots (thanks to my trusy Yanmar 12 HP engine). Bare poles...had my jib out about 25% and the wind, now about 45 knots, ripped it to shreads. Yes, I should have double reefed the main, but, hindsight... I did manage to struggle to the foredeck and handroll the jib before it was completely destroyed (what was once a 150 genoa, is now about a 143%....Anyway, we eventually made it back to my marina (after which I immediately jumped off the boat and kissed the ground). I wrote, what I thought, was a great story (this, being a summary) and sent it to Sail Magazine...they were not interested. I DID in fact, learn a lot from that trip, and, now, with a Hunter 29.5...I think I would be able to handle things perhaps a bit better. I DO miss my h27...she was a good man is a storm...

 

[jack bolen]

waves

5 footers off the gulf side of sanibel island. quartered them and didnt have any trouble. but the bride thought them big enough to go back to the protected waters.

 

[ed j rowe]

wicked maiden voyage

in late sept i with one other person went to muskegon , mi to pick up a 1997 320 (wing keel), my friend and i had just purchased. the trip back to marinette, wi is approx. 140 nm. the expected weather called for 3-5 ft waves, 15-20 kt winds, but when (under power) we struggled at 1.8 kts to leave muskegon, we knew we would be in for much stonger weather. for the next 12 hours our boat endured 25-30 kt winds with true 6-8 ft waves, she handled them beautifully, i admit i was more than a little concerned, but after a few hours out there, i realized the boat could handle it. as for me, i don't particularily care to sail like that for a while, but am very glad to know the boat will handle it just fine. in addition, being out on Lake MI during a storm in late sept. isn't really where you want to be.

 

[Capt John Longfellow]

MacGregor is a piece of crap

Anyone noticed on the wave quiz that a vast majority of the Macgregor owners haven't sailed in much sea? That's because any macgregor that has sailed in larger waves never made it back to home port. Those who said they were in larger waves are lieing, period.Such pieces of crap, but the price is right!

 

[Rick D]

Well Capt. Longfellow, Perhaps Ye Overstates

One Memorial Day, our club had a cruise to the backside of Catalina Island. A fellow with three crew was sailing over in a Venture 24. He got caught in the beginning of a legndary local storm that sunk a couple of boats and took some lives. 15' seas and 50 knot winds for four hours before making the cove (for him: 30 hours for the storm as I recall). One of the few boats to make it in without some serious damage. They were decent sailors, which helped a lot, but the boat didn't fail them. Rick D.

 

[Phil Herring]

I'm also betting

that Capt. Longfellow never owned one. It's usually the case with opinions like that.

 

[Tom]

Well John Longfellow. A Macgregor is not really a

bad boat. Every boat has its place, though I would not say its place was circumnavigating. But that doesn't make it bad.I hate when I hear people putting down boats out of hand. There is another sailing website (name not to be mentioned) where there are a few people who love to trash any sailboats from the 3 big sailboat manufacturers. And it drives me nuts. (BTW, I think there is a little envy involved because we can actually cruise in comfort when we anchor somewhere.)Yeah there are pro's and con's to all boats and their will always some are faster/slower, more comfortable/less in big seas, easier/harder to handle, Better/worse in light winds, better/worse cockpit for sailing, better/worse cockpit for at anchor, etc, etcok...off soap box....lets see. Running in 25-30 knots of true wind with 10 -13 foot confused seas off Point Judith RI. (I saw one or two waves breaking) YeeHaw, it was fun . Thank god I didn't have to do that for too many hours though.

 

[Rick]

Ensenada race

Biggest waves were about 10' in the 2002 Newport Beach to Ensenada race. Came in the middle of the night. We were on a broad reach and it pushed the boat (Cat 36) to 9.9 kts. A storm front passed thru early that morning. We had the swells from the starboard quarter to almost dead astern as we ran outside the rhumb line. The steering needed a lot of opposite lock to keep her on course. We were sailing along side a pod of dolphins for a while and if you figure the average dolphin's body is about 1.5 feet from the bottom to the base of the dorsal fin, the waves were about 7 dolphins high. So... about 10 feet or more. This was verified in the video I shot. Great ride but we didn't win. At least we didn't place DFL.

 

[David Underwood]

Do i measure from the bottom up, or sky down?

In any case, i bet any and all of you have been in larger waves than I, but, i will say, I never hesitate to take Freebird out in a blow, and on Lake Lanier, if you get 5 or 6 footers.. your are in some serious wind. So, for what ever its worth, that's when my boat seems to come alive and want more, alot more. Love those Cherubinis!

 

[Mark]

Stop the boat Captain? Longfellow

So what are your qualifications smart arse.As discussed before it is the sailer not the yacht that makes it around the world!By the way I do not own a MacGregor.

 

[Dennis]

Bad Macs?

Now, now,now, if Macgregors were so bad, how come they have made it to the Bahamas and back so often? Could it instead be the skippers are good or bad? No offense!

 

[Hogan Cooper]

To John of Merdian

The lake was Bay Springs Lake in Northeast Mississippi. The winds were 25 gusting to 30 with an approaching cold front low pressure system leaving. The boat is a 23 foot Precision.Hogan