Is enough made of the Squall ?

[Peppermint]

Caught out

even though I'd seen it coming.

I was sailing my E-Boat single handed off Swanage SW F4 sun was shining andeverything going well. I was towing a Zodiac Serie 131 tender and I was listening to a bit of Cricket on the radio. I saw the big black clouds pushing out from the land and a host of seabirds getting out of it's way so I tacked back for Poole and took in a bit of sail.

When it hit it was the full monty. Wind, rain and hail the boat had a lie down and the tender took off. Now when an E-Boat lies down they often sink. Water gets up through the casing and if you drop down to the leeside to release the jib sheets that should just about do it. So I was a passenger. I tried to push the tiller away but it was jammed. The reason it was jammed was that the revolving airborne tender had twisted it's painter so tight it was wedge up against the transome hung rudder. So how much wind do you need to treat a 90lb tender like lolly stick.

Later it became obvious, when the wind dropped completely and the ebb set in that the offset outboard bracket had allowed the engine to spend some time underwater so an unexpected night at Studland was the result.

Several heavy displacement boats nearby had sail damage but I suspect that I was spared that by the speed with which mine capitulated.

 

[BrendanS]

Re: How do you train/tell anyone about squalls

Someone quizzed me a while back on hang gliding, and if sailors could transfer experience to hang gliding. I replied at the time that sailing was good grounding, but that hg pilots had to be able to appreciate three dimensions. Maybe I was wrong?

hg pilots are rarely caught by squalls of the type being described in this thread. I suspect the real difference is that a bad squall to a sailor is potentially dangerous, and could be expensive. Similar to a hg pilot is likely fatal. The result that observation of cloud formations is far more acute, and always looking for conditions that could result in extreme wind changes.

I'm certain that sailing, I don't have the same perception of wind conditions that I had when hang gliding for that reason, even though I have the skills. Complacence?

 

[peterb]

Re: >How long ago was that squall?< 1969 or 1970??? nm

Not the same one then. Mine was about 1978. We were a couple of miles east of the power station, looked west and saw a white line on the water with lots of yachts being knocked flat. Scrambled to hand the hanked-on genoa, but couldn't do anything about the full main before the squall struck. Quite interesting!

 

[ponapay]

Yes, knocked flat

when the sea looked calm to windward and the offshore breeze was only force 3 to 4.

We were heading west off the N coast of Scotland when, appearing slowly, high level lenticular clouds began to form in an otherwise clear sky. The forecsat was for F3 to 4 S winds.

Shortly after we were knocked violently flat, spreaders into the water, down flooding in the cockpit and wife yelling. The boat came upright quickly (thank goodness we are a monohull with plenty of lead in the keel) and we released the mainsheet and reduced to 1/3 main and changed the genoa for no 2 jib.

About 3 miles further west the same re-occurred, though this time the spreaders did not quite reach the sea - and wife now knew what to expect!

After another 2 hours we were about to enter harbour and to take down the sails when we were hit with another gust, I was on deck and only just able to stay on board - thank goodness for a strong harness and lifeline (hooked on to windward cap shroud). The main sheet shackle burst and the boom skyed, the falling boom did not quite tear the sail with the sudden load but pulled some stitches.

The harbour master asked how we had got on and told us that his anemometer registered 72 knots, he also said that it had registered 65 knots in Inverness.

The lenticular clouds at high level clearly had a much larger effect than would normally be felt at the surface. I know from my aviating days to stay well clear of them as they can spell disaster.

 

[ponapay]

In the Lindholm Lob - sails shredded

luckily not mine.

We were approaching from the S to pas through Lindholm Lob (very narrow and shallow) with full main, mizzen and genoa in about W force 5. And noticed a nasty dark cloud approaching from the NW as we got to the first stbd hand buoy, so dropped all sails and put on the motor - probably should do that for Lindholm Lob anyway - and were hit within seconds by a heavy thunderstorm with some of the thickest rain I have ever seen accompanied by 45 knot gusts. I had turned round to get into deeper water and to wait foir the squall to pass which it did within 10 minutes.

Passing through the Lob we encountered a S going gaffer heaing for Langor with shredded head sails flying free from the head stays.

We followed them down the channel to Langor and anchored for the night - lovely clear, warm and pleasent evening it was too.

There are benefits of being bermudan rig, the ability to get the sails down quickly is god sent.

 

[LadyInBed]

Re: lenticular clouds

I didn't know what they were but found some good cloud pics at
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://vortex.plymouth.edu/clouds.html>http://vortex.plymouth.edu/clouds.html</A>

 

[Mirelle]

Well, that makes me feel better

After one really good scare, almost twenty years ago, I have become almost religious about thunder clouds. This summer, approaching the entrance to my local river, I took in the big headsail, reefed the main, closed porthoes and hatches, put on oilies.....and nothing happened!

 

[Guest]

Just down the road a bit, Colne Estuary, I saw a superb demonstartion of good seamanship.There were about 75 dinghys racing, with a mixture of 2 up and single handers ( school holidays and school aged children). I was in my 27' cruiser and a squall came from nowhere and blew to buggery. When I finally got my sails down I looked round and every dinghy had capsized. There was no panic, and they managed to get upright despite very rough seas with the wind and rain still blowing hard. They then lowered as much sail as necessary ( no reefing for these at sea) and ran before the wind to the shore which was over a mile in some places.Great to see from youngsters !

This year, a single handed pal of mine in a 20' gaffer had a bad time in the River Crouch - well inland as it happens. Big wind, rough seas and stair rod rain. His anchor gragged and heading for the sea wall ( high tide). Had to cut himself free and reckoned he was lucky to keep the boat. You could see that this one had really got to him and he's been sailing since the early fifties.

I think most of us have had a 'bad one' which we have learned from - hopefully without loss. It's all part of the game I suppose - but no one warned me of them, but keeping the old ' weather eye' going at all times should be carved into the cockpit or tillers of all boats.

 

[jimi]

Re: Well, that makes me feel better

reckon that's what happens about 80% of the time, However its still worth it for the other 20%.Temptation is to get blaise but that usually ends up costing big time at some point.

 

[Guest]

Can you remember the name of that schooner..

It was anchored in the eastern seaboard of the USA , pre war , about 100' long ?

Lovely weather, then a bad squall came.

She layed over on her beam ends, all hatches, skylights open etc. Filled up and sank. 5 people dead I think.

 

[Mirelle]

Re: Can you remember the name of that schooner..

No, to my annoyance I cannot, but I know the incident you are referring to. However, I put the date earlier, about the 1880's or maybe the 1870's. Centreboarder. sails hoisted to dry,guests having lunch below decks, knocked over just like that - spelled the end of the "pure" centreboarder in American yachting, with the importation of British plank on edge types and the eventual development of the proper keel centreboarders, with normal GZ curves.