Terrible pictures...Tsunami reaches US

May be! But we do forget the World is a living thing with her own unpredicatable movement.
Sometimes I see Discovery and a star lieing 100 miles away can explode and still destroy everything in its path.
If you start to think we are really just parasites hanging on here.
So enjoy the life till you can.
 
PowerYachtBlog said:
May be! But we do forget the World is a living thing with her own unpredicatable movement.
Sometimes I see Discovery and a star lieing 100 miles away can explode and still destroy everything in its path.
If you start to think we are really just parasites hanging on here.
So enjoy the life till you can.
Click to expand...

Deep man.
 
One of my best mates is just south of LA over the border in Mexico. Spoke with him yesterday, they all cast off and went to sea to ride out the waves, nothing much happened. They all returned to the marina and within minutes they saw a wall of white water, luckily virtually no damage, I guess having a Nordhavn 63 helps.
Nothing in comparison to the carnage in Japan.
 
longjohnsilver said:
One of my best mates is just south of LA over the border in Mexico. Spoke with him yesterday, they all cast off and went to sea to ride out the waves, nothing much happened. They all returned to the marina and within minutes they saw a wall of white water, luckily virtually no damage, I guess having a Nordhavn 63 helps.
Nothing in comparison to the carnage in Japan.
Click to expand...

If you had enough pre-warning (and possibly hindsight), I'd rather take my chances out in deep water where the surge is just that, prior to it shallowing and becoming destructive.

Maybe people over think natural disaster events, but after Christchurch and Japan, I heard it mentioned California is nearly due again, being part of the Pacific rim.
 
We were in LA last week and saw two of the 'events' One was the millions of dead sardines floating in the harbour and then on Saturday, the Tsunami. We were at Dana Point (had gone there to look at Nordhavns). About 100 of the boats left the marina and were out for hours riding out the wave, some of them hit major currents coming back in though long after the wave had hit. I had never realised that it has a knock on effect for hours afterwards.

Not sure how to do links so if you google Nordhavn Tsunami Dana Point you will come up with a 75ft Nordhavn having major problems re-entering the marina.

AndieMac, I suspect it is only a matter of time before California gets the big one again
 
From the horses mouth (nearly)

This is what someone who knows the Captain of the boat in question ...

"The 75 captain did know about the Tsunami. The marina had asked larger boats to depart the marina during the arrival of the Tsunami.

The video was taken later in the day when the 75 was coming back to port after their time waiting out the Tsunami. Apparently there were surges that continued throughout the day, and intermittent slack times. The 75 was coming back into the marina during one of the slack times, and following other boats who made it in safely.

When this occured, the current had risen rapdily from slack to 12+ knots without warning"


Then this from another Nordhavn owner that was there ...

"The EYF 75 was not arriving in Dana Point but trying to get back into the harbor and it's mooring in front of PAE's offices. On the morning of the projected tsunami the harbor authorities suggested that the bigger boats and those moored near the entrance and in the East Basin leave the harbor and wait 2 miles offshore. Most of the Nordhavns, all of the commercial boats and a lot of the "larger" boats did just that. About 100 boats sat offshore waiting the the big wave to hit at approximately 8:30 AM. The harbor and all of it's entrances were ultimately closed and no one was allowed near their boats. The "big one" never arrived and the harbor was reopened about noon. However, a series of tidal surges began to hit the marina in the late morning. The surge would go into the harbor creating a current of 8-12 knots at the entrance and even more pronounced at the entrance to the east basin channel. Initially, there would be a window of slack current lasting about 10 minutes before the water would rush back out. As the day progressed this slack period diminished to 2-3 minutes but the currents persisted (well into the night). It took 6-8 attempts for us to catch a wide enough window to get our 47 back into it's slip. About 4 PM we found a small window in which to do it and the currents were only 5-6 knots at the time.
>
> I watched from my flybridge just about 100 yards away when the 75 tried to get back in shorly thereafter. It was even scarier than the video shows. He was timing a slack window when the current suddenly picked up, unexpectedly, to the 12+ knot range. The skipper realized that and tried to abort. He barely made it, just missing the sea wall next to the harbor patrol offices. He did a good job in a very tricky and unpredicable situation.
>
> There was little if any damage to the marina but 24 hours later there was still a surge cycle into and out of the harbor lasting just 8-12 minutes"
 
A view from Hawaii

Another Nordhavn owner from currently in Hawaii tells his story ...

"Aloha all, just thought I'd give a brief on how the tsunami affected us in
Oahu.

We got the first notice around 2003 via our cell phone from the Pacific
Tsunami Center which is located in Ewa Beach on Oahu....I'm a bit curious as
to why it is located in an area that would be affected by a large tsunami
but they never asked me before they built it there ;-) Hawaii has a very
good alert system and the horns went off about hourly from 2110 till the
first wave at around 0330. So everyone had plenty of time to make evacuate
the low lying areas and move they boats out to deeper water.

We left our dock at the Ala Wai Marina at 0030 and joined the several
hundred boat procession out to sea.

Though the channel is narrow and the swell picks up just outside the
breakwater there were few boats that had a problem. They ranged in size from
the small 20-odd footer up to 70/80'. Some had a top speed of 2 kts and
other had a minimum speed of 5 in gear so there was a lot of clutching going
on to avoid running up on the slow boats!

Once we made it to the outer channel markers we could leave Swan Song in
gear and thread our way at idle thru the mass of boats already out there.
Many of the boat had no lights and other had but one or two so visual watch
was imperative as a small boat would appear just under the bow reflecting
our running light. I had our radar on and at one time counter more than a
100 returns inside 1 mile full screen. I had to run in manual tune mode as
in auto the radar thought they must be sea clutter and tried to tune them
out.

Using our spot light was not an option as with so many boats they'd be
blinded so just plan slow speed and good visual was the plan. We eventually
worked our way out to 4 miles off Diamond head where there were fewer boats
but there were still in the order of 25 or so within a mile radius.

The seas were 4-6' with a 15 kts easterly tradewind. Lots of rolling about
by the other boats as Swan Song just sits in that kind of a seaway sideways
with our anti-roll tank (ART) doing its thing. Almost embarrassing well in a
situation like this. I certainly would not have like to be out there all
night rolling to the point that some of the sailboats were. Heck, I didn't
even have to hold my coffee cup ;-)

The reports of the first wave started to come in around 0330 as the reefs at
Waikiki were exposed. Several boats that remained at the marina were on the
bottom and listing over. At sea we felt nothing during the whole event. As
the morning wore on more reports of boats caught under dock , breaking dock
line and ripping fenders keep coming in. Many of the boats are owned by
absentee owners so can't really leave on a moment's notice. We got some
reports of docks breaking down at Keehi Lagoon but nothing much as it was
still dark. About 0545 a friend called from Keehi to say that the Keehi
Marine Center docks had broken away and the hundred or so boats and the
marina were floating away back and forth in the Lagoon ramming into other
marinas and dock.

We had been expecting that we'd be able to go back in when the all clear
signal was given for the land based residents. However the Coast Guard
closed all ports on all the islands till they could do an assessment of
damages and to make sure the channels were clear to return. The Ala Wai was
opened at 1200 so we got in line and were at the entrance buoys around 1300
in a line that stretched into the harbor and back out to sea a mile or so.

Now a tsunami isn't a single point of time event as it rings the ocean like
a bell. The waves reflect off of everything so the sea is always moving. In
shallow water this creates an ebb and flow that changes very quickly and can
be several knots. It is also very unpredictable as to the velocity at any
one time and varies from location to location ( I'm talking feet here)
depending on the bottom and the eddies. Suffice to say that the lineup
coming back into the harbor wasn't as straight as it was going out. Some
folks that were unfamiliar with the situation or didn't have the power would
be turned around in a few seconds which would tend to disrupt the one way
traffic as everyone tried to apply their brakes and yet keep under control
themselves. One 70' boat turned 180 degrees several times during this
process but was lucky and didn't hit the breakwater or anyone else.

As folks turned into the fairways the current would be pushing them this way
and that so much so that missed approaches were the norm. The "ringing" was
such that even 10 hours after the first wave the currents in the harbor were
running 4-5 kts and reversing about every 7-10 minutes. We were following a
twin screw 68' with a bow thruster and I was worried that he might have a
missed approach which was the case. He decided to back down the fairway,
which is about 100' wide, more or less sideway which meant I had to back
down and ditto the folks behind me. Always adds to the pucker power as the
current now changes and upsets the chessboard. Lots of 3 blasts going on and
a few fivers!

He gave it another go as we milled around more or less under control of the
varying velocity and directions of the current. This time his approach was
not even as close as the last time to his slip and he was preparing to
collided with 3 boats already in there slips. However the current changed at
the nick of time and pushed him back into the fairway so he decided to
continue further down the fairway.

Now it is Swan song's turn to delight the onlookers! Current direction
noted? Check! Current velocity noted? Check! Wind direction? Check! Nancy
ready to get the stern line off the pilling? Check! So I nudge the bow into
the slip between the dock and the concrete piling just as the clock runs out
on the current direction and the stern suddenly is heading 180 degrees from
the bow! 3 toots a little hit on reverse and we are 3 slips down for ours
but in the middle of the fairway. Now we have several minutes of this
current direction to come back into the slip from the other direction....Ah
fits like a glove, lines secured and that's the end of the pucker part. Now
we have to deal with the water level variation of about 4' up and down in
the same 7-10 minute period.

This is always interesting to get used to as it's like a 12 hour tide change
every few minutes. Some of the height changes are smaller and occasionally
one is much larger. This goes on with a decreasing amount until late
Saturday or 36 hours after that first wave. As a matter of fact even today
there is still a rapid but small change happening.

Keehi Lagoon is just now, Sunday, opening to a few boats, those folks have
had to stay out at anchor since the beginning or try to find a slip in
another harbor. Hawaii doesn't have any "spare" slips so doing so has been
difficult. We are still getting damage reports from other areas but it looks
like somewhere around 200 boats have been damaged or sunk. Again reports
aren't easy to get and the coconut telegraph tends to add "story" to the
real situation. However, the "news media" tend to underplay the damage as it
might affect tourism.

We left the Caribbean after many years of dealing with hurricanes, too many
to even keep track of, and now in the last year we have had 2 tsunamis to
deal with here in Hawaii; Chile and Japan. Personally I think the hurricanes
are easier as they are much more predictably. If you look at the actual
energy plots by NOAA of this event Hawaii was very lucky as there was a much
stronger tongue of energy that was just to the west of us. If that had been
close the on shore wave heights might have been double or even triple the
4-8' that has been reported. Very little of Hawaii's shore side structure
would have stood up to that force.

So the Hawaiian Islands have been lucky. For us boaters getting off the dock
and into deep water certainly is the right thing to do if your boat is to
have a chance to deal with the rise/fall of water and the currents it
generates. For those of us who are self-insured it is the only way to deal
with it. Those who have insurance can join the cue 3 boats down from me at
the local insurance agent's onboard office ;-)
 
Mapis,

You asked our impressions of Nordhavn.

We have had our eye on one for a couple of years now. Our plan in the next 2-3 years is to slip the lines and head off around the world, not a circumnavigation as such, just tootling here and there.

We have seen them at the Hamble and looked round a couple and been very impressed. We spend a lot of our time in the US so when we were in LA we thought we would go to the 'head office'. Interestingly enough their offices are really quite "tatty" - to me that indicated that they are more interested in the boats rather than having a flash office.

The boats are very solid, mahoosive engines and engine room, the 55 that we were looking at has 3K+ cruising range, about 8-9 knots though rather than the 20-30 knots we are used to! They are a lot deeper (higher?) than our current boat (Sealine) and have loads of inside space therefore you could quite comfortably live on it for a long time.

They are also deemed to be able to handle very heavy seas, though I would rather not put them to the test, I am sure I will have to some time!

Just pondering now whether to buy new; specced exactly what we want or 2nd hand; all niggles ironed out and a little cheaper - and whether to buy here in US or UK.
 
AyeSkipper said:
They are also deemed to be able to handle very heavy seas, though I would rather not put them to the test, I am sure I will have to some time!
Click to expand...

They will handle a heavy sea, as long as the crew can put up with it also.

Its been said, just take baby steps, even for a couple of years, until the 'entire' crew feel confident about their own abilities to cope will deep sea passages. Often that will depend on the example set by the skipper.

A strict regime of preventative maintenance, as well as a confident understanding and ability to effect repairs and maybe improvise at sea, appear important factors also.

Thanks for the interesting reports on the tsunami.
 
AyeSkipper said:
We spend a lot of our time in the US so when we were in LA we thought we would go to the 'head office'. Interestingly enough their offices are really quite "tatty" - to me that indicated that they are more interested in the boats rather than having a flash office.
Click to expand...
Funny, I've been there 18 months ago or so, and I didn't have such impression. I wouldn't have called those office (at the upper floor of the building along the marina main road, right?) flashy, but surely not tatty either.
And I got an overall different impression also from their approach, but we're now going O/T.
I'd just recommend, if you're new to displacement trawlers, to look around a bit and not put too much value on a brand per se. With all due respect for Sealine, you're bound to be impressed by even a mediocre trawler builder in comparison, because anything will be tougher than in a planing boat.
All the best for your plan anyway, sounds great!
 
Mapis,

I guess by tatty, I meant it was unlike any boat sales offices I have been to in the UK. I am talking about Sealine, Sunseeker etc who are always sleek with mirrors, glass, pretty pictures etc! I actually said to my OH that I was impressed with the way they operated insofaras they weren't trying to sell their office but just concentrate on the boats.

I have to admit though that we haven't looked at any other brand, apart from Selene I haven't heard of that many ocean going motor cruisers?
 
AyeSkipper said:
I have to admit though that we haven't looked at any other brand, apart from Selene I haven't heard of that many ocean going motor cruisers?
Click to expand...
Interesting subject, well worth an entirely new thread.
Anyway, with those two builders you've only scratched the surface of what the market has to offer...
There are ocean going MoBos also in steel or steel+alu, to start with.
Besides, there are not only full displacement, but also semi-D vessels which can qualify as ocean going.
Last but not least, they're built in various yards around the globe.
Are you sure that you want to restrict your choice to GRP, full displacement, Chinese built boats?
 
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