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Big storm a comin'

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Voyager
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
5429 Posts

Initially Posted - 09/17/2012 : 18:37:10

NOAA is predicting a major wind and rain event in the Northeast starting Tuesday morning. Thunderstorms with strong gusty winds and strong steady southerlies are predicted throughout the afternoon, evening and overnight. It's a "perfect storm" being the combination of some tropical energy in a warm front from the Southeastern states with a strong cold front moving in from the upper Midwest.
Winds are expected to build to 20-30 kts in the warm sector ahead of the cold front, and in thunderstorms, gusts to 50+ kts are possible.
Yesterday, as I was leaving Passage, I doubled up the lines and double wrapped the furled jib.
I noticed that none of my neighbors had taken any special precautions.
Hoping for the best, prepared for the worst!

Bruce Ross
Passage ~ SR-FK ~ C25 #5032

Port Captain � Milford, CT

Edited by - on

redviking
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1771 Posts

Response Posted - 09/17/2012 : 22:22:14

By double wrapping the jib, do you mean that you took the spin halyard and got it aswinging around the jib from the top to the bottom? Properly executed, you can get a wrap every foot or so over the entire length of the rolled jib or genny as the case may be.

While putting extra wraps from the sheets on the jib helps. The aforementioned method is the only proven way to prevent even a small scrap of sail from starting to tear. I also wrap the main on the boom if leaving it on.

sten

Edited by - on

Voyager
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
5429 Posts

Response Posted - 09/18/2012 : 05:40:19

Sten
Almost - I did not use a spare halyard, but tied a line into a slip knot around the furled jib above the clew and pushed it up about 8 ft with my boat pole. Pulled it tight as I wrapped it a few times around the furled sail. Not ideal but better than my neighbors. I hadn't thought of your recommended approach because I've never tried it or seen it done. I plan to practice the halyard technique in better conditions.

Edited by - on

CarbonSink62
Navigator

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USA
208 Posts

Response Posted - 09/18/2012 : 06:37:07

I never thought to wrap a line around my main on the boom.

Edited by - on

OLarryR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3478 Posts

Response Posted - 09/18/2012 : 08:51:53

We have heavy winds with sporadic horizontal rain. Just received office EMail that there is a "tornado watch" from now thru 7pm with worst of the winds/storm expected around 4pm.

Given that we are at work and received this office EMail, we are wondering if we should interpret the "tornado watch" as stopping all work and start watching near the windows ?

I have been putting bungee cords above and below where the sheets wrap on my furled genoa but Sunday I decided for whatever reason to not put the bungee cords on and so I have to hope that my furling line stays cleated and the furled wraps stay intact. I could go to the boat around 330pm and attach the bungee cords ...but the storm is supposed to be worse at that hour and so.....I'm thinking about it. The thing is "Do I feel lucky" to not have the bungee cords on or "lucky" if I attempt to go at 330pm onto the floating docks without getting blown off to hook them on ?

Edited by - on

TakeFive
Master Marine Consultant

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2272 Posts

Response Posted - 09/18/2012 : 10:03:46

I went past the boat on the way to work this morning to secure my boom a little better. I also tightened up the genoa sheets/furling line a bit, but hadn't seen this suggestion about wrapping the spare halyard around the forestay. If I can break free early from work I may swing by again and try that, although the wind is definitely picking up already (22 mph sustained, 32 gust).

The boat has survived 70 mph gusts before with no extra precautions, but that was a short burst, not a 12 hour sustained blow.

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Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9089 Posts

Response Posted - 09/18/2012 : 10:30:39

I've wrapped the genny with the halyard--I did it so the halyard spiraled opposite to the leech so it held the edge down in as many spots as possible, and tried to keep the spiral even from top to bottom. (If the spiral is closer together on one end, it can allow the whole thing to loosen.)

I've seen what can happen when the wind gets under the edge of a rolled sail and pulls it away--not pretty.

In some cases I wrapped a dock-line around the main--in more serious conditions I just removed the halyard, rolled the sail up, slid it off the boom and stowed it below--not that big of an effort. An alternative (for hurricane warnings) is to stow the boom below with the sail on--a fairly easy 2-person job, and doable by one.

Edited by - on

dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 09/18/2012 : 13:11:30

At my boatyard, someone found out the hard way what happens if you don't properly secure the sails prior to a wind storm.

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TakeFive
Master Marine Consultant

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2272 Posts

Response Posted - 09/18/2012 : 13:19:44

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by dlucier
 At my boatyard, someone found out the hard way what happens if you don't properly secure the sails prior to a wind storm.

<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Wow, he is lucky the whole boat didn't blow over.

I tried to get to my boat, but I got there right at high tide. The river water is flooding block away from the marina, so I can't even get close. I will have to hope for the best.

Edited by - on

OLarryR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3478 Posts

Response Posted - 09/18/2012 : 15:38:36

I checked mine out around 4pm and it was fine. All the boats seemed okay. We are in a semi-protected marina and that helps. By 7pm the storm is spposed to pass us. By 4pm the worst was over and it has not gotten bad since then. Most of the high winds and rain were earlier between 1-3pm.

Edited by - on

bear
Admiral

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USA
909 Posts

Response Posted - 09/18/2012 : 16:08:56

Measured 4.5" of rain here in Schenectady, N.Y. today. They say winds could gust over 50 but haven't seen that here. Cold front due to go through with in the next 2 hours.

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dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 09/18/2012 : 19:37:13

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by TakeFive
 Wow, he is lucky the whole boat didn't blow over.

I tried to get to my boat, but I got there right at high tide. The river water is flooding block away from the marina, so I can't even get close. I will have to hope for the best.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

This is what happens if we get a lot of gusty wind out of the west for a fair amount of time.

Edited by - on

hinmo
Navigator

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USA
248 Posts

Response Posted - 09/18/2012 : 23:59:54

3am - Buzzards Bay Tower steady at 36kts pure 180 deg S. Thank God for the South, Mattapoisett is wide-open to the SE. Its the difference between 3ftrs vs. 6ftrs in the mooring area (note - 1000 boats on moorings).

Sunday I checked the mooring lines, double wrapped the sail cover, lashed down the boom extra tight, same with the rudder.

Edited by - hinmo on 09/19/2012 00:01:48

TCurran
Admiral

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USA
588 Posts

Response Posted - 09/19/2012 : 04:51:39

Hope you all come out without damage.

During a storm last Oct I had to deal with a unfurled jib on an in water C-22, just as one of my workers and I secured the jib the port upper (windward side) popped out of the spreader. Another five seconds and the mast would have crashed. We left that boat to another flapping roller, this time a Watkins 27. As we were working that one (had two additional helpers) the wind was blowing the boat over to where you had to hang on or wedge a foot on the hand rail to stay on the boat. The C-22 sail was ok, the Watkin's sail was toast.

All this on a weekend my daughter was suppose to have a beach wedding...ended up a great weekend, wedding moved inside and we got to practice our hurricane party procedures.

Again, hoping for no damage for you guys....let us know.

Edited by - on

DaveR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
2015 Posts

Response Posted - 09/19/2012 : 05:37:27

I remember that one Tom, shot [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-siDOgDD6jo"]this footage[/url] of Bamboo during.

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Voyager
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
5429 Posts

Response Posted - 09/19/2012 : 10:55:30

Checked Passage on the mooring dock last night after the peak of the storm. My local NOAA weather station reported a gust of 46kts, however sustained winds started around noon and kept up until around midnight.
From my vantage point about 200 yards away, the furled jib and covered main looked intact, she was connected to the floating dock securely on her lines and none of the neighboring boat's had broken free (miracles!).
Planning to do the full inventory this evening.

Edited by - on

Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9089 Posts

Response Posted - 09/19/2012 : 12:04:48

[url="http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=44039"]Long Island Sound buoys[/url] reported a peak of about 33 steady, gusting to 48. My area might have been a little higher, but the New London station stopped reporting during the storm.

Edited by - on

hinmo
Navigator

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USA
248 Posts

Response Posted - 09/19/2012 : 17:36:59

all fine. One inflatable busted lose on the town dingy dock. A couple degrees more towards the East, and it would have been a whole different story.

Come-on!! - a week of vacation upcoming next week...give me some nice cool fall weather.

Edited by - on

TakeFive
Master Marine Consultant

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2272 Posts

Response Posted - 09/20/2012 : 05:32:28

I went to the boat last night and everything was fine. Even the fools who left their bimini tops up seemed to fare OK. [url="http://windalert.com/spot/18105"]Windalert.com[/url] showed sustained winds of 22-32 mph, gusts up to 45, but everything suddenly died off at 6pm. My boat has survived much worse with no problems.

Even better news was that my latest attempt to fix the leaky speaker in my cockpit was 100% successful. Despite the deluge of wind-driven rain, there was not a drop of water in my battery compartment. Previously I had to tape plastic over the speaker, and would still typically find a few ounces of water after every rain event. Now it's completely dry.

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Voyager
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
5429 Posts

Response Posted - 09/20/2012 : 08:09:21

As I arrived at Passage last eve I was greeted by a harbor full of bluefish chasing schools of bunker, pink, orange and magenta cirrus clouds in an azure blue sky in the light of the setting sun and a thin crescent moon. Photos to follow.
Passage was dry inside, sails intact and lines were secure.

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