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 Where did that come from?!		  New Topic  Topic Locked
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dasreboot
Admiral

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804 Posts
Initially Posted - 10/29/2015 :  14:12:24  Show Profile  Visit dasreboot's Homepage
Took off early from work today with 8 knot winds from the sw and overcast skies. I thought I could get a few good hours of sailing in aquia creek ( E-W creek) before i had other commitments. Right when i was rounding the usual turning point, the wind dropped and got flukey. I finished the turn and saw the sky was now clear in fromt of me. Where did those whitecaps come from? All of a sudden the wid chaged direction 3 or 4 times by at least 45 degrees and increased to approx 25 to 30 knots. Boat is heeling about 45 degrees, and I thought I'd better reef!

Turned into the wind and rolled up the headsail halfway. Pull on the first reefing line. With all the bouncing it had become fouled on a cotter pin. Grab the second one! winch it down. double reefed, half a headsail and I'm still doing over 5 knots and feel overpowered in the gusts. pull in more headsail. now it feels in control. Managed to sail the 3 miles back to the marina, and it was a fun ride after the initial shock.

When I got home, saw that a tree had falled on my kids playset, so a little idea of the weather event we had come through!

Remember to look behind once in a while, or the weather can sneek up on you!
Todd Lewis
Eowyn 87 TR/WK C25 #5656
ARWEN 84 TR/SK C25 #4031
www.mainsailsailingschool.com

Dave5041
Former Mainsheet Editor

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USA
3758 Posts
Response Posted - 10/31/2015 :  09:55:43  Show Profile
Always good to look around, and a reminder never hurts. I think that is the basis for tales of storms coming out of nowhere or developing so fast on Lake Erie. Storms take time to develop or arrive. Even moving at 40 mph, a 30 - 40 thousand feet high storm is visible a long time before it impacts. It doesn't always mean that one can avoid it, but there is time to prepare. Once you're in the nasty stuff, wind can change direction and strength in a flash. Reading the sky in all directions is part of seamanship. Most of our weather comes from SW to NW, but a bad boy can still slip in from any point of the compass.

Dave B. aboard Pearl
1982 TR/SK/Trad. #3399
Lake Erie/Florida Panhandle
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Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9089 Posts
Response Posted - 10/31/2015 :  11:51:08  Show Profile
On a cold front that runs SW to NE and is moving to the SE, it's common for a cell to run SW to NE along the front. Sailing to the east or south in a SW breeze before the cell arrives, sitting to windward, you'll have your back to the cell, and then.....

Rule 1: Beware of frontal lines--clear on one side and clouds on the other. Rule 2: (You've already said it.) Finally, "where did those whitecaps come from?" Hmmmmm........ Dark water approaching is a signal.
Dave Bristle
Association "Port Captain" for Mystic/Stonington CT
PO of 1985 C-25 SR/FK #5032 Passage before going over to the Dark Side (2007-2025); now boatless for the first time since 1970 (on a Sunfish).
Edited by - Stinkpotter on 10/31/2015 11:52:23
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Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.