Doghouse
Member
This past weekend was a great learning experience.
I looked at the weather, and it was predicted to be ok until Sunday afternoon, at which point the wind would build into the 15-20 knot range. That gave me a big enough window to feel safe about going with the club to a local marina for a weekend cruise.
Well the weather moved faster than expected and overnight the rain came and by morning it was a fog / drizzle with winds 15-20 building to 20-30 by the afternoon. Well we skipped breakfast and cast off the lines. SWMBO made coffee and bagels while we were in the river heading out. It was an hour to the mouth of the river with a little food in us and a strange building moving down the river towards us. Hmmm… Buildings don’t float! I quickly changed course as this area has a lot of military and container ships. It was a French frigate coming in to ride out the storm. That is weird I though but the other boats in the club had not turned back, they were following me. Mind you I only have a 27’ Hunter (05) and they are all in the 36-47’ range so I figured it can’t be all that bad out there.
Well the James River was running 3-4’ waves from multiple directions but mainly from the North-East. Not bad, but enough to make the dog decide that my wife’s lap was the only place safe on the boat. Now I am down to single handing the trip. Anyone who has crossed over the Hampton Roads Tunnel knows that the water is always rough. Well the tide was going out and the wind was blowing in. I never realized how big a 6’ wave was until we were riding through them. Every third or fourth wave would be over the bow and running down the sides of the boat. One was big enough to put water on the coach top roof. I can hear the other boats talking, but my mind was on the waves in front of the boat. Well we punched through and the bay settled down to a comfortable 3-4’ sea. I never thought that I would put those words in one sentence.
Now I have time to look around and realize there is only 1 boat with me. Where is everyone else? A second boat is just starting to come along and some of the rest turned back. Now I think I must be crazy for doing this when the wife says “This really is not that bad out here. I expected it to be much worse.†Now I know she is crazy!
The next two hours become a pattern as we climb up one wave then splash the next. Well the dog has emptied everything she has eaten in the last 6 months on the floor and decided to curl up in the bow to die. I am starting to think about how to build a machine to simulate the motion the boat is going through as my gluts’ and thighs are getting one heck of a workout. Wait, is that a crab pot? Yup, I realize we are in the middle of a field of crab pots. Now is NOT the time I want to wrap a pot around my prop. Luckily the fog has lifted and the rain has stopped so we can see them and work our way around the bigger waves and lines of crab pots.
Finally safe at the dock, a neighbor says he was watching us and could not believe how well the boat was taking the waves. Well honestly I could not believe it either. We only had one door pop open and no damage to the boat.
Lessons learned:
1. Never trust the weatherman!
2. A dodger is one of the best things for a boat. Too bad I don’t have one.
3. Sunglasses will protect your eyes from salt spray.
4. Radar can see much better in the fog. Need to add that to the next boat.
5. SWMBO is a better sailor that I ever expected!
6. You never know what you can do until you try.
I looked at the weather, and it was predicted to be ok until Sunday afternoon, at which point the wind would build into the 15-20 knot range. That gave me a big enough window to feel safe about going with the club to a local marina for a weekend cruise.
Well the weather moved faster than expected and overnight the rain came and by morning it was a fog / drizzle with winds 15-20 building to 20-30 by the afternoon. Well we skipped breakfast and cast off the lines. SWMBO made coffee and bagels while we were in the river heading out. It was an hour to the mouth of the river with a little food in us and a strange building moving down the river towards us. Hmmm… Buildings don’t float! I quickly changed course as this area has a lot of military and container ships. It was a French frigate coming in to ride out the storm. That is weird I though but the other boats in the club had not turned back, they were following me. Mind you I only have a 27’ Hunter (05) and they are all in the 36-47’ range so I figured it can’t be all that bad out there.
Well the James River was running 3-4’ waves from multiple directions but mainly from the North-East. Not bad, but enough to make the dog decide that my wife’s lap was the only place safe on the boat. Now I am down to single handing the trip. Anyone who has crossed over the Hampton Roads Tunnel knows that the water is always rough. Well the tide was going out and the wind was blowing in. I never realized how big a 6’ wave was until we were riding through them. Every third or fourth wave would be over the bow and running down the sides of the boat. One was big enough to put water on the coach top roof. I can hear the other boats talking, but my mind was on the waves in front of the boat. Well we punched through and the bay settled down to a comfortable 3-4’ sea. I never thought that I would put those words in one sentence.
Now I have time to look around and realize there is only 1 boat with me. Where is everyone else? A second boat is just starting to come along and some of the rest turned back. Now I think I must be crazy for doing this when the wife says “This really is not that bad out here. I expected it to be much worse.†Now I know she is crazy!
The next two hours become a pattern as we climb up one wave then splash the next. Well the dog has emptied everything she has eaten in the last 6 months on the floor and decided to curl up in the bow to die. I am starting to think about how to build a machine to simulate the motion the boat is going through as my gluts’ and thighs are getting one heck of a workout. Wait, is that a crab pot? Yup, I realize we are in the middle of a field of crab pots. Now is NOT the time I want to wrap a pot around my prop. Luckily the fog has lifted and the rain has stopped so we can see them and work our way around the bigger waves and lines of crab pots.
Finally safe at the dock, a neighbor says he was watching us and could not believe how well the boat was taking the waves. Well honestly I could not believe it either. We only had one door pop open and no damage to the boat.
Lessons learned:
1. Never trust the weatherman!
2. A dodger is one of the best things for a boat. Too bad I don’t have one.
3. Sunglasses will protect your eyes from salt spray.
4. Radar can see much better in the fog. Need to add that to the next boat.
5. SWMBO is a better sailor that I ever expected!
6. You never know what you can do until you try.
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