Since its winter time and x-mas time most of us have our boats up for the winter.So we can at least talk about being on the water. As I'm sitting here at work daydreaming i started thinking about some of the crazy times Ive had on the water and their are more than a few. :roll: Like when i was 15 or so in the bay in a old 70's model 16ft tri-hull bass boat with a broke down 40 horse Johnson in the middle of a HUGE thunderstorm. Thought i was going down with the ship or the time i went out in the gulf with my grandfather in a 89' 18.5ft Cobia cuddy cabin in at least 6-8 foot swells. Thank god the engine didn't quit or we would have sunk. The list just keeps on going for me. I know Gradys' are very sea worthy but what are the biggest seas you've had your boat in. I know everyone has some good stories from there past so lets here'em... 8)
Whats the biggest seas you've been in?
- Thread starter Emerald-coast-Grady
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I haven't been in a big sea in a Grady but I've been in honest 6-8 footers with the occasional 10 in my dad's Fortier 26- just backed it down to 15 kts and we were good to go. If i remember correctly we ran out about 30 miles out that day- not the most enjoyable thing ever but it made for a good shark drift! :wink:
...we're currently looking at a '93 209 Escape and I hope to never be in a sea in that one, although I'm sure it would do just fine
...we're currently looking at a '93 209 Escape and I hope to never be in a sea in that one, although I'm sure it would do just fine
The biggest seas, on a 24' Mako going through the rips off Monomoy. They weren't much smaller than the boat and a HUGE ____ mistake, luckly they didn't last too long.
Next biggest was going out of Manasquan on a charter (Capt. Kal). His boat was wood and approx. 50 foot with single diesel. The bow was getting stuffed, a lot. It calmed down when we got out to deeper water and there was decent room to fish because half of the people were below yacking.
Next biggest was going out of Manasquan on a charter (Capt. Kal). His boat was wood and approx. 50 foot with single diesel. The bow was getting stuffed, a lot. It calmed down when we got out to deeper water and there was decent room to fish because half of the people were below yacking.
I've had my 2002 265 express in 7ft rollers. We ran about 14kts without any punishment. I've also had my previous boat, a 22 seafarer in 9 footers...not by choice. Went out fishing the ocean and it was flat calm, no inclement weather reports. Half way through the day the wind picked up severely so we headed towards home. The ocean was fine, but as we rounded land to head into the bay we were faced with walls of water and high waves. Took our time in but boy were we shook up. Took a few rollers over the bow, definetly needed to know what you were doing in those sloppy seas. I was constantly on the throttles and wheel to keep us from pounding too hard or anything bad happening. If any weatherman had reported anything close to that I would not have even considered going out that day. Oh well, we got home safely and loaded the boat up with some very nice fish that day.
Also been in 25 footers on my schools Training Ship the TSES Empire State in the Straights of Dover of England. Had seas coming from all directions causing the ship to toss like a tea cup. That ship is so light that it felt like 30 footers.
Also been in 25 footers on my schools Training Ship the TSES Empire State in the Straights of Dover of England. Had seas coming from all directions causing the ship to toss like a tea cup. That ship is so light that it felt like 30 footers.
30 foot seas off the coast of Oregon on the original "Pride of Baltimore". No one slept that night.
enfish
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January 2, 2000, coming back from Avalon to Dana Point (about 30 nm) in our 208 we ended up in a small craft advisory. 8-10 foot seas, 8 second period with 25 knots wind. We monitored the weather radio before leaving, and there was nothing in the forecast indicating the wind was going to blow like that. Otherwise we would have stayed another day in Avalon.
It was a white knuckle trip most of the way, going quarter down swell, having to go almost full throttle to get up the backside of the swell, and then backing off almost to idle to surf down the front side so we wouldn't bury the bow. We thought about turning around, but decided it was too dangerous to try to turn around for fear of getting rolled down in the trough.
Anyway, 3.5 hours later, we were home safe. Completely soaked, tired, and sore, but home. We kept telling ourselves the way home that this is why we bought the Grady. She was designed to get through this sh..tuff, and that she did. I don't ever want to do that again, though
It was a white knuckle trip most of the way, going quarter down swell, having to go almost full throttle to get up the backside of the swell, and then backing off almost to idle to surf down the front side so we wouldn't bury the bow. We thought about turning around, but decided it was too dangerous to try to turn around for fear of getting rolled down in the trough.
Anyway, 3.5 hours later, we were home safe. Completely soaked, tired, and sore, but home. We kept telling ourselves the way home that this is why we bought the Grady. She was designed to get through this sh..tuff, and that she did. I don't ever want to do that again, though
Pretty High
Most people over estimate wave height. We get some pretty choppy waters here because of extreme tide effects and offshore winds. One January I stuck the nose in on my Marlin and put green water over the hardtop. Maybe a 7-8 foot swell with wind driven 3 footers on top. I was doing 18 knots when I hit and my cog slowed to 6 knots for about 30 seconds and picked right up. Boat was solid as a rock.
Most people over estimate wave height. We get some pretty choppy waters here because of extreme tide effects and offshore winds. One January I stuck the nose in on my Marlin and put green water over the hardtop. Maybe a 7-8 foot swell with wind driven 3 footers on top. I was doing 18 knots when I hit and my cog slowed to 6 knots for about 30 seconds and picked right up. Boat was solid as a rock.
Stonewall said:
Well I was going to say 20 footers in the gulf on an oceangoing tug, but you have me beat!!!
Fresh water waves are different than their saltwater counterparts. They strike faster, are sharper and steeper, and have less room in between them.
We took my then 22 Seafarer from New Buffalo, Michigan 7 or so miles South to Michigan City.
Seas were 3-5's, out of the NW. We obviously had a following sea going, and we went in Mich. City and ate.
We stayed too long and found out the hard way. Coming back out, as soon as we cleared the North breakwater we were hit by 4-7's with an 8 or 9 every now and again.
They were so steep and crazy that we couldn't make any time North. At the rate we were proceeding, it would've took us over an hour to get back, taking incredible amounts of water over the nose the whole way.
We gave up, practically had to surf the backside of them as they were breaking at the mouth of the entrance to Mich. City.We got back inside, and took a taxi back to New Buffalo to get our trucks and trailers. Then we pulled the boat out at Mich. City.
We took my then 22 Seafarer from New Buffalo, Michigan 7 or so miles South to Michigan City.
Seas were 3-5's, out of the NW. We obviously had a following sea going, and we went in Mich. City and ate.
We stayed too long and found out the hard way. Coming back out, as soon as we cleared the North breakwater we were hit by 4-7's with an 8 or 9 every now and again.
They were so steep and crazy that we couldn't make any time North. At the rate we were proceeding, it would've took us over an hour to get back, taking incredible amounts of water over the nose the whole way.
We gave up, practically had to surf the backside of them as they were breaking at the mouth of the entrance to Mich. City.We got back inside, and took a taxi back to New Buffalo to get our trucks and trailers. Then we pulled the boat out at Mich. City.
8-10 footers with an occassional 12 coming in from Block Caynon a few summers ago. We were in my buddy's 38 ft Libby, which is a downeast style rig, but it was still pretty uncomfortable and took about 7 hours (normally takes 3). Not a lot of fun being airbourne in a 38 ft boat 50 miles offshore.
Heyspike
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55 footers! Fishing with some friends in Gloucester, rode one to the top.............oh wait, sorry, that was a movie........
When serving as Chief Engineer of the USS Miller (FF-1091), we crossed from Norfolk to Portsmouth, England in January 1977. Made fuel stops in Bermuda and the Azores.
Heading from the Azores to the English Channel, we encountered the effects of a huge, deep winter low that was sitting stationary about 700nm west of the Bay of Biscay. Winds were SW at 80-90kts, with higher gusts, for several days as we worked our way NE. We were doing 18-20 knots, so the relative winds were still 60-70 knots on the port quarter.
Seas were on the port quarter, running 35-45 feet, with higher ones every once in a while. We turned the forward 5-inch gun house to face aft to reduce mount damage. Took some seas directly into the bridge and some over the signal bridge. When the spacing between seas would vary, the bow would simply fall into a huge hole, or bury into the next swell.
The support structure tubes for the Miser tower cracked at the deck welds. The aluminum superstructure, which had a complete rubber-gasketed expansion seam, cracked from the 01-deck up to the top and all the way across - we had water coming in to sonar control and the ship's library.
We took the drastic step of putting seawater ballast into fuel storage tanks as we transferred fuel to service tanks. Couldn't deballast until well in to the English Channel as the storm seas were running right up there.
When we (finally) got to Portsmouth, we had to offload four men who had broken bones from falls. Most were while transiting the passageways with both hands engaged, i.e. failing to follow the seaman's adage "One hand for the ship and one hand for yourself".
Same ship, two months later, in the Norwegian Sea between the Shetlands and the Faroes, we found ourselves (and the other five ships in the Standing Naval Force Atlantic) facing another winter storm. This time we basically "hove to" for over a day. That means we put on turns for 6-8 knots, put the seas just off the bow, and held position.
Some other "high seas" events in Mistrals, etc, but that's what happens when you spend 28 years in the Navy, with 21 on surface ships and 18 crossings of the Atlantic.
Go here to look at some real storm conditions: http://tv-antenna.com/heavy-seas/
Be sure to go to the bottom and check photos on other pages.
Brian
Commander, U.S. Navy (Ret)
Merchant Marine Master, Oceans, Steam, Motor, or Sail - 1600-Tons
Chief Mate, Oceans, Unlimited Tonnage
Heading from the Azores to the English Channel, we encountered the effects of a huge, deep winter low that was sitting stationary about 700nm west of the Bay of Biscay. Winds were SW at 80-90kts, with higher gusts, for several days as we worked our way NE. We were doing 18-20 knots, so the relative winds were still 60-70 knots on the port quarter.
Seas were on the port quarter, running 35-45 feet, with higher ones every once in a while. We turned the forward 5-inch gun house to face aft to reduce mount damage. Took some seas directly into the bridge and some over the signal bridge. When the spacing between seas would vary, the bow would simply fall into a huge hole, or bury into the next swell.
The support structure tubes for the Miser tower cracked at the deck welds. The aluminum superstructure, which had a complete rubber-gasketed expansion seam, cracked from the 01-deck up to the top and all the way across - we had water coming in to sonar control and the ship's library.
We took the drastic step of putting seawater ballast into fuel storage tanks as we transferred fuel to service tanks. Couldn't deballast until well in to the English Channel as the storm seas were running right up there.
When we (finally) got to Portsmouth, we had to offload four men who had broken bones from falls. Most were while transiting the passageways with both hands engaged, i.e. failing to follow the seaman's adage "One hand for the ship and one hand for yourself".
Same ship, two months later, in the Norwegian Sea between the Shetlands and the Faroes, we found ourselves (and the other five ships in the Standing Naval Force Atlantic) facing another winter storm. This time we basically "hove to" for over a day. That means we put on turns for 6-8 knots, put the seas just off the bow, and held position.
Some other "high seas" events in Mistrals, etc, but that's what happens when you spend 28 years in the Navy, with 21 on surface ships and 18 crossings of the Atlantic.
Go here to look at some real storm conditions: http://tv-antenna.com/heavy-seas/
Be sure to go to the bottom and check photos on other pages.
Brian
Commander, U.S. Navy (Ret)
Merchant Marine Master, Oceans, Steam, Motor, or Sail - 1600-Tons
Chief Mate, Oceans, Unlimited Tonnage
That's not fair..
I was never in the Navy.....
Megabytes, chime in here..I'll bet you've been in some crazy stuff.
I was never in the Navy.....
Megabytes, chime in here..I'll bet you've been in some crazy stuff.
Last year, November 1st, Opening Day of crab season near San Francisco.
16 foot swell at 16 seconds, wind 25 gusting to 35. Like an idiot, I went out thinking it couldn't be THAT big. Went to retrieve my crab pots and pulled only one of my 8. After that, I crawled back to the harbor (Half Moon Bay) in displacement mode going very slow. It was one of those days when, while heading into the swell and wind, you had to "time" your "U" turn otherwise you could roll the boat.
Had the EPIRB between my legs the whole time. Two words describe it - "Never Again!".
Grady-Whites are sea worthy and my Seafarer 228 performed flawlessly but evry boat and skipper has their limits.
Case in point, a week ago Tuesday, a 25 foot Pilot House Farallon was coming in from crabbing in very big swells (25-30 feet - no kidding). Was very foggy. Well that Farallon got hit hard by a very large wave in the fog. No one knows for sure how big that wave was but the result was a sunk and 100% torn apart Farallon and two dead fishermen.
Very sad story but those guys should never have gone out in those conditions. For you surfers out there, Half Moon Bay is where "Mavericks" is. Hope my sharing here helps in an imprioved use of judgment for the sake of safety on the water.
16 foot swell at 16 seconds, wind 25 gusting to 35. Like an idiot, I went out thinking it couldn't be THAT big. Went to retrieve my crab pots and pulled only one of my 8. After that, I crawled back to the harbor (Half Moon Bay) in displacement mode going very slow. It was one of those days when, while heading into the swell and wind, you had to "time" your "U" turn otherwise you could roll the boat.
Had the EPIRB between my legs the whole time. Two words describe it - "Never Again!".
Grady-Whites are sea worthy and my Seafarer 228 performed flawlessly but evry boat and skipper has their limits.
Case in point, a week ago Tuesday, a 25 foot Pilot House Farallon was coming in from crabbing in very big swells (25-30 feet - no kidding). Was very foggy. Well that Farallon got hit hard by a very large wave in the fog. No one knows for sure how big that wave was but the result was a sunk and 100% torn apart Farallon and two dead fishermen.
Very sad story but those guys should never have gone out in those conditions. For you surfers out there, Half Moon Bay is where "Mavericks" is. Hope my sharing here helps in an imprioved use of judgment for the sake of safety on the water.
I spend too much on message boards talking about GWs to get into nasty seas
No, I don't claim to be an old salt like some of the folks here. We pick our days very carefully. No doubt there have been days I was glad to clear the inlet but nothing like these Navy guys. A fishing buddy from a few years back was in the USCG and told me stories of patroling the North Atlantic. He spent days in honest 25'-30' seas in a cutter (IIRC around 200'). He said you had to strap into bunks, walk down the halls holding on, sometimes didn't eat all day, and on occasion, the decks would be "closed" to all persons. Nasty stuff.
The worst seas I ever negotiated in my boat was a building chop from the NE which turned into breaking 3'-5' caps and plenty of 6s. I'll never forget running in on AP in a beam sea making 13-16 kts, looking from the raised bridge and seeing a breaking whitecap taller then my 6'+ crew member standing in the cockpit. It soaked him. I was a bit nervous at first but soon realized my 272 was handling the seas fine as long as I took my time and didn't run fast enough to lose control. It took over 2 hours to run 30 nm. The good news is we released our first sail that day when the seas were all ready up to 3-5. Thank goodness for a great boat and an AP as there were just 2 of us.
I was also in the stream one day in the same boat when it blew up to 15-17kts NE against the current, standing up steep 3-5s. We were 60nm out with plenty of company so we stayed and fished fairly comfortably. I remember one set when I saw a much larger wave coming and yelled to "hold on". A big one hit us off the port bow followed by another. We were trolling on AP and the set turned us at least 30 degrees to sbrd. I goosed the engines and turned back to regain heading. It was a good reminder that in any sea you should be prepared for a set 2x the average wave size every hour on average. This is of course statistical average but was explained well in the "Perfect Storm" book. Let me saw it woke us all up and had us paying CLOSE attention. Oddly, 10 miles out of the stream the wind and seas were down to less then half. This was a Spring wx event caused by temp contrast which kicked the winds up only over the warm bluewater.
In my Marlin, we hit a washed front 45nm out on a trip. the seas went from 3'-4' swelly slop to 5' breaking caps. The 300 handled it great but we still felt the bottom come out under us in the headsea a few times. I could run 16-18 kts dead into the mess. By the time we hit the stream seas were a much nicer 2'-4' and subsided during the day.
The most nervous I have ever been was 12nm off the hill in a friend's 26' when a severe tstorm engulfed the area. It was black in 3 quadrants, torrential rain, 5' steep wind chop, and frequent flashing of lightning. We couldn't hear the booms because of the wind and rain but I was REAL glad to see the light sky coming out the other side around 3 nm out.
Lightning scares the crap out of me when on the water and I try very hard to avoid it. As I get older I strive more for the days with winds 10 kts or less. It is much more enjoyable and we can run faster. I also like knowing my boat can safely handle a good bit more if need be.
No, I don't claim to be an old salt like some of the folks here. We pick our days very carefully. No doubt there have been days I was glad to clear the inlet but nothing like these Navy guys. A fishing buddy from a few years back was in the USCG and told me stories of patroling the North Atlantic. He spent days in honest 25'-30' seas in a cutter (IIRC around 200'). He said you had to strap into bunks, walk down the halls holding on, sometimes didn't eat all day, and on occasion, the decks would be "closed" to all persons. Nasty stuff.
The worst seas I ever negotiated in my boat was a building chop from the NE which turned into breaking 3'-5' caps and plenty of 6s. I'll never forget running in on AP in a beam sea making 13-16 kts, looking from the raised bridge and seeing a breaking whitecap taller then my 6'+ crew member standing in the cockpit. It soaked him. I was a bit nervous at first but soon realized my 272 was handling the seas fine as long as I took my time and didn't run fast enough to lose control. It took over 2 hours to run 30 nm. The good news is we released our first sail that day when the seas were all ready up to 3-5. Thank goodness for a great boat and an AP as there were just 2 of us.
I was also in the stream one day in the same boat when it blew up to 15-17kts NE against the current, standing up steep 3-5s. We were 60nm out with plenty of company so we stayed and fished fairly comfortably. I remember one set when I saw a much larger wave coming and yelled to "hold on". A big one hit us off the port bow followed by another. We were trolling on AP and the set turned us at least 30 degrees to sbrd. I goosed the engines and turned back to regain heading. It was a good reminder that in any sea you should be prepared for a set 2x the average wave size every hour on average. This is of course statistical average but was explained well in the "Perfect Storm" book. Let me saw it woke us all up and had us paying CLOSE attention. Oddly, 10 miles out of the stream the wind and seas were down to less then half. This was a Spring wx event caused by temp contrast which kicked the winds up only over the warm bluewater.
In my Marlin, we hit a washed front 45nm out on a trip. the seas went from 3'-4' swelly slop to 5' breaking caps. The 300 handled it great but we still felt the bottom come out under us in the headsea a few times. I could run 16-18 kts dead into the mess. By the time we hit the stream seas were a much nicer 2'-4' and subsided during the day.
The most nervous I have ever been was 12nm off the hill in a friend's 26' when a severe tstorm engulfed the area. It was black in 3 quadrants, torrential rain, 5' steep wind chop, and frequent flashing of lightning. We couldn't hear the booms because of the wind and rain but I was REAL glad to see the light sky coming out the other side around 3 nm out.
Lightning scares the crap out of me when on the water and I try very hard to avoid it. As I get older I strive more for the days with winds 10 kts or less. It is much more enjoyable and we can run faster. I also like knowing my boat can safely handle a good bit more if need be.
I agree completely. I fished out of Manasquan for many years as a deckhand on Bob Bogan's Party Boat "Gambler" and the lightning is by far the worst. You never know at what instant you might get "whacked" and be dead before you hit the deck. The good news here is it will be over quite quick.
Out here on the West Coast (San Francisco area), we NEVER get lightning. The weather here is just different. But we do get swell that makes East Coast stuff laughable. Five footers? Heck, a six or seven foot swell is very fishable here (but some will get seasick). When it hits the double digits, that's when we generally don't go out unless it's a long period between swells and windlass and sunny and the fish are biting...
But that lightning is really scary to me! I can relate!
Out here on the West Coast (San Francisco area), we NEVER get lightning. The weather here is just different. But we do get swell that makes East Coast stuff laughable. Five footers? Heck, a six or seven foot swell is very fishable here (but some will get seasick). When it hits the double digits, that's when we generally don't go out unless it's a long period between swells and windlass and sunny and the fish are biting...
But that lightning is really scary to me! I can relate!
Sitting at anchor on the NW corner of Stellwagen in 10 footers chummin for BFT and bringin in a fish. Now that was fun.
I suppose the west coast swells are the same conditions that make surfing so much better there. I believe they are caused by almost constant storms in the northern water (Bering Sea maybe?).
How does this affect boating? If they are say 6-7 feet is the period low enough to slow down running or is it purely a sea sickness antagonist?
We get similar conditions from distant hurricanes off Fla or in the Caribbean. These will show up at the buoys with 11-16 sec periods. Without additional wind chop the conditions are very fishable but there can be an issue with inlets on falling tide. There have been cases where smooth glassy seas become breakers at the inlet during such conditions.
How does this affect boating? If they are say 6-7 feet is the period low enough to slow down running or is it purely a sea sickness antagonist?
We get similar conditions from distant hurricanes off Fla or in the Caribbean. These will show up at the buoys with 11-16 sec periods. Without additional wind chop the conditions are very fishable but there can be an issue with inlets on falling tide. There have been cases where smooth glassy seas become breakers at the inlet during such conditions.