Please forgive the crappy wind noise in this video. I wasn't going to post it but decided afterward that someone might actually want to watch it.
So here's what happened...
Before I left the marina, the weather report and radar had me thinking I had a 2-3 hour window to go out. So I went out with the intention to do a completely different video, then decided I likely had time to go a wee bit further to visit an area I hadn't been to before - which was out of cell range, which meant I couldn't monitor radar on my phone. All I had was my two eyes 👀watching the clouds 🌥.
I turned around after the rain clouds far off in the distance seemed to be moving in a direction opposite to what the earlier weather reports said, prompting me to listen to the weather on the VHF. I literally tried to go as fast as I reasonably could to maybe get ahead of them, but they caught me broadside.
I only made it 2/3 of the way to nearest island where I knew I could shelter before being overcome by a downpouring of rain, completely losing visibility.
It wasn't all that bad though. I just maintained headway, into the wind. It wasn't a thundershower, so it wasn't windy enough to make huge waves or create a more challenging situation, it was just a bit choppy. No thunder and lightning to make it scary, in which case, I'd not have changed a thing. I'd still have maintained keeping nose into the wind and traverse the waves to avoid swamping, breaching or capsizing.
I could have avoided that situation by not going out, but in the summer, damn near every day the weather reports state a chance of thunderstorms or scattered rain. It's just how it is when it's humid. I'd otherwise not boat at all if I let that be the sole deciding factor. So instead, I monitor the weather frequently to determine the risk, and 99% of the time, never see any bad weather, outrun it, wait it out in a sheltered cove, or otherwise manage not to have any challenges.
So, for all the times I experienced the 1%, all I have to say is this:
"A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor" - Franklin Roosevelt
Definitely add your tips and thoughts on boating weather challenges in the comments. The more we share, the more we learn!
Be safe out there!
Негізгі бет Автокөліктер мен көлік құралдары Didn't Outrun One
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