Dealing with Thunderstorms and Boating

[ToddW850]

Seeing what kind of personal experience and tips you guys have when dealing with being on the boat and getting caught in a rain storm or thunderstorm.

OBVIOUSLY the best tip is not to be on the water on a boat. But here in Florida, in the summer time, we experience frequent "pop up" storms and thunderstorms. Sometimes these storms get between me and the boat launch. And sometimes I've out run them.

Sometimes they never reach where we are. Most of the time they don't last long.

Not many places to hide around here, unless you can beat everyone else to the docks at the restaurants.

I've gotten under the bridge here during the thunderstorms. But it's difficult to maintain that with the wind and current.

So again, other than the obvious, what do y'all do?

Here's some pics of these storms.

Hauling butt to Destin trying to out run a thunderstorm moving in over Fort Walton Beach.



A different day at Crab Island




At Crab Island looking toward Destin.




At Crab Island looking south toward the Destin Bridge and Gulf of Mexico.

 

[RumDiet]

Take down the bimini - put on life jackets and a rain jacket if you have one - head into the wind if you get caught - know where you are so if visibility reduces to nothing, you will know where you are - get out of the channel. If things get real bad and you feel confident - anchor up. Get little ones into the head locker. Viz got so bad one time that we had to circle a buoy just to know where we were!

 

[sstegh]

Been stuck in 3 bad storms while on the water since we bought our first boat. Last year was on the mississippi river after anchoring to camp for the night. 60 mph winds pushed us into some large rocks near shore. To save to boat I pushed us off the rocks and my wife fired up the engines to get us away from shore and sucked up a ton of crap into the jets. The wind was whipping the waves high enough to break over the bow and visibility was no more than a few feet. Because of the junk in the jets I only had idle speed with the engines but it was enough to steer. With water conditions as they were i wasn't about to sit on the back of the boat and try to clean out the jets. We were running blind with no visibility so I used navonics on my phone to make sure we stayed in the channel and avoided the wing dams. Eventually we made it down river to the #25 dam (about 10 miles). They let us tie up next to a tug near the lock and we rode out the rest of the storm in the lock control room. Very nice people at that dam. We keep a close eye on the weather and radar apps but this storm developed and exploded right on top of us. We are usually pretty good at avoiding weather like that. The possability of situations like this is why I always have a hand held VHF radio on board. Without it we would have been in big trouble when we reached the dam.

 

[OrangeTJ]

I feel fortunate that these kinds of storms really never pop up where we typically boat! If there's any possibility of a storm, the news around here gets so excited that they make it the #1 story for a week before it ever happens (or doesn't). If we ever got caught surprised out in something like what's described above, I'm not sure I could ever convince my wife to get on the boat again!

 

[Seadeals]

Great topic! Clearly we don't plan to even remotely risk getting in a storm, but Mother Nature can pack some pretty impressive surprises. There are very few days all summer here where there is not a chance of scattered t-storms and with all the heat available, they can turn severe quickly. We boat close to the mountains, so they can creep up on you with terrain restricting the horizon (it is easier to watch something build on the ocean or where it is flat). Checking radar on the cell phone throughout the day can give you a leg up on getting out of the way or off the water in time. One time venturing up a stream to see a waterfall we got surprised by an approaching storm when we emerged from the canopy of trees. I was able to get just enough signal to download a radar animation and see the direction. I realized if we stayed put it would pass just a quarter mile to the south. We had a front row seat but never got wet.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

The best advice is if you feel the temperature drop and the wind direction change abruptly, get someplace safe quickly! you have about 20 minutes usually, also keep an eye on the sky. I have been boating in Florida since the 70's , rode out more storms than I care to remember. I learned that the temperature always drops and the wind changes just before you get slammed.

 

[GTBRMC]

The best advice is if you feel the temperature drop and the wind direction change abruptly, get someplace safe quickly! you have about 20 minutes usually, also keep an eye on the sky. I have been boating in Florida since the 70's , rode out more storms than I care to remember. I learned that the temperature always drops and the wind changes just before you get slammed.

Gold advice here

 

[Murf'n'surf]

I've run and I've stayed put many times. I have learned that you have to watch the radar and run early or you will end up in a worse situation than staying put.

Lightning is a huge concern around here. I have been within 100' of the strike several times. It's not fun! I'm no expert on lightning but if its your time, it's your time. People sitting on the beach have been struck recently in Fort Myers but I've never heard of anyone on a boat being struck and injured.

If you lose visibility try to navigate outside of the channel and toss your hook. You can quickly become disoriented in a no vis situation and run aground or worse. If there is other traffic around you can toot your horn/whistle and use a spot light to help others see you.

 

[txav8r]

The best advice I can give you is don't get caught out in a storm. By the looks of the pics you posted, I would want to avoid that all together. The gust front off of a line of weather can reach 100mph, although that would be massive, but 60mph+ is certainly common. The waves and wind combined can capsize a boat if not maintained into the wind. It is certainly not a place to have your precious family. Lightning strikes are common on water, although, like Murf, I have never seen any boat hit personally. But lightning is attracted by charge, and it is common for it to seek the tallest object of required charge. I can tell you that if I expected a squal line of thunderstorms, I would get off the water completely or not even go. General airmass thunderstorms that are common to Florida and Texas in the summertime can grow severe in a short time without the need of frontal boundary to drive them, so watching the weather aloft and the radar apps is important. Keep in mind that those apps are giving you a delayed replay of what they take off the radar sites that broadcast them. It is at best a predictive tool, not a tool to get the actual position and condition right where you are. There are many different ways lightning charges develop, both negative and positive. Positive lightning does not discharge from the cloud bases and can hit in clear blue skies 5 to 10 miles from the actual cell. So waiting until the cell is dumping water on you is not a good plan. Lightning can spread across the water as it can the ground, you do not have to be hit directly to be hurt or killed by it, and contrary to the myth, lightning can and does often strike twice in the same place! So to repeat, the best advice I can give is to avoid thunderstorms completely. If you get caught out, get into the wind, if you have to drop anchor anywhere out on the water, you are the tallest object on the water at that point, so get down in the boat and keep your hands away from the tower and windshield, and do not be on the cell phone or vhf as the signals they transmit can change your charge. Above all, get out of the water and off the beach, and into a building or land based vehicle. I have personally been struck by lightning 6 times, twice in a vehicle and 4 times in an aircraft, and those are only the times I know of! Both of those are designed to handle static discharge and offer protections you just don't have in a boat. Picnic shelters, trees, bridges, and other non protected places will not offer much protection and could increase your risk. Y'all be careful out there!

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

Ironically 7 people were struck by lightning leaving the BUCS game yesterday, And the BUCS lost , Imagine how bad it would have been if they WON!

 

[Britboater]

Nobodies safe, apparently the wire in the women's bra acted as a conductor! Some interesting facts too.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/lightning-kills-two-women-in-hyde-park-1121400.html

 

[Speedling]

I am usually on a smaller lake, but got caught once. Problem with a smaller lake is the waves get VERY close together. These were 3 foot tall and 2 foot apart. That's probably underestimating it. We had water crashing over the sides of the boat. We had to go INTO the wind ON PLANE to get to the side of the lake so it would break the wind from trees etc. and we hung out in a cove until it blew past.
A few things we learned - always check the FULL weather report, including the wind speeds predicted for the day.
Kids even with life jackets were put into the "cuddy" but with door open and mom right there against the door. This is so the kids (and mom) aren't scared and safe in case of a turn over.
BE SURE to have that lanyard on. You go over, you need that boat to stop. This is your last line of defense.
Just head to somewhere to shelter the storm. If you are out on the open water somewhere.... you shouldn't have been.

PS. This is the first time I respected the lanyard because when you are in that situation, your mind is going a million miles an hour and I'm glad that I did, because I use it a lot more now.

 

[OrangeTJ]

Not arguing, but I would think putting the kids in the storage closet would be a bad idea. If the boat capsizes or takes ona bunch of water, that thing is going to get flooded and be hard to get out of. What's the advantage of putting kids in there, other than to keep them dry?

When I was 4 I was in the cabin of our families small sailboat when it capsized. I was wearing a lifejacket but was still trapped inside the cabin in the pitch dark while the boat was upside down. My mom swam down and pulled me out. She says she was not coming back up without me, and given the mess of floating lines/towels/other random stuff, the darkness and the relatively small door she had to get me through, that was a real possibility.

 

[Zarrella]

When we have kids on the boat, I always keep them in the storage closet!! Seriously when these summer storms pop up in Florida we often find ourselves hiding out under a tall bridge to avoid the lightning. The good thing about these storms is they are usually short lived.

 

[Speedling]

There were occasionally tree branches flying by. I would rather they hit the boat than my kids. The rain was more like hail and we were travelling into the wind.
But yes, we use it for nap time all the time as well.
The reason for the door open and wife right there is in case we go over the kids would hopefully fall out, or at least my wife would be right next to them.
We're talking horrid situations from horrid scenarios here. Never said it was the right thing to do! Just what I did in a moments thought.

 

[OrangeTJ]

To be clear, no "judging" on my part regarding the closet. I'm just curious. I don't think I'd personally use it for people when underway but that's just me.

 

[txav8r]

For a point of discussion, there is a carbon monoxide warning on the door of the head compartment. Fumes can migrate forward and around the bilge area. You should never use that compartment, any of them for that matter when underway. That was the disclaimer. Now, for the safety of kids in lightning, anywhere is better than out in the open, although I think if the boat gets hit, all are in trouble. I see nothing wrong with children and women huddled in the compartment with the door open. I just wouldn't close them in it engines running. Never say never if you haven't been in a situation, you may find that you will do exactly what you shouldn't! Like getting under a bridge...it isn't safe, but it is a hell of a lot safer than being the tallest object on a body of water! The best idea is still to get off the water before weather hits.

 

[Zarrella]

Well said Mel....but I still like to stow small kids in the closet. Keeps them alot quieter

 

[txav8r]

LOL