Worst weather and waves
- ris
- Captain
- Posts: 676
- Joined: Sat Feb 28, 2015 4:27 pm
- Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
- Location: Frostproof Florida
Worst weather and waves
When we first returned home from our trip this site was not working well, so we didn't post for a while. When we crossed the northern gulf from Alligator Point Florida to Steinhatchee Florida we encountered the worst weather and waves we have ever been in on a crossing. This is about a 65 mile crossing of the open gulf along the armpit of the Florida coast. We checked and rechecked the weather from several sources. Winds in the early morning were north at 12 to 13 mph then changing to the east around noon at 7 to 8 mph. Seas were 2 to 3 going down to 1 as the wind started out of the east. Just know that the wave period was supposed to be 3 to 4 seconds going to 5 seconds after the wind shift. We were headed almost straight east. We left at around 6 am in the dark. The waves once we left the protection of land were around 2 foot with a 3 second period on the beam. By the time we were 25 miles into the trip the wind started getting stronger instead of lighter. For 3 hrs of the trip my wife who has traveled over 10,000 miles in the 26X was sitting in the companion way holding on, with life jacket on and praying. We later found out that the winds went to 17 mph with gusts to 25 out of the north. The wave period was down to 2 to 3 seconds. A 27 ft Catalina about 7 miles to the north of us traveling the same route had their cockpit filled twice by waves. We do not have our mast on but we had the ballast in. We also had our complete enclosure on because it was cool and we knew the wind would be on our beam for part of the trip. We took no pictures because I could not let go of the wheel and my wife would not leave the companion way except twice. I did leave the wheel twice to get rid of coffee but only for about 3 minutes each time. My wife who drives a lot of the time could not manage the boat except by running down wind which was toward south america. Even with the complete enclosure up we ended up with a lot of seaweed on the cabin top and in the cockpit. We had two large waves hit us above the safety line along the cockpit. Water actually squirted up inside the cockpit from between the snaps of the enclosure. Below is a picture of the boat in New York Harbor with the enclosure down except the port side is off. You can see the life line and the two waves broke above that line.
We hope to never see waves or wind from the beam like that again. I know it would not have been as bad with a mast and sail up and reefed but we would also have been out in it a lot longer. The Catalina took about 2.5 hrs longer on the crossing than we did as he was sailing. If that Honda had quit it would most likely have been a Mayday situation. We have been out in 5 ft. swells with a 7 second period and that is nice. The 3 to 4 ft waves with a couple of rouge waves thrown in for fun at 2 to 3 second period is very scary. As always the Mac always amazes me.
We hope to never see waves or wind from the beam like that again. I know it would not have been as bad with a mast and sail up and reefed but we would also have been out in it a lot longer. The Catalina took about 2.5 hrs longer on the crossing than we did as he was sailing. If that Honda had quit it would most likely have been a Mayday situation. We have been out in 5 ft. swells with a 7 second period and that is nice. The 3 to 4 ft waves with a couple of rouge waves thrown in for fun at 2 to 3 second period is very scary. As always the Mac always amazes me.
- Jimmyt
- Admiral
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- Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2015 9:52 am
- Sailboat: MacGregor 26M
- Location: Mobile AL 2013 26M, 60 Etec
Re: Worst weather and waves
Frightening story! Glad you guys got through it ok. Being in open water adds a whole new dimension to the situation. I've been out in 25, gusting higher, heavily reeled main and Genoa, but I picked a comfortable course and went out and back virtually on that track. We got splashed a few times, but nothing like what you had. Also, we were not in totally open water. Just the knowledge of being in the gulf with a strong north wind with one source of propulsion is enough to make a praying man out of a stone-cold atheist. Proud of you guys for keeping your cool and coming through it. Thanks for sharing the story!
- Chinook
- Admiral
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- Location: LeavenworthWA 2002 26x, Suzuki DF60A
Re: Worst weather and waves
That's quite a story, and one we can relate to. When we crossed on that same route while on our Loop cruise in 2015, we had moderate winds out of the east, and closely spaced seas around 2 feet. We were entertained along the way with radio chatter about a boat taking on water. Coast
Guard was involved, and the last transmission we heard was recommending that the captain run her aground in the shallows, so that a helicopter rescue could be made. We got into some uncomfortable beam seas trying to get home from Vancouver BC two summers ago. You have to go out into the Strait of Georgia, westbound, for about 15 miles in order to get beyond the shallow waters at the mouth of the Fraser River. Winds were brisk, 12 to 15 knots, out of the north, and the seas were 4 feet on our beam, closely spaced. Even with a stabilizing jib it was uncomfortably nasty, and prayers were involved. I had to alter course a bit to the north so we could take the seas with a bit of an angle. Once we were able to make our turn to the south, and run with both wind and seas, the situation completely changed and we were totally comfortable. In both the Gulf of Mexico crossing and in that stretch of the Strait of Georgia, you're contending with shallow water, and that serves to further aggravate conditions. Glad you made it through with nothing more to contend with than seaweed cleanup. Now you've got a well earned sea story to add to your memory banks.
Guard was involved, and the last transmission we heard was recommending that the captain run her aground in the shallows, so that a helicopter rescue could be made. We got into some uncomfortable beam seas trying to get home from Vancouver BC two summers ago. You have to go out into the Strait of Georgia, westbound, for about 15 miles in order to get beyond the shallow waters at the mouth of the Fraser River. Winds were brisk, 12 to 15 knots, out of the north, and the seas were 4 feet on our beam, closely spaced. Even with a stabilizing jib it was uncomfortably nasty, and prayers were involved. I had to alter course a bit to the north so we could take the seas with a bit of an angle. Once we were able to make our turn to the south, and run with both wind and seas, the situation completely changed and we were totally comfortable. In both the Gulf of Mexico crossing and in that stretch of the Strait of Georgia, you're contending with shallow water, and that serves to further aggravate conditions. Glad you made it through with nothing more to contend with than seaweed cleanup. Now you've got a well earned sea story to add to your memory banks.
Re: Worst weather and waves
My worst so far was north of key west with winds from north east at steady 20 mph. In stock T26 with 60 hp etec. The swell was 4’ and I do not remember the period. On anchor the night before in a not so protected anchorage it was a bouncy night. My buddy trudged sleeping in the cockpit buy cake back down below deck for fear of being bounced out in his sleep. Sailing that day was solid with a 3rd reef main and furl jib sailing 40^ off the wind. We tacked back and forth a bit to beat into the wind all day. The boat heeled over 45^ but stopped leaning and would go no further. After awhile the lean felt natural. I was nervous about the outboard going under water as we pounded through the waves but it never did. When the wind lightened to 15 I turned on the motor a bit over idle to motor sail and keep our course. But hind sight I should have put up more main and gone to the second reef to maintain the boat speed of 5+ knots to cut through the big waves and stay on course. We made it into key west and were off the water the next day when the storm that was kicking everything up rolled in.
- Ixneigh
- Admiral
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- Sailboat: MacGregor 26M
- Location: Key largo Florida
Re: Worst weather and waves
While I love these boats as sailboats, I think that for using as a power cruiser, they are subpar due to the concessions made to the design to enable a certain degree of sailing ability. They roll horribly with out the stabilizing effects of the mast. Glad you made it in safely.
Ix
Ix
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Re: Worst weather and waves
I went thru a storm at sea on our way to Nassau, Bahamas (not on a Mac), in the early 70's. The other 3 guys were below as seasick, or sicker, than I was. My recollection was that even after the storm ended, I worried that it hadn't really ended and was going to come back again.
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- Herschel
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Re: Worst weather and waves
ris, glad you guys made it OK. Not a very Florida "welcome home"! While back I tried to motor north on the Gulf ICW from Anna Marie Island to St. Pete across the mouth of Tampa Bay. Wind 20 plus right out of the Gulf; seas 6-8 ft. Also, right out of the gulf. Mistake one: didn't have ballast in. Mistake 2: trying to do this at all. As I turned to head for the channel on the other side, those seas were abeam. I have an image of my "sedate" "X" rising to meet one of those suckers like a dune buggy trying to scale a large dune. Going more up than forward. My little "yacht" suddenly turned into "big dinghy" getting thrown about. Did a 180 real quick and sought refuge in the lee of Anna Marie. A real lesson in the limits of my comfort zone on these boats. Still love them, but more conservative in planning trips. Anyway, "Welcome Home"!
- ris
- Captain
- Posts: 676
- Joined: Sat Feb 28, 2015 4:27 pm
- Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
- Location: Frostproof Florida
Re: Worst weather and waves
Thanks for the comments. If this site had been up when we came through Mobile, Jimmyt maybe we could have come up the Dog River to see you. Chinook we hope to not ever add to our sea story list again, and thanks for the welcome home Herachel. Ixneigh the Macs for sure are not the greatest trawlers. But their ability to be moved easily by trailer, and their maneuverability with the motor + skeg they are great on the many Canadian and US Canals. We also love going on the many rivers in both countries in the Mac "trawler".
- Jimmyt
- Admiral
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- Sailboat: MacGregor 26M
- Location: Mobile AL 2013 26M, 60 Etec
Re: Worst weather and waves
Sorry - I’ve missed you guys twice now, due to circumstances beyond my control. I was glad Travis & Kathy were able to welcome you through on your first trip at least.
- ris
- Captain
- Posts: 676
- Joined: Sat Feb 28, 2015 4:27 pm
- Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
- Location: Frostproof Florida
Re: Worst weather and waves
JimmyT we enjoyed meeting Travis and Kathy on our first loop. We were in a hurry this past year to get to Pensacola for a small family emergency. So we did not call them this time as we passed through.
- Chinook
- Admiral
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Re: Worst weather and waves
Richard, your story about rough water was impressive. How does it compare with what we encountered last summer on the west coast of Vancouver Island?
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- Chinook
- Admiral
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Re: Worst weather and waves
I just rowed out in my dinghy to get the shot. Well, just a day late for April Fools Day. The picture of the wave is genuine, showing what the Pacific swell does when encountering a reef, just south of the Brooks Peninsula. It was taken from a safe distance, with help of a substantial zoom. Sea conditions at our location were quite comfortable, small wind waves and well spaced 3 foot swell. Picture of the boat is also genuine, but rather cleverly (if you don't look too closely) photoshopped into the wave picture by my buddy on the cruise. It is kind of fun sneaking a shot like that into a slide show, though.
- Jimmyt
- Admiral
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- Sailboat: MacGregor 26M
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Re: Worst weather and waves
Well, you got me... I was suspicious at first, but you guys have done so much and been so many places, I figured maybe so...Chinook wrote: ↑Fri Apr 03, 2020 8:31 am I just rowed out in my dinghy to get the shot. Well, just a day late for April Fools Day. The picture of the wave is genuine, showing what the Pacific swell does when encountering a reef, just south of the Brooks Peninsula. It was taken from a safe distance, with help of a substantial zoom. Sea conditions at our location were quite comfortable, small wind waves and well spaced 3 foot swell. Picture of the boat is also genuine, but rather cleverly (if you don't look too closely) photoshopped into the wave picture by my buddy on the cruise. It is kind of fun sneaking a shot like that into a slide show, though.
Good one
Now show us the shot 20 seconds later!
Jimmyt
P-Cub-Boo
2013 26M, Etec 60, roller Genoa, roller main
Cruising Waters: Mobile Bay, Western Shore, Fowl River
P-Cub-Boo
2013 26M, Etec 60, roller Genoa, roller main
Cruising Waters: Mobile Bay, Western Shore, Fowl River
- ris
- Captain
- Posts: 676
- Joined: Sat Feb 28, 2015 4:27 pm
- Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
- Location: Frostproof Florida
Re: Worst weather and waves
Mike that is a bad wave. Glad you didn't have one that bad. Nice pic tho. Thanks for the laugh. We need some reason to laugh at this time.