Caught in a New Mexico Storm!

[FittsFly]

Well it finally happened! My need for speed on one of our New Mexico lakes kept my sails up too long when I saw one of our NM afternoon thunderstorms approach. I was watching the storm intently to make sure it was going to skirt beside the lake I was on and just hopefully increase our wind a bit for some great sailing (as it was we were maxing out at a bout 2 knots all afternoon) and the storm did pass beside but behind it within the nice clear sky's was this narly 35-40 MPH wind that hit us without warning! This is the 2nd one of these Ive been caught up in , the first causing no damage but this one ripped both my Genoa and main sail to shreds as we fought to keep the boat in the wind trying to get the sails down. SO LESSON LEARNED If you see the dark skys coming bring them down! If I could get some help with a couple questions:

1-If I had gotten the sails down it still would have been a pretty rocky ride for an hour or so so I wouldnt necessarily want to dock the boat and have it beaten up by the waves so in staying out in it what is the best anchoring technique to ride it out. I also have 3 anchors but none have any Steel chain attached. Should I have a lenghth of steel chain attached? This lake had an avg depth of somewhere around 30' Deep.

2- Anybody know a source for good but economical 26X main sails? Thanks for any advice!!

[Ixneigh]

20 ft of 1/4 inch chain would probably be a good addition to your main anchor.
Sorry to hear about your sails. At least you didn’t rip them by hitting a channel marker in broad daylight sunny weather like I did!
Ix

[NiceAft]

I don’t know how open your lake is.

I had this happen to me on Lake George, NY (I saw it coming and lowered all sails). Under power, I unsuccessfully tried to out race the storm. I pulled behind an island and dropped anchor with 200 foot of rode. I also have 30 foot of chain. We sat in the cabin with the hatch closed until it passed, and we went on.

Sorry about the sails. Many different members have purchased sails from a variety of sources. My Genoa was purchased from U.K. Sails in NY. My flathead main was purchased years ago from someone else. I don’t remember where.

Blue Water Yachts is not just a source, but also the best source for anything MacGregor. Only because they are there for us. If at all possible, we should support them.

[dlandersson]

"...as it was we were maxing out at a bout 2 knots all afternoon. " - yup, my goal is to do at least 3 knots

"... this one ripped both my Genoa and main sail to shreds " - Looking for new? Used? I picked up some brand-new Hunter 22's some years back (the Hunter 22 was out of production). They worked great.

"what is the best anchoring technique to ride it out." - have you thought about a sea anchor? Puts your bow into to waves, no worries about snapping.

(as it was we were maxing out at a bout 2 knots all afternoon)

this one ripped both my Genoa and main sail to shreds

what is the best anchoring technique to ride it out.

[OverEasy]

Hi Fittsfly!

Glad you weathered the storm in one piece (albeit a bit less for the damaged canvas).

I’ve been in some bad weather situations in the past.
The worst we’ve been in was 4 ft waves and 30 knot winds due in Port Royal Sound and the Broad River Basin.
A rapidly shifting frontal system dramatically moved over us. Water depth precluded any opportunity to drop anchor, never mind the tidal and river currents.

Be prepared to take appropriate action especially with sudden or transient front storm weather.
It can, and often does, take a sudden turn for the worse.

My training and experience is that one needs to never waste time when a frontal storm is approaching.
Given we are currently talking about a Mac26 I’ve found that with the high sides and windage our best method to weather a storm is power up and aim your pow into the waves right away.
If there are sails up drop them and secure then ASAP.
Drop the keel to give your vessel some bite in the water. On the Mac26X we are fortunate to have a swing keel and that allows us to utilize it as a Skeg by only deploying it 1/3 to give a larger lateral fin area close to the hull. Dropping the keel gives you more lateral stability against the wind and helps you keep pointed.
Stabilize the boat and don’t back down. Make headway, move forward …
Backing down is a sure way to start surfing… at that point it’s a good bet you’ll probably lose and broach.

If viable working to the leeward side of an island for a wind break is fine as long as you’re not going to broach the waves.

A sea anchor off the bow, while it can help get you pointed into the wind will not necessarily get you pointed into the waves.
A sea anchor is typically deployed when the bottom is too far away to drop anchor and/or if the bottom has no purchase (something for the anchor to dig into)… like in the middle of a lake like Lake Champlain…
A sea anchor will not help you hold position… You will drift down wind!
A sea anchor also will complicate your being able to maneuver or work your way up wind under power. It may/will end up fouling your keel, engine, rudders.

Avoidance is the better Descression when dealing with weather… it’s always bigger than you are… and it doesn’t care!

Standard anchoring rules apply.
The longer the scope you can safely pay out the better…. A good minimum rule is 7:1, 10:1 is preferred.
That means for every foot of depth you pay out 7 to 10 feet of anchor line.
Chain helps keep the anchor tang flat to the bottom so the flukes can bite into the bottom.

There are whole chapters of seamanship books dedicated to anchoring strategies.
It is always best to be knowledgeable AND practiced ahead of time.
In the midst of crisis is not the time to learn, it’s the time to act with purpose.

Best Regards,
Over Easy

[Be Free]

I've never been on a boat in a NM thunderstorm (but I was in a NM hailstorm last week). On the other hand, I've been in more FL thunderstorms than I can count. I'm not sure if your storms start the same way so take what applies from this reply and feel free to ignore the rest.

The first warning for me is a cool breeze that comes out of nowhere. That is the signal to strike the sails and prepare for a storm. Even if the clouds don't look bad that breeze almost always presages a thunderstorm in Florida. Sometimes I'm lucky and the storm passes by but I prefer to not have any sail up when one does come for a visit so the canvas all comes down until I'm sure. The cool breeze usually gives enough warning to get everything down and secured and my rain gear out (on if I'm real lucky).

As far as anchoring in a thunderstorm "I'm agin it". ("I'm against the idea", for those in other parts of the world). I prefer to use the engine to actively keep the boat turned into the storm / waves. I've found that the boat will "keep station" quite well even in very unsettled conditions.

The only time I've been anchored in a thunderstorm was if one came through at night after I was already anchored. In my experience, the boat gets tossed about more at anchor than it does keeping station during a storm.

[FittsFly]

I don’t know how open your lake is.

I had this happen to me on Lake George, NY (I saw it coming and lowered all sails). Under power, I unsuccessfully tried to out race the storm. I pulled behind an island and dropped anchor with 200 foot of rode. I also have 30 foot of chain. We sat in the cabin with the hatch closed until it passed, and we went on.

Sorry about the sails. Many different members have purchased sails from a variety of sources. My Genoa was purchased from U.K. Sails in NY. My flathead main was purchased years ago from someone else. I don’t remember where.

Blue Water Yachts is not just a source, but also the best source for anything MacGregor. Only because they are there for us. If at all possible, we should support them.

Thanks! I will be getting with BWY.

[FittsFly]

Hi Fittsfly!

Glad you weathered the storm in one piece (albeit a bit less for the damaged canvas).

I’ve been in some bad weather situations in the past.
The worst we’ve been in was 4 ft waves and 30 knot winds due in Port Royal Sound and the Broad River Basin.
A rapidly shifting frontal system dramatically moved over us. Water depth precluded any opportunity to drop anchor, never mind the tidal and river currents.

Be prepared to take appropriate action especially with sudden or transient front storm weather.
It can, and often does, take a sudden turn for the worse.

My training and experience is that one needs to never waste time when a frontal storm is approaching.
Given we are currently talking about a Mac26 I’ve found that with the high sides and windage our best method to weather a storm is power up and aim your pow into the waves right away.
If there are sails up drop them and secure then ASAP.
Drop the keel to give your vessel some bite in the water. On the Mac26X we are fortunate to have a swing keel and that allows us to utilize it as a Skeg by only deploying it 1/3 to give a larger lateral fin area close to the hull. Dropping the keel gives you more lateral stability against the wind and helps you keep pointed.
Stabilize the boat and don’t back down. Make headway, move forward …
Backing down is a sure way to start surfing… at that point it’s a good bet you’ll probably lose and broach.

If viable working to the leeward side of an island for a wind break is fine as long as you’re not going to broach the waves.

A sea anchor off the bow, while it can help get you pointed into the wind will not necessarily get you pointed into the waves.
A sea anchor is typically deployed when the bottom is too far away to drop anchor and/or if the bottom has no purchase (something for the anchor to dig into)… like in the middle of a lake like Lake Champlain…
A sea anchor will not help you hold position… You will drift down wind!
A sea anchor also will complicate your being able to maneuver or work your way up wind under power. It may/will end up fouling your keel, engine, rudders.

Avoidance is the better Descression when dealing with weather… it’s always bigger than you are… and it doesn’t care!

Standard anchoring rules apply.
The longer the scope you can safely pay out the better…. A good minimum rule is 7:1, 10:1 is preferred.
That means for every foot of depth you pay out 7 to 10 feet of anchor line.
Chain helps keep the anchor tang flat to the bottom so the flukes can bite into the bottom.

There are whole chapters of seamanship books dedicated to anchoring strategies.
It is always best to be knowledgeable AND practiced ahead of time.
In the midst of crisis is not the time to learn, it’s the time to act with purpose.

Best Regards,
Over Easy

Thank You so much!

[Lars H]

Great discussion for a newbie! I used to sail a 7.2M S2 with a 9.9 Merc kicker. I was feeling cocky with a T60 on my new to me 26M thinking I could now out race storms!