Got in some trouble in rough seas.. What'd i do?

[Three Gypsies]

We got caught in Captiva Pass by a storm . At first I tried to maintain my south heading , the storm was coming from the east , but the sustained winds were about to capsize us , I then tried to turn into the wind , but it was impossible to hold her directly in the wind . I finally gave up , turned so we were running with the wind . The storm pushed us thru Captiva Pass and 7 miles out into the Gulf .
We were lucky that because of the impending storm there was no wind , we had brought down the sails and were running on the motor .

It scared us to death . We were on our way to Key West , but after that we seriously discussed turning around and going home .
We didn't , and glad we didn't , but it scared us that badly .

[Tomfoolery]

It sounds like you did the right thing, but without being there, it would be hard to say what I would have done. Sometimes your options are limited, and it's better to go with the safe-at-the-moment option, even if being blown off shore.

When I was learning to fly, I was taught about mountain waves, where the wind spills over the lee of a mountain, and can tumble and carry a small plane with it, right into the ground. I experienced this on my long-distance solo flight (a required student solo flight, with stops at two or three other airports). I got a little panicky, but remembered the training, and turned (full throttle climb, but losing altitude) directly away from the mountain, to get as much distance as possible as quickly as possible, and eventually came clear of the rolling wave and started climbing. Scary, but a lesson in keeping your head, and doing what will be safest at the moment, even if it puts you (me) somewhere I didn't want to be. Lesser of two evils, as it was trying to put me into the trees. The looks on the skiers faces (it was winter) is something I still remember. They must've been wondering what that idiot in the small plane was doing so close to the ski slopes.

[bscott]

Sailing on high mountain lakes with major down drafts that can rotate 180 degs and produce very steep sided waves with 25-30 knot winds has taught me to rely on broad and beam reaches regardless of wind conditions. Executing gybes in all weather conditions instills crew confidence and knowledge that the Mac is capable and more stable than. our detractors are willing to admit. Anyway, Sailing ddw is hot and boring .
I rarely sail with my CB fully down and practice raising it while tacking to relieve the board pressure.
My E-tec running at idle speed is an excellent 3rd rudder in the worst situations-fuel usage is minimal, quiet and smoke free.
I have both a port and stbd preventer block system leading to each winch that I can control the boom reach as well as act as individual boom vangs to control main draft. We use this system in place of a traveler that does not exist on an
I double reef my main before I reef my 110 jib--I feel this gives me more power to punch the waves at 7-8 knts.
And as previously said, be prepared to stay over night with food, water and foul weather gear for the entire crew.

Bob

[Three Gypsies]

Two Times , in my boating career , I have given up fighting a storm and rode with it until it blew itself out .

This is what I would recommend to anyone to do , don't fight it , ride with it

[dlandersson]

Your outboard HP?

We got caught in Captiva Pass by a storm . At first I tried to maintain my south heading , the storm was coming from the east , but the sustained winds were about to capsize us , I then tried to turn into the wind , but it was impossible to hold her directly in the wind . I finally gave up , turned so we were running with the wind . The storm pushed us thru Captiva Pass and 7 miles out into the Gulf .
We were lucky that because of the impending storm there was no wind , we had brought down the sails and were running on the motor .

It scared us to death . We were on our way to Key West , but after that we seriously discussed turning around and going home .
We didn't , and glad we didn't , but it scared us that badly .

[Jimmyt]

I wouldn’t hold your breath for a reply. His last sign in was Tue May 03, 2016 12:57 pm.

Don’t know where the tipping point is, but at some wind speed, the windage and surf is going to make it tough to go upwind - even if you’re just trying to hold position - particularly in a Pass. If you see it coming, and have an M or X with a big outboard, you might get a chance to run out of the Pass before it hits.

I would have loved to see more details about the event, wind speed/gusts, sea state, particularly; but, I don’t think we’re gonna get the chance. One thing is for sure, if he was running bare poles and got blown 7 miles, it was pretty sporty.

[OverEasy]

It sounds like you did the right thing, but without being there, it would be hard to say what I would have done. Sometimes your options are limited, and it's better to go with the safe-at-the-moment option, even if being blown off shore.

When I was learning to fly, I was taught about mountain waves, where the wind spills over the lee of a mountain, and can tumble and carry a small plane with it, right into the ground. I experienced this on my long-distance solo flight (a required student solo flight, with stops at two or three other airports). I got a little panicky, but remembered the training, and turned (full throttle climb, but losing altitude) directly away from the mountain, to get as much distance as possible as quickly as possible, and eventually came clear of the rolling wave and started climbing. Scary, but a lesson in keeping your head, and doing what will be safest at the moment, even if it puts you (me) somewhere I didn't want to be. Lesser of two evils, as it was trying to put me into the trees. The looks on the skiers faces (it was winter) is something I still remember. They must've been wondering what that idiot in the small plane was doing so close to the ski slopes.

I think Tomfoolery hit the mark on this.
When I was flying there were three rules front and center:
1) Fly the plane
2) Fly the plane
3) Fly the @#$& plane

The 1st rule of survival in adverse situations is adaptation… What you need to do is more important than what you want.
The sooner one recognizes an impending problem the easier it is to adapt and find a workable alternative, even if inconvenient.
One has to work with the situation and circumstances and abilities of what one has, not what one wants.

Even with the best of planning things change…. Working with it and adapting early can make all the difference.

Best Regards,
Over Easy