Summer Cruise '06

[David VanDenburgh]

Just returned from a three week cruise on Lake Michigan. We departed from St. Joseph (southwest Michigan) and worked our way up the eastern coast, stopping in at various ports along the way to see the sights and seek out quiet anchorages, and ended up in Door County, Wisconsin. Again, more port hopping and a traditional fish boil before finally heading through Portes des Mortes Passage and back into Lake Michigan. We arrived home yesterday evening after a 40nm hop from Holland, MI, back to St. Joseph. The wind was dead on the nose and blowing steadily out of the south until we were overtaken by a rip-roaring thunderstorm. At that point the wind clocked around 180 degrees and gusted upwards of 30 knots. It was absolutely spectacular and frighteningly beautiful. Truly awe-inspiring.
(click on the image for a larger version)

[dasein668]

Yikes!

[jhenson]

David

Looks from the clouds and your description like a convective microburst, which occurs fairly infrequently in nature, but are very threating to commercial aircraft in the takeoff and landing phases of flight. Dopler wind shifts of over 100 mph have been recorded (right before and after dead calm winds), and the 180 degree immediate wind shift is very common. The causes of convective microbursts are still not fully understood. They are far more common in the central U.S. than elsewhere in our country.

Joe

[David VanDenburgh]

Joe,

This was the second such storm we ran into during our three weeks on the lake. The first storm blew over us while we were in harbor, having decided to heed NOAA's severe thunderstorm warning (they often get it very wrong). That storm was more spectacular, producing 80mph gusts, golf-ball sized hail, rain, and lightning. Even in harbor, the gusts heeled the boat over significantly.
This final storm - Lake Michigan's farewell, I guess - produced only small hail, wind gusts around 30 knots, lightning, and rain. We were working our way south with a sunny sky ahead when the front (an impressive dark band) of this storm began rolling out of the haze behind and quickly overtook us. Our biggest concern, of course, is the lightning. The wind, the waves we can handle and prepare for. The lightning, unfortunately, is one of those things that you can only cross your fingers and hope it stays away.
I know much less about weather than I probably should, so I appreciate your input and experience. Thanks!

PS - I shot several minutes of video that I'll try to post on our website once I figure out how to get it converted. The video is more telling than the photos.

[Ceasar Choppy]

I'd love to see the video.

A few years ago on my 27' Renegade (fin keel cousin of the Triton), I had a similar experience while singlehanding on Chesapeake Bay and your description fits almost to a tee.

I was waiting for a T-storm to pass North of me as I needed to head North to hook up with some friends. I could see the clear blue sky behind it so I thought I would hang back and wait. At one point, I looked behind me and saw what looked like while fog on the water. Fog, while not uncommon on Lake Michigan, is very uncommon on Chesapeake Bay, but I should have paid closer attention to it. Within 5 minutes, the rain was completely horizontal with lightning everywhere. I didn't have enough time to get the main down and I'm trying to keep the boat into the wind but the wind veers and catches me. The boat is heels so far over, I loose steering and my cockpit winches are in the water. I'm starting to climb onto the side of the hull.

The wind abates but I still can't get the main down before the next gust flattens the boat. I see the registration no. placards I had cable tied to the lifelines floating by. 20 minutes later the sun is shining and birds are chirping. Nothing was left of my yacht club burgee except a few threads.

[PGplastic]

It seems like several years ago Sail Magazine wrote an article about microbursts. One example they used was an event at Lake Norman, NC a local lake I like to frequent. It was a busy weekend when it hit, some say out of nowhere. Both power boats and sailboats were overutrned. Several people drowned. It was said winds approached 80 mph.

Weather can certainly be wild. Of course, these are isolated incidents. But, still, hope for the best prepare for the worst. Glad you're OK.

[David VanDenburgh]

A while back I promised video of the thunderstorm. The quality isn't as good as it could be, but here's what I have. I uploaded the video to youtube: Summer Thunderstorm

Here's another thunderstorm, this time while tied up in Frankfort, MI. Still, a fun ride. Frankfort Storm
David

PS - My camera "skills" are sure to make you seasick. Sorry.

[David VanDenburgh]

I can't hold a candle to Robert the Gray's film technique, but I've added a few videos to the Ariel site. I've been messing around with my brother's MacBook - a totally awesome machine! - and I've digitized some stuff from our summer sailing trip to Door County and back. Consider it a mid-winter fix. And just in time: we've gotten some serious snow during the past three days.

Sailing Footage
Scroll down toward the bottom of the page.

David