Skipper’s Corner -Thunderstorm Boat Handling

It’s mid-summer and you’ve been enjoying your boat. All that sun and sea,
communing with nature, cooling off in the water. What could possibly go astray on such sunny days? Today, we will address one of them. If you consider yourself a seasoned boater and haven’t run into some pretty snotty thunderstorm, you ain’t using your boat enough. You can claim you are just cautious and check the weather the night before, but there is a giant hole in your argument. Thunderstorms can rise unexpectedly and if you use that boat regularly, you have to know how to prepare for and navigate in a storm. Some of them can be real rousers and you can’t just turn around to your passengers and scream, “We’re all gonna’ die!” That’s just un-sea manly, says I.

You definitely should check the forecasts not only on the nightly news but most importantly from a marine bureau like NOAA, National Weather Service, and US Harbors, which are all good for our region. They will give you a little more than “It may spritz on the Yankee game about 2 PM.” It will give you the complete maritime low down as to probability, expected wind speeds, approximate times, etc., etc., and you can actually track incoming storm sites on their sights. Your boat radar can only track very heavy downpours, so I would not consider this reliable.
Stay tuned to your marine radio and listen to any weather updates or warnings. Best of all, keep your eyes on the sky and watch the cloud patterns. Get on the internet and study what developing storm clouds look like so that you can gauge when it’s time to cut for home.
At any sign of foul weather, it’s life jackets on everyone, even the pet hamster!! No excuses! Get everyone seated down below, or if an open boat, seat them as low as possible in the center of the boat. Don’t worry about complaints about wet asses. You are the captain, Dam it! Try to find a safe place to dock before the storm hits. That should be your primary goal. If that is not possible, secure anything that can slide on the deck. Make sure your bilge is dry, as you will probably take on some water. If you must continue underway, take it slow and hit waves at a 45-degree angle. If the wind heightens, you add enough speed to power through to maintain helm (Direction), but never plane the boat in these adverse conditions. Your pleasure or fishing boat is probably not grounded, therefore everyone on board should avoid touching the metal of electronics once the flashing starts. The captain should stay seated while at the wheel, which is probably all metal. It would be discourteous to have someone else take the wheel at this point. Many captains carry rubber gloves to insulate themselves in case of a strike.
It goes without saying that you should have an anchor, line and a spare on board. At times, it is better to anchor with a lot of line out and ride it out, the wind will swing the boat so that the bow is facing it and the oncoming waves, which is the best of a poor situation. A first aid kit and a fire extinguisher are mandatory. Make sure your flares are dry because you may have to use them and always keep a paddle and boat hook on board. Only make a ‘Mayday’ call if there are no options.
I can tell you that I have been in some extremely unexpected and anxious
situations in storms in my many years. Once we were way offshore and I thought we bought it. It took 7 hours to get back. We kissed the dock. Another time, I took 4 chumps out on the bay and we got hit. I made it back. I think of them every day.
See you on the water.
Captain Eddie Smith (Retired)