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Radar on a cell phone
In article ,
(JAXAshby) wrote:
you're worrying about not knowing when thunderstorms are immenent on the
Chesepeake? Why? You can see the clouds. The thunderstorm is north of you,
get your sails down and your engine running.
Chesapeake squalls can move! 20-25 knots isn't unusual and they pack
50-70 knot winds at least once a season. They're usually from the SW,
but can blow up east or west of an obvious cell in minutes. (If the
squall is to the north, you're usually safe.) Sometimes you can see the
squall or line, sometimes it's imbedded, and it often doesn't include
thunder or lightning.
If I had a radar and a crew member to study it constantly, I'd add it to
the arsenal, but I have neither.
Personally, I depend upon the weather warnings as THEY can keep their
heads buried in their far superior radars while I handle the boat and
watch the sky.
They've gotten pretty good about tracking squalls. Last Labor Day
weekend, they announced one was going to hit Dove Cove, within eyesight
of our marina and where a friend of ours was anchored at the time. It
hit just where and when they predicted. I couldn't see any obvious
warning signs just 5 nm away.
The next weekend, we heard a warning while under bright sunshine. As we
were in an open anchorage with poorish holding, we (6-7 boats) unrafted,
moved to a better spot about 2 miles up the river and got our anchors
down just as the squall hit. A couple of miles south, 26 or 28 boats
didn't hear or act and wound up on the shore. (One of them was a
dockmate that WAS properly anchored but got dragged down on twice by the
same boat.)
--
Jere Lull
Xan-a-Deux ('73 Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD)
Xan's Pages: http://members.dca.net/jerelull/X-Main.html
Our BVI FAQs (290+ pics) http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/
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