Thanks, all, for the info and the good advice. Another question, then.
We got swamped when I tried to go around a little peninsula to get to
a relatively calm cove which was close to our position. But to get to
the cove I had turn sideways to the waves, and that was not good. But
turning or quartering into the waves would have taken us further out
from shore, away from the cove, to the open water.

So it seems my choices at that point, before we were swamped, we 1)
try to get to the cove, which I did and it failed; 2) turn into the
wind and head away from shore or 3) beach it on the near side of the
little peninsula, where I ended up beaching anyway.

Any advice on that?


(pb) wrote in message . com...
I am new to boating and have a couple questions about what to do when
caught in bad weather. Last weekend I got caught on a lake in a bad
thunderstorm in a 16.5' bow rider, deep V fiberglass hull powerboat.
Clearly the biggest mistake I made was not to get off the lake when
the sky began clouding up, but the storm came quickly and this
question is about what to do after the storm is on you. Please no
flames, am trying to learn from my mistakes here.

The waves were surprisingly (to a newbie, anyway) high and the boat
got swamped. The water level was somewhere above the deck and below
the seats, hard to say for sure (it all happened so fast!) We were not
far from shore and had children on board so I chose to beach it ASAP
(unfortunately on a fairly rocky shore) and wait the storm out. Once
beached, the boat was forced by the waves onto its side and waves were
coming into the boat, and the rocks beat up the hull. After the storm
we got some help and got the boat back out into the water and
pumped/bailed out the water.

The question is, what should I have done after we got swamped? I am
told the boat will not sink due to foam filled hull, so I think I
probably should have turned the boat into the wind and waves and
waited the storm out on the water, while running the bilge pump and
bailing. Is that correct? Or what should I have done?

Thanks.

On 13 Aug 2003 14:24:43 -0700, (pb) wrote:
Thanks, all, for the info and the good advice. Another question, then.
We got swamped when I tried to go around a little peninsula to get to
a relatively calm cove which was close to our position. But to get to
the cove I had turn sideways to the waves, and that was not good. But
turning or quartering into the waves would have taken us further out
from shore, away from the cove, to the open water.

So it seems my choices at that point, before we were swamped, we 1)
try to get to the cove, which I did and it failed; 2) turn into the
wind and head away from shore or 3) beach it on the near side of the
little peninsula, where I ended up beaching anyway.

Any advice on that?
=============================================
Turning from upwind to downwind in large steep waves is a dangerous
maneuver and best avoided as you found out. If you really have to
make the turn, try to pick your spot carefully and maneuver between
waves as best you can. You might have been able to avoid trouble by
trimming the bow up a bit and motoring SLOWLY into the waves at an
angle. If things get really nasty however there's no guarantee even
that will work out safely. Open bow boats are particulary vulnerable
and by far the best cure is prevention. On balance though I think you
did the right thing once you were swamped. Lives are much more
important than boats, capsizing was a very real possibility that would
have greatly increased the danger, and you don't have much time to
make these decisions. Well done in my opinion except for being
"caught out" in the first place, and we've all had that happen.

If I was within 20 feet or so to the shore I'd be tempted to drag anchor and
hope that it would hold the boat in water just deep enough to float.
I
would be reluctant to throw an anchor off the front of an open bow in high
waves. If it were possible, Id try to get the boat heading into weather, hover
& walk her slowly sideways until protective water is reached. Its possible to
point into the weather & let yourself lose ground as to your advantage.

On 14 Aug 2003 02:09:24 GMT, (Wwj2110) wrote:

If I was within 20 feet or so to the shore I'd be tempted to drag anchor and
hope that it would hold the boat in water just deep enough to float.
I
would be reluctant to throw an anchor off the front of an open bow in high
waves. If it were possible, Id try to get the boat heading into weather, hover
& walk her slowly sideways until protective water is reached. Its possible to
point into the weather & let yourself lose ground as to your advantage.


folks should be aware that, if a rescue becomes necessary, it's going
to be more difficult if the boat is in the surf. it's a judgement call
on the part of the skipper, but that's why they earn the big bucks :-)
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