Holy Smokes...

[SeaJay]

Man... Amazing weather tonight in the islands...

Sustained 33 knot wind. Gusts to 39 knots.

Seas are nearly 11 feet tonight. 11 feet! :dropmouth:

Check out the current conditions: http://www.DeepSouthDivers.org Click on "Dive," then "Before You Dive," then "Offshore South Carolina."

Oh yeah... While you're on there, make sure to check out some of the new music I put on the site tonight. That's "Listen," "Club's Favorite Songs."

Wow... I'd hate to be called out on a rescue tonight. :frown3:

Actually, what am I saying? That might be kinda cool... Talk about challenging! I've been in 8' seas in a 17' boat... I thought that was bad! 11 footers... Hmmmm... I'd be wearing my scuba gear while on the boat! (Could I log that?) :unsure:

 

[d33ps1x]

Sketchy is fun.

 

[Genesis]

8' seas in a 17' boat eh? What period?

Around here, 8' seas are likely to be on a 5-6 second period, and your 17 footer would be about 4' underwater when the first one broke over your bow

 

[DivemasterSteve]

I'd be wearing my scuba gear while on the boat! (Could I log that?) :unsure:

LOL, you could log a lot of dives that way. as big as they are, each wave that broke over the boat would be a dive.

steve

 

[SeaJay]

8' seas in a 17' boat eh? What period?

Around here, 8' seas are likely to be on a 5-6 second period, and your 17 footer would be about 4' underwater when the first one broke over your bow

Heh.

Oh, yes... We had many waves break over the bow. The boat's a self-bailer, and let's just say we had a talented captain.

Hey, man... The Marine Rescue Squadron isn't allowed to sink a boat!

We were actually going out to rescue a 45' sport fishing vessel that had been motored up on a mud bar during out tide due to complete ignorance. The captain had tried to outrun a storm in a river he didn't know. Before he was able to get his boat off the bar, the tide had gone out a little and the storm caught him.

As the water level dropped, the uneven ground beneath placed his boat at a funny angle. Combined with the massive waves that began to catch up with him, water began breaking over the stern.

When it hit his batteries, the lights went out. When the storm began to swallow them, the air got cold. Then the sun began to set.

No problem, right? They're on land, right? Not so fast, sparky...

The land they were on was basically in the middle of the river... About two miles from any inhabited islands. Surrounding the land they'd hit (which was submerged at the time of impact) are shallows... About a foot deep, with leg-swallowing puff mud. Get stuck in that during incoming tide and you're pretty much done for.

At least the waves stopped abusing them as the tide went out... But that's when the sky cracked open and began to pour it's contents on our shorts-wearing crew.

Two of four were hypothermic by the time we got to them. No cell phone. no batteries to power the radios. No way to call for help. A passer-by had seen them run aground, but had taken some four hours to call us for the rescue. I suppose he thought they'd be able to get off that bar. No such luck with the wind and waves at their stern.

I remember it well... Going out in the tail end of that storm in those seas in a boat that could handle the shallows... I think the USCG had actually called us...

Some other time I'll tell you about the car I pulled out of the drink a couple of months ago...

 

[Genesis]

ROTFL!

BTW, "self bailing" only works if the water runs out FASTER than it comes in over the bow

We get a couple of guys a year around here who haven't read that part of the manual

The Atlantic side is completely different than what we get here. I've been over there, and 4-6s aren't all that bad most of the time, as they are typically long-period seas.

Over here 4-6s will rattle your teeth even in a 45 foot, 25 ton battlewagon, especially the occasional 10s that you get with them.

 

[SeaJay]

ROTFL!

BTW, "self bailing" only works if the water runs out FASTER than it comes in over the bow

Ha! Hilarous...

Yeah, aren't you in "hurricane alley?" Yikes.

I remember the first wave that broke over the bow... We had all of our searchlights deployed at the time, and using some of them to search for channel markers and others to search for the victims. When that first wave approached (we sorta "rounded a corner" of a neighboring island and went from 3' seas to 8' seas in a matter of seconds) I distinctly remember seeing what appeared to be a vertical wall of water illuminated brightly by our searchlights. It was much taller than the boat... Taller even than eye level from where we were standing (too rough to sit). The thought process went something like "Holy shhhh...!" We launched that boat skyward as that cold wall tore at everything on board! I remember killing the throttle and ducking my head behind the center console in hopes that I wouldn't get separated from the boat. That's when the floor dropped out from underneath us, and everyone became airborne for a second...

WHAM! I jumped on throttle and water rushed everywhere... I think I had whacked my chin on the helm... It was like getting hit by Mike Tyson. Lucky I didn't knock out any teeth...

What a thrill...

From there it became a game of "throttle man" and trying to search from the crest of each wave... Luckily, only some of the waves were that bad.

Man, do I love the water...

 

[Snowbear]

Seas are nearly 11 feet tonight. 11 feet!

Sounds hairy!
By 11' seas - do you mean 11' total or 11' crest and 11' trough from actual sea level (22' total)? In a 17' boat that musta been exciting!

 

[SeaJay]

11' from the bottom of the trough to the top of the crest.

But the most I've done is about 8'... I haven't been out on a night like tonight... I can't imagine!

Might be fun on a jetski, though.

We're up to 11.5 feet now... But the period's down to 8 seconds... This is coming from your direction, Genesis... From the land. Isn't that bizarre? To think that they're getting up to 11.5 feet in about 17 miles! (The buoy is offshore 17 miles, and the wind direction is NE @ 29-37 knots!)

 

[seaangel]

Great to see you back, SeaJay! I just got home Monday from a cruise in the Western Carribbean on the NCL SUN, we had some really high rollers last Wed. in Grand Cayman. In the morning the winds were at 25 to 50 knots, they had to divert our ship to an alternate anchoring site at Spots Bay. Seas were running at 12 to 15ft, all water activities while in port were cancelled. That was a real disappointment for me. But I knew that it was safer for us and I really did not want to be on a smaller boat diving in those seas anyway. Later on after we departed from Grand Cayman, seas were even higher, the Captain said there were reports of some 20ft waves, and I do believe it. I was in the fitness room watching out of the all glass window across the port side and it was quite a site. Also, you know on a ship that has decks that are a quarter of a mile for one lap around to feel the swells it has to be really rocking. I thought it was fun! I took a good nap then went to dinner at the aft dining room. Was a great experience.

I did not do any diving at any ports we made. I had hoped to in Cozumel, but I was busy trying to assist the non divers with me in snorkeling, my Dad 76yrs old has never snorkled and he had some problems with the entry into the surf from the shore. We were at Chankaanaab Park. Surf was not bad, but at entry it did hit at the rocks and steps some. I only could stand the jellyfish stings for about 20 to 30 minutes once I got out some, they were everywhere. So I called the snorkle a wash. Then did not care to dive any. Oh, well. I am going to West End in March with our dive shop and I plan to go to Ginnie in April. Can't wait to get back in the water.