Chrysler Sailors Forum

For those who may not have heard about it, during the annual DI run on Mobile Bay a spring storm hit hard. Mostly happened when the faster boats were returning back up the bay, or slower boats were near the finish. Near hurricane force winds were recorded, boats and lives were lost.

There's a lot of discussion down here about poor judgment in trying to get the race in on an iffy day, but I wasn't there so I can't speak. Spring and summer storms pop up quickly down here, and shallow bowls like Mobile Bay and Lake Pontchartrain get nasty fast. Other than to say I borrow an adage from my aviation buddies -its better to be down here wishing you were up there than to be up there wishing you were down here..

A video clip from a larger boat under power is below
https://youtu.be/dJF7i5z9lQ4

The wind hits hard at about 3:00 and at about 11:45 they really get rocked a bit.


I will point out what the redhead's late dad (USCG Chief ret.) used to say - we never pulled up a drowning victim wearing a life vest..there's a point in the video where it looks like the helm is trying to get on a vest, but the wind makes it too hard..

..by way of contrast a clip from the beginning of the day
https://youtu.be/xWiT9KOc644

thanks for sharing. Hadn't heard of it. Googled some news reports. Sympathy to families/friends of those lost.

Anyone know what kind of boats were lost?

There's a wrap up article here;
http://www.al.com/news/mobile/index.ssf ... _daup.html

It mentions a Catalina 22, and I've heard (or read) that a Cal25 was lost, but can't verify it..

Thanks for sharing this thread. As an inactive airplane pilot, I still attend safety seminars. I think a thread about sailboat safety would be a nice complement to this website. The comments about life jackets in particular were good. As I read through the story, I could not help but connect with the "urgency to get there", monitoring weather, knowing your equipment, having a plan in place, MOB drills, having a portable marine radio. Except of for the MOB drills, all of these connect well with aviation. There are lots of "I learned from xxx" experiences we can all share.

Here is what the weather forecast looked like... supporting story...

http://www.al.com/news/mobile/index.ssf ... ry_package

Yikes!
It is one thing being in a 40 ft boat but in 16' catamaran . . . . . .
I'll stick to our mono hulls for now!


Scott

EmergencyExit wrote:

I will point out what the redhead's late dad (USCG Chief ret.) used to say - we never pulled up a drowning victim wearing a life vest...

http://www.nbc15.com/home/headlines/Sea ... 09411.html

A person on a sailing school Oday 25 keel boat went overboard late Saturday afternoon in Madison, WI and has not been found. All of the classes are cancelled for the next few days while they continue the search. My daughter said it was the first non-alcohol related drowning on the lake in many decades. Winds were around 10 mph. The person was not wearing a life vest. They have not found him as of this moment. Adults in keel boats at the school have the option to wear PFDs. I hope you all embrace the option to live.