Big Blow Overnight

A strong line of storms came through at the convenient hour of 11pm last night.  We knew big a thunderstorm was possible but we got something different. We were tucked in bed and cozy as the swirl started. It was a strong line of storms with very big wind. Mike got up to peek out and turn on the navigation instruments so he could see the actual wind speed. 

We were on the leeward side of the dock (downwind) so we were being pushed away. As long as your lines hold, you’re gonna be ok. We quickly added some more dock lines to spread out the load. Our big-ship neighbor was still blocking some of the wind for us but we saw 50+ knots on the instruments. The wind-driven waves were crashing over the dock. The salt spray was not exactly refreshing.

The boats on the windward side of the docks were getting hammered. Everyone puts their fenders between the boat and dock when they arrive. You tie them to your rails, adjust them to down to dock level and this works great in normal weather. These conditions were tossing the boats around so violently that their fenders bounced out of position and the boats were getting banged directly against the dock. Boats are heavy. The wind and waves were strong. The small crowd of boaters that gathered couldn’t budge the boats more than a few inches before they bumped the dock again. This meant that we couldn’t get their fat, cushy fenders back between them and the dock. We have some skinny, dense fenders that we call our ice cream sandwiches. We were able to wedge them between the dock and one boat. The next boat in need had even less room to work with so we grabbed one of our cheap orange life vests and squeezed it into the gap.

We didn’t get much sleep after that. Even after we had done all that we could for our boat neighbors in need, Luna shivered and clanged in the howling wind for another hour or so. The next morning, we made the rounds collecting our extra fenders and life jackets. Surprisingly, no boats on our dock took more than serious rub marks from the dock.

Some folks leave their boats on anchor near this marina. The two most noteworthy boats didn’t have anyone onboard. One lost containment of its jib and the wind shredded it. That makes a horrible slapping, shredding sound all night until it finally losses enough fabric to be quiet. Another dragged its anchor and was blown toward the dock slowly for a few hours. I felt bad for the boats in her path, I’m sure they got less sleep than we did. It was the middle of the night with driving rain and howling wind. It took a high-powered flashlight to keep track of her. Once the wind eased up, she held fast right in the middle of the channel.  We watched her until she settled to make sure she wasn’t going to crash into the dock or another boat. Then we went to bed.

Mike left his bike outside. It was in the covered cockpit area but there was no hiding from the salty, wind-driven waves. He had to clean all of the salt spray off of it the next day.

Total miles south: 639 Temperature tonight vs. Vienna: 18 degrees warmer.