Re: What's the worst conditions you have been out in?
 

me and my dad in my 1969 13' Boston Whaler. We were flounder fishing on the Potomac River. It was a long time ago so I don't remember exactly what size the seas where, but I do remember we decided to go in after three waves in a row broke over the side. Thankfully we were in a whaler. That was probably the only time I was concerned in a boat. Another time I was fishing at the Tangier target ships, It took me 30 minutes to get there and an hour and a half to get back. :rolleyes: I haven't had my scarab in anything like that.

yet!!!!

Re: What's the worst conditions you have been out in?
 

I was returning to port and had to cross Tpa Bay after a wicked night of rain and wind. Like everyone you keep moving slowly forward in hopes its going to get better. It didn't, ran into 5-7 slop. The waves would take my 30ft Spectre cat from behind and use it like a surfboard right into the next wave. Water crashing over the bow and knocking the goggles off us. At one time my wife looked in the back seat and the water was up to the seat level. She started freakin thinking we were going to sink. The bilges were running and let me tell you those pumps Jay puts in throw some serious water out. Its about 2' round and gushing like a fire hose. About 20 min. later we were across and in the ICW. It was an experience for sure, but I never thought we were going to swamp. Just kept enough power to push it and steer. As for slop like this you cant even get an angle on the waves for fear of barrel rolling. It sure made a better captain out of me that day. Gotta take the good with the bad.

Re: What's the worst conditions you have been out in?
 

I dont doubt it....Spaced far enough apart....Did it in the T/G just to try it...NOT for 25 miles though !! :D :D ...Bet that got OLD real quick !

Been in 25-30s.....................In a 37 Morgan "Out-Islander"..
Not fun at all ! :eek: :D

Re: What's the worst conditions you have been out in?
 

I was in a 38 Gun coming going back to Ft. Lauderdale from the Miami races in April. SOLID 10-12' w/ a few 14's thrown in . GPS read avg of 52.3. SST rub rail was bowed out approx. 1 1/2" on each side of the helm area due to the stress of the bow hitting!!!!!!!

Worst time I ever had was off Long Island in a 25' Sea Ray back in the 80's. Noreaster came in and I had to hang in 18-20's all night. A couple 25'+ ones came through.

The second time I thought I was going to die on a boat was in '87 at Sandy Hook NJ. Sunday sqaull came throught the bay and created a water spout. I got cought in one. Lifted the boat off the water and set it back down in a diff direction. I think 5 boats in the area were lost.

Re: What's the worst conditions you have been out in?
 

Daytona 2001 was the biggest for me. My back hurts thinking about it.

Re: What's the worst conditions you have been out in?
 

Been in some wild ones in Lake Mi. but prob worst was back in late 60's - was 14 and we were on 42ft. Chris Craft on Lake Superior out of Black River Harbor in the UP. Left 5am and were to return about noon. 6 on board and was my first big-time fishing event. This was before cell phones, chart plotters, weather radar, gps, etc.. As I remember the radio had tubes. They let me pilot and was on top of the world. Maybe 20 miles out and we hit another world. It got worse and worse - I could tell by the way the Captian was acting that this wasn't normal. Lifejackets on and hang on for life. Made any ride at Cedar Point a cake walk. Couldn't even tell which way the wind was coming from - rods, cushions, charts,food, flying everywhere. I'll never forget how loud the water was. Were getting beat up real good just trying to hang on - everyone had that this may be the last time we look each other in the eyes look. Captian is swearing at the radio and yelling mayday. Weirdest looking waves I have ever seen - no rhyme or reason to them - no sets just waves and some vertical. Can't really even say size of them because it was so messy- prob 25ft range. Some miricle got us through it and remember I did'nt complain about having to go to church on Sun. for a few weeks afterwards. We get through this mess and the lake calms down and were lost - Captian starts blaming the iron ore deposits for screwing up the compass -which I find out years later can happen to planes up there. The fog rolls in and were idling for hours and hours - everyone is on deck listening for the sound of water lapping on rocks which could be good or bad. About 11pm we hit something so solid it sounded like it ripped a 3 ft wide gash out of the hull. Thought this is it were going down. Turned out to be the channel marker barrel inside Black River! - we were right back at the slip we started from. The Captian goes HOLY CHIT!! We tied the boat up and everyone just said hey, see ya tomarrow - like it was no big deal. I'm standing there at 14yrs old thinking what the ......!

Re: What's the worst conditions you have been out in?
 

Good thread, we all can learn from this. Worst was the tail end of Hurricane Kyle a couple of years ago, coming out of NYC harbour. Boat was sitting for about three weeks at a marina racking up the bills because every weekend was crap weather with rain. Finally a sunny day with 5 to 8 foot seas due to Kyle. I said screw it, we are going, how bad can it be just running out and ducking into Rockaway Inlet? Well, eight to ten foot seas, then breaking twelve footers. Chart plotter failed due to getting soaked from waves breaking over the boat bow, Coast Guard on the radio kept repeating "look for body" from overturned 21 foot boat. The coasties had to turn back due to three failed attempts to rescue one of the guys on the overturned boat, as the coasties injured three crewman with fractured ribs etc. in the stiff waves.

My wife on the backup handheld Etrex GPS got us into the inlet with her chart numbers as we could not see anything but breaking surf and blowing white spray. I told her, I hope your numbers are right, otherwise we are going to be flipped over on the beach, cause that is what it looked like I was headed into. She is a real trooper and was dead on, otherwise we would both be dead! My knees were still knocking together from fear or cold or both for hundreds of yards into the calm waters of the State Boat Channel.

Seven footers off Newport, RI were no fun, turned back to Newport.

Six footers and wild winds blowing white spray across the surface of the ocean. were fun in Great South Bay, NY. Water was coming into the boat at idle speed and my wife was freaking out (only one years boating experience then), so I told her to go below and brace herself in the cabin. Then I cranked the 30 Sonic to max speed, as the waves were really close and I just screamed right across the tops of them about 60 MPH. A fifty foot police boat was rolling about 90 degrees and I thought he was going to flip over, so I screamed over for a closer look, seemed okay, waved then blasted off to Davis Park. It was the most exhilarating boating trip ever, before or since.

Then there was the time I spilt open a gas tank coming back from a Key West poker run. The "nortech" video on my web site was taken in Blackwater sound the day after about half the top weld on one of my "special" custom made gas tanks spilt open while pounding into 4 to 5 foot head seas in Hawk Channel. Did not realize it until docked in Miami, and the bilge was full of gas. I guess that was a close one!

Re: What's the worst conditions you have been out in?
 

I went across a big cruiser wake yesterday. Does that count? :p

Re: What's the worst conditions you have been out in?
 

Back in the early 60's my parents and I were returning from a trip to Block Island and Rhodie Island with our wooden 34' cabin cruiser.
A hurricane was working it's way up the coast around South Carolina but the seas were big all the way up to New York Harbor. Dad decided to continue heading for home. We only had to get from NYC to Manasquan Inlet. We had a slip at Cedar-Mar Marina in South Toms River/Beachwood, N.J..
We hit open water and found it to a decent ride...at first. Once outside the seas got worse. All three of us were up on the flybridge and we quickly found it was near impossible to get back down. So there we stayed. The waves were, in my estimation, 13'+. When we were down in the bottom of a trough we couldn't see over the wave in front or behind, even while sitting up top on the flybridge. We'd slowly climb up one side and surf down the back. Every time the we hit the trough bottom the bow would dig into the face of the next wave like a Navy Destroyer. Water spraying everywhere. We had an 8' boat lashed to the cabin top that began to come loose. Dad climbed down, tied a line around his waist then made his way to the bow and secured it.
WHAT A ROLLER COASTER RIDE!! A littile over 8 hours.
When we reached safety we found most of the cabin windows blown out and all the bilge pumps running full tilt. We had taken on a lot of water, but it was still coming in. The cabin sole was awash. We found later that we cracked a few ribs in the hull and a couple hull planks began to separate.
We made it. The hull was repaired and the boat sold. Dad bought a new 36' Chris Craft to replace it.

Re: What's the worst conditions you have been out in?
 

Coming back from the SBI races in NY by water in September of 1999, we came up from Point Pleasant NJ the weather was nice no waves in a 22 ZX
when we returned that Sunday afternoon a N/E Storm was in the Ocean the Hudson had 4 to 5t on her when we hit the Ocean they were 15 My 22 Was like being in a death trap... The worst part was coming back into the inlet Felt mre like a plane then a boat!