posted 01-12-2011 11:54 AM ET (US)        

Today, I was reading this thread: http://continuouswave.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/020212.html

The links from forum member WT brought me to this recount of a storm on Lake Huron in 2006, that also included a story of a storm on Lake Superior in 1999: http://continuouswave.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/013113.html

That coupled with a movie I recently watched (White Squall, a 1996 movie starring Jeff Bridges) led me to Wikipedia.

Anyway - I believe that both the 2006 and 1999 stories recounted in the link above were likely examples of White Squalls.

According to Wikipedia: [quote[A white squall is a sudden and violent windstorm phenomenon at sea which is not accompanied by the black clouds generally characteristic of a squall. The name refers to the white-capped waves and broken water, its meager warning to any unlucky seaman caught in its path. White squalls are rare at sea, but common on the Great Lakes of North America.

A white squall is the culprit of many sea stories and blamed for quite a few tragedies. It is described as a sudden increase in wind velocity in tropical and sub-tropical waters, and lacks the usual dark, ominous squall clouds. The white squall, still thought by some to be myth, may be a microburst.[/quote]

posted 01-12-2011 01:35 PM ET (US)            

Sailing on a clear day a boat sailing a ways in front of his boat took a knock down and came back up with shredded sails (cotton sail days). Dad and crew saw the white caps coming and were able to get their sails down before the squall arrived.

All of my squall experience, including a water spout chasing us, has had the ugly clouds come with the squall.

posted 01-12-2011 03:45 PM ET (US)            

I turned on NOAA and that's when I heard the report. That's when I told Ellen, "I don't like this, let's drag up and get out of here..." We launched at Fruiport ramp on Spring Lake, furthest away and all the no-wake zones.

As we headed through the channel towards confluence of the Grand the wind started up and skies got weird. SO I powered up through the no-wake heading away from Lake Mich. Since it was a perfect day for boating I was surprised at the number of boats still heading out to the big lake and only a handful like us heading back.

By the time I got to Ferrysburg no wake it was getting worse and I was pushing throttle up even more in the no wake with eyes out for the cops. The eastern skies were now more friendly but it was getting real ugly NW. Finally I dropped the hammer to WOT (Outrage 17) and we were really trying to outrun what was coming. Wind was coming up, boats still heading West but we started to see a few heading to shore.

Approaching Spring Lake NW no wake zone a dude on a Hobie Cat got blown over about 150 years off my starboard bow. My instinct was to stop and help pull him back up but the Sheriff boat (dude lives on the lake or did, far end of Spring Lake by Fruitport) spotted him flip and was heading to give assistance.

The weather amped up a bunch more notches and once I cleared the Sheriff I went WOT through the no wake to the dock.

We were # 2 to take out, things getting real bad, trying to decide best move - I figured head out to open water and ride the storm out which was obviously coming. Then the dock on N side cleared and I drove the boat up, jumped out, ran to the 4 Runner in the overflow lot, got her lined up, backed the trailer in to get ready to load and all hell broke loose, almost like clear air, straight line wind. I figured at least 50mph from what I felt on mountains skiing in the west.

I lashed down the Outrage tight to the poles with my outstanding dock lines and knots, there were four other boats lined up to take out who were yelling at us to hurry up, it was too late and this other dude next to me and his woman were trying to hold their cuddy with clothes line.

No choice but to jump in the 4 Runner, I opened the driver's door and the wind about ripped the door off, it took two arms to close the door. The rig on the ramp, trailer in the water and the buffeting was lifting the rear of the 4 Runner up and down. Tops of canopy white and red oakes were flying off horizontally. The sky wasn't super dark but wind and driving rain prevailed.

It was over in minutes and carnage everywhere. The Outrage was fine but the dude who pulled out ahead of us made it to the road, his brother in a Ford Explorer wasn't so lucky, as he was lined up to pull out on to the road one of those oaks dropped on the Explorer and could have killed him. Two big trees blocked any chance of us getting out so we parked the rig and walked home.

The park was entirely messed up, full canopy oaks and maples snapped, uprooted everywhere. Dude across the street from ramp lost 12 mature big trees, power lines down, dangerous everywhere a trip. Village cordoned off for two days, our house spared but garage took two 80 footers and next door had four trees on it, Something like 40 houses were totalled out. One guy lost 400 big trees, 50 utility poles snapped on one road close to us, dozens and dozens of utility trucks from everywhere for days.

Reports from private home weather stations reported winds of 100 MPH just S of the line where the boat ramp is. That neighborhood took it the worse. Weather said straightline or maybe a microburst but winds we experienced seemed like from west entire time.

Once it was over this young couple cruised into the dock in a small cuddy cabin boat, maybe a Bayliner. they were grinnin' and I said "what'd you do during the storm? " He said "we just climbed into the cuddy, shut the door and got blown down the lake into the reeds...." They were happy.

posted 01-12-2011 04:33 PM ET (US)            

Once was a time in the late 80's on Sutton's Bay on our 26' Carver. I was maybe 10 at the time. The sky's went from absolutely clear to oily black. It was like someone had pulled a black sheet right over the top of us in a matter of seconds. I remember my father getting the life jackets out and ordering everyone to wear one and to get below. Through the cabin window I watched what looked like a wall of dust and dirt engulf the town just off our bow and race towards us. As the wind hit the water it ripped the surface off of it and turn that into a wall of white horizontal rain. It took every bit of skill for my father to get us to the dock and my mother holding on for her life with the ropes to make us fast as soon as we reached the sea wall.

I believe in the Grand Traverse Bay area alone there where 4 - 5 tornadoes and a dozen or so people who drowned or killed.

The second was in the mid 90's on Lake Erie while we were on South Bass Island in Put-in-bay. We had just walked into town to get dinner when the same type clouds came over us. We ran back to the dock to reset our lines and were hit by a wall of wind at the dock. We set our lines and helped a 34 Intrepid that out ran the wall across the lake tie to the dock and got everyone off and to cover. From there we watched the storm turn the bay into a child's bath tub full of toys. There were multiple sail boats and cruisers on the moorings in the bay that were blown ashore, inflatables with people capsized, some rafted boats in the city marina broke lose and were thrown into other boats and 40' nearly new Viking had it's lines cut by the harbor master to set it free after the waves picked it up and set it atop of a group of pilings along the outer seawall forcing the pilings through the side of the hull piercing the top dock of the bow.

In both cases the wind gusts where in excess of 100+ mph.

posted 01-12-2011 11:06 PM ET (US)            

Wanna learn how to cast a flyrod? No better place or time than hard steady windy day. Try it all day long sometime on a high desert steelhead stream; use double taper if you want a challenge, all I've ever used now that I think about it. I don't even own a weight forward, maybe I'll treat myself this year.

posted 01-13-2011 01:17 PM ET (US)            

This important descriptor was conveniently left out of the 1996 movie (probably for more visual effect, as it depicted a distant storm that moved with great speed and overtook, and sank the vessel, killing two crewmen and a student).

I don't believe I've ever experienced a violent white squall. I have experienced violent squall lines ahead of storm fronts aboard my boat on a few occasions.

I do not know if this phenomenon includes the presence of storm system elements like rain, hail and lightning or not. My guess is "not" - as that would be a traditional squall.