Cruising World - November - December 2016

HANDS-ON SAILOR

98

SAFETY AT SEA

W

ith barely enough breeze to fi ll

cruisingworld.com

BY SCOTT NEUMAN

3

POLINA SHUVAEVA/ISTOCKPHOTO

the sails on Symbiosis, our Tayana

37, we ghosted south through the Caicos

Passage, heading toward the Dominican

Republic. A wall of cumulus clouds

stretched to the east beside us, looking

only slightly menacing. Suddenly, a dark

funnel descended from the sky several

miles ahead. My pulse quickened. I put my

wife, Noi, on the helm and went forward to

douse the main.

The next several minutes were spent in

full-throttle maneuvers aimed at skirting

the waterspout, which had thickened

somewhat and taken on a more ominous

vortex shape. Ultimately, our ef orts

proved unnecessary, and the funnel

disappeared into the squall line as quickly

as it had formed.

At the time, what we experienced

seemed like a freak occurrence. Later, as

I did more research, I discovered that

tornadoes at sea are not at all unusual and

november/december 2016

Cool air plus warm water can spell waterspout. Tornadic waterspouts thrive

on warm, humid conditions that would normally spawn thunderstorms.

Though it’s traumatic to encounter a tropical waterspout, they’re hardly a rare occurrence.

Prepare yourself for what to do when you catch one spinning off the horizon.

TORNADOES AT SEA

HANDS-ON SAILOR

98

SAFETY AT SEA

W

ith barely enough breeze to fi ll

the sails on Symbiosis, our Tayana

37, we ghosted south through the Caicos

Passage, heading toward the Dominican

Republic. A wall of cumulus clouds

stretched to the east beside us, looking

only slightly menacing. Suddenly, a dark

funnel descended from the sky several

miles ahead. My pulse quickened. I put my

wife, Noi, on the helm and went forward to

douse the main.

The next several minutes were spent in

full-throttle maneuvers aimed at skirting

the waterspout, which had thickened

somewhat and taken on a more ominous

vortex shape. Ultimately, our ef orts

proved unnecessary, and the funnel

disappeared into the squall line as quickly

as it had formed.

At the time, what we experienced

seemed like a freak occurrence. Later, as

I did more research, I discovered that

tornadoes at sea are not at all unusual and

november/december 2016

cruisingworld.com

Cool air plus warm water can spell waterspout. Tornadic waterspouts thrive

on warm, humid conditions that would normally spawn thunderstorms.

Though it’s traumatic to encounter a tropical waterspout, they’re hardly a rare occurrence.

Prepare yourself for what to do when you catch one spinning off the horizon. BY SCOTT NEUMAN

3 TORNADOES AT SEA

POLINA SHUVAEVA/ISTOCKPHOTO