The closest port in a storm
 

A couple weekends ago I was at Kentucky Lake and learned an important lesson I’ll not soon forget.
I have been boating for 20yrs and like most inland lake and river boaters I am usually a “fair weather” boater. If it is going to rain or storm I stay home and make sure the couch is the proper distance from the TV. We were in the rock quarry jumping off the cliff when my wife calls to me and says to look up. A large thunderhead cloud was speeding over the top of the trees on the cliff and heading south-east. The cliff is on the north side of the quarry cove so you couldn’t see the cloud until it was on top of you. The kids and I got to the boat as fast as we could. Several boats were already heading out of the cove. My first thought was maybe I should stay in the cove and let it pass, but some cracks of lightening changed my mind. For years it has been drilled into me to get off the water when there is lightening. So like most the others I left the quarry to head to the cabin about 3mi away. Kentucky Lake is very long and narrow running northwest to southeast. The wind was blowing from the northwest and the waves about 2’. I have been in water with waves 2’+ on my 20’ Mariah my 27’ could handle these with no problems, so I headed out. About a mile up the lake the wind picked up and so did the waves, I would guess about 4’. This is when things got nasty. A couple of the waves broke over the bow (the bow sets 3ft above the water) so I wanted to turn and head back to the protection of the cove but the waves were too big. As I tried to turn once the boat rocked so much I was afraid it would capsize. Visions from the movie “The Perfect Storm” went through my mind. A few more waves had now gone over the bow and water was pooling in the mid-cabin. The water would come over the bow and run under the front cabin door. I cannot convey the feeling of helplessness and fear for your family’s safety you feel in this situation, but I made it look like I was not too worried. I still needed to turn but was forced to throttle up and down the waves trying to keep the bow up but every 5th or 6th wave would break over the bow adding weight. Finally two or three waves came at us that were about 3’ so I turned the boat. Now that I was going with the waves and not against them; they no longer came over the bow and I followed along with them. The water in the cabin was almost up to the cushions and my wife started to bail it out. The boat seemed to dog down at times and I thought if it drowns out and the boat gets side ways to the waves it will flip. I thought if it stops I will get everyone in the water and away from the boat. I turned on the bilge pump but it didn’t seem to work. We rode the waves right back to the quarry and into smooth water. Once in, I pulled the boat close to the cliff to help block the rain and reduce the chance of a lightening strike. I raised the engine cover to see how much water had pooled and found none! All the water was contained in the floor of the cabin! I estimate about 100-125gal. We bailed it out and the wind died down in around 20 min. so we went back to the cabins. Most of the other boats headed out were smaller than mine; I pray they all made it to safety.
That night I was so angry with my self for getting me and my family it to that situation. I could hardly sleep thinking of all the what-if’s, thankfully none of those happened.
Up to this point lightening was the most dangerous thing I had faced on the water. Now I know it is second to wind and waves. I had heard the old saying “The closest port in a storm” I didn’t realize that I was in a port. I thought it was a place you can dock your boat and get out of the weather, but I now know it is a cove, an island, or even a stationary barge that can block the waves. This is the lesson I learned and the mistake I will never again make.
I know this has been long, but I hope someone besides me can learn from it!

On a side note I found the z275 is compartmentalized(the z245 and z302 probably is too). The things under the side cushions in the cabin stayed dry. It seems the boat can take on a lot of water and the engine compartment stay dry! I don’t know if it was intentional or not but it’s nice to know

Wow, glad you made it through that OK. I know what you mean, it gets really scary when the wind and waves are taking control, and you're at the mercy of nature! I've read lots of boating safety books, taken the classes and all that, but nothing can ever prepare you for what mother nature can throw upon you in a moments notice. Sometimes you have to experience these things to make yourself a better boater, and to gain confidence in both your skills, as well as the boat's capabilities. Glad to see it held up, and now you know you'll be prepared next time! Thanks for sharing your experience, I'm sure we can all gain something from it! :wink_thumbup:

Wow, what a day you had on the lake. I'm glad you took the time to share the adventure with us and I hope that others will take the time to read and learn from your experience. I know I have. I don't even want to think about how a smaller boat , like my 20' Shabah, would have held up in that mess. It is also good to see that yours did so well. Thanks for the post. I hope others will post as well so that we can all become better boaters.

John, I'm glad you and your family made it back safely, and that one of my favorite boats on the site is okay ;).

Thanks for sharing this information. It could save someone's life and/or boat some day!

One thought - I definitely think your cabin should drain to the bilge. Try looking for a drain tube and see if it's clogged. If there's no separate bilge pump in the cabin, I'm sure it's supposed to drain to the engine bilge.

Nope, no drain, I pressed on the carpet to see if something was covered. I am glad there is not a fast drain in there. If there was, it could have overwhelmed the bilge pump and stopped the engine.