From Ron Brooks,
Your Guide to Saltwater Fishing.
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The Conditions

The wall of rainwater from the storm that we were watching, approached from the west at a surprising rate. Dark, heavy, rumbling clouds poured out their contents and made the horizon under them a blur. We could not even distinguish the water line.

To the east, was bright blue sky and sunlight reflecting back to us off of the windshields of other boats on the water. It was as if we were watching through a window.

The wind, refreshing, but ominously cool, began picking up around us as the sky continued to darken. The sun had been hidden by the thunderhead for some time now. The low rumble of thunder became louder as we counted the number of seconds between the lightning strike and the sound… one one thousand, two one thousand, three one thousand. Every five seconds of sound delay means about a mile of distance, I was taught at an early age. The lightning was striking three miles away now, and getting closer.

Our Options

We had a few options. One was to simply stay put and anchor up on the flat with a long anchor line. That option meant sitting, or rather lying down through the rain and lightning and getting very wet.

Another option was to run directly away from the storm in order to outrun it. That would have worked if the storm had approached from a different direction. Unfortunately running away from the storm meant running farther from shore, with the distinct possibility that we could be cut off from the shore by some very nasty water.

The option we chose was to run perpendicular to the path of the storm. We waited as long as we dared to see which way the entire system was moving. Once we made the decision, we cranked up and ran, in this case, south. In about ten minutes, we could see that we had run far enough that the storm would pass us to the north, lightning and all.

Within forty-five minutes, we were able to run back to our fishing spot and fish the backside of the weather.

Running from a storm is not always possible. Today we were fortunate that we were able to do that. There have been other occasions where we were not as fortunate. If you can't run from a storm there are some things you can do to make things a lot safer for you and your boat.

Riding Out the Storm

In the event you can't run from that storm, here are some tips to help you ride out the big blow:

1. Sometimes you just have to anchor up and take your chances. If rough seas or unnavigable water makes it impossible to run, it’s time to anchor up. Do so, making sure the anchor is hung, and let all of the anchor rope out. The longer the fetch in the line, the better the anchor will hold.

2. Take down antennas and fishing rods – anything that makes you a higher profile on the water than you already are. Then get as low in the boat as possible and ride it out.

3. In the middle of the blow, if the anchor pulls free, you are better off allow it to drag than you are pulling it in to reset it. As soon as you get the anchor in, the wind will put your boat in a breach situation – and you don’t want to be taking wind and waves broadside. The dragging anchor will at least keep your bow into the wind and waves.

4. I’ve also found it comforting to keep the engine running in neutral during the ride. If you were to need power to keep your bow into the wind, it is instantly there. In a worst-case scenario, perhaps with no anchor, keep the boat in forward with the bow into the wind, and ride the waves out. And, in the event you or others for whatever reason end up in the water – never, ever leave the boat.

Bottom Line

Storms and weather are usually not as bad as I depicted here, but when a bad one does come around, you should be able to deal with whatever situation develops. A little smarts on the front end and common sense during the storm can save not only your boat, but also perhaps your life.