In 1982 Laura Branigan released an upbeat song titled "Gloria." I do not remember the words of the song beyond the opening "Gloria, Gloria…, and the refrain of G-L-O-R-I-A," but it reached the top 10 in the music world.
Now let me jump ahead to September 1985 and another Gloria. This one was a hurricane that moved into the top 10 when it developed into a Category 4 storm system with winds of 125 mph. Gloria came rumbling up the East Coast of the US in late September dropping massive amounts of rain.
[TR][TD][/TD][/TR][/TABLE][/TD][/TR][/TABLE]On September 27, Gloria moved from south of Cape Hatteras to the Chesapeake Bay, traveling at a speed of 25 mph. As the storm paralleled the eastern seaboard less than 100 miles offshore, it produced winds gusting to over 60 knots along the coast. These winds first came from the east and northeast when Gloria was south of Cape Hatteras, and then quickly backed to the north and northwest as the system continued to move north.
Where was I at the time? Aboard my 40-foot cutter Arawak, anchored in the Chesapeake Bay behind High Island in the Rhode River. My boat was anchored a few hundred feet away from a classic 50-foot Alden schooner called Windsong, which had a very seasoned couple on board.
In preparation for Gloria's arrival I laid out my two heaviest anchors, a 45-pound CQR and 35-pound Danforth. I was using 3/8-inch chain with copious scope and was depending on the limited fetch and the rolling hills behind High Island to lessen my exposure to the wind and seas. Windsong had also deployed two anchors, but each was much larger and heavier-the fisherman style.
To ensure that my anchors were well set, I donned my snorkel and dove down where I found them dug deeply into the mud bottom. I proceeded to strip my sails and deck gear and was feeling fairly secure about riding out the storm.
Then as night approached, the winds steadily increased and rain began to pound the boat, first vertically and then horizontally. The waves also began to build, despite the limited fetch, and my boat began to bounce, and rock and roll. Windsong, only 100 feet away, disappeared from view. I tried to sleep sitting at the navstation, nodding off for brief periods, but was jostled rudely awake each time my boat jerked at the anchor rodes or heeled over in a large gust.
Then, in the early morning hours when the wind shifted to the northwest and west, my anchors began to drag and to my dismay the water level in the Rhode River began to drop dramatically. Hurricane-force winds blowing from the northwest, coupled with the low tide was moving massive amounts of water out of the Chesapeake Bay. I was soon aground, hard aground. My boat stopped bouncing, and instead began heeling to starboard until she lay fully on her side. I remember being oh so glad to have a vessel with full keel, and a boat built of solid fiberglass. It also brought me solace to know that the boat had multiple frames, ribs, and deck beams as it had been designed for the roughest ocean weather.
Hurricane Gloria packed a punch in 1985, and hit the author with a lesson he won't soon forget about the power of such storms. |
Where was I at the time? Aboard my 40-foot cutter Arawak, anchored in the Chesapeake Bay behind High Island in the Rhode River. My boat was anchored a few hundred feet away from a classic 50-foot Alden schooner called Windsong, which had a very seasoned couple on board.
The track of Hurricane Gloria looks like a near miss for the Chesapeake Bay, but the storm brought winds in excess of 60 mph to the backwaters there. |
In preparation for Gloria's arrival I laid out my two heaviest anchors, a 45-pound CQR and 35-pound Danforth. I was using 3/8-inch chain with copious scope and was depending on the limited fetch and the rolling hills behind High Island to lessen my exposure to the wind and seas. Windsong had also deployed two anchors, but each was much larger and heavier-the fisherman style.
To ensure that my anchors were well set, I donned my snorkel and dove down where I found them dug deeply into the mud bottom. I proceeded to strip my sails and deck gear and was feeling fairly secure about riding out the storm.
Then as night approached, the winds steadily increased and rain began to pound the boat, first vertically and then horizontally. The waves also began to build, despite the limited fetch, and my boat began to bounce, and rock and roll. Windsong, only 100 feet away, disappeared from view. I tried to sleep sitting at the navstation, nodding off for brief periods, but was jostled rudely awake each time my boat jerked at the anchor rodes or heeled over in a large gust.
Then, in the early morning hours when the wind shifted to the northwest and west, my anchors began to drag and to my dismay the water level in the Rhode River began to drop dramatically. Hurricane-force winds blowing from the northwest, coupled with the low tide was moving massive amounts of water out of the Chesapeake Bay. I was soon aground, hard aground. My boat stopped bouncing, and instead began heeling to starboard until she lay fully on her side. I remember being oh so glad to have a vessel with full keel, and a boat built of solid fiberglass. It also brought me solace to know that the boat had multiple frames, ribs, and deck beams as it had been designed for the roughest ocean weather.
High and nearly dry. Gloria's winds helped to drive additional water out of the back creeks creating an excessively low tide. | |