Sea conditions after a front passes -- any real world experiences?

[CrazyRu]

However running with the front may be another story.
MY experience is with long distance open water racing in small boats (dingies).
Nothing in my experience is so far showing that big boats are any different, except that they are harder to sail
Gulf Stream is another story and it is another consideration. I wouldn’t go into any “stream” if weather runs against it regardless of the size of the boat unless I have no choice.
In ideal conditions, depending on a center of the front (we are talking about big weather fronts, such as nor-ester) wind will build up and seas will build up then wind gradually shifts clockwise (We are talking about eastern US). In my experience, very limited, mind you, seas will shift accordingly to wind. And subside quite fast afterwards.
It is possible to run with the front, if front moving in the same direction and with about same speed. Normally fronts are faster; however there are two-three days until front overtakes you.
In fast boat it is quite possible to overrun a front. You get into some lumpy seas with wind suddenly dying or shifting ahead. Then you get a hit with the front again and again.
Again, with my limited experience, if you continue to move and front overtakes you, and front is moving in the same direction, seas are getting beneath quite fast. If you run ahead of it, or your direction and front’s direction are on splitting course, then seas may get confusing for quite a while.
Now, I hope I provoked someone with a real experience to weight in.

[Bene505]

Please keep it coming, these are great posts!

[Giulietta]

Bene, (full photo coverage of those)..eheheh

Last weekend we had no les than 3 cold fronts in one day...I saw them...all coming from land (North winds)...

The 1 hour right after each had passed the seas were nice and calm, the air would warm, and one would think the bonanza had arrived...we were hit over and over again..the 3rd one was the worse one

See the photos bellow as taken from the sea...


This is before the first one, "the not so bad" after the other 2 hit us..



the photo bellow is taken between the 1st and second cold fronts..look at the sea, calm and nice..and even some sun..



but you could see the second one coming..



this is after the first had passed looking to the sea...you can see it dark in the air




This is the second one coming




the second one gone



then the 3rd one

(yes it's the same tanker from photo above..but a few hours later..)

here I am already follwoing it..

Max wind speed I saw in my ST60 was 35 knots true, tayed constant at 30 knots most of the time..seas went up to 23 feet..

Fred was sailing ..so was I

the above phtoos are all taken after and before...

during

you can see here bellow..

[Bene505]

Giu,

Several things: 1) Can your boat really sail 24 degrees off the wind? 2) Fred rocks, as we all know. 3) Great rainbow shot. 4) I love the picture of you headed out, dodger down and going. (Sometime let me know what colors you use for all you lines, since I need to replace all mine in another year.)

From this and previous posts, it seems to be the prolonged blows that make the big seas.

(Are you coming to NY for the Sailnet get together?)

[sailingdog]

Yes, duration, strength of wind and fetch are what make big seas... in buzzards bay, the wind can be blowing like stink but if it is from the NW, you'll get almost nothing in the way of waves... if it is from the SW... watch out.

[Boasun]

Usually after the squall line/storms have passed, the low that generated them has passed also. And the seas will quickly lie down and you will find that the wind has either veered or backed, depending on whether that low was north or south of you. Those waves are wind generated and will lie down quickly. Now ocassionally a storm can push long swells far ahead of itself and you can note by the seas and the changing clouds what the weather will be in a few hours.

Storm sailing may be only about 3 to 10% of your time on the water. 3% if you are lucky

[hphoen]

On four trips from the Chesapeake to the Virgin Islands or Bermuda, we left a day or so after a frontal passage. In each case, the Gulf stream was docile when we crossed it. Typically on the East Coast, the winds will go light and SE for a day or two after a front blows offshore, then will begin clocking and building from the SW around to the NW as the next front approaches. As the front passes over you, the winds rapidly clock to the N and NE, and are at their maximum strength. The secret is to get across the Gulf Stream before that next front comes through.

In the Fall, once offshore past the Gulf Stream, you'll almost certainly have a strong front pass over you. My experience has been that the seas will build over two or three days with strong northerly winds to 18' to 24', depending on the sustained wind speed. On one trip, we saw 24 footers after the wind had blown 35-40 kts, gusting to 45 kts, for about 60 hours. The good news is that the wave period stretches out the longer the strong wind blows and the bigger the swells get, and if you're headed SE, the swells are on your quarter.

The most uncomfortable conditions can be when the winds are not terribly strong, say 25-35 kts, so that the wind-waves and the pre-existing swells are similar in size, but coming from different directions. That can really cause some weird motions in your boat.