vendredi 1 juillet 2022

Mini Tornado

Mini tornado actually sounds too dramatic, it was more like a wet dust devil...a water devil?

MDB and I paddled Minerva Stream yesterday, it was a very pleasant day trip, we went just shy of Irishtown, starting from Olmsteadville.
It was a tad breezy in spots, but with such small water, any wind effects were barely noticeable until-- MINI TORNADO!

As I paddled slightly ahead of MDB, I got pushed to the side of the stream quickly and violently by a strong gust, seemingly out of nowhere.
A moment later I hear MDB behind me, hooting and hollering. I thought she was losing her hat in the wind.

No, she wasn't losing her hat.

When I turned to look, she was on her second full spin in the stream, with no hope of controlling her 12 ft Swift. Then she get pushed to the side, and starts to take water over the gunnel! Not from rolling the boat, but from wind pushed water. MDB compared it to when we sail close hauled, with waves flooding over the deck into the cockpit.

In a moment her exciting ride was over, and I watched the swirling winds pass behind her and start twisting of the grasses in the marsh behind her.
And then it was over.

All of this on a section of the stream that was no more than 30 or 40 ft wide.

She says "Well, that was a new one!" And comments that it was kinda fun, but if that happened in the middle of some big water, it would have gotten really serious very quickly. It was certainly a new experience for me too, although I didn't get the full ride.
The whole event was maybe 45 seconds, but I'm sure we'll both remember it for quite a while to come.


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