Had some strong storms blow through here today.
Keep these guys in your thoughts and prayers for a safe recovery.
Mobile Bay Blow Boat Regatta

Tough situation. Friend of a friend was on one of those boats.

Why didn't they cancel the race? I have been keeping up with the weather for ballgames and today was predicted for storms all last week.

Can't understand that either Charlie. I had been watching it head this way all day on the radar. The article says the storms suddenly appeared, but that's not exactly how it seemed to me. I did watch the storms strengthen when they hit the bay waters. I'm sure the boaters could handle a normal squall, but the 70+ MPH winds that hit here were unexpected.


Either way, I hate it for the lost boaters and their families.

Praying for all involved.

Tore up a lot of boats. 97 MPH wind shear
recorded just south of middle bay lighthouse.

It was bad. I was on Bon Secour River when it hit.

It was bad. I was on Bon Secour River when it hit. Was much worse on open water in the Bay.

I hate it that people were killed or injured, but damn people, use your brain.

We were out at a festival and I was keeping a close eye on the radar and it was very apparent that bad weather was heading our way. However, I never heard anyone predict storms as severe as what occurred and once you get one of those races started you can't just stop it on a dime. Unfortunate and tragic event for the families involved.

Events like this are why I prefer horsepower over wind power. Crank that baby up and get the heck out of dodge.

It was rough. I had a buddy that got beat up bad enough trying to re secure his boat during the storm that he had to take a trip to get checked out at the emergency room. He is ok but had a lot of dock damage and some damage to his boat.
I was in Coffee county on the farm and it was pretty bad up here too. Wife was at home and said that she thought it was going to blow the boat out of the lift!
Prayers for those missing and the families that lost loved ones.

Found a couple of bodies today.

Sad situation for those hurt and those that lost loved ones but, IMHO, this was 100% preventable.

I agree..

Said they didn't have time to put on their PFD's. Nothing got on my nerves more flying SAR cases than having to search for a PIW with no PFD. Put'em on folks.

This was not a predictable storm. Yes, there were storms on the radar but nothing like this. When the storm hit the bay waters it increased 10 fold. Anyone who has ever been on the bay or in the gulf has had to deal with thunder storms at one time or another. My brother in law and my nephew were sailing in this race. He is a very seasoned sailer, as were many of the captains and it was the worse they have ever seen. My Brother in law's boat was de-masted and was stuck in the storm. He sent me their GPS cord in a text msg and I had to go get them. God was looking out for them this day.

I watched it turn from a small yellow blob on the radar to a dark red storm in a matter of minutes when it hit the bay. It blew up extremely fast. The sailors in the regatta could handle most local storms, but like Rick said, the magnitude of this one was unexpected.

I know that flotation devices are uncomfortable, and I often boat with out one on. That said, in a race such as this, in small boats with a possibility of bad weather I think everyone should be required to wear one. Its like white water canoeing, there are just times when you need to wear one. I was sailing my O'Day on Logan Martian one afternoon and a thunderstorm blew up. I saw it across the lake and made sure that everyone had their life preservers on and tried to out run it. We capsized, the boat turned turtle but everyone was safe until we could be picked up. Heck I have rolled sail boats over in clear weather just trying to squeeze out a little more speed. Life preservers are just that life preservers.
JS

You are 100% right Judge.