La Cruz Tsunami

Before I say anything about our part of this event—I have to say, our day seems frivolous compared to the widespread devastation that we are still learning about. My heart goes out to those who lost lives, loved ones, homes and livelihoods.

Early on--the water has just begun to churn up

 Like many people, we woke to the news of Japan’s horrifying earthquake and tsunami. As we monitored the situation this am—we tried to decide what to do about the fact that both our main engine and steering were disassembled. As initial tsunami reports came in, it looked like we’d experience an event much like last years—a quick rise and fall of the water and some current. So Evan headed into Puerto Vallarta to retrieve boat parts and I headed off on an errand.

Around noon it became clear that the tsunami was packing a much bigger punch than anyone expected. So any boat that could head out of the marina did. I sent Maia with Hotspur, so I wouldn’t have to worry about her. And fifteen-year-old Tim joined me and helped me tie the boat up as best we could.

Then we waited.

The first drop came around 1:30pm. It wasn’t huge—it was about 33 inches and took about 30 minutes to go through the cycle. We had three more similar surges—which churned up the water and created some current, but we simply rose up and down. The in and out wasn’t fast enough to throw us around.

When Ev got back Tim and I headed out to the breakwater to check the entrance. We saw a few big surges—complete with whirlpools and overfalls (think big river) but then it seemed to slow. So we headed back to the boat thinking it had ended and it was safe to start unlacing ourselves.

Six foot surge over a 5 minute period

The next wave caught everyone off guard—it rose and fell 6ft in five minutes and sucked at the docks until fingers on dock 11 began breaking away. If there had more than one surge like that we would have had more issues.

 But now, it’s 6pm. We’re surging gently up and down. The harbour is still closed and families are starting to puzzle over how to reunite because many were separated. But as far as tsunamis go—we had a good one. It was fascinating and powerful. But still heart wrenchingly devastating.

Tsunami or Stupidity?

Not to judge anyone or anything, but we have one of the MEXORC boats to thank for a really great afternoon of entertainment on a day when we were all saddened by the devastation in Chile.

Our part of the Tsunami arrived in Banderas Bay (Puerto Vallarta, Mexico) right on schedule; about midday. We didn’t get the big waves the kids were worried about, instead we had a gradual decrease in water depth coupled with a series of low surges that would flood into the marina (and bay) at 5+  knots for 10 minutes and then reverse direction and rush out again at the same speed.

The kids get a tsumani lesson from Totem -- with a bonus

We watched our neighbour boat head out during one of the surges and nearly get swept onto the rocks by the current. After that, we assumed most boats would stay put--we were expecting the waves to pass in 2-3 hours. But one of the Mexorc boats decided to head out anyway—with the races set to start tomorrow we guess they wanted to practice.

We have particularly low water right now because the tsunami surge happened to coincide with low tide. And the marina entry has limited water at the best of times, so when the boat (which probably has a 12’ deep keel) headed out, no one was surprised that they got stuck.

What we were surprised by was the fact that after they were freed, and came back in, they decided to try again. This time they got REALLY stuck.

Watching from shore we were able to critique the many things the crew did wrong and the many ways they could do better. It was pretty scary watching some of the manoeuvres (tow lines have been known to snap and we were worried for the bow man) and the boom (which was filled with people in an effort to heel the boat over) would hurl from side to side when the boat switched positions. And note the MOB, no one aboard seemed to notice him, but we did. The current changing directions every ten minutes was the biggest problem, it caused the boat to spin around and heel over unexpectedly and tended to work against the tow boat and inopportune moments.

After an hour or so the boat was towed off the bottom by two boats in tandem. Excitement over--for now. Unfortunately no one is quite certain when we'll get our water back and several boats are waiting in the bay hoping to get into the marina.

The non-Tsunami

Harbor buzzes Tuesday night, but tsunami advisory fizzles

Fishermen, emergency workers and the curious mingled in Crescent City Harbor on Tuesday night, anticipating ocean surges in a place that has seen more than its share of them.
But at 11:15 p.m., as the water near the mouth of the inner boat basin started bubbling like a river current from an incoming surge, anxiety was replaced with laughter and relief at the underwhelming spectacle.
According to Del Norte County’s Emergency Services Manager Cindy Henderson, this was the pinnacle of Tuesday night’s tsunami and it only reached a height of about 16 centimeters, or about 6 inches.

Glad for them it was a non-event. Glad for us to be in Eureka. Although the night sail inspired a few seasickness Haiku...

Waves steepen, confused

Towering, topple irate

My stomach rebels

Tsunami is coming, maybe

Seems like we're leaving Crescent City now. Whether we're ready or not. We've been alerted that the Samoa Earthquake Tsunami is making its way across the Pacific as a 2ft wave. Normally this wouldn't be a big worry, but we're in Crescent City - a place that is pretty much Tsunami Central on the coast.

2006 aftermath

Its unfortunate harbour shape has caused it to been pummelled by waves so often that yet another wave barely makes the evening news. A wave that hit in 2006 was described as a fast moving river that surged in and out of the harbour for hours - sinking boats and breaking up docks. The 1964 wave took out 29 city blocks.

1964 aftermath

Crescent City's Port Captain, who suggested the open ocean is a nice safe place to be during a tsunami, is considered a tsunami veteran. Nobody should be a tsunami veteran...

So rather than hanging out and seeing how bad it may, or may not be we've decided to get back with our southbound program and use this as an excuse to head to Eureka. If we’re going to have to spend the night awake watching for waves – we might as well watch the ones that carry us to warmer climes…

Our hearts and thoughts go out to those devestated by the surge and waves.