Gulf of Mexico, late July. We got about two hours warning via VHF (no cell signal where we were) that a line of thunderstorms was coming. It was still over eighty miles away, but it was coming at us fast and we were sailing straight at it. We were right between A and B, with no time to reach either one and nowhere to duck into in between.
It was a beautiful day. We were sailing close hauled in about 12 knots of wind, with full main, 110 jib and Bimini top up, sipping a beer and relaxing with the autopilot on, when the VHF started squawking about severe thunderstorms and small craft advisories. We immediately dropped the Bimini and tied it securely. Then we put in a double reef, just in case some weather arrived early.
We sailed a while longer, listening to the reports, which of course seemed to get worse and worse. NOAA was reporting 60mph on shore nearby.
After a while we said okay, lets get ALL this canvas down, and fire up the motor. Then we finally got some cell signal, and saw the line of thunderstorms on radar for the first time. That's when we decided to stow the jib altogether and bag the main. Last but not least, we folded down the solar panels, lashed them down, and put in the crib boards.
All the while, we had been discussing whether to motor into it, or drop the anchor and sit it out. I ultimately made the decision to keep motoring, which turned out to be wrong, but I was glad afterward to have learned something. When that squall line hit, there was no keeping the bow into it. Daydream turned herself around in about five seconds, while I was thinking oh crap, I definitely shoulda anchored!
I wish I knew what the wind speed was when it first hit, and I wish I had the camera on the whole time. To be honest, I was pretty nervous about the whole thing, and didn't want the extra stress of being on camera. The surface of the water seemed really white for the first couple minutes, and the rig made a really loud spooky howling noise I had never heard before or since. I didn't start filming until that stopped. But there was no hail and no lightning, praise God, and not even much rain.
The camera turns around at 3:00, so you can get a view of the following sea.