Not sure exactly what Roberto was looking for on waterspouts -- I suspect firsthand in-the-water experiences -- but I kayak regularly in the Panama City Fla area and encountered five spouts at one time in St. Andrew Bay last May 1998. We had just put out when this ugly squall line rolled into the bay. It was an awesome storm! Surly, dark clouds, clipping along at about 25-30 mph. We made it to our room on the beach and watched one, two, then three waterspouts drop out in about four minutes. Next thing you know there were five down within a half-mile area -- swirling across the bay's surface and whipping up the water like I've never seen before. After four to five minutes or so -- all but one dissipated -- and that one slammed into the backside of the hotel. You could feel the rapid pressure change rumbling through the building -- ceiling tiles flopping out of place. Pretty wild! Called 911 -- reported their presence and movement toward the PC area. Fortunately, aside from a few palm trees with their tops ripped off and a few roof tiles in the parking lot, there appeared to be no major damage. Never heard if they caused any damage inland. Took a photo of two that were spiraling side by side. An awesome experience. Had never seen that many at one time before nor been that close. Amazing stuff those spouts! Call me masochistic, but I wish I had been able to test my skills while in their throes. Thoughts? Jim Tynan Pike Road, AL *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************Received on Thu Jan 21 1999 - 23:27:35 PST
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:30:03 PDT