# What Is Wrong With My Plan To Ride Out (Literally) A Hurricane?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-my-plan-to-ride-out-literally-a-hurricane/461727
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [September 2, 2008, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-my-plan-to-ride-out-literally-a-hurricane/461727 "2008-09-02T18:39:29Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)
#### Post date: [September 2, 2008, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-my-plan-to-ride-out-literally-a-hurricane/461727/1 "2008-09-02T18:39:29Z")
So I saw that at one point Gustav had gusts of 185, even as high as 212, at some point a few days ago. Plus 48 foot seas.
And I thought: that would be cool to see up close.
You don’t want to be outside on land – too many projectiles.
But why not ride it out, literally, on the water?
You don’t want a boat of any kind; it’ll certainly sink. So just jump in, with a survival/flotation suit and let the waves take you where they will.
Drawbacks: maybe you’d need some air supply for if the rain/spray got too all-encompassing (or, for when you were plunged below the waves). Okay, a simple rebreather should do the trick.
Who knows, maybe you’d want one of those chainmail shark suits too.
What else? Any reason my bodysurf-a-hurricane plan isn’t feasible?
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### Author:  [@mks57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mks57)
#### Post date: [September 2, 2008, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-my-plan-to-ride-out-literally-a-hurricane/461727/2 "2008-09-02T18:44:02Z")
Hypothermia?
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### Author:  [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)
#### Post date: [September 2, 2008, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-my-plan-to-ride-out-literally-a-hurricane/461727/3 "2008-09-02T18:45:29Z")
> [@mks57](#):
>
> Hypothermia?
Survival suits are insulated but, more importantly, the thing about the strongest hurricanes is that they usually occur when the surface temperature of the water is in the 80s. I think it was that high in the GoM this past week, from the readings I recall.
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### Author:  [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)
#### Post date: [September 2, 2008, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-my-plan-to-ride-out-literally-a-hurricane/461727/4 "2008-09-02T18:48:57Z")
> [@Huerta88](#):
>
> Survival suits are insulated but, more importantly, the thing about the strongest hurricanes is that they usually occur when the surface temperature of the water is in the 80s. I think it was that high in the GoM this past week, from the readings I recall.
Water absorbs heat from your body about 25 times faster than air. You can indeed die of [hypothermia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypothermia) in 80 degree water.
Cool, the link tool works better now.
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### Author:  [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)
#### Post date: [September 2, 2008, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-my-plan-to-ride-out-literally-a-hurricane/461727/5 "2008-09-02T18:53:16Z")
I would think you’d run a serious risk of getting bonked on the head from other stuff out there in the water. Stuff like boats, bits of pier, dead fish, houses, etc.
Even if you’re wearing a helmet, you could very well suffer a spinal injury.
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### Author:  [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)
#### Post date: [September 2, 2008, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-my-plan-to-ride-out-literally-a-hurricane/461727/6 "2008-09-02T18:58:24Z")
Without independent propulsion, I don’t see how you are going to get in and out of the storm, other than to be deposited on its projected path, and if the storm is about 400 miles across (which I believe Gustav was at some point), you’re talking about maybe 25 hours in the water, much of the time being battered by huge waves. You’re gonna need a lot of air, I think.
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### Author:  [@ethelbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ethelbert)
#### Post date: [September 2, 2008, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-my-plan-to-ride-out-literally-a-hurricane/461727/7 "2008-09-02T19:13:04Z")
The real problem here is how to arrange for tv coverage.
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### Author:  [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)
#### Post date: [September 2, 2008, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-my-plan-to-ride-out-literally-a-hurricane/461727/8 "2008-09-02T19:17:33Z")
You may be thinking that waves in the open ocean are just big swells that go up and down, but in extreme weather, they break randomly. Ever been in the middle of a 48-ft breaking wave? They don’t call it breaking for nothin’ – your body will be broken into itty bitty wavy bits.
When we have big waves in front of my house, the kids like to hold hands and stand where the waves break over them to see if they can resist. If you get hit just right, it’s a big shock and the white water afterwards is boiling mad. Standing up is impossible and you may have to fight just to stay above water, since the wave power can hold you down for quite a while. And these aren’t 48 footers, either – the most I ever saw register on the open-water official buoy in the last 10 years was 18 ft, and that looked too dangerous to be anywhere near.
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### Author:  [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)
#### Post date: [September 2, 2008, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-my-plan-to-ride-out-literally-a-hurricane/461727/9 "2008-09-02T19:17:42Z")
Not to mention that water gets “harder” the faster you’re falling, so depending on how the waves toss you around you might not even need debris to injure you.
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### Author:  [@Bootis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootis)
#### Post date: [September 2, 2008, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-my-plan-to-ride-out-literally-a-hurricane/461727/10 "2008-09-02T19:31:11Z")
I think also you could be picked up out of the water and deposited elsewhere.
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### Author:  [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)
#### Post date: [September 2, 2008, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-my-plan-to-ride-out-literally-a-hurricane/461727/11 "2008-09-02T19:32:28Z")
> [@Bootis](#):
>
> I think also you could be picked up out of the water and deposited elsewhere.
Well, I did worry about being hurled into an oil rig or onto a reef.
My plan would be to have a hurricane hunter plane drop me near the surface as it flew through the eye, when it was say in the So. GoM.
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### Author:  [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)
#### Post date: [September 2, 2008, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-my-plan-to-ride-out-literally-a-hurricane/461727/12 "2008-09-02T22:38:21Z")
You’re going to need a bigger boat.
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### Author:  [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)
#### Post date: [September 2, 2008, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-my-plan-to-ride-out-literally-a-hurricane/461727/13 "2008-09-02T23:40:56Z")
> [@Musicat](#):
>
> You may be thinking that waves in the open ocean are just big swells that go up and down, but in extreme weather, they break randomly. Ever been in the middle of a 48-ft breaking wave? They don’t call it breaking for nothin’ – your body will be broken into itty bitty wavy bits.
So – a positive-buoyancy version of the grizzly suit may be in order:
> **[Troy Hurtubise](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troy_Hurtubise)**
>
> Troy James Hurtubise (November 23, 1963 – June 17, 2018) was a Canadian inventor, entrepreneur and conservationist, noted for creating the Ursus series of bear suits which showed the Ursus Mark VI in the 1996 film Project Grizzly directed by Peter Lynch for the National Film Board of Canada.
> Hurtubise starred in the 1996 film Project Grizzly documenting his development of a series of protective suits that would allow for close-quarters bear research as well as testing of deterrent bear sprays....
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### Author:  [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)
#### Post date: [September 3, 2008, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-my-plan-to-ride-out-literally-a-hurricane/461727/14 "2008-09-03T00:25:16Z")
A glass bottle with a stopper will have absolutely no problem surviving in any kind of rough seas.
Same thing for a sturdy barrel. A person could survive easily in any kind of such a sturdy container but it’s going to be a very rough ride. It’s not like you are quietly observing the outside.
A (fit) human with no protection would not immediately suffer injuries just by the action of the water pressure but would probably drown in short order.
The hull of a well-built small boat should be able to withstand the punishment. The force of tons of water hitting the deck and sides is something formidable but a well-built boat intended for open ocean voyaging should withstand that without problem. The boat will take more punishment than the crew. It is extremely hard to be for days in a boat which is being tossed about in the waves and accidents are most likely. Many people have gone through this type of situation but being locked below decks is not a fun way to experience a hurricane.
If the sailboat has a tall mast, as is usual these days, the mast would not survive if the boat turned turtle (upside down) but the boat with right itself again minus the mast. Next thing the mast and rigging need to be cut loose or they will damage the boat.
All this assumes no collissions with any other solids, only water.
In any case I think you are safer on land in a sturdy refuge.
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### Author:  [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)
#### Post date: [September 3, 2008, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-my-plan-to-ride-out-literally-a-hurricane/461727/15 "2008-09-03T02:47:09Z")
[Ron White] It’s not that the wind is blowin, it’s what the wind is blowin. If you get hit in the spleen with a Volvo, it really doesn’t matter how many sit-ups you did that morning.[/RW]
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### Author:  [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)
#### Post date: [September 3, 2008, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-my-plan-to-ride-out-literally-a-hurricane/461727/16 "2008-09-03T04:30:51Z")
> [@Huerta88](#):
>
> maybe you’d need some air supply for if the rain/spray got too all-encompassing (or, for when you were plunged below the waves). Okay, a simple rebreather should do the trick.
The most I’ve ever experienced at sea for any length of time was a reasonably steady 45 - 50 knots (for about a day and a half). Even at that windspeed, the surface is largely a seething mass of foam and spray. You would need supplementary air a high percentage of the time. You’d definitely be challenged to survive the constant pounding from huge breaking waves.
I don’t think hypothermia is a big concern - you won’t last long enough.
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### Author:  [@Auntbeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Auntbeast)
#### Post date: [September 3, 2008, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-my-plan-to-ride-out-literally-a-hurricane/461727/17 "2008-09-03T05:12:48Z")
Years of living in Florida and a coupla years riding a motorcycle taught me a few things:
1. It is a natural fear to flinch when you see Lincoln Towncars.
2. Rain hurts at about 20mph.
3. It is virtually impossible to heat the entire world with your body.
4. You are far, far, far, far more fragile than you think.
If they tell me to git, I git. I have absolutely no faith in my mushy little bodies ability to withstand a hurricane or tornado. Nor do I have much faith in my concrete block houses ability. Heck, ask Miami how tough you gotta be. Have you seriously looked at the damage from Andrew?
Shark suit your little heart out, it will make sure the little fishies get fed too. 🙂
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### Author:  [@WF\_Tomba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WF_Tomba)
#### Post date: [September 3, 2008, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-my-plan-to-ride-out-literally-a-hurricane/461727/18 "2008-09-03T05:44:28Z")
You’d need a sturdy, sealed capsule with its own air supply and heating system, and a well-cushioned interior. And a barf bag.
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### Author:  [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)
#### Post date: [September 3, 2008, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-my-plan-to-ride-out-literally-a-hurricane/461727/19 "2008-09-03T09:14:13Z")
Giant, sealed, cushioned hamster ball.
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### Author:  [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)
#### Post date: [September 3, 2008, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-wrong-with-my-plan-to-ride-out-literally-a-hurricane/461727/20 "2008-09-03T14:22:47Z")
> [@sailor](#):
>
> The hull of a well-built small boat should be able to withstand the punishment. The force of tons of water hitting the deck and sides is something formidable but a well-built boat intended for open ocean voyaging should withstand that without problem. The boat will take more punishment than the crew. It is extremely hard to be for days in a boat which is being tossed about in the waves and accidents are most likely. Many people have gone through this type of situation but being locked below decks is not a fun way to experience a hurricane.
>
> If the sailboat has a tall mast, as is usual these days, the mast would not survive if the boat turned turtle (upside down) but the boat with right itself again minus the mast. Next thing the mast and rigging need to be cut loose or they will damage the boat.
>
> All this assumes no collissions with any other solids, only water.
>
> In any case I think you are safer on land in a sturdy refuge.
If you would like to read about someone who has sailed solo 'round the world, encountering hurricane force winds, etc, check out the story of [Pete Goss.](http://www.petegoss.com/index.php)
His book, [Close to the Wind](http://www.amazon.com/Close-Wind-Pete-Goss/dp/0786707410/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1220451681&sr=1-1) is incredible.
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