Force Ten Gale

On September 29, after eight months and 14,000 miles at sea crossing the Pacific Ocean, Argo encountered at Force Ten Gale 45 miles off the coast of New Zealand. Winds exceeded 60 knots, and were sustained over 50 knots for more than 3 hours. Waves ranged between 25 and 30 feet. 13 hours after encountering the storm Argo made safe harbor at the Great Barrier Island. Argo is a Nordhavn 68. She handled the seas beautifully and could have taken more...but we'd prefer not to!
Robert Tisch/Captain

[@robinkaye]

magic,for a retired old seadog like me i thought i was home for 5 mins, thank you.

[@jackhammer4656]

Nordhaven's are beast boats and thats why they are the best seakeeping yachts in the world in their size range.

[@Roatanlova68fmp71lliiiak]

Amazing footage, I feel seasick now! Thanks for sharing this, really enjoyed it.

[@dalsie105]

I was in a 10 force on the QM2 crossing the Atlantic from Southampton to New York and the boat was on its side due to the wind and she was as smooth as silk not a ripple in my coffee . I felt safe on the boat but when I was looking out to sea I was a tad worried. Never seen the sea that angry before. I say it was a force 10 because that's what the captain said it was. we crossed end of August 2016 and I would love to do it again only ever done it the once but defently do it again. See the best sun rises and sun sets ever. 5 o'clock in the morning sitting at the back with a coffee waiting for the sun to come up will live with me forever. And what a way to roll up in New York sitting on the balcony as the statue of liberty passes all lighten up. If you ever get the chance give it a go.

[@barryjohnson4010]

Wisdom at sea. It happens everyday to even the most experienced. A little scared , a little respectful, a little more experienced. Never think you have seen it all , because that's when you get a friendly reminder who to respect.

[@odyssey5546]

You heard more than I did. The boat performed very well; I couldn't have asked for better performance!

[@odyssey5546]

The noise came from a piece of trim board behind the dash. When the yard heard the video, they sent me instructions on how to reglue it. After that, the noise was fixed.

[@smc1942]

That's a fine vessel. She rode it well. Thanks for the vid. Cheers!

[@pa226pable]

I was an F-14 mechanic in 91. I would spend my off time watching the sea. I still remember watching storms form and how beautiful the ocean is. An aircraft carrier doesn't take as much of a pounding as the smaller vessels.

[@lilmobop]

this vid is one of the best sea vids i've watch on youtube. i felt the rolls LITERALLY!

[@paskowitzfamily]

We were 250 NM behind this boat in a 60 our foot Nordhavn...BELIEVE it was NOT FUN. We got hit by a measured, 30 foot rogue wave . These guys dealt with stuff that most folks never see IN PERSON. The video does not do justice to how bad it was. 7 days of pure mess, but worth the voyage. The boats performed fantastically.

[@dave9072000]

Waves always look SOO much smaller in a video than in person. Those waves look plenty big in the video. Ball shrinking in real-life I'm sure. The boat handled it great!

[@mfhairstream6812]

Would a Nordhavn 40 handle those waves?

[@rykehuss3435]

Mfhairstream Yes it would but it would be even crazier ride

[@BlackHawk-yl5gu]

More importantly why did u guys choose to go in this . Just because the boat can doesn’t mean it’s fun . 7 days in that little tub doesn’t sound like fun.

[@craiglachman1379]

Thank you for posting. In my limited experience (a dozen summers spent between the San Juan Islands and Alaska's coastal waters and SF Bay in everything from Olympic class racing dinghies to GB 42s ), I'm *amazed* by how quiet your beautiful boat (ship?) is. Wow!

[@baileyjones159]

I thought 30kts was scary. Consistent 50 for 3 HOURS is insane. Proper little ship right there.

[@Dan_C604]

Very good video, I enjoyed the view of instruments and the sound of the wind/waves, thank you for not adding silly music or silly comments. Awesome!

[@SpatialGuy77]

That creaking must drive you crazy 😜 It’s driving me crazy! 🤪 That boat will handle seas four times bigger without even raising a sweat.

[@petedavis8701]

Wow thanks for showing how it can really get at times

[@cindyreid6404]

Video never seems to show the true sea state perspective. I've been sailing all my life and now my body wants a Nordhavn. Wonderful job gentleman!

[@AgentRafa]

It's so quiet, I can barely hear the engine and the wind. Top notch Nordhavn.

[@henryostman5740]

I am impressed by the ride, I've done this in 3000 ton ships that rolled more and would often slam when going over a wave. What speed were you making and how effective was the rudder in keeping you lined up? Did your autopilot handle it?

[@pa226pable]

I miss the ocean. I loved my time in the Navy. I hope to purchase a large live aboard boat for a second home. Even if it never leaves the slip.

[@Darrin67]

You were in the right boat for that. Nordhavn's are great.

[@GaryMCurran]

Randy, as so many others here have stated, it doesn't LOOK like you're in a Force 10 gale. However, 50 knots of wind IS Force 10. I think that most of us don't know what 25-30' waves actually look like, since so few of us have been in them. You were taking on a bit of a roll there, but since you had Argo pointed into the seas, we didn't see a whole lot of that. We can see water over the bow, but not a whole lot. One of the other comments was no spray on the windshield, but if there was no rain, just wind, there might not have been. So, for the naysayers, yes, you were in Force 10 gales, but the Nordhavn rides so well, it hardly looks like it!

[@ddesilva61]

It never looks as rough in photos and video - any mariner will tell you that. And if they weren't in a 68' Nordhavn with thousands of pounds of lead in her keel and active fin stabalizers - they would have been rolling allot more! I'd bet my 73' motoryacht would have been rolling more than that in those sees! And myself and crew would have been more on edge at that...

[@WhoisJohn1773]

I was in 25-35' waves off Hatteras one winter in a 172' wooden hulled minesweeper. We took green water two decks up & the seas tore cable reels of the superstructure & lockers broke loose & slammed the racks. I thought I was going to die. I think this 68 took it better than that pig.

[@funnystuff9998]

Good video. Thanks for posting. Hope you enjoyed Port Fitzroy and had a good time in NZ.

[@dpd6401]

Love the creaking

[@colonelsuperior1312]

For a luxury yacht...I imagine cooking on a stove-top, this is force 10 cooking. Regardless, still very nice to see long video of a big swank Nordhavn being tossed around a bit. Good to see a live one. (edit, read the description--yes a Nordhavn)

[@thebigguy8306]

Thank you for the great footage. Zoinks! I Love Nordhavn's designs, my only concerns are fiberglass hulls and typically a single main engine.

[@Fumingzeus]

Great bit too f film, brings back so many memories of when I was on watch on North Sea trawlers. Loved that there was no commentary or background music, so you could just listen to the ship breathing as she made her way. There were some nice big swells there👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@gordonturner8544]

Video footage always seems to look less dramatic than the experience at the time. 50 kt wind is consistent with the view out the window.. Great vid guys.

[@jmca3324]

I've been a trawler skipper for 37 years , where's the driving spray , where's the wind blowing the cap off the waves that we normally experience with force 10 ? that looks more like a moderate to light swell with a 3 or a 4 , uncomfortable , nothing more . But you are right about it being a good video

[@MinTerGyi007]

Boat cracking song like a machine gun firing 😎👍🏽💪❤️

[@SparksMagoo]

Look like you guys have it together. Ty for the show....

[@jeffpuha8187]

She rode this out very well, but a SeaKeeper gyro-stabilization system would have seriously reduced the rolling motion and, therefore, reduced the "corkscrewing" that's evident periodically in the video. Nordhavns are superb boats, but their vertical-center-of-gravity, VCG, is quite high. They also have considerable windage. These characteristics together produce a good deal of rolling. I would definitely want a SeaKeeper system in mine. It's more effective than fin-type stabilizers at roll reduction. You would need two SeaKeeper 16's for a boat of this displacement. The cost would be $180,000 for the two units, plus installation. That's a lot of money, but well worth it on a 3-4 million-dollar yacht, in my opinion.

[@Jay-sp6lc]

Jeff Puha If that is the worst weather encountered in 14,000 miles at sea, I think I could put up with it for 3hrs and just pocket the $180,000.

[@gendaminoru3195]

+Jeff Puha I also think I can hear the fins slamming against their stops trying to correct for roll and not doing a very good job of it. Too much stuff above the waterline for this kind of weather. The higher you are, the farther from the roll axis and the greater accelerations on you in both pitch and roll too. Not a good ride. Dashew boats don't do this. check out www.Setsail.com

[@Scruffers2011]

That’s a good day at sea. (Tugboat Captain here)

[@topwatch7119]

For eleven out of my 13 years active duty in the US Navy, I was stationed on Destroyers, and Destroyer Escorts. Believe me, the sea can really get angry. Unless you've been there, like these guys, keep your stupid comments to yourself.

[@bendoy4555]

@mike force I think the child is the one who goes straight for toilet humour

[@dulls8475]

The waves would look bigger in real life as the camera makes it look better than it really is. For all the naysayers the wave conditions can vary due to sea depth, being in the lee of land, sea mounts, if you are in the axis of the current and how long the wind has been blowing. A force 10 can produce different seas in different areas. If you are in a force 10 for only a short time the seas have not developed yet. If the same force 10 blows over an area for longer you get an increase in the size of seas. Fetch is alo a factor. Randy did the seas build after this or did the low pass over quickly? I have sailed between Aus and NZ often so know the area well.

[@MG-yu3gx]

Solid vessel. Great video!

[@MrDingle77]

I wish, for once, all the " know it all's" would keep their simple minded thoughts to themselves. You weren't there and if you were, you would have probably been scared out of your wits. What reason would these nice folks, who shared this nice footage, have to lie? If you don't have anything nice/ intelligent to say, then don't!!

[@markduncan6690]

Simple Minded Thoughts???? I am not hearing 'May-Day' !!! The people on this video appear to be quite calm!!! But you aren't !!! Relax!!! W.T.F.

[@mangore623]

I wish, for once, all the thin-skinned whingers with sensitivities measured in atomic distances would keep their feckless and callow thoughts to themselves. You weren't there, and if you were, you would probably have been laughing your heads off at what has been described as Force 10 conditions. People routinely lie to give themselves an advantage. Force 10 is SURVIVAL CONDITONS/STORM, you fucking idiot!!!

[@markduncan6690]

Who is a 'Clever' kind of 'Dick' ??

[@MrDingle77]

+mark duncan A simple remark from a simple mind. Its comical to see the true simple minded ignorance of people like yourself.

[@markduncan6690]

Alright!!! Lets take that last remark 'To the Bank' !! And you my 'Learned' friend go and have a 'Fine Day' !!!

[@uio890138]

The ocean can let you know just how big it is really quick!!

[@NothingMaster]

This is kid stuff for a Nordhavn. It’s like riding a roller coaster at Disneyworld for free.

[@larzDJ]

I have been iun force 10 gales in my N64 and I feel you man! It was never frightening, but there is a 'pucker factor' whilst on watch and having twin 6V92s doesn't help all that much either. Having a sea keeper would have made a noticeable improvement but weather like ths is rare where I cruise. Florida to Panama, Ecuador, Bahamas, San Diego, etc.

[@spacecoasttactical]

The seakeeper would have been overwhelmed. Stabilisers are much better in seas like that

[@larzDJ]

@@spacecoasttactical probably tight. Seakeepers shine when the boat is moored or under less weather.

[@codprawn]

These are normal conditions in British waters. We get weeks of force 8 in the Irish Sea with no letup and 10 - 12 is common. The boat is handling the conditions well. 30 foot waves are often better in deep water than a short steep chop.

[@hardchines]

very true!

[@butchr4850]

Ii know this stretch of water got caught in it myself. Never expected such a wild ride Huge seas , howling winds. As day broke we were able to see what we were dealing with. Never forget that crossing.

[@rickspencer6343]

You look like professionals. That Nordhavn really is a solid ship. I like hearing the creaking sounds. Are you sure you weren't on a pirate ship?

[@ankissy]

Nordhavn builds these fine ladies to take on an angry sea. To Argo and her crew... well done!

[@deibertmichael]

Video doesn't capture wave size! With so much windage with large seas I'd be concerned! Its when shit goes wrong quick! Im impressed with Nordhavn Yachts! Very Sea worthy and safe!

[@michaelfailer9189]

I didn't expect the creaking on a boat like this - even in such conditions.

[@kevinrichards53]

I am not a boat guy. But I have a question. Why are the front windows tapered the way they are? What is the functionality of it? Thanks! And NZ rocks. Lived there for 18 months and just got back to the US.

[@kevinrichards53]

Thanks John. I thought maybe it was to help if waves hit the windows. Be well!

[@kevinrichards53]

One other question for you. What makes these "good blue water" boats? On my bucket list is owning and living on a boat (after the kids are gone). Thanks again!

[@chandlerm2000]

the reverse rake helps eliminate glare during the day and from instruments at night plus water runs off quick ...

[@michaelsudziarski7156]

GREAT VIDEO ! ! AWESOME BOAT ! ! ! THANKS CAPT. SUDZI .

[@shananagans5]

This is the moment you realized exactly why you spent the extra money for a Nordhavn.

[@jesserevilla992]

Must have felt for ever, looks intense. I have been in 8 to 10 seas coming back from Bimini in a 24ft Robalo center console. We were in it for 15 miles and it seemed like a life time . Lol..

[@danielmorris6523]

I don't care how many home cinemas and hot-tubs a £50m yacht might have, I'd still take a Nordhavn before anything like that.

[@strietermarinesurvey1415]

Taken them on the beam always sucks! Nice video

[@toryisland29]

Force 8 : gale Force 9 : strong gale Force 10 : storm.

[@jmca3324]

Yes , the video is force 4 with a light to moderate swell.

[@SSGSlick]

@@jmca3324 wind speed indicated is F10 full gale / storm

[@manosparavida3551]

I'm fairly certain that M/Y Dirona experienced similar or worse waves during their Atlantic crossing in only a 52' Nordhavn, around about a similar time scale. Great boat's are Nordhavn's.

[@jm1178]

Lot of people saying the camera minimizes the waves and such, but the camera is just recording reality. Wonder if people are just caught in the moment thinking things are worse than they are.

[@marcianmoon6143]

it does minimise , i noticed when i was on the boat and it was choppy, when filmed and looked it again, you couldnt see the size of the waves. the same in 4WD the size of the ruts, boulders or drop off angle is not visible on camera, sometimes if you use drone you can see the perspective better.

[@n40tom]

I don't know I don't want to say that the winds are not as high as I'm being told but in my experience the tops of these waves would be blowing off and be foamy and also the color the sea would be just a lot whiter with a lot of spray . That's just my experience . Take care and be safe

[@johnnypea5369]

seems like your boat handled the weather well

[@robinkaye]

aah all that rocking and rolling, magic.

[@YellowstonesandFlies]

Y'all need to share more of your travels via video

[@MrLikeke]

60 kts winds, 30' swells is the roughest I've experienced. My only concern was green water against the bridge windows. The Nordhavn looks like that isn't a problem. My question of this video is why were they there? Was it to meet a schedule? Surely it wasn't the conditions were unexpected. Perhaps wanting to prove to yourself how she will take it. Well, whatever the reason it is good to have a proper vessel. Myself, I would have laid in a bit to port to take it on the nose to reduce the corkscrewing. But that short distance to landfall just stay on I reckon.

[@markduncan6690]

Life looks pretty serene up on the bridge of Argo!!! I can hear the engine 'humming' away in the back-ground!! What else could be wrong!!!

[@jeffrobdine]

Break out the WD40, the squeaking is aggravating as hell !

[@jandejong8209]

Those Nordhavn’s are great seagoing vessels. I dont know if any other builder that builds better ocean going vessels. Please dont compare Nordhavn’s with ocean alexander or the like, those are pleasure craft that are doing short sea passages, with waves less than 10 feet.

[@rykehuss3435]

What about Bering yachts? Steel hull full displacement trawlers

[@peteschram9524]

Bearings are top of the line custom built steel hull Nordhavns are not steel but are one of the top of the line trawlers extremely high quality

[@mikesullivan6603]

What ocean is this its little like pacfic northwest gale force stroms

[@doughboi007]

please tell me you got the creaking fixed...

[@tnt0411]

Great commentary..."Symbol yacht or Ocean Alexander"...which I'm sure are fabulous marina queens... I dare ANY other production yacht builder to compare themselves to Nordhavn!

[@jrgenstormo5563]

One of the Nordhavn yachts or the bering yacht 80 is my dream yacht. At first i loved theese short range 80 feet princesses and so, but then i explored the exploration t ype of yachts. 5000+ miles and great quality, any princesses or azimuts can't compare, and that is facts! You get much more of an 80 foot expedition yacht than off some 80 foot princess!

[@rykehuss3435]

Jorgen Stormo Why not buy both, if you got the money. Go on a long cruise with your trawler or a hop from marina to marina in your Princess

[@Colinpark]

She certainly rides nicely

[@claytonvanthoff2293]

That noise would drive me crazy. Yes boat flex especially in these sea conditions, but I’d start looking for loose crews. Maybe someone forgot the glue and screw rule on boats. Awesome boats, that’s my next buy 75 ft for fishing

[@000Weasel000]

At around 2:12, just as someone announces "50 knots of wind", the camera pans to the gauges on the upper bulkhead, and the depth drops from 4.3 to 1.0 and it sure looks like it's reading in (ft) - surely in seas like that, you weren't in water that shallow?

[@felcas]

No that as probably a system glitch or fault of course, you know just by looking into the sea it is much deeper. However as a hoby I have I like to investigate visual clues and at the same point 2:12 we can see the coordinate which I looked up in googlearth and they was just over the edge of the continental platform, which was like 500 meters deep and droped sudenly to more then 1000 meters deep.

[@MrLikeke]

I mean to get back down there again. That stretch 'tween NZ and Tonga can be brutal I've heard.

[@MsMsmak]

I'm turning green just watching this! I wonder what happens down below to all of the nice things that are laying around. Also, are the stabilizers minimizing the real rock and roll of this or are they not really capable of doing much in this kind of sea?

[@joejohn4723]

That creaking normal?

[@odyssey5546]

No it shouldn’t do that. I asked the yard about it, they analyzed it and provided a simple fix. The dash wasn’t glued properly in one place and we placed a wood block at a joint and glued it in place.

[@odyssey5546]

No it shouldn’t do that. I asked the yard about it, they analyzed it and provided a simple fix. The dash wasn’t glued properly in one place and we placed a wood block at a joint and glued it in place.

[@helmsman3838]

@@odyssey5546 Stumbled across your video just now ! Was this the same boat you had when we traded a bottle of wine for a lime ? In Bedwell Canada otherwise known as Poets Cove. Hope all is well with you two now and that another N is in your future.

[@leonardbreau8928]

@@odyssey5546 I'm surprised they were able to find that without being able to replicate the conditions.

[@biffjohnson3354]

Thank GOD that creaking isn’t normal. It drove me crazy the entire video. But hats off to you gents having to live it in real life! Fantastic video!

[@fw1421]

Does this boat have stabilizers?

[@majorpygge-phartt2643]

I don't know if it's force 10 but it's certainly a lovely big swell and it must've been a great ride.

[@WizenedVariations1]

You need two people in the pilot house during weather like this.

[@suunto61]

Tight boat. Relatively little creaking. Would have loved to see some footage from the top deck.

[@LeonAllanDavis]

Kind of emphasizes the importance of having a supply of fuel filters on hand, and changing them often. Especially ahead of foul weather.

[@Vinnie101a]

Still better than a good day at the office.🤣

[@Peterbj]

If it looks jacked up on a video, it's mega jacked up in real life.

[@akjyschofield7292]

Force 10 and no spindrift. Force 6 to 7 max. As us old commercial fishermen would say a yachtsman’s storm and for us a day at the office

[@michaelmurphy1127]

So rough they didn't need the wipers. Scary

[@markwalton3139]

Handles it great.

[@ericmilchak5101]

And... that's why Nordhavn are the best trawlers made.. it was proven in this video, amazing.

[@Vinnie101a]

It’s Bering for me!

[@TheBigWWI]

7' to 10' and 25kn of wind. About the weather here yesterday as we were fishing offshore in a 10 meter center console. You would not be running into a force 10 and 25' seas with that boat! After 14,000 miles you should know better or did you add a zero to that number and just run up the coast?? Sorry, don't mean to be harsh...

[@UncleBoratagain]

Good opportunity to isolate that single creaky furnishing joint

[@TrueBeleiverInMostHighGod]

Why you dont ever use wipers ?

[@MauroBrisola]

Would a giroscopic stabilizer like Seakeeper help in this sea conditions? Can it be used?

[@jamesn9000]

No and this boat already has hydraulic fin stabilizers.

[@thomasthomas001]

when that hull slapped bet you wish you'd of had steel!!

[@johnparas855]

5, maybe 6. No way it is was a 10.

[@000Weasel000]

Very nice! But do I see the depth guage reading 1 ft near the beginning of the action sequence? Or did I misread that?

[@darrenedger4552]

No its 1 mile.

[@darrenedger4552]

They were probably in the deep Atlantic

[@000Weasel000]

Darren Boggs True, I realize they're in the deep, but the depth gauge clearly reads 1Ft, but in all likelihood, is a glitch due to trapped air beneath the hull due to the rough seas.... I just thought it looked funny....seas as bad as they are, and depth gauge showing 1Ft...

[@jaylkeene8236]

+Darren Boggs ~ If you read the info above you'll see they're off the coast of NZ. That's in the South Pacific. Abit a ways from the Atlantic

[@silentpartner6225]

Sweet. Glad I wasn't there.

[@gaycha6589]

That’s not storm force. Not enough white water.

[@aussienscale]

Barely any white caps and the swell really is not that bad !! Force 10 gale ? Are you saying this is a 10 on the Beaufort scale 🤔

[@pedromoreno6836]

wow but the boat is doing great I think... I dont even know how to swim but it looks like ... going thru fine.

[@BS-wc6sx]

WOW! What were the frequency of those waves???

[@davidparadis490]

This is why you buy a Nordhavn!

[@mrblue193]

More than once the view out front was just sky and then sea. I think I'd have been throwing up somewhere.

[@abyssalreclass]

This video makes me seasick just looking at it.

[@aquaticthumb5193]

Huge rollers Why with 50 mph wind are there no whitecaps or mist off the waves. Very strange.

[@spacecoasttactical]

All you marina queens have never seen deepwater waves otherwise you'd know the difference..... BECAUSE OF THE DEPTH

[@motor_viking]

have been in many storms in a Jupiter 33 ft up to 11 gale storms with no problem