Staying sane with chase partners

[Susan Strom]

Chase partner compatibility is a brilliant find if you can get it, rare as it is. Thus far, solo works better for me, even though I'm a pretty social person.

Challenges I've found in the past - one wanted to aggressively break speed laws, kamakazi lane changes in Nebraska that were probably more dangerous than punching an HP from the north. Another seemed to swear at the equipment a lot which kind of buzz-killed the weather moments. Another tried to hold to a zero-bust ratio...anything less than Cordell-esque, each time, was a Fail. What do you do with that lol

Some CPs have been great though, good times. Florida friend; British friends (too bad you all live in another country lol) Calif reporter friend to name a few, good times when they pop in. I also have a good friend who keeps in touch by phone, we compare skies.

Weighing both, alone works better for me, being that I'm an all-night nocturnal chaser who goes for the lightning as #1 and who is out there to be productive, doing photography in remote terrain and driving hundreds of miles. It is quite amazing out here, but this is a big, enigmatic place. Patience, it is the key, especially chasing in the Southwest. At least I'm open (a little lol) if a like-minded CP came along.

 

[Melissa Jablonski]

My biggest chase partner mistake. I once took my four older sisters with as ride alongs.
None of them had a clue what we were doing and having little sis in charge rubbed them the wrong way. Lesson learned.
Melissa

 

[Shawna Davies]

My chase partner and I argue like an old married couple.

 

[Andrew Khan]

Only chase with individuals whose nature and personality, you are already familiar with. From their, then decide if chasing with this individual is an appropriate thing to do. Do not chase with individuals who you feel you will not get along with. Due to the small area of space available, fights can ensue easily due to the tight constraints.

 

[Rich Thompson]

It's pretty simple - chase with someone you know well that shares the same chase goals. I'll admit that it's much easier for me to chase with my co-workers because we know each other's tendencies and preferences, and it's easy to respect what they bring to the chase.

That doesn't mean all goes smoothly all of the time. Anyone who's seen any of me and Roger E.'s older chase videos should know what I mean Still, a few good arguments haven't harmed our 24 year chase partnership.

Rich T.

 

[Andrew Stoller]

All I can say is, I hope my chase partner Farnik forgives me for last Sunday evening when we got stuck in Woodward from flash flooding. Had to turn around and backtrack an additional 200 miles to get around it on a marathon drive back to CO Spgs. We were both about to lose it, and well, I basically did and yelled at him.

Sorry bro!

I agree with others about navigation being the critical component to a successful chase. When I'm driving, I like having somone looking at GPS or the map constantly and looking out for where to turn so I can concentrate 100% on driving. Out on desolate local and state roads, especially in and around a storm, it can be some serious white knuckle driving, and the last thing I want to have to do is be looking at GPS or a map. When I'm the co-pilot, I'm fixated on knowing EXACTLY where we are and where we need to go.

In terms of picking a storm/target area, we both seem to see eye to eye on general target areas and which storm to pick. By about 3 pm, if there's a decent storm in the area, we go for it and don't sit around "waiting" for something else to go up. If it does, we can usually backtrack to it.

 

[Michael Towers]

No chase partner for me, I’ve always chased alone and while it might be nice to share the experience with someone I’d rather be by myself. One of the aspects of chasing that appeal to me is just getting away from it all by myself and enjoying some “meâ€￾ time in peace and solitude. I love to hit the road and get away, setting my own course with the freedom to go wherever I want to go whenever I want to go. Alone with my own thoughts, alone out in the great wide open soaking in the countryside and appreciating out of the way spots most people never even notice on a map. The serene quality of the solo journey is something I find quite therapeutic and if I’m fortunate enough to get on a storm without another soul in sight the experience can be somewhat spiritual in nature. No chatter, no shouting, no noise other than sounds provided by nature as the winds blow through the open countryside while the sky roils above...serenity under the storm.

 

[Jason Boggs]

No chase partner for me, I’ve always chased alone and while it might be nice to share the experience with someone I’d rather be by myself. One of the aspects of chasing that appeal to me is just getting away from it all by myself and enjoying some “meâ€￾ time in peace and solitude. I love to hit the road and get away, setting my own course with the freedom to go wherever I want to go whenever I want to go. Alone with my own thoughts, alone out in the great wide open soaking in the countryside and appreciating out of the way spots most people never even notice on a map. The serene quality of the solo journey is something I find quite therapeutic and if I’m fortunate enough to get on a storm without another soul in sight the experience can be somewhat spiritual in nature. No chatter, no shouting, no noise other than sounds provided by nature as the winds blow through the open countryside while the sky roils above...serenity under the storm.

All these things you noted is the same reason I like to chase by myself. I couldn't have said it better.

 

[Justin Turcotte]

All these things you noted is the same reason I like to chase by myself. I couldn't have said it better.

+2

I hate to say it but when I do partner up it is usually out of necessity when my car is not available. I pay for gas and the partner drives to the storm. Better to see a storm up up close with a companion then on the radar alone back home. I do like the camaraderie but simply enjoy the solo experience much more. Most of my chasing is within 200 miles of home and I may have different thoughts if I ever complete a multi-state chase marathon. That said, I will always have a seat available for fellow Husker James McCormick and former coworker Adam Lowe should I ever cross paths again. Those guys were great.

 

[Kathryn Piotrowski]

Gosh...reading the posts I guess I have been pretty darn lucky with having fun chase partners...Brian Stertz, Mike Morgan, Terry Schenk,Sean and Katie McMullen (if I left someone out sorry). In 2003 my brother went stormchasing with me and we were on the Franklin, KS storm, I searched through TwisterChasers.Com archives and found this page that I posted as a Tribute to him...it was before GPS...reading maps...WHAT FUN!?!?! http://twisterchasers.com/twisterchasers_archive.htm#David%20Reames You have to scroll down the page to the Tribute to My Brother.

 

[Eric Treece]

No chase partner for me, I’ve always chased alone and while it might be nice to share the experience with someone I’d rather be by myself. One of the aspects of chasing that appeal to me is just getting away from it all by myself and enjoying some “meâ€￾ time in peace and solitude. I love to hit the road and get away, setting my own course with the freedom to go wherever I want to go whenever I want to go. Alone with my own thoughts, alone out in the great wide open soaking in the countryside and appreciating out of the way spots most people never even notice on a map. The serene quality of the solo journey is something I find quite therapeutic and if I’m fortunate enough to get on a storm without another soul in sight the experience can be somewhat spiritual in nature. No chatter, no shouting, no noise other than sounds provided by nature as the winds blow through the open countryside while the sky roils above...serenity under the storm.

Man that was excellent! I chase alone 90% of the time and just for the reasons stated here.

 

[Drew.Gardonia]

My rule of thumb is that I usually leave the final call up to the driver, unless I have a particularly strong opinion, but we're usually on the same page. Chasing along is overwhelming, but its nice once in a while. Biggest thing that I've noticed that will really help a situation, be able to navigate well.

I second this notion. Driver and owner of the vehicle should have all say, and make the decisions on which way to go.

It's the navigator's job to feed the driver info, and the drivers decision on what to do with that info.

 

[Jason Foster]

I'm happy that no one I've chased with has posted in this thread (yet... ).

 

[Dustin Wilcox]

Pretty simple system really, if you make a bad call that the other disagreed with, you get kicked in the nuts... Hints why I am now scared to chase with others, and prefer caravaning as opposed to riding together. Overall this painful method seems to alleviate any problems as it ultimately leads to both parties always agreeing, if not just out of fear.

 

[Drew.Gardonia]

Pretty simple system really, if you make a bad call that the other disagreed with, you get kicked in the nuts... Hints why I am now scared to chase with others, and prefer caravaning as opposed to riding together. Overall this painful method seems to alleviate any problems as it ultimately leads to both parties always agreeing, if not just out of fear.

well I'd think all storm chasers should know that everyone makes the wrong decisions. Just the nature of the beast. No sense beating someone up verbally because of it. Always another storm, and another chance to catch something. win a few and lose a few.