Progressive Aerodyne SeaRey pilot reported not expecting crosswind on landing resulted in loss of control on landing and runway excursion.
Synopsis
Progressive Aerodyne SeaRey pilot reported not expecting crosswind on landing resulted in loss of control on landing and runway excursion.
Narrative
I was flying to my normal airport (ZZZ) for gas. I listened to the AWOS; and winds were 10G21 kts; exceeding my personal limits. I diverted to ZZZ1; without about 40 mins of fuel. It does not have AWOS; but ZZZ2 had far improved winds; 7kts if I recall correctly. I had some level of get-there-itis due to having limited fuel. I had landed at ZZZ1 previously in a different plane; but not in this airplane or in any tail dragger. I had very little crosswind experience in a taildragger. I looked at the wind sock; and it was straight down the runway partially inflated; suggesting reasonable winds. On base and final; landing Runway XX; I was getting rocked a bit; with some gusty winds. The runway is far narrower than I was used to; only 40 ft; and by far the narrowest I had landed on in a tailwheel. After landing; I kept the tail up for a bit; and felt my left wheel at one point leave the ground. I pulled all power back out; and was dancing considerably on my feet. I put the tail down completely to improve control. I felt the plane pull left as soon as I did; I was heading for a landing light. I left the runway to the left. I had full right rudder and overcontrolled. This caused me to miss the landing light on the left of the runway; but then to ground loop and make a 180; departing the runway to the right hand side. I later noticed there was a second windsock on the field. I did not see it when approaching. It was fully inflated with a left crosswind.When I arrived at the fuel pump; I noticed that the left steering cable was caught in the tailwheel gear assembly; adding tension. This is a known issue for SeaReys that seems to sometimes just happen when the gear is cycled. This caused the tailwheel to have a natural left steering tendency. I did not notice this while taxiing.The unexpected strong left crosswind; changing from a direct headwind partway down the runway; combined with the tangled left tailwheel; my lack of experience on a narrow runway in a tailwheel; my lack of tailwheel crosswind experience; my limited time in type; my under and then over controlling of the airplane all likely contributed to this occurrence.The airplane did not flip or otherwise receive any noticeable damage. I did not observe any damage to the airport either.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.