Hurricane Irene

[Ocean Girl]

s/v Faith ( LA Rock here at CF ) was riding out in Oriental, NC. Anyone know how they are doing?
Erika

[AnchorageGuy]

Info on Oriental, TownDock.net | Oriental NC News, Weather & Photos . Chuck

[sneuman]

Rode out the storm at the dock in Severna Park, MD. All is well -- no damage.

Pointed to the north; doubled up all the lines -with one set to winches and bow lines to cleats and sampson post. Stripped off all sails. Filled the centerline watertanks for more ballast.

Played poker onboard most of the night -- broke even, both in poker and with the storm. Can't complain.

The only bad part was the bow lines were set up for storm surge and hard to adjust when the opposite happened.

Now, we just have to worry about that TD 12 out there that looks a lot like Isabel right now.

[Iain]

Thank you for the good info.

[Me-and-Boo]

A little b&tching time. Right now there is a lot of chatter on the talk shows about how the media overhyped the storm (that is the same people); it was a dud; government wasted time and effort; and a bunch more ignorant stuff.

Irene was a big, about the size of Europe, nasty, 2 and growing, storm. All the models were showing a path that was going to affect 65,000,000 people and countless homes; along with the infrastructure.

Not one of the self-important yakkers has said that hurricanes are unpredictable, even hour to hour. That the storm did what it did is more predictable, change power and direction, than follow a single path and not change.

A slight increase or steadiness of strength and a westerly wobble rather than a loss and an easterly wobble could have resulted in much loss of life and devastation.

I am very happy it turned out to be less than expected, I was in tropical storm conditions for hours (soaked in the first five minutes while doing my vehicle checks and loading it with rations and comfort kits). We would have had more people in the shelters and more homes destroyed if the predictions had held. As it was the tropical storm conditions caused a lot of damage.

Anyone who lives near the water should know about hurricanes and tropical depressions and tropical storms. I learned early about how nasty Great Lakes storms can be; I learned from my time on the East Coast how powerful ocean storms can be. The lessons I learned make me irritated at the idiocy being broadcast about how next time, TD12 perhaps, there is no reason to believe the scientists and evacuate.

Thank you. Time to prepare for happy hour.

[zeehag]

news lovelies---ye know, the bubbleheaded bleachedblond on the evening news-- hasnt a clue about weather-- neither does the idiot reading the weather.
unfortunately, is on tv, therefore is truth.
they do not understand the unpredictability of momma nature nor the fact the storm was larger in size than katrina didnt register in their branes.
they only speak of what makes money come into the stations/sponsors coffers.
i have to laugh at their idiocy. had irene been as large as predicted, they would have had another field day saying the storm was badder than predicted--is nothing but a sad attempt to continue to ride the irene money into the pockets. is one reason why i do not own a tv.

have one for me, ok!?!

[Skip20]

I've hauled my little cruising Com-Pac in New Bedford, MA. Looking out at the harbor, I noticed that every boat that had sails bent on had a frayed or shredded luff.

Any sail presents enormous windage and is safer to get it below along with lashing the boom on deck.

Wish y'all a safe harbor, jolly good holding ground and a place selling champagne and hamburgers when the big lady stops singing.

[mbianka]

Allezcat:

Where did you finally end up while riding out Irene and how was it?

[AllezCat]

I found a "magical" hurricane hole.
Worked perfectly as we only experienced a storm!!
Surprised when driving around sag harbor shelter island and east Hampton today - a lot of clean up from downed trees branches etc...power outages.
Few boats on the beach upturned etc but pretty good.
Family in NYC says "no" wind little rain- but???
We had steady 35 - 45 knots max 48. Easterly thru westerly as it passed and stronger drier at the end. Rain was not extreme either.
Wind speeds/direction were exactly as forecast Saturday morning/afternoon on Sirius(NOAA)

[Blue Crab]

Originally Posted by Skip20

I've hauled my little cruising Com-Pac in New Bedford, MA. Looking out at the harbor, I noticed that every boat that had sails bent on had a frayed or shredded luff.

Any sail presents enormous windage and is safer to get it below along with lashing the boom on deck.

Wish y'all a safe harbor, jolly good holding ground and a place selling champagne and hamburgers when the big lady stops singing.

I read someone on this or similiar thread that one of our readers took a couple more wraps zround the furled genny.

We had 60-80+ winds for at least 6-8hrs with the eye on top of us for maybe 2 hours.


I used that time to run up to the Handlebar.

We had no elect but ice was available. So beer was cold. 20 of us watched the back half of Irene. That wasn't her best side. But talk about a pleasant afternoon!

[sneuman]

How hurricane season is changing | Climatide

Irene was just a rehearsal. Expect stronger hurricanes, farther north:

"The waters off the mid-Atlantic and northeast coast have historically been too cold to support intense hurricanes. But, as ocean surface temperatures rise, the area of water that’s warm enough for major hurricanes (generally speaking, 80ºF or warmer) will move northward. And that could open stretches of the mid-Atlantic and New England to a new level of hurricane vulnerability."

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by sneuman

Irene was just a rehearsal. Expect stronger hurricanes, farther north:

Yeah. Do I believe the fear tactics? Nup....

New York has many, many hurrucanes. I am quite surprised that it gets coined every few years. I thought it was way too far north.

When I rene was wafting around the Media was saying the previous hurricane in New York was 1939 WRONG!!!!!!!!!

List of New York hurricanes encompasses 84 tropical or subtropical cyclones that have affected the state of New York since the 17th century.

List of New York hurricanes - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Interesting is the tracks of New York bashing Hurricanes are very similar. They are non-Haiti haters, they start outboard of the carib islands (generally) and scoot the same path as Irene.



So how many Hurricanes have dipped into New York state in the last decade?

2000 and after

• September 20, 2000 — The remnants of Hurricane Gordon produce light rainfall in Southeastern New York State.[67]

June 17, 2001 — The remnants of Tropical Storm Allison produce moderate rainfall up to 3 inches (75 mm), although it fell in just a couple hours causing minor to moderate flash flooding.[68]

• August 10, 2002 — Tropical Storm Cristobal generates rip currents which drown three people on the coast of Long Island.[69]
• September 28, 2002 — The remnants of Hurricane Isidore produce widespread light rainfall over much of the state and moderate wind gusts.[70] Some small trees are blown down, and minor power outages are reported.[71]
• September 21, 2003 — Hurricane Isabel affects the state with high winds and flooding. Damage in New York totals to $90 million (2003 USD, $98 million 2006 USD).[66] In and around New York City, about 1.1 million customers were left without power, though most outages were fixed by the day after the hurricane passed through the region.[72] Offshore of Long Beach, rough waves killed a man while bodysurfing.[73]
• August 4, 2004 — Hurricane Alex drops 2.83 inches (70 mm) of rain on Long Island.[74]
• August 13, 2004 — Tropical Storm Bonnie produces rainfall peaking at 4 inches causing several rivers to swell to at or slightly above flood stage.[75]
• August 14, 2004 — Hurricane Charley brushes Long Island and produces light rainfall.[74]
• September 4, 2004 — Hurricane Gaston produces light rainfall on Long Island.[76]
• September 9, 2004 — The remnants of Hurricane Frances produces heavy rainfall up to 7 inches (175 mm) which causes extensive flooding in central New York. One death, a drowning, and $6 million (2005 USD, $6.5 million 2007 USD) in damage results from the flooding.[77][78]
• July 9, 2005 — The remnants of Hurricane Cindy produce moderate rainfall in Upstate New York causing light damage due to flooding and gusty winds, which downed some trees.[79]
• August 30, 2005 — The remnants of Hurricane Katrina produce heavy rainfall up to 5 inches (125 mm) of rain in the western portion of the state. High winds also affect the state, with 4,500 people in Buffalo left without power after high winds downed trees and power lines.[80]
• October 5, 2005 — Tropical Storm Tammy's remnants contribute to a rainstorm which turns into the Northeast U.S. flooding of October 2005. Up to 13 inches (325 mm) of rain cause severe flooding throughout the Hudson Valley, killing 10 and causing millions of dollars in damage.[81][82]
• September 2, 2006 — The remnants of Hurricane Ernesto produce light to moderate rainfall over much of the state and wind gusts of up to 60 miles per hour (97 km/h).[83] Numerous trees and powerlines are reported fallen, and several thousand people are left without power, primarily in the New York City area.[84]
• June 5, 2007 — Tropical Storm Barry produces 3.91 inches (99 mm) of rain in New York City.[85] The heavy rainfall leads to flooding in the Finger Lakes region of New York State, washing out roads and driveways. Roads and several driveways were washed out.[86]
• September 6, 2008 — Hurricane Hanna strikes Long Island with gusts of winds of 52 mph (84 km/h) at Shinnecock Inlet. Aside from numerous downed trees, damage is minimal.[87]
• August 22, 2009 — Offshore Hurricane Bill causes severe beach erosion and coastal damage on the southern shore of Long Island.[88]

• August 27-28, 2011 — Hurricane Irene makes landfall as a strong tropical storm and with winds topping 70 mph at the height of the storm and causes parts of New York City and Metropolitan areas to evacuate; the city shuts down including MTA, and mass transit. Also Irene caused many power outages and trees down. It was reported that LIPA The Long Island Power Authority had over 400,000 power outages.

So New York is definitly in the line of hurricane tracks. Just every so often one packs a belt. Prety much like other places in Hurricane and Cyclone areas...

[witzgall]

Early last summer, we went to look at boat up in Maine, before we bought Alchemy. While pondering the boat, we looked up the owners, as it was by that time a donated boat. The couple cruised with their family extensively. Samuel Bell died a few years ago, leaving children, and his wife Ann. She was living a few blocks from Gretchen's mother in MD on the eastern shore.

At 85 years old, she was sitting in her sun room as the power was out, with her son. A tree hit the chimney of the house, and that caved in, killing her.

She sailed for many years - what an odd way to end a life full of adventure.

Chris

[tanksalot]

Irene was my first serious hurricane as a sailboat owner. Everything I read suggested anchoring in a "hurricane hole" as the second-best approach to successful survival (taking out the boat was #1). I bought a 33 lb. claw anchor and chain (27 ft. Ericson) and, using two anchors, successfully weathered the storm in a local river.

What I don't understand is the lack of company following this approach. Many people left their sailboats at the dock, many people docked at sheltered, river-based marinas, but I didn't see or hear of many people anchoring upriver for the storm. Why?

The anchoring-out in a river approach makes a lot of sense.....no hard pilings or boats to run into, lots of room (and scope) to ride out storm surge, and, if the anchors let go, soft riverbank to run into.

The only reason I can see for staying at the dock or the upriver dock approach is having the company of others nearby during the storm. Am I missing something?

Tanksalot

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by tanksalot

The only reason I can see for staying at the dock or the upriver dock approach is having the company of others nearby during the storm. Am I missing something?

Tanksalot

Your not 'missing something' ( a revolting cliché, but....)
Its human nature to be scared. Fear is a very powerful emotion. Its even scarier if we are by ourselves facing the vagary of nature trying to blast the world apart, and when people tell us: "YaGunnaStayOnYaBoat?YAMADDDDDDDDDDDDD?"

We have that ******** reinforced when people say life is worth more than anything else. But if one is in a cottonwool cocoon is life worth it at all?

So given the general nature of people and fear they would prefer to be rafted up somewhere together. Of tied normally and then troop off to the bar and watch their boats demise on TV.

If you have a good quality plan, well thought out and time to get into the position of your choosing then staying on the boat is the best to avoid most damage.
But sitting in the worst of a destructive storm in a bad area, not well thought out, then that fear becomes the reality of death...





Mark