I experienced three hurricanes while in
Mexico for three years. I was at
anchor in all three cases. I was friends with many other cruisers there who kept their boats in slips or in dry
storage during those and other hurricanes. What to do was a subject of constant discussion. Here are a few thoughts based on those discussions.
Friends ran a dive business off their
CSY 44 out of St Thomas, USVI for years. Their very nice boat survived two hurricanes while in a slip in St. Thomas. I've watched video of their post-hurricane return to their boat and it is scary!
In one event a 30' powerboat ended up in their
cockpit. It was lifted there by storm surge and winds.
The other time their boat ended up on top of another biggish sailboat and both of them were 20' inland from their slip.
On the Other Hand!
I've had dozens of friends in
Mexico whose boats were severely damaged by hurricanes while hauled out and in dry
storage. The quality of the dry storage and boat stands is critical. There must be concrete pads under the jack stands. The yard staff must do a proper job of placing the jack stands and the intertie of those jack stands.
Many boats were badly damaged when the torrential rains and runoff washed the ground out from under the jackstands and the boats fell over. In some cases the jack stands were on concrete or asphalt pads but those pads were undermined by the running water and eventually the pads collapsed.
Another problem that friends in dry storage suffered was blowing crap coming off other boats in the yard. The yard management must enforce the rules about all
sails and
canvas must be removed from the boats in the yard. Several friend's boats in dry storage suffered a lot of damage when
sails on adjacent boats unfurled and then that boat blew over and started a domino effect, toppling many adjacent boats.
I would be inclined to use the haul out facility IF I could verify the quality of the yard and the experience of the yard staff.
$3K is small change when considering the value and other operating costs of your boat.