Lest We Forget...

[jlogan]

Since today is the 4th anniversary of Katrina, I thought I would post a couple of pictures to remind everyone that Mother Nature is the real boss when you have a boat - Pictures are of South Shore harbor in New Orleans about two weeks after Katrina - first time we could get to our boats....Reality was a 33ft hunter...those old hunters were tough, she floated to where the picture was, about 300 yds from her slip...435 boats, none survived in the slip....

[barnakiel]

Reality check?

[olepedersen]

Allright please don,t hurt me, but it bothers me,to see poor seamanship,displayed in such great numbers,Katrina was a HURRICANE and still sails were left on many boats in the picture I personally know people and boats from that area who left their marina made a run to florida and returned after the storm only to see boats stacked like cord wood in their own backyard.Exposed docks,fixed docks are all subject to storm surge,prudent sailors ,get out off the way or seek better shelter ,10 to15 feet of storm surge is common in hurricanes ,so no wonder Boats floated away. insurance companies should expect owners to be prudent before paying claims. My own boat was bought from an insurance co who had paid total claim when owners left furling Genoa on boat in hurricane Wilma in Marathon Fl. Boat was demasted in the dock.Wonder why insurance is expensive??? Ole

[Guard Bum]

OLE,

While there are certainly examples of what you speak, that is a gross misrepresentation of what happened in South Mississippi. Harbors on the coast were vacated by all boats that could move and the "protected" industrial seaway and local rivers were full of conscience boat owners taking the best precautions available. I admit we significantly underestimated Katrina's tidal surge, it was most certainly not for lack of caring or negligence. My boat was up river a mile north of interstate 10 (about 10 miles from the Coast) sitting in a cove that normally has about 6' of water. Water rose 28' at that location. My boat was saved by a brave/crazy man who stayed on his boat during the storm. Without continued actions, every boat in the creek would have sunk. Most on the coast were not that lucky.

Please do not lump all in your assessment when it was truly so few that are represented. By the way, you can't blame anybody for taking care of their family at the expense of there boat.

[olepedersen]

Guard Bum

I did not mean to offend any body, and you are right take care of family first, you obviously did what you could, but the brave crazy who stayed on his boat in the storm ,probably was well prepared with the right gear and not so crazy, many sailors who values their boats find hurricane holes early , prepare ahead of the season ,and many stay with the boat when they have the right safety gear and are prepared, even if they have insurance. I stay with or on mine if possible even if I have to travel from Canada to do it. and my boat is 30 miles inland from the east coast . Not removing equipment and sails to reduce windage is poor seaman ship in my book and acording to the picturers more than 50% had not done so Ole

[Talbot]

Can I please have a minor quibble about your first line

"Lest We Forget"


This line is a fundamental part of UK remembrance service for those killed in war. The line is refering to the sacrifice of those who died so that others could live.

[cantxsailor]

Having been through IKE I agree with "ole" about people who leave boats with any kind of canvas on when a storm is brewing.

In my twisted view of the world they should not get any insurance payments.

There is no excuse for leaving sails up on boats. ALL canvas should be taken off if a storm is even hinted at being in the area. We now generally have several days advance notice of where a storm may go. It's just not that hard to take it down but if you get missed a few times I know you get lazy.

Our marina, Bayland Park Marina in Baytown Texas is a classic example of what happens when the management is to lazy to do anything to help stop damage before a storm.

The pilings were a good 6-8ft shorter than any other marina in the Galveston bay area. We tenants were told we had nothing to worry about because the pilings were actually "extra high" as discribed in their literature and we were safe behind the dike. We were also told the staff would secure the docks with chains or cables which never happened. The entire hurricane preparedness plan of the management, in hind sight, was to lock the office door behind them when they left.

As it turned out the entire marina, docks and all floated away down the bay. All 85 boats(19' to 65') ended up on the bank. Most boats were minimally damaged, still tied up neatly in their slips. To add insult to injury the management when asked for a security guard and some fencing replied that they didn't know if that was their resposibility. The boat owners stood 24/7 watch until the city got tired of the bad publicity of people having to sit armed guard on city property. To say I'm still a bit pissed at Baytown would be an understatement.

To this day although we tenants were promised the marina would be quickly rebuilt not a single lick of work has been done. The boat owners were charged $253 per foot of boat length to have our boats put back in the water even though the city was insured and received that money last Oct. We of course were not able to sue the city because, although the lawyers we contacted figured we had a pretty good case, we didn't have the kind of money needed to pursue litigation. The insurance companies(all the big names and the little one too) just paid the claims and didn't even attempt to hold the city responsible.

That is why our rates are so high. The days of insurance companies standing up for their clients is long gone. They don't care, you are not in good hands, and they are definately not like a good neighbour.

The boat owners stood together and looked after one another which is how it has to be. The government should be the last resort.

Of course I'm preaching to the choir as you're from the area that it seems got forgotten................m

[CapnTony]

I've sat thru 2 hurricanes and it never suprises me how many boats never get ANY attention before the storm. They are usually owned by the same people that only come to their boats on holidays and expect them to start right up and take a load of drunks out for the day. Seems to me they would just rather have the insurance claim than correctly prepare the boat.

[Guard Bum]

No doubt the boats that were neglected during the storm were most likely neglected prior to the storm.

[Ocean Girl]

A marina harbor master friend (who will remain nameless do to what I am about to tell ya) told me this story a few years back.
He was harbor master of one of the big marinas around clear lake. Anyways, the morning a major hurricane was to hit the area, he went around with a shot gun and shot a hole in the boats that were not prepared for the storm. He figured the boats were going to sink anyways, might as well put them down before they take out the another boats.

[Pelagic]

Originally Posted by Ocean Girl

A marina harbor master friend (who will remain nameless do to what I am about to tell ya) told me this story a few years back.
He was harbor master of one of the big marinas around clear lake. Anyways, the morning a major hurricane was to hit the area, he went around with a shot gun and shot a hole in the boats that were not prepared for the storm. He figured the boats were going to sink anyways, might as well put them down before they take out the another boats.

I just love a good Urban Legend!

[TabbyCat]

Having been through IKE I agree with "ole" about people who leave boats with any kind of canvas on when a storm is brewing.
In my twisted view of the world they should not get any insurance payments.

Well, actually, that's also the view of many in the insurance industry. How many of you in the south have filled out a hurricane plan? Underwriters now use what you write in your plan to figure out if you're a good risk - will you be responsible and do the right thing, such as remove your canvas before leaving the boat unattended for an extended period? Will you double your lines when you know a storm is coming? If you write a really lame plan that doesn't include those things, they will decline to offer you a quote. So the goal is to keep the irreponsible people out of the pool of responsible insureds, which should keep rates down.

On the other hand, if you say you are going to take storm precautions and then don't, you have not kept up your end of the bargain, so the possibility exists for the claims adjuster to deny the claim. I've never seen that enforced but....

Here's a creepy Katrina fact: the day after it hit, I had everyone come in the office early to take claims, & turned off the answering machine. We waited for the phone to ring off the hook, but it was a pretty normal day at our office. It turned out that the the loss of life, home destruction, & dislocation were higher priorities than their boats.

~ Susan

[Guard Bum]

Here's a creepy Katrina fact: the day after it hit, I had everyone come in the office early to take claims, & turned off the answering machine. We waited for the phone to ring off the hook, but it was a pretty normal day at our office. It turned out that the the loss of life, home destruction, & dislocation were higher priorities than their boats.

~ Susan[/QUOTE]

Having lived through Katrina first hand in Biloxi, MS (active duty military at the time), those priorities are exactly right. I spent the storm on the base and did not leave for 19 days (sent my family out of town). No reason to turn your phones off though, we didn't get phone service for about 30 days. Cell phones didn't work; we relied strictly on Sat phones.

[cantxsailor]

It seems that there is just to much money to be made to actually stand up to those too lazy to look after their boats.

I met several people who were more than happy that their insured boats were destroyed including a doctor who was on the dock, his boat undamaged and still afloat, who wouldn't allow me to back his boat out to deeper water and save it from having to be moved by crane at $253ft.

I had never seen him at the marina in the previous 2 yrs and I was the one who put 2 new dock lines(out of my supply) on his boat before the storm. After he was paid a fairly large amout by his insurance company he just left the boat on the hard where the cleanup crew had blocked it up. A guy I know bought it(36ft Islander) for $3000 and is now refurbishing it. There was no significant damage from the storm. The interior had been neglected for years and he was paid for that "damage".

He told me that he would have been happier if it had just sunk as he had lost interest in sailing and was looking at a new trawler. I wonder how long it'll be bfore we have to pay for that one when interest wains. Oh and yes I did mention it to the adjuster who was there with, obviously, no impact.

I can't afford full coverage insurance(I do have liability to protect everyone else) partially because of clowns like him who don't look after their boats and the insurance companies allow them to get away with it.

I don't mind paying for things like insurance if I feel like I get a fair shake but when I see this happening it makes me very angry............m

[s/v Moondancer]

Coconut Grove Sailing Club, in Miami, had a lot of 'credit card sailors' like you describe but after Wilma and Katrina (both were barely Cat II's in Miami) sank or severly damaged 50 boats, a quarter of the fleet, we instituted a day long 'hurricane preparedness course (including practical demonstrations of 'mooring in the mangroves and dropping a 3 anchor rig). Over 150 people have taken the course in the last 3 years.

I hope they write good hurricane plans because they sure do have the information. I show a dozens slides of damaged boats with tattered jibs but the insurance companies share the blame for paying for these boats.

When I practiced medicine my malpractice insurance company gave me a 10% discount for attending an all day 'insurance seminar' After Wilma and Katrina my boat insurace went up 30% without any claims being made.

Phil