Beaching During a Hurricane

[Serenity_]

In researching living in the Bahamas year round on say something like a Gemini 105 or similar cat that can be beached, I was wondering if people have tried or thought of putting there cat up on the beach during a hurricane on a somewhat remote piece of sand on one of the islands?

Possible?
Not Possible?
Horrible idea?
Great idea?

Thoughts on this are appreciated. Trying to keep a budget and not spend money on a mooring or putting it on the hard during a major storm is something I think a lot of people have on the mind as do I.

Some things to consider I think would be whether to face it into the wind (or try) or perhaps put a hull side to the wind? Do you think the would could flow between the hulls and lift it?

[Vasco]

The wind will pick it up and blow it away. Not to mention what the surf or surge might do. As to facing the wind, during a hurricane the wind will back and come at you from another direction. Burying it might help.

Your best bet would be to take it as deep into the mangroves as you can and put out all the anchors that you have and all the heavy lines you can get your hands on.

[slomotion]

What Vasco said.

There are several pretty good hurricane holes in the Bahamas, including mangroves. The very last place you want a boat to be in a hurricane is on the beach.

[DtM]

Horrible idea.

Follow the advice of slomotion.

[beau]

I am also considering this as an option.
My boat is a flat bottom trimaran with a draft of 9 inches.
We regularly beach at high tide.

My plan is to stern in on a high tide and use an electric 4X4 car winch and use round logs placed under the hull and then slowing winching the boat to higher ground out of the influence of the high tide.
I do not see why this cannot be an option.

Not just in potental cyclone situations but in places where you want to spend a few days and the weather direction in not always agreeable.
It is done in many other countries I do not see why it cannot be added to my list of options.
By the way, it is a well know fact that cyclones rarely hit landfall at high tide. I do not know why, but I have lived in Cyclone prone areas all of my life and I have seen it quoted many times.

Comments and opinions would be appreciated.

[bewitched]

By the way, it is a well know fact that cyclones rarely hit landfall at high tide. I do not know why, but I have lived in Cyclone prone areas all of my life and I have seen it quoted many times.

.

Is it? - not here. The typhoons are usually accompanied by a storm surge that pushes the water considerably higher than anything tidal.

Beaching a multi-hull for a cyclone - I don't see what's wrong with that if you can get it above the storm surge - In the Philippines, pretty much everything that can be beached, is beached. From bancas to ferries

[beau]

Yes, we do have a storm surges but in 40 yers of living on the QLD coast No cyclone has ever hit landfall at High tide.
There has been many articles written about it in scientific journals.
One of our top scientists was sent to bangladesh some years ago to study the phenomon where apparently it does happen occasionally.
However that doesn't change the argument. Just winch up a bit higher.

[Laidback]

If the boat can be taken to a place on land where it can be secured safely and once the storm has passed returned to the water = OK
Remember there are marinas with hard standings where a boat can lashed to the concrete. Even expect damage
However, where the storm has nowhere to go, one needs to be on high round at least 10 miles from the coast, and thoroughly secured.
Beaching a boat in South East and Asia to avoid a Typhoon or Cyclone is regarded as NOT recommended. Here is a list of the Tropical Storms - many become Super Typhoons and Cyclones, have look at just the pdfs for 2008 and 2009.
Annual Tropical Cyclone Reports — Naval Oceanography Portal
Over 2,000 people on the eastern coast of the Philippines lost their lives.

[Pelagic]

Here in the Philippines the only people I see beaching their boats before an approaching Typhoon are the local Ro/Ro Ferries because their ground tackle is totally inadequate.

They will run it hard up on the sand….lash to trees and go home

[daddle]

If multihulls are so darn fast you should consider simply sailing away from the bad weather. There's some good rules of thumb for which way to go. And nowadays one has gobs of warning.

[svHyLyte]

Considering storm surge, you may find yourself much further ashore than you expect following the storm.



If you can do so, find a place where you can tuck into the Mangrove. Mangrove will protect the yacht and hold the boat in place.

FWIW...

[Drew13440]

A picture's worth a thousand words...

Storm surge is the real destroyer in a hurricane. Get way the heck away from the water ahead of time...

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by svHyLyte

... If you can do so, find a place where you can tuck into the Mangrove. Mangrove will protect the yacht and hold the boat in place.

See ➥ Latitude 38 - 'Lectronic Latitude

Note the blue Hunter 49, on the left.

[sww914]

In many hurricane prone areas along the coast people build their houses on stilts. That's not because they like climbing stairs, it's because 5-6 feet of water will flow into low lying areas, maybe more. If your boat is on the beach and 6 feet of water comes in your boat is now in the water and probably not attached to the ground as well as it would have been with a good anchor set. So your boat will end up between the houses or on Main St or in the Cemetery or in a school. I would hope in those conditions that my boat would end up in a park after the storm so we'd have a nice view and maybe some playground equipment and a BBQ nearby.

[pwratch]

Originally Posted by beau

By the way, it is a well know fact that cyclones rarely hit landfall at high tide. I do not know why, but I have lived in Cyclone prone areas all of my life and I have seen it quoted many times.

Comments and opinions would be appreciated.

I'm not a meteorologist but I suspect that this belief is an example of confusing coincidence with causation.