Big storms? Stay aboard or sleep ashore?

[jim321]

i rode out a hurricane in port Canaveral and would have lost my boat if i were not there.
it was scary as hell a bow line broke from being slammed around and i had to go out in it to get more lines out.there was so much damage to the port they now evacuate it before big storms. one big yacht damaged pilings and a dock a few boats even went down..a shrimp boat broke loose from the coastguard area and almost crashed into the fleet across the port a couple of guy's drove a tender to catch it and got the engines started just in time. the tender sank just as they got aboard the shrimp boat..
i said to myself NEVER AGAIN.....

[reed1v]

Originally Posted by gbowen

I had a question about we were anchored on Oahu during Hurricane Iwa. At that time Keehi Lagoon was an unrestricted anchorage and we anchored at the seaward end for 22 months. It was the seaward end that had the most exposure. the house blew off the island at the lagoon entrance. I do not remember the names of the beached boats except for Skyward. It is true Iwa did not do a lot of damage to boats. The winds were only about 100 mph or so. We saw worse weather later in Alaska. gbowen

Keehi Lagoon has a lot of floating derelict boats, some of which come loose without any wind. The fisherman's island structures are not anchored to anything and are actually illegal structures. Ala wai, Kaneohe Bay, and Halewai had minimal damages.

There were several cruisers who rode out the storm at sea. If you have a well founded sea boat like a wetsnail or pacific seacraft, should be in good shape. Outside of the higher latitudes, open ocean hurricane seas are not difficult to sail. It's near land when the seas build up that presents life/death situations. Big ships also have problems since they bridge the wave periods.

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by reed1v

........................
............... Outside of the higher latitudes, open ocean hurricane seas are not difficult to sail. It's near land when the seas build up that presents life/death situations. Big ships also have problems since they bridge the wave periods.

I think this is very well said from reed1v. The big hurricane risk areas are coastal. I've already stated that my escape from "coastal" would be to cruise well inland. Of course, this is not an option in the islands and I have a vertical clearance that allows my passage under 55' bridges as well as a shoal draft.

....... and then there's the "Pansy Factor". I'm not bold enough to put myself at this risk at sea. I've been in small ponds well inland with waves less than one foot and hurricane winds well overhead. Big storm strategy? Yes, I'll be the "pansy" every time! I was looking at one of Steady Hand's videos of a boat dealing with "Wilma" in South Florida. The "pansies" gather in LaBelle!

[denverd0n]

Originally Posted by Rex Delay

A boat is replaceable, you are not. Take all precautions and get to high ground.

Ditto times infinity.

It is very romantic sounding to say that you are going to risk your life to save the boat. You know, go down with the ship, and all that. In the end, though, it is just kind of dumb. No boat is worth your life.

Having said that, there are a lot of "big storms" that are not "risk your life" kinds of storms. You have to make a judgment call as to how great the risk is, and then decide based on that. But anyone who takes the attitude that "no matter what the risk, I have to save my boat!" is just being foolish in my opinion.

[zeehag]

during patricia, last year, i was perfectly comfortable dodging flying stuff inside my boat. unfortunately i was beam to winds. i would have been perfectly fine had my bow been into winds.
i was grabbed out of my boat, with cat, to a hotel room during first half of the storm.
despite the fact that the shower was lovely an the room was mas o menos safe-ish, i was safer in my boat than with exploding glass around me as we tried to walk thru high winds to a damaged and flooded hotel.
ok.
so.
as that is still the most intense cane ever formed on planet, i can say with authority to use your own judgement in this.
i prefer to remain aboard to manage bits as they occur.
the other hand, as storm was quite intense with 200 mph winds and gusts to 250+ mph, use your own judgement.
if you are beam to wind in a marina, get the f** outta your boat, if you did not have foresight to relocate to a bow into wind situation. that makes all the difference.
btdt with tropical storms, and lesser canes.

in the mangroves, one boat sank and one went walkabout during the most intense part of the action.
use your own gut feelings.
if you are on anchor in a named event, find mangroves. it is safer there than in the flow of stuff coming at you downriver.
the worst stuff to watch out for is not the wind, but what is being carried on the wind. also the stuff flowing in the river coming at you. surge is also a huge issue.
we were fortunate to be in a true hurricane hole, created with this in mind. no surge--wind opposed the flow and kept it to a minimum.
i was fortunate to have only lost use of mizzen mast--and the wind genny on its masthead. also a mahogany boarding ladder, mashed with the knockdown onto dock when the winds were extreme. we were fortunate to have not had more damages
btw--water will pour into your boat via your freshly rebedded deckware, portholes and hatches, mebbe even your hull to deck connection. be ready.
my neighbor did not remove his foresails and lost one to wind. he remained in boat during brunt of storm and told me what it looked like as my mizzen twistoflexed itself to death.
patricia was categorized as a 5 but felt like a 7.

[rwidman]

Originally Posted by Hudson Force

'not an "either or" choice at all. Since you're in North Charleston you know the places miles up the west branch of the Cooper River. Even without raising the railway bridge, you have that plantation on the Huger Creek around a hairpin turn with no fetch. .... or on to the Monck's Corner area with plenty of little protected side creeks where you can keep your life and your boat.

There's no guarantee that you will keep your life and your boat.

Boats, homes, vehicles, etc. are just possessions and can be replaced. Your life cannot be replaced.

Make sure you have insurance, secure your boat the best you can, and get to a safe place on land.

Some folks have posted that they stayed on board their boats during hurricanes, etc. and lived to tell about it. That's great but it's not good advice.

[reed1v]

Originally Posted by Hudson Force

I think this is very well said from reed1v. The big hurricane risk areas are coastal. I've already stated that my escape from "coastal" would be to cruise well inland. Of course, this is not an option in the islands and I have a vertical clearance that allows my passage under 55' bridges as well as a shoal draft.

....... and then there's the "Pansy Factor". I'm not bold enough to put myself at this risk at sea. I've been in small ponds well inland with waves less than one foot and hurricane winds well overhead. Big storm strategy? Yes, I'll be the "pansy" every time! I was looking at one of Steady Hand's videos of a boat dealing with "Wilma" in South Florida. The "pansies" gather in LaBelle!

Nothing wrong with the Pansy option. My comment was in regards to the choice between staying at anchor or heading out to sea. Out to sea wins in virtually all cases. Those who left Cabo before the storm hit did well, those who stayed lost most everything. So if the choice is between the two, sail away, assuming you are an experienced sailor. But, yes, there is the big pucker factor to contend with.

[neilpride]

Originally Posted by reed1v

Nothing wrong with the Pansy option. My comment was in regards to the choice between staying at anchor or heading out to sea. Out to sea wins in virtually all cases. Those who left Cabo before the storm hit did well, those who stayed lost most everything. So if the choice is between the two, sail away, assuming you are an experienced sailor. But, yes, there is the big pucker factor to contend with.

Are you suggesting set sail with a Hurricane close to the location???

[Hudson Force]

I'll repeat a list that I have posted several times on past threads. These are the conditions that I look for if I decide to stay aboard my boat for a hurricane. The first four are essential criteria and I would not remain aboard without them. The last four are important, but I rarely find all eight.

1. A location well inland
2. Little or no fetch in all directions
3. A good holding substrate
4. Shallow depths
5. A high surrounding topography
6. A forgiving shore (mud or sand opposed to rock or cement bulkheads)
7. No loose debris in surroundings
8. Few or no neighboring boats

I do not "spider web" my boat or make any ties to shore. I agree with Zeehag's point that it's best to face into the wind. I lay on one good anchor with about 200' of chain and three snubbers set in sequence to replace the function of any chafed and lost. I remove my sails and all deck windage.

I recognize other strategies and respect the spider web in the mangrove plan or the out to sea plan, but they are not my choice for me or my boat. I'll take the 6" wavelets and the 60 to 80 mph winds while the hurricane winds are at the coast or at the tree tops and my mast head.

[Scaramanga F25]

I have been lucky twice in hurricanes in Ft Lauderdale. Last one was Wilma.
Both times loosely tied with 8 lines of progressive thickness tied to 4 pilings on 2 different canals one 150 feet wide the other 120 feet wide and not very long.
Both 6 to 8 miles from an inlet. 1/4 and 1 mile inland from Atlantic. Watching from my condo.
Another time in Little Harbour, Bahamas on 3 anchors. Spent the night in an unfinished solid concrete bathroom at Pete's Pub.

One needs luck in any case.

[Jsta_Rebel]

Personally, I stay aboard in order to deal with storm surge. The boat can't take care of itself. There are also the unfortunate dirt bags looking to profit in these situations too. It's been mentioned about the storm categories that I agree with. Over cat 3, I set as best I can and leave her. Many variables when making this decision. On a dock where everybody is tied together in "for one to go we all go" situation, I'd leave. Last year, I had to duck into Simpson Bay Lagoon (French Side). Found a good muddy spot to set up, set my two storm anchors (65# Danforths ) and a third fortress working anchor. Like a 10:00, 12:00, 2:00 off the bow. This was for a tropical storm that was just being forecast to strengthen. I stayed aboard. Hurricane Ike some years ago on Providenciales was a cat 5 and I hauled her, pounded down 4' strap anchors down and strapped her down with large rachet straps as well as the chained up boat Jacks. Sustained no damage only because the monohull next to me fell the right way. Hurricane Earl we were in STT, and stayed aboard too. In the Caribbean, seems like it's always srotm surge or somebody breaking loose, or an unprepared vessel with only one anchor sets that chaffs through and breaks loose that takes out others. If you set up properly to suit the storm threat, leave the boat room to move around, you should be good. I stay aboard if I can.

BTW, if you want to see some footage of set ups in a mangrove lagoon, or hurricane footage, goto YouTube and search ; jstarebel.

[jessehunt]

ozsailor-I live on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain just north of New Orleans. There was a long period during Katrina where emergency responders along the Gulf coast refused to respond because conditions were too severe.