Advice for Hurricane Matthew

[UNCIVILIZED]

Originally Posted by VirginiaBoy

Back in 2004, at Cape Marina at Port Canaveral Florida, they were digging holes with a backhoe and setting the sailboats down on the ground with the keel in the hole. I thought that was a pretty good idea. kev

Yes, it crossed my mind to mention this as well. I read about it ages ago in Latitude 38, where it's commonly done in some places that folks commonly leave their boats for the hurricane season. Since it all but eliminates the possibility of boats being knocked down, or falling over.

[lancelot9898]

The firehoses that I had access to were cut down to around 2 feet in length and then just grabbing the interior liner and pulling it out. This was 20 years ago and maybe the manufacture is different today although it did take some doing to separate the rubber from the fabric.

As far as securing the foil, I've used a rolling hitch attached to the foil as high as I could get it and leading it to a deck cleat. I did this one winter during an ice storm. I had removed the jib from the foil in preparation for winter and when visiting the boat during the storm, that foil was hitting a natural frequency. You would not believe how that foil was moving and here I thought that the tension of the headstay would be sufficient to keep things snug. Good luck in your prep.

[DumnMad]

Originally Posted by HopCar

Uncivilized and Sailmonkey brought up something I missed. Take the sails and canvas off. No matter how tight you bind it, a hurricane will destroy exposed fabric. I've seen boats that had left roller furled head sails on during a hurricane and they brought down the whole rig.

Do not plan to check on the boat during hurricane force winds. You will die.

What sort of wind speeds are you expecting in North Carolina ???

[dgz3]

Move.
Mathew isn’t expected to be in your neighborhood before Saturday. That’s six days.
That is outside the five day estimate, which is much less accurate than the three day outlook. You don’t know when it’s coming, or from where, or even if.

You cannot predict what stage of tide it may arrive on. So you cannot estimate the height of the surge.

You don’t know which direction it will arrive from. So you can’t predict which direction, or at what force, the wind will hit from.

Tying up on one side only, on short pilings at that, is just not a viable survival plan for your boat.

So move.
You will know more as time passes. But your options dwindle with each passing day or hour. You aren’t the only one worrying about what to do with a boat.
Hauling it, stripping it, and strapping it down with mobile home anchors and cargo straps is probably your safest bet.

[pdenton]

I'm in Cap'n Sams. My boat is Resolute. Ask Norman. I am very experienced and would be glad to help.
Peter Denton.
919 2249225
luxembergphd@gmail.com

[tinkrman69]

yes do all that you mentioned but I'd put out more than 30 or 40 feet of rose. using an anchor for this is no different than a choring off your bow figure your depth and put out 10 to 1 scope if you have room, if not, put out as much as you can.

[Mike_NC]

Originally Posted by DumnMad

What sort of wind speeds are you expecting in North Carolina ???

The long range GFS forcast this morning had the eye passing over Oriental with 65-70knt winds. Presently, the GFS model has the storm off the coast with 20 knt winds. Obviously, I would much prefer the 20 knot winds. The is very little lunar tide on the Pamlico Sound, if the weather is calm the water level won't vary more than half a foot over the course of several days. Twenty knot winds from the northeast for a couple of days will push 4 feet of water into the rivers and creeks on the sound. In recent memory, the best comparison is Hurricane Irene which hit our part of NC with 80-85 knt winds. The storm surge in Oriental was 9.5 feet and about 7 feet on our creek. The water mark under our house is a few inches below the floor joists.

There is a lot of uncertainty this far out. My son and I are planning to move the boat on Wednesday. We are planning to put the boat in the middle of a cove that is about 100 feet across and tie off to some neighbors' docks. We will drop anchor and back in. I'll provide a picture/sketch of what we end up with.

Certainly, our issues are not near the magnitude that the people in the Caribbean are facing.

Thanks everyone for your advice. I'll post after we get the boat situated and let you know how that went.

Mike

[navy davy]

I like to stay away from hurricanes by staying in the southern caribbean so that when one heads my way i head to the equator. as with matthew i dont have to go to far for very long. Happy island just along side union island is a great summer party to wait out hurricane season. people who keep their boats in the cane zone should expect repair bills. some get lucky. I think smart is better. That is the advantage of having a catamaran to live aboard full time, just stay out of the canes period

[dgz3]

That sounds like a great plan. And short of the expensive haul out option, probably your safest alternative. A small pocket with no wave action and multiple long lines that will allow the boat to go up and down with the surge without the need to adjust them.
But, are you sure no one else will get in there before you? You might want to move in there now. Once in place, you can wait till the last minute to rig your lines, if you even have to.

[jlincoln04078]

Thanks for all the wonderful input. It is great to see cruisers helping cruisers. I have no suggestions but hope all with be well with our boat that is sitting on a mooring in Man O'War Cay in the Abacos. We made it through Irene and Sandy so please wish us well with Matthew.
Good luck to everyone who might be affected by this storm and thanks to all for putting is your thoughts as to how best to prepare.
Fair winds.

[mtnbuoy]

Best of luck - it appears you may get the brunt of it. Hope afterwards you let us know how it went and any lessons.

[JPA Cate]

Originally Posted by UNCIVILIZED

Yes, it crossed my mind to mention this as well. I read about it ages ago in Latitude 38, where it's commonly done in some places that folks commonly leave their boats for the hurricane season. Since it all but eliminates the possibility of boats being knocked down, or falling over.

One of the places we've seen this done is in Fiji. It can be a mixed blessing. All manner of creepy, crawlies come aboard, the extreme damp is not very good for the stuff stowed below. But the boats do survive.

We looked at it, and also Savusavu, and found a hurricane hole we'd consider using if caught out, but have always planned to be south of the cyclone belt for the cyclone season in the southwest Pacific. There's a pretty good hurricane hole in Vanuatu, as well. One in New Caledonia, but too shallow for us (2.2m draft [7'2"]).

Our policy is sort of a pity, because other than the cyclones, the weather's pretty nice that time of year.....


Ann

[neilpride]

Originally Posted by jlincoln04078

Thanks for all the wonderful input. It is great to see cruisers helping cruisers. I have no suggestions but hope all with be well with our boat that is sitting on a mooring in Man O'War Cay in the Abacos. We made it through Irene and Sandy so please wish us well with Matthew.
Good luck to everyone who might be affected by this storm and thanks to all for putting is your thoughts as to how best to prepare.
Fair winds.

You have your boat in a mooring in Abacos???

[jlincoln04078]

Originally Posted by neilpride

You have your boat in a mooring in Abacos???

Yes. She is in the Eastern Harbor.

[Delancey]

Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate

One of the places we've seen this done is in Fiji. It can be a mixed blessing. All manner of creepy, crawlies come aboard, the extreme damp is not very good for the stuff stowed below. But the boats do survive.

Survive sometimes, but not always. Depends on the storm surge.

When Sandy blew through NYC pushing a fourteen foot surge the boats that hauled out got lifted off their jack stands and shoved into a big pile over at the boat yard across from our marina.

Boats that stayed in the water fairer much better.