Anchoring for a Hurricane

[Jonesee]

Originally Posted by rickm505

IMHO this thread would be more informative if only boat owners who have weathered a hurricane or two..or three, posted their solutions. Opinions from the armchair guys are great, but I'm wondering how people in the hurricane zones feel about opinions when their boat is at stake.

Rick, please read my thread above, I can't be any more clear. Plan ahead, secure your boat the best you can and go somewhere safe. Cat 4-5 are devastating, cat 1-2 are not typically a problem.
As far as Katrina, New Orleans mostly suffered flood damage from the levees breaking and breeching. To see the hurricane damage look at Gulport MS, and Slidell LA.

If someone out there has ridden out a major hurricane (cat 4-5) on his boat tied up or at anchor, I would love to hear from him. Hell I'll buy the beer to hear him tell the story...

[hellosailor]

Gmac, how exactly do you "use" a splice "in vengeance" against a remote third party?!

What, splice their shoelaces together under the table while they're having lunch?

[GMac]

Vengence should really have been more a 'actually recommended for everyone as the one splice to use' as opposed to the mish mash it was. Sorry should write tidier.
Never been able to pull off that shoelace one, tried many times but must be to clumsy

As for me I've never anchored through a big hurricane, a few big storms possibly 'technically' Hurricanes but not what most would regard as one. Been at sea and got caught by one, it wasn't pleasant but we got through with no dramas apart from some bruises and little sleep. Had some high speed bursts even while bare-poled, which were quite cool........ think back afterwards

I think anchoring for a sever storm and anchoring for hurricanes is similar in many of the peripheral factors like chafe and fully loaded gear movement issues. The main factor Hurricanes tend to have is the far increased forces (inc noise, bloody evil). Learning from sever storms could be handy, the same things happen as in Hurricanes but slower hence it's more visible due to the lower speed at which many things happen.

[MidLandOne]

I've anchored in hurricane force winds (not the rotating storm type) but only the equivalent of Category 1. Anchored in those lesser winds we have had no problem sitting on our normal single big anchor with chain positioned in deep water with searoom to leeward to panic in should we go adrift.

We also prepared for forecast hurricane force winds the equivalent of Category 2 while rafted with an approx 90 foot sailboat. We were side by side against a floating pontoon (so obviously in a location sheltered from waves) and neither of us had anywhere to move to. They had just 4 weeks before sat out a rotating storm hurricane on a big ship mooring buoy and had a very experienced professional skipper. We fendered between ourselves well with 4 of their big anchors out, one on each quarter which they considered sufficient for the two of us, but in the end it wasn't tested as the forecast moderated.

I was in Bermuda not long after the Category 3 hurricane Fabian hit in 2003 (Katrina was also Cat 3 when it went ashore in USA, but 5 beforehand) and from what I gathered the moored boats mostly faired very well on their moorings. The boat owner I was involved with had no problems at all with his several biggish boats alongside docks with normal care of lines. Although there were a few damaged boats around and some had washed ashore (mainly smaller ones I understand, and all removed by the time I was there) there was nothing like "mass destruction".

I have not experienced a Cat 4 or 5 hurricane during or after, ashore or afloat and have no plans to ever do so .

[Jonesee]

Originally Posted by MidLandOne

I've anchored in hurricane force winds (not the rotating storm type) but only the equivalent of Category 1. Anchored in those lesser winds we have had no problem sitting on our normal single big anchor with chain positioned in deep water with searoom to leeward to panic in should we go adrift.

We also prepared for forecast hurricane force winds the equivalent of Category 2 while rafted with an approx 90 foot sailboat. We were side by side against a floating pontoon (so obviously in a location sheltered from waves) and neither of us had anywhere to move to. They had just 4 weeks before sat out a rotating storm hurricane on a big ship mooring buoy and had a very experienced professional skipper. We fendered between ourselves well with 4 of their big anchors out, one on each quarter which they considered sufficient for the two of us, but in the end it wasn't tested as the forecast moderated.

I was in Bermuda not long after the Category 3 hurricane Fabian hit in 2003 (Katrina was also Cat 3 when it went ashore in USA, but 5 beforehand) and from what I gathered the moored boats mostly faired very well on their moorings. The boat owner I was involved with had no problems at all with his several biggish boats alongside docks with normal care of lines. Although there were a few damaged boats around and some had washed ashore (mainly smaller ones I understand, and all removed by the time I was there) there was nothing like "mass destruction".

I have not experienced a Cat 4 or 5 hurricane during or after, ashore or afloat and have no plans to ever do so .

I am sure from New Zealand Ivan and Katrina weren't that bad, but from Pensacola Florida and Slidell Louisiana there was mass destruction. There are still "blue roofs" in Pensacola years later and just look at the news for Louisiana and Mississippi. But you guys are right!!! They are a breeze... Hell go sailing in a cat 4!!!
Just trying to give you some advice from someone who has been through several up to a cat 4. You arm chair quarterbacks tie your lines tight and relax it will be fine!!! (Not)

Sorry, I will get off my soapbox now. But there is a lot of uninformed/bad advice on this thread. Sorry for the rant. I won't post anymore on this thread, best of luck if you are ever faced with a major hurricane.

[MidLandOne]

Originally Posted by Jonesee

I am sure from New Zealand Ivan and Katrina weren't that bad, but from Pensacola Florida and Slidell Louisiana there was mass destruction. There are still "blue roofs" in Pensacola years later and just look at the news for Louisiana and Mississippi. But you guys are right!!! They are a breeze... Hell go sailing in a cat 4!!!
Just trying to give you some advice from someone who has been through several up to a cat 4. You arm chair quarterbacks tie your lines tight and relax it will be fine!!! (Not)

Sorry, I will get off my soapbox now. But there is a lot of uninformed/bad advice on this thread. Sorry for the rant. I won't post anymore on this thread, best of luck if you are ever faced with a major hurricane.

I invite you to relate to me where in my post I made any claim or inference that either of Ivan or Katrina were a "breeze" or in fact where I claimed any hurricane was a "breeze". In fact the only mention I made of the hurricanes you mention was that at landfall Katrina was Cat 3 but Cat 5 before landfall to give some measure of the Bermuda one I was actually talking about - if you disagree with that then please correct me as to what it actually was (but I have taken the precaution of double checking off authorative sites).

Contrary to your "Hell go sailing in a cat 4!!!" comment I actually said words to the effect that I had no desire to be anywhere near a Category 4 or 5 hurricane so I am at a loss to know where you are coming from.

All I have done is relate my own experience which I made very clear in direct involvement terms only included the equivalent of a Category 1 (so bottom end in terms of wind speed), preparation for a storm with wind speeds the equivalent of a Cat 2 with a professional large yacht skipper with hurricane experience, and the observed aftermath of a Category 3 hurricane and how boats had fared in that on moorings and how those I was associated with fared dockside. I clearly set out the limits of my experiences and made no claims whatsoever beyond them.

I did not imagine anyone would find that offensive and certainly made no claims whatsoever of the type you accuse me of. If you wish to correct anything I specifically said as being the case or appropriate at the time in those actual experiences that I relate then say so.

Perhaps you best sit down with a cold beer first though .

John

[Tropic Cat]

Category 1 hurricanes are just a breezy day around here, and not even worth mentioning.

I see Jonesee has seen a few real storms, and let me say that my post wasn't directed at you.

[MidLandOne]

Originally Posted by rickm505

I see Jonesee has seen a few real storms...

I could be churlish and suggest that is a choice of his own making but he might make a mess snorting the froth off the cold beer I suggested. [In fact as many friendly smilies as there are].

We do have a reputation for heavy weather in my location (Cook Strait area) but the sea is, of course, far too cold this far south (or anywhere in NZ) to support revolving storms. The main fear we have to live with is the Wellington region is waiting for its next big earthquake and if the sea bottom comes up as far as the last one did we will be hard aground in the marina (even maybe no water left) not needing to worry about wind at all .

John

[GMac]

Ah Jonesee, I also can't see what your last post was about. I'm also completely at a lose as to your comment about NZers and those 2 hurricanes. The hurricanes did get very extensive and ongoing coverage so there wouldn't be many who don't understand the carnage they caused.