IRMA

[Kevin876]

May God bless and keep safe everyone in the path of that B__ch Irma...

[DeepFrz]

Oh yes, it will certainly do that.

[DeepFrz]

Irma is now Cat. 4 and path is projected to be even further south than earlier predictions.

[mr336]

Im in West Palm in Riviera Beach Marina scratchin my head here. As a new to sailing boater I'm trying to weigh my options. Anyone want to play "What would you do?" I'd love to read the opinions of the experienced.

[DeepFrz]

Lots of threads on that.

[Hhew]

Originally Posted by mr336

Im in West Palm in Riviera Beach Marina scratchin my head here. As a new to sailing boater I'm trying to weigh my options. Anyone want to play "What would you do?" I'd love to read the opinions of the experienced.

Haul the boat, get her onto a cradle or keel ditch, strap her down with everything you can, get all of the canvas off, unstep the mast if you can, then rent a car and get the f* outta there by Thursday. That's what I would do, anyway.

[Steadman Uhlich]

Some threads with tips and suggestions for storm preparation.

Hurricane and Tropical Storm Preparation Videos (40+)
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ps-173800.html

Tips for Weathering a Storm in a Marina
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...na-171970.html

Tandem Anchoring Advice
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ng-171977.html

[model 10]

This is a good example for hanging out in the Bahamas this time of year. Where the hell do you go?

[pressuredrop]

hawks nest creek at the south end of cat island, redshanks in georgetown great exuma, hatchet bay eleuthera is doable but holding feeble, hurricane hole on allanspensacola in abacos, some hideholes in the spanishwells russell island area... as always in the bahamas, shallow draft helps...

this is gonna be interesting, ill be aboard in south fla in some mangroves somewhere

[danielamartindm]

If Irma skirts the northern coast of Hispaniola, perhaps the DR mountains might provide some northward deflection to its track?

[maxingout]

I went through many tropical storms and a few hurricanes when I had my Westsail 32 at Roosevelt Roads Naval Station in Puerto Rico. My worst experience was tropical storm Gert (as I recall the name) which went right over the navy base. It was a hurricane before it reached us, then downgraded to tropical storm as it passed over us, and then upgraded to hurricane after passing by. When the eye went over, everything went eerily quiet.

I left my Westsail at the dock which was a mistake. When the swell came rolling into the harbor, the Westsail ripped all the cleats out of the dock. The only thing that saved my boat was a stern anchor that I had put out to windward and a piling on the leward side of the boat which kept me from crushing an Oday sailboat.

That was the last time I left my sailboat docked in a tropical storm or hurricane.

After that, I anchored out with two heavy anchors set at 45 degrees in the direction of the greatest swell that entered the harbor. I also anchored the boat last just before the storm hit. My mantra is "He who anchors last anchors best." I wanted my boat to windward of all the other yachts in the harbor because I knew that a lot of them would drag anchor. It worked well for me at Roosevelt Roads harbor, and I still follow that mantra if possible.

[danielamartindm]

With all due respect to preparedness, and on behalf of all Floridians, I say this to Irma: "Fill yer hands, you sob!"

[Davidhoy]

My hurricane prep is half done already - mizzen and staysail removed, doubled up dock lines, cleared the deck, etc. Still have some work to do, but I'll be as ready as you can be. Picked up some additional large fenders, got some chafe protection to install, and remove the genoa and main. Also going to add some lines to outboard pilings to hold her off the dock. I'm docked well up the south fork of the New River, which is considered to be a "hurricane hole" of sorts, for whatever protection that affords.

A couple of questions, if anyone knows the answers...

1. Regarding fenders, how do you keep them from being blown up by the wind from between the hull and the dock?
2. I've read that some people remove their bow anchor. I have a big Rocna - should I just drop it in the water in front of boat, or literally remove it? Or just leave it in place with some secure lashings to keep it from banging around?

I'll be as prepared as one can be for something like this, and my insurance is all paid up. Hopefully all this work will prove unnecessary, but better to do what you can. And, as I took off sails and cleared the deck I found and fixed a couple of issues that, if left too much longer, might have become real problems :-)


-David

[Steadman Uhlich]

HURRICANE IRMA 8 A.M. TUES UPDATE:

Now a category 5 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 175 mph, making it one of the most powerful Atlantic storms ever tracked.

THIS IS SCARY: Irma is the furthest east in Atlantic that we've had a 175 mph hurricane on record (57.7°W). Previous record: David-1979 (66.2°W). Only 6 other hurricanes in the Atlantic had winds higher than Irma's 175 mph.

[CSY Man]

. I've read that some people remove their bow anchor. I have a big Rocna - should I just drop it in the water in front of boat, or literally remove it? Or just leave it in place with some secure lashings to keep it from banging around?

Set your at a 45 degree as far out as possible, then let go the tension so all the chain rest on the bottom. Then when the bridges are closed down and last minute, take up the tension to keep your boat away from the dock.
(In your case you have lots of boat traffic over your chain, it may not be practical, but put the anchor to work if you can)
At any rate, the forecast so far is the strong winds from the East, that will push your boat away from the dock, which is a good thing.
Loop lines along strong trees in the yard rather than relay 100% on the sea wall cleats.