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Old 03-08-2020, 18:19   #16
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Location: Miami, FL
Boat: Robertson & Caine Leopard 40
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Re: Miami area moorings during hurricanes?

I’ve been living in Miami for 27 years and have had a boat for 20 of those years. I can tell you for a fact that the storms are starting earlier each year and the surge is what you have to worry about.

We have a 40ft 2009 Leopard cat and our insurance requires us to take the boat out during named storms and have a backup plan

In 2017 we took the boat out in Key Largo and it wasn’t the wind from Irma that got us it was the surge. Luckily the boat slowly floated against another with little damage (we watched it on our blink cameras on WiFi hot spot we have on boat)

Our marina at matheson was wrecked during that storm and several boats sank. Dinner key was even worse in fact they are still fixing half the marina to this day. I would not recommend leaving your boat on the mooring field there. It’s open to the worst of all winds when a storm passes just south of us like Irma did...and that was 75 miles or so south

Now we have an annual plan with hurricane cove up the river and actually just hauled out and relaunched For Isaias

2020 Is a cursed year as far as we’re concerned so we are not messing with things

The backup plan is a star anchoring scheme behind the marine stadium. In fact I saw dozens of sail boats anchored there today coming back. I have read the bottom is sand and mud and offer very good holding the only issue is other boats dragging

You could always try and find a narrow mangrove lined channel and tie up but personally I have only read about that option

Everything can be prepared for if you have a plan and start early (we did so Wednesday last week) - these days the only place to avoid hurricane threat is moving your boat to panama during hurricane season ! So make a plan and enjoy the move ! As a New Jersey transplant I can tell you I gladly manage the hurricane risks vs the freezing bad weather in New York.
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Old 03-08-2020, 18:54   #17
cdy
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Re: Miami area moorings during hurricanes?

In Dade county - waiting lists are very long ,slips and moorings are very expensive , if you have deep pockets and can find a slip it’s fine - if you are looking to keep a boat in a slip or on a mooring at a reasonable price / forget it - boats will anchor out in some areas but many times this is just cheap housing - east of Dinner Key for example - there is an anchorage behind the old stadium on Virginia Key But I think they get hassled some by water police - lots of fun places to sail south of Miami , just tough to find a place to keep a boat long term - play the lotto hit it big and buy a 40 foot center console and take it in and out of Haulover inlet and be a Youtube star - that’s what Miami boating is about - and don’t
Forget about the partying and blasting
Music at No Name harbor on the weekends
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Old 03-08-2020, 20:38   #18
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Re: Miami area moorings during hurricanes?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Shanachie View Post
Waiting lists are everywhere in Florida these days, although that may change as covid eats into the pocketbooks of boaters. If you know where you will live, sign up now at the mooring field or marina of your choice.



Crandon Park's moorings are partly protected. My C&C 25 went through four or five Cat. 1s there in 2004-5 before Wilma swept through. The trick is to run about five mooring lines to the helix moorings, which generally will stay put. When one breaks, the next takes over ...


That strategy worked until Wilma put up 120 mph gusts from the SW. There is a small slot where waves from the SW can get through between the bird island and the sandbars. Half of the mooring field was wiped out.


My boat ended up in the crocodile protection area of Key Biscayne with no mast or keel.


Where ever you end up, prepare to pay sizeable bucks. Twenty years ago, Crandon Park was $60 a month. Seven years ago, I think it was $300 or more. Docks for your size boat will be at least $400-600 a month.


Free anchorages are a bad idea in Florida due to very strong winter storms. Most are exposed in one or more directions and, sooner or later, 30-50 mph winds will arrive from those directions.



It's a question of when, not if, your boat ends up ashore or on a sandbar.



You'll also find it's difficult to dinghy to your boat (few places to keep or launch them) and protect it from the many thieves who populate paradise. Part of a marina's fees is for watching your boat.



Nothing like getting an uplifting note, eh?


I hear you, had 4 different sailboats at Crandon Marina in 20 plus years? Maybe 22 years? All my boats survived every hurricane. I just sacrificed an anchor in each one, and got hit by those boats loose after breaking all their lines.
In a way I feel lucky as just 3 weeks before Irma I sold the CAL39 that was moored at Dinner key, and the EDELCAT33 survived at Crandom.
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Old 03-08-2020, 21:07   #19
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Re: Miami area moorings during hurricanes?

We recent transplants from NYC and found Crandon Park to be the only viable mooring marina, both for the wallet and waiting time (about a month).
Seems to be a great place too, so we're happy! Send us a message if you end up there to say hi.
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Old 04-08-2020, 07:16   #20
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Re: Miami area moorings during hurricanes?

I bought a condo with a dock in Hallandale Beach, in a short canal off of the Intracoastal. My boatsdid very well in many hurricales over a dozen years. No living aboard permitted. Some homes rent out their dock but no living aboard permitted by City...etc.
See the pic at left.
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