Preparing for Irene

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  • August 26, 2011 6:11 AM
    Message # 685310
    I got the following from Jeff and Wendy Gower.  They are on board W32 Calpyso on the Neuse River, North Carolina.  Wish them well.

    Hi,

    Hope you are doing well and out of the path of Irene.

    We are at MCAS Cherry Point.

    Tied in well with a spider web of lines.

    Tried to Haul on Monday but all yards full by 1200.

    Anticipated 10' surge in the Neuse.

    Say one for us and we will let you know how it ends.

    Jeff & Wendy

    Meanwhile, Libby and I are on the W32 Tarwathie on Lake Champlain in Vermont.  We are 300 miles from the ocean so one would think that hurricanes should not be a factor.   That is mostly true, but not entirely true.  The big thing of course is that there is no storm surge on a lake.

    On Sunday we'll get 40mph sustained, gusts to 60.   Waves on the lake will be 6 feet  (Sounds small but waves on this lake have a period of 1.3 seconds.  They are very punishing and often make trawlers entirely airborne.)   We've ridden out conditions like that several times before.  

    We don't have any place to tie off like Calypso.  We'll ride at anchor in a bay with good protection and hopefully not many boats.   I'll drop my 80 pound Luke.That won't drag.  My main worry is other boats dragging into me.

    Are there any other Westsailors out there in the path of Irene?  We would like to hear what you expect and how you're preparing. and of course how you made out after the fact.


    Good Luck,

    Dick Mills

  • August 27, 2011 3:44 PM
    Reply # 686289 on 685310
    I just heard from Jeff & Wendy.  They and the boat are OK, despite significant damage at the marina and in town.

  • August 30, 2011 4:49 AM
    Reply # 688056 on 685310
    Deleted user

    The boats weathered Irene well in the Annapolis area.  Namida (W32) was prepped and remained in her slip on the West River.  The West River was looking pretty ugly on Saturday when we checked on her.  Although she was kicking quite a bit, no leaks or damage.  Abake (W42) is on the hard and well out of the way of other boats and anything large enough to cause problems.  All is good.  Hope everyone else came thru without any serious problems.  That's enough hurricane activity for this year!

    Mike

     

  • September 16, 2011 5:47 AM
    Reply # 701455 on 685310
    Deleted user
    I'll be taking my "baby" down to Florida's east coast this coming spring and wondered if anyone who has weathered a hurricane in that region can share some experiences and give some good guidance on how best to secure moorings, etc.   I saw the video's of dock cleats being ripped off due to surge and can appreciate the advantages of tying off to the pilings instead but it seems that the skipper needs to stay aboard to make adjustments.  Kind of scary.  Even the navy bails out and heads to sea, but they can do 20 knots plus to run ahead of the storm, while we don't have that advantage.   

    Tom Koehl
  • September 16, 2011 7:07 AM
    Reply # 701483 on 701455
    Thomas Koehl wrote:I'll be taking my "baby" down to Florida's east coast this coming spring and wondered if anyone who has weathered a hurricane in that region can share some experiences and give some good guidance on how best to secure moorings, etc...
    ....  Even the navy bails out and heads to sea, but they can do 20 knots plus to run ahead of the storm, while we don't have that advantage.   

    Tom Koehl

    Tom,

    I've collected a good bit if info on the subject, in PDFs, video, etc. I'll make copies for you and send them offline. Since we're both busy getting ready to head, I'll wait until after the move, if that's OK.

    In the interim, this link will give you a very specific Google search looking for the words "hurricane boat preparedness", but specifically for PDF files. That should give you some excellent materials. You can then alter the search terms to get more, such as replacing "preparedness" with "checklist", "boat" with "marina" or "marine", etc. I even found 66 results, when adding "Westsail".


    Jack

    PS: If you head to sea, even your baby will probably do 20 knots... once the storm catches you ;-0

    Last modified: September 16, 2011 7:21 AM | Anonymous member
  • September 16, 2011 11:14 AM
    Reply # 701680 on 685310
    Deleted user
    Jack,  Thanks for the link - interesting reading.   Looking forward to comparing notes and swapping sea stories. -Tom
  • September 16, 2011 12:08 PM
    Reply # 701713 on 701680
    Thomas Koehl wrote:Jack,  Thanks for the link - interesting reading.   Looking forward to comparing notes and swapping sea stories. -Tom

    Tom:

    That link will get you a lot of good info. The problem is that it returns so many, it takes a while to sort through them.

    So, I went through several hundred of my own PDFs related to hurricanes and sorted out what I thought were some of the better ones. I put them into a ZIP file and loaded them to one of my servers for you and anyone else who might care to take a look.


    Jack
  • September 17, 2011 5:50 AM
    Reply # 702199 on 685310
    Deleted user

    Tom.

    Having been a resident in the area since 1964 and a boat owner since about 1976, you would think my experience with hurricane preparedness has been extensive but it has not really been that often that it becomes a factor. With the exception of the 2005 season, this area is relatively safe in terms of storm tracks which is one reason why the government located the space program at Cape Canaveral in the 1950's. If you look at the historical data on hurricane tracks you will see that there is solid evidence to support this. I did suffer damage on my 30' Helms which is the boat I owned before Rhapsody when a dock line parted and she rubbed against a concrete piling. This was around 1998 and the storm was not too severe. We had to evacuate and unfortunately the bridges were closed for two days and I was unable to check on the boat although conditions would have allowed me to do so. Even a haulout does not guarantee safety. During the 2005 hurricanes, a tornado associated with the storm knocked a sailboat over which due to its close proximity to the boats next to it took down several others in a falling domino effect. Port Canaveral requires mandatory haulout/evacuation of all boats during a hurricane warning. I was once fined $ 25,000.00 for non-compliance but that is a story for when you get here.

    Having said all that, it is somewhat a game of chance. Personally, my strategy is to remain at the slip and perform the following:

    Remove all canvas, including sails, dodger and weather cloths.

    Double tie all lines to pilings high to keep them off the edges of the dock..

    Make sure all lines are protected from chafe using fire hose. (I do this anyway at the hawse.)

    Center the boat in the slip.

    Check the boats next to me to make sure they have done the same. You are probably in more danger from an improperly tied and prepared boat or one tied with lines in poor condition than the hurricane itself.

    The key is to prepare early as once the wind comes up, removal of sails becomes very difficult and at 20 knots or so, a Westsail is hard to position.

    That's the short version. We'll have some discussion when you are here and hurricane season being in full swing during your arrival, who knows?, you may get some "on the job" training. I hope not because the sails have been off once already for Irene.

    Werner

    Just as a side note before I forget. I was responsible for my son's Columbia 50 during Irene in an unprotected slip. The boat could not be moved due to engine problems. I used his stern anchor rode cut into 30' lenghts for additional dock line and was very impressed with how the lines had just enough stretch to ease the strain, yet keep the boat positioned in the slip. She weighs in at about 37,000 lbs. I will probably use anchor rode in the future for my "hurricane lines."

     

    Last modified: September 17, 2011 9:40 PM | Deleted user
  • September 20, 2011 7:07 AM
    Reply # 704181 on 685310
    Deleted user
    If you're interested in seeing what the storm surge was like up the Neuse River, at Northwest Creek Marina, we took video of the marina during Irene's passing (safely ensconsed in the hotel overlooking the marina!). You can see them at hurricaneirene.muttlets.com.
    The videos also show what is, to us, the very best marina staff going down the docks with the wind at about 70mph and water up to their waists checking boats and their moorings and, in two or three cases, pulling boats against the wind the reset them.
    You can also see how a very well prepared marina looks like, with lines stretched across the channels. If a boat's foresail/s were up and the owners couldn't get to their boats before the hurricane, the staff took the sails down and  stowed them safely.
    Now THAT is "service".
    You can see videos and photographs at hurricaneirene.muttlets.com.
    Last modified: September 20, 2011 5:12 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)
  • September 20, 2011 8:15 AM
    Reply # 704243 on 685310
    Deleted user
    By the way. If you look at the last few photographs on from August 27 on hurricaneirene.muttlets.com you will see that, once the hurricane had passed through, the "surge" had changed to a "plunge". The drop in water level left our boat deck more than 3 feet below the dock where, at lowest tide normally the deck is about a foot above the dock.
    Last modified: September 20, 2011 5:09 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)
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