Hurricane prep.

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Hawgwash

Hawgwash

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Although I've seen firsthand the results of a hurricane in the Bahamas, it's still hard to grasp the prep you east coasters must go through every time a TS starts building.

I've read about moving your boats inland and wonder about that process.
Do safe harbours and marinas just open up to all who can squeeze in? In fact, seeing how far inland these things can go, what determines one moorage is safer than another? Surge?

How many of you pull your boats out of the water and how do you decide where to stick it?

What else?
 
My plan is to run up the river 40 or 50 miles and tie off to trees along the river bank. The shrimpers in our area have been doing that for many years. Of course you need to stay on the boat to tend the lines. Just need a 8 hr head start.
 
It depends on several factors: Strength of storm, how exposed normal slip is, available hiding spots inland, available haulouts for storage on the hard, risk tolerance of owner, insurance requirements, etc.

I have things I do for mild storms, but get up to a 3 and the list gets pretty detailed. A 4 or 5 and it hardly matters, time for self preservation. As in RUN AWAY.

I'm in the dead end of a boat basin, and for bad storms I stretch lines between the two bulkheads, keeping the boat in between. Probably ok for a 3.
 
Ski in NC said:
It depends on several factors: Strength of storm, how exposed normal slip is, available hiding spots inland, available haulouts for storage on the hard, risk tolerance of owner, insurance requirements, etc.

I have things I do for mild storms, but get up to a 3 and the list gets pretty detailed. A 4 or 5 and it hardly matters, time for self preservation. As in RUN AWAY.

I'm in the dead end of a boat basin, and for bad storms I stretch lines between the two bulkheads, keeping the boat in between. Probably ok for a 3.
Click to expand...
Nice to see you're not a stubborn, go down with the ship kinda guy.
:thumb:
 
I'll tell you what it is: a royal PITA no matter what your situation is. There are dozens and dozens of variables involved for any given storm and precise characteristics of your location.
 
Yeah, no two alike...

We can haul (insurance pays some of that for named storms "here") or we can move to another more protected marina, ideally with good floating docks (did that for the last two, and they didn't come "right here").

Stayed in our own slip for Isabel in 2003 (I think?), but it was a 24' wide slip and we had a skinnier boat. We fared OK, but surge was a bear so the marina was flooded as were low-lying local houses...

-Chris
 
ddalme said:
My plan is to run up the river 40 or 50 miles and tie off to trees along the river bank. The shrimpers in our area have been doing that for many years. Of course you need to stay on the boat to tend the lines. Just need a 8 hr head start.
Click to expand...

Can't take my boat that far inland but 10 miles up north of Lake Ponchatrain is about my limit with bridge and depth restrictions...
However, I would not stay onboard during any cat. storm. Not worth putting your life in harms way. Several friends thought this would be a great adventure staying on board their 53ft boat holed up in the ICW during Ivan. Lets just say they won't be doing it again.
 
We were in Wrightsville Beach, NC when Sandy was approaching. We headed 15 miles up the Cape Fear river to Wilmington, NC and Bennett Brothers Marina and tied up with an array of lines. We carefully watched the weather predictions and stayed aboard as the storm was to miss us and only 40 mph winds were expected. Worked out just fine. However, I had rented a car and had a hotel reservation. I ain't no hero. My philosophy is do the best you can to secure the boat, get the hell off and wish the insurance company good luck.

Howard
 
When I lived in SE NC, just above Little River, SC, we did the up the river thing, going up the Shallotte River as far as we could and tying off to trees. If you are in a marina with floating docks, pay attention to how tall the pilings are, I have seen the storm surge push the floating docks higher than the pilings, that is a real catastrophe for all. Other than that, all the normal stuff, nothing loose, all canvas down, and the like. Don't have those problems now in the PNW! We are only worried about tsunamis from "The Big One" that is predicted.
 
THD said:
. Don't have those problems now in the PNW! We are only worried about tsunamis from "The Big One" that is predicted.
Click to expand...

I think that I prefer our hurricanes. :)
 
hmason said:
We headed 15 miles up the Cape Fear river to Wilmington, NC and Bennett Brothers Marina
Click to expand...
Do you know before you go that there is room at the marina?
People ever get there and it's full?
Are most places co-operative or do they rub their hands together and jack the prices?
 
Hawgwash said:
Do you know before you go that there is room at the marina?
People ever get there and it's full?
Are most places co-operative or do they rub their hands together and jack the prices?
Click to expand...


We know, and make a reservation, in advance. Usually 3 days early, in our case. No sign of price hikes around here, at least not that I've seen.

Of course, some marinas do have limits on how many boats they think they can handle for a given event. I was about the last one in at the marina we went to for Irene in 2011. They still had empty slips, but also had to worry about overall loads on their (very new, very tall) piles for the floating docks.... so they set a limit for stay-in-ers.


But there would have been other options. Turned out that marina was a bit too open from the west to suit me, in retrospect, so we went elsewhere during Sandy.

-Chris
 
Here in south Florida ,fort Lauderdale, the large marine have hurricane space they sell and if a named storm comes you have a space at their marina, you paid for the space and hope you don't need it. Most large yachts do this. Most small boaters move inland as most marinas ask that you leave. In the keys the harbor cay club ask all to leave and moor in boot keys mooring field which is rated to 130 mph. I leave the keys and stay at my dock in ft Lauderdale, up the new river, and tie across the canal,set a anchor bow and stern and double all lines and hope for the best. The tidal surge won't get this far up river. When Wilma 2010 hit near the keys we had a 4 ft surge come across from the gulf with 3ft waves , all ground level areas were damaged and anything counter height or below had to be replaced. You prepare for the worst and hope for the best. After 40 years as a boat owner, I've gotten use to the drill.
 
When Sandy hit LI Sound I had my 36' sailboat (12,000 lbs) at that time, I reversed it stern to the wind on a 500lb then 4 lines to mooring ball at different locations.

I had the only boat in the harbor facing that (wrong) way.

Removed everything the mainsail the boom, all halyards were hoisted up to reduce windage. Except place 4 fender on stern tied off tight in case someone came down on me dragging their mooring.

Sailboats just swing less due to the under-body.

Called insurance and asked to email conformation policy was in effect.

about a dozen boats dragged several bad, but no one had big damage.
 
This was in preparation for Jimena in 2009, Santa Rosalia, MX. I think we had something like 13 lines out and stripped everything off of Hobo. The wind and the rain were the big concerns. The area had historically minimal storm serge.
 

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Hawgwash said:
Do you know before you go that there is room at the marina?
People ever get there and it's full?
Are most places co-operative or do they rub their hands together and jack the prices?
Click to expand...

It was kind of amazing. We called for a reservation and they gave us one. As for the price, they had a promo at the Anapolis Power Boat Show offering a free week at the marina for those that had visited their booth at the show. We happened to do that a few weeks earlier. They honored it and it cost us nothing. In addition, they loaned us a car as needed. These are great people and real craftsmen at Bennett Brothers.

Howard
 
I'm kind of surprised Bennett didn't put you up on the hill. When we stopped cruising full time, I elected to pay Jarrett Bay Boatworks inland from Beaufort NC annual protection money for a guaranteed spot on the hard. They have an extremely professional and well organized program, and as liveaboards gave us as well as commercial guys positions that allowed "last in, first out" appointments. They also block the boats and chain the stands correctly. I figure if worst happened is there'd we be in what I believe is the biggest marine industrial park on the eastern seaboard, if not the country.

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wow, was this hurricane prep or was there a small tornado in your boat?
 
Yes, hurricane prep. That was all the aft deck furniture and all the seat pads and covers from the foredeck and flying bridge.
 
Happily our boat is behind out FL house.

Hurricane prep, cross lines to pilings dug into the lawn , and a couple of big fenders is it.

Of course there are 3 locks preventing much water rise ,,,(10 inches not 10 ft) so watching from 1500 miles away is no hassle.

Should Lake O blow out again , it would be a hassle tho.
 
THD said:
When I lived in SE NC, just above Little River, SC, we did the up the river thing, going up the Shallotte River as far as we could and tying off to trees. If you are in a marina with floating docks, pay attention to how tall the pilings are, I have seen the storm surge push the floating docks higher than the pilings, that is a real catastrophe for all. Other than that, all the normal stuff, nothing loose, all canvas down, and the like. Don't have those problems now in the PNW! We are only worried about tsunamis from "The Big One" that is predicted.
Click to expand...

I have a camp that is 12 ft over the water and faces the marina that I have my slip in. Camp has gone through Hurricane Audry and a few others I can't recall (Built in the 50's). I've had all kinds of boats stuck under my camp after storm surges that break loose from they're moorings (not floating docks), so I don't leave my boat in the marina for fear of another boat or flying objects damaging mine. A lot of dock queens in the marina that owners don't properly take precautions for a storm-undersized lines, etc. So away I go-luckily we get a good early warning of an approaching storm.
 
Since lake is so shallow, the wind blows the water all to one side.
 
Hawgwash said:
Can you elaborate on that?
I know Lake O, but what do you mean, blow out again and what happened last time?
Click to expand...

I think FF is alluding to a hurricane that hit Lake Okeechobee in the late 20s. The hurricane was one of the worst storms to hit the US and it killed 2,000-3,000, maybe more, nobody really knows. The area was hard hit and many bodies went into the Everglades. Areas around the lake flooded, usually the south end of the lake is mentioned even though areas on the north were also flooded out as well. I don't know why the northern flooding is not mentioned very often, maybe because most of the deaths occurred on the south end of the lake.

A huge dike was built on the south side of the lake under President Hoover and it is pretty impressive. This part of Florida is flat, low lying and there are no real high spots. The storm had 20 foot flood waters in some areas which is hard to comprehend given how flat it is around and south of the lake.

Later,
Dan
 
dannc said:
I think FF is alluding to a hurricane that hit Lake Okeechobee in the late 20s.
Click to expand...
Thanks Dan.
Never heard that story.
Knowing how low it is and how relatively shallow the Lake is, I wondered if it was wind, rain, a breach or all of the above.
 
Hawgwash said:
Thanks Dan.
Never heard that story.
Knowing how low it is and how relatively shallow the Lake is, I wondered if it was wind, rain, a breach or all of the above.
Click to expand...

I have always wondered if rainfall was part of the flooding but what is always stated is the wind blowing the water across the lake and flooding the south shore. There was a small dike that got overwhelmed by the flood and I suspect the rushing water from the breached dike killed many people.

After seeing what Hurricane Floyd did to eastern NC, it really made me wonder about the hurricane flooding around Lake Okeechobee. Floyd was a 500 year flood event and I saw stuff in tree tops 15-20 feet above the ground. :nonono::eek: I wonder about the rainfall during the Okeechobee storm but the amount is never mentioned, only how hard the rain was on the survivors. :eek: Given the devastation, I don't think they were checking rain gauges. :nonono:

The majority of flooding I saw in Floyd was slow increase and then decrease in water height. Houses did not suffer structural damage as a result. There were two exceptions I saw, one being hear a low point in a rail road track which acted like a dike. The water flowed through that low spot and destroyed an old mobile home that was strapped down to prevent the trailer from blowing away. :whistling: The trailer did not blow away but the rushing water destroyed it. :eek: Thankfully, the occupant, a grandma, got out to high ground. The area was in a very low area, with hundreds of homes which were all flooded but nobody died. They barely had time to leave their homes to get to high ground though. High ground was just a short walk away and many people left their cars to get to safety.

The area was filled with multiple generations and they all lost their homes and belongings. :eek: Funny thing was there was a grocery store that just managed to be above the flood waters. These people had nothing. The National Guard was cooking food. The Red Cross was driving around handing out food in containers. The Mennonites had a relief center set up handing out clothes before the flood waters had receeded. I have NO idea where the heck the Mennonites came from but they were a huge help and blessing. The Baptists moved in to help rebuild as well. That grocery store was never robbed even though the survivors had nothing except what other people brought in to them.

Floyd would have killed more people if it had hit FLA or some place low and flat. Some areas I saw in NC had 12-18 inches of rain but one could get to high ground pretty easily compared to say South Florida. Help was able to move in very quickly after the storm because the terrain limited the areas flooded but a Floyd like storm in South FLA would be a horrible disaster.

Later,
Dan
 
Storm surge is a function of wind. It is then added to by tide stage; surprisingly rain is usually less of a factor until after the winds die down. Here's a really cool tool for calculating storm surge by category of hurricane by location. I cued up GA, SC and NC as an example but they have them for all hurricane prone areas.

GA SC NC Storm Surge | Weather Underground
 
dannc said:
I have always wondered if rainfall was part of the flooding but what is always stated is the wind blowing the water across the lake and flooding the south shore. There was a small dike that got overwhelmed by the flood and I suspect the rushing water from the breached dike killed many people.

After seeing what Hurricane Floyd did to eastern NC, it really made me wonder about the hurricane flooding around Lake Okeechobee. Floyd was a 500 year flood event and I saw stuff in tree tops 15-20 feet above the ground. :nonono::eek: I wonder about the rainfall during the Okeechobee storm but the amount is never mentioned, only how hard the rain was on the survivors. :eek: Given the devastation, I don't think they were checking rain gauges. :nonono:

The majority of flooding I saw in Floyd was slow increase and then decrease in water height. Houses did not suffer structural damage as a result. There were two exceptions I saw, one being hear a low point in a rail road track which acted like a dike. The water flowed through that low spot and destroyed an old mobile home that was strapped down to prevent the trailer from blowing away. :whistling: The trailer did not blow away but the rushing water destroyed it. :eek: Thankfully, the occupant, a grandma, got out to high ground. The area was in a very low area, with hundreds of homes which were all flooded but nobody died. They barely had time to leave their homes to get to high ground though. High ground was just a short walk away and many people left their cars to get to safety.

The area was filled with multiple generations and they all lost their homes and belongings. :eek: Funny thing was there was a grocery store that just managed to be above the flood waters. These people had nothing. The National Guard was cooking food. The Red Cross was driving around handing out food in containers. The Mennonites had a relief center set up handing out clothes before the flood waters had receeded. I have NO idea where the heck the Mennonites came from but they were a huge help and blessing. The Baptists moved in to help rebuild as well. That grocery store was never robbed even though the survivors had nothing except what other people brought in to them.

Floyd would have killed more people if it had hit FLA or some place low and flat. Some areas I saw in NC had 12-18 inches of rain but one could get to high ground pretty easily compared to say South Florida. Help was able to move in very quickly after the storm because the terrain limited the areas flooded but a Floyd like storm in South FLA would be a horrible disaster.

Later,
Dan
Click to expand...

What happened with Floyd is that coastal nc is pretty flat, but not that flat. Creeks and bogs and rivers are a good bit lower than adjacent land. If it was truly flat, 18" of rain would mean 18" of water uniformly distributed. The "slightly lower" areas, all the water went toward them so anything near a creek or river was now under 10' of water. It was truly a mess.
 
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