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Old 04-13-2015, 10:42 AM   #21
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As far as river based hurricane holes....

One thing I hadn't really planned on was the height of the surge 15 miles up river for a relatively short lived event of Sandy.

It broke 200 year storm flood records and the tops of the pilings were underwater....another few inches and I could have floated on top of them which would have created a bit if concern and rethinking the last few hours of the storm.

Thankfully picking a spot small enough not to allow waves to form minimized dangers but keeping the boat off them or from floating into the next door park would have been challenging.
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Old 04-13-2015, 01:01 PM   #22
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An issue I had during Tropical Storm Isaac: I took Seaweed up a bayou -- drawing 3', I have options to get quite a ways up the river.

In any event, one lady told me I absolutely could not anchor in front of her house. She stated the winds came across the trees and directly into her house during Hurricane Ivan and she didn't want me blown ashore and into her house.

Understandable.

So I considered getting right up next to those trees along that west bank of the river. While exploring, a gent in another house (with a boat on a lift) said that initial person was w-r-o-n-g.

The winds went up the side of the river (by the trees!) and curved around the bend. He said I needed to be on his side of the river, close to the property line.

So, taking advice from "local knowledge" is iffy. I'd definitely opt for a boater local knowledge over any other advice.

The guy was right. My wind gen spun but essentially the bayou on my side was ripple free. The other side had a bit of turbulence though not too bad. Beryl (on the east coast) was worse by far.

Only about 2' extra water in the bayou and I was safe. Being able to add scope was a good thing too.

The "bad" part was the neighbor with open wifi apparently left because there was no wifi for the duration. I have wifi now (Verizon, 7 gigs for $60 a month)

And yes, that's my hurricane plan -- take Seaweed inland as far as possible. Having a shallow draft helps. Also, I was able to get under a 14' bridge that would have stymied some of you.
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Old 04-13-2015, 02:18 PM   #23
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When preparing for a hurricane....everything comes down so the highest part if my boat is the flybridge venturi so I fit under 13 foot bridges. A big plus for finding a good and vacant hole to hide in.
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Old 04-14-2015, 04:53 AM   #24
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"Also, I was able to get under a 14' bridge that would have stymied some of you".

In many places the bridges will refuse to open in iver a certain wind.

And will not open if an Evacuation is called.

Plan well, and measure your air draft.
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Old 04-14-2015, 08:13 AM   #25
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Janice142: Glad your experience turned out right. Be aware though if you go to the same place for another storm it might not be the same case if the storm passes on the other side of you. On the gulf coast it is best to be west of the eye as far as winds are concerned.
I have been in 23 named storms over the past 42 years on the Gulf Coast. While I have seen tremendous damage on both land and marine related it is my belief that most of the marine damage is due to the related surge and not wind. Boats and barges tied to fixed docks or objects breaking the lines and floating free. Always be aware of that when sitting one out on a fixed dock. I spent two weeks pulling barges off of Interstate 10 near the San Jacinto River once surge took them over the guard rails and actually on the Interstate.
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Old 04-14-2015, 08:18 AM   #26
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Hurricane Alicia in the early 80's is the one that caused the barges to go over the Interstate it had a 12 foot surge associated with it.
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Old 04-14-2015, 08:37 AM   #27
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BandB, Amen brother!
Love the sound of your plans.

Again, too much control or requirements on behalf of the insurer, will leave them too many ways out NOT to cover you should a weather event arise.
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Old 04-14-2015, 09:00 AM   #28
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Originally Posted by ulysses View Post
Janice142: Glad your experience turned out right. Be aware though if you go to the same place for another storm it might not be the same case if the storm passes on the other side of you. On the gulf coast it is best to be west of the eye as far as winds are concerned.
I have been in 23 named storms over the past 42 years on the Gulf Coast. While I have seen tremendous damage on both land and marine related it is my belief that most of the marine damage is due to the related surge and not wind. Boats and barges tied to fixed docks or objects breaking the lines and floating free. Always be aware of that when sitting one out on a fixed dock. I spent two weeks pulling barges off of Interstate 10 near the San Jacinto River once surge took them over the guard rails and actually on the Interstate.
dan
There has been so much work done in dock development and construction and some amazing stories of floating docks and boats in them coming through virtually untouched. One thing I notice on floating docks is the height of their support pilings that hold them in place. Someone's idea of aesthetics has traditionally won out. I guess people don't want to see 15' poles sticking up out of the water, but properly constructed they can do an incredible job.

I'd encourage people to know the maximum surge of the areas they're docking. The gulf coast has historically had much more surge than Southeast Florida. Look up storm history and flood zone maps.
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Old 04-14-2015, 09:04 AM   #29
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Quote:
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Janice142: Glad your experience turned out right. Be aware though if you go to the same place for another storm it might not be the same case if the storm passes on the other side of you. On the gulf coast it is best to be west of the eye as far as winds are concerned.
Very true Dan. I'd been anchored in Bayou Chico and ended up taking her up a small cut to the west of the Pensacola Boatyard, following the course of small fishing boats.

Several boats dragged that remained or moved to the bayou. I suspect a few reasons:

#1) Setting an anchor the day before a storm doesn't get it dug in real well.
#2) Anchoring on top of others means when one boat has an issue, it can involve others easily (three boats did snarl together)
#3) There's a lot of fetch and 25' of water -- how many had sufficient scope?

Anyway, I was glad Seaweed was tucked up one of the branches of the bayou. And yes, I was concerned about surge (had to get back under that bridge) and boats cluttering up my escape route.

It wasn't the best place to be.
Still, the boatyard (Patti's Boat Services) was filled with their Paid-Ahead Hurricane Plan boats. And I wasn't real impressed with the idea of being in a domino field....

There is no one right answer (except possibly in the middle of the country where tornadoes occur. With weather forecasting and prediction, we are in a far better place this year than decades ago.

And it's not just Seaweed I have to be concerned about. The boats and things around her can impact us.

Back in 1992(?) when Hurricane Andrew struck south Florida one thing I took away was that folks in trailers were toast. That's a given. But what I had failed to understand is that the folks in houses next to trailer parks were also decimated. So now I look at me, but what could impact me as well.

Each storm has lessons.
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Old 04-14-2015, 09:34 AM   #30
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Yes, I agree with the Domino field. The scrap yard I mentioned earlier with all the sheet metals and tin scrap was actually adjacent to Pensacola Boat Yard on Bayou Chico. I sat one out on the Mississippi River on the Steamer President in the 70's and saw the River rise 4 feet overnight due to surge effect 100 miles north of the passes. Two ships broke loss that night simply due to not checking their lines down.
Now, I would prefer to get up and through a lock wherever I might be. Looks like Southern La. has made some serious advancements in flood walls, flood gates, etc.. (since Katrina).
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Old 04-14-2015, 11:24 AM   #31
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Back in 1992(?) when Hurricane Andrew struck south Florida one thing I took away was that folks in trailers were toast. That's a given. But what I had failed to understand is that the folks in houses next to trailer parks were also decimated. So now I look at me, but what could impact me as well.

Each storm has lessons.
Andrew was exceptionally devastating to target areas, very quickly, very powerful. It was the exception to the storm surge being the biggest issue. Yes it destroyed some trailer parks in Florida City but look at what it did to Country Walk which was a fairly new development. It also revealed some serious construction issues and many suits were filed against the developer. Over 1500 homes there destroyed completely. The rebuild was very slow and not wood frame like those destroyed, but concrete.

You're so right about residual damage. That's a reason I don't like crowded anchorages in good weather. I don't know how well the other boats anchor (they may not be using the right anchor..lol).

Interesting to compare the four most expensive US Hurricanes. Andrew and Sandy were pretty much opposites. Andrew a tight, small, Category 5. Sandy, the largest Atlantic hurricane on record with winds covering 1100 miles but yet only a Category 2 when it hit the NE. Katrina was a category 3 when it hit and has been labelled the "worst civil engineering disaster in U.S. history". Between levee failures and Lake Ponchartrain's surge it was horribly destructive. Ike was perhaps the largest hurricane in history, before Sandy, at 600 miles. It not only devastated Galveston but also did damage inland and damage from Corpus Christi to Florida along the coast.

Interesting that the four most expensive hurricanes all caused their damage in different areas. 2005 was the worst year with Katrina in August, Rita in September, and Wilma in October.

You just do your best in hurricanes and ultimately protect yourself as well as possible.
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