Anybody loose a boat or have any major damage form that last bit of a blow? I don't know how you guys do it. We get snow, sometimes lots of it but it melts all by itself.
Dale
Rode it out in the backwaters on the Mississippi gulf coast. We saw about 55-60kt gusts here so not too bad. Ive become a real pro at hurricane anchoring in the past two years. Last year we had 5 hurricane evacs from our marina. We took (TS)Cristobal right on the nose. That storm was as close to a cat 1 as you could get and taught me not to ride out a storm on the boat. We had 3 near misses. And then hurricane (cat 3) Zeta was a direct hit to us. During the storm I was convinced my boat would be either in the woods or on the bottom after seeing the trees bent to almost 90 degree angles. Out of the 5 sailboats and one power boat at the anchorage, 3 sailboats drug into the trees and were grounded, one was holed and sank, and the power boat drug and impacted my boat removing a considerable amount of teak railing but no gel coat damage. My boat was the only one that did not drag. This was due I believe to my over sized Rocna, and over sized fortress that I had out, having stern lines into the trees, and some amount of land wind shadow.
This year I rode out (TS) Claudette with 45-50kt winds in the marina with no issues. Ida was our first evacuation. I used the same anchoring setup that I have used before. I am considering also adding an oversized Danforth to the mix also. Im placing the anchors as follows.... Rocna with 175 ft chain rode at 0 degrees off the bow and the fortress and Danforth (5/8 3 strand on both) port and starboard 45 degrees each side of the Rocna. Then doubled up 5/8 3 strand to the tree at my stern. My bow is in a general S-SE orientation as that where I expect to get the strongest winds from.
Its been hard on me stress wise. Ive spent more time running the 20 miles to the hurricane hole than Ive been sailing in the last two years. Even with this storm, I got the attached picture from another sailor who stayed aboard, with the message of... "the circled sailboat is dragging down on you". This was right before dark and I had no clue what happened until morning. The boat missed me but also disappeared. It been rough man...
I have installed a semi permanate mooring off our pier which itself is in a pretty good hurricane hole. It consist of a 450lb anchor that came off a 80' shrimp boat. Water depth is only 8' combined with high end 8' surge when the do do is really hitting the fan.That would give a total depth of 16'potential depth. From the anchor I have 15' of chain which I attach 100' rode and a dynema harness that can attach to both bow cleats or both primary winches from the stern. Anchoring from the stern reduces the sailing back and forth movement. Last year the eye of Sally passed directly overhead. Although only a cat 2 with windspead @105, the duration was unbelievable. Salty Dog stood her own and did not drag an inch. A storm powerful enough to overcome this system will deliver enough damage that the boat will be the least of my worries. I look at hurricane season the way a lot of guys up north look at winter. You have to prepare the boat for the season. Hurricane season ramps up in August when it's no fun to sail anyway because of heat and light wind so I prep the boat on my schedule and leave it that way through September. I have way too many other fish to fry getting ready for a storm so removing Salty Dog from the equation is a great relief.
Hi y'all,
Yeah, hurricanes are kind of a pain, but at least we get about 3 or 4 days of accurate path predictions now days. Here is my arrangement that has worked so far. Essentially, chain goes onshore, line in water directly to cleats, no fairleads/no chafe.
The shorelines have chains with two round turns on the trees and a chain leader into the water, where it's connected with 5/8 nylon 8-plait. This avoids chafe on the shorelines, which are tied off to cleats mounted on the toe rail, so there is no chafe at all. The anchors have 30' 5/16" chain with 100' 5/8" 3-strand nylon. Each anchor is dug in individually with the motor with the others slacked off, then I take up slack in all lines. Lastly, I cast off whatever length on each line I think I'll need to rise with the water.
Each of the 10 lines has its own cleat so there is no doubling up on lines. Stern faces north and most of the strongest winds are from east around to SW. There is little fetch in any wind from SE to NW and not more than 500' fetch to the NE through SE. If a storm passes close to the east and will give strong north or NW winds, then I'll just rotate anchor deployment to the starboard quarter.
The notated colors are spray paint on the ends of line and chain, so I know what goes where, even in the dark (with a normal flashlight, not red colored light). Attached are pictures that show the chains used for shorelines. With the two round turns, those chains don't slide around the trees (no chafe on trees). The tree loop is 22' long and leaders vary from 15 - 50', depending on the tree's distance from water's edge.
They are all color-coded (shorelines and anchor chain) and chain sections are stowed in the sectioned bilge during the summer. When we're are in the 3-day cone, I move the boat up a creek to tie it up, then return a few days later. It's a pain, but I sleep better knowing that it's safer than in a marina with weak dock cleats and wandering boats. I made the mistake with Sally (100 kts wind in local area when it hit) and moved to late when we saw that it turned north straight towards us (24 hours before landfall). Had to move the boat and run all the lines in the dark in 30 - 40 kts wind. Too rough to dinghy back the 3 miles, so we left the dinghy in the bushes and walked a few miles through the thick, stickery brush, where my sister met us with the car for the drive back to the house. Y'all down here on the gulf coast know about those weedy vines that have piercing curved spines which tear through light cloth and skin. It sucked, all exposed skin was scratched up from those and the blackberry vines.
Now, whenever we're in the 3-day cone or Tropical Storm winds are predicted because the storm is so large like Ida, I'll move it. I don't want to walk through the brush again, not knowing where the water moccasins or gators are. Trudging through waste deep grass at 1am in the howling wind and pouring rain is a little disconcerting. At times, the brush was so thick, I had to crawl through the under growth to form a path.
Dale, it's not too bad as long as the boat is prepared and you don't delay. It's just really hot. Takes about 4 - 6 hours from the time I decide to move until I'm done tied up in the creek and another 4 hours to clean up back at the dock after the storm. Minimum, I set three shorelines and two anchors, but more if a stronger storm is predicted I set more. I could probably get away with one shoreline and one anchor or just swing to an anchor, but I prefer the redundancy and tucked in close to shore keeps me away from those swinging on an anchor. It's amazing how much protection the trees give and I make sure the boat is far enough from shore so the tallest tree will not hit if it falls. I also point bow to shore (sandy mud with shrubbery) so if the anchors drag, the bow will hit first, not the rudder. All I have to do is grab the lines and anchors from the shed and shackle to chain, get the dinghy and its motor in the water and I'm ready to go. I don't know what is worse, hurricanes or prolonged deep freeze.
Wow!
I got to hand it to you, you are prepared. I guess we end up seeing so many boats wasted tied into the marina docks with all of their headsails on the foil and the canvas still on board. The real danger appears to be the docks and the pilings themselves. It makes sense to get the boat somewhere where it can stand on its own. I would guess the same goes for the home owners as well. Again we see so many after pictures of patio furniture still out and about. I wonder how much of the damage is from absentee owners (2nd, 3rd home) that are not there before the storm hits. Or... they just don't care because "insurance will cover it".
I don't trust insurance companies any more than I trust the government after a go around on a tractor I once owned, so I try never to put myself in a position where I rely upon them. I know you guys pay big money for insurance coverage down there. I would guess it is 20% of those covered that make claim after claim driving up your costs due to laziness and stupidity.
Keep up the feedback as I find it very fascinating and extremely interesting. You guys mentioned prepping for winter is the same kind of thing. Perhaps... but no. Eatable antifreeze and a good garboard drain is your best friend. I suspect down south a garboard drain is equally important due to your heavy rains. We see way too many boats with water up to the seats from a clogged drain or split deck drain/cockpit drain hose.
Dale
We do pay a lot for insurance here in Florida. But I think that most of it is for lightning strikes and wild drunken yahoos out on the weekends. We are not covered for named storms as that coverage is VERY expensive.
Happiness is getting your boat off the hurricane mooring for the first time since August 1. Looking forward to fall, winter and spring sailing!
Has anyone used a riding sail with the ketch to prevent sailing at anchor?
I doubt it would last through the hurricane. Usually you want to reduce windage and remove sails and canvas.
I apologize for posting this query in the Hurricane Ida topic. I have no intention of being onboard Phantom during a hurricane, with or without a riding sail.
My query is to keep Phantom swinging less at anchor.