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Arrrggh!
It's that time of the year again for those of us who
live in hurricane vulnerable areas. Well, heck, at
least we don't live on the San Andreas fault, and
though we can't closely predict hurricanes, we at
least know they are coming and are given some time
to prepare.
And preparation is
what it's all about. As I'm sure you know, we are
in a period of greatly increased hurricane activity.
Storm guru Dr. William Gray is once again predicting
a very active season thanks to that kid out there
in the Pacific referred to as La Nina.
The Problem of Complacency
I don't know about
you, but the frustration factor of frequent near misses
is beginning to take its toll. Last year we had three
Cat-1 and several tropical storms come through our
area, and that produced not only a lot of complacency,
but an entire field full of wrecked boats here in
Ft. Lauderdale. All with owners who did little or
nothing to protect their boats, including not even
bothering to tie them up properly.
And then there was
Floyd, a super storm that came roaring straight at
us just like Andrew did, only to turn away at the
last minute, but not without causing a great deal
of panic. With the fresh memories of Andrew, no one
was complacent about Floyd's 150 mph winds.
The point is, even
minor storms can produce a lot of damage to boats.
It doesn't much matter if the wind is 75 mph or 175
mph if your boat is in an exposed location, or not
properly prepared. Apparently, a lot of boat
owners were lulled into thinking, "Ah, a cat
one storm. No big deal." As the field full of
broken boats being sold at auction suggested, it was,
indeed, a big deal.
Complacency happens
because it's a lot of work getting prepared, and it's
very frustrating to go to all that work, only to find
out it's a false alarm, which, fortunately, it often
is. That leads us to take them less seriously. But
remember, unlike brief thunder storms, the high winds
of even minor tropical storms can easily last 8-10
hours. Rather than just the force of wind speed, it's
the long term strain on things that can cause damage.
Weak dock lines break, and weak docks begin to fall
apart.
Beat Complacency
The way to beat complacency
is to make preparation as easy as possible. That means
to have your materials and logistical solutions down
cold. Knowing what to do, and when to do it, with
all necessary man power and materials available. In
case you haven't already learned this, heading out
to the marine supply store to make panic-stricken
last minute purchases is about the last thing you
want to do. Facing horrendous traffic, empty shelves
and long lines at the check out counter wastes your
valuable time and raises your blood pressure to uncomfortable
levels.
August 15th
marks the beginning of the most serious period of
storm threat. You still have time, so if you haven't
done your planning and obtained your supplies, why
not do it now? Here are some points we've assembled
from a major study that we performed for insurance
companies.
Relocation
Your first consideration
is whether you need to relocate your boat to a safer
refuge. If so, you're not going to be able to do that
alone, here's where the planning comes in. Who
can you get to help you? You'll need someone to drive
you to your boat and drop you off, then pick you up
at wherever you move the boat too. That takes time.
Will the people you expect to help be available? Can
you get started early enough, or will you get adequate
warning? Well, not always . . . . Think about the
panic that tends to set in when threatened by a Cat
3 or higher storm. Bridges closing down early are
among the many problems that can be encountered.
You can relieve yourself
of much of this stress if you think about permanently
relocating your boat to a safer place. Oh, I know,
you probably selected your dockage due to convenience
to the nearest inlet, only now it's not so convenient
because your boat is vulnerable. If you are in a place
with a 12 month boating season, one solution might
be to change your dockage twice per year, or arrange
an alternate location for the hurricane season. Here
in Ft. Lauderdale, that is entirely possible due to
the large amount of available inland dockage. In other
areas, that may not be an option. But, if it is, you
may want to take advantage of it. Nearly all large
yacht captains have a preplanned refuge lined up in
advance.
How? Some inland facilities
will offer unused dockage for just this purpose, though
those are likely to be scarce. Or, there may be private
residential dockage available. Check the newspaper
ads. One way we do it here is to head into inland
waterfront neighborhoods where we know there is unused
dockage and start asking around. Offering a couple
hundred bucks for use of the dock for a couple of
days is likely to sound very attractive to the homeowner. Where
to go?
| 1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
 The
Problem of Complacency
Relocation
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Where
to go?
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Storm
Prediction
Overcrowding |
Making
of a Good Dock
What
About Floating Docks? |
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