Article by Capt. Mark Sampson
The other day I was reviewing some of my old log reports and noticed one from August 29, 2005. We left the dock that day at 7:00 AM, just about the same time hurricane Katrina was slamming into the Gulf Coast. Just after we started fishing my wife called to give me an update from the news reports which left me thinking that an atomic bomb was about to whack our Cajun countrymen and wondering how much would be lost in life and property? Here that day, the weather and sea conditions were about as beautiful as they could get and it was hard to imagine what our neighbors to the southwest were about to go through. Of course, in the aftermath we all learned just how bad “bad” can be!
History shows that we’ve had our share of big storms here in Ocean City too. I’m thankful that at least in my lifetime none have been as devastating as Andrew, Hugo or Katrina. Fortunately, in the past 25 years, most have ended up being only “close-calls” or “minor brushes” and have caused none of the catastrophic devastation that randomly seems to befall other regions. Living on this stretch of the coast, we’re lucky – but certainly not immune!
At least these days, with the way they’re able to forecast and track hurricanes many days in advance, someone would have to be living like a hermit in a cave not to know that one was coming and have enough time to (as best they can) secure their belongings and “get out of Dodge” before the winds begin to howl.
Bring the porch furniture in, get tape or boards over the windows, throw the kids and the pooch in the SUV and “head west young man!” But what if you have a boat? Whether she’s a 12-foot johnboat, a 22-foot center console or a 42-foot sportfisher, your “other woman” is going to need some level of preparation before you leave town. I say “leave town” because as one prepares their boat for a hurricane, they have to do so with the assumption that they will have to evacuate the area, or at the very least, not be able to do anything for their vessel during the worst of the storm. If you‘ve ever been in such a storm, you know that once the winds reach hurricane force there’s no getting out on the dock or deck to adjust lines or secure some flapping canvas. The only thing that can be done is to hope and pray that you’ve properly prepared your boat for the worst that will come.
Naturally, with so many sizes and types of boats, and places where they might be parked or moored, there’s no one strategy that will safeguard every one of them. Boat owners need to assess their own situation and decide what’s best for themselves, but over the years, I’ve seen the ugly results of a lot of poor decisions and therefore can make the following suggestions.
Don’t wait until the day before the storm arrives to prepare your boat. A lot of folks wait too long before they try and haul it out of the water or move it to a safe place. Then they find impossibly long lines at boat ramps, or travel-lifts at boat yards that are so busy they cannot work another customer into the schedule in time before the storm. And, ready or not, the storm will be here!
If a trailer is available, it’s usually best to pull small boats out of the water, and if you’re leaving town, take them with you. If you cannot take your boat and trailer with you, be sure and park it in a safe place where it will be protected from strong NE and NW winds and any flooding that might occur.
Whether a boat rides out a storm on a trailer or in the water, it needs to be prepared to withstand winds of more than 100-mph. This means removing or properly securing everything from hatch covers to canvas that might catch the wind. Cushions, life jackets, tackle and electronics, everything that can be removed and stored in a safe place should be. And by all means, even if the boat is stored on a trailer, make sure that the automatic bilge pumps are working!
Of course, boats left in the water need extra attention. Boaters should make sure that their vessels are tied up in slips that offer protection from heavy wave action or tidal-surge.
Again, the strongest winds will come from the NE and NW, so look off in those directions and if you see a lot of open-water you had better find a more protected place to tie-up.
Boaters also need to make sure that whatever they are tying up to is going to be able to hold firm in the worst of the storm. Dock cleats, piers, pilings and even bulkheads can be pulled off or apart when too much boat is secured to something that cannot withstand the strain.
Just as boaters should make sure that the lines that secure their own boat are heavy enough, or even doubled so they will withstand the extra pressure, they should also look around and make sure that nearby boats are also properly tied. A single boat that breaks free in a marina or canal can slam into and severely damage many more boats as it’s pushed along by wind and waves.
Finally, as storms are usually accompanied by extra high tides, those who leave their boats in the water must take extreme care not to allow them to be pushed over or under a piling, pier or bulkhead. This is of particular importance in narrow slips where there is little space between the boat and the pier. A boat that gets under a dock is almost certainly doomed to sink at it’s mooring as the water rises.
Obviously, when storms packing the power of Katrina hit an area there’s not much anyone can do to protect their boat, other than get it and themselves far-far away, but under more “moderate” hurricane conditions, planning and preparation long before the first storm clouds even begin to darken the skies can go a long way to protect a boat from loss or damage and keep it in good shape for better days ahead!
Capt. Mark Sampson is an outdoor writer and captain of the charter boat, “Fish Finder”, docked at the Ocean City Fishing Center.
