Article by Capt. Mark Sampson
I’m not quite ready to suggest that “late summer” has arrived quite yet, but you’ve got to figure, now that it's mid-August, we're pretty darn close to it, and in just a couple weeks we’re all going to be in total agreement that, yea - it’s definitely late summer and, therefore, fall is creeping up fast!
Now for us fishermen, the late summer season always arrives with good news and bad news. The good news is that most of the crazy summer crowds will soon be departing, and the fish-to-fisherman ratio is going to become a whole lot more enjoyable. The bad news is that it puts us right in the midst of hurricane season and on any given day we could get a report from the Weather Channel telling us that some storm that originated off Africa has spun itself into a hurricane and is going to be rattling our windows and rocking our boats in a few days!
The words “big storm coming soon” as sung by Jimmy Buffet in his song “Trying To Reason With Hurricane Season” should be an immediate call to action for everyone living on the coast – especially those of us who have boats. Remember Hugo, Andrew, Katrina?” Hurricanes like those can literally obliterate everything in their path. But even hurricanes of lesser magnitude or strong tropical storms like last week’s Isaias that give the coastline a good thrashing before moving quickly on her way can create major damage for the unprepared. Big storm or little storm, it’s always going to be those who do everything they can to prepare for the worst who will stand the best chance of getting through it all with a minimal of damage or loss.
Those who have never been through a hurricane might find all this hard to imagine. But the quiet little canal behind their home or condo could quickly turn into such a raging torrent of wind and waves that in minutes their happy little boat might be bashed to bits and/or sunk in its slip. Regardless of the size or type, boats should always be prepared to deal with strong winds, extra high tides, surging water, and floating or flying debris.
For boaters looking to protect their investment, the best thing they can do is to get their rig out of harm’s way altogether. Trailerable boats can be loaded up and hauled back to Baltimore, Pa., D.C. or wherever the owner is from, or at least taken away and parked somewhere that the owned doesn’t have to worry about the storm whacking it with full force. If a trailerable boat cannot be taken away, it should at least be parked in a sheltered place like behind a (strong) building safe from howling northeast and northwest winds.
Boats that cannot be trailered can sometimes be run by water to sheltered rivers, creeks, or canals and securely tied up in waters that don't get so violent in a blow. Leaving a boat in a marina or canal with other vessels invites new concerns. Even though someone securely ties up their boat, the threat exists that other boats might brake free of their own moorings, drift around, and smash up other vessels. When “battening down,” one should always look at how well one’s neighbors are tied up and alert them, or the dock master, if it looks like there’s reason for concern.
Of course, tying up for a strong storm can be a bit of an art in itself with every boat and every dock creating its own special situation and requirements. Docks with low pilings are never good choices because of the extremely high tides that come with big storms. If a boat’s rub rail gets over a piling while it’s being tossed about in its slip, there’s going to be a lot of damage. Even worse, sometimes a boat will be pushed on top of a piling and then the tide falls enough to tilt the boat and allow water to enter from the opposite side and sinking it altogether.
Another problem to watch for is that of wind and waves pushing hard enough to stretch mooring lines and allow a part boat to get under a dock. Here again, damage will be done to the boat while it’s beating against the dock. Then, when the tide rises the boat will be held down by the dock and quickly sunk.
Whenever possible boats left in the water should be tied up from all four corners in wide slips with strong, thick pilings. If their own slip is too narrow boaters, might be able to find a wider unused slip at their marina or behind a friend or neighbors home. Boats should then be securely tied with both fore and aft spring lines in such a way that they can ride up and down in storm surges and extreme high and low tides. All mooring lines should be doubled so that if one snaps there’s another already in its place to do the job.
Fenders (inflatable bumpers) may be placed around the boat where it might contact the another boat or the dock. But in a big storm, fenders are only a last ditch effort to try and prevent damage. It’s always best to have a vessel tied up so that won’t come close to rubbing against something in the first place.
Wind is an obvious hazard of hurricane conditions. But again, unless someone has experienced it, it’s probably hard to imagine the extent of how bad a hard blow can be. Boaters should forget about covering a boat with a tarp. No matter how well it’s tied down, it will blow off or apart. Bimini tops or sun shades too will be ripped to shreds, and anything like coolers, buckets, cutting boards, even tackle boxes not securely tied down will likely be blown about and possibly out of the boat altogether.
Boats should be stripped down to bare “nothing” with antennas and outriggers removed or at least laid down and all other accessories taken off and put and inside a house or a storage room where they’ll be safe. When preparing a boat to weather a big storm, I try to imagine that is about to be loaded on a truck and then driven down a very bumpy road at 100 mph with fire hoses blasting it from every direction. Those are the kind of conditions it could very well have to endure during a strong hurricane.
Most importantly, protecting a boat from a hurricane requires advanced preparation. When the wind is blowing 70+ mph, there is no way someone can work outside and do anything to save a boat that’s getting bashed up. These days, we get plenty of warning that hurricanes are coming. Boaters should take care of their boats a day or two ahead of time so that they can attend to more important things like their home and family during the final hours of the approach.
