WILMA

Ram, and Bob&Lynn, great to hear you weathered the storm. I am really looking forward to hear some of your preparations.

[Wahoo Sails]

Our preparations for Wilma were pretty straight forward, docklines everywhere you can and fenders deployed where you think you might contact something. However ... the devil is in the details. Most of the boats in this marina, of equal size & displacement had 1/2" lines ... ours are 3/4" 3 strand nylon. Although there was not a scratch on the boat, we did manage to break a piling (will post a photo later). The one thing we did do differently than other boats was to deploy 3 anchors, 2 at the bow, one at the stern. It was our stern anchor that held us safely in place after the piling failed. We helped other boats, tied to the outside of "T" docks deploy anchors but we were the only ones on an inside slip to use them.
Of the 3 power boats we helped prepare, not one carried adequete ground tackle ... 2 anchors each, but not enough chain, shackles, line etc., thankfully our "spares" were enough fill the demand. Perhaps more surprising was that the only people present capable of tieing a proper bowline were Lynn & myself. We also equipped every single anchor with trip lines ... something the other boat owners had never even seen ... they were amazed at how easy it was to retrieve their anchors.
The single most worrisome part of this ordeal was attitude. We had more than a weeks advance notice of the coming storm, and everyone was closely watching their favorite weather information source. Regardless of the source, no one on this planet could accurately predict just what the storm would do. The banter back & forth was "Oh ... it's only gonna be a cat 1 or 2" "Heck, I don't think it will be more than a tropical storm" etc. With that much uncertainty we prepared as though we thought it would be a cat 5 ... then we did the smart thing ... we evacuated. Most of the owners decided at the last moment (when it became clear that it was going to be really bad) to leave their boats and stay in the adjacent condos. Some were foolish enough to stay aboard. I say "foolish" because that's just what it is. I have talked with a number of people that have stayed aboard during a hurricane and they all agree that they would never do it again. Anyone that thinks they are going to go out during a hurricane and "adjust lines" has no clue what it's really going to be like. Once it really starts to blow, they are simply trapped inside the boat with no chance to do anything. One young fellow who stayed aboard his boat during Charley, likened it to being inside a washing machine. Enough for now, will be glad to answer any questions.
Bob & Lynn

L S/V Sew Good

[GordMay]

Thanks for the excellent post Wahoo Sails, and glad to learn that “Sew Good” and crew came through unharmed.

Further to:
”... Anyone that thinks they are going to go out during a hurricane and "adjust lines" has no clue what it's really going to be like ...”

The Force that a wind exerts is an exponential function of it’s velocity. Double the wind speed, and you quadruple the force.

If you’ve ever had a difficult time line-handling (or sailhandling) in a mere Gale Force Wind (34-41 kts), then you’ll appreciate the impossibility of adjusting anything in a moderate Category 1 Hurricane (64 kts), which has roughly FOUR times the wind pressure (of a Gale), or worse yet a Cat. 3 or higher (96-113 kts), which would be almost EIGHT times as powerful.

I’ve been there, done that, and have the shredded T-shirt, and headsail to prove it.

FWIW,
Gord

[GordMay]

Fort Lauderdale Report
From Trade Only Today - Nov. 1/05

Here is a Tuesday morning progress report on the Fort Lauderdale cleanup and availability of resources, based on information from the Broward County and Miami-Dade government offices, the greater Fort Lauderdale Convention Center and Visitors Bureau, and various news reports.

Curfew
There will no longer be a curfew imposed on most of Broward County. The curfew (11 p.m. to 7 a.m.) however, remains in effect in Fort Lauderdale because most streetlights remain out.

Bus Service
Broward County Transit's buses will continue on a normal weekday schedule until 6 p.m., when a reduced Sunday schedule will go into effect. Bus service will end at 11 p.m. until further notice.

Hotels
As power and water are restored to the greater Fort Lauderdale area, hotels are opening for the show dates. According to today's report from the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention Center and Visitors Bureau, more than 100 hotels are now open for business. Visit www.fortlauderdaleinternationalboatshow.com for an extensive listing of available hotels. Or call Show Management at (954) 527-9332 for a copy of the current list. You may also visit www.marinecierge.com (Phone: (866) 4CIERGE) or www.identitytravel.com (Phone: (954) 923-7409 or (800) 226-0801).

Power
As of 10 a.m. today (Tuesday) Florida Power and Light had restored power to 77 percent of its 3.2 million customers affected by the storm. In Broward County 64 percent of residences and business have had power restored. In Miami-Dade County, FP&L estimates they have restored power to 78 percent of their customers. Nearly 18,000 restoration workers from 33 states and Canada are working to restore power to those customers remaining out of service. FP&L now has pushed the anticipated date for full power restoration up to Nov. 12. It originally had been talking Nov. 22.

Airports
All three of South Florida's major airports are open and fully operational.

Rental cars and gasoline
Rental cars are available at the airports and taxis are plentiful. As power continues to be restored more gas stations are operational. Lines for gas are far fewer and far shorter.

Water
The boil water order is still in effect for the City of Fort Lauderdale and several other area towns. Boil water orders change frequently. The Broward County Hurricane Hotline remains open for further information. Call (954) 831-4000.

Phone service
Telephone service continues to be erratic throughout the area. Some 521,000 Bell South customers in Florida are still without service. This includes 22 percent of customers in Broward County and 13 percent in Miami-Dade County.

Road conditions
As of Monday only about 10 percent of the traffic lights in Broward County were fully functional. Some are working on flash. Of the 86 major intersections in the county, 46 of them now have operating traffic lights. Officials advise motorists to exercise extreme caution at intersections. Cleanup of debris continues.

Restaurants
Many of the popular restaurants on Las Olas Boulevard, the 17th Street Causeway, the downtown Riverwalk Arts & Entertainment District and other sites leading up to the show area are open for business, as are grocery stores.