Ike Photos

[svHyLyte]

This link Zenfolio | Rhonda L. | Hurricane Ike - September 13, 2008 of the damage caused by Ike was sent to me by a friend in Texas. It's depressing at best but does illustrate some of the extent of the damage potential of such a storm. What I find amazing is the number of sailing yachts that still had canvas and sails in place--and some even dinghy's on deck and in davits--when the storm hit.

FWIW...

s/v HyLyte

[Hud3]

Thanks, Scott. It really is mystifying how little some people prepare for a storm like that.

[perchance]

Can you say insurance claim?

[Jonesee]

A buddy of mine ran a marina down in the Florida keys. I asked him about some of the lack of preparation. He told there are 3 types of boat owners:
1: Yacht owners with boats too large to be put on the hard. Their crew take them to sea and open water as soon as they have a bearing on the storm.
2: Small boat owners who have their boats hauled and put on the hard or put them on trailers and head out with them.
3: Owners with insurance that are tired of their boat. Those boats don't get moved...

I laughed but he said it really was true. He pointed out the the most endangered boat in the marina is one that is insured and has had a for sale sign on it.

[BassAckwards]

Originally Posted by Jonesee

A buddy of mine ran a marina down in the Florida keys. I asked him about some of the lack of preparation. He told there are 3 types of boat owners:
1: Yacht owners with boats too large to be put on the hard. Their crew take them to sea and open water as soon as they have a bearing on the storm.
2: Small boat owners who have their boats hauled and put on the hard or put them on trailers and head out with them.
3: Owners with insurance that are tired of their boat. Those boats don't get moved...

I laughed but he said it really was true. He pointed out the the most endangered boat in the marina is one that is insured and has had a for sale sign on it.

This is not entirely accurate. I know you didnt mean to generalize about cane victims, but I took this opportunity anyway just to clear some misperceptions.

A lot of us had insurance, but many of us had no alternative other than secure our boats as best possible.

Never do we know for sure where the cane is gonna make landfall until just a few hours before it happens.I spent two days getting my boat secured and stripped. Then, it would have taken me 3 hours to get to the nearest boat lift, and wait in a long line for limited yard space that I had no chance of getting.

Its a 9-10 hour trip for me just to get across Galveston Bay to get out to the gulf, and then, what direction should I go? Ike was almost 600 miles across and impacted an area 300 miles on either side of Galveston; that would take days to clear in a sailboat.

Considering that I also had a house to secure (round trip drive to the boat is 2 1/2 hours) and then the evacuation traffic is unreal. It has taken many as much as 20 hours to drive a distance that normally takes 45 minutes.

Its impossible to properly react to each hurricane warning, and happily, most are false alarms.

Most of the boat damage at my marina was a result of the surge washing the floating dock off its pilings; and yeah, we did have a few turkeys who left their canvass up and rinky dink dock lines attached.

But stop and consider.....MAN WE BE TAWKIN OUR BOATS!!!

Is there many things closer to our hearts!? Can you happily give up your boat and walk away? haha I dont insure my boat for profit, I insure my boat so I can keep it. Most of us were frantic waiting for the news of our boats.

And in my "Lessons Learned", other than being at a floating dock with higher pilings, I wouldnt do much different than what I did.

I love my boat.

[SouthernComfort]

Originally Posted by Jonesee

A buddy of mine ran a marina down in the Florida keys. I asked him about some of the lack of preparation. He told there are 3 types of boat owners:
1: Yacht owners with boats too large to be put on the hard. Their crew take them to sea and open water as soon as they have a bearing on the storm.
2: Small boat owners who have their boats hauled and put on the hard or put them on trailers and head out with them.
3: Owners with insurance that are tired of their boat. Those boats don't get moved...

I laughed but he said it really was true. He pointed out the the most endangered boat in the marina is one that is insured and has had a for sale sign on it.

There is some truth to your post. But some things are not quite fact. Most of the footage you folks saw of the boats laying all over the place was from the north side of Clear Lake where they were on jack stands on the hard and simply floated off due to the tidal surge.

My boat was un scratched and unharmed because, up to the last minute, I was out there adjusting the lines, removing sails, and getting her ready for the storm to come.

The boats in my marina (Kemah Boardwalk) that did suffer damage were boats that were never attended to by their owners prior to the storm. I can only assume that they were hoping for an insurance check. I walk the docks out here everyday and consider all the boats here my ward or at least things I have empathy torwards, even though they are not living. It really saddens me that folks spend soo much for these things and let them rot out here.

I did learn a thing or two since Ike. I will never moor my boat at a non-floating dock during a storm and I will double up my dock lines.

[captintommy]

I also had my boat as secure as possible and friends convinced me not to ride out the storm on the boat. The result would have been the same had I stayed. The marina failed. not our efforts. My boat lay aground on her side nearly a month
I have to much time and work invested in my boat to simply let it be scraped and sold to an insurance company.
I too love my boat. The work to bring her back goes on. She will be sailing again soon. She is not for sale.