Hurricane Ian - I don't get it

[VeinDocFL]

Originally Posted by Mystic38

I don't get it.

I saw plenty of fully seaworthy vessels in the 50-60ft+ range that would clearly be fully capable of making the trip to Alabama or Louisiana and couldn't be bothered?

There was plenty of warning, the conditions were going to be far beyond any "hurricane prep" could withstand and yet owners simply didn't care to move their boats to safety.. its not a huge trip.

why?..


mind you (I live in Mystic) last year a 175ft motoryacht was in Mystic. We wre expecting a hurricane. It was tied up, beam to wind to some (really old) piles in the river. Had it broke loose it would have totaled about 100 boats and damaged the railway bridge.. luckily we dodged a bullet, but again wtf?.. why not simply take the boat to NYC?

stupefied minds asking for a friend

I could not imagine a bigger nightmarish cluster occurring if every boat that was considered seaworthy on the west coast of Florida picked up and ran somewhere, thinking they could outrun or out-guess the hurricane path.
We were on Long Island Sound for the same Hurricane last year and did head east to Port Washington to avoid the storm but there are literally thousands of places to duck into along the way and there was plenty of good forecast history on the storm. In Florida you only get one direction to travel perpendicular to the path, and if you guess wrong you are in open ocean and in deep trouble.

To paraphrase a airplane saying; It's better to be on shore wishing you were boating than in a boat wishing you were on shore.

[smj]

Originally Posted by Offshore58

All of those boats that were left had to have a hurricane plan with there insurance company that stated they would move or haul.

They violated the contract. Insurance company can refuse the claim. They could have all moved East up the river past the Franklin Lock and anchored in the calm no drag water.irresponsible people that drive the insurance rates sky high.

In over 30 years we’ve never been asked for a hurricane plan by an insurance company, so not ALL insurance company’s insist on that.
There’s a 55’ height restriction for getting up past the Franklin Lock, so not ALL boats could have made that move.
Other than that I fully agree. Up the Caloosahatchee is the best spot in Florida to be for a hurricane, so for those that were able and didnt, shame on you.

[P3sailor]

Here's my thought and though it doesn't apply to some, my guess is, far too many use their vessels as dock queens, don't take them out much, but use them to party at the marina. It's easier to insure and collect the insurance money than it would be to go through the hassle of moving the boat or just selling it. There's a whole new class of owners out there that buy a nice vessel, realize the amount of work required to maintain it is not worth their time and effort and just hope for something like Ian to come along so they can collect their insurance money and run. Just sayin'

[jim ellifritt]

Originally Posted by Mystic38

I don't get it.

I saw plenty of fully seaworthy vessels in the 50-60ft+ range that would clearly be fully capable of making the trip to Alabama or Louisiana and couldn't be bothered?

There was plenty of warning, the conditions were going to be far beyond any "hurricane prep" could withstand and yet owners simply didn't care to move their boats to safety.. its not a huge trip.

why?..


mind you (I live in Mystic) last year a 175ft motoryacht was in Mystic. We wre expecting a hurricane. It was tied up, beam to wind to some (really old) piles in the river. Had it broke loose it would have totaled about 100 boats and damaged the railway bridge.. luckily we dodged a bullet, but again wtf?.. why not simply take the boat to NYC?

stupefied minds asking for a friend

Sadly weateher models c are just models. My exierence has been that they give you broad info but not accurate enough detail to pi point map locations. Look at the Spagetti maps and you can see a wider path, with multiple points if landing. You never really know where land fall will be until the last 12-24 hours, then for many trawlers and sailboat just to dangerous to move.

[Captmoby]

From the pictures I saw most were not properly prepared for a hurricane. I don't know about them but my insurance requires a detailed hurricane plan including who will take care of the proper prep if you cant be there. If I were a insurance company and for instance the sails were still up I don't know that I wouldn't deny the claim.

And I have lost one to Irma and it was properly prepped.

[gonesail]

Originally Posted by mglomstead

Mangroves aside, there are not many marinas to flee to north of Tampa area, that one can reach in less than a day of sailing. Tampa was dead center in the Ian cone just 2 days before it hit. To go south to Ft Myers would have been poor choice, obviously. Yet to go north and west - if the forecast veered west - would have been similarly bad decision.

yep. at one point the GFS has Ian going to Mobile. hard to make a decision in this case. and there ain't any mangroves to tie off to either

[MicHughV]

There is too much focus on the "eye" of a hurricane.
While it's true, that this where the most severe wind is likely to occur, the outer perimeter of the hurricane, several hundred miles from the eye can also have strong winds.
Tropical storm force winds can extend 300 miles from the eye.
In addition, one must account for the rotation of the hurricane.
Whether you have the wind in front of you or coming from behind, the wave height, plus the wind, induced by the hurricane, will drastically limit one's forward progress.
A boat capable of 20 knots in calm seas, might be lucky to be doing 5 knots in that kind of weather.

[Jellyfish M]

Originally Posted by Mystic38

I Live in CT, so we do get our share and I am more familiar with hurricane prep than i would prefer.

Yes, for sure the track can be erratic in detail eg last year we thankfully only got 65kt+ rather than the forecasted bullseye, due to a 30nm shift in track to the East, but its rare that with a few days to go that the track shifts by 200nm

I guess my fundamental point is that if I had a 20kt+ cruise and 400nm range my hurricane planning would prpbably be far different than it currently is, tis all.

The thing about moving a boat is that during hurricane season, unless you move the boat all the way out of "Hurricane zone" for the whole season, you will have to move your boat every time a hurricane is forecasted near your vessel.

That is why people who keep their boats in Florida have to pay a Hurricane insurance premium. That does not mean they abandon their boats. There are good practices made, you anchor it as best you can, you secure it to a mooring or your dock as best as possible, you remove your sails and canvas if possible.

Do not assume people will shuck it to insurance and that is fine, because even if insured, there will always be a loss (financial and emotional).

I am sure that if it was just a matter of "Moving the boat", everyone would do it!

Also, do not forget IAN was a massive strong hurricane, It ripped out a brige! It destroyed Sanibel Island LIghthouse, Ft Myers beach is in shambles, many boats that were Hurricane tied on the dry were toppled, and yet many boats are still afloat and many boats are still at their docks, with minimal to no damage.

Hindsight will alwyas be easy to judge others for their actions.

Did I loose my boat due to Ian, do not think so, did my boat took damage yes it did. I live in St Louis and I keep my boat (that we worked and saved for) in Pt Charlotte. The situation there is still dire and people are having a tough time.
When I am sure I can get there and not add to stress of it all, I will make my way to my boat and assess my situation.

If you have no good words or actions to offer to the people affected by this tragedy, Keep your judgement to yourself.

You did not walk a mile in my shoes!

[jbinbi]

Keep my boat in NE in the summer. Insurance requires if Hurricane warning to have best effort to haul boat. We have had a few close calls around Labor day that have effectively ended the season a month or so early because if the yards haul on Sept 1ish, they are not going to launch and re haul Oct 1 ish.

That being said, I can certainly understand as the hurricane wobbles towards you that your primary concern is for your home and family.

If you have a large boat, especially a powerboat that might have a captain (those over 65' say), who do have great ranges and speed, not sure why they don't get out of Dodge. Maybe they do, I haven't seen stats about how many of the damaged boats are from the $1M plus vs. the 25-250k range.

[gsuescum]

Originally Posted by Mystic38

I don't get it.

I saw plenty of fully seaworthy vessels in the 50-60ft+ range that would clearly be fully capable of making the trip to Alabama or Louisiana and couldn't be bothered?

There was plenty of warning, the conditions were going to be far beyond any "hurricane prep" could withstand and yet owners simply didn't care to move their boats to safety.. its not a huge trip.

why?..


mind you (I live in Mystic) last year a 175ft motoryacht was in Mystic. We wre expecting a hurricane. It was tied up, beam to wind to some (really old) piles in the river. Had it broke loose it would have totaled about 100 boats and damaged the railway bridge.. luckily we dodged a bullet, but again wtf?.. why not simply take the boat to NYC?

stupefied minds asking for a friend

Can I turn his question around on you? It seems you have a pretty fast catamaran and the hurricane (Henri?) was coming, why didn’t you sail out of Mytic to a safer port? Especially if that big yacht was positioned to take you out?

I imagine you went through the same thought process I did… At that time our boat was in Norwalk CT on a solid mooring. I had a sick feeling because our last boat survived a direct hit from hurricane Maria on PR and Henri was coming right at us. Two days out there were no haul-out options available and no sheltered marina spots available. I seriously considered moving the boat to what I thought would be a safer location (one of the Long Island bays or going up the coast to maybe Newport) and riding it out.

Instead I just ended up prepping as well as I could and in accordance with my hurricane plan. I left her on her mooring and tended to my house. Henri turned the night before it hit and went further east towards Rhode Island, where I’d considered going. It was still nasty but if I’d chosen to head towards RI I would have just put myself right into the path.

[jbinbi]

I don't think moving your boat within a radius of 60 mi will help as the path can certainly be in that range. I am not sure even 100 mi radius is OK. I think we are talking about moving 200+ mi, which for a sailboat is say 30+ continuous hours. If Mystic was the predicted landfall 2 days out, maybe moving to NYC or Nantucket is the place to go, but if you are a regular working person, most people are preparing to either get themselves out of the direct path or trying to make preps for their home and family.

If you have a powerboat with a 200mi range and could do that in 10 hours, I could possibly see doing that, but that still leaves you with less time for preps to your home.

For many, getting to the boat, taking down the sails, dodger, tying up everything tight and getting home is already taking most of the day when time is critical to save more important things.

[Amapola]

Personally, we would never leave our boat in a marina during a hurricane. We live in Punta Gorda, FL on a canal. Once a hurricane warning is declared, we are allowed to move our boat to the middle of the canal and tie up to both sides of the canal. So far, this method has not failed us.

[Jellyfish M]

Originally Posted by Amapola

Personally, we would never leave our boat in a marina during a hurricane. We live in Punta Gorda, FL on a canal. Once a hurricane warning is declared, we are allowed to move our boat to the middle of the canal and tie up to both sides of the canal. So far, this method has not failed us.

It is good to have this information!!! I will do this next time! I did not loose my boat bur it did get put aground on the rip rap at my place.

Thanks for the knowledge!!

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

Personally I love my boats. But they are only possessions. If nothing ever happened we’d never need insurance.

I think you do the best a reasonable person can without endanger yourself or others. Afterthat it’s in the hands of nature.

Sailors don't need insurance, but marinas require it..
If one can lose their boat and walk away with a smile, why insure.. if you worry about hitting other boats, don't buy a boat..

[Chris31415]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Sailors don't need insurance, but marinas require it..
If one can lose their boat and walk away with a smile, why insure.. if you worry about hitting other boats, don't buy a boat..

You really don’t care if your boat damages other boats? I don’t think you really believe that.