The folks around Clear Lake?

[mgphl52]

Some more pics from the Houston Chronicle:
http://www.chron.com/community/photogal ... a_ike.html

[Troy Scott]

Tod,

I see in #3823 what looks like a CD30 or 28. This is very sad. Most folks don't understand that these boats are not just easily replaceable floating hunks of plastic. They are part of the family. We have to rally around the folks there. I know how depressing it can be when you've suffered a loss and at the same time you might be dealing with people at their worst. The blame game, the fights with the insurance companies, the LOOOOONG wait for a settlement check, hasty inadequate but expensive repairs on the boats that survive, just not knowing for days or weeks, being torn between finding the boat or getting the tree out of the living room, finally finding your boat only to find that it's been "salvaged" by crooks, and on and on. Most of us are not prepared for these scenarios.

Look at all those roller furling sails that weren't removed in preparation for the storm. That is elementary. Please, everybody, learn from this.

Fixed piers are no place to leave your boat when a surge is expected, especially if there's a long fetch to the east. A well-anchored floating pier is better, but still not ideal. The best thing to do is, well ahead of time, scope out a good hurricane hole and move your boat, but be prepared to stay on it until you can move it back home. If you can't find one, plan to sail away from the strike zone and be tied up or anchored somewhere before it gets rough.

The photos are bad, much like those of Katrina in Mobile. We had a twelve foot surge. There were still destroyed roller-furling genoas flapping in the breeze a month later, some from boats sunk in the slip.

Folks, we need to think about the fact that boat insurance premiums always go up after such an event. Not just a little. I'm sure the Cape Dory folks at Clear Lake did all they could to prepare. However, those who feel that because they've paid their insurance, it's OK to just leave the boat in the usual slip with the usual docklines, roller furling genoa in place, bimini still up, etc., are seriously mistreating the rest of us. Theirs are the boats that come loose and crash into ours. They collect the insurance and buy a condo. We find a replacement boat and pay several hundred percent higher premiums.

[Sea Hunt]

In picture #3833 it looks like a CD 25 survived. She was apparently completely stripped of canvas in preparation for Ike and looks to be in good shape.

That is one thing I have learned about sailboats and hurricane prep. Strip every bit of canvas, and everything else that is removable, from the boat. During our near misses so far this year the experienced sailors removed their furling system, main, bimini, etc. I followed their lead and removed my main and boom and bimini. Hank on headsails were stored at home. The sailing club strongly recommended this as well.

I am a rookie when it comes to sailboats and hurricanes but I have lived in South Florida for more than 40 years and have watched the learning curve rise for hurricane prep over the past 10-15 years, especially since Hurricane Andrew (24 August 1992 @ 0405 hours). I know well the feelings of the residents in Texas. My house blew away along with 95% of all my belongings. It was a 3 year process to get back to what I now call "normal".

I echo the thoughts of others on this board and offer my assistance in any way possible. Perhaps we can enlist the services of someone on this board to start a fund for relief efforts related to CDSOA members in Texas.

As a "veteran" of a direct hit from a hurricane, the immediate advise I would offer (once family and friends are safe and secure) is, for insurance purposes, to document the condition of everything as much as possible with photos, notes - house, sailboat, etc. Write down the complete name, title, ID or badge number, and phone number of every single person you talk with concerning the loss (including police and fire rescue personnel who observe your situation).

You also want to attempt to mitigate further damage as much as possible - without placing yourself in danger. If you have a portion of a roof left, try to cover what you can with tarps. If windows are broken, etc., try to cover them with plywood, etc. to avoid further damage. If ins companies see that you have attempted to mitigate damages they will be more inclined to show some small measure of compassion. Also, some policies require that owners make reasonable efforts at post hurricane mitigation of damages. If you do not make the effort or show why you could not do so (no access to the area, etc.) ins cos. will use this as an excuse to try to avoid payment.

Also, when adjustors eventually get to your area, despite the temptation to do so, do not accept their initial settlement offer. Many insurance companies, especially the big 3-4, have learned from prior disasters, that a way to minimize costs is to offer an immediate settlement amount (usually very low) with a signed agreement from the owner that the settlement amount is a full and complete settlement of any claim. DO NOT DO THIS. If they offer you a check, take it, but make sure that you write down on a document that they keep (and keep a copy for yourself) that this is not in final settlement of your claim and that there may/will be supplemental claims once full damage is assessed. In Florida, there is 3-4 year statute of limitations on filing supplemental claims. I am not sure what it is elsewhere. Do not allow ins. companies to suck you into waiving your rights to file a supplemental claim by signing a "waiver of future claim(s)".

[Tod M]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/30521642@N04/

[rtbates]

http://votaw.org/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=7532

That's very sad sight. All those boats turn up. I find it amassing to see a few sitting without any visible damage while the boat in the next slip over is destroyed.

best wishes to all who went through this storm.

[Ocean Girl]

Just got back from clear lake. The Lauren Leigh (cd30)made it through without a scratch! this is thanks to a friend getting to her and stripping her down before the storm.
I don't live in clear lake. I am a nurse and was called to my hospital, so by the time I got out from work they were already evacuating the area. To complicate it more I'm still not the official owner (we were to close in two days). the owner had a house and kids to pack up and protect. So after hearing my plea for help my friend robert took the lauren leigh under his wing and she made it out okay. Amazing! Especially considering the old piers ( 40 years) and the tide risers did not look capable of handling a 5 foot surge let alone a 12-18 foot surge. When I own her she is going to floating piers.
Most of the damage was to the vessels on fixed piers and also vessels exposed in the outer basin. I did not see many CDs damaged but there were a few boats I could not identify and someone earlier in this message wrote they saw a 28 or 25. On pier 13 or 12 there is a ty sitting up on the pier but it doesn't look like she took any real damage just scratched up a bit.
It was interesting to note that of all the boats who had washed up well inland at least three seemed to have no chafe gear and the lines just wore right through. At least that is what it looked like to me. I was walking through the destruction saying chafe gear chafe gear, my kingdom for chafe gear.
Also, there were boats that it seemed the dock (fixed pier) just decintergrated around them and the vessel floated away with the pilings in tow( these were the big 55ft+ sailboats) .
This is just one marina, and we seem to be one of the lucky ones because across the lake there are entire marinas that are gone. I talked to an owner of a grampian who was looking for her boat, her entire marina is gone( Bar Harbor). I think there are a few sunk power boats and thats it.
On a positive not there are marinas that didn't lose any boats.
Also, To keep things in perspective no boaters lost their lives (so Far). We had a guy ride out the storm in a 40+ footer at the end of one of the piers that ended up breaking apart. During the storm he had to abandon ship because his boat had a big hole in it and taking on water. He had to hop from boat to boat towards "land" he finally had to jump in the water when he ran out of boats and swam into a building (which was occupied by a boat too). He climbed to the second story to ride out the rest of the storm. Its amazing that even in our stupidity God still takes care of us.
I did see a boat that seemed to of anchored for the storm(1 anchor only). He washed up/dragged anchor about a hundred yards inland, Clear lake has a lousy bed to anchor to -sludge and oyster shells. Better to tie to points on the shore
I have learned a lot from all this and already have the beginning of a hurricane plan set up for The Lauren Leigh next time a hurricane blows through (name will be Ocean Girl by then).
(if you want to hear)
1. Chafe Gear, there is no such thing as overkill- no matter how new or big your line is, it will cut like butter during a storm. include the part that touches the cleat
2. good floating piers that can handle a 15+ storm surge
3. extra battery isolated for the bilge pump only. Even if you don't use it for the storm, the power may not come back for a while, good to have the extra juice.
I have other ideas but maybe this is another post
Thanks for letting me vent. Hope this makes sense still running on two hours of sleep.
Erika

[Troy Scott]

Tears came to my eyes when I watched this. I didn't realize how close to the surface the aftermath of Katrina still is for me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQmQRMGbI5U

It's just too much like this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6-kk4yu ... re=related

We were so overwhelmed after Katrina I didn't even think to make a video. I should have. I can't find words to describe it. Large sailboats piled up three and four deep is just not a picture I can describe.

I'm amazed at the folks driving around there so soon after the storm. After Katrina we couldn't get more than two blocks from the house for the first couple of days. On the fourth day we could go north, but not south, and this was 80 miles from the coast. The coast was far worse.

[Troy Scott]

When Sundowner Marina was rebuilt after Katrina, the owner put it back like it had been, with fixed piers. I wish he had put in floating docks. But even if he had, I would still go up Mobile River as far as possible if there was any way I could get to the boat in time. The alternative would be to go along the coast east or west, but that seems a little more risky.

[Forrest]

The Watergate marina suffered substantial damage, most of it on the exposed edges of the marina (see link to marina map). The large group of CD's are on Pier 7, with additional CD's on Pier 6 and 9. These boats did not suffer any apparent damage. The only visible damage in this area of the marina were some shredded head sails.

We are having our monthly Gulf Fleet CD meeting this Saturday and should be able to post additional comments.

All and all - we were lucky!

Forrest

http://www.watergatemarina.com/g1data/s ... _side1.pdf

[Zeida]

Forrest... thanks for posting that blueprint of the Watergate marina, where a lot of the CD's are that survived. We in Miami have been thinking about you guys 24/7 and wondering what happened. We had only heard from Oceangirl, with a possible CD30 on pier 5, which also survived.

For a few days we thought Ike was coming here to us and really we were petrified. I also got an email from John (Fleet Captain), whose boat apparently did not make it.

When you have time, please let us know, in your opinion, what preparations were successful that could have helped your boats and what failed. Miami is also in most hurricanes' path, and we are constantly having to deal with them every season. Your Ike this year was similar to our Andrew in 1992. A major calamity.

I am sure the entire CD board will be spellbound reading your comments after your upcoming fleet meeting. Regards,

[Zeida]

This is how Bandolera has been since Gustav first threatened to come through Miami. She has remained like that through Fay, Hanna and Ike. I understand there is a possible new low developing to the south of us, again!

<img width="640" src="http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc26 ... jpg"></img>
<img width="640" src="http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc26 ... jpg"></img>
<img width="640" src="http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc26 ... jpg"></img>
<img width="640" src="http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc26 ... jpg"></img>
<img width="640" src="http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc26 ... jpg"></img>

[Troy Scott]

oceangirl wrote:

I did see a boat that seemed to of anchored for the storm(1 anchor only). He washed up/dragged anchor about a hundred yards inland, Clear lake has a lousy bed to anchor to -sludge and oyster shells.

-end quote-

How big/heavy was the anchor? He should have been able to find one that would hold, even (or especially) in mud.

[John R.]

It was very considerate of those of you who made the effort and took the time to provide the links to all the photos of Ike's impact on the marine community in and around Texas. We also know plenty of others suffered as well in Louisiana and perhaps other locales along the Gulf Coast.

It is truly terrible to see such destruction. I personally wish to send my best wishes to all those who suffered through Ike and are dealing with the horrendous aftermath.

After spending much time reviewing all of the photos it is very evident that there was widespread lack of preparation by many boat owners. It is obvious some owners took great measures to provide the best protection possible but then others seemed to do little if anything. It makes a person wonder how much reduction in boat and marina damage there could have been with better preparations. It was amazing to see so many boats with single dock lines and no chafe protection at all. Boats with sails and canvas still in place, fully inflated dinghys sitting on decks, biminis and dodgers still in place, inadequate and undersized fenders. Big boats next to small boats with different heeling moments.

It almost looked like there were never any warnings and people were caught unaware of a impending storm. Just very sad to see all the damage and I believe some of it could have been prevented. I hope everyone in hurricane country will look very carefully at and study all the pictures and think very hard about preparations. It can go a long way toward reducing future damages. It takes a lot of effort to prepare properly, much of that effort can be done well in advance of ever being threatened by a storm. As Zeida pointed out in her posting, here in Florida most of us that have lived in this stormy state for many years know what good preparations can do to prevent excessive damages. It is always a ongoing effort to get all owners in storm areas to plan and properly prepare their boats when a threat poses itself. Let's all do what we can in the future to minimize the terrible destruction that we have witnessed over the past week on the Gulf Coast. We owe it to our fellow boaters to make certain our own boats are as well prepared as humanly possible. There is a lot of storm season left, good luck to you all.

[Ocean Girl]

It was a powerboat (32-34ft) that had the anhcor out and the chain led under the vessel and off into debris so I couldn't see the size of the anchor. The chain looked fairy new or maybe he just never anchored.
I used to do a lot of anchoring out in Galveston bay when I lived aboard and the bed was always a bit lousy due to the oyster shells. Really the only anchor that was fairly reliable was the danforth with a 5:1-7:1 ratio. Maybe I wasn't using proper technique? I didn't care about a little dragging out in the bay cause I anchored on the south side away from all the boats and could drag for a mile if I wanted to.
In close quarters I would have to reset the anchor a couple of times before I was satisfied. If I couldn't get it to set more than likely I'd find a big hunk of oyster shell jammed in the danforth.
Boy did I love to sail up to and off an anchor-no motor- makes a gal feel proud.
Beside riding out a hurricane in a newer marina with floating piers I still think it would be better to go up one of our bayous and lead lines to points on land. Kind of like tying up to mangroves in florida and the bahamas. I will keep an ear out to see if anyone tried that method and let you know.

Erika

[Ocean Girl]

Zeida,
what kind of chafe guard is on your lines and where did you get it?
what is the line that exits your port bow chalk but leads aft on your starboard side?
Please feel free to explain some of your set up it looks really well done.
Erika