Earl

Zeida · Post by **Zeida** » Aug 31st, '10, 09:54

Whoever can get their boats OUT OF THE WATER ASAP has a better chance of survival. don't hesitate... HAUL OUT! you only have two more days before the sh....hits the fan! God bless.

Frank Vernet · Post by **Frank Vernet** » Aug 31st, '10, 12:40

M. R. Bober wrote: Another tip: If you see Jim Cantore in your town, leave!

As usual Mitch offers a golden nugget. You had me laughing.

But in all seriousness - one cannot be too careful with hurricane preps. All of the above advice is spot on and I would add the following:

Check on your neighbors' preparations as well. I did everything right for Hurricane Isabel but the owner of the 35' sloop in the slip next to me did nothing, nada, zip, zilch. Result - his boat floated up and out of her slip and settled into mine wrapping her docklines around Sirius' stern and bow railings and essentially having a boxing match for 8-10 hrs. The damage, while cosmetic, cost my insurance company nearly $10K.

I know where I'll be tonight or tomorrow night. Good luck to everyone.

Cathy Monaghan · Post by **Cathy Monaghan** » Aug 31st, '10, 13:53

http://www.boatus.com/hurricanes/

Cathy Monaghan · Post by **Cathy Monaghan** » Aug 31st, '10, 14:29

Don't forget that we provide a pretty good list of safety and weather resources right here on this web site so that you don't have to go searching for it. Just scroll to the top of this page and click on the CDSOA logo. That'll get you to our home page. From there select "Where to Look" from the menu on the left side of the page, then select "U.S. Coast Guard, Safety Resources & Weather" from the submenu.

Cathy
Webmaster - CDSOA, Inc.

Dean Abramson · Post by **Dean Abramson** » Aug 31st, '10, 15:48

In the pix, your mainsail, its cover, and the genoa are still on. Is this the "storm" mode but not "hurricane" mode?

I think that we will take everything off pre-Earl. Groan. And I am having the mooring pennants replaced; they were due anyway.

Dean

Kevin Kaldenbach · Post by **Kevin Kaldenbach** » Aug 31st, '10, 16:01

Good idea Dean. I could use some spair parts for my CD31 but I would not want to get them this way.

JWSutcliffe · Post by **JWSutcliffe** » Aug 31st, '10, 17:51

I stripped all the sails off tonight, lashed down both booms, doubled up all my docklines, duct taped the ventilators and engine exhaust closed and dog clipped the cockpit lockers (thanks Steve Laume for that idea.)

Talk about reverse 2 foot-itis! After doing all that solo I was wishing I had a smaller boat!

Zeida · Post by **Zeida** » Aug 31st, '10, 18:17

Please prepare, people! It is life or death for the boats! Cape Hatteras, the Chesapeake, Long Island, New Jersey, Cape Cod, etc.

Dean, you saw correctly that I do leave the mainsail on, lashed down. I have the Tide's Marine sailtrack which demanded that I have 5 full length battens on the main. These are screwed on to the luff of the sail. They are a monster to remove. Since I do all the prep work alone, I do leave the main attached, covered and lashed down. the genoa on the rollerfurler I will be removing tomorrow. I have already removed all my canvas and am gradually doing the rest of the "hurricane" mode preps during the rest of the week. I plan to have the boat remain like that until the end of November. My outboard and b-b-q will be removed, the wheel and cockpit table, the frames for the bimini and dodger will be lashed down. Since I am on a floating dock, I have 4 Big boat fenders and two auto tires between Bandolera and the dock. These are secured both over the toerail and under the keel, to make sure they do not move from their positions. We are expecting strong gusts and heavy surf both Thursday and Friday from Earl...that should be the worse for us, but what's coming after is not to be taken lightly. So once my boat is totally set up for the hurricanes, so she will remain until the end of November. I can only pray that most of the Cape Dory fleet along the entire East Coast can survive with minimal damage.

I am soooooo grateful that Earl is bypassing us this time, because it is a monster storm. I cringe every time I see the images on the TV because it reminds me of Ike and Galveston and what happened to all the marinas there. This one is worse, because from the Carolinas to Maine, the entire coastline will suffer. At least, this one is not going to New Orleans!

Warren Kaplan · Post by **Warren Kaplan** » Aug 31st, '10, 19:43

I have tomorrow and thursday to take care of my boat. I also take the anchor off the bow and stow it. I don't want that getting loose. Disaster if that is swing around in the wind.

I'll do what everyone else has suggested. The last I heard the storm "most likely" will track east of Long Island, but not by much. Eastern Long Island will get a good dose of it. I'm about 100 miles west, on western Long Island. If the forecast is correct, its good news for me (at least). But, I can't depend on that so I'll be getting the boat ready tomorrow unless something dramatic in the forecast changes.

Neil Gordon · Post by **Neil Gordon** » Aug 31st, '10, 19:51

I'll also plan to turn the boat in the slip so the pointy end is facing northeast.

Cover the hawsepipe to keep water out of the anchor locker (which then drains to the bilge)

Tie off halyards so they don't beat themselves to death on the mast. (Or run messenger lines instead)

Dean Abramson · Post by **Dean Abramson** » Aug 31st, '10, 20:10

Tomorrow morning we are going to the boat to remove the sails, tie down the boom, remove the outboard and dinghy, take off the canvas, remove the anchors, add chafe gear, etc. etc. etc.

I hope this is all for nothing, but I don't feel that we can continue to sit on the fence. And I want to leave extra time (Thursday) for unexpected things that might pop up.

I encourage others up this way to be proactive. It's easy to say, "they usually don't come here." But nature holds all the cards.

Dean

Troy Scott · Post by **Troy Scott** » Aug 31st, '10, 20:11

A hauled boat is only safe if you secure it well above any possibly storm surge. I've seen whole boatyards full of hauled boats washed away by surge. If it's high enough and well braced for the storm, you may be OK. Your best bet is to move the boat inland to higher ground if possible. Also, all hauling ceases when the boatyard begins to secure their own equipment, usually well ahead of the storm. Don't wait, and don't depend on a last minute haul.

M. R. Bober · Post by **M. R. Bober** » Aug 31st, '10, 20:18

Warren Kaplan wrote:I have tomorrow and thursday to take care of my boat. I also take the anchor off the bow and stow it. I don't want that getting loose. Disaster if that is swing around in the wind.

I'll do what everyone else has suggested. The last I heard the storm "most likely" will track east of Long Island, but not by much. Eastern Long Island will get a good dose of it. I'm about 100 miles west, on western Long Island. If the forecast is correct, its good news for me (at least). But, I can't depend on that so I'll be getting the boat ready tomorrow unless something dramatic in the forecast changes.

Warren,
Have you given any thought to deploying your anchor? During Isabelle, Matt Cawthorne had his boat hauled and went to the yard and "planted" his anchor in the yard. I understand the yardmen thought he was over the top UNTIL the surge tide almost floated PATRICIA LOUISE off of the poppets.

Mitchell Bober
Sunny Lancaster (where an ounce of prevention is about 28 grams), VA

Sea Hunt · Post by **Sea Hunt** » Aug 31st, '10, 20:26

Warren Kaplan wrote:I have tomorrow and thursday to take care of my boat. I also take the anchor off the bow and stow it. I don't want that getting loose. Disaster if that is swing around in the wind.

I'll do what everyone else has suggested. The last I heard the storm "most likely" will track east of Long Island, but not by much. Eastern Long Island will get a good dose of it. I'm about 100 miles west, on western Long Island. If the forecast is correct, its good news for me (at least). But, I can't depend on that so I'll be getting the boat ready tomorrow unless something dramatic in the forecast changes.

Warren and all:

I agree and would urge caution to everyone even remotely close to the NOAA/NHC 5 day forecast cone. As of tonight Hurricane Earl is a very, very large hurricane with sustained winds in excess of 135 mph. While it may decrease a little in strength as it moves north, it will have a very wide impact.

If you look at NOAA's Tropical Storm Wind Speed Probability chart (website link below) all of Long Island is well within the cone of probability for sustained tropical storm winds.

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/refresh/graphic ... 0#contents

Having been through more than my fair share of hurricanes and tropical storms, one of the many lessons I have learned is there is very little difference between a Category I hurricane with 80 mph winds and a tropical storm with 70 mph winds. Both are incredibly destructive.

Scott MacCready · Post by **Scott MacCready** » Aug 31st, '10, 21:02

I just read online that North Carolina has issued evacuations for the Outer Banks Islands beginning with Ocracoke on Wednesday. I hope all my friends in Oriental weather this with minimal effects. I'm thinking of y'all.

The Cape Dory Board

Earl

Re: Handy tip

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Battening down

Hauling the boat for a Hurricane

NC--Outer Banks Evacuation