After two severe
hurricane seasons and over a billion dollars in wrecked boats, reality
has finally sunk in. Marinas and boat owners in hurricane-prone areas
are laying plans to get their boats moved out sooner in advance of
a storm, dock contracts are being revised and hurricane “clubs”
are becoming the “must-have” membership for 2006.
“There is definitely more caution; boat owners are focusing
on moving boats sooner than in the past,“ said Mike Bradley,
executive director of the North Carolina Marine Trades Services, a
state agency. “Five years ago almost none of the marinas had
plans for boats to move out prior to a hurricane; now most of them
have one.”
When Hurricane Ophelia hit North Carolina’s Outer Banks last
year, Bradley actually saw some welcome changes. Despite some major
losses of docks on Bogue Sound, he said both boat owners and marinas
were prepared earlier and better when Ophelia blew ashore as a strong
Category 2.
Now
that the Atlantic Basin is firmly in the grips of a more active period
of hurricanes — due to a host of ocean and meteorological shifts
that could last for as long as 10 to 15 years — boat owners
and marinas have seen the light. As the 2006 hurricane season begins
June 1, a new sense of urgency has surfaced for coastal residents
and marine businesses as no one can forget last year’s record-high
27 tropical storms and the severity of damage left in their wake.
Another unwelcome development for ’06, a La Niña cooling
current in the east-central Pacific developed this spring. If it lasts
into hurricane season, its effects on wind currents could favor the
formation of more hurricanes this year.
Are
We Ready?
Looking ahead to this year’s hurricane season, Bradley said
his group is e-mailing some 200 coastal marinas reminding them to
adopt and update their hurricane plans and this year he sees preparations
kicking in even earlier than when a hurricane warning is posted. “Since
many marinas plan to evacuate even earlier, this means less time for
the boat owner to make preparations. Now they need to get right on
it,” he said.
In Corpus Christi, TX, boaters dodged the bullet of Hurricane Rita
last year but took serious note of what both Katrina and Rita did
to the Gulf Coast. The manager of the city-run Corpus Christi Marina
expects a higher attendance at the two hurricane seminars he runs
later this month.
“All boaters are very well aware of the dire situation that
can unfold very fast,” said Peter Davidson, the marina manager
who has previously served on BoatU.S. Catastrophe Teams salvaging
wrecked boats and processing claims. “On June 1 we go into Green
Mode and start removing objects from the grounds and other measures.”
The marina sends regular e-mails to its 600 slipholders with hurricane
information and reminders.
“We’re finding that people are more conscientious. Before
they may have been know-it-alls and now they’re listening to
us,” Davidson joked. “After last year there is definitely
a scare factor.”
In Florida where two brutal years of major storms making landfall
have prompted hurricane planning conferences and legislative activity,
some progress is being made.
“The
complacency is definitely gone,” said David Roach, executive
director of the Florida Inland Navigation District, a state agency
responsible for 400 miles of the Intracoastal Waterway. “Prior
to Wilma everyone was getting supplies, boarding up. People got ready
and nobody was goofing around anymore.”
Roach organized a preparedness conference in Palm Beach County early
last year to identify where the local government and marine community
could do better planning. Many of the key issues remain unresolved,
such as lack of land storage space for boats. Land is so valuable
in Florida that large waterfront storage yards simply aren’t
available as they are in other parts of the country.
“We’re
not where we want to be but we’re making some forward progress,”
Roach said. “I believe all marinas now have hurricane plans.
The industry understood the need for it, so that has been accomplished.”
Palm Beach County is working on a pilot plan to use a local park for
boat storage. The waterfront park has deep water and good bulkheads
to allow a Travelift to be used to get larger boats out. Roach said
a private operator would be hired to haul boats prior to a hurricane.
A local landfill may also be turned into a trailerboat storage yard
as well.
Disappearing land storage and service yards is a problem everywhere.
Mike Bradley said just in the Beaufort-Morehead City, NC, area 14
marinas have closed to make way for residential condominiums. While
slips remain for the condo owners, the service yards that can lift
boats out are now gone. “It’s one of my biggest concerns,”
he said, “and it’s happening up and down the coasts.”
“Last year’s season was a heck of a reality check,”
adds Frank Herhold, executive director of the Marine Industries Association
of South Florida, a group that has been helping coordinate marine
preparedness plans, along with Marine Industry Association of Florida.
“I can tell you that anybody that has a waterfront facility
is revamping their hurricane plan.”
While it was estimated that only about 25% of boats were adequately
prepared prior to last year’s hurricanes, Herhold believes the
situation is improving. “I saw more boats moved to a safe refuge
earlier and more precautions being taken in tying up boats prior to
Wilma. We knew a week ahead it was coming,” he said.
Unlike some communities in Florida, Broward County has a highly organized
boat evacuation plan which coordinates drawbridge openings to allow
boats to move upriver to hurricane holes. “Essentially our plan
is that every boat that wants to get upriver can and I noticed before
Wilma quite a number of them left the area,” he added.
As the marinas and dry stack storage facilities damaged in Wilma deal
with rebuilding issues, so-called “hurricane clubs” are
more common in Florida, Herhold says.
Join
the Club
Hurricane
“clubs” are pre-arranged agreements between a marina and
its customers on how the boat will be prepared prior to a hurricane.
Signing up for a club is part of good planning, say insurance claims
experts.
Boat owners are seeing an upsurge in the number of marinas that now
include — or require one to join — hurricane clubs. To
try to protect their docks and create an orderly sequence of boat
removal, the marinas’ clubs may include contracts for a haul-out,
removal to a protected waterway, or secure tie-up of one’s boat
prior to a storm making landfall. If your marina has one, by all means
join it.
For absentee boat owners who may not be able to get to their boat
in time to move it or make preparations themselves, having such an
agreement can save the day. Many marinas charge a flat fee that includes
two haul-outs per year. Such haul-out costs are now being covered
by some insurance companies, including BoatU.S. (see box).
“We think it’s a great idea and have added haul-out coverage
to help with the cost,” said Carroll Robertson, senior vice
president of claims for BoatU.S. Marine Insurance. “It’s
good for the marinas because it helps them protect their assets in
a non-confrontational way. Marinas are realizing that their slip contracts
alone will not assure their ability to recover damage costs directly
from the boat owner.”
Robertson suggests boat owners at marinas go one step further and
be proactive — if the marina has no hurricane club, try to get
one started. The alternative, she warns, is that the boaters may not
have any marina to go back to for a long time.
The other benefit is that being a member of a “club” means
your boat is on a priority list for a haul-out at a time when last-minute
demand will be intense. One boat owner requested a haul-out at his
marina in Maryland a full six days before Hurricane Isabel swept up
the Chesapeake Bay and was told there were already more requests than
the marina’s one Travelift could handle.
Where
Ya Gonna Run To?
After two severe hurricane seasons, BoatU.S. analyzed its claims to
derive more clues about what locations and methods of protection work
best for a boat caught in the path of an oncoming major storm. Much
of this intelligence is compiled in “Hurricane Warning,”
a free preparation guide at BoatUS.com/hurricanes. Generally, here
are a few nuggets of wisdom from past hurricanes:
Storage Ashore —
The preferred arrangement if possible, with adequate, chained jackstands
on firm ground and tie-downs to the ground. When asked, most surveyors
on the BoatU.S. Catastrophe Team said they would store their boats
ashore.
Docks —
Docks are vulnerable to wind and storm surge but if there is no choice,
many extra lines, larger and longer than lines normally used, are
key. Multiple lines to different cleats to make a “spider web”
also helps as does stripping off everything removable and using numerous
fenders. The big danger with docks is the likelihood of other boats
breaking loose or dock failure.
Anchoring Out —
A hurricane hole, such as the bayous of Alabama used in Hurricane
Ivan, offer protection as long as enough anchors, and larger anchors
and lines, are used. Regular gear will not hold up, and neither will
normal scope. Undersize chain will also fail, Catastrophe Team surveyors
found after hurricanes Frances and Jeanne. A combination of anchors
and lines ashore saved many boats in 2004 especially those able to
get up into a canal, tied across the canal so they rose with the storm
surge.
Boat Lifts —
Relying on a boat lift or hoist proved to be a bad choice in a hurricane.
Not many boats on lifts survived in hard-hit areas because wind blows
them off the cradles, parts of the lift break or boats fill with water
and the lift collapses. Storm surge can take the boat out of its lift.
These are just a handful of tips that could prove indispensable when
making up a personal hurricane preparation plan or updating your existing
plan for 2006. No one knows where the next tropical storm will hit
but being ready for it can be a real stress-reducer when that time
comes.
— By Elaine Dickinson
©BOATU.S. MAGAZINE May 2006
