Do you really think a fender is going to prevent damage
from a boat being trashed about by a storm?

A big round fender, like the one I'm using, saved my friends J30 when an
Ericson 39 flush deck dragged her mooring and ended up broadside for a windy
night. He still had damage, but far less than if there was no fender out. He'd
forgotten to pull it in that day. If two had been out, there would have been no
damage at all.
Yup, fenders are a good thing.

RB