pray, dude, and take EVERYthing off the boat you can (obviously ALL windage
items first, followed by everything you can scoop up in your arms and pile in
your car). if your boat survives, consider watching next time. Any yard
capable of hauling has probably been busy as hell since Saturday.

I have helped clear boats as a hurricane approached and pretty soon the
boatyards are just flat over-whelmed. Even though the hurricane twisted off
250 miles south there was still plenty of damage. By no means, though, what
would have happened had the storm turned just a mite east, rather than way
west.

My sailboat (28' S2, 7800 lbs) is at a dock at Carabelle, FL with
fixed finger piers. The piling topss are no more than 7' above high
water. TS Bonnie is approaching. Options a

1. Find a better place to ride it out.

2. haul the boat

3. Tie her as best I can and check my insurance.

Until the past couple years, this was not a problem as I kept Ragtime
in a well protected canal 30 miles to the east. Until recently,
Ragtime's value was probably about her insured value but in the past
year I have seriously upgraded her she is worth a lot more than
insurance would pay. Furthermore, I expect to go on a long Bahamas
cruise in November so I have real incentive to protect her this year.

Option 1 is not really practical as the only close place that is well
protected is the harbor at Dog Island but I have no way to get back
once I have her there. I cannot get her under the bridge to go up
river. The wide part of the river will probably be crowded with boats
in the next couple days riding it out.

Option 2, hauling is not an option even without a storm as the only
local lift seems to operate only 10% of the time.

Option 3 may work but I might expect 10-12' storm surge and 120 mph
winds from the south as the storm goes ashore to the west. From my
dock, I can look due south along the shore to Dog Island Sound about
1/2 mile away, not exactly well protected from the south where the
wind will be blowing from. In normal conditions with only a 3.5'
tidal range, it is difficult to arrange my dock/spring lines so she
can rise and fall with the tide without being able to hit the pilings
but in a 12' surge............I'll be on top of the pilings. Even
with just spring lines from stern pilings to bow and bow pilings to
stern cleat I will not have enough line stretch to allow for a 12'
surge and stay off the pilings. Any ideas here?
I probably will not even be able to run a stern anchor out (to the
west into the river channel) as it would impede navigation of the
channel. I can run a rope to shore to teh east.
If I hadnt done all this work on her this past year, I'd just double
the lines, allow her to beat herself to pieces and collect insurance
but now I really want to protect her. Any ideas? Taking her to sea
in the storm is idiocy so dont bother suggesting it.