chuck h wrote:
We recently dodged a bullet here in St. Petersburg with hurricane Charley,
so a question comes to mind. Is a sailboat more likely to survive a
hurricane with minimum damage by a) tying it in a marina slip, or b) putting
it at anchor well offshore of a sandy beach or mangrove area. I've seen
pictures of boats beat to pieces in marinas and other boats washed up on a
beach but looking relatively undamaged. And I've heard of people putting
there boats in the mangroves during a storm. Another question is that here
on the gulf it's relatively shallow a long way off the coast, but is it
legal to leave an unattended boat anchored off shore.

The legal issue would only arise if your boat damages somebody elses
property.

As for the others... how secure is the marina? How well sheltered? How
tall & how secure are the pilings? How good are your docklines? How bad
is the hurricane going to be?

Anchoring offshore stikes me as a bad idea unless you really can't get
to any sheltered anchorage with good holding. Hurricane winds, surge,
and waves are likely to rip any ground tackle loose. A possible dodge I
have tried is putting a bundle of cinderblock on the anchor chain as a
kellet. Increases holding power dramatically but I wouldn't want to
anchor my own boat in open water even on 1" chain, 100# anchor, and a
whole brickyard.

Open exposure to winds is also likely to produce max damage to the boat.
You may get dismasted and/or get the ports blown in.

The ideal would be
1- above a set of lock gates, secured with ample fenders & chafe gear to
a secure bulkhead
2- anchored on oversized ground tackle well up a creek with high banks
and firm mud bottom with no other boats around
3- out of the water, well above any possible storm surge, with tie downs.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King