Here's an article that appeared in The Compass in April, 2005. I OCRed
it and have reproduced it here without permission. Once again, good
insight.

-- Geoff

Securing the Boat Afloat

Securing to docks is not a good option: the cleats may pull out, the
tidal surge may lift boats up above the dock so that fenders will be
useless; and neighboring boats maybreak loose. You are far better to
anchor out or to stuff the boat up In the mangroves.

Anchoring out does have Its problems, no matter how good your ground
tackle. The loading on anchoring gear in a hurricane can be likened to
that experienced If a crane were to lift the entire boat out of the
water by Its anchoring gear alone. Is every piece of your system and
every point of attachment up to that?

Many mariners feel that the best procedure for riding out a hurricane Is
to stuff the bow right up into the mangroves. Don't hang back off the
mangroves with long lines get the bow right up In there among the trees.
Tie the boat to the mangroves with a spiderweb of lines; then take all
your anchors out astern and drop them out in the shape of a fan. Crank
in on the anchors and make sure that they are all well and truly set.
(Because of the soupy type of bottom found in mangrove areas, I suggest
that you read John St. John's excellent article, "Anchoring in Soft
Mud", which appeared in Compass in October 2004.) Secured well up into
the mangroves with anchors outastern, if the wind blows out of the
mangroves the lines should hold you in place, if it's blowing on the
beam or from astern, the anchors should hold you. Even if your anchors
drag, mangroves make an excellent cushion, and unless another boat drags
down and hits you, the only damage you will incur would be cosmetic.
Once the hurricane has passed, you can either haul yourself off, or at
worst be dragged off by a tug.

I still feel that Egmont Harbor In Grenada vies with Ensenada Honda,
Vieques, as the best hurricane hole In the Eastern Caribbean so long as
it doesn't become overcrowded!

Boat's Here. You're Away

The subject of what to do with your boat during the hurricane season,
while you are out of the Caribbean, is a real problem. Leaving your boat
in the water with a guardianage service Is a popular option, but don't
forget that the custodian might be trying to take care of a dozen or
more boats; it may become a physical impossibility to properly secure
all of these boats if a hurricane approaches unexpectedly.

Boats can survive hurricanes when stored ashore, if proper preparations
have been made. Many years ago, Puerto Del Ray Marina, Puerto Rico,
Installed a series of "dead men" in their storage area. If a hurricane
approaches, all the boats In the storage area are securely tied down to
the dead men, so that the monohulls cannot shake out of their cradles
and the multlhulls can't fly.

The former Crabbs Marina in Antigua dug holes and put the boats in them.
This had mixed results. The boats that were sitting on tires with their
rigs out survived with minimal damage. But those that had their rigs in
and were chocked up In their holes on wooden frames suffered damage as
the holes filled with water: the boats almost floated, and the windage
from the rigs rocked the hulls back and forth on their frames. The boats
were damaged, but not total losses. In another yard, a boat floated
right out of its hole, with serious consequences.

Throughout the years in various yards there have been major disasters
for boats stored ashore. In the vast majority of cases, the rig was In
the boat, the boat started shaking and the screw jacks started backing
off. In some cases the jacks were not chained together and started
sliding out, in other cases the screw jacks settled into the soft earth.
The more they settled more the boat shook, until over she went.

Some yards cured this problem by chaining the screw jacks together,
wiring the screw jacks so that they would not unwind and, most
importantly, putting plywood pads under the three feet of the screw
jacks. This all sounds very logical, but in the practical sense I wonder
If it Is possible to put pads under the three legs of each screw Jack.
Look at Grenada, for example, where there were roughly 400 boats stored
ashore last year. With a minimum of seven Jacks to a boat, that's 2,800
screw jacks. With three legs on each, three pieces of plywood for each
screw Jack equals 8,400 pieces of plywood if each one were 12 inches
square, that's 8,400 square feet of plywood. I doubt if there is that
much plywood on the Island of Grenada!

The Pantanlus-approved cradles used at Nanny Cay Marina In Tortola, look
like another solution, but one more expensive than ordinary stands.

People are wondering whether or not the Insurance companies will
continue to insure boats stored out of the water in a hurricane area. I
feel that the answer Is yes, if the boat is properly stored and If you
have a good broker who can convince the underwriter that the boat Is
properly stored (again, two big "ifs"). To properly store a boat
requires the co-operation of the boatowner and the yard.

The article has been excerpted from the article "Reflections on Ivan"
which is posted on Don Street's website www.street-iolatre.com.