As a by product of Hurricane Earl, my synthetic rigging went through a real torture test. There have been continuous questions about how this new technology will hold up to chafe. People have visions of wild eyed Haitians with machetes cutting down there rig. And what about the main sail chafing on rigging during a down wind sleigh ride of a week or more duration? Well I have had my Dynex Dux rigging for almost a year and have seen no problems as of yet with chafe. I have been VERY satisfied with the rig so far. Of course I have not yet had the pleasure of a week or more downwind sleigh ride.

To the meat of this post, “The torture test”. During Hurricane Earl Shanti was was pushed into the mangroves that were close aboard my port side. Please refer to the post “How I secure Shanti” for a close look at the setup. as the wind backed during passage of the storm winds of about 40-50kts out of the W to SW pushed my port side hard into the mangroves. I didn’t sustain any damage. But while inspecting the boat I noticed this …

Mangrove trees where rigging chafed against branches.

I estimate that the wind blew from the W to SW for about 3 hours. And as you can see from the above photograph the rigging severely chafed the branches and even broke some off. The result … a little bit of fuzz or none at all on my aft lower or cap shroud that I estimate were taking the brunt of the load.

OK, nuff said about chafe!

Gary

Well we made it through Hurricane Earl. No problems to speak of except for a torture test of the synthetic rigging. Others were not so lucky. So far I have heard (from a local tow/salvage company) that 40 boats were put on the beach or sunk. Two boats anchored in the harbor of Charlotte Amalie were dis-masted from the severe pitching, although their anchors or moorings held. No deaths or injuries that I am aware of. Most if not all of the boats were in anchorages exposed to the WEST. 

Now for the uninitiated, if a hurricane is going to be passing to the North of your position the wind will blow out of the North, West, then south directions. There was one large (~120ft) mega yacht that was anchored in Brewers Bay here on St. Thomas. Totally open to the west with fetch all the way from Puerto Rico, about 45 miles away. I commented to my fiancé I couldn’t believe someone had anchored there for the storm. The day after, seen in a bar looking a bit hangared and drinking copious amounts of rum, the crew was overheard to say the wind came out of a very strange direction. This was after a hell of a night re-anchoring 5 times and motoring into the storm while on the hook. Their nice 26ft runabout was unceremoniously deposited on to the beach after the 3/4″ tow line snapped in the storm. The only thing I can think of was the Capitan thought (or didn’t) since the storm is North of him the wind would be from the north. NOT! The wind will back through 3 quadrants of the compass as a hurricane passes your location. The problem comes from deciding where it will pass you. So if it will pass close you have to take a gamble in deciding on a hurricane hole and where you place your anchors. Or you can prepare for all quadrants of the compass. 

Here is what happened for boats anchored with WEST exposure during Hurricane EARL.  

click on photo for larger view. 

fig.1 Anchorage for 120ft Mega yacht

fig.2 Poor anchorage for Hurricane Earl on St. Thomas

fig.3 St. John anchorages open to West

This video above was just the start. The most severe weather occured during the night.

Summary 

40 yachts on the beach or sunk from a near miss by Hurricane Earl. Closest point of approach approximately 80-90 miles of St. Thomas. Official winds at St. Thomas airport 50kts with gusts to 68kts. Wind backed from NE to SW before going back to trade wind pattern from the East. 100% of boats that were beached or sunk were in anchorages open to the WEST. 

Next: Part II Hurricane Holes 

Cheers, Gary

Hello from beautiful St. Thomas! 

At least it is today, but we still have a few weeks of an active hurricane season left on the calender. This post is in response to a post over on the BCC Forum. I was asked to write about how I secure Shanti in the mangroves for a hurricane. So I will talk about my experiences with 4 hurricanes and how I survived them basically intact. 

Experiences 

So far after 25 years in the Caribbean I have been through 4 hurricanes. Marilyn was a cat 2-3 and I saw the eye. We caught the NE quadrant and it destroyed the island. 80% of the electrical infrastructure was knocked out. Extensive physical damage with thousands of damaged roofs and whole houses leveled. I rode this one out aboard Angelsea. I had water, food, fuel, communications and a box of Snickers Bars. I did quite well during the storm. After watching the barometer bottom out and start back up I went to bed. Next day I awoke to see total destruction of St. Thomas. So I pulled up my anchors bent on my sails and sailed over to the BVI. They were far enough away from the eye that I could get a shower and a cold drink. I did suffer some damage. I lost my VHF antenna. 

Massive loss of boats during Hurricane Marilyn. Anchorage was too exposed to the south.

There were approximately 85 boats anchored in the main harbor of St. Thomas at the beginning of the storm. There were 5 boats left after the storm. The local Coast Guard cutter was up on the waterfront. It’s really strange when you hear the USCG putting out a mayday. 

Our earliest hurricane was next. Hurricane Bertha past to our North, a little closer than Earl as a CAT2 hurricane on July 6th, 1996. We had 60-80kts of wind. I was watching out my port hole when a whole huge tree blew past. I suffered no damage and St. Thomas had been hardened by Hurricane Marilyn. 

September 21, 1998 brought in Hurricane Georges. Even though the weather service said we had 60-80kts of wind from Georges, it didn’t seem any where near as strong as Bertha. Georges past about 35 miles to our south close to St. Croix as a CAT2 And we caught the NE quadrant. But Angelsea rode her out very nicely. Again no damage. 

Finally this year, August 30th, a couple of weeks ago, we saw Hurricane Earl. Earl passed about 80 miles to our north as a CAT3 and we saw 50-70kts of wind. 40 boats were put ashore or sunk. All of these were in anchorages exposed to the west. For 4-5 hours we saw the wind back between W and SW and blow 50-70kts. So the west facing anchorages got hammered. (see previous post). Of course my new BCC “Shanti” rode the storm out in fine fashion. 

Hurricane tracks for the Virgin Islands. 1995 to present.

So where did I weather all these storms? The MANGROVES! 

My favorite hurricane hole for St. Thomas, Benners Bay.

To see my hurricane hole on St. Thomas click here for Google Earth, then click “open”. You need Google Earth installed on your computer. Or you can click on the photo above, although it’s not as good as GE. 

What I look for in a hurricane hole 

I would ideally like no more than a couple of hundred yards of fetch in any one direction. This idea comes from the fact that you never know exactly which way a hurricane will go. So I like to prepare for wind and waves from any quadrant. And of course it goes without saying that you want good holding. Most times it’s the waves, not the wind that causes most of the problems. In my previous post I mentioned 2 boats that lost there masts from extreme pitching of their vessels. Of course, a weak rig may have also been a big factor. One of the boats in question may have also left a sail on that got loose in the wind. I have not had a chance to take a closer look. Of course this is not a perfect world and you or I may have to accept less than ideal in some circumstances. Let’s hope that never happens. 

Why I like mangroves 

1. Extremely protected. Usually no more than 500ft fetch in any one direction.
2. 30ft high mangrove trees make a good wind break.
3. Mangrove trees are extremely strong. Excellent to tie off to.
4. Usually mangrove areas are very shallow allowing one to put out enough scope for storm conditions and some extra for storm surge.
5. Great holding. Usually a soft clay/hard mud bottom. Very sticky, but a mess to clean up after words.

Please keep in mind that mangrove areas are shallow. I would strongly suggest checking out any mangrove areas first BEFORE you need them. I made sketch charts for the areas I was interested in long before any hurricanes arrived. You will need a lead line or use your boat hook as a sounding pole. Also, mangrove areas are popular, so go early to get a good spot. And don’t be surprised that you may need to re-secure poorly secured boats next to you, put there by bare boat companies or people who just don’t know. 

Places I don’t like

1. Areas with more than 1 mile of open water. The lagoon in St. Marteen is an excellent example. They lost 1500 boats in Hurricane Louis. Many areas in the lagoon have more then 2 miles of fetch. Also be weary of areas protected by reefs. With a storm surge, all of a sudden there is no protecting reef.
2. Boat yards. They can be good, but can also be a disaster in the making. Use only a yard that ties the stands together athwart ships. Do not use a yard that has a dirt base. Flooding can undermine the stands. One of the best ideas I have seen is on the island of Virgin Gorda in the BVI. They dig trenches for the boats keel to sit in.
3. Docks are a bad idea. The storm surge can lift a vessel over the pillings and pound a hole in your freshly waxed hull. Or just beat your vessel against the dock. Either way your SUNK.

Boat yards can be a disaster.

 Thats all for now. The next post will cover How I secure the boat.

Cheers, Gary

Wow, this has been a bit of a job for me as I don’t type. Starting to think that securing a boat for a hurricane is easier.

My personal rules for hurricanes

1. Within the forecast cone at 120hrs out, I start to worry. At 72hrs out (3 days) if in the forecast cone I run to the hurricane hole. Note that at 120hrs National Hurricane Center forecasts averages error is ~300 miles. At 72hrs average error is ~150 miles. At 12-24hrs error is around 40-50 miles. 40-50 mile error is enough to put the storm passing on one side of your position or another. This can make a huge difference on how you secure your boat for a storm. This will make a big difference as to which direction the wind comes. SO BE AWARE. DO NOT TRUST HURRICANES TO BEHAVE THEMSELVES. Note: for Hurricane Earl we kept popping in and out of the forecast zone. At 72 hours out we were slightly out of the cone, so I prepped anyway. I had actually moved the Shanti up to Benners Bay two weeks prior to Earl. I anchored out in the open Bay, but was maybe a 1/4 mile from my “spot”. In those protected waters it was easy to put my 8hp dinghy on the hip and move her where I wanted. I did this because my engine was not functioning. So I wanted to sail up there while a had a nice wind. I didn’t want to be stuck in a bad anchorage with no wind to sail to shelter. And that was exactly what happened. The wind went flat for 2 days preceding the arrival of Earl.
2. I prepare for all 4 quadrants if at all possible.
3. I Strip EVERYTHING off the topsides of the boat. Including ALL sails. I take light tared marlin and use them as tracer lines to remove halyards. I have seen roller furling sails come unfurled to many times to count. No matter how many times you have the sheet wrapped around it. The name of the game with hurricanes is windage!

Setting up in the mangroves

Since mangroves can be shallow I try to time my move with high tide. Here in the Virgin Islands our tides very by maybe a foot or so. But that does make a difference. I bumped a few times going in. I anchored in 6 feet of water. Shanti draws about 5 ft. I just touch at low low tide.

I try to find a spot along side the mangroves as opposed to bow or stern to. One reason is the current. With just a little bit of storm surge you can see 5-6 knots of current in Benners Bay. The area is a natural water pump. I start out by putting my main bower down, then run one of my stern lines ashore to a large mangrove branch. I look for a 4″ or greater branch. I use 5/8 nylon 3 strand for my lines to the trees. I also use sections of 3/4″ water heater hose for chafe around the mangrove branches. Not only to protect my line, but also the trees (in fact it is required for use of Benners Bay). Then I secure the line with a bowline.

Now I run out the remainder of my anchors and mangrove lines. I have a 22lb Delta , a 16lb Danforth Hi-Tensile, and a Fortress FX37 for anchors. I set the Fortress in the direction of greatest fetch. Once all my lines and anchors are set I tighten up everything as much as possible. Even with everything bar tight it is amazing how much stretch I see after a storm. I start out with some where in the neighborhood of 10-12 to 1 scope. With 6 feet of water and another 2.5-3 feet of freeboard I usually try to put out 100 feet. although with other anchors in the area and narrow channels that is not always possible, but close.

Finally for chafe I use cowhide that I wrap around my line and rodes at strategic points. I secure the wrap with wire ties. I have theses made up ahead of time with a hole punched on each end. I run some small stuff through this hole and secure it to the line fore and aft. The small stuff is woven in and out of the strands of the line much like one strand when making an eye splice. This anchors the chafing gear in place. The following illustrates my setup.

Done! Now all thats left is to pray. One small note, obviously you will secure all portholes and hatches, usually by locking the hatches. But if you are staying on board you will also need a method to secure you main slider hatch closed from inside. I use two barrel bolts on the port and starboard side of the companion way that slide up into the hatch.

To summarize

1. NEVER trust a hurricane to do what the forecasters predict!
2. Go early. These mangrove areas are usually crowded. But I prefer the crowd over an anchorage that is more exposed. So far after 4 hurricanes the crowd has not been a problem. And of the problems I have seen it usually has been cosmetic damage from a vessel breaking loose.
3. Check out your preferred hurricane holes before you need them.

Cheers, Gary