Messing About In Sailboats

Hurricane Irene Wind Models for NJ - Sailflow

I downloaded Saiflow's models for the next 24 hours for New Jersey. Here is a sequence starting from early am through tomorrow evening. They are models so take them with a grain of salt.

 The wind velocity is ugly but may not be above a Category 1(I hope less). The really scary thing about this storm is how slow it's moving. It's big, fat and lumbering. The worrying thing is how wave height and speed will build over that period. The longer the wind blows at high speed, the bigger the seas and the more viloent the waves. Even today there are high winds predicted offshore this afternoon. The concern about the damage this storm could do along the shore should not be underestimated.

Songs For Friday - Hurricane Special

 

Hurricane Preparation Resources For Sailors

Here are some good articles on hurricane and storm prep

Cruising World: 5-pages of options for preparing your boat for a bad one.

US Coast Guard Storm Center: USCG's resource center on storms and storm prep. Comprehensice site with links to mnay other resources.

Practical Sailor: All you need to know about snubbers but were afraid to ask.

Storm Prep From RYC: My club's storm prep sheet. Great quick read if you are keeping your boat on the mooring.

Boat US: Excellent article on storm prep from Boat US.

Mooring Prep: Photos of what happens to a boat when a storm hits a mooring field. This wasn't a hurricane so scary to think what a full-on hurricane can do.

Please let me know if you have other good resources and I will add them.

Hurrican Irene: The Cone Is Looking Uglier For The Northeast

At the risk of sounding paranoid, Irene's probability cone bent West a little in the last 24 hours. The probability of it hitting the NY/NJ area with full force is getting worse.

Apologies to anyone further South for sounding a little too Northeast-centric.

Alice and I are heading down to the boat this afternoon to take her to Morgan Marina where she'll be put up on stands.

This time yesterday, I was feeling like I might be being overly cautious, now it's feeling like the smart thing to do. Thunderstorms predicted this afternoon! Perfect!

Prepare Your Boat for a Hurricane

via sailmagazine.com

Pretty good article on preparing your boat for a hurricane.  Only issue I have with this is that I would take the anchor off altogether. At least drop the whole thing into the locker if you have one.

Hurricane Tip: Check Your Insurance Policy On Hauling-out

With Hurricane Irene looking uglier by the minute, our club, Raritan Yacht Club is in a flurry of of storm prep activity. The Fleet Captain and Rear Commodore have issued some helpful information and directives.The club is going to be full-on over the next few days getting ready in case we get slammed. The club is at the West end of Raritan Bay and the mooring field is very exposed.

At the end of the day, no amount of preparation can save your boat if things get really ugly. It's about minimizing risk as best you can.

We feel especially vulnerable as Cadence is moored in the most precarious spot at the Western edge of the mooring field with the rest of the fleet above us and a nasty railroad bridge below us. If the winds and water come in from the East (most likely), all it will take is one boat to break its mooring and we are at big risk of being struck or worse yet pulled off our mooring. This has happened in the past to other boats and it makes me very nervous. If our mooring goes, the risk is Cadence will get hammered against a big iron bridge.

If the wind is out of West, it could push a lot of water out of the Bay and my concern here is grounding.

We decided to haul her. Hauling-out is no guarantee but from everything I have read, it seems like the best way to lower our risk.

There is a yard close by and we have a spot booked. They will charge us around $500, which is well worth it in my view. Better yet, I called Boat US Insurance to check on our policy. They were very helpful and said that per our policy, they will cover 50% of the haul-out cost.

The best outcome is that Irene peters out and we wasted $250. Frankly for $250 we can sleep a little better.

PS: I also just got an email from Boat US that said I could get a discount on my GEICO car insurance. I called GEICO and they were able to reduce my policy by $280. That more than pays for the other 50% of the haul-out.

I am officially a big fan of Boat US!

Drunk passenger admits dropping ship’s anchor in Caribbean | News from Yachting & Boating World | ybw

A cruise passenger admitted sneaking into a restricted area and dropping the ship's anchor in the middle of the Caribbean when he was drunk. MS Ryndam was travelling from Mexico to Florida when Rick Ehlert dropped the anchor. He entered a restricted area, put on some work gloves and released the 18-ton stern anchor. He also threw a life buoy overboard.Mr Ehlert admitted being drunk and explained that the anchor system was similar to the one on his own 50ft boat, the Daily Mail reports.The FBI said that dropping the anchor could have punctured the ship, measuring almost 220 metres long. It could have sunk or severely flooded. In fact, investigators said the only reason the ship avoided damage was because the anchor didn't hit the floor. As soon as the offence was discovered, the captain made an appeal for information. When no one came forward, CCTV footage was reviewed and Mr Ehlert was identified. He faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine after pleading guilty to one count of attempting to damage a maritime facility.

via www.ybw.com

What a moron!

A Turinas Wins Something

Over the weekend, Alice (aka Mrs T) and I took part in the second part of the two-race Women At The Helm series at Raritan Yacht Club. The rule is a woman drives and the rest of the crew can be a mix of men and women.

We raced in non-spinnaker. We did the first race in July on a whim and won handily against the one other boat. Alice drove a good race crewed by a sailing buddy, David (who also coached Alice well) and yours truly.

Yesterday, although there was another boat entered in non-spinnaker, they started with the wrong fleet and were DSQ'd. We were the only boat to start, race and finish in non-spinnaker. In the words of Woody Allen

"Eighty percent of success is showing up"

It's unconfirmed, but I believe that Mrs T is the RYC Non-spinnaker Women At The Helm Champion. Given my own racing performance, it's good someone in our family is doing well on the race course.

 

Fifth Blogaversary

(No clue who Ewan is)

I am frankly amazed this blog lasted five weeks let alone five years but believe it or not I started this dang thing on August 19th 2006. It is now got to the point where I wouldn't know how to pull the plug on it if I tried.

The original post is here featuring some handsome devil posing it large in the Solent.

My intention is to be acquired before my tenth blogaverasry. Any offers?

Interview: Peter Isler on the Rambler 100 capsize in the Fastnet Race

Listen Now

This Sailing World interview with Peter Isler is fascinating. Well-worth listening to. He talks about the accident, the canting keel and how they were rescued.