Irma and Boat Yard Preparation By Richard de Grasse
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ike many northern boat owners, Kathy and I spent several anxious days at our home in Islesboro, ME, watching the progress of Hurricane Irma, a Category 5 storm, as it marched across the Caribbean—knowing our sailboat was sitting innocently on jack stands in a crowded boatyard 1500 miles away on the southwest coast of Florida. Even though we knew our boatyard was the best we’d ever experienced, and that we had put the boat away carefully last spring, the forecast of 150mph winds was just too much; nothing could withstand them. We were somewhat comforted by the fact that our boat was “on the hard” in a yard built at the back of a developed canal system—and not in the water at anchor, on a mooring or at a marina. The day after Irma passed over southwest Florida, I anxiously called a friend at the yard and asked him to go aboard and report on how the boat had faired. He managed to work his way inside the summer boat cover, went below, pumped the bilge and reported that our sailboat came through unscathed! Now that we’re back aboard in the yard we can confirm our boat is fine, as are all the others in the yard. The question is: How did we fare so well? Here’s what we know about Irma, the yard and what we learned. The 65-acre Charlotte Harbor Boat Storage yard is located on a flat lot on the inland side of a fresh water canal system in a Placida real estate development. The yard is a two-hour motor by boat to the fresh/salt water lock leading to Charlotte Harbor. The man who built the yard, Joe Pocklington, has a lifetime of boat building, sailing and yard operating experience. He created a drainage ditch and fence around the yard perimeter, then raised and filled the center storage area with base from a nearby cement plant. He then covered it with a thick layer of crushed rocks and shells. This provides an important and secure foundation for the hundreds of jack stands which need to support about 200 boats in high winds and rain. Over this solid base, the jack stands won’t wobble, tip or sink, toppling boats over. To prepare for Irma, boats in the Travelift well and at the yard dock were moved to the “hard” and secured. Brady Pocklington, his yard crew and three dedicated volunteers spent several days watching Irma and planning for the worse: The Category 5 hurricane was plotted to go directly over the yard with 150mph winds! The crew looked at each and every boat and the yard around them to be certain there was no loose equipment on or under any of the boats. Anything they found, they tied down. Inflatable dinghies were filled with water to prevent them from flying around. All the jack stands were tightened once
News & Views for Southern Sailors
again. The office windows were boarded up, and furniture and kitchen equipment in the sailor’s hut was moved inside the heads. In row four (of the four-row boatyard)—which was mainly sailboats—the boats were set very close together (six inches apart) with the remote-controlled hydraulic boat trailer. (Believe me, it’s a trick to maneuver boats this close and set jack stands.) The question many sailors ask is: “Is it safer in high winds for boats to be set at Travelift distances apart—or close together with a hydraulic trailer? Does the domino effect apply?” The question remains unanswered—since none of the boats were damaged! My talks with the yard crew and volunteers revealed that Irma made an easterly move just north of Naples, Florida, tracking up the middle of Florida. As a result, this turn put the yard on the west side—meaning on the weaker left side—of the counter-clockwise rotating storm. This meant that the yard saw lower velocity north winds than they would have experienced on the east, right side of the storm as it moved north in central Florida. A lucky move. The yard experienced 70-knots of sustained winds with 100-knot gusts for a period of about eight hours. The only Irma damage was two trees that were knocked over on the south, lee side of the boats. A good yard and preparation says it all. SOUTHWINDS
February 2018
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