marina storm tactics

[heerenleed]

How did you lot survive last weekend's storm? Here in the SW Netherlands we had an exceptional F11 measured. I don't know in our marina, the meter went off the 60 Knot scale many times during sunday afternoon.

Our marina (thank heavens for some 15 liveaboard boats) was bustling with activity as everyone helped everyone to get the boats secured.

Many got the storm beam-on (like us). Not very pleasant. But where we heeled perhaps some 10 deg., there's an even heavier 52 ft Jongert which heeled some 30 deg. Pretty scary. If the girl had come loose we would have had a lot of damage.
I wonder how others survived and how bad things were elsewhere.

cheers!

Peter a/b SV Heerenleed, Steenbergen, Netherlands

 

[ccscott49]

Offshore Norway, was bloody horrendous, but not so bad now. My boats in Barcelona so I'm not worried about it! Must have been hell offshore on the rigs off Holland, I know them well. I can't understand why people don't moor there boats with adequate warps, fenders and chafe protection, all the time, not just put extra out when a storm is likely, squall can come up out of nowhere, I always have warps out that will resist most weather we expect in northern europe, when I'm there of course, but after experiencing the ballearics this year, will have a bunch of big warps out down there aswell!

 

[AndrewB]

As anybody in the West Indies can tell you, marinas can be unhealthy places for yachts in a storm.

Back in 1981 we were in Ostend Montgomerydock when a NW force 10 rolled in. The harbour entrance opens to the NW and as the tide rose that night the swell poured around into the dock. The marina pontoons were attached to the wall by rails, and the swell caused them to buck and twist until the broke clear of the rails, so there were pontoons surging around with all the yachts still attached. Some yachts tried to motor clear, but it was virtually impossible to keep control in the confined space of the dock with everything floating loose. Others headed for the lock into the Mercator basin, but the lock-keeper refused to shut the lock, and the swell pounded them all together causing the worst carnage of all with at least one sinking (which effectively shut the lock for several days afterwards). We used the anchor chain to chain ourselves to an old mooring ring embedded in the harbour wall. By the end of the night, we were holding our pontoon, with six other boats attached. The ring held - C19th technology was built to last.

Last weekend we were ashore in a cradle. It's not just a matter of attaching a few ropes, the trick is to lash the yacht to the ground so tight that the cradle can't move. The winches come in handy here. One rope gave way but otherwise no problems. It amazes me though how few owners show up to make sure their yacht is secure in this sort of weather. "The insurance will pay".

 

[heerenleed]

Indeed Ostend can be very interesting in a NW-blow. We go there quite often but on one occasion the swell come right over the beach and the carpark end then straight on into the Montgomery dock. Luckily the pontoons held that time...

in my marina there is no swell as it is landlocked and quite some distance from more open waters. It is the wind that causes the problem. There are some buildings between which the wind funnels and causes any force predicted for offshore areas.



Peter o/b SV Heerenleed, Steenbergen, Netherlands