haul out or hurricane hole?

[brokesailor]

Reading about Niftynickers has got me thinking if a boat would have a better chance in a storm anchored properly in a hurricane hole or hauled out. During Sandy I had Skalliwag hauled out but she was sitting at the waters edge. A storm surge of 5 ft and she would have floated away. Are there any statistics either way?

[Minnewaska]

All insurance companies, who's profitability is based on actuarial statistics, prefer you haul out.

However, they are playing the big picture odds. As you point out, where you haulout, how close its level is to surge, how protected the lot is from wind and other boats falling over and how well you block your own, will all affect your specific odds.

[lancelot9898]

I spent a few years in the Solomons area and if you look at the history the last major hurricane to hit that area was in the 1930's. or there abouts... The drum point lighthouse was then located out at drum point and the water lever rose to at least the first deck lever of that structure. I think most yards there in Solomons would have been flooded. The last hurricane to hit there was Gloria in 1985 with other later ones being downgraded to tropical storm status. In Gloria I anchored out in a brand new boat in one of the hurricane holes up the Patuxent. Never again.... even though we survived it OK on a single 35 lb CQR with 80 ft of chain spliced to 5/8 inch 3 strand nylon and with a 25,000 lb plus displacement boat. Now I would use tandem anchors and hope that no one else anchored around me and not stay aboard but head as far away as possible. Solomons is a great place to sail out of.

[MarkofSeaLife]

I dont think he means the Solomons as in the country in the Pacific.

I think it must be dependant on the local area.

In St Martin in the Caribbean one boat yard dug a trench and puts boat in the trench at thew bginning of the season. dirt is piled up round the sides so you are like in a sea of dirt....

but theres no surge there.

some hurricane hoes fill fas.... others are vacent...

[chef2sail]

Solomons Island, Pautuxant River, Maryland

[Seaduction]

Marker at Solomons.

[CarolynShearlock]

It's definitely a location specific choice -- the exact nature of where you'd be hauled out and how they prep the yard (two yards, side by side could have very different outcomes) and ditto on the hurricane hole (how well protected from the direction the storm actually hits from, your ground tackle, your neighbors' ground tackle and so on).

I'd go on gut feeling about the actual choices and the storm forecast. My experience in hurricanes is that there are no absolute answers . . . until after it has passed.

[Andrew Burton]

We are in Newport. When Gloria was making a bee line for here, I took a look at the chart and figured I was about 20 hours sail from the hurricane hole capital of the world, Maine. Sailed up there. Found a nice spot with only the three boats that came with me and dropped hooks, ran lines to trees, etc. We were nice and snug and that's my default hurricane plan ever since.