Well, Ike has passed - we're back home and have everything cleaned up. The house did better than the boat though. I checked that everything was snug before we evacuated, and it was. Came back to a shredded
jib (roller furled), a missing wind direction indicator, the starboard shroud loose from the spreader, and some frayed halyards.
So here's what I learned.
1. Stick with floating piers! There was very little damage in our marina - mostly shredded sails. Some of the marinas with fixed piers lost most of the boats.
2. Take the sails down before a major storm. Most of the shredded sails I saw were roller furled
jibs. The bottom section stayed wrapped nicely, but the upper section can't be wrapped - the wind catches it and all you need is one little tear. Doesn't matter which way you furl it - as the hurricane passed over, the wind switches direction so you'll get it either way.
I had already got some quotes for new sails, thinking that we'd replace them in the spring. But I wasn't planning on re-
rigging the shrouds and all. We'll spend the day on the boat tomorrow cleaning and deciding what to do.
So sad. (But better off than many) We wouldn't be sailing for awhile even without the damage what with the sunken boats blocking the channel and all the debris in the water.
