FreedomYachts.org

Just wondering how everyone got through hurricane Sandy? We got though just fine, but we live far inland in MA and BlueJacket is on the Pacific side of Mexico.

-- Geoff

Sandy stayed well south of RI. We are just fine here in Riverside; "Raven" (28' CB CK)is still on the hard and the mancave (see pic) was just missed by a 4" tree limb. Three sailboats moored in the Providence River survived without damage. Note: when properly supported the shrink wrap is very flexible and strong. Mine has been in place for 2.5 years and survived 2 hurricanes and countless winter storms. Last year during Irene a 3" limb fell on the top of the structure and bounced off falling on the ground. The shrink wrap suffered a 1" puncture. Hooray for shrink wrap!

Being There, our F38, ride out the storm on a mooring in Bristol, RI. No damage. The folks at Bristol Marine couldn't get her hauled because they need a tide at their lift and the week before low tide was noonish. The yard crew checked on the boat before the storm, doubled up the mooring lines to 4 after moving it to a stronger mooring. Great relief here.

Great Kills Harbor, Staten Island, NY. It is a place of complete devastation, entire marinas were lifted off pilings and slammed into houses. Streets are filled with barricades of boats and cars, intertwined. My boat is one of a few still swinging on her mooring where I left her on Sunday. Damage is minimal, two out of 4 mooring lines snapped after cutting deeply into the hull.

Looks like the more the merrier as far as mooring lines in a storm. Good call.

CrazyRU,

Man, you were lucky! If all that you got was that small gash, you're very lucky. The photos that you showed of the marinas show why I wouldn't want to be at a marina in a hurricane. I'd either want to be at anchor or on the hard.

-- Geoff

Cleveland (OH) was the meeting place of the remnant of Sandy and the nor'easter coming down from Canada. We had sustained winds of 50 knots with gusts to 75. With wind out of the north northwest, short-period waves built to 12 to 18 feet over the 65 mile fetch across the lake. While damage here didn't approach the devastation on the East Coast, the 3 or 4 Cleveland area marinas most directly exposed to the lake (protected by 5' - 6' high break walls) experienced massive damage/destruction of docks, hundreds of boats damaged - with between 30 and 50 sunk. Fortunately Her Diamond was already resting on her cradle at the boatyard (pulled 2 weeks before the storm) - winterized and awaiting her shrink wrap. An amazing reminder to all of us who venture out on the water about the kinetic energy stored in (and released by) waves, swells, boat wakes, etc.

Seasop nearly ended up like the pile of boats on Staten Island. I stayed with the boat at her slip at her marina in Greenport. When at 4:00pm , an hour before low tide found that the water level was still increasing and there was only 3 feet of the piling left before the retaining hoops on the floating docks cleared the top of the piling I began to really worry that the docks , boats and all were going to float away and wind up as a big pile of wreckage in the parking lot, much like what was pictured at Staten Island.

There was still 6 -7 more hours before high tide at this point. The wind was blowing 70 to 90kts out of the NE and was hitting the boats in the slips on their beams causing them all to heel far over and placing a great deal of force on the dock fingers. I was out in this adjusting and adding lines to other boats as the lines previously placed all began to stretch so much that the boats were hitting their sterns against the docks or heeling so far over that the topsides and toe rails were grinding themselves to pieces. I had Seasop well tied up but was afraid that the other less well tied up boats were going to damage Seasop.

About 8:30 just when the docks were sure to float off the pilings, the wind began to change direction and started to back off to the south. The result was a dramatic and rapid easing of the force on the boats and docks as the wind now was coming at the boats from their bow. The rising water also dramatically slowed down as the wind no longer was pushing the water into the marina. The docks were now several feet higher than the parking lot and instead of having to climb down a steep ramp to get to the docks as was the usual, now I had to climb up to the docks and their was several feet of water to wade through to get to them! There was also all kinds of flotsam floating around, many pieces of the dock and other docks, foam, pilings, life vests, and just debris about.

Anyway, to my great relief Seasop, along with the rest of the boats at the marina, escaped from what seemed certain destruction at the very last moment, thanks to that fortunate change in wind direction . It seemed so certain that Seasop was about to meet her demise that I was removing my tools and valuables from her. The boats that had been hauled out and placed on poppets on the hard fared less well as the water floated many off their stands and many were knocked over.

All I can say is that I feel so very fortunate that I did not loose my boat. I fared so well even though I still have no electric or heat, or water at my house, which lost a good part of its roof. I feel blessed and my heart goes out to all those many, many people..families, that lost so very much more....their homes and everything they own and in some cases their lives or those of their loved ones...my prayers are with them.

Here in New Jersey in Cheesequake Creek off of Raritan Bay our 40/40 survived Sandy. She is back on the hard and probably alot better off than had we had her hauled and blocked next to the water's edge where othere did not fair so well. Tidal surge about 13-14 feet

We all came through ok in Huntington Harbor, north shore of LI. We are lucky that the harbor is very well protected from all sides.